| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| 7398541 |
Electronic television program guide schedule system and method |
July 8, 2008 |
| Systems and methods are provided for displaying promotional information on a display on which program listings information is displayed. In some embodiments, the promotional information and the program listings information may be displayed simultaneously with video for a given televi |
| 7386871 |
Program guide system with real-time data sources |
June 10, 2008 |
| A program guide system is provided in which an interactive television program guide that is implemented at least partially on user television equipment receives program listings data and real-time data such as sports scores, news data, and the like. The real-time data may be stored i |
| 7385586 |
Systems and methods for presenting an interactive user interface |
June 10, 2008 |
| A system interactively controlled by a TV viewer remote control transmitter displays portions of a scroll program guide on the. Viewer's display screen. A tuner receives TV radio frequency or optical transmission signals in a plurality of cable channels and passes a viewer usable sig |
| 7370343 |
Electronic program guide with blackout features |
May 6, 2008 |
| An interactive television program guide for supporting programming blackouts is provided. In some embodiments, the interactive television program guide may unschedule the reminding and recording of blacked-out programs that have been scheduled by a user for reminding or recording. In |
| 7322038 |
Program guide system for recording television programs |
January 22, 2008 |
| An interactive program guide system is provided. The system facilitates recording of programs selected from the program guide. The system handles the recording and viewing of pay programs, parentally-controlled programs, consecutive programs on different television channels, and prog |
| 7293663 |
Self-advancing literature display rack |
November 13, 2007 |
| Improved apparatus and methods for increasing the utility and attractiveness of a literature display are provided. The improved apparatus include a literature rack that automatically advances the remaining copies of literature to the front of the literature rack when copies of litera |
| 7293276 |
Interactive television program guide for recording enhanced video content |
November 6, 2007 |
| Interactive television systems and methods are provided for enhancing program guide content using recording and alert features for video related to promotions, advertisements, and other selectable displays presented in an interactive television application such as an interactive tele |
| 7287267 |
Program guide system with advertisements |
October 23, 2007 |
| An interactive television program guide is provided in which advertisements may be displayed on program guide screens. Banner advertisements may be displayed above and below program listings. Panel advertisements may be provided adjacent to program listings. The advertisements may co |
| 7269838 |
Internet television program guide system with embedded real-time data |
September 11, 2007 |
| An Internet television program guide system is provided that allows a user at a multimedia system to access television program listings containing embedded real-time data over an Internet communications link. The television program listing may be for a sporting event that is currently |
| 7254823 |
Apparatus and method for constrained selection of favorite channels |
August 7, 2007 |
| An interactive program guide system is provided in which an interactive program guide is implemented on user multi-media equipment of a user for displaying programming for a plurality of channels on the user equipment, wherein each channel carries primarily one of a plurality of media ty |
| 7231175 |
Music information system for obtaining information on a second music program while a first music |
June 12, 2007 |
| A television and music distribution system is provided. Music programs are distributed over a number of analog and digital music channels to a number of users for playing by their user music equipment. Music information on the music program currently broadcasted on the music channels |
| 7225455 |
Electronic television program guide schedule system and method |
May 29, 2007 |
| Systems and methods are provided for using an electronic program guide application to access a non-program guide application. The electronic program guide application provides a program guide display from which a user can access the non-program guide application. The electronic program |
| 7185355 |
Program guide system with preference profiles |
February 27, 2007 |
| An interactive television program guide system is provided in which a user may inform a program guide of the user's interests. Information on the user's interests may be stored in a preference profile. There may be more than one preference profile, each for a different user. Each prefere |
| 7165098 |
On-line schedule system with personalization features |
January 16, 2007 |
| An on-line scheduling application allows users to personalize how television-related, entertainment-related, and social event related information is provided. Users may select one or more sources from which the information is obtained. Users may set up a date book that is also used a |
| 7100185 |
Electronic television program guide schedule system and method |
August 29, 2006 |
| An electronic program schedule system which includes a receiver for receiving broadcast, satellite or cablecast television programs for a plurality of television channels and a tuner for tuning a television receiver to a selected one of the plurality of channels. A data processor rec |
| 7096185 |
User speech interfaces for interactive media guidance applications |
August 22, 2006 |
| A user speech interface for interactive media guidance applications, such as television program guides, guides for audio services, guides for video-on-demand (VOD) services, guides for personal video recorders (PVRs), or other suitable guidance applications is provided. Voice command |
| 7073188 |
Electronic program guide using markup language |
July 4, 2006 |
| An interactive television program guide is provided. Program guide display elements are arranged and styled using markup language documents. These markup language documents may also indicate and select program guide functions. The program guide interprets the markup language documents an |
