Pointing capability and associated user interface elements for television user interfaces

1 . A television system comprising:

a television;

a user interface for controlling output of media via said television, said user interface being displayed on said television and including a channel changing element which overlays video being output on said television;

a pointing device for providing pointing and selection inputs to said user interface by interacting with said channel changing element to enable selection of a new channel for outputting said video.

2 . The television system of claim 1 , wherein said channel changing element further comprises:

a first tabbed overlay for presenting channels for selection in a first order; and

a second tabbed overlay for presenting said channels for selection in a second order different from said first order.

3 . The television system of claim 1 , wherein said channel changing element further comprises:

a numeric keypad displayed on said television and a corresponding channel number display area, wherein by pointing and clicking on individual numerals in said numeric keypad, a channel number is aggregated in said channel number display area.

4 . The television system of claim 1 , wherein said channel changing element can be alternately displayed on said television along with user interface control elements associated therewith, or reduced to a first icon representation of said channel changing element.

5 . The television system of claim 4 , wherein pointing to and clicking on said first icon representation of said channel changing element results in said channel changing element and user interface control elements associated therewith being displayed on said television

6 . The television system of claim 1 , wherein said user interface further comprises:

a volume control overlay; and

a set of digital video recording (DVR) overlay controls,

wherein said volume control overlay and said set of DVR overlay controls are selectively displayed on said television.

7 . The television system of claim 6 , wherein volume control overlay and said set of DVR overlay controls can be selectively displayed by actuating a second icon representation.

8 . A method for controlling a television comprising:

displaying a user interface for changing channels on said television;

providing input to said user interface by pointing at a user interface element overlaid on video being displayed on said television using a pointing device; and

controlling media output on said television based on said input.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein said user interface element further comprises:

a first tabbed overlay for presenting channels for selection in a first order; and

a second tabbed overlay for presenting said channels for selection in a second order different from said first order.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein said user interface element further comprises:

a numeric keypad displayed on said television and a corresponding channel number display area, wherein by pointing and clicking on individual numerals in said numeric keypad, a channel number is aggregated in said channel number display area.

11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein said user interface element can be alternately displayed on said television along with user interface control elements associated therewith, or reduced to a first icon representation of said user interface element.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein pointing to and clicking on said first icon representation of said user interface element results in said user interface element and user interface control elements associated therewith being displayed on said television

13 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

selectively displaying a volume control overlay and a set of digital video recording (DVR) overlay controls on said television.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein volume control overlay and said set of DVR overlay controls can be selectively displayed by actuating a second icon representation.

15 . A television system comprising:

a television;

a user interface for controlling output of media via said television, said user interface being displayed on said television and including a user interface view which enables a user to change settings associated with said user interface; and

a pointing device for providing pointing and selection inputs to said user interface by interacting with said user interface view to enable selection of settings for said user interface.

16 . The television system of claim 15 , wherein said settings include at least one of: parental controls, displaying caller ID information on said television, and favorite channels.

17 . The television system of claim 16 , wherein said parental controls include setting of a PIN number.

18 . A method for controlling a television:

displaying a user interface for controlling output of media via said television, said user interface being displayed on said television and including a user interface view which enables a user to change settings associated with said user interface; and

receiving pointing and selection inputs to said user interface to enable selection of settings for said user interface.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein said settings include at least one of: parental controls, displaying caller ID information on said television, and favorite channels.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein said parental controls include setting of a PIN number.

21 . A computer-readable medium containing instructions which, when executed by a processor, perform the steps of:

displaying a user interface for changing channels on said television;

receiving pointing input to said user interface; and

controlling media output on said television based on said input.

22 . A method for pausing display of video comprising the steps of:

displaying said video on a television;

pointing at any one of a plurality of different locations on said television using a pointing device;

pressing a button on said pointing device; and

pausing said display of said video in response to said button press.