Systems and methods for interactive program guides with personal video recording features.

(54) Title: SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTERACTIVE PROGRAM GUIDES WITH PERSONAL RECORDING CHARACTERISTICS.

(54) Title: SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTERACTIVE PROGRAM GUIDES WITH PERSONAL VIDEO RECORDING FEATURES.

(57) Summary

Methods and systems that provide an enhanced personal video recorder (PVR) and the functionality of an interactive television program guide (IPG) are presented. The interactive television application (the application) may be implemented to provide such functionality. The application can be used to display a list of recordings from a PVR, schedule recordings to a PVR, configure recordings, view a list of scheduled recordings, configure recordings settings, or select record deletion priority settings. The application can integrate the functionalities of: pay per event and PVR. The application can send notifications to the user of changes to be made to the content of a PVR recording. Live programming can be buffered by the application using direct buffers that are created for each new program. Parallel buffers can be implemented for concurrent programs using multiple tuners. Direct buffers can be used to manage and control the flow of programming. Television content can be automatically paused when a user is in charge of using the application. Multiple IPGs can be implemented for different users of a PVR. Other features related to PVR are also provided.

(57) Abstract

Methods and systems that provide enhanced personal video recorder (PVR) and interactive television program guide (IPG) functionality are provided. An Interactive television application (application) may be implemented to provide such functionality. The application may be used to display a list of a PVR recordings, to schedule recordings to a PVR, to configure recordings, to view a list of scheduled recording, to configure recording settings, or to select delete priority settings for recordings. The application may integrate pay-per-view and PVR functionality. The application may send user notifications for changes that are to be made to the recording content of a PVR. Live programming may be buffered by the application using a straight buffers that are created for each new program. Parallel buffers for concurrent programe may be implemented using multiple tuners. Straight buffers may be used in managing or controlling the flow of programming. Television content may be automatically paused when a user is engaged in using the application. Multiple IPGs for different users of a PVR may be implemented. Other PVR related features are also provided.

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PATENT TITLE No. 347698

Holders): UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.

Address: South Lewis Avenue 7140, 74136, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

D nomination: SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTERACTIVE PROGRAM GUIDES WITH PERSONAL RECORDING CHARACTERISTICS

<td>Classification:</td><td>CIP: G11B27 / 00; H04N5 / 765; H04N21 / 4147 CPC: G11B27 / 005; G11B27 / 034; H04N2.1 / 2747; H04N21 / 23406</td>

<td>lnv »ntor (es):</td><td>MICHAEL D. ELLIS; DANNY R. GAYDOU; SCOTT M. REICHARDT; JOSEPH P. BAUMGARTNER; WILLIAM L. THOMAS</td>

Number:

MX / a / 2015/006430

SQUCJTUD

International Presentation Fectia:

'. 1 '· 2KbóW «ro 2002

Country: US US

Validity: Twenty years

DMalenal dé ló Pati | rtó ^ imkoi 3302 ^ 6 'HrótebAD *. · Α.λν \ Y.'.

February 2001 \ \ \ February 2001 \

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Number:

60/270,469 6(^271,809

Expiration Date: February 21, 2022

Issue Date: May 9, 2017

The reference patent was granted based on articles 1, 2 ° V, 6 ° fraction

Industrial.

In accordance with article. 23 of the. Industrial Property Law The present patent is valid for twenty years, non-extendable, counted from the date of filing the application and will be subject to the payment of the fee to keep the rights in force. '· »» -

Whoever signs this title does so based on the provisions of article ^ 6 ° sections III and 7 ° bis 2 of the Industrial Property Law (Official Gazette of the Federation (D.OKJ 06/27/1891, amended¹ the 0208/1994, 10/25/1996, 12/261997, 05/17/1999, 01/26/2004, 06/16/2005, 01/25/2006, 05/06/2009, 06/01/2010 , 1870é / 2 &lt;? 10,28 / 06 / 2010,27 / 01/2012 and 09/04/2012); items 1^or, 3 "fraction V inciso a), 4" and 12 fractions I and III of the Regulations of the Mexican Institute of Property and Industry (DOF 44/42/1999, amended on 07/01/2002, 07/15/2004, 07/28/2004 and 09/07/2007); Articles 1, 3, 4, 5 section V subsection a), 16 sections I and III and 30 of the Organic Statute of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (DOF 12/27/1999, amended 10/10/2002, 29 / 07/2004, 04/08/2004 and 13 / Q9 / 2007); 1 «, 3» and 5® Subsection a) of the Agreement that delegates powers to the Deputy General Directors, Coordinator, Divisional Directors, Holders of the. Regional Offices, Divisional Deputy Directors, Departmental Coordinators and other subordinates of the Mexican Institute of Induatnal Property (D OF 12/151999, amended on 02/04/2000, 07/29/2004, 08/04/2004 and 09/13/2007 ) '

This document is signed with an advanced electronic signature (FIEL), based on articles 7 BIS 2 of the Industrial Property Law; 3 of its Regulations, and 1 section III, 2 section V, 25 BIS and 26 TER of the Agreement establishing the guidelines for the use of the Payment and Electronic Services Portal (PASE) of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, in the procedures indicated.

THE DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OF PATENTS

NAHANNY CANAL REYES

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Original string:

NAHANNY MARISOL CANAL REYES | 00001000000403252793 | Administration Service

Tax | 1695 || MX / 2017/38316 | MX / a / 2015/006430 | Normal patent title with divisional PCT | 1861 | LACC | Page (s) 2 | srj YKZKYD9fzEOzV5AX6cfLF 1 BM =

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MX / 2017/38316

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SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTERACTIVE PROGRAM GUIDES WITH

PERSONAL RECORDING CHARACTERISTICS

CROSS REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of

US Provisional Application No. 60 / 270,469 filed February 21, 2001, US Provisional Application No. 60 / 271,809, filed February 27, 2001, US Provisional Application No. 60 / 284,703,

0 filed on April 18, 2001, US Provisional Application No. 60 / 290,709 filed on May 14, 2001, US Provisional Application No. 60 / 296,593 filed on June 7, 2001 and US Provisional Application No. 60 / 301,589, filed June 28, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to interactive television program guide (IPG) systems and personal video recording (PVR) systems and more particularly to extended features of PVR-IPG. .

The sist emas interactive television, such as 25 systems program guide interactive television,

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IMPI

INSTITUTO MEXICANO of INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY are now widely available to the general public. Interactive television program guide systems can be used to provide interactive television services such as services to allow a user to tune in to a program, set parental locks, record a program, set reminders, etc. Interactive program guide systems are illustratively described, for example, in the patent

No. 5,589,892 to Knee et al., And in US Patent Application No. 09 / 357,941 to Knudson et al., Filed July 16, 1999, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

In recent years, PVRs such as those provided by companies like Tivo and

ReplyTV. Such systems and devices can be used to provide interactive television services such as services for recording television programs on digital media, such as on a hard drive. In a known system, a PVR can use an MPEG encoder to digitize broadcast television and then store it for later retrieval on a hard disk drive. In such systems, a digitized broadcast can be converted to an analog NTSC signal for display on television.

In conventional PVRs, typically a

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Πττπτυτο MEXICANO de impropridad INDUSTRIAD protected program to allow the user repr'SewClf to return or pause a broadcast that he is watching. A PVR is typically a circular buffer that stores the most recent n minutes of programming that was viewed by a user. One drawback of this buffering technique is that it only allows the user to pause or return to the last n minutes and only on the channel currently tuned in since it was most recently tuned.

Conventional PVR systems can also provide other features such as allowing the user to select to record television content. In such systems a live program is typically recorded from the point at which a user requests that the program be recorded. One drawback of such systems is that previously recorded portions of the live program are typically ignored.

In such systems, interactive television services are typically provided to users through graphic display. A drawback of such systems is that the display of the graphics can cause the user to miss live television content that they are watching.

Another drawback of known PVR systems is that such systems typically do not support programming.

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPERTY INDUSTRIAL pay-per-view television. Pay-per-view (PPV) television programs are now widely available through cable television service providers, but are typically not supported by PVRs for scheduled recording or providing other types of related functionality.

Improvements to these IPG and / or PVR systems are desirable to correct these and other drawbacks and simplify the use of such systems while providing additional functionality for television watchers. Accordingly, new systems and methods are provided for interactive program guides with personal video recording functions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, an interactive television application can be implemented in a television system to provide extended PVR-related functionality.

An interactive television application can be implemented to integrate PVR, features, information, and program guide functionality from set-top boxes that are placed on the television. For example, you can implement a television application

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interactive to provide PVR features, functionality and information in an interactive television program guide such as an interactive television program guide running on a cable television set-top box. Other configurations can also be used to integrate these features.

An interactive television application may present a main menu screen that may include options such as the program listings option, a video-on-demand option, a pay-per-view (”PPV) option, or the current weather option in order to provide interactive television services. The main menu screen may include PVR-related options such as recordings, scheduled recordings, and a delete priority.

When the user selects the recordings option, the recordings screen will be displayed. The recordings screen could include a list of recordings available to you in a PVR. The problems included in the record list can be programs that the PVR records manually or automatically. The listings displayed on the screen can be selected to allow the user to have access to the information and / or options related to a selected listing. 25 other techniques can also be provided for accessing the recording lists.

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INSTITUTO MBXICANO C DE LA PROPERTY

INDUSTRIAL

A scheduled recording screen can be displayed when a user selects that option on the main menu display screen. Other techniques can also be used to access a display screen of scheduled recordings. Such screens may include a list of programs that are scheduled to be recorded (ie, scheduled to be recorded by a PVR). The programs in the list can be scheduled to be recorded automatically or manually. Programs that are automatically scheduled for recording or that are automatically recorded may be programs that an interactive television application selects for recording based on criteria such as user preferences. Programs that are manually recorded or manually scheduled for recording can be programs that a user specifically selects for recording. Recorded series that the user selects to record can also be considered manual recordings. Advertisements on a recording display screen can be selected to allow a user to access information and / or options that relate to an advertisement for a selected program. Information about series recordings can be accessed through a recordings display screen.

An interactive television application can

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ΪΜΡΙ

MEXICAN INSTITUTE

OF INDUSTRIAL CURRENCY allow a user to schedule and cancel recordings of series and / or simple programs from a program ad screen, an overlay browser, an overlay box, a video of a program being watched, an advertisement or any other convenient location. A recording of a series can be used to schedule and record a series of episodes in a particular program series. The user may be provided with an opportunity to set up series recordings based on episode type (i.e. first run, repeat, etc.) and / or channels.

The interactive television application may provide a user with an opportunity to configure a recording buffer around a program that is scheduled to be recorded. The quality of a recording can also be selected by a user. An interactive television application can allow a user to schedule a recording from virtually any point in a program guide. For example, a recording can be scheduled from a program announcement bar, a program information screen, an advertisement screen, or any other convenient point in a program guide.

The interactive television application can provide a user with the ability to record programming

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IMPI

Mexican Institute of Industrial Property

PPV and schedule them to be recorded. An interactive television application can automatically order a PPV program that a user schedules to be recorded. A user may be instructed to purchase a PPV program to be recorded. The recording configuration settings for a PPV program, such as quality and recording time, can be selected by the user.

The interactive television application can provide VCR-type functions for viewing and recording programs including pause, fast forward, return, stop, play, record and other convenient functions. When live content is paused, the interactive television application can display stopped video of the television content and display a timer showing how long it will take to return to live content. Program flow control options can also be presented as a play, back, fast forward and record option.

If desired, television programming can be recorded without including graphics as the interactive television application display screen and overlay as part of the recordings. If desired, television programming can be recorded without including changes in volume setting as a user.

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL select during recording. -

An interactive television application may present different PVR-related overlays at appropriate points in interactions with a user. For example, an overlay may occur when a recording is canceled, when a program recording begins, when it ends, or when another event occurs. A user can be allowed to cancel a recording that is in progress. For example, the user can cancel the recording by pressing a record key on a remote control or by pressing the current channel change key on the remote control. If desired, a user may not be allowed to change the current channel unless the user affirmatively confirms the cancellation of the recording.

The interactive television application can provide a user with a reminder that a scheduled recording is about to begin. A reminder can be displayed at a present time before the start of a scheduled recording. The reminder can include the title of the show that was scheduled to be recorded. A user may be provided an opportunity to confirm that the program should be recorded, for example, by selecting a particular point in the reminder overlay.

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IMPI

Mexican Institute of Industrial Property

The interactive TV application can provide the user with the ability to set delete priority settings for recordings. The user can set these settings through a specific program. The user can be allowed to set general delete priority settings. The interactive television application may provide the user with selectable options for editing the order in which individual recordings 10 will be deleted. You can set the order of priority for deleting recordings in general based on the type of program or the type of broadcasting. Deletion priority order can be set between series recordings. There may also be 15 options available to delete recordings after a specified period of time and after the show has already been watched.

An interactive television application can be implemented to provide multiple program guides

0 with respect to information and characteristics of the PVR. Each program guide can correspond to a different user in a household. Information related to a specific user can be displayed and / or updated when the program guide corresponding to the user is accessed. The 25 program guides can be configured to interact in

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different way with different users. LaT.Tgra ~ rte recordings and / or list of recordings scheduled for one user may not be available to other users in their program guides. To identify a current user, the interactive television application may require users to register for its program guides. If desired, users may be prompted for their login when seeking access to PVR-related information and / or features. Different users may use their program guides to select different programs to be recorded. A PVR can record programs based on user selections. Recordings can be made regardless of which user is currently registered in the system. Users can be allowed to delete recordings from their recording list. The interactive television application can delete information related to a recording that a user selects to be deleted. Deleting information related to a recording can remove the recording from the user's record list. The interactive television application can remove a program from a PVR based on user selections. If a particular recording is associated with more than one user, the interactive television application can remove the

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• «ΠΤΗΓΓΟ MEXICANO V? DE LA MOHEDAL · rWDUSTRIAI.

recording when all users associated with that recording have selected that program to be removed.

PVR users can be notified of changes to be made to recording content on a storage device. A notification can be sent to inform a user that a particular show is going to be recorded or deleted.

In an environment with multiple program guides, notifications can be sent to the users who are responsible for the change to be made. Notifications can provide the user with an opportunity to confirm or cancel the change to be made. Notification can be sent via an overlay in a program guide, using email, or using other convenient techniques. A notification can be to let a user know that a particular show that was previously selected by the user to be recorded is going to be recorded. A notification can let the user know that a particular show, which they have automatically selected to be recorded (that is, based on user preferences), is going to be recorded. A notification can let a user know that a program in articulate is going to be removed based on 25 removal priority settings selected by the user.

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MKUCAHO INSTITUTE

Ce THE INDUSTRIAL PRCPÍFDaD user. A notification can make ^ r 'abe τ a user that a particular show is going to be recorded based on auto-delete settings.

An interactive television application can maintain a global list of programs that are currently stored in a PVR. The list can contain all the programs have been recorded. The list may contain programs that were deleted (automatically or manually), but are still available on the PVR storage media. For example, in one instance, deleting a recording can only erase particular information about that recording without removing the video from the PVR recording.

In order not to re-record a program, an interactive television application 15 can review a global list of programs to determine if a program that has been selected to be recorded is already available from the PVR. The interactive television application may not record a program if that program is currently on the global 2 0 list. The program currently recorded in the PVR can be used for the selected recording. If desired, a user can be provided an opportunity to edit the global list. A user may be allowed to permanently remove a program from the global list.

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Video advertising almae® »aeUu — .íW £ d £ _ present to users using a storage device such as a PVR. Advertising videos can be presented using full screen video or scaled video. An advertising video can be presented when a user is interacting with a program guide. Scaled video can be displayed for an advertisement on a program guide screen. Full-screen advertising video can be displayed when a user selects the scaled video on a program guide screen. A stored advertising video can be displayed when a user enters a program guide (that is, a user selects a guide button on a remote control while watching live television).

A stored advertisement video can be linked to a live advertisement video that is being presented to a user. The stored ad video can be presented after the live video presentation. The stored advertising video can be presented based on user preferences or based on other criteria. Current television content can be paused by a user when stored advertising video is displayed. Stored advertising video can be used to replace a live television advertisement.

A storage device can be used

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as a PVR as a buffer ~ ”by coñtéWl'dó ¹ '&lt;1P television to provide a user with an opportunity to control the flow of current television content and take other actions. A direct buffer can be created when a user tunes in to a new channel or program. The direct buffer can be used to store the currently tuned program. If desired, a suitable buffer size can be located for such memory that is convenient to hold the rest of the current program. Every time a user switches to watch a new program, the interactive television application can create a new buffer. You can locate a buffer space by locating free space that is available on a storage device, by removing an existing buffer (that is, the oldest existing memory), or by removing a part of an existing buffer (that is, the oldest part of the old buffer). If desired, the size of the buffer can be increased incrementally as needed.

In the situation where one user tunes in to another, and returns to a program in articulating, a buffer that was created for that program can merge the video that was stored before the user tuned in

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.o returned to the program he was watching. The separate part of the program before and after the user tuned in to the other program can be combined by concatenating the two parts, inserting blank video, inserting or other content between the two parts or using combinations thereof. If desired, the content that is inserted between the two parts can have a duration that corresponds to the length of the gap between the parts. In a multi-tuning environment 10, the buffer for a program may contain the parts of the video that the user may have missed when tuning in to another program. Multiple tuners can be implemented to allow the PVR to store different programs in parallel. Multiple tuners can also be used to record one program while watching another or record two or more programs at the same time.

A user can be allowed to control the flow of a program using a buffer. A user may be allowed to return a program he is playing from a program buffer. Returning a current program to the beginning of the program can allow the user to jump to a previous program by selecting return again. Using fast forward 2 5 to reach the end of a program can cause

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the program stops playing or may cause the next program in the buffer to be played.

The buffer for a current program can be used as part of a recording when the user selects to record that program. A program that is being stored can be saved by recording the currently on-air video of the program and saving previous parts of the program that is being stored. An interactive television application can retain buffers for programs that have ended. A user may be allowed to view a list of programs that are currently being stored in program buffers. An interactive television application can buffer a program as a recording when a user selects that program to be recorded. The selection can be made even after the program has finished.

The space on a storage device can be allocated automatically or manually to store 20 programs. An interactive television application can automatically allocate all or part of the space on a storage device for storing programs. If desired, a user can be provided an opportunity to set the total size to be used 25 for storing, set the total number of memories

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buffers that can be activated at the same time, set the size of each buffer, and set how often the buffers should be cleared.

An interactive television application can automatically pause television content that a user is watching when they interact with the interactive television application. A current or commercial television program that a user is watching may be paused when the program guide screen or a stored advertising video is displayed. The television content can be paused while the user interacts with the interactive television application or when viewing the stored advertising video. The presentation of the television content can be resumed when the user terminates the interactive television application. The presentation of television content can be summarized from the point at which it was paused. If desired, the interactive television application may provide the user with an opportunity to select whether the television content should be summarized from the point at which it was automatically paused or summarized from its current point.

Other PVR related features can also be provided. An interactive television application 25 may display a recording icon

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL scheduled that changes based on “i e-sado a scheduled recording. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to create password-based recordings. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to set the recording priority of a program. Recording priority settings can, for example, include a priority of no fail, if possible, if desired, if space is available, or any other convenient recording priority. Providing the user with three or more different recording priority levels to choose from, allowing him greater flexibility in setting his recording preferences. An interactive television application may display recorded programs within a navigation overlay, a program announcement screen, or within other announcement screens. Recorded programs can be listed among regularly recorded programs.

The interactive television application can indicate how much memory is available in the PVR, and specifically how much memory is available at each recording priority level and when the memory will be extended based on current recording settings.

Playback controls can be used to fast forward and backward from one program to different

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speeds. The range of different speeds can include from different slow moving speeds to different fast forward speeds. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to schedule VOD programs for recording. The interactive television application can propose a selection of times in which the VOD program can be recorded. The interactive television application can propose once to record a program

VOD based on current scheduled recordings and reminders to avoid conflict when recording. If a VOD or PPV program is marked as copy protected, the interactive television application can restrict whether a user can schedule a recording of the program with copyrights.

VOD and PPV programs can be labeled to have different prices, depending on how they are used. For example, it can be a price to watch a program, another to record a program and a third price for each reproduction of a recording. The interactive television application can also support pay-per-view recordings and pay-per-view plays of ordinary content. The interactive television application can also support a system in which the user pays for recording space for the amount of recording space.

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storage used on a remote server (that is, payment for the amount of storage on a remote server that stores a user's personal video).

An interactive television application can be implemented to trigger television advertising and other content to be stored and displayed locally.

An interactive television application can allow a user to set a manual recording by specifying the time, date, channel, and duration of the recording. When the interactive television application identifies data that is consistent with manual recording, the manual recording can be converted to a program-based recording (one recording at a time).

The interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to edit recorded programs. Editing features can include removing sections of a recording, removing commercials, combining recorded programs, creating playlists of recordings, marking locations in recorded programs for quick reference, or other convenient editing features.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The principles and advantages of the present invention can be more clearly understood from the following

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROMSOAIí INDUSTRIAL detailed description considered together with ^ TWTT ~ ± US ^ igTlTgTTtgT · drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a diagram of an interactive television program guide system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2A shows an illustrative diagram of user television equipment in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2B shows an illustrative user equipment diagram including a set-top box with a personal video recorder in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2C shows an illustrative user equipment diagram with a remote server for storing recorded content in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 shows a diagram of a remote control in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 shows an illustrative process including steps that can be used to access PVR-related program guide functions from a main menu display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 shows a splash screen

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illustrative of main menu in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6 shows an illustrative process that can be used to select and configure a recording of a program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 7 shows an illustrative display screen of search program advertisements in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 8 shows an illustrative program information display screen for a non-PPV and non-VOD program that a user selects for recording in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 9 shows an illustrative display screen for producing a program recording for a non-PPV and non-VOD program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 10 shows an illustrative display screen for producing a recording of a series in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 11 shows an illustrative display screen of recording announcements in a series in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 12 shows an illustrative password-based recording splash screen according to

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With one embodiment of the present invention, - · - ~ .- ™ —.—.

Figure 13 shows an illustrative sports advertisement display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 14 shows an illustrative channel ad display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 15 shows an illustrative timed ad display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 16 shows an illustrative browser or quick review overlay that is displayed over current video in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 17 shows an illustrative process that can be used for PVR default setup options in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 18 shows an illustrative display screen of PVR installation in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 19 shows an illustrative before / after buffer time display screen by channel / type in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

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INSTITUTO MEXICANA 'DE LA PROCEDA!

INDUSTRY!

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Figure 20 shows an illustrative recording quality by channel / type display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 21 shows a display screen 5 illustrative of buffer time conflicts in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 22 shows an illustrative display of priority level information in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 23 shows an illustrative process that can be used to select and configure a recording of a PPV program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 24 shows an illustrative information display screen 15 for a PPV program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 25 shows an illustrative PPV recording facility display screen for setting up a recording of a PPV program to be scheduled in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 26 shows an illustrative process that can be used to select and configure a recording of a VOD program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

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Figure 27 shows an illustrative information display screen for a VOD program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 28 shows a VOD recording facility display screen for configuring a recording of a VOD program to be scheduled in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 29 shows an illustrative process that can be used when recording a program in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 30 shows an illustrative start recording overlay displayed over a video of a current program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 31 shows an illustrative recording cancel overlay displayed over a video of a program performed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 32 shows an illustrative recording termination overlay displayed over a video of a current program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

j Figure 33 shows an overlay

I illustrative, of live controls, exhibited on | 2 5 a video of a current show from a current poa / iihuv channel

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INDUSTRIAL according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 34 shows an illustrative recording reminder overlay that is displayed over a video of a current program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 35 shows an illustrative process that can be used to display a recording information display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 36 shows an illustrative display screen of PVR recording announcements in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 37 shows an illustrative display screen of recorded program information, For a particular recording of a program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 38 shows an illustrative display screen of program delete priority setup in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 39 shows an illustrative overlay of PVR playback video, displayed over a video of a program recorded in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 40 shows an overlay

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fNETITUTO MEXICANO Dí LA PROPERTY INDUSTRIAL illustrative, of message, that is exhibited on a video of 'a' program according to a modality of the present invention;

Figure 41 shows an illustrative process that can be used to access program guide options during playback of a recorded program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 42 shows an illustrative process that can be used to display an information display screen of a scheduled recording in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 43 shows an illustrative advertisement display screen of a scheduled recording in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 44 shows an illustrative PPV program information display screen for a current PPV program that is being recorded in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 45 shows an illustrative PPV program information display screen for a future PPV program that has been scheduled to be recorded in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 46 shows an illustrative recording facility splash screen for changing the settings of a scheduled recording of a PPV from

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MEXICAN INSTITUTE

OF THE INDUSTRIAL HTOITHMp according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 47 shows an illustrative program information display screen for a current non-PPV or VOD program being recorded in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 48 shows an illustrative recording-canceled overlay that is displayed on a display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 49 shows an illustrative stream control overlay having a live TV option displayed over a video of a PVR program playback in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. shows an illustrative overlay of live controls with flag left on pause time, displayed over paused video of a program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 51 shows an illustrative display screen of delete priority setup in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 52 shows an illustrative display of record delete priority of a series in accordance with an embodiment herein

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i nvenc i on; ~~¹ ..

