MXPA00007164A - Home entertainment system and method of its operation - Google Patents

Abstract

An EPG database for a home entertainment system includes files that contain information about television programs retrievable by time and channel. The files are linked to each other so information about a future television program can be obtained by accessing a file about a current television program. A current television program displayed on the screen (20) of a home entertainment system includes an announcement or advertisement (56) of a future television program. The availability of an electronic program guide function (54) is signaled during, before, or after the announcement. A command is issued to invoke the EPG function (54). The information about the future television program is retrieved from the file about the current television program in the database. The EPG function (54) is executed with the retrieved information. The EPG function can be performed with respect to a future television program without embedding information about the future television program in the television signal.

Description

HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR YOUR OPERATION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a home entertainment system and a method for its operation and, more particularly, relates to a mode for facilitating the functions of guiding an electronic program (EPG) with respect to the promotion of future television programs in a home entertainment system.

Background of the Invention The Patent of the United States of America No. 4,997,455 which was issued on December 11, 1990, describes a system and process for supplying supplementary information after the user responds to a signal or indication. The signal or indication is provided during a broadcast to indicate the availability of supplementary information in relation to the broadcast. The supplementary information is preferably sent in a later period of time, although the programming information for the supplementary information is sent with the broadcasting. After the user responds to the signal or indication, the programming information is stored first and then used to record the supplementary information. In one modality, supplementary data is sent to the VBI of the video signal.

Brief Description of the Invention According to one aspect of the invention, a current television program displayed on the screen of a home entertainment system includes a commercial or advertisement of a future television program. The availability of an electronic program guide function is displayed during, before, or after the commercial. A command is issued to invoke the EPG function. An EPG database for the home entertainment system includes files that contain information about television programs that can be recovered with respect to time and the channel. The files are linked together so that information about a future television program can be obtained by accessing the file about the current television program. Information about the future television program is retrieved from the file related to the current television program in the database. The EPG function is executed with the recovered information. As a result, an EGP function can be performed with respect to a future television program without interleaving the information about the future television program in the television signal. The invention can be used to perform various EGP functions, including, without limitation, registration, surveillance, details, display time, display channel, theme display, and Internet connection. In accordance with an optional feature of the invention, an election menu is displayed in response to a command after the display of an icon indicating the availability of an EGP function during, before or after the commercial or announcement. According to another optional feature of the invention, a plurality of icons is displayed on the screen to display different EPG functions, which can be invoked by selecting the corresponding icon.

Brief Description of the Drawings The characteristics of the specific modalities of the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention are illustrated in the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a home entertainment system incorporating the principles of the invention; Figure 2 is a diagram of an exhibit screen illustrating an icon that signals the availability of an EPG function with respect to a future television program; Figure 3 is a diagram of an exhibit screen that suggests to an observer the selection of a number of EPG functions; Figure 4 is a diagram of an exhibition screen that suggests to an observer the selection of among the choices for the frequency in which a television program is going to be registered; Figure 5 is a diagram of an exhibition screen illustrating the simultaneous display of a current television program and the textual data from a website of the Internet network; Figure 6 is a diagram of an exhibit screen illustrating a modality in which one or more trades are stored for later use; and Figure 7 is a diagram of an exhibit screen in which separate icons are used to send signals of the availability of the different EPG functions.

