Television schedule system with pop-up action menu and icons
View Patent ↗The present invention includes an interactive computer system which provides television schedule information and displays an action pop-up listing actions which can be scheduled. In the preferred embodiment, a memory stores a computer program, image data, and received data. This data includes the television schedule information. A processor uses the computer program to organize the television schedule information into a desired format, display an action pop-up for a chosen program, and schedule an action listed in the pop-up when selected by the user. Icons are listed in various displays indicating actions scheduled for associated programs.
1. A method for performing and scheduling actions related to viewing and recording programs, comprising:
generating a display of a plurality of program listings;
selecting a program from the plurality of program listings;
generating a display of an action pop-up menu overlaid over the plurality of program listings in response to a first user selection on an input device, wherein the action pop-up menu comprises a listing of a plurality of selectable scheduling actions related to the selected program, the listing including at least one action unrelated to recording;
selecting one of the plurality of scheduling actions using a highlight region; and
scheduling the selected action in response to a second user selection on the input device, wherein the first and second user selections are made by selecting the same key on the input device.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating a display of an icon next to at least one displayed scheduling action.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the displayed icon is a symbol indicating that the scheduled action is to record the selected program.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the displayed icon is a symbol indicating that the scheduled action is to purchase the selected program.
5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the displayed icon is a symbol indicating that the scheduled action is to automatically tune at the appropriate time to the selected program.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
generating a display of a schedule of selected actions;
generating a display of the duration of each scheduled action in the displayed schedule; and
generating a display of an icon next to each of the scheduled actions to indicate the type of action scheduled.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the displayed icon is a symbol indicating that the scheduled action is to record the selected program.
8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the displayed icon is a symbol indicating that the scheduled action is to purchase the selected program.
9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the displayed icon is a symbol indicating that the scheduled action is to automatically tune at the appropriate time to the selected program.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the scheduling actions is a favorite action.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the scheduling actions is an unlock action.
12. A system for performing and scheduling actions related to viewing and recording programs, the system comprising a processing system, the processing system configured to:
generate a display of a plurality of program listings;
receive a user selection of a program from the plurality of program listings;
generate a display of an action pop-up menu overlaid over the plurality of program listings in response to a first user selection on an input device, wherein the action pop-up menu comprises a listing of a plurality of selectable scheduling actions related to the selected program, the listing including at least one action unrelated to recording;
receive a user selection of one of the plurality of scheduling actions using a highlight region; and
schedule the selected action in response to a second user selection on the input device, wherein the first and second user selections are made by selecting the same key on the input device.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the processing system is further configured to generate a display of an icon next to at least one displayed scheduling action.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the displayed icon is a symbol indicating that the scheduled action is to record the selected program.
15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the displayed icon is a symbol indicating that the scheduled action is to purchase the selected program.
16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the displayed icon is a symbol indicating that the scheduled action is to automatically tune at the appropriate time to the selected program.
17. The system of claim 12 , wherein the processing system is further configured to:
generate a display of a schedule of selected actions;
generate a display of the duration of each scheduled action in the displayed schedule; and
generate a display of an icon next to each of the scheduled actions to indicate the type of action scheduled.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the displayed icon is a symbol indicating that the scheduled action is to record the selected program.
19. The system of claim 17 , wherein the displayed icon is a symbol indicating that the scheduled action is to purchase the selected program.
20. The system of claim 17 , wherein the displayed icon is a symbol indicating that the scheduled action is to automatically tune at the appropriate time to the selected program.
21. The system of claim 12 , wherein one of the scheduling actions is a favorite action.
22. The system of claim 12 , wherein one of the scheduling actions is an unlock action.
23. A method for performing and scheduling actions related to viewing and recording programs, comprising:
generating a display of a plurality of program listings;
receiving a first user selection of a program from the plurality of program listings;
generating a display of an action pop-up menu overlaid over the plurality of program listings in response to the first user selection received from an input interface, wherein the action pop-up menu comprises a listing of a plurality of selectable scheduling actions related to the selected program, the listing including at least one action unrelated to recording;
receiving a second user selection of one of the plurality of scheduling actions; and
scheduling the selected action in response to the second user selection received from the input interface, wherein the first and second user selections are made by selecting a same area of the input interface.
24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the area of the input interface corresponds to a component of the user interface.
25. The method of claim 23 , wherein the area of the input interface corresponds to a key.
26. The method of claim 23 , wherein the area of the input interface corresponds to a button.
27. The method of claim 23 , wherein the second user selection is a different type of user interaction than the first user selection.
28. The method of claim 23 , wherein the second user selection lasts for a time period that is longer than the first user selection.
29. A system for performing and scheduling actions related to viewing and recording programs, the system comprising a processing system, the processing system configured to:
generate a display of a plurality of program listings;
receive a first user selection of a program from the plurality of program listings;
generate a display of an action pop-up menu overlaid over the plurality of program listings in response to the first user selection received from an input interface, wherein the action pop-up menu comprises a listing of a plurality of selectable scheduling actions related to the selected program, the listing including at least one action unrelated to recording;
receive a second user selection of one of the plurality of scheduling actions; and
schedule the selected action in response to the second user selection received from the input interface, wherein the first and second user selections are made by selecting a same area of the input interface.
30. The system of claim 29 , wherein the area of the input interface corresponds to a component of the user interface.
31. The system of claim 29 , wherein the area of the input interface corresponds to a key.
32. The system of claim 29 , wherein the area of the input interface corresponds to a button.
33. The system of claim 29 , wherein the second user selection is a different type of user interaction than the first user selection.
34. The system of claim 29 , wherein the second user selection lasts for a longer time period than the first user selection.
35. A method for performing and scheduling actions related to viewing and recording programs, comprising:
generating a display of a plurality of program listings;
receiving a first user selection of a program from the plurality of program listings;
generating a display of an action pop-up menu overlaid over the plurality of program listings in response to the first user selection received from an input interface, wherein the action pop-up menu comprises a listing of a plurality of selectable scheduling actions related to the selected program, the listing including at least one action unrelated to recording;
receiving a second user selection of one of the plurality of scheduling actions; and
scheduling the selected action in response to the second user selection received from the input interface, wherein the first and second user selections are made by selecting a same component of the input interface.
36. A system for performing and scheduling actions related to viewing and recording programs, the system comprising a processing system, the processing system configured to:
generate a display of a plurality of program listings;
receive a first user selection of a program from the plurality of program listings;
generate a display of an action pop-up menu overlaid over the plurality of program listings in response to the first user selection received from an input interface, wherein the action pop-up menu comprises a listing of a plurality of selectable scheduling actions related to the selected program, the listing including at least one action unrelated to recording;
receive a second user selection of one of the plurality of scheduling actions; and
schedule the selected action in response to the second user selection received from the input interface, wherein the first and second user selections are made by selecting a same component of the input interface.