Figure 53 shows an illustrative single record delete priority display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 54 shows an illustrative delete priority display screen by program type in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 55A shows an illustrative broadcast type drop priority display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 55B shows an illustrative channel drop priority display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 56 shows an illustrative process that can be used to push advertising videos and other content to a user's local television equipment in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 57 shows an illustrative online scheduled recording schedule guide window, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 58 shows an illustrative process that can be used to provide the user with the ability

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MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

<img file="MX347698B_D0038.tif" />

to edit saved programs in accordance with the Ulld uiudulity of the present invention;

Figure 59 shows an illustrative display screen for editing saved recordings in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 60 shows an illustrative display screen for combining with other recordings in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 61 shows an illustrative overlay, for removing portions of a recording, being displayed over video being played from a PVR in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 62 shows an illustrative display screen of a playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 63 shows an illustrative display screen of an edit playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 64 shows an illustrative overlay, for creating a new playlist, that is displayed on an illustrative playlist display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 65 shows an illustrative overlay, for dialing and calling, displayed on a

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video of a selected recording in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 66 shows an illustrative process for providing multiple program guides in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 67 shows an illustrative sequence of display screens that may be displayed to allow registration in a program guide in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 68 shows an illustrative sequence of display screens that can be displayed to allow viewing of recordings scheduled in different program guides in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 69 shows an illustrative sequence of display screens that can be displayed to allow viewing of scheduled recordings of a user using their program guide in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 70 shows an illustrative sequence of display screens that can be displayed to allow viewing a user list of recordings using their program guide in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 71 shows an illustrative process for

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INDUSTRIAL ^. Record programs based on user selection in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 72 shows an illustrative sequence of display screens that may be displayed when a user selects a program to be recorded in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 73 shows an illustrative sequence of display screens that may be displayed when a user selects a program to be recorded from an information display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 74 shows an illustrative process for deleting recordings or information related to a recording in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 75-76 show an illustrative sequence of display screens that can be displayed when two different users access their program guides, which are local to the same user equipment, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 77 shows an illustrative process for notifying users of changes to recorded content in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 78 shows an illustrative sequence of

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'337? Mexican ΟΕ INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY presentation screens that can be used to notify a user that a program will be added to recorded content in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 79-82 show illustrative notification overlays that are displayed on video or graphics in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 83-86 show illustrative notification emails in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 87 shows an illustrative process for generating and using a global list of recordings in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 88 shows an illustrative process for displaying stored advertising videos that can be related to live advertising videos in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 89 shows a sequence of an illustrative video presentation that may be provided based on the illustrative process shown in Figure 88 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 90 shows an illustrative process for presenting stored advertising videos when a user is in a guide.^- program according to a

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<img file="MX347698B_D0042.tif" />

embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 91 shows illustrative sequences of events for displaying stored advertising videos that may be provided based on the illustrative process shown in Figure 90 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 92 shows an illustrative sequence of events that can be provided based on the illustrative process shown in Figure 90 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 93 shows an illustrative process for buffering television content in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 94 shows an illustrative sequence of illustrative display screens and buffers that may be provided based on the illustrative process shown in Figure 93 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 95 shows an illustrative process for locating space for new buffers in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 96 shows an illustrative process for combining separate buffers in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 97 shows an illustrative sequence of

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display screens and buffers that may be provided based on the illustrative process shown in Figure 96 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 98 shows an illustrative process for inserting content between separate buffer parts of a program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 99 shows illustrative video presentation sequences 10 that may be provided based on the illustrative process shown in Figure 98 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 100 shows an illustrative process for buffering two parallel programs 15 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 101 shows an illustrative sequence of display screens and buffers that may be provided based on the illustrative process shown in Figure 10 or in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 102 shows an illustrative process for returning to move between buffered content in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 103 shows presentation sequences

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illustrative video clips propoxcr Jlldl ruu buibu, in the illustrative process shown in Figure 102 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 104 shows an illustrative fast forward process for moving between buffered content in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 105 shows illustrative video presentation sequences that may be provided based on the illustrative process shown in Figure 104 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 106 shows an illustrative process for using a skip forward feature in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 107 shows an illustrative video presentation sequence that may be provided based on the illustrative process shown in Figure 106 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 108 shows an illustrative process for

0 recording a program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 109 shows illustrative sequences of events that can be provided based on the illustrative process shown in Figure 108 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA FROMEDAD INDUSTRIAL Figure 110 shows an illustrative process for recording a program after it has ended in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 111 shows an illustrative sequence of display screens that may be provided based on the illustrative process shown in Figure 110 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 112 shows an illustrative process for allocating a portion of a storage space for buffering a program in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 113 shows an illustrative buffer configuration display screen according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 114 shows an illustrative process for automatically pausing television content in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 115-121 show different illustrative sequences of graphic and / or video displays that can be provided based on the illustrative process shown in Figure 114 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 122 shows an illustrative sequence for presenting recorded video when a current program is

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DE LA PROPERTY industrial gives you pause according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 123 shows an illustrative sequence of display screens for sending a recording, a reminder, or a recording request in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and Figures 124-126 show illustrative techniques by which a user may receive a recording, a reminder, or a recording request in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An illustrative interactive television system in accordance with the present invention is shown in Figure 1. For clarity and brevity, the system of Figure 1 is sometimes described primarily in the context of an interactive television program guide system. Now, referring to FIG. 1, the interactive television program guide system 100 may include main facility 102, distribution facility 110, and user equipment 122. System 100 may include multiple primary facilities 102. However, to avoid overcomplicating the drawing, only one primary facility 102 is illustrated in Figure 1.

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPIIDAP industrial

Installation 102 can include the server? 1U4 "to store and distribute interactive television program guide information from a program guide database 106. The database 106 can store program guide information such as television program announcement information, service announcement, program related, pay-per-view ordering, promotional information, or any other convenient program guide information. . Facility 102 may distribute program guide information to distribution facility 110 via communications path 108.

Path 108 can be any convenient communication path, such as satellite, cable, fiber optic, microwave, telephone network, Internet link, or a combination thereof. If it is desired to transmit video signals (that is, television programs) over the communications path 108 in addition to 20 data signals, a broad bandwidth link such as the satellite link may be preferable over a link. narrow bandwidth like a phone line. To avoid overcomplicating the drawing, only one distribution facility 110 is shown in Figure 1. Multiple distribution facilities may be involved at the same time.

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implement interactive services. —Program guide information or content transmitted by main facility 102 to distribution facility 110 may include television program advertisement data (such as program times, channels, titles, descriptions, program type, genre, actors) or any other convenient data.

The promotional information transmitted by the main facility 102 to the distribution facility 110 may include various promotional items such as posters, advertisements, slogans, advertisements, or any other convenient promotional material.

Distribution facility 110 may be a television distribution facility such as television broadcasting, cable system trunk, satellite distribution facility, or any other convenient distribution facility for distributing signals to viewers. Distribution facility 110 may distribute program guide information (or content) to user equipment 122 via communication paths 114. Distribution facility 110 may include server 112 for distributing program guide information. Server 112 can also handle communications for

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distribute television programming, music, or quaTqnler · other convenient media. Server 112 may include a local database 116 to store various program guide information. Server 112 may include storage 117 for storing recorded programs remotely. Programs and / or related information can be recorded and / or stored remotely or locally on user equipment 122. A combination of remote and local storage and / or recording can also be used. Server client based interactive television program guide systems with remote recording features are illustratively described, for example, in Ellis et al., US Patent Application No. 09 / 332,244 , filed June 11, 1999, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Additional techniques for storing programs and program information are illustratively described, for example, in Hassell et al., US Patent Application No. 09 / 157,256, dated September 17, 1998, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Additionally, the server 112 may be capable of providing other interactive services such as up-close video on demand and video on demand. Server 112 may include one or more computers.

If desired, part or all of the information

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IMPI

INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA UtOPUPAD INDUSTRIAL distributed to distribution facility 110 can be provided using other sources of information than main facility 102. For example, distribution facility 110 may receive 5-wide area network information 118 (that is, Internet) via communications path 120. Path 120 can be a TI link, a digital subscriber line (DSL) link, a cable modem link, an analog modem link, or any other convenient type of link.

If desired, the data can be provided to user equipment 122 using facilities other than main facility 102 and distribution facility 110. For example, user equipment 122 may receive data directly from the network. wide area 118 via communications path 62. Path 62 can be a TI link, a digital subscriber line (DSL), a cable modem link, an analog modem link, a radio frequency link 20 such as radio frequencies in a paging system, or any other convenient link. In another example, a separate facility such as a satellite broadcasting system (not shown) can transmit data to user equipment 122, which can receive data via a satellite reception system (not shown).

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Communications path 114 can be any type of convenient link that allows distribution facility 110 to distribute program guide information, television programming, and any other convenient information, data, or media to user equipment 122. There are more than a communications path 114 that couples each user equipment 122 to distribution facility 110. For example, if distribution facility 110 is a cable trunk, user equipment 122 can receive information over a cable link and can transmit information to distribution facility 110 over a serial digital link, a dial-up modem connection or any other type of convenient link. Each of the 15 communication paths 114 can be unidirectional or bidirectional.

User equipment 122 can be configured to send or receive e-mails via communication path 62, communication path 114, or communication path 120.

User equipment 122 may receive emails that are sent via distribution facility 110 or via another facility.

An interactive television application can be implemented on user equipment 122 to

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provide interactive services to a user. Interactive bus services can enable a user to interact with television applications, for example, setting particular channels as favorites, changing channels, ordering PPV movies, selecting programs to be recorded, playing recorded programs, etc. An interactive television application can be an interactive television program guide application or an interactive personal video recording application that can be used to provide interactive services to users.

A video capable device 124 may be video equipment that is capable of generating or storing video such as a video camera, laptop, or other convenient device. Device 124 can be connected to user equipment 122 via communication connection 126 (that is, a firewire connection, such as RS-232 connection, etc.) or can be integrated within user equipment 122. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to transfer and store video from the video-capable device 124 to the user equipment 122. The transferred video may be stored in a PVR that is part of the user's equipment 122. The video of the user device 124 can be stored on user equipment 122 and

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IMPIAS

MEXICAN INSTITUTE

OF THE PROPERTY O ». INDUSTRIAL> 57 46 presented to the user at a later time.

User equipment 122 may be based on a television and / or computer platform. For example, user equipment 122 may include user television equipment (that is, a television, PVR, and set-top box), it may include user computer equipment (that is, a desktop computer, a laptop, a handheld computing device such as a personal digital assistant or any other small personal computing device, etc.), or it may include any other convenient user equipment for implementing an interactive television program guide. User computer equipment may include a computer-based receiver that has built-in cable box c. Circuitry or a personal computer television (PC / TV). If desired, the user's television equipment may include computer equipment for receiving emails.

Figure 2A shows illustrative user television equipment 200 that is based on a set-top box arrangement. Equipment 200 may include set-top box 202, recording equipment 204, display device 206, and remote control 212. Figure 2A illustrates that set-top box 202 is connected to recording equipment 204 and the latter is connected to display device 206. These

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IMPI Mexican institute M INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY connections can be wired or wireless. Figure 2A also shows that remote control 212 may be able to communicate with set-top box 202, recording equipment 204, and display device 206 via a wireless link 214. Those skilled in this field will appreciate that the decoder 202, the recording equipment 204, the remote control 212 and the display device 206 can be interconnected differently than that shown in Figure 2A and that they can be added or removed. components.

For example, the recording equipment 204 can be integrated with the decoder 202 in a simple device (see for example Figure 2B).

Set-top box 202 can receive signals 15 transmitted by distribution facility 110 (Figure 1) (ie, audio, video, or data from the interactive television application). Decoder 202 may include a storage device (eg, a hard drive) or memory to store the user's personal preference settings, to store selected user reminders, or to store other information. For illustrative purposes, the present invention will be described in the context of user television equipment 200, which uses set-top box 202 as its receiver or tuner. If desired, the

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IMPI institute MtncANc

M THE «REMAINS!

Industrial user television 200 can include multiple tuners that can be used to watch one program and record another, simultaneously. Interactive television program guides with simultaneous viewing and recording capabilities are illustratively described, for example, in Lemmons et al., U.S. Patent Application No. 09 / 329,850, filed on June 1999, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

Decoder 202 can be connected to recording equipment 204. Recording equipment 204 can include PVR 208, VCR 210, or any other convenient recording device. Recording equipment 204 may include one or both of the PVR 208 and VCR 210. If the user wishes to record a program, decoder 202 may be manually or automatically tuned to a particular channel and control signals may be sent. to recording equipment 204 to record that program.

Data link 209 can be connected to PVR 208 and VCR 210, and can be a. cable link or any other convenient data link. Data link 209 can be used to transfer audio / video signals for programs between the PVR 208 and the VCR 210.

The decoder 202 can send audio / video signals that are representative of graphics to the display device 206 for presentation to the user.

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If desired, decoder 202 can route signals to display device 206 through recording equipment 2 04. If desired, decoder 202, recording equipment 204, and display device 206 5 can be configured in such a way that the graphs generated by the decoder 202 and the volume changes that occur when the recording equipment 204 is recording, are not saved as part of the recording. The display device 206 may be a television, a computer monitor, a computer system with a monitor and speakers, a flat panel display, or any other convenient display device.

Decoder 202 can be arranged in a client / server relationship with PVR 208. In one embodiment 15 of the present invention, decoder 202 can function as a server and PVR 2 08 as a client. All requests for information received from remote control 212 or other input device may first be routed through decoder 202. If, for example, a user requests information from the PVR or a recording of the PVR, the request may first be processed in the decoder 2 02 which can communicate with the PVR 208 to obtain the information or recording. Decoder 202 can send audio / video signals and 25 signals that are representative of graphics to the device

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MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

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Communication-based display unit 206 ~ »GG &amp; ™ e¿L gVR 208. Other arrangements can also be used to establish communications and operations between the PW 208 and decoder 202. Other arrangements 5 can also be used to establish communications and operations display device 206.

The personalization information for one or more users can be stored in set-top box 202, personal video recorder 2 08 or server 112 of the

Figure 1, in combinations of the same or in any other convenient equipment.

The personalization information can include user profiles, preferences, history of programs viewed, history of recordings, etc. Personalization information can be used to automatically record programs that adapt to that information. Programs can be recorded when information related to a program to be presented is tailored to personalization information for a user such as user preferences or it can be recorded when information related to a program to be presented is compared. with the personalization information stored. Illustrative interactive television program guides having personalization features are shown in US Patent Application No.

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IMPI

INSTITUTO MEXICANO RE LA INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

09 / 974,646, filed October 9, 2001 to Thomas et al., Which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

A user can interact with any of the components of user television equipment 200 and with an interactive television application that uses one or more input devices, such as remote control 212. Remote control 212 can have multiple buttons that the user can press to interact with parts of an interactive television application such as a program guide. For illustrative purposes, many aspects of the present invention are primarily described in the context of an input device that is a remote control. Other convenient input devices such as a conventional keyboard, wireless keyboard or touch-sensitive screen display remote, handheld, mouse, trackball, or touch-sensitive pad can also be used.

An interactive television application such as a program guide can be implemented locally on the user's computer 200 or it can be implemented using a client-server or distributed architecture where some program guide application is implemented locally on the user's computer 200. ' The client-server program guides are described in an illustrative way, for example, in

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INSTITUTO MEX'CANÓ

FROM THE INDUSTRIAL FROP1EOAD US Patent Application No. 0 9/3 ^ 4 ", * o3 filed August 13, 1999 which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. If desired, an interactive television application that provides the functionality and features described herein can be partially implemented in the PVR 208 and / or set-top box 202.

Figure 2B shows another embodiment of user television equipment 9900 in which a personal video recorder is integrated with a decoder. Now, with reference to Figure 2B, the user equipment 9900 can include the PVR integrated into the decoder 9902, the। 9904 display fixture and 9906 remote control.

I The PVR built into the 9902 decoder can be connected to the

I 9904 display device. If desired, the 9900 user television set may include a recording device such as a VCR that fits between the 9902 set-top box and the 9904 display device. Other arrangements can also be used to connect the; decoder 9902, the display device 9904 and a: 20 recording device.

I! The PVR integrated into the decoder 9902 can receive the signals transmitted by the distribution facility 110 (Figure 1). The PVR integrated into the 9902 decoder can include a storage or memory device to save settings of i P03 / 115UV

I

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Mexican institute UE! A INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY personal preferences of the user, selected reminders of the user, recordings, program information or other information. If desired, the PVR that is part of the decoder 9902 can be used to store such information. The PVR hardware and / or software may be integrated into the decoder hardware and / or software to provide the 9902 decoder. If the user wishes to record a program, the 9902 decoder can tune to a particular channel and can record that program using the built-in PVR. If desired, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to transfer the audio / video signals recorded in the PVR between the 9902 set-top box and a recording device that is external to the 9902 set-top box.

A user can interact with the components on the user's television equipment 9 90 0 and with an interactive television application using one or more input devices, such as remote control 9906-20 via wireless link 9910.

Figure 2C shows another arrangement for providing personal video recording services in which the remote server is used to provide personal video recording services. Now with reference to Figure 2C, user equipment 9920 can

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<img file="MX347698B_D0062.tif" />

include 9922 decoder, display device

9926 and remote control 9936. User equipment 9920 may include equipment such as set-top box 9922 to communicate with server 9908. Server 9908 can be configured to provide personal video recording services to user equipment 9920. Server 9908, for example, For example, you can record programs automatically for user equipment 9920 or you can record programs based on user selections. Server 10 9908 can play back recordings for display on display device 9926. Other PVR related features may also be provided. Server 9908 may be a server located in a distribution facility such as 110 in Figure 1 or 15 may be located in some other convenient location.

If desired, the user equipment may include 9924 recording equipment, which may include one or more recording devices such as the 9928 personal video recorder and the 9930 video cassette recorder. The 9924 recording equipment may, if required wishes to provide additional recording capabilities and / or features to a user. For example, the 9924 recording equipment can be used to record or transfer programs that are played from, or stored on the 9908 server. The decoder 9922 can receive the transmitted signals

P03 / 115UV by the 9922 set-top box 110 distribution facility may include a storage or memory device for storing personal user preference settings, user selection reminders, or other information. If desired, server 9908 or recording device 9924 can also be used to store such information.

The decoder 9922 can send audio / video signals and signals that are representative of graphics through the recording equipment 9924 to the display device 9926 for presentation to the user. A user can interact with any of the components on user equipment 9920 with an interactive television application using one or more input devices, such as remote control 9936 over wireless link 9934. wireless control 9936 can be used to interact with server 9908 via decoder 9922. Examples of this and other options are illustratively shown in US Patent Application No.

09 / 330,860, filed June 16, 1998 by Rudnick et al. , which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

Figure 3 shows the illustrative remote control

308 which can include buttons for various functions. Remote 308 may include option buttons

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IMPI

INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA FROHEDAD INDUSTRIAL primary 302 that can provide a user access to actions that are frequently used in an interactive television application. The primary option buttons 302 may include the power button 320, menu 332, info 310, padlock 322, exit 324, music 314, and edit 316. The menu button 332 may provide the user with the ability to cause a menu display screen to be displayed. The info button 310 may provide the user with the ability to display an information display screen. The padlock button 322 may provide the user with the ability to modify access privileges to certain programs, channels, or other television content. The exit button 324 may provide the user with the ability to exit from a program guide or other application. Music button 314 may provide the user with the ability to listen to music channels that carry audio. The edit button 316 may provide the user with the ability to edit stored program content, such as removing commercials, parts of a program, or performing other editing functions.

Remote control 308 may include alphanumeric buttons 3 04 that can be used to enter alphanumeric characters. Alphanumeric buttons 304

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they may also include the last button 334 which can provide the user the ability to return to the last channel viewed or the last screen displayed.

Remote control 308 may include task buttons 306 that can provide the means for directing a task to be performed by user equipment (eg, user equipment 2 00 of Figure 2Ά). Task buttons 306 may include, for example, play 338, pause 340, stop 342, return button

344, Fast Forward 346, Record 336, OK 312, or any other convenient task button.

Remote control 308 may include control buttons 388 which may include buttons for volume control 326, navigation 330, and channel control

328. Navigation buttons 330 may provide the user with the ability to adjust or move a desired item (eg, a cursor, a horizontal window, etc.) vertically or horizontally on a display screen. For example, if the desired item is a course on an interactive television application display screen, the navigation buttons can be used to move the cursor on the display screen. The OK button 312 on the task buttons 306, in combination with the navigation buttons 330, can provide the user with the ability to make selections

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OF THE PROPERTY

INDUSTRIAL 'on screen. Some remote control buttons · - are also referred to here as remote control keys.

Personal video recording features, for example, can be accessed through a main menu of an interactive television program guide. Figure 4 shows the illustrative process 400 for accessing PVR related functions from a main menu display screen. Now with reference to Figure 4, at step 402, the interactive television application may display a main menu display screen (an example of which is shown in Figure 5). Step 402 can be performed when, for example, a user presses a menu button on the remote control or when the user performs other convenient actions. At step 402, the IPG application may provide the user with the ability to access a display screen of program announcements, recordings, scheduled recordings, or any other convenient display screen or options of a main menu display screen.

At step 404, the. Interactive television application may display a program advertisement display screen when a user, for example, selects a program advertisement option that is displayed on a main menu display screen.

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Different types of program announcements can be displayed. At step 414, the interactive television application may display a program-by-time advertisement display screen when a user, for example, selects a program-by-time advertisement option. At step 416, the interactive television application may display a program ad per channel display screen when a user, for example, selects a program ad per channel option. At step 418, the interactive television application may display a program ads by type display screen when a user, for example, selects a program ads by type option. At step 42 0, the interactive television application may display a search program advertisement display screen when, for example, the results of a search selected by a user are displayed. Illustrative display screens that can be provided based on steps 414, 416, 418, and 420 are shown in Figures 7 and 13-15.

In step 405, the interactive television application may display a PVR installation splash screen when, for example, a user selects a PVR installation option that is displayed.

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IMPI ΐΝπττυτο msxicanc OE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY on a main menu splash screen. The steps involved in providing step 405 are shown in Figure 17. In step 406, the interactive television application may display a recordings display screen when, for example, a user selects a recordings option that is displayed on the screen. main menu splash screen. Illustrative steps involved in providing step 406 are shown in Figure 35. At step 408, the interactive television application may display a scheduled recordings display screen when, for example, a user selects a scheduled recordings option to be displayed. displayed on the main menu display screen. Illustrative steps involved in providing step 408 are shown in Figure 42. In step 410, the interactive television application may display a delete priority display screen when, for example, a user selects a delete priority option that is displayed on the main menu display screen. In step 412, the interactive television application may display one. priority level information display screen when, for example, a user selects a priority information option which is displayed on the main menu display screen.

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MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

Figure 5 shows an illustrative main menu display screen 500 that may be provided by an interactive television application. The display screen 500 may include select-it advertising 502, select-it PPV advertising 504, and selectable horizontal bar advertising 520. The display screen 500 may also include various menu headings, such as the program announcement heading 508, the cable cabinet 510, and the viewing services 512. The program announcement heading 508 may be one for options for displaying announcements. of program as the option by schedule 509, by channel 511, of sports 513 and search 514. Cable dresser header 510 may be one for options that are displayed by the cable provider as PPV option 516 and VOD option 517. Televiewer services header 512 may be one for options to provide various interactive services as PVR services to a user. Such options may include 518 recordings, 524 scheduled recordings, 526 delete priority. PVR 528 installation option and 530 priority information.

The display screen 500 may include a highlighted window 522. An interactive application may provide a user with the ability to move the

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PIOPIOAD INDUSTRIAL highlighted window 522 within the display screen 500 using the remote control navigation buttons. A user can be provided with the ability to select an item on the 500। splash screen 5 by pressing a data entry button, such as the OK button on the remote control when the highlighted window 522 is positioned over that item.

If desired, the interactive features provided on the display screen 500 can be accessed through other means.

¹ An interactive television application can allow users to schedule and configure recordings for PPV and non-PPV programs from an ad screen, a browsing overlay, a quick review overlay, a program video, an advertisement, or any other. convenient location. Figure 6 shows the illustrative process 600 for selecting and configuring a non-PPV and non-VOD program to be recorded. In step 612, an interactive television application 20 may allow a user to select a program for! _Ί be recorded by selecting a record button for a 'program. The record button can be selected from virtually any convenient video, overlay, or presentation screen a user is viewing. The record button can be pressed for an i P03 / 115UV '

<img file="MX347698B_D0070.tif" />

program listing on a program ad splash screen, in a browse overlay, in a quick review overlay, on a grid, in an advertisement or any other convenient video or graphic. A user can select a program to be recorded by pressing a record button when a user is watching that program. A user can highlight a show on an overlay or splash screen and press a record button to select that show to be recorded. On a splash screen that does not support the use of highlighted windows, a user can simply press a record button or OK to select the record feature. An information option can be selected for example by moving a highlighted window over a program advertisement and pressing an info button on the remote control.

At step 618, in response to the user pressing the record button on the remote control for a particular program, the interactive television application 20 may schedule that program for a one-time recording with the default settings.

At step 632, a program information display screen may be displayed when a user selects an information option for a particular program. The information display screen of

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IMPI

ΜΓΠΤυΤΟ MEXICAN

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY program may include information that describes that program. The interactive television application may provide the user with the options related to the program guide in step 634. The options related to the program guide may include, last, view / remember, close, other air times and other options of the program guide, convenient.

Examples of these and other options are illustratively shown in U.S. Patent Application No. 09 / 356,268, filed July 16, 1999 to Rudnick et al., Which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. . At step 638, a recording option may be displayed on the program information display screen to provide the user with the ability to select a recording option for the program that is described on the information display screen.

If the user selects a recording option, the interactive television application may proceed to step 606. At that stage, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to install a recording. Step 606 may include steps 646, 648, 650, 651, 652, 653, 654, 655, 656, and 657. At step 648, interactive television application 25 may provide the user with the ability to select

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IMPI

INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA reOMEDAP INDUSTRIAL the quality of the recording that will be used to make the recording. For example, the user can select low, medium or high quality or any other convenient recording quality. At steps 652 and 654, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to set, respectively, the length of the recording buffer that will be used before and after the scheduled broadcast time of a program to be used. Record. The length 10 of a recording buffer, for example, can be set to one minute, two minutes, or any other convenient length of time. Examples of interactive television program guides that have features for setting recording buffers are shown in US Patent Application Ser.

