III III a IIOI OlD III OII OlD 1101 OII OII III
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`
`19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (10) (cid:9)
`^iosni.ieal. (cid:9)
`(43) Pub. oei... (cid:9)
`
`2 011/02
`Sepy89E011
`
`
`
`(54) POINTING CAPABILITY AND ASSOCIATED
`USER INTERFACE ELEMENTS FOR
`TELEVISION USER INTERFACES
`
`(21) Appl. No.: (cid:9)
`
`13/112,803
`
`(22)
`
`Filed: (cid:9)
`
`May 20, 2011
`
`(75) Inventors: (cid:9)
`
`Negar Moshiri, Bethesda, MD
`(US); Frank J. Wroblewski,
`Gaithersburg, MD (US); William J.
`Napier, Germantown, MD (US);
`Frank A. Hunleth, Rockville, MD
`(US); Daniel S. Simpkins,
`Bethesda, MD (US); Kevin M.
`Conroy, Rockville, MD (US);
`Peter Wood, Frederick, MD (US);
`Neel Goyal, Reston, VA (US);
`Jason Witenstein-Weaver,
`Baltimore, MD (US); Adam Mark,
`Bethesda, MD (US); Scott Anthony
`Stanchfield, Germantown, MD
`(US)
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`(62) Division of application No. 11/895,412, filed on Aug.
`24, 2007.
`
`(60) Provisional application No. 60/823,870, filed onAug.
`29, 2006.
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51)
`
`Int. Cl.
`(2011.01)
`H04N 5/445 (cid:9)
`H04N 7/16 (cid:9)
`(2011.01)
`(52) U.S. Cl .................. 725/30; 725/38; 725/25; 725/56;
`725/52
`
`(57) (cid:9)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`(73) Assignee: (cid:9)
`
`HILLCREST LABORATORIES,
`INC., Rockville, MD (US)
`
`Systems and methods according to the present invention pro-
`vide a user interface for television control functionality.
`
`UZ,
`
`322
`
`Photos
`
`Settings (cid:9)
`
`Music
`
`On Demon (cid:9)
`
`Recorded
`
`Live (cid:9) N (cid:9)
`
`Guide
`
`300
`
`320
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 1 of 23
`
`(cid:9)
`(cid:9)
`(cid:9)
`

`

`Patent Application Publication (cid:9)
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 1 of 15
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`FIG. 1
`(Prior Art)
`
`POWER DSS
`CABLE TV
`O O O
`FUNCTION
`CABLE TV (cid:9)
`DSS
`^ 0 0
`
`FAVORITE
`CODE SET (cid:9)
`TV/VIDEO TV/DSS JUMP
`0 o 0
`O O O
`
`O O O
`000
`DISOPLAY O ENTER
`EXIT MENU GUIDE
`
`4
`
`a -o- ^
`
`VOL (cid:9)
`
`CH
`O
`
`O
`
`DSS
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 2 of 23
`
`(cid:9)
`(cid:9)
`(cid:9)
`

`

`218
`
`b
`
`L— 234
`
`232
`
`VHF/UHF
`
`Input
`
`Input
`Satellite
`
`Broadcast
`
`Input
`
`Cable
`
`Player
`Disk
`
`Compact
`
`I/O BUS
`
`Disk
`Video
`Digital
`
`216
`
`Cam era
`
`Video
`
`Monitor
`TV/
`
`Recorder
`Cassette
`
`Video
`
`Con troller
`
`System
`
`214
`
`L— 230
`
`228
`
`226
`
`Unit
`I/O
`Wireless
`
`I (cid:9)
`I (cid:9)
`I (cid:9)
`
`Microphone
`
`Speakers (cid:9)
`
`& (cid:9)
`
`210 At
`Drive
`Hard
`
`Turner
`
`Audio/Video
`
`Telephone
`
`Input
`
`FIG. 2
`
`Input
`Modem
`Cable
`
`236 (cid:9)
`
`222 (cid:9)
`
`220
`
`22^
`
`238-'
`
`212
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 3 of 23
`
`(cid:9)
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 3 of 15
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`310
`
`Y2
`
`W
`
`X2
`
`In
`
`Mir
`
`300
`
`304
`
`Y
`
`z
`
`FIG. 3A
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 4 of 23
`
`(cid:9)
`(cid:9)
`