Detailed Description of the Specific Modalities In a specific embodiment of the invention, an icon is displayed on a television screen during a broadcast of a commercial or announcement of a later broadcast program or of some other type of visual or audio signal that alerts the viewer that a function Electronic program guide (EPG) can be performed without actually entering the EPG or at least without entering the EPG from the start. For example, if the observer wishes to record the program being announced on a VCR, the observer outputs an appropriate command from a remote controller, for example, by clicking on the icon with the selection or introduction key of the remote control, and the time and channel of the program related to the announcement are stored in the memory of stacks or register blocks of the VCR. Preferably, a message is momentarily displayed in a box on the screen to confirm that the functions will be performed. If desired, a question could also be displayed about whether the program should be shown once or more times, for example, daily or weekly. 0, for example, if the observer wants to see more details about the program related to the announcement, the observer clicks on the icon and the details are retrieved from the RAM in which the EPG data is stored and either replaces the warning on the screen or are displayed in a box on the screen. Alternatively, the advertisement could be displayed in a PIP window according to the referred PCT application. 0, for example, if the observer wishes to observe that other programs are being broadcast at the same time, on the same channel, or with the same theme as the program related to the announcement, the observer clicks on the icon and the EPG is displayed for the same time and day, the same channel, or the same subject as the program related to the announcement If more than one function is available to the observer, the choice of the functions is displayed first in a menu when the observer does Click on the icon and the function is executed when the observer after that clicks on the displayed choices A home entertainment system is shown in Figure 1. A source of television signals 10 such as a terrestrial antenna, or a cable , is connected to a television tuner 11. The output of the tuner 11 is a modulated intermediate frequency signal containing the audio and video television information. r 11 is connected by an intermediate frequency amplifier (IF AMP) 12 to an image detector (DET. IMAGE) 13 and a sound detector (SOUND DET) 14, which produce video and audio signals from the base band, respectively. The audio signal is coupled by a sound amplifier (AMP SOUND) 15 to a loudspeaker 16. The video signal is coupled by a video amplifier not shown, to an input of a switch 18. The sound detector 14 and the image detector 13 are connected to the audio and video inputs, respectively, of a video cassette recorder (VCR) 17. (Alternatively, the source 10 of the television signal could be connected directly to the RF input of the VCR 17 in a well-known way, if your internal tuner and demodulation circuits are going to be used). The output of the VCR 17 is connected to the other input of the switch 18. The output of the switch 18 is connected to an input of a conventional picture-in-picture (PIP) chip 19. The output of the chip 19 of the PIP is connected to the video input of a television receiver or display monitor (TV) 20 having a screen (not shown). A updatable database of planning the program listings of all available channels for a prescribed period of time, for example, a day or a week, is stored electronically in a program planning memory 22, preferably a RAM. The memory 22 is connected to a microprocessor 24 which is configured, i.e. programmed, to control the operation of the described equipment. An operating program for the microprocessor 24 is stored in a memory only for reading (ROM) 26.