No. 09 / 821,005 filed March 29, 2001, by Ellis et al. , which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Other examples of interactive television program guides that have features to set recording buffers are shown in US Patent Application No. 08 / 924,239, filed September 5, 1997, to Ellis et al. , which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

At step 651, the interactive television application 25 may provide the user with the ability to

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set the recording priority for a program. Recording priority options, for example, may include a priority of no failure, if possible, if desired, space available, or any other convenient recording priority. The recording priority of cannot fail, may indicate that the program should be recorded, with preference over all other channels that are airing simultaneously and recordings can be deleted to make room for the program. A priority of if possible may indicate that the program should be recorded if at all possible, unless there are conflicts with programs that cannot fail that are airing simultaneously, or unless any program that cannot fail , that was recorded, had to be deleted. A priority of if desired, can indicate that the user would like the program to be recorded, unless there are conflicts with priority programs that cannot fail or with priority programs if possible, or unless any program of priority that it cannot fail or if it is possible that they were recorded would have to be deleted. A priority of whether space is available may indicate that the show should be recorded if space is available to do so and if there is no conflict with higher priority programs.

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At step 650, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select an installation option from a series. This option may only be available if the selected program is part of a series. At step 646, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select a save option to schedule the currently selected program to be recorded and save the recording settings to be used for that recording. In response to a selection of a save option at step 646, the interactive television application may also set a reminder for the scheduled recording.

At step 656, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to cancel and exit to the preview screen. At step 653, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select an option to not record a program if that program is not currently an episode of a series that has been selected for a recording of a series. At step 655, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select an option not to record a particular episode of a series that has been selected for a recording of a series,

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROHEDAI INDUSTRIAL but continue in the recording of another two series. At step 657, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select not to record any subsequent episodes of a series that was selected for recording.

If the user selects the option to install the series, the interactive television application can proceed to step 608. In step 608, the interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to install a recording of a series based on a currently selected program. A series recording allows the user to record a series of episodes of a particular program series. Step 608 may include steps 662, 664, 666, 668, 670, 672, 674, 676, 678, 680, 682, 684, 686, and 688. At step 664, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select a save option for the interactive television application program to have a series of recordings and save the install settings for the series that the user selected. At step 666, the interactive television application may provide the type of episode options that steps 680, 682, and 684 may include. At step 680, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select whether to

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<img file="MX347698B_D0076.tif" />

IMPI

MEXICAN INSTITUTE

PE THE PROPERTY

INDUSTRIAL the interactive television application must record programs seen before. At step 682, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select whether the interactive television application should record series programs that are repeated. At step 684, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select to record syndicated, first-time or both syndicated and first-time episodes for a recording of a series.

At step 668, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to choose the maximum number of series episodes to be saved in an PVR. For example, the user can choose to save one episode, two, three, all, or any other convenient number of episodes. If the user selects a specific number of episodes to save, the interactive TV application can automatically delete a previously recorded episode when a new episode is recorded to keep the total number of episodes saved, at the number selected by the user . Previously recorded episodes can be deleted based on the age of the recording, based on the observation status with one or more users, or based on other criteria. If the user

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<img file="MX347698B_D0077.tif" />

select the total number of Api .qndí (* 7γ [υ · ι। ». rji- the total number of recorded episodes, other shows than those episodes in that series can be deleted first to free up space to save recordings.

At step 670, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to limit the channels whose programs in a series will be recorded. For example, the user can choose the channels so that the recording of a series is the original channel from which the recording of the current series was programmed, so that they are all possible channels, so that it is a selection of channels selected by the user or to be any other convenient channel selection. At step 672, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select to view a list of episodes or shows in the series. If the user selects to view the list of programs in the series, the interactive television application may proceed to step 674 to have the list of programs displayed.

At step 676, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to limit on which days the program can be recorded. For example, the user can choose to record episodes that air on the same day of the week as the selected episode, which air on any day of the week.

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IMPJ

MEXICAN INSTftyTO ^0E THE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY week or airing on some other combination of days. At step 678, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select what time of day a program can be recorded. For example, the user can choose to record a show at peak time, at night, in the morning, in the day, at the same time of day as the selected episode (i.e. the episode for which the option was selected recording) or any other time or combination of schedules. At step 686, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to exit a series recording facility display screen and schedule the program as a single recording. At step 688, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to save the settings for a series recording as a series reminder without scheduling any recording.

PVR-related functionality may be embedded within a program announcement display screen or any screen that displays one or more programs or information about one or more programs. FIG. 7 shows the illustrative program ad display screen 700 that may be provided by the interactive television application.

The display screen 700 can ^ '^ er- ^ TOghibida on. response to using a search option. The display screen 700 may include a list of program titles that are present on the advertisement bars 702.

A program announcement in announcement bar 702 may include the recording content icon 704 indicating that a recording for that announcement is currently available for playback. The recording content icon 704 can allow users to distinguish between programs that are available for playback from a PVR and programs that will air in the future. Future programs may include VOD, PPV, broadcast television programs, or other programs that are available through a source other than a PVR.

A program advertisement may include the scheduled recording icon 706 to indicate that a program that is identified in that advertisement is scheduled to be recorded. Icon 706 for scheduled recording may be displayed by a particular program, for example, when a user has selected a record option for that program or when an interactive television application schedules that program to be recorded based on information provided by the program. Username. A program announcement may include a recording canceled priority icon 703 to indicate that a program being

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE IA PROníDAP INDUSTRIAL scheduled to be recorded cannot be recorded due to a conflict that the interactive television application resolved to cancel the scheduled recording based on recording priorities. The priorities are described in more detail in relation to Figure 9. The display screen 700 may include the content statistics icon 708 to indicate the statistics of the program content.

The display screen 700 has the parental control icon 710 to indicate that a program was closed by the parents. On display screen 700, the Cosby program can be closed by parents and can also be scheduled for recording. An advertisement for Cosby includes both icons 710 closed by parents and 706 of scheduled recording. Despite the closed status of the program, the interactive television application can still record the program. If a user wishes to watch a closed program while it is being recorded, the user must be required to enter a parental control code. Parental locks can always be enforced on replay, where the parental control code may be required to replay - any show that has a closed title, statistic or channel. Examples of parental control locks and other related options are

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INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY Illustratively shown in US Patent Application No. 09 / 635,596 filed August 9, 2000, Herrington et al., Which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference .

The series recording icon (714) may be included in an advertisement to indicate that a series recording has been set for that particular advertisement. Scheduled recordings and series recordings can be interspersed with other advertisements on the 700 splash screen. If there are recorded episodes or upcoming episodes for a particular show or series that is listed on display screen 700, only one advertisement for that show or series can be included on display screen 700. Selecting that show on splash screen 700 may cause an information splash screen to be displayed for an older recorded episode of that show and may cause a time option to display on the info splash screen that may allow you to a user access information on other recorded and upcoming episodes of that show. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select a recording option for a particular program by moving the highlighted window 712 over an announcement bar such as bar 7 02 for a program.

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<img file="MX347698B_D0081.tif" />

and pressing the remote button for recording. In response to the selection of the recording option, the interactive television application may set a particular program to be recorded. The interactive television application can schedule a one-time recording for that program using the default recording configuration settings. If a user presses a record button a second time, the interactive television application can schedule a recording of a series based on a currently highlighted program when that program is part of a series. If a user presses a record button on the remote control a third time, the interactive TV application can cancel the recording of a series. If a currently highlighted program is not part of a series, pressing a record button on the remote can change the recording settings for that program.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select an information option for a particular advertisement by moving the highlight window 712 over an advertisement bar such as the bar 702 and pressing an info button on the remote control. The program information display screen 800 of FIG. 8 may be displayed in response to the selection of an information option for a particular advertisement.

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<img file="MX347698B_D0082.tif" />

An interactive television application — may ——_ display program information display screens that are set differently for different programs based on whether the programs are PPV, whether they are available for playback from a PVR, whether they are programs that are scheduled to be recorded, if they are currently on air, if they are VOD, etc. Figure 8 shows the illustrative 8 00 program information display screen for a non-PPV program that may be provided by the interactive television application. Now, referring to FIG. 8, display screen 800 may include title display bar 806 and may include program video 840 for a program currently on the air on a tuned channel.

The display screen 800 may include the recording option 830. In response to a selection of the recording option 830 or a user pressing a record button on the remote control, the interactive television application may display the installation display screen of program recording 900 shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9 shows the illustrative display screen of program recording facility 900 that may be provided by the television application.

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IΜ ΡI INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPIEDAD Q— ¿y »ijS * INDUSTRIAL interactiva. The display screen 900 may provide the user with the ability to set or modify various recording settings, including the ability to schedule single and series recordings. The option to save 902, quality 904, install 910 series, before buffer time 912, after buffer time 914, record priority 916, not an episode 922, to cancel this episode 924 and canceling all episodes 926 may be provided based on illustrative steps 646, 648, 650, 651, 652, 653, 654, 655, and 657, shown in Figure 6. Other options may be displayed if desired. The option to install series 910, not episode 922, cancel this episode 924 and cancel all episodes 926 can be displayed when the 900 splash screen is displayed for a show that is part of a series or part of a series recording . To schedule a recording for the schedule for which the recording option 83 0 in Figure 8 was selected, a user can select the save option 902, which will schedule the recording with the default recording settings or with any settings that selected by the user on the display screen 900. If desired, the application may allow the user to select a recording option for a program that is already

P03 / 11SUV has a recording scheduled.

In this case, the application may display a screen such as the display 900 to allow the user to modify or cancel the recording.

If desired, the interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to schedule a manual recording by specifying a channel, date, time, and duration.

Recordings can be scheduled for example at least two weeks in advance by entering the channel, date, time and duration. When the interactive television application identifies data that is coupled to the manual recording, this recording can be converted to a program-based recording (single recording).

An interactive television application can also save content that is related to a program that is being recorded. Related content may include program information, Advanced Television Forum (ATVEF) content, flash content, Advanced Compatible Television (ACTV), broadcast networks or other content such as video, graphics , software or text. The interactive television application can allow a user to record a digital music channel when the user is listening to a channel or to record a music channel

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IWI

O MMiCANC INSTITUTE ' ³ OF THE PROPERTY «I

INDUSTRIAL digital by manually selecting a date, time, channel and duration for a recording. The interactive television application can record the title, track, artist, and other music information related to digital music recording.

The 910 series installation option may only be available if the selected show is an episode of a series. The interactive television application may not have a serial installation option for PPV programs and may not allow a user to configure series recordings for PPV programs. However, if a PPV program is part of a package (that is, a recurring PPV program), the interactive television application may allow a user to set up a series recording for all the programs in a package. To set up a series recording for a PPV package, the interactive television application may require a user to purchase a package before a series recording can be configured. If desired, a user may be provided with an option to purchase a package as part of recording installation screens.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move a highlight window 918 over quality option 904 and

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<img file="MX347698B_D0083.tif" />

scroll through the quality settings to set the recording quality to be used for a recording. The quality level can be set to low, medium, high, or some other convenient quality. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 918 over before buffer time option 912 or after buffer time option 914 and use the navigation buttons on the remote control. to set the before and after buffer time options to be used for a scheduled broadcast time of a program to be recorded. The buffer recording time can be set to no buffer time, one minute, two, or any other convenient length.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select no episode option 922 by moving the highlight window 918 over option 922 and pressing an OK button on the remote control. In response to a selection of non-episode option 922, the interactive television application records shows that are episodes in a series but does not record shows that are currently not episodes in that series. For example, in situations where a particular show has a title that matches a series in

P03 / 115UV —- - ** * «ÍA. -TO THE. »^ -I

MEXICAN INSTITUTE

OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY, that show may not be recorded as that show may not currently be part of that series. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select to cancel this episode option 924 by moving the highlight window 918 over said option 924 and pressing an OK button on the remote control. In response to a selection of option 924 to cancel this episode, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select not to record this episode of a series, but to continue recording other episodes of a series. The interactive television application can provide a user with the ability to select option 926 to cancel all episodes by moving highlight window 918 over option 926 and pressing a button. ⁿOK on the remote control. In response to a selection of option 926 to cancel all episodes, the interactive television application can cancel the recording of any subsequent episodes of a series and can cancel the recording of the series. The save option 902 can be used to schedule a recording and save the recording settings that the user selected.

The interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to select the pua / ustrj

<img file="MX347698B_D0084.tif" />

install option 910 in a series by moving highlight window 918 over option 910 and pressing a

OK on the remote control. The interactive television application may display a series installation splash screen in response to the selection of option 910. The available space indicator 920 can be displayed and updated as the options on this screen are changed. Indicator 920 can indicate or estimate how much recording time is available for future programs. If desired, it can be based on the priority of the selected program. For example, you can indicate how much space is available to record programs that have the currently specified priority (that is, a priority of can't fail, if possible, if desired, if space is available, etc.) in the recording priority option 916.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 918 over the recording priority option 916 and scroll through the recording priority settings to set the priority for a recording. The recording priority can be set to the priority of cannot fail, if possible, if desired, if there is space, or any other convenient priority. Option 916 priority of

1'0 3/115 UV recording can be used to set the recording priority for a specific recording or for a series recording.

The interactive television application may provide a user the ability to select install option 910 from a series by moving highlight window 918 over option 910 and pressing an OK button on the remote control. The interactive television application may display a series recording facility display screen in response to the selection of a series facility option 910. A series installation option can only be included in a splash screen 900 when the selected program is part of a series. Figure 10 shows the illustrative 1000 series recording facility display screen that may be provided by the interactive television application. The splash screen 1000 can provide the user with the ability to set or modify the settings for recordings of a series. The installation option 1002 to save, the option 1004 of the number of episodes, the option 1006 of channels to record, the option 1008 to see all the episodes, the option 1012 of day to record, the option 1014 of time to record, the option 1016 to record previously viewed programs, option 1018 to record

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IMPI

INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA MOREDA P INDUSTRIAL

<img file="MX347698B_D0085.tif" />

program replays, episode type option 1020, save as unique option 1022, and save as reminder option 1024 can be provided based on illustrative steps 664, 668, 670, 672, 676, 678, 680, 682, 684, 686 and 688 shown in Figure 6. If desired, other options can be displayed.

A user may be allowed to set up a recording of a series using the display screen 1000. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 1010 over the number of episodes option 1004 and scroll to through the numbers to set the number of episodes for the recording of the series to be saved in the PVR at one time. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 1010 over option 1006 of channels to record and use the remote control navigation buttons to scroll through the channels to select which ones to use. for the recording of the series. Series recording channel selections may include for example, the original channel for a program that was used to set a recording of a series, all possible channels, a user-selected channel choice, a specific type of channel like broadcast or premium channel or any other

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MEXICAN INSTITUTE

OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

<img file="MX347698B_D0087.tif" />

convenient channel selection. By selecting option 1008 to view all episodes (that is, by moving a highlight window over option 1008 and pressing an OK button on the remote control), the interactive television application can display a A series of recording ad splash screen. The interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 1010 over the 1012 day option to record and use the navigation buttons on the remote to scroll to select which days of shows in the series are going on. to record. A user can select a specific day, every day, or any other convenient combination of days. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 1010 over the recording time option 1014 and use the remote control navigation buttons to scroll it to select at what program times in a recording of a recording. series will be recorded. A user can select to record the show during peak hour, in the morning, on the day, at the same time as the selected episode, or at any other time or combination of hours. By default if a user does not select a time, the interactive television application can choose to only record episodes that are at

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MEXICAN INSTITUTE

PE LA MiePIEDAD INDUSTRIAL ----- air during the same time of day as ... p-mgri »» · selected.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 1010 over the option 1016 to record previously viewed programs and move it between yes or no to select whether the interactive television application should record previously viewed by the user. The interactive television application may keep a record of all the programs watched by a particular user to make this determination. The interactive television application may provide the user the ability to move the highlight window 1010 over the option 1018 to record repeating programs and toggle it between yes or no to select whether the interactive television application should record programs that are repeating. the interactive television application may provide the user the ability to move the highlight window 1010 over the episode type option 1020 and scroll through the episode type settings to select which types of episodes should be recorded. The types of episodes in a recording of a series can include syndicated episodes, first time, both types, or any other convenient type of episode. The type of episode may also include an indication of

P03 / 11SUV specification during which season (s) the desired episodes originally aired.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 1010 over the save as single option 1022 to exit the display screen 1000 and schedule the program as a single recording only. This change from a series recording to a single recording may deselect the series recording feature for this program. The interactive TV application can provide a user the ability to move highlight window 1010 over save as a reminder option 1024 to exit splash screen 1000 and save the configured settings as a reminder of an unscheduled series the recordings. A user may select save setup option 1002 to save the settings that the user selects on the splash screen 1000.

An interactive television application can display a list of all scheduled shows that can be episodes in this series. Figure 11 shows the illustrative 1100 series ad display screen that may be provided by the interactive television application. The 1100 splash screen

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<img file="MX347698B_D0088.tif" />

can be displayed in response to a selection of option 1008 to view all episodes on the display screen 1000 of Figure 10. Now, referring to Figure 11, the display screen 1100 may list all the shows that are in the series and may include upcoming shows, recorded shows, or shows that are scheduled to be recorded. The programs in the list that are scheduled to be recorded may have been scheduled for recording based on the recording options and the series options selected by a user in Figures 9 and 10. Examples of interactive television program guides that have Recording characteristics of a series are illustratively shown in U.S. Patent Application

US No. 09 / 330,792 filed June 11, 1999 to Knudson et al., Which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Display screen 1100 can include announcement bars like bar 1102, which can include dates, times, and channels for scheduling 20 episode recordings in a series of programs. Icon 1104 may be included in announcement bar 1102 to indicate that a particular program may have been scheduled to be recorded in a recording of a series. Display screen 1100 may include option 1108 'to delete this episode. The television app

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IMPI

MEXICAN INSTITUTE of INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

<img file="MX347698B_D0089.tif" />

Interactively may provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 1106 over option 1108 to select to delete the particular listed episode that is associated with option 1108 to delete this episode. Following this selection, the recording scheduled for that episode can be deleted.

Also the user can select an individual advertisement to view the program information screen for that episode. The individual episode can be removed from the series recording from that screen.

The user can also select episodes that are not scheduled to be recorded and the user can cause the interactive television application to schedule them for recording as well. The interactive television application may also display additional information, on this screen, about the highlighted episode. The information can include a series episode title, episode description, guest stars, or any other information of interest.

Figure 12 shows the exemplary password-based recording display screen 1150 that may be provided by the interactive television application. The 1150 splash screen can provide the user with the ability to add and remove password-based recordings. The screen of

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display 1150 may include the parameter LW Άδ 'search 1152, option 1154 to add password, list of passwords 1156 and option 1160 to withdraw. The interactive television application can provide 5 the user the ability to use the alphanumeric buttons on the remote control to enter a password in search parameter 1152.

The splash screen 1150 may provide the user with the ability to select the add password option 1154 to install a password-based recording based on the search parameter 1152. In response to an addition of a password, the television application Interactive can automatically schedule recordings based: on that password. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to scroll the passwords in the list 1156 so that the passwords are placed in the highlight window 1158. The highlight window 1158 can be kept stationary while the advertisements scroll in the list 1156. To remove a current password in the highlight window 1158, a user may press a navigation button on the remote control to place the highlight window 1158 over the remove option 1160 and then press the OK button on the remote control. The interactive television application can

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allow the user to select a password from the password list and view a list of programs that are attached from a database of upcoming programs or from a database of recorded programs.

Figure 13 shows the illustrative sports ad display screen 230 that may be provided by the interactive television application. The display screen 230 may be displayed in response to a selection from the sports option 513 of Figure 5. The display screen 230 may be one for a sports type program, but the features described below with respect to the display screen can also be for advertisement display screens that are displayed for other types of programs, such as movies, kids. , comedy, PPV and other types. If desired, a similar screen can be displayed for a subcategory of programs, such as comedy movies. Display 230 may include announcement bars, such as bar 232. Highlight window 236 may be used to make selections on display 230. Announcement bar 232 may include recorded content icon 234 to indicate that the program identified in the advertisement bar 232 may be available from a PVR. On the 230 Ads by Type splash screen, the

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL Recorded programs may be listed above.

from other shows (for example, before announcements of upcoming shows). If desired, recorded programs can be sorted by priority in the list and then by recording date.

FIG. 14 shows the illustrative channel ad display 240 that may be provided by the interactive television application. The display screen 240 may be displayed in response to a selection of the per channel option 511 of FIG. 5. The display screen 240 may display a list of programs that are on a particular channel. The display screen 240 may include the channel change option 242 which may provide the user with the ability to scroll through the different channels provided by a user television service provider to view advertisements on those channels. A list of recorded programs may be a particular channel choice that is on the list of available channels 20 using the channel change option 242. The list of recorded programs can be placed as a channel choice between the highest numbered channel and the lowest numbered channel. The display screen 240 can list the recorded programs within the 25 announcement bars, such as the 244 bar. The recorded programs are

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I

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they can sort by priority and then prwa. fnnhn and time

In another embodiment, the recorded programs can be listed with the advertisements for the channel from which the program was recorded. Recorded shows can be listed first, followed by current shows and upcoming shows. The highlight window 246 can be used to make selections on the display screen 240.

Figure 15 shows illustrative hourly advertisement display screen 250 that may be provided by the interactive television application. The display screen 250 may be displayed in response to the selection of the hourly option 509 in Figure 5. The display screen 250 may display a list of programs available to be viewed: by the user at a particular time. Recorded programs can also be included in this program list. Recorded programs can be included in this list between the highest and lowest numbered channels.

Display screen 250 may include time change option 252 which may provide the user with the ability to scroll through hourly advertisements. Display screen 250 may include announcement bars for recorded programs, such as bar 254. The highlight window 259 can be used to

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making selections on display screen 250. If desired, as the user scrolls through different schedules using time shift option 252, the recorded program (s) listed may be changed. Display screen 250 may also include announcement bars for current or upcoming programs, such as bar 258. As displayed on display screen 250, the recorded programs are listed between the highest and lowest numbered channels. If desired, channel zero can be designated to access recorded program announcements. For example, in response to a zero channel selection, the interactive television application may quickly display advertisements for recorded programs on display screen 250. If desired, there may be a quick access option to provide access to a complete list of all recorded programs. if desired, the schedule display screen can show multiple half-hours of programming, for example in a grid format.

Figure 16 shows the illustrative browser or quick review overlay 260 that may be provided by the interactive television application. Examples of interactive television program guides with 25 search and quick review features are

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INSTITUTO MÍX1CANO

DE LA PRCMEDAD INDUSTRIAL illustratively show in Solioitiud'-do · raterantes eteEE.UU. No. 09 / 330,793 filed June 11, 1999 by Boyer et al. , which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Overlay 260 may include channel change option 262. When the interactive television application is in browser mode, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to scroll through the channels using option 262. - In response to a channel change, the title 10 264 may change to be the title of the current program on the new channel. A title for a recorded program can be displayed when a user changes channels to a channel that has been designated for recorded programs. Recorded programs can be designated between the highest and lowest numbered channel 15.

In response to pressing the left or right arrow keys on the remote control, the interactive television application can display titles, in title 264 for earlier or later programs on a currently selected channel when the currently selected channel is a regular television channel. In response to pressing a left or right arrow key on the remote control, when a title of a recorded program is displayed, the interactive television application 25 may display the title of other programs.

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MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

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engravings. Recorded program titles can be sorted by priority, date, or any other convenient criteria. In response to pressing an OK button on the remote control, when the title of a current program is displayed on a different channel, the interactive television application may switch to that channel. In response to pressing an OK button on the remote control, when the title of a recorded program is displayed at title 264, the interactive television application can play back that recorded program. In response to pressing a report key on the remote control, the interactive television application may display an information display screen for a program that is identified at title 264. The information display screen may be displayed for a program currently on the air, upcoming or recorded.

When the interactive television application is in a quick review mode, a user can change the channel to change the current channel being displayed and to change the title 264 of the current program on that channel in overlay 260. A chosen channel for recorded programs may not be available in quick review mode. Alternatively, a channel may be available during quick review mode to view the recorded program. The television app

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROFIEOAL INDUSTRIA l

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Interactive can start playback of a recorded program when a user quickly reviews the recorded program. If the program has been partially watched before, by quickly reviewing the recorded program, the interactive TV application can start playback of the program from the point where it was most recently watched. Quick review mode can be made available when a user is watching a live television program that is playing from a buffer for that program. As used here, a live television program refers to a program that is being watched at the same time as it is being broadcast.

An interactive television application can allow users to set PVR installation options. Figure 17 shows the illustrative 430 process that can be used to adjust the PVR installation options. In step 432, the interactive television application may display a PVR setup display screen. At step 432, the PVR installation options may be provided to the user and may include steps 434, 436, 438, 440, 442, 444, 446, 448, 450, 452, 454, 456, 458, 466, 468 and 470.

In step 434, the television application

P03 / 115UV Mexican institor of INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY can provide the usS3? Tü 1 a ¹ capaujidutl ·. to edit the schedule that the record buffer is to be used before and after programs that are scheduled to be recorded on a particular channel or programs that have a particular program type. If the user selects to edit the before and after recording buffer times, the interactive television application may display a display screen of the recording buffer before / after times by type / channel in step 460. At step 436, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to set the default quality for a recording. In step 438, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to edit the quality of a recording based on the program channel or program type. If the user selects to edit the quality of a recording by channel or by type, the interactive television application may display a recording quality edit display screen by channel / type at step 462. At step 440, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to set the quality of a recording of a series. At steps 442 and .444 the interactive television application can provide you with

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to the user, respectively, the ability to default to the pre-record buffer time and after-record buffer time to be used for scheduling recordings.