| 7069576 |
Interactive television program guide system with pay program package promotion |
June 27, 2006 |
| A system is provided that allows a user to select a pay program for purchase from a program guide. The program guide determines whether the selected program is part of a package of pay programs. If the selected program is part of a package, information regarding the package is provid |
| 7065709 |
Client-server electronic program guide |
June 20, 2006 |
| A client-server interactive television program guide system is provided. An interactive television program guide client is implemented on user television equipment. The interactive television program guide provides users with an opportunity to define expressions that are processed by the |
| 7051360 |
Interactive television program guide with selectable languages |
May 23, 2006 |
| An interactive television program guide is provided. The interactive television program guide provides a user with the opportunity to select a language for playing television programming and displaying program guide text. Television program audio in the desired language may be obtained |
| 7047547 |
Electronic television program guide schedule system and method |
May 16, 2006 |
| An electronic program schedule system which includes a receiver for receiving broadcast, satellite or cablecast television programs for a plurality of television channels and a tuner for tuning a television receiver to a selected one of the plurality of channels. A data processor rec |
| 7039935 |
Program guide system with flip and browse advertisements |
May 2, 2006 |
| An interactive television program guide is provided in which advertisements may be displayed in program listings display regions on program guide screens. The program listings display regions may be browse displays or flip displays. The program guide screens contain video for the cur |
| 6938208 |
Electronic program guide with graphic program listings |
August 30, 2005 |
| Electronic program guides in which program listings may be graphically presented and in which sponsors and celebrities of those programs may be identified are provided. The electronic programs guides may be passive television program guides, interactive television program guides, and/or |
| 6934963 |
Interactive television program guide with passive content |
August 23, 2005 |
| A hybrid passive-interactive program guide is generated by combining the features of an interactive program guide with the passive video portion of a passive program guide. The interactive guide may replace passive listings with interactive listings, replace passive features with int |
| 6928653 |
Interactive electronic television program guide with database configurability |
August 9, 2005 |
| An interactive television program guide system is provided in which an interactive television program guide is implemented on user television equipment containing a memory. The system allocates the memory among different categories of program guide data used by the program guide. When |
| 6922843 |
Interactive television program guide system with multiple account parental control |
July 26, 2005 |
| A system with parental control features is provided. The system may be switched between single account control and multiple account control. Each account may have a program control code and a purchase control code. A user may set parental control criteria for controlling access to pr |
| 6898762 |
Client-server electronic program guide |
May 24, 2005 |
| A client-server interactive television program guide system is provided. An interactive television program guide client is implemented on user television equipment. The interactive television program guide provides users with an opportunity to define expressions that are processed by the |
| 6886030 |
Electronic mail system employing a low bandwidth link for e-mail notifications |
April 26, 2005 |
| An e-mail notification system is provided. The e-mail notification system has a remote e-mail service system and at least one local client device. The e-mail service system is connected to the local client device via a primary communications link, and a secondary relatively low-bandwidth |
| 6865746 |
Electronic program guide with related-program search feature |
March 8, 2005 |
| A system for searching for programs is provided. The system may provide the user with an opportunity to indicate an interest in a given program. The system may provide the user with an opportunity to request that the system locate programs that are related to the given program in which t |
| 6832385 |
Television schedule system |
December 14, 2004 |
| An electronic program guide displays televsion program listings in a time and channel guide format on a monitor screen. A cursor is provided for display on the monitor screen to selectively highlight one of the television program listings in the guide. Various guide functions are act |
| 6820278 |
Cooperative television application system having multiple user television equipment devices |
November 16, 2004 |
| A cooperative interactive television application system is provided. User television equipment devices are programmed with the cooperative interactive television application. The application determines whether it is running in a system with another device also running the cooperative |
| 6799327 |
Program guide with selectable advertisements and pseudo-ads |
September 28, 2004 |
| Television program guides are equipped with advertisements and "pseudo-ads." Pseudo-ads generally include non-advertising subject matter such as games, weather information, celebrity interviews, etc. Pseudo-ads are mixed in with regular advertisements as they are displayed. In one em |
| 6799326 |
Interactive television program guide system with local advertisements |
September 28, 2004 |
| A program guide system is provided in which local advertisements may be distributed to interactive television program guides implemented on the user television equipment associated with a television distribution facility such as a cable system headend. The local advertisements contain |
| 6774926 |
Personal television channel system |
August 10, 2004 |