`

`Patent Application Publication (cid:9)
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 4 of 15 (cid:9)
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`FIG. 3B
`
`324
`
`322
`
`Photos
`
`Settings (cid:9)
`
`Music
`
`On Demon (cid:9)
`
`Recorded
`
`Live (cid:9) N (cid:9)
`
`Guide
`
`300
`
`320
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 5 of 23
`
`(cid:9)
`(cid:9)
`(cid:9)
`

`

`Patent Application Publication (cid:9)
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 5 of 15 (cid:9)
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`324
`
`350
`
`IE
`
`Icrestlabs.
`
`I)V U (cid:9)
`
`i4U
`FIG. 3C
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 6 of 23
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication (cid:9)
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 6 of 15 (cid:9)
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`4n4 4nR (cid:9)
`
`324
`
`400
`
`FIG. 4A
`
`400 402 404 408
`
`324
`
`FIG. 4B
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 7 of 23
`
`(cid:9)
`

`

`Patent Application Publication (cid:9)
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 7 of 15 (cid:9)
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`4n4 (cid:9)
`
`4nR
`
`324
`
`4C (cid:9)
`
`FIG. 4C
`
`324
`
`^^
`
`io
`
`404 408 (cid:9)
`402 ^ 406
`
`123
`Channel Entry
`
`IT1
`®o©
`0®E
`] ENTER
`
`76 (cid:9)
`FOOD
`
`Molto Mario (cid:9)
`(12:00pm-12 30pm, "Tratoria a Grado")
`Baked scallops; noodles with mussels;... (cid:9)
`
`CANCEL REC
`
`MORE INFO
`
`LAST CHANNEL (cid:9)
`
`I
`
`FIG. 4D
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 8 of 23
`
`(cid:9)
`(cid:9)
`

`

`Patent Application Publication (cid:9)
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 8 of 15 (cid:9)
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`500 (cid:9)
`
`324
`J (cid:9)
`
`502
`
`FIG. 5A
`
`324
`
`FIG. 5B
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 9 of 23
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication (cid:9)
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 9 of 15 (cid:9)
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`324 (cid:9)
`
`---
`
`504 (cid:9)
`FIG. 5C
`
`508
`
`FIG. 5D
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 10 of 23
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication (cid:9)
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 10 of 15 (cid:9)
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`324
`
`i
`O(2)3I5 Oâ3I5 (cid:9)
`
`Settings 630
`
`00 e
`
`DISPLAY SETTINGS CHANNEL LINEUP (cid:9)
`
`RECORDINGS PARENTAL CONTROLS
`
`/ Y
`
`I( (cid:9)
`
`FAVORITES (cid:9)
`
`0
`
`O
`ALERTS (cid:9)
`
`(SYSTEM STATUS (cid:9)
`
`SETUP WIZARD (cid:9)
`
`600
`
`640 (cid:9)
`
`620 (cid:9)
`
`610
`FIG. 6A
`
`324
`
`i Setup Wizard
`
`O n
`Welcome
`H —OM Eo
`
`The following screens will guide you through the process
`of setting up your Hillcrest HoME! system.
`
`START
`
`FIG. 6B
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 11 of 23
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication (cid:9)
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 11 of 15 (cid:9)
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`324
`
`On D O Setup Wizard
`
`Display.
`Select your screen size.
`
`DE RE (cid:9)
`
`STANDARD
`
`BACK (cid:9) (cid:127) 0 0 0 0 0 C
`
`NEXT
`
`FIG. 6C
`
`324
`
`On D O Setup Wizard
`
`Location:
`Enter your ZIP Code.
`
`20850 (cid:9)
`
`CLEAR
`
`1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
`
`BACK (cid:9)
`
`000000 C NEXT
`
`FIG. 6D
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 12 of 23
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`(cid:9)
`(cid:9)
`(cid:9)
`