At step 446, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to set the default recording priority for a program. The recording priority option may, for example, include a "can't fail" priority, a "possible" priority, a "desired" priority, a "free space" priority, or any other convenient priority. At step 448, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to set buffer options, which may include steps 466, 468, and 470. It should be understood that the words buffer memory are sometimes used here to refer to a recording buffer that will be used to record television content before or after a scheduled recording to prevent outages due to schedule variations and sometimes to refer to storing live TV to allow live TV features like pause.

At step 466, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability

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to set the maximum size (or maximum time) to be used for storing live TV. At step 468, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to set the quality of a buffer for live television.

If desired, the user can choose different buffer qualities for different channels, different types of channels, or different types of programs. : At step 470, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select an option to resolve record buffer time conflicts. If the user selects to resolve such conflicts, the interactive television application may display a buffer time conflict display screen, at step 464.

At step 450, the interactive television application may provide default series recording options that may include steps 452, 454, 456, and 458. At step 452, the interactive television application 20 may provide the user with the capability to select whether, by default, the interactive television application should record programs that a user has watched before. At step 454, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select whether the television application

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Interactive should, by default, record programs that are rerun. At step 456, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select which channels the interactive television application 5 should use, by default, to record episodes of series. At step 458, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select, by default, to record syndicated episodes, first run episodes, or both syndicated and first run episodes for recording a series. All options set in this process can be stored in memory, and used by default when scheduling a new recording. Any of these settings can be overridden when a recording is scheduled.

If desired, each user can enter individual default PVR settings.

Figure 18 shows the illustrative PVR 54 0 setup display screen that may be provided by the interactive television application.

The PVR setup splash screen 540 can be displayed when a user selects to configure a specific recording or when a user selects to configure default recording settings. The display screen 540 can provide the user with the ability to make various settings for a PVR. Yes

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IMPI

102 MEXICAN INSTITUTE

FROM AGE C

INDUSTRIAL '-'J-itS— If desired, the PVR · installedβΤΙ splash screen 540 may be displayed to include options for configuring a specific recording without including options for system default settings. Conversely, the PVR setup splash screen 540 can be displayed to include options for configuring system bypasses without including options for configuring a specific recording.

The display screen 540 may include the before / after option 542 by channel / buffer schedule type, the default quality option 544, the quality by channel / type option 546, the recording quality option 548 by a series, option 55 0 of before default buffer time, option 552 of default buffer time, option 554 of recording priority, option 556 of recording previously viewed programs, Recording Repeat Program Option 558, One Series Recording Channel Selection Option 560, One Series Recording Type Option 562, Buffer Time Conflict Option 563, Buffer Buffer Option 570 Live TV size and Live TV quality buffer option 572, which may be provided based on illustrative steps 434, 436, 438, 440,

442, 444, 446, 452, 454, 456, 458, 466, 468 and 470 as shown

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103 shown in Figure 17. Other installation options can be provided if desired.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select before / after buffer times option 542 by channel / type by moving the highlight window 568 over option 542 and pressing an OK button on the remote control. The interactive television application may display a buffer before / after time display screen by channel / type in response to a selection of option 542. The interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 568 over the default quality option 544 and scroll through the quality settings to select a default recording quality that can be used for recording. except recordings that have been specifically configured by the user to have particular quality settings or unless they have been overridden by options such as 546 and

548. The display screen 1400 of Figure 25 can, for example, be used to set a quality for a specific recording. If desired, display screen 540 may include an option to adjust a quality for a specific recording.

The interactive television application can

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MEXICAN INSTITUTE

Of the property

INDUSTRIAL

<img file="MX347698B_D0103.tif" />

104 provide the user with the ability ^ to select option 54S for quality by channel / type, by moving window 568 over option 546 and pressing an OK button on the remote control. The interactive television application 5 may display a recording quality edit display screen, per channel / type in response to a selection of option 546.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 568 over the recording quality option 548 for a series and scroll through the default quality settings to be used for series recordings. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 568 15 over option 550 before default buffer time or option 552 after default buffer time and scroll through buffer time settings available to set, respectively, the default buffer time before a scheduled recording and the default buffer time after a scheduled recording. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 568 over recording priority option 554 and scroll through

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MEXICAN INSTITUTE

OF INDUSTRIAL EROEIETY

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Priority settings to set the default recording pilO'li'Üdd CttT 'to be used for recordings. Recording priority options can include a priority of can't fail, a priority of if possible, a priority of if desired, a priority of if space is available, and other convenient recording priority settings.

If desired, a recording priority that has been set for a program can be converted to! 10 is a delete priority for a recording of that show. An example of this conversion might be a program whose recording priority was set to be non-faulty, and is converted to a delete priority, of never deleting when that program is recorded. The remaining recording priority options i • may also have delete priority options | corresponding.

I The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 568 over the option 556 to record previously viewed programs and toggle between yes or no to set a default value for whether the application of interactive television can record programs previously viewed by the

I user. The interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to move the viewing window

P03 / 11SUV highlight 568 over option 558 to record repeating piol / l and toggle between yes or no to set a default value for whether the interactive television application should record programs that are repeating. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 568 over the series recording channel selection option 560 and scroll through its settings to select which channels can be used by default for recording. of series. Channel selections can include only the original channel, all possible channels, a user-selected channel selection, or any other convenient channel selection.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 568 over the series recording type option 5 62 and scroll through the series episode type settings to establish what type of series episode. a program can be recorded by default. Series recording types for episodes can include syndicated episodes, first-run episodes, both, or any other convenient episode type, such as recording all stations, current station only, or other types of episodes. the interactive television application can provide the user the ability to select l'03 / 115UV

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IMPI

ΙΝΓΠΤΤΓΓΌ MEXICAN

FROM INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY the time conflict option 563 from momoir.T to -intermediate by moving the highlight window 568 over option 563 and pressing an OK button on the remote control. The interactive television application may display a buffer time conflict display screen in response to a selection of option 563. Option 563 can be used to resolve conflicts by recording buffer times. Save option 564 can be used to save any PVR settings that may have been selected by the user on display screen 540. In response to a selection of cancel option 566, the interactive television application may exit the display screen 540 without saving any of the selections made by the user and can return the user to a previous display screen.

The interactive television application may provide the user the ability to move the highlight window 568 over the live TV buffer 2 0 size option 570 and scroll through the size options to set how many hours of space storage of a PVR can be used to record live television. Option 570 can include a time element and a percentage element that can 2 5 indicate how much storage space in a PVR is

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108

IMPI

MEXICAN INSTITUTE

OF THE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY will designate to save live television. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 568 over the live TV buffer quality option 572 and scroll through the quality options to set the memory quality of the live TV. live television that can be used by the PVR to save live television.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 568 over option 574 to enable recompression and toggle between yes or no to set whether to enable recompression for recorded programs. When option 574 is selected by a user, the interactive television application can recompress re-recorded programs through background processing using a more efficient digital video compression technique, such as MPEG-4. Recompressing a recording can reduce the storage space that was consumed for that particular recording.

If desired, the application can allow the user to choose different buffer sizes based on channel, channel type, program type, or other factors. For example, one or more presentation screens or overlays can be displayed including an option

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109

INSTITUTE M «ICANO

OF THE INDUSTRIAL rWHtüAr to allocate different live TV buffer sizes to different channels, an option to allocate different live TV buffer sizes for different types of programs (e.g. movies, sports, documentaries, live TV shows). live, new or other types of program categories or genres), an option to allocate different live TV buffer sizes for different types of channels (i.e. cable, network, broadcast, or other channel type) or an option to allocate different buffer sizes for other factors . The interactive television application may allow the user to move the highlight window within these display screens or overlays to make selections for the default settings (ie, buffer size) for the live television buffer. A display screen, such as the one shown in Figure 19 for record buffer before / after time defaults, can be used to implement these live television buffer settings. These options can be accessed by the user through a PVR installation splash screen or through other convenient means.

If desired, the application can allow the

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110

INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA MONEDAD INDUSTRIAL user choose different buffer qualities based on channel, channel type, program type or other factors. For example, one or more presentation screens or overlays may be displayed including an option to assign different live TV buffer qualities for different channels, an option to assign different live TV buffer qualities for different types of channels. shows (i.e. movies, sports, documentaries, 10 live shows, new or other categories or genres of shows), an option to assign different live TV buffer qualities for different types of channels (i.e. cable, network, broadcast or other channel type) or an option to assign different buffer qualities for others factors. The interactive television application may allow the user to move a highlight window within these display screens or overlays to make selections for the default settings (eg, buffer quality) for the live television buffer. A display screen like the one shown in Figure 20 for recording quality defaults by content type can be used to implement these live television buffer settings. These options can

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111

INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA FROPIiDAU INDUSTRIAL be accessed by a user through a PVR installation presentation screen or through other convenient means.

Figure 19 shows the display screen 5 720 of time before / after buffer by channel / type that may be provided by the interactive television application. The display screen 720 may provide the user with the ability to set default before and after times of recording buffers 10 for scheduled recordings of programs on a particular channel or programs of a particular type. Examples of interactive television program guides that may have features to reduce cut-offs are illustratively shown in US Patent Application No.

09 / 881,005, filed March 29, 2001 to Ellis et al., Which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

Until a user manually sets the before and after recording buffers for a scheduled recording by channel or by program type, the interactive television application can set the recording buffer time for a program based on in options 550 and 552 of Figure 18 that are used to set the before and after time by 2 5 bypassing the buffer of programs to be

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112 Mexican ινητπγγο Di LA INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY engravings. On the 720 display screen, a user, for example, can set the recording buffer time for after sports programs to be 15 minutes to take into account the tendency of the 5 sports programs to last longer than the time. programmed.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 742 over the record buffer time option 722 above, by channel and scroll through the channels and select a channel of interest in particular. The highlight window 742 can be moved over the before-time buffer time option 724 to scroll through a selection of times and set the record buffer time to be used before programs on that channel. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 742 over the record buffer time option 72 6 after, by channel, and scroll through the 20 channels and select the channel of interest. in particular.

The highlight window 742 may be moved over to the buffer time after time option 728 to 'scroll through a selection of times and set the record buffer time to be used after programs on that channel.

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO T £ * W * Cj DE LA MCTIEDAD vy ~ ¿y

INDUSTRIAL

The inteT ^ -cl · / y ** television application provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 742 over the record buffer time option 730 from before, by program type, and 5 scroll through the types of programs to select a particular type of program of interest, The highlight window 742 can be moved over to the recording buffer time option 732 before time to scroll through a selection of 10 times and set the buffer time before being used for programs of one type of recording. particular program. The interactive television application may provide the user the ability to move the highlight window 742 over the program type after recording buffer time option 734 and scroll through the program types to select a program type. particular type of program of interest. The highlight window 742 can be moved over to the buffer time option 736 after time to scroll through a selection of times and set the after buffer time to be used for all programs of a particular type. . If desired, options 724, 728, 732, and 736 each can include a default setting that will set that characteristic to use a setting by

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114

MKICANO INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PRGPlEDAf related omission, chosen in the options 5sn and rn a - Figure 18.

The interactive television application may allow a user to define the default before buffer time and after buffer time based on channel type. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 742 over buffer time option 6912 above, by channel type, and scroll through 1 channel types to select a type. channel of particular interest. The highlight window 742 can be moved over to Buffer Time Before Time option 6914 to scroll through a selection of times and set the default before buffer time before being used by programs in a type in particular channel.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 742 over the next buffer time option 6918 by channel type and scroll through channel types to select a particular channel type. of interest. Highlight window 742 can be moved over to after time buffer time option 6920 to scroll through

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of a selection of times and estabj ^ jx ^^ A- ^ t'ieiilpb of after the default buffer to be used by programs on a particular type of channel.

The save option 73 8 can be used to save the before and after buffer time settings that were selected by a user on the splash screen 720. In response to a cancel selection option 740, the interactive television can exit display screen 720 without saving any of the user's selections and can return the user to a previous display screen.

Figure 20 shows the illustrative per channel / type recording quality display screen 750 that may be provided by the interactive television application. The display screen 750 may provide the user with the ability to set default recording qualities for programs on a particular channel or type of program. Until the user manually sets the default recording quality for programs on a particular channel or program type, the interactive television application can set each recording quality based on option 544 in Figure 18, which it is a general default recording quality option.

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116 Mexican iNS-mvro de ta homedap INDUSTRIAL

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 764 over option 752 and scroll through the channels to select a particular channel of interest. The highlight window 764 can be moved over to the channel quality option 754 to scroll through the recording quality options and select a recording quality for that channel. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 764 over option 756 and scroll through program types to select a particular program type of interest. The highlight window 764 can be moved over to option 758 quality by program type to scroll through the recording quality options and set the recording quality for that program type. If desired, the default quality for any type of channel or program can be set by default in which case programs on that type or on that default channel will use the settings chosen in option 544 of Figure 18. If desired, the default recording quality for series recordings (option 548 in Figure 18) can also be set on screen 750 by means of series program type settings option 756 and using option 758 of quality by type of

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117

INSTITUTO MEXICAN! OF. THE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY program to select a desired recording quality) *

If desired, the interactive television application can allow the user to define the default recording quality based on the type of channel. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 764 over the channel type option 6824 and scroll through channel types (e.g. sports, network, movies, public access, premium, new, 10 etc.), to select a particular type of channel of interest. The highlight window 764 can be moved over to option 6826 for quality by channel type to scroll through the recording quality options and set the default recording quality to use based on the channel type. .

The save option 760 can be used to save settings for the recording quality that a user selects. In response to a selection of the cancel option 762, the interactive television application 20 may exit the display screen 750 without saving any of the selections made by the user and may return you to a previous display screen.

Figure 21 shows illustrative display screen 25 770 of memory time conflicts

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118

INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE IA PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL intermediate that can be provided by interactive television application. The 770 display screen can provide the user with the ability to select settings to resolve recording conflicts between 5 recording buffers and programs and also resolve conflicts between different recording buffers. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 772 over the recording buffer priority option 774 and toggle between yes or no to select whether the before and after recording buffers have a lower priority than programs to be recorded. If the user selects yes for option 774, conflicts between the programs and the recording buffers can be resolved in favor of the programs.

The interactive television application may also provide the user with the ability to select option 778 and option 780 to resolve 20 recording conflicts between buffers. If the user selects yes for option 778, the interactive television application can resolve conflicts between buffers based on the recording priority of a scheduled recording that is associated with each buffer.

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If the user selects no for option 778, option 780 can be used to assign different priorities to the before and after times of the buffer. For example, option 780 can be used to allocate after-buffer times to have a higher priority than before-buffer times. The save option 784 and the cancel option 786 can be used either to save the settings selected by a user or to exit without saving the settings.

Figure 22 shows illustrative display screen 870 of priority level information that may be provided by the interactive television application. The display screen 870 can display the amount of free memory total hours remaining in a PVR. The display screen 870 can also display a list of how much memory remains to be used for each priority level and indicate when free memory will be used for recordings based on recordings that are currently scheduled.

Display screen 870 may include section 872 of memory usage information. Section 872 indicates the total memory space of the PVR, the total memory used, and how much memory remains. The numbers of 25 hours available and hours remaining can be based on

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MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF PROHE DA! INDUSTRY!

Any convenient assumptions about the recording quality, such as the average recording quality of current recordings, the default recording quality, the recording quality for recordings to come, or any other convenient method. The display screen 870 may include the list 874 of priority level information. List 874 can include a list of each priority level, an indicator of how much memory is currently used for each priority level, and information on when the guide can start deleting programs to make room for new scheduled recordings that have a priority level. particular.

An interactive television application can be implemented to provide PVR features for PPV programming. Figure 23 shows the illustrative process 1200 that can be used to select and configure a PPV program. At step 1216, the interactive television application may display a PPV information display screen, for example, when a user selects an information option for a particular PPV program from an advertisement screen or from any other location in which to A user may be allowed to indicate an interest in a particular PPV program. The interactive television application can provide related program guide options in

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step 1218. Related ^ ura ~ Vdg * 'T5 ^ options may include last, command / view, lock, reminders, times, and any other convenient program guide options. At step 1224, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select a registration option to set and / or configure a PPV recording. A record key on a remote control can also be used to set a PPV program to record.

If the PPV program has not been pre-ordered, the interactive television application can lead the user through the ordering process before scheduling the recording. User can set recording priority for PPV program. A step to set a recording priority like 651 in Figure 6 can also be included in process 1200. Options or steps that relate to series recordings such as steps 608, 653, 655, and 657 can also be included in process 1200, for example, when a PPV program that is scheduled to be recorded is part of a package. If desired, some of the serial installation options may not be offered for PPV packages, such as first-time / syndicated.

If the user chooses to record a PPV program, the interactive television application may require the user to

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user sort the PPV show before scheduling a recording for that show. If desired, the interactive television application can automatically order a PPV program when the user selects to record the PPV program. In another embodiment, the interactive television application may automatically display the PPV ordering screens as part of the recording setup process. A recording may not be scheduled if the user does not complete the order for a desired PPV program. If the PPV program is not a PPV program impulse command (that is, an automatic number identification PPV program), the interactive television application may allow the user to schedule a recording prior to placing a command for the program.

If the user selects a recording option for a PPV program, the interactive television application can proceed to step 1206. At step 1206, the user can be provided with options reacted to the PPV recording. Step 1206 may include steps 1232, 1234, 1236, 1238, 1240, and 1242. At step 1234, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select when the program should be recorded. For example, the user may select a particular broadcast from

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a list of PPVi Bn— 1236 broadcast times, the interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to select the recording quality for the PPV program. In steps 1238 and 1240, the interactive television application may provide the user, respectively, the ability to set a recording buffer time before and after the scheduled broadcast of a desired PPV program. At step 1232, 10 the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select a save option to schedule the PPV program to be recorded and save the settings that the user has selected. At step 1242, the interactive television application 15 may provide the user with the ability to cancel and exit to a previous display screen without scheduling a recording.

FIG. 24 shows illustrative program information display screen 1300 for a PPV program that has not yet been scheduled for recording. The display screen 1300 may be displayed in response to a selection of an info button on a remote control when, for example, the advertisement bar 702 of the display screen 700 of Figure 7 is placed over a PPV program. Now, with reference to the

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Figure 24, the display screen 13 0Ω tap ίηαΊ ui * · the title announcement bar 1306. The display screen 1300 may include the video program 1340 for a program currently on the air on a tuned channel. Display screen 1300 may include information about a PPV program that is listed on display bar 1306 and may include program guide options related to the PPV program.

The display screen 1300 may include the option 1330 to record. In response to a user's selection of option 1330, the interactive television application may display the PPV recording facility display screen 1400 as shown in Figure 25.

Now referring to Figure 25, the PPV recording facility display screen 1400 may include save option 1402, select time option 1410, quality option 1404, buffer time option 1412, before, option 20 1414 buffer time after, option

1416 Cancel Recording and Recording Priority Option 1420. These options can be provided based on illustrative steps 1232, 1234, 1236, 1238, 1240 and

1242 shown in Figure 23. The interactive television application can provide the user with the

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INDUSTRIAL ability to move highlight window 1418 over time select option 1410 and use remote control navigation buttons to scroll through the programmed times of a particular PPV program to select a recording time. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 1418 over the quality option 1404 and use the remote control navigation buttons to scroll through the recording quality settings to select a quality for the recording. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 1418 over the before buffer time option 1412 or the after buffer time option 1414 and use the navigation buttons on the remote control. to set the before and after buffer time to be used in a recording. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 1418 over the recording priority option 1420 and use the remote control navigation controls to set the recording priority. Selecting the save option 1402 can schedule the desired recording and save related recording settings. In response to the option selection

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1416 If you want to cancel, the interactive phone application can exit the current presentation screen and return to the previous presentation screen without scheduling the PPV program to be recorded or if desired, the option 1416 to cancel can cancel the recording. scheduled PPV program. Other convenient options can be provided. If desired, the application can allow the user to select a recording option for a PPV program that has already been scheduled to be recorded. In this case, the application can display a screen such as the 1400 display to allow the user to modify the recording settings or cancel the scheduled recording. Thus, PVR functionality can be provided to PPV programs.

An interactive television application can be implemented to provide PVR features for VOD programming. Figure 26 shows the illustrative process 1250 that can be used to select and configure a recording from a VOD program.

At step 1252, the interactive television application may display a VOD information display screen, for example, when a user selects an information option for a particular VOD program from an advertisement screen or any other convenient location in which a user can

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FROM THE INDUSTRIAL RROPltDAP indicate an interest in a VOD program. Interactive television may provide program guide related options at step 1254. Such options may include last, order, reminder, lock, and any other convenient options for program guides. At step 1256, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select a record option, a remote control record button, or a record option from a live control overlay to set and / or configure. a VOD recording.

If the user chooses to record a VOD program, the interactive television application may prompt the user to order the VOD program before scheduling a recording of that program. If desired, the illustrative television application may automatically order the VOD program when the user selects to record it. In another embodiment, the interactive television application may automatically display screens for ordering a VOD as part of the recording setup process. If desired, the recording may not be installed if the user does not complete an order from a VOD program.

If the user selects an option to record a VOD program, the interactive television application can proceed to step 1258. At that step, they can

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provide the user with the options xelátTU'fiySlSB 'ΰόϋ 1U. 'recording a VOD. Step 1258 may include steps 1260, 1262, 1264, 1266, 1268, and 1270). In step 1262, the interactive television application may propose a selection of times in which the VOD program can be recorded. The interactive television application can propose a recording schedule and allow the user to scroll to other possible recording schedules. At step 1264, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select a recording quality of the VOD program. At steps 1266 and 1268, the interactive television application may provide the user with, respectively, the ability to set a before and after recording buffer time of the scheduled recording time of a VOD program. Selecting a before or after buffer time for a recording of a VOD program can be beneficial, for example, in situations where playback of a VOD program extends beyond the specified duration for that program. Playback of a VOD program may extend, for example, beyond a specified duration when there are interruptions in the delivery of the program. However, a buffer time before or after a VOD program

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typically it shouldn't be necessary. ' Id t stage 12β0 ·; The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select a save option to schedule the VOD program to be recorded and save the settings that the user has selected. User can set recording priority for VOD program. A step for recording priority settings such as step 651 of Figure 6, can also be included in process 1250 to allow the user to set a recording priority for a VOD program. Other options from the process 600 of Figure 6 may also be included as appropriate. In step 1270, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to cancel and exit to a previous display screen without scheduling a recording.

If a VOD or PPV program is marked as copy-protected, the interactive television application can restrict whether a user can schedule a recording of that copy-protected program. If desired, the interactive television application may not automatically store live video from VOD or PPV programs that are copy protected.

VOD or PPV programs can be considered to have different prices, depending on usage. For

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For example, it can be a price to see oh v otm prp —- or save them. The price to record a program can be displayed when the user selects to record it. If desired, VOD or PPV programs can be marked with three different prices - the first two being the same type of the two prices described above and a third price being for each reproduction of a recording. The interactive television application can also support pay-to-record and pay-to-play of ordinary content. The interactive television application can also support a system in which the user pays for space to record for the amount of storage space used on a remote server (for example, pay for the amount of storage on a remote server that stores personal video user).

Figure 27 shows illustrative program information display screen 12 80 for a VOD program that has not yet been scheduled for recording. The display screen 1280 may be displayed in response to a selection of a remote control report button when, for example, the advertisement bar 702 of the display screen 700 of Figure 7 is placed over a VOD program. Now, referring to Figure 27, the display screen 1280 may include the title display bar 1282. The

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPERTY INDUSTRIAL display screen 1280 can inclülí¹ Information on a VOD program that is listed on display bar 1282 and may include program guide options related to the VOD program.

The display screen 1280 may include the option 1284 to record. In response to a user's selection of option 1284, the interactive television application may display the VOD recording facility display screen 1350 as shown in Figure 28.

Now referring to Figure 28, the recording facility display screen 1350 may include the save option 1352, the proposed recording schedule option 1362, the quality option 1354, the buffer time option 1356 from before , then buffer time option 1358, write cancel option 1360, and record priority option 1366. These options can be provided based on the illustrative steps 1260, 1262, 1264, 1266, 1268 and 1270 shown in Figure 26.

As mentioned above, the before buffer time option 1356 and the after buffer time option 1358 may not be required for recording VOD programs and may not be user selectable.

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The llltéractivá television application can propose a recording time for a VOD program based on currently scheduled recordings and reminders. The interactive television application 5 can also determine which recording times are available for recording the VOD program and can create a list of proposed recording times.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the 1364 highlight window over the proposed 1362 recording schedule option and use the remote control navigation buttons to scroll through the proposed schedules to select a schedule. of recording. The proposed times may include the current time to allow the user to immediately record the VOD program. The interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to move the 1364 highlight window over the 1354 quality option and use the navigation buttons on the remote control to scroll through the 20 recording quality settings to select the quality. of a recording. The interactive television application can provide the user the ability to move the 1364 highlight window over the 1366 record priority option and use the navigation buttons on the remote control to set the record priority.

P03 / 115UV for a recording. Selecting ~ This save option 1352 can schedule the desired recording based on the recording related settings that have been set by the user. In response to selection 5 of option 1360 to cancel, the interactive television application can exit the current display screen and return to the previous one without programming to record the VOD program, or if desired, option 1360 to cancel is You can use to cancel the scheduled recording of the VOD program. If desired, the splash screen 1350 can be displayed if the user selects a record option for a VOD program that has already been scheduled for recording, in which case the application may allow the user to modify the recording settings or cancel the recording. 15 scheduled recording.

While a VOD program is being recorded, the interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to only control the playback of the VOD program locally using the control options

0 typical PVR flow rates. For example, the user may not be allowed to control the playback of a VOD server when the VOD program is being recorded. However, the user may be allowed to control the playback of the VOD program through the user's local PVR. User control of playback for a

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VOD program may be available until — aJ ........- tap 'on the-¹that the VOD program has been recorded by the PVR.