| A system is provided in which contributors such as individuals in the home may create personal television channel programming. Personal television programs may be distributed to multiple viewers over a communications network such as the Internet. Personal television program schedule |
| 6772432 |
Interactive television program guide with selectable non-program options |
August 3, 2004 |
| An interactive program guide system is provided. The program guide system displays a program guide grid on a user's television equipment. The grid contains rows of television program listings for various channels. Columns in the grid are associated with the scheduled start times of the l |
| 6771317 |
Electronic television program guide with remote product ordering |
August 3, 2004 |
| An electronic program schedule system with product ordering capability which includes a data processor for receiving program schedule information for a plurality of programs, and a user control apparatus, such as a remote controller, for generating user control commands and transmitting |
| 6769128 |
Electronic television program guide schedule system and method with data feed access |
July 27, 2004 |
| An electronic program schedule system with access to both stored television program schedule information and data feeds containing status information for live programs such as sporting events. The system includes a data processor for receiving program schedule information for a plurality |
| 6766956 |
System and method for using portable device with bar-code scanner |
July 27, 2004 |
| A portable device having code scanning features is provided. Information associated with scanned codes may be communicated to the portable device. This information may be communicated from a remote site, a docking station or another portable device. Information associated with scanned co |
| 6766526 |
Smart channel entry system |
July 20, 2004 |
| An interactive system is provided in which information is displayed in response to the entry of the digits of a channel number. The interactive system may be implemented on a television, a computer, or a radio system. The displayed information may be program listings information such as |
| 6748596 |
Program guide system for recording television programs |
June 8, 2004 |
| An interactive program guide system is provided. The system facilitates recording of programs selected from the program guide. The system handles the recording and viewing of pay programs, parentally-controlled programs, consecutive programs on different television channels, and programs |
| 6745390 |
Palette management for display of regular graphic objects |
June 1, 2004 |
| A system and method are provided for implementing palette management for displaying regular graphic objects on a video monitor. A plurality of sets of three-dimensional color components for each of a plurality of gradients is determined. Each of the plurality of sets of three-dimensional |
| 6742183 |
Systems and methods for advertising television networks, channels, and programs |
May 25, 2004 |
| The present invention allows control of the presentation of advertisements that are associated with television networks, channels, and programs, and enables a single broadcasting of each advertisement associated with a network to be made to numerous television systems in parallel. The |
| 6732367 |
Interactive television program guide system with title and description blocking |
May 4, 2004 |
| A system is provided in which an interactive television program guide is implemented on user television equipment. Potentially objectionable material such as the titles and descriptions of adult programs may be blocked. When adult program listing blocking is invoked, the program guide |
| 6728967 |
Electronic television program guide schedule system and method |
April 27, 2004 |
| Systems and methods are provided for using an interactive television program guide to display video for a user on a display on which program listings information is displayed. Program listings information is displayed using the interactive television program guide. A complete video i |
| 6665869 |
Program guide application interface system |
December 16, 2003 |
| A program guide system is provided that supports a program guide application and multiple non-guide applications. The program guide system has a program guide application interface that allows the non-guide applications to use both device resources and program guide resources. The ap |
| 6661468 |
Electronic television program guide schedule system and method |
December 9, 2003 |
| An electronic program schedule system which includes a receiver for receiving broadcast, satellite or cablecast television programs for a plurality of television channels and a tuner for tuning a television receiver to a selected one of the plurality of channels. A data processor rec |
| 6606128 |
Interactive special events video signal navigation system |
August 12, 2003 |
| A system interactively controlled by a TV viewer remote control transmitter displays current or future programming information superimposed over the normal programming displayed on any channel accessible to the viewer's display screen. Identification signal data are accessed and generate |
| 6604240 |
Interactive television program guide system with operator showcase |
August 5, 2003 |
| A system is provided in which an interactive television program guide is implemented on user television equipment such as a set-top box. The program guide provides an operator showcase in the form of one or more operator showcase television listings screens, each of which contains a |
| 6588013 |
Promotional material distribution system with automatic updating of promotional material selecti |
July 1, 2003 |
| A promotional video system is provided. The promotional video system may include an interactive electronic television program guide. Promotional material is provided to television distribution facilities by a main facility. Promotional material is selected for distribution according to a |
| 6564379 |
Program guide system with flip and browse advertisements |
May 13, 2003 |
| An interactive television program guide is provided in which advertisements may be displayed in program listings display regions on program guide screens. The program listings display regions may be browse displays or flip displays. The program guide screens contain video for the current |