`

`Patent Application Publication (cid:9)
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 12 of 15
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`324
`
`FIG. 6E
`
`324
`
`O â i (cid:9)
`
`Alerts
`
`Select to change Communication Alert status.
`
`Communication Alerts
`Display Caller ID information on screen
`when a call is received.
`OOn (cid:9)
`
`®0ff
`
`FIG. 6F
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 13 of 23
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`(cid:9)
`

`

`Patent Application Publication (cid:9)
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 13 of 15 (cid:9)
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`632 (cid:9)
`
`637 639
`
`324
`
`O n I 0 Parental Controls
`
`Current Parental Control Settings
`Television BY RATING: Unlocked
`Movies BY RATING: Unlocked
`Hide Adult Titles: Off
`BY CHANNEL: Locking 3 channels
`
`CHANGE PIN
`
`DISABLE PARENTAL CONTROLS)
`
`Temporary Disable set for
`
`hours. (cid:9)
`
`636
`634
`638
`
`FIG. 6G
`
`324
`
`632 (cid:9)
`
`637 639
`
`O n 1 0 Parental Controls
`
`Select the rating level
`you wish to lock.
`
`Hide Adult Titles
`
`N RATINGS
`TV-Y
`Tv-n
`TV-G
`TV-PG
`TV-14
`TV-MA
`db UNRATED
`® (cid:9)
`UNLOCK ALL
`
`MOVIE RATINGS
`G
`PG
`PG-13
`IR
`I NC-17
`lx
`ld (cid:9) NR
`UNLOCK ALL
`I® (cid:9)
`
`I (cid:9)
`I (cid:9)
`
`FIG. 6H
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 14 of 23
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`(cid:9)
`

`

`Patent Application Publication (cid:9)
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 14 of 15 (cid:9)
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`632 (cid:9)
`
`637 639
`
`324
`
`O n D 3 Parental Controls
`
`CHANNEL
`
`Select the channels you wish to lock.
`CH. Network Name
`2
`EDAC002
`3 CSPAN
`4 CSPAN2
`HSN
`5
`6
`LOOR006
`7 WZDCLP
`
`UNLOCK ALL
`
`FIG. 6/
`
`324
`
`FIG. 6J
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 15 of 23
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication (cid:9)
`
`Sep. 8, 2011 Sheet 15 of 15 (cid:9)
`
`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`0 a II5 D Parental Controls
`
`EN Enter PIN
`jr (cid:9)
`Please enter your PIN to continue.
`Tel (cid:9)
`590 (cid:9)
`698 (cid:9)
`Hi (cid:9)
`1 74 (cid:9)
`753 (cid:9)
`BY (cid:9)
`1 23 (cid:9)
`608 (cid:9)
`0
`ACCEPT (cid:9)
`
`825
`1462 (cid:9)
`091
`
`LS
`
`urs.
`
`CLEAR (cid:9)
`
`CANCEL
`
`FIG. 6K
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 16 of 23
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`