These program listings typically include for each program, the title, a description of the program (detail), the day of the week, the start time of the day, the duration of the program, and the channel over which the program is transmitted and therefore available for reception at source 10. These program listings are recoverable for the time and the channel. In addition, to implement the invention these program listings are organized into files; the files are linked or related to each other so that information about a future television program that is advertised in a previous television program can be obtained by accessing a file about the previous television program. The database can be updated by a transmission link of the data in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of a broadcast of the television channel to the television receiver in a well-known manner. A VBI decoder 38 is connected between the DET. of PICTURE 13 and microprocessor 24 for this purpose. Alternatively, the database can be updated by unplugging the memory 22 and replacing it with a memory having the updated database or another data transmission link such as an Internet connection or a pager in the 900 MHz band. An observer input device 28, preferably in the form of a remote IR control, is coupled to the microprocessor 24 to issue the commands from the observer. A video processor 30 is coupled to the microprocessor 24. When the viewer wants to see the listings of the television programs, the microprocessor 24 returns or retrieves a portion of the program planning database from the memory 22 and couples it. to video processor 30, wherein the program listings are formatted for display. Preferably, the information stored in the video processor 30 is a bitmap of what is displayed on the screen of the television receiver 20. The video processor 30 is connected through a switch 40 to the other input of the chip. PIP 19. Preferably, the input device 28 of the observer controls the microprocessor 24 by the movement of the cursor on the screen of the television receiver 20. For this purpose, the microprocessor 24 and the video processor 30 are coupled to the recorder of the position 32 of the cursor. (Alternatively, the observer may select the information points displayed on the screen by typing in the observer's entry device 28 the code numbers assigned to these points or items). The microprocessor 24 is also coupled to the tuner 11 for changing the channel, to the VCR 17 for the selection of the record / playback and the start / stop, to the switches 18 and 40 for the selection of one of its inputs, to a chip of PIP 19 for the selection of the PIP operation mode. An Internet connection 42 through a telephone line or bidirectional cable is controlled by the microprocessor 24. The microprocessor 24 retrieves the address of the network site to which the observer wishes to connect. The Internet connection 42 has the required components for the implementation of the TV to the Network. The information retrieved from the recipient's network site is coupled or linked from the Internet connection 42 through the switch 40 to an input of the chip. of PIP 19 for display on the TV screen 20. In operation, the tuner 11 is adjusted to a selected channel of the observer by the microprocessor 24 in response to the input device 28. During an intermission in the television program on the selected channel, a commercial or advertisement for another television program that is going to be broadcast at a later time is displayed on the TV screen 20. Transmitted as a part of the image of the advertisement is an icon that indicates to the observer that it is possible to link to an EPG function. Alternatively, the icon could be transmitted in the VBI during the announcement, retrieved by the VBI decoder 38, transformed into the graphic form in the video processor 30, and superimposed on the advertisement image. (If desired, the icon could be displayed immediately before or immediately after the announcement). The designated advertisement 50 and an icon 52 are illustrated in Figure 2. When the observer outputs a command from the input device 28, either a desired key or by placing a cursor over the icon 52 with the arrow keys and making click on all the keys of the multipurpose actuator (input), a box 54 is superimposed on the warning 50 as illustrated in Figure 3 to suggest to the observer that he invoke an EGP function. A menu of EGP functions is displayed in box 54, especially: 1. register the notice program when it is broadcast at a later time; 2. trigger the television to observe the announced program when it is broadcast at a later time; 3. display the details of the program announced now; 4. display a list of broadcast programs at the same time as the announced program of 'so that the observer can compare the announced program with other offers at the same time; 5. display a list of broadcast programs on the same channel as the announced program so that the observer can compare the announced program with other offers on the same channel; 6. display a list of programs in the same category or topic as the announced program so that the observer can determine the availability of programs of the same genre as the announced program; 7. connect to the Internet to get more details about the announced program than those that are available through the details function; and 8. return to the television program. The observer selects one of the functions, for example moving a cursor to the menu item and then issuing another command to invoke the selected function. For example, the observer could highlight or shade "3", and click to display the details about the announced program. If the observer wishes to make disappear the box 5'0, the observer selects "8", the function of return. Other functions not listed in Figure 3 could also be offered. For example, all the times that the announced program is broadcast could be displayed on the screen or a news story related to the announced program could be displayed on the screen, particularly in the case of a sporting event.

With reference to the previous PCT application, EPG information about television programs can be retrieved by time and channel; for example, a list of the preset time includes the addresses that aim to show the information packets (SIP) for television programs. Each television program that has an icon 52 includes in its SIP an address that points to the planning information, that is, the day, time, channel, and duration, of the announced program that is to be broadcast in a certain time. later, whereby the information of the two television programs is linked. If the "record" or "watchdog" function is selected, the channel is read from the tuner 11 and the time is read from the real-time clock in the microprocessor 24. From this information, the SIP pointer for the Current television program is retrieved from the pre-established time list. The recovered pointer allows the microprocessor 24 to find the SIP for the current television program, which contains the address that points to the planning information for the announced program. The planning information is stored in a memory block so that the microprocessor 23 can adjust the tuner 11 to the appropriate channel and activate the VCR for future registration without attention or to activate the television for future automatic surveillance or observation in the time pointed or pointed out in a well-known way. The program listing files stored in memory 22 could be organized in any number of other ways since information about future programs is announced that is "linked" to a current program, that is, can be retrieved when a program Current is being displayed with a signaling icon of the EPG function. For example, information about future programs could be linked to common or usual programs including commercial ones because they are part of the same file as current programs instead of being linked by a pointer. When the registration function is selected, a box 56 is superimposed on the advertisement as illustrated in Figure 4 to suggest the user to select a registration option. A menu of record options is displayed in box 56. (These record options are also considered to be EPG functions when the term is used here because they are functions that can normally be performed by an EPG). The observer can record the announced program as follows: 1. once; 2. daily; 3. per week; or 4. each time program in a series (for example, the NBA championship games) is broadcast.

