Enhanced metadata presented in a pop-up window on cross-media bar user interface when a user hovers a screen cursor over a TV channel icon

1. System comprising:

video display;

processor controlling video display;

TV tuner providing TV signals to the processor for presentation on the display;

the processor presenting a user interface (UI) on the TV display, the UI listing icons representing respective media sources in a horizontal row, at least one media source being the TV tuner represented by a TV icon an at least one media source being a non-TV source, wherein when the TV icon is active a list of TV channel icons is presented in a vertical column under the TV icon, wherein responsive to a TV channel icon being active first metadata associated with a respective TV channel is presented on the display, wherein responsive to the TV channel icon being active for greater than a first period second metadata associated with the respective TV channel is presented on the display without requiring the user to tune to the TV channel or invoke a program guide application, the second metadata being acquired from a program guide application.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first metadata includes channel logo, channel name and current program title information.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first metadata includes one or more of channel logo, channel name, current program title information.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second metadata includes program thumbnail, program description and episode title.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second metadata includes one or more of program thumbnail, program description, episode title.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second metadata includes information pertaining to a program different than a current program on the TV channel.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second metadata includes a video preview of the TV channel.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second metadata is presented in a window on the display covering only a fractional portion of the display.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the window is presented in a bottom right corner region of the display.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second metadata is automatically presented on the display in response to user-controlled activation of an associated TV channel icon without removing the UI from the display and without requiring a user to tune to a channel or access the EPG.

11. Method comprising:

presenting a cross-media bar (XMB) on a TV display, the XMB showing representations of at least two sources of information, one of the sources being a TV tuner and another source not being a TV tuner;

in response to activation of a representation of the TV tuner, presenting representations of TV channels available from the TV tuner; and

presenting first metadata pertaining to a program currently carried on the channel at a first time and then presenting second metadata pertaining to the program currently carried on the channel at a second time, wherein the representations are icons and the second time is established when a screen cursor has hovered on a TV channel icon for at least a threshold period.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first metadata is presented alongside the representation of the TV channel at a first time and the second metadata is presented in a window spaced from the representation of the TV channel at a second time.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the window is presented simultaneously with the representations of the TV channels available from the TV tuner.