`

`US 2011/0219395 Al
`
`Sep. 8, 2011
`
`POINTING CAPABILITY AND ASSOCIATED
`USER INTERFACE ELEMENTS FOR
`TELEVISION USER INTERFACES
`
`RELATED APPLICATION
`
`[0001] This application is related to, and claims priority
`from, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 060/823,
`870 filed on Aug. 29, 2006, entitled "Graphical User Inter-
`face", the disclosure of which is incorporated here by refer-
`ence.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`[0002] Technologies associated with the communication of
`information have evolved rapidly over the last several
`decades. Television, cellular telephony, the Internet and opti-
`cal communication techniques (to name just a few things)
`combine to inundate consumers with available information
`and entertainment options. Taking television as an example,
`the last three decades have seen the introduction of cable
`television service, satellite television service, pay-per-view
`movies and video-on-demand. Whereas television viewers of
`the 1960s could typically receive perhaps four or five over-
`the-air TV channels on their television sets, today's TV
`watchers have the opportunity to select from hundreds, thou-
`sands, and potentially millions of channels of shows and
`information. Video-on-demand technology, currently used
`primarily in hotels and the like, provides the potential for
`in-home entertainment selection from among thousands of
`movie titles.
`[0003] The technological ability to provide so much infor-
`mation and content to end users provides both opportunities
`and challenges to system designers and service providers.
`One challenge is that while end users typically prefer having
`more choices rather than fewer, this preference is counter-
`weighted by their desire that the selection process be both fast
`and simple. Unfortunately, the development of the systems
`and interfaces by which end users access media items has
`resulted in selection processes which are neither fast nor
`simple. Consider again the example of television programs.
`When television was in its infancy, determining which pro-
`gram to watch was a relatively simple process primarily due
`to the small number of choices. One would consult a printed
`guide which was formatted, for example, as series of columns
`and rows which showed the correspondence between (1)
`nearby television channels, (2) programs being transmitted
`on those channels and (3) date and time. The television was
`tuned to the desired channel by adjusting a tuner knob and the
`viewer watched the selected program. Later, remote control
`devices were introduced that permitted viewers to tune the
`television from a distance. This addition to the user-television
`interface created the phenomenon known as "channel surf-
`ing" whereby a viewer could rapidly view short segments
`being broadcast on a number of channels to quickly learn
`what programs were available at any given time.
`[0004] Despite the fact that the number of channels and
`amount of viewable content has dramatically increased, the
`generally available user interface, control device options and
`frameworks for televisions has not changed much over the
`last 30 years. Printed guides are still the most prevalent
`mechanism for conveying programming information. The
`multiple button remote control with up and down arrows is
`still the most prevalent channel/content selection mechanism.
`The reaction of those who design and implement the TV user
`
`interface to the increase in available media content has been a
`straightforward extension of the existing selection proce-
`dures and interface objects. Thus, the number of rows in the
`printed guides has been increased to accommodate more
`channels. The number of buttons on the remote control
`devices has been increased to support additional functionality
`and content handling, e.g., as shown in FIG. 1. However, this
`approach has significantly increased both the time required
`for a viewer to review the available information and the com-
`plexity of actions required to implement a selection. Argu-
`ably, the cumbersome nature of the existing interface has
`hampered commercial implementation of some services, e.g.,
`video-on-demand, since consumers are resistant to new ser-
`vices that will add complexity to an interface that they view as
`already too slow and complex.
`[0005]
`In addition to increases in bandwidth and content,
`the user interface bottleneck problem is being exacerbated by
`the aggregation of technologies. Consumers are reacting
`positively to having the option of buying integrated systems
`rather than a number of segregable components. An example
`of this trend is the combination television/VCR/DVD in
`which three previously independent components are fre-
`quently sold today as an integrated unit. This trend is likely to
`continue, potentially with an end result that most if not all of
`the communication devices currently found in the household
`will be packaged together as an integrated unit, e.g., a televi-
`sion/VCR/DVD/internet access/radio/stereo unit. Even those
`who continue to buy separate components will likely desire
`seamless control of, and interworking between, the separate
`components. With this increased aggregation comes the
`potential for more complexity in the user interface. For
`example, when so-called "universal" remote units were intro-
`duced, e.g., to combine the functionality of TV remote units
`and VCR remote units, the number of buttons on these uni-
`versal remote units was typically more than the number of
`buttons on either the TV remote unit or VCR remote unit
`individually. This added number of buttons and functionality
`makes it very difficult to control anything but the simplest
`aspects of a TV or VCR without hunting for exactly the right
`button on the remote. Many times, these universal remotes do
`not provide enough buttons to access many levels of control
`or features unique to certain TVs. In these cases, the original
`device remote unit is still needed, and the original hassle of
`handling multiple remotes remains due to user interface
`issues arising from the complexity of aggregation. Some
`remote units have addressed this problem by adding "soft"
`buttons that can be programmed with the expert commands.
`These soft buttons sometimes have accompanying LCD dis-
`plays to indicate their action. These too have the flaw that they
`are difficult to use without looking away from the TV to the
`remote control. Yet another flaw in these remote units is the
`use of modes in an attempt to reduce the number ofbuttons. In
`these "moded" universal remote units, a special button exists
`to select whether the remote should communicate with the
`TV, DVD player, cable set-top box, VCR, etc. This causes
`many usability issues including sending commands to the
`wrong device, forcing the user to look at the remote to make
`sure that it is in the right mode, and it does not provide any
`simplification to the integration of multiple devices. The most
`advanced of these universal remote units provide some inte-
`gration by allowing the user to program sequences of com-
`mands to multiple devices into the remote. This is such a
`difficult task that many users hire professional installers to
`program their universal remote units.
`
`EX. 1009
`LG Electronics, Inc. / Page 17 of 23
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`