The observer selects one of the registration options to move a cursor to a menu item, for example, "3" and clicks to register the announced weekly program. As an additional feature, if the series option is selected in Figure 4, a list of each presentation of the episodes of the series can be displayed; then when a particular episode is selected, a summary of the episode could be displayed then. From the summary the observer could select the individual episodes of the series to plan the surveillance or registration. The menus shown in Figures 3 and 4 could be stored in the memory 22 in the company of the EPG database and superimposed on the image of the commercial or notice by means of a video switch or other means not shown in Figure 1 .

If the detail function is selected, the detailed information (the description of the program) is retrieved from the SIP of the future program that is announced and displayed on the TV screen 20. If the time, channel, or function of the subject is selected, the channel is read from the tuner 11 and the time is read from a real-time clock in the microprocessor 24. From this information, the point or pointers of the desired SIP or SIPs are retrieved from the preset time list. The recovered pointer or pointer allows the microprocessor 24 to find the desired SIP or SIPs, from which the program listings for the same time, channel, or theme as the announced program, are extracted and fed to the video processor 30 for the display on the monitor in the same way as the data for an ordinary guide described in the referred PCT application. Alternatively, if the time function or channel is selected, the time and channel in a grid guide (reference US Application No. 09 / 120,488) could be displayed so that the observer can observe the other programs available thereon. channel or at the same time in a grid guide format. In this case, an announced program or a broadcast program approximately at the same time or in the same channel can be programmed directly for registration or surveillance using the planning or scheduling capability of the guide itself. (See U.S. Patent No. 5,353,121, the description of which is incorporated herein for reference). If the Internet function is selected, the system adjusts a connection to a network site where more information is available about the other television program to which the commercial or advertisement refers. The website address of the network (URL) could be interleaved in the VBI of the television signal carried by the commercial, stored in the television receiver in the EPG database as part of the SIP for the current television program , or retrieved from a central database through a telephone connection. After the Internet connection is established, as illustrated in Figure 5, the television program is displayed in a PIP window 58 with the information of the network site in the background 60, or vice versa. Alternatively, the information from the network site could replace the television program on the screen. In any case, the observer can navigate around the network site in the normal way to find the desired information. Instead of appearing during a commercial or advertisement, the icon 52 could appear during the television program itself. When the observer outputs the command in response to the icon 52, a box 62 is displayed on the screen. A commercial or announcement of the subsequent broadcast program appears in box 62. If the observer is interested in the last broadcast program, the observer outputs another command from the input device 28 and box 54 (Figure 3) is displayed as described above. Instead of a commercial or announcement of a subsequent broadcast program, the commercial could refer to a current program on another channel. This is particularly applicable to a network that broadcasts a plurality of programs concurrently on different channels, as in the case of the HDTV environment. The network can thus promote its other program that offers to be broadcast at the same time. The observer can register the other program and continue to monitor or observe the program he or she had been observing. Therefore, the term "future programs" in this specification is used to facilitate the understanding of the inventive principles, but this term also refers to a current program on another channel. Another alternative is to store one or more commercials of a program or later broadcast programs while the television is off. After the television is turned on, the icon 52 is displayed on the screen to alert the viewer that there are stored merchants. When the observer outputs a command from the input device 28, the commercial appears on the screen, as illustrated in Figure 6, in succession. If the observer is interested in the announced program, the observer outputs another command from the input device 28 and box 54 (Figure 3) is displayed as described above. Instead of a single icon 52 (Figure 1) that invokes a menu of choices of EPG functions (Figure 3), a plurality of icons 52a, 52b, and 52c could be displayed as shown in Figure 7 to derive the menu of Figure 3. Each icon is marked with a mnemonic device to enable the observer to distinguish from other icons, for example "R" means "record", "W" means "monitoring or observation", and "D" means "details". When the observer selects one of the icons, for example, by clicking on the selected icon, the corresponding EPG function is invoked directly. The described embodiments of the invention are considered only to be preferred and illustrative of the concept of the invention; the scope of the invention will not be restricted to such modality. Various and numerous other arrangements can be contemplated by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. For example, although a visual icon is preferred, an audible signal could be given to alert the observer to the presence of a commercial or notice. In addition, if only the registration function is available, the menu of Figure 3 could be derived and the menu of Figure 4 could be displayed directly; alternatively, if only another EPG function is available, the menu in Figure 3 could be derived in favor of a suggestion to confirm the EPG function or the display of some other menu of appropriate suggestions or orientations.