A PVR can be used to record, play or store television content. Figure 29 shows the illustrative process 1500 that may be involved when using a PVR. In step 1520, the interactive television application may display an overlay reminder for a scheduled recording that is displayed shortly before the scheduled recording. The recording may have been programmed by the user or by the interactive television application. The overlay reminder can include one or more options. The overlay can allow the user to cancel the recording (if a series recording is configured, this would cancel the recording of a single episode). Overlay can provide the user with the ability to hide the overlay so the user can finish watching the current program and start recording at the scheduled time. The overlay can allow the user to finish viewing

0 the current program and start recording the program immediately. The overlay can allow the user to tune in the program but cancel the recording, but not save a copy. In response to user non-activity, the overlay can be removed after a predetermined amount of time and the application of

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Interactive TV can tune · ® '' · '^ rariaT ~ ÍíevaTTdCT to air the scheduled program and can start recording. At step 1510, the interactive television application may start recording a program and may display a start recording overlay.

In step 1512, the step following 1510, the interactive television application may display live video of a program being recorded and may monitor user activity to determine whether to select to cancel recording. For example, the user may be allowed to select to cancel a recording by pressing a record button on the remote control or press a different button on the remote control to change the current channel to the channel used for recording when recording is in progress. If the user does not select to cancel the recording, the interactive television application can continue to step 1514. Otherwise, step 1516 can be performed when the user selects to cancel the recording. At step 1516, the interactive television application may display a record cancel overlay. If desired, the cancel recording overlay can provide the user the ability to select to confirm that the recording should be canceled. If the user chooses not to cancel the recording, then the TV app

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL interactiva can return to step 1512. If the user chooses to cancel the recording, then the interactive television application can continue to step 1518. During a recording, a user can select to pause, return, fast forward or take some action to control playback without affecting the recording of the program. The user can fast-forward to the live point of the program, the time at which the new content is currently being recorded. If desired, the application can allow a user to view a previously recorded program while a current program is being recorded.

The interactive television application may continue to step 1518 that follows step 1514. At step 1514, the interactive television application may display a finished recording overlay, which may display a message indicating that the recording is complete. . The recording, fully or partially complete (that is, partially complete if canceled by the user), may be available to the user for playback, for example, from a recording announcement display screen (see Figure 36).

Live TV programming can be stored when a recording is canceled or completed.

5 For example, a tuner that was used for recording

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MEXICAN INSTITUTE

OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY can be used to store a do · toelavioión aa program. I live in a PVR when recording is canceled or completed. If desired, the system can use multiple tuners to allow multiple shows to be recorded simultaneously, allowing the user to watch a show while one or more shows are being recorded. At step 1518, the interactive television application may display and buffer full live video screens. Also, 'at step 1518, the live television application may display a live control overlay when the user invokes the overlay. The live control overlay can be invoked, for example, by pressing particular buttons on the remote control such as the play, return, pause, fast forward or stop button. A dedicated button can also be used to invoke the overlay. The live control overlay can include PVR related task options such as play, pause, return, fast forward, record, and 20 other convenient task options. The options in the live control overlay can be used to play, rewind, pause, or fast-forward live television programming. Live control can be removed automatically if left unused for a certain period of time. The television app

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Interactive may remain at step 1518 until a recording option is selected for a live television program or until step 1520.

Step 152 0 may be repeated to begin process 1500 when the interactive television application displays another reminder or record overlay for a scheduled recording. Step 1510 may be repeated to start process 1500 when, for example, a record option is selected when a user is watching a live television program.

If desired, a recording can be made without exhibiting any overlap. For example, a cable box can be turned off when a recording is scheduled to begin. The application can tune in to the selected program and start recording to local storage without turning on the user's computer. Alternatively, a program can be recorded on a remote server without any notification to the user.

A record start overlay can be displayed when a PVR starts recording a program. Figure 30 shows illustrative start-to-record overlay 1602 that may be provided by the interactive television application. Overlay 1602 can be displayed by the interactive television application when it starts recording a program (this

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es, start recording a program in step 1510 of Figure 29). Overlay 1602 may indicate that a current program is currently being recorded. Overlay 1602 can be displayed on video 1604 for playback of the current program in the background. Overlay 1602 can be removed from viewing after a specified period of time or when the user selects an exit button on the remote control. The interactive television application can record the current program without including the overlay 1602 as part of the recording. If desired, television programming can be recorded without including presentation screens or overlays as part of the recording.

A user can also be allowed to take other actions when watching a program and record it without those actions being reflected in the recording. For example, a user may be allowed to change the volume or mute a program that is being recorded without those changes being included as part of the recorded program audio. A user can be allowed to pause, go back or perform other flow control options for the program as it is being recorded, without affecting the recording of the program. A user can be allowed to watch a previously recorded program when a new program is being recorded, without affecting the recording of the program

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new .

Figure 31 shows an illustrative stop recording overlay 1702 that may be provided by the interactive television application, overlay 1702 can display the current video 1704 for a program, in response to the user's attempt to change a current channel while is recording video 1704. Overlay 1702 may be an example of step 1516 of process 1500 in Figure 29. If desired, the application can allow the user to change channels without affecting a recording that is in progress, if, for example, the system includes multiple tuners or if the program is being recorded on a remote server.

Overlay 1702 can include option 1706 no and option 1708 yes. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to use the highlight window 1710 to select option 1706 no or option 1708 yes. In response to a selection of option 1706 of no, the interactive television application may continue to record and display the current video 1704 for the current program. In response to the selection of option 1708 of yes, the interactive television application may stop recording and allow the user to change the channel. If there is no response to overlay 1702, applying

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Interactive TV can remove it and continue recording. If desired, a passive stop recording overlay or a recording cancel overlay may be displayed when a user selects to cancel a current recording.

Figure 32 shows illustrative finished recording overlay 1804 that may be provided by the interactive television application. Overlay 1804 can be displayed when a scheduled recording is completed. Overlay 1804 may include option 1806 to keep recording and option 1808 to delete recording. The interactive television application may provide the user the ability to move the highlight window 1810 over option 1806 of keep record to select it. A user can select option 1806 to remove option 1804 and keep the program recording on the PVR. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 1810 over the delete record option 1808 to select that option (that is, by pressing an "OK" button on the remote control). A user may select option 1808 to remove overlay 1804 and remove the program recording from the PVR. In response to 25 user inactivity after a period of time

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Specifically, the interactive television application can automatically select to hold the recording and remove overlay 1804. Overlay 1804 can be displayed over current video 1802 for a particular program. If desired, overlay 1804 may not be displayed if, for example, a reminder or recording is scheduled immediately after the recording is complete.

A PVR can be used to store a live television program and control the flow of live television programming (that is, pause a live program). Figure 33 shows illustrative live control overlay 1904 that may be provided by the interactive television application. The 1904 overlay can be displayed when a user invokes program flow control options, for example, by pressing a particular button on the remote control such as pause, back, one dedicated to invoking the overlay, or another convenient button on the remote control. . Overlay 1904 may include options for controlling the flow of a live television program. Overlay 1904 can be provided based on step 1518 of process 1500 of Figure 29. The 1904 overlay can be displayed over current 1902 video for a particular program. Overlay 1904 can

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include 1906 selectable advertisement, 1908 return option, 1910 replay option, 1912 record option, 1914 pause option, 1916 program title and 1918 fast forward option.

In response to a user selection; of the return option 1908, the interactive television application may display buffered video 1902 that is being returned. In response to the selection of pause option 1914, the interactive television application may display buffered video 1902 of the current program that has been paused. In response to the selection of the playback option 1910, the buffered video 1902 can play back at normal speed. The overlay 1904 may also provide an option to advance video 1902 frame by frame (that is, repeatedly selecting the pause option 1914). In response to the selection of fast forward option 1918, the interactive television application may display stored video 1902 of the current program in fast forward. In response to the selection of record option 1912, the interactive television application may record the current program. The 1908 go back and 1918 fast forward option can be used to go back and fast forward a program at different speeds. the range

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different speeds may include a cylinder with different slow motion speeds at different fast forward speeds. Shifting between different speeds can be accomplished through successive selections of the same option (that is, successive selections of the 1908 fast forward option or successive selections of the 1908 return option). To stop a recording of a current program or stop a playback of a recording, the interactive television application 10 may require the user to press a stop button on the remote control once or more than once to confirm the desired action. Stopping a PVR to stop recording can cancel that scheduled recording. If desired, a height option can be displayed in the 1904 15 overlay when appropriate.

A stop button on the remote can also function in the same way as a pause option when the user is watching live television (i.e. live television of a program that is not being recorded 20 that is being buffered ).

Techniques for buffering and recording programs are described later. The 1904 overlay can also be displayed to allow the user to control the flow of a recording being played from a PVR. Overlay 1904 can be

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INDUSTRIAL ^I:»V7Í. · Display not including the 1912 option to 'record olidílllb' 1¾ overlay 1904 is being used to control a recording. See for example Figure 39.

Figure 34 shows an illustrative recording reminder overlay 2004 that may be provided by the interactive television application. The overlay 2 004 may be provided based on step 1520 of the process 1500 of Figure 29. The overlay 2004 may be displayed over current 2002 video for a particular program. The 2004 overlay may include the 2008 reminder addendum, 2010 reminder information, the 2012 save option, the 2014 hide option, the 2016 cancel option, and the 2018 cancel and view option.

The 2 004 overlay can be displayed for a specified period of time before a scheduled recording. The specified time period can be set by the application, it can be defined by the user on a setup screen, or it can be configured by the user for an individual recording when that recording is scheduled. The Reminder 2008 appendix may include a list of other reminders for scheduled recordings. In response to a selection of the 2012 option to record, the interactive TV application may finish viewing the current program and

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you can immediately start recording the. ' scheduled recording. The interactive television application can discard the 2004 reminder overlay and keep the recording at the scheduled time in response to a selection of the 2014 option to hide. If desired, after hiding the 2004 reminder option using the hide option 2 014, a user can press a button on the remote control to cause the application to display the 2004 reminder overlay again. The interactive television application may cancel the recording in response to a selection of the 2016 option to cancel. In response to a selection of the 2018 view and cancel option, the interactive TV application can tune in to the show but cancel gx'abation, 15 allowing the user to watch the show but not save a copy. In response to no user activity, overlay 20Ό4 can be automatically removed and the interactive television application can tune in to the channel for scheduled recording and begin recording.

0 Once a scheduled recording begins, the record start overlay 1602 of FIG. 30 may be displayed to indicate that the program is being recorded.

The interactive television application may display a particular program information display screen for programs that are available for

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playback from a PVR. Figure 35 shows the illustrative process 2100 that can be used to display a PVR recording information display screen. At step 2110, the interactive television application 5 may display a PVR recording advertisement display screen and provide a user with the ability to select to play a recording that is listed on the advertisement display screen or select an option from information for a particular ad. If desired, the user can select to play a recording or view information about a recorded program from any location where the program is listed as a presentation screen of

I program types announcements, a 15-screen display of search announcements, a display of, display of announcements by schedule, a display of

I ad display by channel, a search overlay, a quick review overlay, or whatever; another convenient display. If the user selects to play a recording, for example by pressing an "OK" or play button on the remote control, the interactive television application can proceed to step 2136. If the user selects an information option for a recording, the interactive television application can proceed to step 2120.

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At step 2120, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to view information about a particular recording. At step 2122, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to return to the last screen that was displayed. At step 2124, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to play back a recording (ie, a recorded program). If the user selects to play the recording, the interactive television application can play the recording at step 2136. If desired, there may be multiple play options, for example, summarize play from the most recent point where play ended or start playing from the beginning of the recorded program. At step 2125, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to delete a PVR recording. At step 2126, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to edit delete priority settings for a recording. If the user selects to edit delete priority settings, the interactive television application may proceed to step 2132. In step 2132, the interactive television application may display a priority display screen of

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL Delete to configure the delete priority settings for a PVR recording.

At step 2128, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to modify access privileges to a recording (ie, close a recording). At step 2130, a user may be provided with the opportunity to select to make a copy of the recording on a VCR or other external recording device. At step 2134, the interactive television application may display a VCR setup display screen when a user selects to copy a PVR recording to a VCR. If desired, at step 2134, the interactive television application may copy a PVR recording to a VCR based on the user's selections on a VCR setup display screen. In step 2135, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to modify the series recording settings if the PVR recording is part of an active series recording. If the PVR recording was not made as part of a series recording or if it is not part of a currently active series recording, the interactive television application can allow the user to schedule a new recording or new series recordings based on recording PVR. A display of

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tamble recorded program information display:

it can include a previous option. Selecting this option can display a partial screen scaled video version of the program that was embedded in the program information display screen.

At step 2136, the interactive television application may display full screen video of a recording that a user selected to play. A PVR control overlay can also be displayed including PVR playback related task options.

FIG. 36 shows the illustrative recording advertisement display screen 2200 that may be provided by the interactive television application. The 2200 display screen can be displayed in response to a selection from the recordings option 518 in the. display screen 500 of FIG. 5. Display screen 2200 may include program titles within ad bars such as bar 2202. The display screen 2200 may include the delete icon 220 6 in an advertisement bar indicating that the program related to the delete icon 2206 can be deleted in the amount of time specified in the icon 2206. The delete icon 2206 may appear on the splash screen

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2200 or on any other convenient display or overlay. If desired, the announcement bar 2202 may explicitly include a recorded content icon (for example, the recorded content icon 7 04 in Figure 7 which may explicitly indicate that a PVR recording is associated with the listed program. in ad bar 2202.

A user may select to play a recording by moving the highlight window 2212 over the announce bar 2202 and pressing an OK or play button on the remote control. The interactive television application can play the recorded program from the beginning or from a current playback location, if desired. In response to the selection of an OK or play button on the remote control, the interactive television application may display a playback video overlay of the PVR. See, for example, Figure 39..

In response to moving the highlight window 2212 over a particular announcement of a recording and pressing an info button on the remote control, the interactive television application may display a recording information display screen.

A recording, such as the one for announcement bar 2202 ', may have been automatically recorded as part of a

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Recorbadldll dH uiiu particular has been by password, the

152 recording a series or as a password. If a recording is scheduled to be made by series and interactive television application, it can only save one copy of the recording.

The recordings on this screen can be sorted based on any convenient criteria. This may include, for example, by alphabet, by recording date, by recording priority, by deletion priority, by view status, whether the recording was automatic or as specified by a user, or by any other criteria or combination of criteria.

Figure 37 shows illustrative display screen 2300 of recorded program information that may be provided by the interactive television application. The display screen 2300 may include the title display bar 2306, which may contain the icon 2312 of recorded content. The 2312 icon may indicate that a PVR recording is available for the 20 program that is identified in the 23 06 title display bar. Playback counter 2314 can indicate how far in the program a user has viewed.

Display 2300 may include play option 2326, delete option 2328, delete priority 2330 option, 2334 option

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for VCR, installation option 2336 '^,'dg' UbS ^ erie ^ 'option 2338 times. These options may have been provided based on illustrative steps 2124; 2125, 2126, 2130 and 2135, shown in Figure 35. In response to a selection of the play option 2326, the interactive television application may play a recording of the program that is identified on the title display bar 2306. Playback counter 2314 can indicate how far in the program a user has viewed. ;

The 2300 display screen may include the replay option 2326, the delete option 2328, the delete priority option 2330, the VCR option 2334, the series install option 2336 and the timing option 2338. These options can be provided based on illustrative steps 2124, 2125, 2126, 2130, and 2135, shown in Figure 35. In response to a selection of the play option 2326, the interactive television application may play a recording of the program that is identified on the title display bar 2306. If desired, there may be more than one playback option that allows the user to play a recording from the beginning of the recorded program or play it back from the '25 play counter position 2314. In response to a

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By selecting the delete option 2328, the interactive television application may delete the recording from the program and / or delete information about that particular recording. In response to a selection of the delete priority option 2330, the interactive television application may display a delete priority splash screen and may provide the user with the options to configure the delete priority settings.

In response to a selection of option 2334 for VCR, the interactive television application may display a VCR setup splash screen and may allow the user to transfer recorded program from the PVR to a VCR or other devices. A VCR setup splash screen can provide the user with the options to configure the transfer of recorded program from the PVR to a VCR. In response to a selection of series installation option 2336, the interactive television application may display a series installation splash screen, such as that shown in Figure 10. A series installation splash screen can be used for you. provide the user with the ability to modify the recording settings for a recording of an active series that corresponds to the selected program or create a

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new recording of a series if one does not exist for the selected program. In response to a selection of timing option 2338, the interactive television application may display a list of other recordings from that show and list upcoming episodes of that show. Examples of interactive television program guides with interactive information display screens are illustratively shown - in US Patent Application No. 09 / 356,268, filed July 16, 1999 by Rudnick et al., Which is mentioned above. '

Display screen 2300 may include option 2340 in advance. In response to a selection of the preview button 2340, the interactive television application 15 may play scaled video of the recorded program in the video window 2342. If desired, the application can display a control panel with. control keys to stop, fast forward, pause, return ,: etc. or the user can control the video using the keys on the 20 remote control. The control panel can be displayed in or on display screen 2300. If desired, a current program that was playing in video window 2342 can be automatically paused when the recorded program is being previewed. seeing.

An interactive television application can,

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automatically remove programs to manage storage space. Delete priority settings can be used to manage which recordings are deleted by the interactive television application. FIG. 38 shows illustrative drop-off priority setup display screen 930 that may be provided by the interactive television application. Display screen 930 may provide the user with the ability to set delete priority settings for a program. Display screen 930 may be displayed in response to a user selection of delete priority option 2330 of Figure 37. Display screen 930 may include delete preference option 932 and delete order option 942 edition.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select a deletion preference for a recording using the delete preferences option 932. A user can scroll through different delete preference settings using option 932. A delete preference setting that can be set for a recording may include a never delete setting, a setting for making a recording

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preferred, a setting to delete a recording when space is needed, a setting to delete the show after it has been viewed, and other settings. If a never delete setting is selected, the interactive TV application can only delete a recording when a user specifically requests that the recording be deleted. If a preferred recording setting is selected, the interactive TV application can delete recordings that have not been set as preferred recording before deleting recordings that have been set as preferred recordings. If you need to delete a recording when the space is needed setting is selected, the interactive TV application can delete the program when space is needed to record another program. If desired, the interactive television application can first check the priority of the recordings and then the age of the recording to determine which shows to delete. If desired, one that is used before the show is viewed and one that is used after the show is viewed.

Option 934 to delete a show on date can be made available to a user when a delete preference setting other than never delete has been selected for the current recording.

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Option 934 to delete schedule on date can include option 936 to delete on month, option 938 to delete on day, and option 940 to delete on year. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 942 over option 936, 938, and 940 and scroll, respectively, through month, day, and year to select the date to remove the program. When a user selects option 944 to edit delete order, the interactive television application may display a list showing the order in which the currently stored recordings can be deleted. See, for example, splash screen 3600 in Figure 53.:

Figure 39 shows illustrative PVR video playback overlay 2404, displayed over video 24 02 of a program that the interactive television application is playing from a recording on a PVR. Overlay 2404 may be an example of step 2136 of process 2100 of Figure 35.

Overlay 2404 can be used to control video stream 2402. Overlay 2404 can include return option 2408, play option 2410, fast forward option 2412, pause option 2414, stop option 2416, program title

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2418 and playback time 2420. The playback time 2420 can inform the user of the length of the recording and inform the user how much video 2402 has been viewed. The video playback overlay 2404 and the stream control options contained therein are similar to the live controls overlay 1904 of Figure 33 and the options contained therein. Option 2416 on high can function in the same way as pause 10 function while watching live television that is not being recorded. If a recording has been scheduled and is being recorded, the stop function 2416 may work to cancel the scheduled recording.

If desired, interactive television application 15 may also allow the user to skip video 2402 forward or backward a specific period of time in a buffered television recording or program by pressing particular buttons on the remote control such as page up or 20 page down buttons typically found on remote controls.

If, while playing video 2402, a user tries to change the channel, an overlay with a message may appear. Figure 40 shows illustrative message overlay 952 displayed on video 950 of

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a program that the interactive television application may be playing from a recording on a PVR. Overlay 952 may include an OK option 954 to select to remove overlay 952. Overlay 952 may also be automatically removed by the interactive television application after a specified period of time. The message within the overlay 952 indicates that the user should press a stop button on the remote control 10 to cancel the video playback so the user can change the channel. If desired, video 95Θ can be automatically paused when the user decides to view another recorded program or switch to live television. Video 950 can be paused to be summarized at a later time without including an overlay on video 950.

Figure 41 shows illustrative process 960 which includes the steps that may be involved in accessing options of interactive television application 2 0 while viewing a recording. At step 962, the interactive television application can play a recorded program. At step 964, the interactive television application may provide program guide functions, such as search, menu, guide, or other options 25 while a user is viewing a recording. For

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For example, the interactive television application ré¿> üédé provides a user with the ability to press a menu button on the remote control when video of a recorded program is playing to view a 5-screen presentation of a main menu. If desired, the interactive television application may automatically pause the playback of the recording when a user accesses a display screen from a main menu or when other display screens or other overlays are displayed.

A user can be allowed to access or modify settings for recording programs that were scheduled to be recorded. Figure 42 shows the illustrative process 2 50 0 showing the illustrative steps that may be involved with the display information display screens for programs that. are scheduled to be recorded. Step 2502 shows the illustrative steps involved in providing the user with the ability to perform a task with respect to an advertisement on a display screen of scheduled recordings.

At step 2514, the interactive television application may display a display screen of scheduled recordings or other graphics that include an advertisement as a search overlay, a search screen.

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display of ads by time, ads by channel, ads by type, or search ads. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to view information in an advertisement by selecting an information option for an advertisement. At step 2514, the interactive television application may also allow the user to cancel a scheduled recording of a program by pressing a record button on the remote control in connection with an advertisement for that program.

In response, a canceled recording overlay may be displayed at step 2522. If desired, pressing a record button can convert a single recording to a series recording with default settings if the show is an episode in a series. An overlay may be displayed to inform the user of the conversion.

If the user selects an information option, for example, by using an OK or info button on the remote control, the interactive television application 20 may display an information display screen for a program that is scheduled to be recorded.

If an information option is selected by a program that is a PPV or a VOD, the interactive television application may determine, in step 2528,

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if that program is currently being recorded *. Say the program being recorded is a PPV or a VOD, the interactive television application may proceed to step 2510. A VOD program that is scheduled to be recorded may be currently being recorded as the user may have programmed it to be recorded. is recorded at the current time. If the program is a PPV or a VOD, both of which are not currently being recorded, the interactive television application may proceed to step 2508). If the program is not PPV or VOD, the interactive television application can proceed to step 2506.,

Step 2510 can be performed for a PPV or VOD program when that program is being recorded. Step 2510 may include steps 2530, 2532, 2536, and 2540 to provide a recorded program information display screen for a PPV or VOD program that is currently being recorded. At step 2530, the interactive television application may display a recorded program information display screen. The interactive television application may provide program guide related options at step 2532. Such options may include last, view, lock, and other convenient program guide options. At step 2536, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select? 03 / 115UV

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the option to stop recording. BiL-xaspugata at 1 selection of stop recording option, interactive TV application can stop PPV or VOD program recording and display a 5 stop recording overlay at step 2540.

Step 2508 may include steps 2542, 2544, 2546, 2550, and 2554 to provide a scheduled program information display screen for a PPV or VOD program that is not currently being recorded. At step 2542, an information display screen of a scheduled program for a PPV or VOD program that is not currently being recorded may be displayed. The interactive television application may provide program guide related options at step 2544. The program guide related options can include last, lock, and any other convenient program guide options. At step 2.54 6, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select an option to cancel the order. In response to selecting an option to cancel the command, the interactive television application may exit the current scheduled program display screen and may display a canceled recording overlay at step 2554. If desired, a command to a PPV or VOD program can be

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automatically cancel when a user 'selects to cancel a scheduled recording of a PPV or VOD at step 2546. At step 2550, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select to edit recording settings.

Step 2506 may include steps 2572, 2574, 2578, 2580, 2582, 2586, 2588, and 2590 to provide a program information display screen for a non-PPV or VOD program that is scheduled to be recorded.

At step 2572, a program information display screen may be displayed for a non-PPV or VOD program. The interactive television application may provide program guide related options at step 2574. Program guide related options may include last, view (if the program is currently active), lock, and other convenient program guide options. At step 2578, the interactive television application may provide the user 20 with the ability to select a ^ stop recording option. In response to the selection of the stop recording option, the interactive television application may determine whether the scheduled recording is currently being recorded at step 2586. If the program is being recorded, the interactive television application

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can display an overlay for soliól'Ldl jí ul · user wants to stop recording the program at step 2588. If the program is not currently being recorded, the interactive television application may cancel the scheduled recording and display a canceled recording overlay at step 2590. At step 258 0, a user may be provided an opportunity to select and configure a recording from a series. At step 2582, a user may be provided the opportunity to edit recording settings that will be used for scheduled recording. Step 2582 may be the same as step 606 of process 600).

An interactive television application may display a list of scheduled recordings on a recording announcement display screen. Figure 43 shows an illustrative display screen 2600 of scheduled recording announcements that may be provided by the interactive television application. Display screen 2600 may be displayed in response to the selection of scheduled recordings option 524 on display screen 500 of Figure 5. Display screen 2600 may be an example of step 2514 of process 2500 of Figure 42.