`US 2011/0219395 Al
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`Sep. 8, 2011
`
`2
`
`[0006] Some attempts have also been made to modernize
`the screen interface between end users and media systems.
`However, these attempts typically suffer from, among other
`drawbacks, an inability to easily scale between large collec-
`tions of media items and small collections of media items. For
`example, interfaces which rely on lists of items may work
`well for small collections of media items, but are tedious to
`browse for large collections of media items. Interfaces which
`rely on hierarchical navigation (e.g., tree structures) may be
`speedier to traverse than list interfaces for large collections of
`media items, but are not readily adaptable to small collections
`of media items. Additionally, users tend to lose interest in
`selection processes wherein the user has to move through
`three or more layers in a tree structure. For all of these cases,
`current remote units make this selection process even more
`tedious by forcing the user to repeatedly depress the up and
`down buttons to navigate the list or hierarchies. When selec-
`tion skipping controls are available such as page up and page
`down, the user usually has to look at the remote to find these
`special buttons or be trained to know that they even exist.
`Accordingly, organizing frameworks, techniques and sys-
`tems which simplify the control and screen interface between
`users and media systems as well as accelerate the selection
`process, while at the same time permitting service providers
`to take advantage of the increases in available bandwidth to
`end user equipment by facilitating the supply of a large num-
`ber of media items and new services to the user have been
`proposed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/768,432, filed
`on Jan. 30, 2004, entitled "A Control Framework with a
`Zoomable Graphical User Interface for Organizing, Selecting
`and Launching Media Items", the disclosure of which is
`incorporated here by reference.
`[0007] In addition to being able to navigate through and
`select media items, such as movies, music, photos and per-
`sonal videos, another feature which is likely to become
`increasingly popular with consumers is the capability to point
`at a television and interact with user interface elements dis-
`played thereon via pointing. Pointing provides a powerful
`interactive tool, familiar to those who have used computers,
`and avoids the problems with the "up/down/left/right" para-
`digm described above. The introduction of pointing into user
`interfaces which enable users to interact with the television
`and associated devices, will in turn drive demand for new and
`creative user interface elements.
`
`SUMMARY
`
`[0008] According to an exemplary embodiment, a televi-
`sion system includes a television, a user interface for control-
`ling output of media via the television, the user interface
`being displayed on the television and including a channel
`changing element which overlays video being output on the
`television, and a pointing device for providing pointing and
`selection inputs to the user interface by interacting with the
`channel changing element to enable selection of a new chan-
`nel for outputting the video.
`[0009] According to another exemplary embodiment, a
`method for controlling a television includes displaying a user
`interface for changing channels on the television, providing
`input to the user interface by pointing at a user interface
`element overlaid on video being displayed on the television
`using a pointing device, and controlling media output on the
`television based on the input.
`[0010] According to yet another exemplary embodiment, a
`television system includes a television, a user interface for
`
`controlling output of media via the television, the user inter-
`face being displayed on the television and including a user
`interface view which enables a user to change settings asso-
`ciated with the user interface; and a pointing device for pro-
`viding pointing and selection inputs to the user interface by
`interacting with the user interface view to enable selection of
`settings for the user interface.
`[0011] According to still another exemplary embodiment, a
`method for controlling a television includes displaying a user
`interface for controlling output of media via the television, the
`user interface being displayed on the television and including
`a user interface view which enables a user to change settings