It is noted that in relation to this date the best method known by the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following

Claims (38)

1. A method for operating a home entertainment system that includes an exhibit screen, the method is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: displaying a current television program on the screen; automatically display a commercial or unsolicited advertisement from another television program about the current television program on the screen; send automatic signals through the system, with an unsolicited signal, of the availability of an electronic program guide function (EPG) with respect to the other television program during, before, or after the commercial or announcement when an observer is observing the current television program; store in memory an EPG database that includes the records containing the information about the television programs; retrieve information about the other television program from the EPG database by responding to the unsolicited automatic signal or responding to the unsolicited advertisement or commercial; and execute the EPG function with. the information recovered.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the function of EPG is "recorded", the information about the other television program is time, day, channel, and duration, the recovery step recovers the time, the day, the channel, and the duration of the other television program, and the execution step plans the other television program for unattended registration.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the function of EPG is "read or watch", the information about the other television program is time, day, channel, and duration, the recovery step recovers the time, day, channel, and duration of the other television program, and the execution step schedules the other television program to be displayed on the screen when it is broadcast.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the EPG function is "provide details", the information about the other television program is to provide details about the other television program, the recovery step retrieves the details, and the step of execution displays the details on the screen.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it also comprises the step of outputting a command from the observer to invoke the recovery and execution steps.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the automatic unsolicited signal exhibits an icon that appears in at least one of the commercial, the warning, or a television program.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that it additionally comprises the step of outputting a command from the observer to invoke the recovery and execution steps, wherein the issuance of the observer command includes responding to the icon.

8. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that it additionally comprises displaying a commercial or an advertisement after issuing the command of the observer.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the automatic unsolicited signal exhibits a plurality of icons that appear in at least one of the commercial, the advertisement, or the television program.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that it additionally comprises the step of issuing an observer command to invoke the recovery and execution steps, wherein the issuance of the observer command includes the selection of one of the plurality of icons, each icon that represents a different EPG function.

11. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the other television program passes at the same time as the current program.

12. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the other television program is a future program.

13. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it additionally comprises providing a network that concurrently broadcasts a plurality of programs on different channels, respectively, including the current television program and another.

14. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that it additionally comprises registering the other program concurrently and observing or monitoring the current program.

15. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it additionally comprises storing a commercial of the program while the television is off.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that it additionally comprises activating the television and displaying an icon to alert the observer of the existence of the commercial or advertisement stored.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that it additionally comprises issuing an observer command to observe and display the stored commercial.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that there is more than one 'stored commercial and stored trades are observed in succession.

19. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that it additionally comprises responding to the display of the stored commercial to invoke the recovery and execution steps.

20. A home entertainment system, characterized in that it comprises: a monitor having a screen; a television receiver adapted to display a current television program on a screen; a commercial or unsolicited advertisement of another television program is automatically displayed on the current television program, on the screen; an unsolicited, automatic signal indicating the availability of an electronic program guide function (EPG) with respect to the other television program when an observer is watching or watching the current television program; a memory in which an EPG database is stored which includes the files containing information about the television programs, the current television program and the other television program are linked together so that the information about the other television program can be obtained by responding to the unsolicited automatic signal or by responding to the commercial or unsolicited announcement, and a microprocessor configured to accept a command from the observer to invoke the EPG function, to retrieve information about the other television program from the EPG database, and to execute the EPG 'function with the information retrieved.