Display screen 2600 can include announcement bars such as bar 2602 and date bars

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such as bar 2604. Display screen 2600 can display a list of program titles scheduled to be recorded. The display screen 2600 can list scheduled programs based on their scheduled start times with the date bar 2604 separating the programs that are scheduled for different days. The display screen 2600 can be used to list each program that is currently scheduled to be recorded. The list can include one-off recordings as well as recordings that are part of a series. If desired, 2,600 program episodes that are scheduled to have reminders can also be listed on the display screen.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 2610 over the announcement bar 2602 and select an info, OK, record or any other convenient button on the remote control to modify the settings of recording / reminder for the program. Display screen 2600 may include episode delete option 2606, all episode delete option 2608, and option 2612 to view other scheduled recordings. A user may be allowed to scroll through 25 scheduled recording announcements using the up and down navigation keys.

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below the remote and allow you to move © —between the advertisements and options 2606, 2608 and 2612 using the left and right navigation keys on the remote. For example, interactive television application 5 may provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 2610 over advertisement bar 2602 and mark that advertisement by pressing a: predetermined button on the remote control. The remote control's left and right navigation keys can then be used to move highlight window 2610 over episode delete option 2606. The marked announcement can then be removed from display screen 2600 and the scheduled recording of that announcement can be canceled by pressing an OK button on the remote control. An episode delete function may also be available, for example, pressing a record key on the remote control to convert a single recording to a series and then pressing the record key again on the remote control 20 deletes an episode. scheduled recording. An episode delete or series record delete option may also be available from a program information display screen. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 2610 over the

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option 2 608 delete all IUU * eplsuillúa (uj say, using the right and left arrow buttons) to delete all episodes by pressing the OK button on the remote control.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 2610 over option 2612 of (view other scheduled recordings using the left and right navigation keys on the remote control). In response to a user's selection of the option 2612 in connection with a marked advertisement, the interactive television application may display a list of other scheduled recordings that match the name of the program in the marked advertisement. 15 other recordings may include serial recordings, password-based recordings, or recordings defined using motion-based channel and schedule. A list of episodes of a series may also be available from option 1008 to watch all episodes of the recording facility splash screen 20 of a series of Figure 10. '

If a scheduled recording is a VOD program, the display screen 2600 can display an advertisement for that program in the list of scheduled recordings in the same way as for a regularly scheduled program with

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an associated time and day, on which the VOD program is to be recorded. The 2600 display screen can provide the user with the ability to select a scheduled VOD recording, the interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to view program information and 'edit recording information using a display screen like the one shown. in Figure 28.

Figure 44 shows the splash screen

2700 for a PPV program that is currently being recorded.

The 2700 splash screen can be displayed in response to the user's choice to press the info or OK button on the remote control for a PPV announcement in Figure 43 or any other screen from which the program can be accessed PPV. Display screen 2700 can be provided based on step 2.510 of process 2500 of Figure 42.

Display screen 2700 may include the option 2730 to stop recording which may be provided based on step 2536 shown in

Figure 42. In response to the user's selection of the stop recording option 2730, the interactive television application may display the stop recording overlay 1702 of Figure 31.

Figure 45 shows the splash screen

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illustrative 2800 of information for a r · - ?: ircima PP^V which is not currently being recorded. The 2800 display screen may be displayed in response to the user's choice to press an info button or OK 5 on the remote control for an announcement of a PPV program that is scheduled to be recorded, but is not yet on the display. air. Display screen 2800 may be provided based on step 2508 of process 2500 of Figure 42.

Display screen 2800 may include option 2828 to cancel recording, option 2830 to cancel order, and option 2832 to edit which may be provided based on steps 2546 and 2550 shown in Figure 42. In response to a selection option

2828 to cancel the recording, the interactive television application may display the overlay 3110 to cancel the recording of FIG. 48. In response to a cancel order option 2830, the interactive television application may cancel the PPV order. If desired, canceling a PPV order can also cancel the recording. The edit option ..2 832 can be used to access a splash screen to allow the user to modify a recording that is already scheduled.

In response to a selection of option 2832 of 25 edit, the interactive television application can

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display splash screen 2900 d? * 11η ι «η '5_Γ Λα PPV recording of Figure 46. Figure 46 shows illustrative display screen 2900 of modifying PPV recording facility that may be provided by the interactive television application. The 2900 display screen can provide the user with the ability to edit recording options for a particular scheduled recording. The 2900 display screen may include the save option 2910, 10 the time option 2912, the quality option 2916, the before buffer time option 2916, the after buffer time option 2918, and the option 2920 to cancel. The 2912 schedule change option may allow the user to select a PPV airing schedule to be used for the scheduled recording. These options may have been provided based on the illustrative steps 1232, 1234, 1236, 1238, 1240 and 1242 shown in Figpra 23. The save option 2910 may be selected to save the new settings that are selected by the user. If the changes the user selected include changing the PPV schedule, selecting option 2910 to save may cause the recording to be scheduled for that new schedule and may cause the PPV schedule to be scheduled to be 2 5 ordered. air in that

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IMPI Mexican institute τ 70 DE LA MOF1SDAL) l ¿WDrjCTSíAL new schedule. Options 2912, 2914, 2916, 2918 and 2920 can operate in the same way as options 1410, 1404, 1412, 1414, and 1416 in Figure 25, respectively. If desired, display screen 5 1400 of Figure 25 can be displayed instead of 2900.

The illustrative display screens and options that have been described in connection with PPV programs such as the presentation screen, 2,900 of Figure 46 can be used for VOD programs.

Figure 47 shows the splash screen

3000 of scheduled recording schedule information that may be provided by the interactive television application. The splash screen 3000 may be displayed in response to the user's choice to press the info button on the remote control for a Figure 43 advertisement (or any other screen from which the program can be accessed) of a scheduled recording. from a non-PPV or VOD program. The display screen 3 00 0 may be provided based on step 2572 of process 2500 of Figure 42.

The 3030 stop recording option, the 3032 install option and the 3028 series option may be provided based on the illustrative steps 2578, 2582 and 2580 shown in Figure 42. In response to the selection of option 3030 from stop recording,

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P03 / 115UV interactive piw / ip television application. display a stop recording overlay if the program is currently recording. The stop recording overlay can prompt the user if they want to stop recording the program. In response to the selection of installation option 3032, the interactive television application may display the recording display screen 900 of the program of Figure 9.

Figure 48 shows the illustrative overlay

3110 to cancel the recording that can be provided by the interactive television application. I know the 3110 overlay can be displayed when a user chooses to cancel a scheduled recording. Recording canceled overlay 3110 may appear on display screen 3100.

Figure 49 shows illustrative live controls overlay 3204 displayed over a video of a program that may be provided by the illustrative television application. Overlay 3204 may be displayed while video 3202 of a buffered program is playing in the background. As in the live control overlay 1904 of Figure 19, the overlay 3204 may also include option 3208 to return, option 3210 to play, option 3212 to record, option 3214 to

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pause, fast forward option 3222 and program title 3216. Overlay 3204 may also include live TV option 3218 and live TV time back indicator 3220.

Live TV backward indicator 3220 may indicate how far back the buffered video 32 02 is behind live television. The interactive television application may allow the user to select the Live TV option 3218 to return the user to viewing live video currently on the air.

The interactive TV application may allow the user to set the buffer size to pause live TV 'in the Live TV buffer size option 570 of Figure 18. If desired, The application can allow the user to set different buffer sizes and different recording qualities for different channels, types of channels and types of programs.

Figure 50 shows illustrative live controls overlay 3304 with paused time indicator 3306 displayed over paused video of a program that may be provided by the interactive television application. Overlay 3304 can be displayed over paused video 3302 for a current program. The

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Overlay 33 04 can include the ing-ijadnr 3 ^ 3 06 of time left paused which can indicate how long the buffer was left for live TV pause. If desired, the. 33 06 paused time indicator may not be displayed if the buffer size is large enough to hold the full reminder of the current program.^;

A user can be allowed to set the delete priority settings for recordings in general. For example, referring now to FIG. 51, the delete priority setup display screen 3400 may be displayed by the interactive television application to allow the user to select the delete priority settings. The 3400 display screen; can be displayed when a user selects the option; 526 priority selection of the display screen 500 of the main menu of Figure 5.

Alternatively, the splash screen 3400 can be accessed from the PVR 540 installation screen in Figure 18. The splash screen 3400 may provide the user with the ability to set various delete priority settings. Display 3400 may include option 3402 to edit single record delete priority, option 3404

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to edit priority of G &amp; riaa's record deletion-_roption 340 6 removal by program type, option 3408 removal by broadcast type, option 3409 removal by channel, option 3410 of 5 expiration of recording and option 3414 removal after viewing.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select option 3402 to edit single record delete priority 10. In response to such a selection, the interactive television application may display a one-time recording delete order priority display screen (see Figure 53). A one-time 15 record delete priority splash screen can allow the user to change the order in which individual recordings will be deleted.

Managing delete priority settings for individual recordings that are part of a series recording can be time consuming. A series recording deletion priority order 2 0 display screen (see Figure) 52 can be used to speed up the process of setting the series record deletion priority. A splash screen for sorting the priority of 25 series recording deletion can be displayed in response to a

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edit selection option 3404 to edit series recording delete priority. :

Other types of parameters can also be used to set delete priority settings. ' If the user selects option 3406 of delete by program type, the interactive television application may display a display screen (see Figure 54) of delete by program type. If the user selects option 3408 of broadcast removal by type, the interactive television application may display a presentation screen (see Figure 55A) of broadcast removal. If the user selects the channel removal option 3409, the interactive television application may display a display screen (see Figure 55B) of channel removal.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 3416 over the record expiration option 3410 and the ability to use the navigation buttons on the remote to select the length of time that a record will be stored. recording on the PVR. Settings for this option can include never delete, one week, two weeks, or any other convenient duration.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move the viewing window

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highlight 3416 over delete option 3414 view and use the remote control navigation buttons to select to delete recordings after they have been viewed. Selecting this option may cause 5 recordings to be deleted immediately after being viewed. Alternatively, it may cause the priority of the viewed program to be lowered so that it can be removed in preference to a program that has not been viewed.

Figure 52 shows the splash screen

3500 of the priority of elimination of series recordings that can be provided by the interactive television application. The 3500 display screen can be displayed in response to a selection^; of the 15 series recording delete priority option 3404 of Figure 51. Other means can also be implemented to reach the display screen 350 0. It appears, with reference to Figure 52, the display screen 3500 may display bars of announcements of

0 recordings such as bar 3502 that are displayed in the order of priority that recordings in one series are given over recordings in another series. An announcement bar can be displayed for each recording of a scheduled series. If desired, 25 password-based recordings can also be included on this screen. The

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3500 display screen may include option 3508 to move up and option 3510 to move down. The interactive television application may allow the user to use option 3508 to move up 5 or option 3510 to move down to change the delete priority for a series. The delete priority order on display screen 3500 can be used by the interactive television application to determine the priority of recordings of 10 individual series over all recordings.

In Figures 52-55B, a user can be allowed to switch between the announcement and move up and down options using the right and left navigation keys on the remote control. For example, 15 when a user has placed a highlight window over a desired ad, the user can press the right and left navigation keys to access the move up and down options, which can be selected by the user, for example, pressing an OK key on the remote control. The ad from which the move up and down options are accessed can be moved up and down in priority in a delete priority list when a user selects the move up or down options.

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Screens similar to those shown in Figure 52-55B can be used to set default recording priorities relative to series, individual programs, program types, and channel types. If desired, the recording priorities can be converted to delete priorities after a program has been recorded.

FIG. 53 is the illustrative display screen 3600 of single record delete priority 10 that may be provided by the interactive television application. The splash screen 3600 may be displayed in response to a selection of option 3402 to edit the delete priority of a single recording of Figure 51. Now, referring to FIG. 53, the display screen 3600 may display advertisement bars, such as the bar 3602, which is displayed in the order that will be used to delete recordings. The delete order for recordings may have been determined based on the delete priority settings that a user selects for specific programs (i.e. never delete, preferred recording, etc.) or based on delete priority settings. that a user selects for recordings in general (that is, priority of deletion for series recordings, 25 priority of deletion by program type, priority of

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elimination by broadcast type, eFcTTl - '“- Seta, screen can include an announcement bar for each single scheduled recording. The display screen 3600 may include option 3606 to move up and option 3608 to move down. The interactive television application may provide the user the ability to use the move up option 3606 or the move down option 3608 to change the order in which the listed recordings will be deleted.

By moving the position of a recording up or down, the user manually changes the deletion priority of that recording with respect to other recordings.

Figure 54 shows display screen 15 3700 illustrative of drop priority by program type that may be provided by the interactive television application. The 3700 splash screen may be displayed in response to the selection of option 3406 to delete by program type in Figure 51.

Now referring to Figure 54, display screen 3700 may display ad bars like bar 3702. The order of the ad bars shows the priority that the interactive television application will give to different types of programs when the display application 25 interactive television selects programs to delete.

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Program types can include sports, movies, kids, adults, sitcoms, or other types of convenient programs. An announcement bar can be included for each type of program supported by the application. The 3700 display screen may include option 3706 to move up and option 3708 to move: down. The interactive television application may allow the user to select option 3706 to move up or option 3708 to move down to change the order of the priority of removing the program types. The interactive television application can use this delete priority order to specify the order in which individual recordings will be deleted.

Figure 55Ά shows the splash screen

3800 priority elimination by type of broadcasting that. it can be provided by the interactive television application. The display screen 3800 may be displayed in response to a selection of option 3408 of 2 0 deletion by broadcast type of Figure 51.

Now referring to Figure 55A, the display screen 3800 may display announcement bars, such as bar 3802, which lists the delete priority to be given to recordings that are based on the type of broadcast that was used for the recording. . The types of

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INDUSTRIAL RARE broadcasting can include PPV, VOD, broadcast, cable, local access, and other convenient types of broadcasting. The display screen 3800 may include the move up option 3806 and the move down option 3808 that can be used to change the delete priority that is associated with broadcast types. This delete priority order can also be used to select the order in which individual recordings will be deleted. _;

Figure 55B shows the splash screen

3810 illustrative of the per-channel removal priority that can be provided by the interactive television application. The 3810 splash screen. can be displayed in response to a selection of the channel kill option 3409 in Figure 51 .. Now with reference to Figure 55B, the display screen 3810 may display announcement bars, such as bar 3812, which lists the delete priority to be given to recordings that are based on the channel from which a show was recorded. . The display screen 3800 may include the move up option 3816 and the move down option 3818 which can be used to change the delete priority of the channels. This priority order of deletion can also be used to select the order in which the files will be deleted.

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185 individual recordings.

An interactive television application can be implemented to drive television advertising and other content to be stored and displayed in a way; local. Figure 56 shows illustrative process 9500 involved in pushing television advertising and other content to user equipment. An interactive television application can store a limited amount of program announcement information or other information in a set-top box and / or a PVR. Now, referring to Figure 56 at step 9502 the interactive television application can determine during what hours of the day a user typically does not watch television. This can be done by asking the user to specify the periods of time that they typically do not watch television or by monitoring when a user watches television. At step 9504, the interactive television application can push video advertisements (that is, short advertisement videos) and other video content (such as editorial content) to a set-top box of the user. Advertising and other content may be based on user-specified or automatically generated profile information. The content transfer can take place during a period of time in which the user typically does not watch television. In configurations in

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<img file="MX347698B_D0195.tif" />

j which have multiple tuners provided for the। user's computer, video content can be boosted j when the computer is not using all tuners, j if a user chooses to watch television during a. 5 period of time in which the interactive television application is pushing content to the user's computer, the interactive television application can

I proceed to step 9506. At step 9506, the interactive television application may cancel content from the user's home computer. Then, the interactive television application may attempt to summarize the content impulse during another time interval when the user is not watching television or it may attempt to summarize another time during the same period of time the next day. If desired, the content that has been fully downloaded

I or partially before the TV app! interactive cancel content push_: can | hold on until next try. After the advertisements and other content have been transferred to a user's home computer, the user can access this interactive advertisement from virtually any location in the interactive television application at step 9508.

Figure 57 shows the 9530 program guide window illustrative of scheduled recordings in

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<img file="MX347698B_D0196.tif" />

line that can be provided by the interactive television application. Examples of online program guide systems are illustratively described in Patent Application No. 08 / 938,028 filed September 18, 1997 by Boyer et al., Which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Window 953 (0 may be an online program guide window for accessing information related to scheduled events and other information systems for a user PVR. If desired, an online program guide can provide the same functionality over the Internet as illustratively described herein primarily in the context of program guide-based cable television.

The Scheduled Recordings Program Guides Online Window 953 0 can provide the user with the ability to access those user's scheduled recordings online. Window 9530 may include menu bar 9532, which may contain a menu of features available from the online program guide. The menu bar 9532 may have similar functionality to the main menu on splash screen 500 in Figure 5.

The 9530 window may also have the same functionality as the 2600 display screen of

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<img file="MX347698B_D0197.tif" />

scheduled recordings of Figure 43. Online program guide window 9530 may include date region 9534, program announcements 9536, and checkbox 9538. There may be a checkbox 5 for each scheduled recording that is listed ' at window 9530. The online program guide may also include option buttons 9550, such as the info button 9540, the record button 9542, the series button 9544, the episode delete button 9546 and the delete 10 all episodes button 9548 . Option buttons 9550 can perform the same functionality as remote control buttons or options that are available for announcements on a scheduled recordings display screen such as the 2600 scheduled recordings display screen of Figure 43. The online program guide may provide the user with the ability to select a check box for a scheduled recording such as check box 9538 and select a radio button on the radio buttons 9550 to perform a particular function. The online guide may allow the user to select only one scheduled recording at a time to allow selection of the option buttons 9550 to only be for the currently selected scheduled recordings.

5 The online program guide can record a

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DE INDUSTRIAL property programs on a server and provide the user with the ability to select to view the program after it has been recorded through the online program guide. The online program guide can provide the user with the ability to tune into a program through a tuner card on a personal computer. The online program guide can also provide the user with the ability to store the program on a hard drive connected to the personal computer. The online program guide 10 can send instructions to the user's equipment, such as a cable box or personal video recorder, to save the program. The online program guide can send programs recorded on a server or personal computer to the user's equipment, such as a cable box or personal video recorder. Examples of interactive program guides having remote access are illustratively described in Ellis et al., Patent Application No. 09 / 354,344, filed July 16, 1999, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

Figure 58 shows the illustrative process 9552 that can be used to provide the user with the ability to edit saved programs. Examples of these and other options are illustratively shown in Patent Application No. 09 / 157,256, filed on

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<img file="MX347698B_D0198.tif" />

September 1998 by Rudnick et al., which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. At step 9554, the interactive television application may display a stored program edit display screen, for example, when a user selects an edit button on the remote control or an on-screen edit option in connection with a recording. The recording can be selected for editing from virtually any location in the interactive television application,

At step 9556, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to remove commercials from a recording. At step 9558, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to combine a selected recording with other recordings. If the user selects to combine recordings, the interactive television application may display a display screen of combining with other recordings, at step 9560.

At step 9568, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to remove portions of a selected recording. If the user selects to remove parts of a recording, the interactive television application may display a remove overlay with a bar indicator.

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INSTITUTO MEXÍCANf DE LA FWOMEDaI 'ζ time over a video in step 9570. Step 9570 may include steps 9572, 9574 and 9576. At step 9572, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to place a marker 5 on the time bar indicator. If the user selects to place one or more markers, the first can function as a start marker and the second as an end marker. At step 9574, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to remove a portion of the recording that may be between a start marker and an end marker or before or after a single marker. At step 9576, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to clear any markers that may appear on a time bar indicator.

At step 9578, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to add a selected recording to a playlist.

If the user selects to add a selected recording to a playlist, the interactive television application may display a playlist display screen at step 9580. Step 9580 may include steps 9582, 9584, 9586, 9588 and 9590). At step 9582, the application

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<img file="MX347698B_D0200.tif" />

Interactive TV can provide the user with the ability to mark and unmark a recording that can be added to a playlist. At step 9584, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to add more recordings ^ to a playlist. At step 958 6, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to create a new playlist. If the user selects to create a new playlist, at step 9588 10 the interactive television application may display an overlay of creating a new playlist. At step 9590, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to sort a playlist and remove a recording from a playlist.

At step 9592, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to mark locations for reference as well. call up references that have previously been marked for a 20 selected recording. If the user selects to mark locations for reference or to recall references that have been previously marked, the interactive television application may display a location overlay with a time bar indicator at step 9594, which may include steps 9596, 9598 and 9600). In the

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<img file="MX347698B_D0201.tif" />

Step 9596, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to place a marker on the time bar indicator. At step 9598 the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to jump to the next or previous marker. At step 9600, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to clear all markers on the time bar indicator.

Figure 59 shows the splash screen

9602 Illustrative editing of saved recordings that can be provided by the interactive television application. The 9602 display screen can be displayed in response to a selection of an edit button 15 on the remote control when a recording (referred to herein, in this context as a selected recording) is selected on a recordings display screen or some other screen. presentation or convenient overlay. Alternatively, display screen 9602 may be displayed in response to a selection of an edit option that may have been displayed, for example, on an information screen of a recorded program. 9602 splash screen can include withdraw commercials from 25 recording option 9604, combine with other recordings

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<img file="MX347698B_D0202.tif" />

INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA MOHEDAL INBIISTRIAl from option 9606, remove parts of a recording from option 9608, add 9610 to a playlist and dial and call a location from option 9612, which can be provided based on the illustrative steps 9556, 9558, 9568, 9578 and 9592 shown in Figure 58.

Now with reference to Figure 59, the interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to move the highlight window 9614 10 over option 9604 to remove commercials from a recording and select that option to remove commercials from the recording selected. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 9614 over option 9606 to select that option (that is, by pressing an OK button on the remote control). The interactive television application may display a display screen to combine with other recordings in response to the selection of option 9606 to combine with other recordings. The interactive television application may provide a user with the ability to move highlight window 9614 over option 9608 to remove parts of a recording, to select it (that is, by pressing a remote control OK button). The interactive television application can display a

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overlay remove parts of a recording in response to the selection of option 9608. The interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 9614 over option 9610 to add to a playlist to select it ( that is, by pressing an OK button on the remote control). The interactive television application may display a display screen of the add to playlist option 9610. The interactive television application may provide the user the ability to move highlight window 9614 over option 9612, dial and recall a location, to select that option (that is, by pressing an OK button on the remote control) . The interactive television application 15 may display a location dial-and-call display screen in response to selecting option 9612. Display screen 9602 may also include information about the selected program, such as title and length. As the recording is edited, the displayed length may change accordingly.

Figure 60 shows display screen 9616 illustrative of combining with other recordings that may be provided by the interactive television application. Display screen 9616 may be displayed in response to selecting option 9606 from

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INDUSTRIAL ^ «£ 222 combine with other recordings from the Figuraos ........ Now referring to Figure 60, the 9616 splash screen can provide the user with the ability to combine a selected recording with other recordings. The display screen 9616 can also provide the user with the ability to determine in what order the recordings can be combined (that is, whether program A can be placed before or after program B).

The display screen 9616 recording advertisements 9618, which may contain a list of PVR recordings. Display screen 9616 may include option 9620 to combine after and option 9622 to combine before. The 9616 splash screen may provide the user the ability to move the 9632 highlight window over an announcement bar in 9618 record announcements and select option 9620 to combine after or option 9622 to combine before for the identified recording. in that ad bar. A user may be allowed to move a highlight window 20 between advertisements 9618, options 9620 and 9622 using the right and left navigation keys on the remote control. A user may be allowed to move the highlight window 9632 over a particular ad (e.g. sports hub) and combine a recording of that particular ad with a

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PBOHEDAD INDUSTRIAL currently selected recording to agrsgát the recording of the particular advertisement before or after the currently selected recording. By using the left and right navigation keys on the remote control, a user can access option 9620 to combine later or option 9622 to combine before for that particular ad. Pressing the OK key on the remote will then cause the recording for that particular announcement to merge with the currently selected recording. Display screen 9616 may also include title, length, and other information related to the currently selected recording. The combined recording may have the name of the originally selected program, the name of the selected program to be combined with it, the user may be able to choose which name to use or the user; you can enter a new name for the combination. Whether¹ As desired, none of the original recordings can be deleted when the merge is created.

Figure 61 shows the 9636 overlay of removing parts of a recording displayed over the video

9634 being played from a PVR.

Overlay 9636 may be displayed in response to a selection of option 9608 to remove portions of a recording of Figure 59 for a selected recording.

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<img file="MX347698B_D0205.tif" />

Now with reference to Figure 61, the soEréposTcíoñ * '9636 can provide the user with the ability to remove parts of a recording. The overlay 9636 may include a program counter 9638 and a time bar indicator 9640 that may provide a visual and numerical display of the playback position of the selected recording. The interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to move through a recording using a fast forward button, a return button, a pause button, a stop button, a skip button forwards or backwards, an option in screen to perform any of the above when selecting a marker, such as marker 9646 or 9648 or any other convenient button on the remote control or any other action. Program counter 9638 and time bar indicator 9640 can reflect user movements in the selected recording.

The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to navigate to a location within a recording that the user may want to mark as a starting point of a section of a recording for removal. When the user reaches a desired location, the interactive television application 25 may provide the user with the ability to select the option

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9650 to place marker. In response to a select Hp option 9650, the interactive television application may place the 9646 start marker at the selected location with a time signal indicating the exact moment location of the 9646 start marker.

The interactive television application may fill the time bar indicator 964 0 with an interlocking pattern in the playback section 9642 before the start marker 9646. The playback section 9642 can be filled with a pattern showing the span play time. Once the 964 start marker 6 is placed in a desired location, the interactive television application can modify the .9640 time bar indicator to include a diagonal fill pattern 15 showing how much of the program has been removed. by the user. The user can then use an on-screen fast forward, play, pause, option button, arrow keys, and any other convenient button on the remote control to navigate to another location in the recording where the user can place a marker. final. In response to a selection of marker placement option 9650, the interactive television application may place end marker 9648 at the selected location with a time signal 25 indicating the exact location of end marker 9648.