`associated with the user interface, and receiving pointing and
`selection inputs to the user interface to enable selection of
`settings for the user interface.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`[0012] The accompanying drawings illustrate exemplary
`embodiments of the present invention, wherein:
`[0013] FIG. 1 depicts a conventional remote control unit for
`an entertainment system;
`[0014] FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary media system in which
`exemplary embodiments of the present invention can be
`implemented;
`[0015] FIG. 3(a) shows a 3D pointing device according to
`an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
`[0016] FIG. 3(b) illustrates a user employing a 3D pointing
`device to provide input to a user interface on a television
`according to an exemplary embodiment of the present inven-
`tion;
`[0017] FIG. 3(c) illustrates a home UI view of a user inter-
`face according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
`invention;
`[0018] FIGS. 4(a)-4(d) illustrate user interface screens
`associated with TV control user interface elements and func-
`tionality according to an exemplary embodiment of the
`present invention;
`[0019] FIGS. 5(a)-5(d) illustrate user interface screens
`associated with TV control user interface elements and func-
`tionality according to another exemplary embodiment of the
`present invention; and
`[0020] FIGS. 6(a)-6(k) illustrate user interface screens
`associated with TV control user interface elements and func-
`tionality according to yet another exemplary embodiment of
`the present invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`[0021] The following detailed description of the invention
`refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference
`numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar
`elements. Also, the following detailed description does not
`limit the invention. Instead, the scope of the invention is
`defined by the appended claims.
`[0022] In order to provide some context for this discussion,
`an exemplary aggregated media system 200 in which the
`present invention can be implemented will first be described
`with respect to FIG. 2. Those skilled in the art will appreciate,
`however, that the present invention is not restricted to imple-
`mentation in this type of media system and that more or fewer
`components can be included therein. Therein, an input/output
`(I/O) bus 210 connects the system components in the media
`system 200 together. The I/O bus 210 represents any of a
`number of different of mechanisms and techniques for rout-
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`ing signals between the media system components. For
`example, the I/O bus 210 may include an appropriate number
`of independent audio "patch" cables that route audio signals,
`coaxial cables that route video signals, two-wire serial lines
`or infrared or radio frequency transceivers that route control
`signals, optical fiber or any other routing mechanisms that
`route other types of signals.
`[0023] In this exemplary embodiment, the media system
`200 includes a television/monitor 212, a video cassette
`recorder (VCR) 214, digital video disk (DVD) recorder/play-
`back device 216, audio/video tuner 218 and compact disk
`player 220 coupled to the I/O bus 210. The VCR 214, DVD
`216 and compact disk player 220 may be single disk or single
`cassette devices, or alternatively may be multiple disk or
`multiple cassette devices. They may be independent units or
`integrated together. In addition, the media system 200
`includes a microphone/speaker system 222, video camera
`224 and a wireless I/O control device 226. According to
`exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the wire-
`less I/O control device 226 is a 3D pointing device. The
`wireless I/O control device 226 can communicate with the
`entertainment system 200 using, e.g., an IR or RF transmitter
`or transceiver. Alternatively, the I/O control device can be
`connected to the entertainment system 200 via a wire. One or
`more hard drives (or disks) 280 can be provided for storage of
`recorded video, music or other media.
`[0024] The entertainment system 200 also includes a sys-
`tem controller 228. According to one exemplary embodiment
`of the present invention, the system controller 228 operates to
`store and display entertainment system data available from a
`plurality of entertainment system data sources and to control
`a wide variety of features associated with each of the system
