Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1997-07-21
2001-01-16
Faile, Andrew I. (Department: 2711)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C348S563000, C348S901000, C348S014160
Reexamination Certificate
active
06175362
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to television (TV) systems, and in particular, to a novel TV graphical user interface (GUI) that facilitates user access to various preselected lists of TV channels.
1. Background Art
The growing availability of TV broadcast and interactive services creates a need for a new type of a TV control system that would facilitate user access to options offered by TV program providers. For example, direct broadcast satellite services require users to make their selection among about a thousand TV channels with various TV programs and services. Direct television satellite broadcasting is provided via direct broadcast satellites at an uplink frequency of 17.3 to 17.9 GHz and a downlink frequency of 12.2 to 12.7 Ghz.
A digital satellite television system for direct television broadcasting includes a transmitter for transmitting television signals including video and audio components to a satellite. The satellite retransmits the received television signals to an outdoor antenna assembly that includes a dish-like antenna and a block converter. The dish-like antenna directs the received television signals to the block converter that converts the frequencies of the received television signals to respective lower frequencies.
The television signals produced by the block converter are connected via a coaxial cable to an indoor satellite receiver coupled to a TV set. The satellite receiver tunes, demodulates and otherwise processes the received television signals to provide video and audio signals with a NTSC, PAL or SECAM format suitable for processing by the TV set that produces an image on a display screen in response to the video signals, and an audible response by means of speakers in response to the audio signals.
Within the transmitter, analog video and audio signals are converted to respective digital signals compressed according to the Motion Picture Expert Group (MPEG) encoding standard. The resultant digital signals are represented by a stream of packets including error correction data. The type of packets is identified by a header code. Packets corresponding to control data may also be added to the packet stream.
In the MPEG standard, the video information may be transmitted in the form of a luminance (Y) component and two color difference (U and V) components. For example, the first color difference component may represent the difference between the red image information and the luminance image information (R-Y), and the second color difference component may represent the difference between the blue image information and the luminance image information (B-Y). In addition, the color information is compressed because the two color difference components correspond to more than one picture element. The use of color difference components and the sharing of the color difference components between picture elements reduces the transmission bandwidth.
The digital information resulting from the compression and error correction encoding is modulated on a carrier using Quaternary Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) modulation and transmitted to a satellite for retransmission.
The satellite receiver comprises a tuner for selecting the appropriate carrier signal retransmitted by the satellite and for converting the frequency of the selected carrier to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal. A QPSK demodulator demodulates the IF signal and supplies it to an error-correcting decoder to correct demodulated packets representing video and audio information. An MPEG decoder decodes and decompresses video and audio packets to form digital video and audio signals supplied to a TV set. A TV set-top box serves to deliver compressed digital video and audio signals in real time usable form to one or more TV sets.
A TV program guide presenting a list of available TV programs and services may be displayed on a TV screen to facilitate user access to TV programs and services. As the digital satellite television system may provide about 1,000 TV channels with various TV programs and services, it would be convenient to create a customized list of programming with a reduced number of channels. For example, an “everyday”, “favorite”, or “theme” list may be built. The everyday list would include TV channels that the user wants to watch every day. The favorite list would contain favorite TV channels. The theme list may combine TV channels relating to a specific theme, for example, movie channels or sport channels.
In a conventional TV GUI, substantial time and efforts are required to switch from the currently viewed list of TV channels to a desired customized channel list. For example, a user may be required to make several selections among options provided by intermediate menus.
It would be desirable to provide a TV GUI that facilitate user access to various customized lists of TV channels.
Also, it would be desirable to provide visual indication that enables the user to recognize the currently displayed list of TV channels.
2. Disclosure of the Invention
Accordingly, one advantage of the present application is in providing a TV graphical user interface (GUI) that facilitates user access to various customized lists of TV channels.
Another advantage of the present application is in providing visual indication that enables a user to recognize the currently displayed list of TV channels.
The above and other advantages of the invention are achieved, at least in part, by providing a television system that comprises a CPU, and a TV monitor controlled by the CPU for displaying a graphical user interface. A graphical channel changer on a TV screen includes channel objects that represent TV channels of a TV channel list selected among a plurality of TV channel lists preprogrammed by a user. A list name object is arranged on the screen to switch the channel changer from a first TV channel list to a second TV channel list when the user activates a pointing device directed at the list name object.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, the list name object shows a name of a TV channel list currently represented by the channel changer.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the list name object, as well as the channel objects, may be identified by a first color when the channel changer represents the first TV channel list, and by a second color when the channel changer represents the second TV channel list.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the GUI may include an electronic TV program guide that contains a TV program schedule for a predetermined time period for TV channels of the currently selected TV channel list. The electronic program guide switches from a first TV program schedule for the first TV channel list to a second TV program schedule for the second TV channel list when the user activates a pointing device directed at the list name object.
The electronic TV program guide may comprise program bars aligned with the channel objects for indicating TV programs carried by TV channels of the currently selected TV channel list. The vertical program bars may be identified by the first color when the program guide represents the first TV program schedule, and by the second color when the program guide represents the second TV program schedule.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the channel changer may switch from the second TV channel list to a third TV channel list when the user activates the pointing device directed at the list name object representing the second TV channel list. Also, the electronic program guide may switch from the second TV program schedule for the second TV channel list to a third TV program schedule for the third TV channel list when the user activates the pointing device directed at the list name object representing the second TV channel list.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the list name object, as well as the channel objects and vertical program bars, may be identified by a third color when the channel changer represents the third TV channel list.
In accordance with a method of the
Deacon Michael
Harms Kevin
Leung Alfred
Nasledov Dimitry
Aiello Jeffrey P.
Brown Reuben M.
Faile Andrew I.
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
Sherman & Sherman
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