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Marker placement would define section 9644 that the user can select to remove from the recording. To remove section 9644, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select option 9652 to remove. If the user does not want to remove section 9644 or if they want to edit a section to be removed, the interactive television application may provide the ability to select option 9654 out of 10 clear markers. Selecting option 9654 can cause start marker 9646 and end marker 9648 to be removed from overlay 9636.

If desired, a user can enter only the start marker, in which case all content after the marker can be removed. Similarly, a user can enter only one marker from the end, in which case all content before it can be removed.

A user may be provided with the ability to create a list of recordings in a desired order, such as a playlist. Figure 62 shows illustrative playlist display screen 9656 that may be provided by the interactive television application.

The 9656 splash screen can

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201

<img file="MX347698B_D0207.tif" />

providing the user with the ability to move the highlight window 9658 over the play ad bar 9660 to select a playlist to which a recording can be added. The presentation screen

9656 can include the 9662 record advertisements. A user can add a particular recording to a current playlist identified in the 9680 play bar by moving the 9658 highlight window over one of the 9670 add to playlist options that are placed adjacent to an announcement of a recording that you want to be added to the current playlist and press an OK button on the remote control.

The interactive television application may provide the user the ability to select the edit playlist option 9672 to change the.

order of, and remove plays within a playlist. In response to a selection of the playlist edit option 9672, the interactive television application may display a playlist edit splash screen (see Figure 63). The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select option 9674 to create a new playlist. In response to a selection of option 9674, the application

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Interactive TV can exhibit a superposition of creating a new playlist (see Figure 64).

Figure 63 shows display screen 9676 illustrative of editing a playlist that may be provided by the interactive television application. The 9676 display screen can provide the user with the ability to reorder and remove recordings within a playlist. The display screen 9676 may include advertisements for 10 recordings from the playlist 9678, option 9680 to move up, option 9682 to move down, option 9684 to withdraw, and option 9688 to cancel. A user can access options 9680, 9682, and 9684 for a particular ad in ads 9678 15 by pressing the left and right navigation buttons on the remote when the 9690 highlight window is placed over that ad in particular. The left and right navigation buttons on the remote can move the 9690 highlight window for that particular ad to the 9680, 9682 and 9684 options to allow the user to select one of those options for the ad. Selecting option 9680 to move up or option 9682 to move down can move the recording up or down within a playlist. Selection of

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203 the option. 9684 to remove for an anunoi »~ an..particular may cause the recording to be removed from the playlist, although the recording itself may not be removed. In response to a selection of cancel option 9688, the interactive television application may cancel changes made to a playlist and exit the display screen 9676.

Figure 64 shows illustrative overlay 9702 displayed on playlist display 9700 that may be provided by the interactive television application. The overlap

9702 It can provide the user with the ability to create a new playlist and provide the user with the ability to edit the name of the playlist. Overlay 9702 can include playlist name 9704, edit name option 9706, and OK option 9708. The 9702 overlay may provide the user with the ability to select option 9706 to edit the name of a new playlist. A user can use the alphanumeric keys on the remote control to edit the name of the playlist. Once the user is satisfied with the name 9704, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select the OK option 9708).

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Figure 65 shows the illustrative dial-and-call oversight— »804 · displayed over video 9802 of a selected recording that the interactive television application may be playing from a PVR. The overlay 9804 may be displayed in response to a selection of the location mark option 9612 of Figure 59 for a selected recording. The functions of this overlay may also be available from a control overlay such as 24 04 in 10 Figure 39. Now, referring to Figure 65, the 9804 overlay can provide the user with the ability to dial and call locations within a recording. Overlay 9804 may include program counter 9806 and time bar indicator 9808.

The interactive television application can provide the user with the ability to navigate to a location within a recording that the user would like to mark to be a landmark. When the user reaches a desired location, the interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to select option 9812 to place a marker. In response to a selection of option 9812, the interactive television application may place a marker 9810 at that particular location with a time signal indicating the exact location of marker 9810.

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Overlay 9804 may include the option

9814 to jump to the previous marker, option 9816 to jump to the next marker and option 9818 to clear markers. The interactive television application may provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 9820 over option 9814 and over option 9816. In response to the selection of option 9814, the current playback location on the 9808 flag can be moved to a previous marker (if any exists) and the application can play the corresponding video at the location on the 9802 video. In response to a selection of option 9816, the current playback location on the 9808 flag can be moved to a next marker (if one exists) and application 15 can play the corresponding video at that location on video 9802. The application Interactive TV can provide the user with the ability to select option 9818 to clear the markers. In response to the selection of option 9818, the interactive television application 20 may remove all markers associated with a selected recording. The interactive television application can save all existing bookmarks when a user exits overlay 9804 and can call up the bookmarks the next 25 time a user accesses this option for recording.

P03 / 115UV selected. If desired, the user «ο^Ί give the opportunity to name or number individual markers within a program and jump to a marker by name or by number. If desired, the 5 keys on the remote control (such as page up and page down) can be used to navigate quickly without having to display an overlay. Bookmarks can be kept when recordings are merged, when parts of a recording are removed, and when a playlist is created.

An interactive television application can be implemented to provide a PVR with multiple user accounts. Figure 66 shows the illustrative steps involved in providing multiple program guides for PVR users in a home. Now, referring to Figure 66, at step 3 902, user equipment may be provided that includes a PVR in a home. If desired, some of the functionality can be provided using equipment that is not in the user's home. For example, programs can be written to a server in a distribution facility. At step 3904, an interactive television application can be implemented on the user's computer to provide multiple program guides. Each program guide can correspond to one of the members of the house.

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At step 3906, an interactive television application may associate specific information on the PVR of different members of a household with them. Member specific PVR information can be associated with that user program guide. The PVR information may include configuration settings for recordings, user preference information, scheduled recordings, recording, or other information related to the PVR. If desired, steps 3904 and 3906 can be combined 10. If desired, the size of the storage space to be used for configuration settings, user preferences, program information, buffers, stored programs, and others. User-specific data can be specified for multiple program guides. Alternatively, storage space may not be pre-allocated, and available memory can be allocated as each user needs it. At step 3908, an interactive television application may allow members of a household to interact with respect to the PVR and / or with respect to their PVR information corresponding to program guides. For example, a household member can use their program guide to record a show on a PVR, schedule a PVR to make a recording, or view or manipulate their list of PVR recordings.

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FROM THE CVe ^ -aSL · ® ^ INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY -Step 3908 may include step 3910. At step 3910, the interactive television application may display PVR information that is associated with a particular member of the household when the same use its corresponding program guide. At step 3912, the interactive television application may cause the PVR to record or delete programs based on the information in the PVR that is associated with household members. PVR information can be updated when a show is recorded or deleted. Thus, the interactive television application can provide a unique program guide to each member of a household.

A household member can start using their program guide by registering with it. For example, now referring to FIG. 67, the interactive television application may display the display screen 4002 of the user's login. User login display screen 4002 may include options 4004 to allow users to select their login IDs. The user login display 4002 may also include the data entry area 4006. Area 4006 can be used to enter a personal identification code that is associated with a login identification. Once a user has signed up to access a feature, they may no longer

P03 / 115UV your lodge requires you to access other 1 'uhlLLL.jJÍnf i rnq For example, there may be a change user or login button on the main menu screen or a key on the remote control. If desired, a user can be automatically logged out after a period of inactivity or when the system is powered down.

The presentation screen

4008 from the custom main menu can be displayed when a user selects a particular login ID using the 4004 options and enters a valid personal ID code. The main menu display 4008 may include text 4014 to identify the current user and may include options for providing interactive services. For example, the main screen

4008 from the main menu may include recordings option 4010 and scheduled recordings option 4012 that the user can select to access information and features related to the PVR. User Preferences PVR installation options accessed from this main menu screen may be specific to the registered user.

A user can access their list of scheduled recordings when they register with their program guide. For example, now referring to Figure 68, a login splash screen 4102 may be displayed.

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user to provide users with an opportunity to register. In this instance, the splash screen 4102 identifies the users to be Tom and

Jerry.

The scheduled recordings display screen 4104 can be displayed after a user logs into their program guide and selects to access their list of scheduled recordings. As mentioned before, a user can register by selecting a user login and entering a personal identification code.

The scheduled recordings display 4104 may include the list 4106 containing advertisements for programs that Jerry selected to be recorded. Tom's list of scheduled recordings can be displayed on the scheduled recordings display screen 4108 upon request by the user after Tom logs into his program guide. The scheduled recordings display screen 4108 may include the list 4110 containing advertisements for programs that Tom selected for recording. An interactive television application can associate different programs to be recorded with different users. For example, as shown, list 4110 that is displayed for Tom is different from list 4106 that is displayed for Jerry.

5 If desired, a user may be required

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DE LA PRQHEDaD industrial register when you select to access Trríuxmauiúü—- and / or features related to the PVR. For example, now referring to Figure 69, the main menu display screen 4202 may be displayed when, for example, a user presses a main menu button on the remote control. Access to the main menu display screen 4202 can be provided without requiring the user to log in. From the main menu splash screen 42 02, a user can be allowed to access general features of the program guide such as program announcements, weather information, etc.

Main menu splash screen 4202 may contain option 4204 for recordings and option 4206 for scheduled recordings. The user login splash screen 4208 may be displayed when a user selects the scheduled recordings option 4206 on the main menu splash screen 4202. If desired, splash screen 4208

0 of the user's login can be presented as an overlay. User login display 4208 may contain login identification options 4210 and data entry area 4212.

The custom display screen 4214 of 25 scheduled recordings can be displayed when a user

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO Oí la promídal '. Industrial W in particular, in this case Jerry, is begged — in his program guide. Display screen 4214 of scheduled recordings may contain list 4216 of Jerry's scheduled recordings for January 18, 2002 and list 4218 of scheduled recordings for

Jerry on January 20, 2002. Scheduled recordings display screen 4212 may contain interactive advertising 4220. Examples of interactive television program guide systems with interactive advertising 10 are illustratively shown in Knudson et al. mentioned before.

The recording management features can be implemented in a similar way. For example, now referring to Figure 70, the main menu display screen 15 43 02 may be displayed for example when a user presses a menu button on the remote control. The 43 02 splash screen of the main menu may contain option 4304 of recordings. At the user login display screen 4307, a user may use options 4308 to select their login identification and may enter their personal identification code using data entry area 4310. The custom 4312 splash screen of recorded programs can be displayed when a user, in this case Calvin, logs into the system using the

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display screen 4307. Display screen 4312 of recorded programs may contain list 4314 containing programs that have been recorded by Calvin.

The illustrative stages involved in recording 5 shows in a multiple program guide environment are shown in Figure 71. With reference now to the

Figure 71, at step 4402, a user may be provided an opportunity to sign up for their program guide. It can be provided that the multiple guides of 10 programs each correspond to a different user.

Multiple program guides can be implemented to be available through the user's local computer (that is, user's computer used by members of a household) and can also be implemented using remote equipment, such as a remote server. The user's equipment or the server can include a storage device such as a PVR. A user may be allowed to register in its program guide to interact with respect to the storage device.

At step 4404, a user who is usually registered in his program guide may be allowed to select programs to be recorded on the storage device (ie, on a local recording device or on the server). At step 4406, the user's equipment can record programs based on which programs

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ot LA ΓΚΟΗΕΟαΓ 'industrial were selected to be recorded by ·· las - usnarj os_ while they were in their program guides. The interactive television application that provides the multiple program guides can record programs based on the user's selections irrespective of which user is currently logged into their program. Therefore, a program for one user can berecorded when a program guide for another is in use. Step 4406 may include updating of user specific information regarding recordings so that new information may be reflected when a user logs into the system. If multiple users select to record the same program, the system can only record one copy.

Different techniques can be implemented to allow users in a multiple program guide environment to select programs to be recorded. For example, now referring to FIG. 72, the program announcement display screen 4502 may be displayed when a particular user logs into their program guide and selects to access program announcements. If desired, the program announcement display 4502 may contain text to identify the current user, which in this case is Jerry. Display screen 4502 may contain program announcements

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4510. The current user may be allowed to select a program to be recorded by moving a highlight window 4504 over a program announcement such as the announcement for program A and pressing a record key of the; 5 remote control. Icon 4506 may be displayed in association with program A when the user has i

i selected to record program A. Thus, the 4506 icon ί indicates that Jerry has selected to record program A, which is part of his list of scheduled recordings.

Another technique for selecting a program to be recorded may involve requesting identification from the

I 'user when it is seen that it is going to perform an action related to recording. For example, now referring to Figure 73, the 4602 splash screen

I 15 of program information can be displayed when a user selects to obtain information about a program in! particular. A user may be allowed to access the: 4602 information display screen without having to register for their program guide. The information display screen 4602 may contain the recording option 4604 that a user can select to have the current recorded program (that is, recorded using a PVR). Overlay 4606 can be displayed when the current user selects record option 4604. Overlay 4606 may include option 4608 of

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL identification that the user can scroll to select their login identification, may include the 4610 data entry area that can be used to enter a personal identification number (PIN, for its acronym in English), the option 4618 OK that can be used to register and option 4616 cancel that can be used to cancel overlay 4606. Icon 4612 may be displayed on information display 4602 when the current user enters the appropriate information in overlay 4606. Icon 4612 may indicate that the program is now selected for recording. The information display 4602 may now contain the cancel recording option 4614 that the user can select to cancel the scheduled recording. Cancellation of the recording may require the user to select an identification login and enter a PIN again.

In a multiple program guide environment, individual users can manually delete recordings. Illustrative steps involved in removing recordings are shown in Figure 74. Now referring to Figure 74, at step 4702, an interactive television application may associate a recording with one or more users. More than one user can be associated with a particular recording when more than

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one of them selects to record the same show from within their guides. At step 4704, users who are associated with the recording may be provided an opportunity to delete the recording when they are in their program guides. At step 4706, the recording can be deleted when all users who are associated with it have selected to delete the recording. Step 4706 may include step 4708. At step 4708, the information that associates a recording with a user can be deleted when the user selects to delete the recording. Step 4708 can be used to remove that user's association with the program they selected to delete (that is, remove the name of the program for recording from the user's record list). Information in the program can be deleted without actually deleting the recording itself, that is, if the other users have selected the program for recording.

Figures 75 and 76 show an illustrative sequence of splash screens that can be provided based on the illustrative steps shown in Figure 74. Now referring to Figure 75, the '4802 login splash screen can be displayed when a user seeks to register in their program guide. If desired, the splash screen

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4802 The login may be an anhrppnaiMáii, for example, there are two users who are identified on the 4802 splash screen as Tom and Jerry. The 4804 splash screen for Jerry 5 recordings can be displayed on the splash screen when

Jerry logs into his program guide using login splash screen 4802 and selects to access his recordings. The 4810 splash screen for Tom's recordings can be displayed when Tom logs into his program guide using the 4802 login splash screen and selects to access his list of recordings. As shown, the recordings contained in list 4806 on display 4804 for Jerry and list 4812 on display 4810 for Tom are 15 different except for one program. The Living in Peace program is contained on both lists 4806 and 4812.

The information splash screen 4814 containing information and options for the Living in Peace program can be displayed when Jerry moves the 20 highlight window 4808 on the recordings splash screen 4804 over the announcement for the Living in Peace program and presses a key. OK button on the remote control. Information display 4814 may include delete option 4816. The program guide may allow Jerry to select option 4816 from

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elimination and subsequently reares to t- a cu li ^ tnupdated program, displayed on splash screen 4818. As shown, the 4806 list of Jerry's recordings no longer includes an advertisement for the Living in Peace program. The 4820 splash screen for Tom's recordings can be displayed after the Living in Peace program is selected to be removed by Jerry. The recordings display 4820 may include the list 4812 of Tom's recordings, which still contains ad 4822 for the Living in Peace program. Thus, a user can delete a recording of a program from his guide without changing the program guides of the other users.

Figure 76 shows an illustrative sequence of display screens that continues the sequence shown in Figure 75. Now referring to Figure 76, the recording display screens 4918 and 4920 repeat the 4818 and 4820 display screens of recordings. Figure 75. The 4920 splash screen for Tom's recordings may include ad 492 6 for the Living in Peace program. Information splash screen 4928 containing information and options for the Living in Peace program can be displayed when the current user (Tom) selects

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ad 4926. The information display screen may include 4930 delete option. A "Living in Peace" program recording and / or information related to that program can be deleted when the 4930 delete option is selected. After the 4930 delete option is selected for the Living in Peace program, the interactive TV application can display the 4932 recordings splash screen showing that the deleted show is # 10 most on Tom's list of recordings.

The interactive television application may include features to handle differences between recording settings that two different users have selected to record the same program. The interactive television application 15 can record the program based on both settings (that is, using the highest settings that are set by each user). For example, if the two users select different times before and after the buffer, the application can use 2 or the larger of the two. If the two users select different recording qualities, the application can select the highest quality. If two users select different recording priorities, the application can use the highest specified priority.

Consequently, multiple

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A notification feature can be another that can be provided regarding recording activity. Illustrative steps involved in providing notifications for upcoming changes to the content of the recording are shown in Figure 77. At step 5002, an interactive television application may provide the user with the opportunity to select a program to be recorded. At step 5004, a user may be provided the opportunity to select to delete priority settings for a particular recording.

At step 5006, an interactive television application can automatically select a program to be recorded or deleted. A particular program can be automatically selected for recording based on stored user preferences or other convenient criteria. A recording can be automatically deleted for example when the recording is one that was created over a certain number of days ago or when the recording has not been viewed in a given period of time.

At step 5008, a notification may be sent describing a change to be made to the recorded content. For example, the notification may

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OF THE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY establish that a particular program is to be recorded or deleted. The change to be made can be determined based on steps 5002, 5004, and 5006. Step 5008 can include step 5010. At step 5010, in a multiple program guide environment, a notification can be sent to specific users who are related to the content of the notification. For example, the notification can be sent only to users who use their program guides to select a particular program to be recorded. This can be accomplished by sending a notification using an email and sending another notification via a program guide overlay. Other techniques may involve waiting to send a notification to a particular user until they sign up for your program guide. At step 5014, the recipient of the notification may be provided an opportunity to cancel or confirm the change identified in the notification.

In a multiple program guide environment, each user who is notified of the change in recorded content may be provided an opportunity to confirm or cancel the change in step 5012. The information associated with each user program guide will reflect whether that selected user confirms or cancels the change. Stage 5012 may be a substep of stage

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Figure 78 shows an illustrative display sequence that can be provided based on the illustrative steps shown in Figure 77. Referring now to Figure 78, the information display screen 5102 may contain information 5104, which describes a program to come and may contain program guide related options such as Record option 5106. A future show to come 10 may be one that will air in about a week. That program can be set to be recorded when option 5106 to record is selected. If that program is set to be recorded, the overlay 5108 can be shown on the 5110 video or other shorter content before that program airs. The notification overlay 5108 may contain text to notify the user that the selected program is to be recorded. Notification 5108 may include option 5112 of confirm and option 5114 of cancel to allow the user to select confirm or cancel recording of the program. Video 5110 may be video of a program that is on the air a little before the air time of the program that is selected for recording.

The notification can be sent using a number

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communication techniques diferenboe eomo-'Mea ^ · overlay of program guide, an e-mail message or other communication techniques. A notification can specify information about a particular change to be made. Figures 79-86 are illustrative of different different notification techniques. Figure 79 shows notification overlay 5202 that is displayed on video or graphics 5404 that is generated by an interactive television application.

The notification overlay 5202 includes text 5206 that informs an observer that the XYZ program is to be recorded and also informs the observer that the XYZ program is one that was manually selected to be recorded (that is, the program was selected from specific form 15 to be recorded by the user).

Figure 80 shows the notification overlay 5302 that is displayed on video or graphic 5304. The overlay 5302 includes text 5306 that informs an observer that the XYZ program is going to be eliminated and also informs him that it will be eliminated with based on the delete priority settings. Overlay 5302 may include the confirm delete option 5308 which can be selected to confirm the deletion of the XYZ program and may include the option 5310 to cancel deletion, which can be selected to cancel the

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removal of the XYZ program.

Figure 81 shows the notification overlay 5402 ~ which is the same as the notification overlay 5202 of Figure 79 except that the information text contained in the overlay 5402 is different. Text 5406 in overlay 5406 of Figure 81 reports that the XYZ program is to be recorded and reports that it was automatically selected to be recorded. The program may have been automatically selected based on user preferences.

Examples of interactive television program guide systems with user preference features are illustratively shown in US Patent Application No. 09 / 034,934 filed March 4, 1998 by Ellis et al., Which it is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. The program may have been automatically selected for recording based on user observations or recording activity that has been monitored or based on other criteria.

0 Figure 82 shows the notification overlay 55 02 which is the same as the notification overlay 5302 of Figure 80 except that the information text contained in the overlay 5502 is different. Text 5506 in overlay 5502 of Figure 82 informs that the XYZ program is to be removed and

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL reports that it was automatically selected to be removed based on the automatic removal settings of the system. Auto delete settings can be set so that they are not under the control of the user. Auto delete settings can be configured to delete a show based on the date that show was recorded. Other techniques can also be used. A notification such as those illustratively shown in Figures 78-82 may be displayed for a particular user in a multiple program guide environment when that user is currently registered with your guide. If that user is not currently registered in your guide, the television application ¡

Interactive can delay the sending of the notification; 15 until the user registers in your guide. If desired,

I the interactive television application can avoid such | delays sending an email notification j to the user.

¹ Figures 83-86 illustratively demonstrate email versions of the notifications shown in Figures 79-82. Figure 83 shows an email 5602 that includes recipient information 5604, sender 5606, information target field 5610, message region 5608, and replication region 5612. Recipient information 5604 can

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identify an email address for the recipient of an email 5602. The general email address can be an email address used by a family to receive an email notification related to program guide activity or it can be an email address for a specific user in a family , which was provided by that user to receive emails related to their program guide.

The 5606 sender information identifies the address of a facility that sends the 5602 email.

The target information field 5610 can inform the user of the general nature of email 5602 or can provide specific information describing the activity about what is occurring. Message region 5608 may include text that informs the recipient that a particular program is to be recorded and informs him that the program was manually selected for recording. If desired, message region 5608 may include replication region 5612. Replication region 5612 may include interactive e-mail content that the recipient may select to confirm or cancel the recording of the program (ie, a link to a particular web page on the Internet may be displayed). If desired, the 5612 replication region can

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DE LA PHOfíEfm-, INDUSTRY and contain instructions on how the pGSde receiver — confirms. _ or cancel the described activity (that is, informs the recipient to send an email to a particular address to cancel a recording).

Figure 84 shows an illustrative email mode in which email 57 02 is sent to inform a recipient thereof that a particular program is to be deleted based on the delete priority settings. The content of email 5702 may include the reply region 5704 which may include interactive content that the recipient can use to confirm or cancel the deletion. Figure 85 shows an illustrative email modality in which email is sent to inform the recipient of the email that a particular program is going to be recorded at a certain time and that the program was automatically selected for recording. The 5802 email can include a 5804 mirror region which can be used to reply to the 5802 email. The 5804 mirror region can be used to confirm or cancel. program recording. Figure 86 shows an illustrative email modality in which email 5902 is sent to inform the email recipient that a particular program is

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OE LA TROmOAD INDUSTRIAL will delete based on the automatic delete settings. An interactive mirror region can be included in email 5902 to allow the user to confirm or cancel removal of the program.

In a single or multiple program guide environment, an interactive television application can maintain a global list of programs that are available in a PVR. For example, referring now to FIG. 87, at step 6002, a global list of programs can be generated and stored on the user's computer or 10 on a remote server that may currently be stored in a PVR. The global list can include shows found in the current users' record list (s). Recordings 15 can be included in the global list regardless of whether they were recorded manually or automatically. In step 6004, the programs that the users deleted, but are still available in the PVR may be stored in the global list. Step 6004 may be a substep of step 6002. If desired, programs that have been removed and are no longer available can be included in the list.

In step 6006, an interactive television application will not record a program which is selected to be recorded (automatically or

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OF THE industrial PROPERTY manual) when said program is already global. If desired, in step 6008, users may be allowed to edit the list. For example, a user may be given the opportunity to permanently remove a program that contains offensive materials. As another example, a user can remove a show from the list that was recorded, viewed, and deleted in the past, so another copy of the show can be recorded and viewed.

An integrated PVR or PVR-IPG can integrate content from a variety of platforms. For example, a PVR may store content from broadcast television, pay-per-view, video-on-demand, from the Internet, from radio, from multimedia devices (ie video and still cameras), from personal computers, and so on. This content can be gathered based on the same criteria or criteria. The content can be made available to the viewer through any convenient interactive television application as a program guide.

Examples of interactive television program guides that have integrated content are illustratively shown in U.S. Patent Application No. 09/8 29,856, filed April 10, 2001 to Walker et al., Which is incorporated here entirely for reference.

A PVR can be accessed and / or controlled in a way

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remote. Integrated PVRs or PVR / IPGs can connect to other equipment, including other PVRs (or integrated PVR / IPGs), through any convenient connection, such as a wired or wireless network to enable control of the devices.

PVR and / or to enable the content of the PVRs to be accessed on another computer. Examples of other equipment may include web phones, personal digital assistants, two-way pagers, e-books, etc. Examples of interactive television program guides that provide remote access are illustratively shown in US Patent Application No. 09 / 354,344 filed July 16, 1999 to Ellis et al., Which is incorporated herein Entirely for reference.

Promotions such as advertisements can be stored in a PVR for presentation to users.

Such stored advertisements can be related to advertisements that are sent on the air for viewing by television viewers. For example, referring now to Figure 88, at step 6102, a live advertisement 20 (that is, one sent to the air during a local station failure) may be received by the presentation and / or may be presented. to a user. In step 6104, the user may be presented with a locally stored advertisement that is related to the live advertisement. Stored advertising

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232 ^{05 Μ} «Industrial οηϊολο can be automatically selected for display based on user preferences or it can be selected for display based on user selections. At 6106, a live video banner to be presented to a user may be replaced with a particular recorded video banner. Such video can be automatically selected for display based on user information.