`components. As shown in FIG. 2, system controller 228 is
`coupled, either directly or indirectly, to each of the system
`components, as necessary, through I/O bus 210. In one exem-
`plary embodiment, in addition to or in place of I/O bus 210,
`system controller 228 is configured with a wireless commu-
`nication transmitter (or transceiver), which is capable of com-
`municating with the system components via IR signals or RF
`signals. Regardless of the control medium, the system con-
`troller 228 is configured to control the media components of
`the media system 200 via a graphical user interface described
`below.
`[0025] As further illustrated in FIG. 2, media system 200
`may be configured to receive media items from various media
`sources and service providers. In this exemplary embodi-
`ment, media system 200 receives media input from and,
`optionally, sends information to, any or all of the following
`sources: cable broadcast 230, satellite broadcast 232 (e.g., via
`a satellite dish), very high frequency (VHF) or ultra high
`frequency (UHF) radio frequency communication of the
`broadcast television networks 234 (e.g., via an aerial
`antenna), telephone network 236 and cable modem 238 (or
`another source of Internet content). Those skilled in the art
`will appreciate that the media components and media sources
`illustrated and described with respect to FIG. 2 are purely
`exemplary and that media system 200 may include more or
`fewer ofboth. For example, other types of inputs to the system
`include AM/FM radio and satellite radio.
`[0026] More details regarding this exemplary entertain-
`ment system and frameworks associated therewith can be
`found in the above-incorporated by reference U.S. patent
`application entitled "A Control Framework with a Zoomable
`Graphical User Interface for Organizing, Selecting and
`
`Launching Media Items". Additionally, the interested reader
`is also referred to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/437,
`215, entitled "Global Navigation Objects in User Interfaces",
`filed on May 19, 2006, the disclosure of which is incorporated
`here by reference. Alternatively, remote devices and interac-
`tion techniques between remote devices and user interfaces in
`accordance with the present invention can be used in conjunc-
`tion with other types of systems, for example computer sys-
`tems including, e.g., a display, a processor and a memory
`system or with various other systems and applications.
`[0027] As mentioned in the Background section, remote
`devices which operate as 3D pointers are of particular interest
`for the present specification, although the present invention is
`not limited to systems including 3D pointers. Such devices
`enable the translation of movement of the device, e.g., linear
`movement, rotational movement, acceleration or any combi-
`nation thereof, into commands to a user interface. An exem-
`plary loop-shaped, 3D pointing device 300 is depicted in FIG.
`3(a), however the present invention is not limited to loop-
`shaped devices. In this exemplary embodiment, the 3D point-
`ing device 300 includes two buttons 302 and 304 as well as a
`scroll wheel 306 (scroll wheel 306 can also act as a button by
`depressing the scroll wheel 306), although other exemplary
`embodiments will include other physical configurations.
`User movement of the 3D pointing device 300 can be defined,
`for example, in terms of rotation about one or more of an
`x-axis attitude (roll), a y-axis elevation (pitch) or a z-axis
`heading (yaw). In addition, some exemplary embodiments of
`the present invention can additionally (or alternatively) mea-
`sure linear movement of the 3D pointing device 300 along the
`x, y, and/or z axes to generate cursor movement or other user
`interface commands. An example is provided below. A num-
`ber of permutations and variations relating to 3D pointing
`devices can be implemented in systems according to exem-
`plary embodiments of the present invention. The interested
`reader is referred to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/119,
`663, entitled (as amended) "3D Pointing Devices and Meth-
`ods", filed on May 2, 2005, U.S. patent application Ser. No.
`11/119,719, entitled (as amended) "3D Pointing Devices with
`Tilt Compensation and Improved Usability", also filed on
`May 2, 2005, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/119,987,
`entitled (as amended) "Methods and Devices for Removing
`Unintentional Movement in 3D Pointing Devices", also filed