21. The home entertainment system according to claim 20, characterized in that the automatic unsolicited signal sends signals during, before, or after the commercial or announcement.

22. The home entertainment system according to claim 20, characterized in that the observer's command is a response to the automatic unsolicited signal.

23. The home entertainment system according to claim 20, characterized in that the automatic unsolicited signal exhibits an icon that appears in at least one of the commercial, the advertisement, and a television program.

24. The home entertainment system according to claim 23, characterized in that it additionally comprises an on-screen display of an election list of the EPG functions in response to the observer's command after the icon is displayed and a choice of the selection of the EPG function, the microprocessor is configured to execute the selected EPG function.

25. The home entertainment system according to claim 20, characterized in that the signal exhibits a plurality of icons on the screen, each icon representing a different EPG function.

26. The home entertainment system according to claim 25, characterized in that it additionally comprises a selector of one of the icons, the microprocessor is configured to execute the selected EPG function.

27. The home entertainment system according to claim 20, characterized in that the other television program is concurrent with the current program.

28. The home entertainment system according to claim 20, characterized in that the other television program is a future program.

29. The home entertainment system according to claim 20, characterized in that additionally comprises a network that concurrently broadcasts a plurality of programs on different channels, respectively, the network broadcasts the current program and the other program.

30. The home entertainment system according to claim 20, characterized in that the current program is observed or watched while the other program is being recorded or recorded.

31. The home entertainment system according to claim 20, characterized in that it additionally comprises a memory in which a commercial of the program is stored while the television is inactive or off.

32. The home entertainment system according to claim 31, characterized in that it additionally comprises an alert icon activated when the television is activated, the alert icon sends signals of the availability of the commercial or advertisement stored.

33. The home entertainment system according to claim 32, characterized in that the microprocessor is configured to accept a command from the observer in response to the alert icon, where the stored commercial is displayed on the screen in response to the command of the observer responding to the Alert icon.

34. The home entertainment system according to claim 33, characterized in that it additionally comprises an on-screen display of a list of choices of EPG functions that are activated in response to the observer's command, in response to the alert icon, and a selector of the choice of EPG function; the microprocessor is configured to accept and execute a selected EPG function.

35. The home entertainment system according to claim 33, characterized in that there is more than one commercial or advertisement stored and the commercials or advertisements stored are observed in succession.

36. A method for operating a home entertainment system that includes an exhibit screen, the method is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: displaying on the screen a current television program that includes an automatic display of a commercial or announcement of another program of television, where the automatic display of the commercial or advertisement does not result from the action of an observer, where the other television program is one of a current or future television program; perform automatic signaling by the system of the availability of an electronic program guide function (EPG) with respect to the other television program during, before, or after the commercial or notice when the observer is watching or watching the current television program , where automatic signaling does not result from the action taken by the observer; store in memory an EPG database that includes the information that contains the files about the television programs; retrieve information about the other television program from the EPG database by responding to the automatic signal or the commercial or warning; and execute the EPG function with the recovered information.

37. The method according to claim 36, characterized in that the television program is displayed on the total area of the display screen.

38. A home entertainment system, characterized in that it comprises: a monitor that has an exhibition screen; a television receiver adapted for display on the screen of a current television program that includes an automatic display of a commercial or notice of another television program, wherein the automatic display of the commercial or announcement does not result from the action of an observer , where the other television program is one of a future or current television program; an automatic signal indicating the availability of an electronic program guide function (EPG) with respect to the other television program when an observer is observing the current television program, where the automatic signal does not result from the action taken by the observer; a memory in which an EPG database is stored which includes the files containing the information about the television programs, the current television program and the other television program which are linked together so that the information about of the other television program can be obtained by responding to the automatic signal or the commercial or warning; and a microprocessor configured to accept a command from the observer to invoke the EPG function, to retrieve the information about the other television program from the EGP database, and execute the EPG function with the recovered information.