`on May 2, 2005, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/119,688,
`entitled "Methods and Devices for Identifying Users Based
`on Tremor", also filed on May 2, 2005, and U.S. patent
`application Ser. No. 11/480,662, entitled "3D Pointing
`Devices", filed on Jul. 3, 2006, the disclosures of which are
`incorporated here by reference, for more details regarding
`exemplary 3D pointing devices which can be used in con-
`junction with exemplary embodiments of the present inven-
`tion.
`[0028] According to exemplary embodiments of the
`present invention, it is anticipated that 3D pointing devices
`300 will be held by a user in front of a display 308 and that
`motion of the 3D pointing device 300 will be translated by the
`3D pointing device into output which is usable to interact with
`the information displayed on display 308, e.g., to move the
`cursor 310 on the display 308. For example, such 3D pointing
`devices and their associated user interfaces can be used to
`make media selections on a television as shown in FIG. 3(b),
`which will be described in more detail below. Aspects of
`exemplary embodiments of the present invention can be opti-
`mized to enhance the user's experience of the so-called "10-
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`foot" interface, i.e., a typical distance between a user and his
`or her television in a living room. For example, interactions
`between pointing, scrolling, zooming and panning, e.g., using
`a 3D pointing device and associated user interface, can be
`optimized for this environment as will be described below,
`although the present invention is not limited thereto.
`[0029] Referring again to FIG. 3(a), an exemplary relation-
`ship between movement of the 3D pointing device 300 and
`corresponding cursor movement on a user interface will now
`be described. Rotation of the 3D pointing device 300 about
`the y-axis can be sensed by the 3D pointing device 300 and
`translated into an output usable by the system to move cursor
`310 along the y2 axis of the display 308. Likewise, rotation of
`the 3D pointing device 308 about the z-axis can be sensed by
`the 3D pointing device 300 and translated into an output
`usable by the system to move cursor 310 along the x 2 axis of
`the display 308. It will be appreciated that the output of 3D
`pointing device 300 can be used to interact with the display
`308 in a number of ways other than (or in addition to) cursor
`movement, for example it can control cursor fading, volume
`or media transport (play, pause, fast-forward and rewind).
`Additionally, the system can be programmed to recognize
`gestures, e.g., predetermined movement patterns, to convey
`commands in addition to cursor movement. Moreover, other
`input commands, e.g., a zoom-in or zoom-out on a particular
`region of a display (e.g., actuated by pressing button 302 to
`zoom-in or button 304 to zoom-out), may also be available to
`the user.
`[0030] According to exemplary embodiments of the
`present invention, user interfaces may use, at least in part,
`zooming techniques for moving between user interface
`views. The zooming transition effect can be performed by
`progressive scaling and displaying of at least some of the UI
`objects displayed on the current UI view to provide a visual
`impression of movement of those UI objects away from an
`observer. In another functional aspect of the present inven-
`tion, user interfaces may zoom-in in response to user interac-
`tion with the user interface which will, likewise, result in the
`progressive scaling and display of UI objects that provide the
`visual impression of movement toward an observer. More
`information relating to zoomable user interfaces can be found
`in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/768,432, filed on Jan.
`30, 2004, entitled "A Control Framework with a Zoomable
`Graphical User Interface for Organizing, Selecting and
`Launching Media Items", and U.S. patent application Ser.
`No. 09/829,263, filed on Apr. 9, 2001, entitled "Interactive
`Content Guide for Television Programming", the disclosures
`of which are incorporated here by reference.
`[0031] Movement within the user interface between differ-
`ent user interface views is not limited to zooming. Other
`non-zooming techniques can be used, in addition to zooming
`or as an alternative thereto, to transition between user inter-
`face views. For example, panning can be performed by pro-
`gressive translation and display of at least some of the user
`interface objects which are currently displayed in