For example, now referring to Figure 89, 10 video 6204 can be used to extend or replace video 6202 for a car commercial. Live video 62 02 containing a commercial for a car manufacturer can be shown during a season outage. Video 62 04 featuring an advertisement for a car model manufactured by that manufacturer can be displayed to a user at a local PVR following the presentation of video 6202. The stored advertisement can be selected for display based on the user preferences. Said stored advertisement may have been selected from a number of different advertisements.

. If desired, a user may be allowed to view a 6202 live video extension for a current commercial. The television app

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Interactive can display the live β2ϋδ 'BObíé overlay 6202 which provides the user with an opportunity to view an extension of the current advertisement. Video 62 04 related to an advertisement that is an extension of the current advertisement can be displayed when a user selects to view an extension of the current advertisement of the 6206 overlay. In another technique, an interactive television application may replace a current live advertisement with video 6204 of a recorded advertisement from a PVR. Recorded advertising can be related to current live advertising and can be selected to be displayed based on user information. If desired, the PVR can pause live television content when 6204 video is being displayed to the user.

An advertisement video that is stored in a PVR can be presented to a user when he enters a program guide. Figure 90 shows illustrative steps that may be involved in displaying videos of 20 advertisements in a program guide. Now referring to Figure 90, at step 6302, commercial videos can be stored on a recording device such as a PVR for later display in an interactive television application. 25 Ad videos can be uploaded

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PtOPISDAP INDUSTRIAL during off hours when the user's equipment is probably not being used or charging using any other convenient technique. In step 6304, an advertisement that was stored in step 6302 can be displayed when a user is using a program guide.

Figure 91 illustratively shows two different sequences for the presentation of advertisement videos. Referring now to FIG. 91, an interactive television application may display the program ad display screen 6402 containing commercial video 6404 and interactive graphic commercials 6406. Commercial videos 6404 may contain scaled video of a commercial being presented using a PVR. Commercial video 64 04 can be selected for you. Video 6412 may be displayed when a user selects banner video 6404. Video 6412 may display video banner 6404 full screen.

Interactive graphic banner ads

6406 it can be a graphic that is generated by the interactive television application to present a particular advertisement. Examples of interactive television program guides that include interactive graphic advertisements are described as follows:

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OF THE PROPBDAE!

Illustrative in Kudson et al. patent application "* ^ te ~ Efi -: ^ h— .. 09/034, 939 filed March 4, 1998, which is incorporated herein in its entirety. Video 6408, which features a video banner advertisement that is related to display banner 6406, can be displayed when a user selects display banner 6406. If desired, options related overlay 6410 may be displayed over video 6408 to allow the user to interact with respect to advertising.

A stored mailer can be displayed when a user enters a program guide. For example, referring now to Figure 92, video 6504, which features an advertisement that is stored in a PVR, may be displayed when a user viewing video 6502 presses a guide button on the remote control. The main menu splash screen 6506 can be displayed when the commercial video 6504 ends. If desired, the 6504 video can be supplied with text, graphics, interactive options, or another video.

Such banner ad videos may be available not only from a local PVR, but also from remote storage devices, such as a device that is available from a guidance system.

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program based on client server architecture. Examples of those systems are illustratively shown in US Patent Application No. 09 / 332,244 to Ellis et al., Which is mentioned above. Remotely stored mailers 5 can be broadcast on demand, as part of a carousel, continuously or using combinations thereof.

Buffer management techniques can be implemented with respect to television programming to expand interactive services that are available to users. Buffer management techniques can be implemented to create new buffers based on current user activity. For example, referring now to Figure 1593, at step 6602, user equipment may be provided that includes a PVR. The PVR can also be on a remote server. In step 6604, a new buffer can be created in the PVR when a current user watches a new channel or a new program.

An interactive television application can allocate a portion of the storage space in the PVR for a new buffer when that buffer is created. If desired, in step 6606, the interactive television application may set the buffer size to be a size that is

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convenient to keep program size. If desired, the size of the buffer can be increased incrementally to accommodate a program being buffered. At step 6608, the video and / or audio of a currently tuned program or channel can be stored in the buffer that is created when that channel or program is first tuned. For clarity and brevity, television content that is buffered is referred to herein primarily as video. Television content that is buffered may not only contain video, but also audio, graphics, data, or other material.

Now referring to Figure 94, the first buffer 6702 can be created when a user first tunes to a first channel to view video 6704 of a first program. The first buffer 6702 may have been allocated a size that is convenient to hold the reminder of the first program, which may, for example, be fifty minutes. The second buffer 6706 can be created when the user tunes to a second channel to view video 6708 of a second program. The second channel may have been tuned so that the user then watches the first program for ten minutes. The shaded region 6710

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL shown in the first buffer 6702 represents what was buffered for the ten minutes that the first program was viewed. The second show may have been watched until it ended and user 5 may have stayed on the same channel to watch the next show. The shaded lines 6716 are shown in the second buffer 6706 to represent that that second buffer 6706 holds the part of the second program that was viewed by the user. The third buffer 6712 can be created when the video 6714 of a third program begins following the end of the second program. The third buffer 6712 may have been allocated a size that is convenient to maintain the length of the third program.

Storage space on a PVR can be selected to be allocated to a buffer in a number of different ways. For example, referring now to Figure 95, an interactive television application may be directed to create a new buffer (ie, a new buffer) at step 6802. At step 6804, the storage space that is not assigned to a recording can be assigned to create the new buffer. If desired, at step 6806, one or more existing memories 25 (that is, the oldest existing buffer) are

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239 instituto mexicanc —-r I heard the industrial ηιομεγλο can eliminate to make room «emesia, intermedia nueva. At step 6808, space in the removed memory (s) can be allocated to create the new buffer. Steps 6806 and 6808 can be performed simultaneously since allocating space to a new buffer can cause the existing buffer to be removed. If desired, at step 6810, a portion of an existing buffer (that is, the oldest portion of the oldest buffer) can be removed to make room for the new buffer. In step 6812, the space of the deleted part can be allocated to the new buffer. Steps 6810 and 6812 can be repeated to increase the size of the newly created buffer. For example, in some instances, new buffers can initially be allocated to have a fixed length that can be increased later.

If desired, separate buffers that are for the same program can be combined into a single buffer. The illustrative steps involved in combining such buffers are illustratively shown in Figure 96. Now, referring to Figure 96, step 6902, a new buffer can be created when a user changes the current channel. In the current stage 6904, memories

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separate intermediate can be combined^-'quoting¹'' eyeds contain video of the same program. An interactive television application, in another implementation, may not create a new buffer when a user 5 returns to watch a program for which buffer already exists. The intermediate television application can simply store the program for the existing buffer.

Figure 97 shows an illustrative buffer sequence 10 that can be provided based on the steps shown in Figure 96. Now referring to Figure 97, the first buffer 7002 can be created when a user changes the current channel. to see video 7004 of the first program on an i

I 15 first channel. The second buffer 7006 can be! create when user changes channel to watch video

7008 on a second channel. The user may have changed the channel after watching the first show for ten

I minutes. The ten minutes of video 7004 that were buffered by the first buffer 7002 are represented by the shaded region 7010. After watching video 7008 for the second program until its completion, the user can return to watching the first channel for see video 7002 of the first 25 program. The shaded region 7012 in the first memory

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241 buffer 7 0 02 represents the “/ O 04 video of the first program that has been buffered since the user returned to watch the first program. Thus, the video that was buffered when the user returns to watch a recent program is combined with the video that was buffered when the user first viewed that program. Line 7014 in first buffer 7002 may mark the point at which video buffered in shaded region 7012 was added to first buffer 7002. If desired, first buffer 7002 may include a void in line 7014 that corresponds to the length of time the user made the current program change. '

Buffers that are for the same program can be combined in a number of different ways. For example, referring now to Figure 98, at step 7102, an interactive television application may buffer separately viewed or tuned portions of the same program. For example, two separate parts of a program can be buffered when a user switches back and forth to watch a particular program. In step 7104, the stored parts of the program can be concatenated. The concatenated buffer cannot

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include no indicator to display — T^1f? b ° and a break in the video buffer. If desired, in step 7106, the buffer portions can be combined by inserting blank video or other content between the buffered portions. Step 7106 may include step 7108. At step 7108, the interactive television application may insert blank video, a stored commercial, or other content that corresponds to the length of the gap in the video for a program, between separately buffered portions. If desired, short content (such as blank video, text, or a graphic) can be inserted between the gaps, along with an indication of the length of time to display the content, so buffer storage is not required for the entire period of time lost.

Figure 99 shows three illustrative video presentation sequences that can be performed based on the steps shown in Figure 98. Each sequence indicates how buffered video may be presented to a user by non-adjacent portions of a program. A user may be provided an opportunity to return a program from a buffer. Video 72 02 can be presented to a user when they select to play the program after

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INSTITUTO MEXICANA Oí IA MOHEDA * industria / return it to a first stored part 'err ^ -memoriia - .. intermediate of a particular program. The 7204 blank video can be displayed when the first buffered portion ends. Other content such as an advertisement stored in a PVR can also be used. The 7204 blank video may have been inserted to fill a gap in the buffer. Video 7206 containing a second buffered portion of the program can be displayed when blank video 72 04 has been displayed for a certain period of time (that is, a time equal to the length of the gap in the program between Two parts).

In the next sequence shown in Figure 99, the interactive television application displays the text 7208 to inform the user of the existence of the aperture in the buffered video portions when the 7202 video ends for the first stored portion. intermediate. The 7208 text can be presented on blank video or it can be presented as part of a graphic.

The text 7208 can be displayed briefly or it can be displayed for a period of time corresponding to the gap in the programming. In the final sequence shown in Figure 99, the 7210 video of a second buffered portion of a program is displayed

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244 immediately following video 7212 of the first buffered part (that is, the parts are concatenated). In this case, both the 7210 and 7212 video can be displayed without presenting blank video or text to inform the user of an opening in the buffer.

Gaps in program buffers can be avoided by storing programs in parallel buffers. Now, referring to Figure 100, at step 7302, a user may be provided an opportunity to change channels to view different programs. At step 7304, programs can be buffered in parallel by implementing multiple tuners to buffer two programs at the same time. Multiple tuners can be deployed as part of the user's local computer. If desired, one or more of the multiple tuners can be remotely deployed. At step 7306, an interactive television application 20 may record a program on a storage device (ie, a PVR) while a current user is watching a different program on a different channel. This feature of simultaneous viewing and recording can be provided when multiple tuners have been implemented. The multiple tuners

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245 of PROPERTY F

INDOSTEíal 'can also allow the interactive television application to record two programs at the same time. Additionally, this implementation may allow the user to watch two or more shows at the same time, for example, by switching channels between the two shows and returning on each channel change to view the programming that was missed.

Figure 101 shows an illustrative sequence of video and buffered events that can be provided based on the steps shown in Figure 100. The first buffer 7402 can be created for a first program when a user changes channels to see video 7404 of the first program to air on a first channel. The second buffer 7406 can be created for a second program when the user 15 changes channels to view video 7408 of the second program. The shaded region 7410 in the first buffer 7402 represents the video 7404 that was buffered before the user switched channels. After watching the second program for ten 20 minutes, the user can change channels back to the first channel to return to the first program and be able to press a return key to return the buffered video from the first program. The part of the first program that the user missed may have been buffered while it was

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL watching the second channel. Dual tuners can be used to buffer both programs. The shaded region 7412 in the first buffer 7402 shows that the interactive television application 5 continues to buffer the first program after the user changes channels. Thus, when the user returns to the first program and the first program returns, the video 7410 containing the missing parts of the first program can be presented to the user.

A user may be allowed to access additional buffer content when rolling back a current buffer to the start of the buffer. The start of the buffer can refer to the recorded content before the program. For example, now referring to Figure 102, at step 7502, a user may be allowed to return a video for a program using a buffer that was created for that pregram. At step 7504, the return can be stopped and the program can be played automatically when the user returns to the beginning of memory. At this point, a user can select to go back again from the beginning of the current buffer. In response, the interactive television application may jump to the end of the previous program and return to the previous program from the end of that program.

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INDUSTRIAL

247

A preview program can be one that was previously viewed by the user. In another example, a preview program may be one that the system previously recorded but may not have been viewed by the user. Alternatively, at step 7508, the interactive television application may jump to the start of a previous program and may begin playing it when the user selects to return again after returning a current program to the start of the buffer for that program.

In the context of movement between programs that are available from program buffers, movement can be based on the chronological order in which the buffers for the program were created.

Figure 103 shows illustrative video presentation sequences that can be provided based on the steps shown in Figure 102. Now referring to Figure 103, video 7602 of a returning program can be displayed when a user selects to return a current program. When the user returns the current program to the start of the buffer for the current program, the interactive television application can stop the return and can play the video 7604 of the current program. If the user selects to return again from the beginning of the

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current program or buffer, the interactive television application may display video 7606 showing video of a previous program being returned. Alternatively, the interactive television application may play the pre-program video 7608 starting from the start of the pre-program buffer.

A user may be allowed to fast forward a program that is buffered. Now referring to FIG. 104, at step 7702, a user may be allowed to fast forward the video of a program that is buffered. At step 7704, the video of the program that the user has selected for fast forward may be automatically stopped when the end of that program or the end of the buffer for that program is reached. Alternatively, in step 7706, when the end of a program or the end of the buffer for that program is reached by fast-forwarding the program, the interactive television application may begin playing a next program using a buffer. for the next program. In another alternative, the video of the next program can be quickly returned when the end of the first program is reached. The fast forward and backward techniques described here can also be used

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249

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apply to situations where the buffers of a previous, current or next program do not contain a complete program, but do contain a part of a program.

Figure 105 shows an illustrative interactive sequence for presenting video that may be provided based on the steps in Figure 104. As shown, video 7802 may contain video for a current program that is playing fast-forward based on a selection. user. A buffer 10 for the current program can be used to display the video 7802. When the end of the current program is reached, the interactive television application may stop playing the video 7802. The video 7804 of the current tuned channel or a still frame of the stopped program can be displayed when the video 7802 is stopped. Alternatively, when the end of the current program is reached, video 7806 containing video for a next program can be displayed. Video 7306 may be video that is presented from a buffer. Video 20 7806 can be played back in fast forward.

A user may be allowed to skip forward when viewing buffered video of a program. For example, now referring to Figure 106, in step 7902, to a user 25 who is watching a program that is playing from

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a buffer can be allowed to go high to a next program. At step 7904, the interactive television application may jump to the start of the next program when the user selects skip forward. Similarly, a user can be allowed to jump back between program buffers. Now referring to Figure 107, video 8002 may contain video of a current program that is being displayed from a buffer for that program.

Video 8004 of a next program in the buffer space can be displayed when the user selects to skip forward past video 8002 of the current program.

Buffered programming can be saved as part of recording. Figure 108 shows the illustrative stages involved in recording a current program. For example, now referring to Figure 108, at step 8102, a current program that a user is watching can be buffered.

At step 8104, the user may be provided the opportunity to select to record the current program. At step 8106, the current program can be recorded, by recording the video that is currently on the air and is on the air for that program and by saving the video for that program that was recorded and is available from memory.

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WSTHVTO MEXICANO DE ΙΑ ΜΟΝΕΒΑΓ INDUSTRIAL intermediate as part of the recording. · ——.

Figure 109 shows an illustrative sequence of events for recording a current program that is provided based on the steps of Figure 108. Now referring to Figure 109, the video 8202 containing video of a current program on the channel 2 can be displayed when the user selects to switch to a program they were watching on channel 5. A program buffer on channel 5 may have existed when 10 switched to channel 2. After watching the 8202 video for a period of time, the user may decide to switch back to channel 5. The 8204 video containing current video of the program on channel 5 can be displayed when the user selects to switch back to channel 5.

The 8206 overlay can be displayed when the user selects to record the current program on channel 5. The user can select to record the program on channel 5 by pressing the record button on the remote control when viewing 82 04 video of that program. the 8206 overlay can inform the user that the current program on channel 5 is being recorded and that the program recording will contain portions of that program that were previously tuned in. In a multi-tuner environment, the recording can include both previously tuned parts and parts that the user missed.

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252

IMPI

INSTITUTO MEXICANA DE LA PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL (that is, he missed them because he changed the channel to see another program). If desired, the information in the 8206 overlay can reflect the additional content that will • be recorded in a multi-tuner environment.

A buffered program can be saved as a recording even after that program ends. Figure 110 shows illustrative steps that may be involved in saving a buffered program as a recording.

Now referring to Figure 110, an interactive television application may maintain a buffer for a program after the program ends. At step 8304, a user may be provided the opportunity to have the saved program 15 as a recording. At step 8306, the program can be saved as a buffer recording.

Figure 111 shows an illustrative sequence of display screens that may be displayed based on the steps shown in Figure 110. The program buffer display 84 02 display screen may be displayed when a user selects an advertisement option. buffer from an appropriate display screen (ie, a main menu display screen) in a program guide.

The 8402 display buffer buffer

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program can include list 8404 that identifies programs that are currently available from a buffer.

Information display 8408 may be displayed when a user selects advertisement 8406 for a documentary from list 8404. Information display 8408 may include information about the documentary and may include program-related options such as an 8410 option. to record. The record option 8410 can be selected to have the program buffer for the documentary saved as a recording. the recording display screen 8416 may be displayed when the user later accesses the list of recordings that are currently available. The list 8412 on the recordings display 8416 may contain advertisement 8414 for the buffered program (the documentary) that the user selected to save as a recording. If desired, it can be identified from the list 8404 on the program buffer display 8402 how much of a particular program was buffered. If desired, the list 8404 on the program buffer display 8402 may be modified to remove the advertisement 8406 when a user selects that that program be recorded from the buffer. The

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO de la hujpiedac INDUSTRIAL buffer memory can be converted to program recording memory or the program can be copied to program recording memory.

In another example of recording a program, which has ended, the guide may allow the user to return or skip-back to a previous program, as described above. While watching a program, the user may be allowed to press a remote control info key to display the program information screen 8408 or to press a remote control record key to record the program from the buffer.

The size of the storage space used for buffer programs can be set manually or automatically. For example, now referring to Figure 112, at step 8502, a storage device such as a PVR. it can be provided as part of a user's local computer. At step 8504, a portion (or all) of the storage space on the storage device may be allocated to buffer television content. Stage 8504 can be applied to single or multiple tuner environments. In step 8504, the size of the buffer space can be set automatically when the system is configured by a system operator or is set accordingly.

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manually by the user. An example of adjusting the buffer space size automatically is by using all free storage space for program buffers, 5 automatically. If desired, a minimum size of buffer space can be allocated automatically, even if that reduces the amount of programming that can be recorded.

Now referring to Figure 113, the buffer configuration display screen 10 8602 may be displayed when a user selects a buffer installation option from an appropriate display screen such as a main menu screen or a PVR installation screen. . Buffer configuration display screen 8602 may include buffer space option 8604 that user can use to select the total storage space to be allocated for creating buffers, may include memory number option 8606 2 0 buffer that can be used to select the maximum number of buffers to be activated at the same time, may include buffer size option 8608 which can be used to specify a fixed or maximum buffer size and may include option 8610 to select when memories

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256

MSI ÑUTO MEXICANC DÉ LA ΜβΗΕΟΛΓ INDUSTRIAL will be deleted (that is, delete daily, every 'week, every month, etc.). If desired, there may not be an option to select when deleting buffers, as older memories can be deleted when space is needed for newer memories. The buffer size can be set to a fixed size, it can be set automatically based on the size of the program, or it can be set using other convenient techniques.

A recording device such as a PVR that can be used to automatically pause television content when a user interacts with an interactive television application. Illustrative steps involved in pausing television content are shown in Figure 114. Now, referring to Figure 114, at step 8702, television content can be presented to the user as video for a program or commercial. TV content can be one that is currently on the air, it can be one

0 that was previously recorded or it may be one that is playing from buffer. At step 8704, the user may be provided an opportunity to interact with an interactive television application. The application for example may be one that has been implemented in a television system to provide

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257

INSTITUTO MEXICAW DE LA PUDRI ÍOAI INDUSTRIAL interactive services to the user. At step 8706, the current television content that the user is watching may be automatically paused when the user begins to interact with the interactive television application 5. The actual television content may be live television content or it may be other such as a recorded program that a user is watching, a VOD program that a user is watching, etc. The user can begin to interact with the interactive television application 10, for example, by pressing a remote control button. At step 8708, the presentation of the television content can be resumed when the user exits the interactive television application. Television content can be summarized from the point where it was automatically paused.

Figures 115-120 show illustrative video and splash screen sequences that can be provided based on the steps shown in Figure 114. Now referring to Figure 115, video 8802 20 of a television program that a user is currently watching can be automatically paused when the user enters a program guide by selecting a guide button on the remote control to display. the program announcement display screen 8804. Said display 8804 may include announcements 8806,

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that can be scrolled to find ads. If desired, the user can take further action to display other display screens after screen 88 04 is displayed. The 8808 video of the television program, which the user was watching before entering the program guide, can be summarized from the point at which it was paused. The television program can be summarized when the user exits the program guide. Thus, a recording device such as a PVR can be used to automatically pause content when a user interacts with an interactive television application.

Now referring to Figure 116, video 8902 of a television commercial that a user is currently watching can be automatically paused when a user selects a remote control button such as the info button to display the splash screen. 8904 of advertising information. Said screen 8904 may contain information about the commercial that the user was viewing. The user can interact with the screen 8904 and then can use other features in the interactive television application before exiting to video 8906. Said video 8906 can contain video of the commercial that the user was watching 25 when the presentation screen of

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259

INSTITUTO MEXICAHv

FROM THE TXOnSDAt INDUSTRIAt advertising information 8904. The view &lt;? Eo ~ ^ S5ir§ may summarize the commercial playback from the point at which the interactive television application was used to display the 8904 screen.

Now referring to Figure 117, the interactive advertising display screen 9004 can be displayed for example when a user presses an info key on the remote control while viewing video 9002 of a television commercial. The interactive advertising display screen 9004 may contain the information 9008 that is related to the commercial television that the user was watching, along with selectable options related to the advertising. Interactive advertising display screen 9004 15 may continue to play the television commercial that the user has been watching using scaled video 9006 of the commercial. When the user exits the interactive advertising display 9004, the video 9010 can be displayed by summarizing the commercial to full screen 20 from the point at which the interactive advertising display 9004 was displayed. The video can be summarized from that previous point since the user may not have their full attention devoted to the video when interacting with the interactive advertising display screen 9004.

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260

IMPI

INSTITUTO MEXICANO munmdw industrial

Now with reference to Fig. B), the screen 9104 of recordings can be displayed when a user presses a particular button on the remote control to see which recordings are currently available to him. The user may have selected to view the recordings display screen 9104 while watching video 9102 of a current television program. The recording screen 9104 may include the scaled video 9106 of the program that the user was watching when he selected to view the screen 9104. The recording screen 9104 may include the advertisements 9108 that identify the recordings that are currently available to the user for playback. The video 9110 may be displayed when the user exits the recording screen 9108. Video 9110 may be that of the television program the user was watching and was paused at the point where screen 9104 was displayed. The user can press a key on the remote control to play the television program.

Now referring to Figure 119, video 9204 of a locally stored commercial video can be displayed when a user selects to enter the program guide while viewing video 9202 of a particular television program. When the user exits the program guide, video 9206 of that program

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261 particular television can be automatically resumed from the point at which the presentation of video 9202 was stopped by the presentation of video 9204. Figure 120 shows an illustrative sequence that is the same sequence shown in Figure 119 except that video 93 02 It is for a TV commercial that was automatically paused and then summarized by displaying video 9306 when the user exits the program guide.

A user can be given the option of summarizing television content from the point where it was automatically paused or from its current point. For example, now referring to Figure 121, the overlay or display 9402 may be displayed to request whether the television content should be summarized from the point at which the program guide was entered. The overlay or display screen 9402 may include option 9404 to confirm and option 94 06 to cancel. Video 94 08 of television content at its current point (that is, live television) can be displayed when the user selects the cancel option 9406. If the confirm option 9404 was selected, the television content can be summarized from the point at which the user entered the program guide.

Video or other stored content can be

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262 ÍUSTnVTO M £ XíCAN (JM LA PROPERTY INDUSTRIAL exhibit when a program is paused. 'FOP Sj'ümplü,¹Now referring to Figure 122, a user may select to pause video 9420 for a program that is being presented to a user. Recorded video or other 9422 content (that is, from a PVR) can be displayed when the program is paused. Recorded video or other content 9422 can be displayed as a full screen type presentation. If desired, recorded content or other content 9426 may be displayed on top of paused video 9424 when a user selects to pause a current program. Recorded content or other content 9426 may, for example, be presented as an overlay. The recorded video can be an advertisement video or other video content. Other content that can be displayed can be still content, animation, still image, etc.

A user may be allowed to send a recording, a reminder, or request a recording to another user (that is, another user in the same home or 20 other users in other homes). For example, now referring to FIG. 123, the information display screen 9440 may be displayed when a user selects to receive information on a particular program. The information display screen can be for an upcoming program or for a program that has already been released.

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air and already recorded (that is, recorded at least in part). The information display screen 9440 may include the option 9442 to send. The submit 9446 splash screen can be displayed when the submit option 9442 is selected. Screen 9446 may provide the user with an opportunity to send a recording, a reminder, or to send a recording request for a program to another user. Screen 9446 may allow the user to send a recording when information display screen 9440 is displayed for a program that has a recording associated with it. Send display 9446 may allow the user to send a reminder or record request when display 9446 is displayed for an upcoming program. Screen 9446 may be displayed specifically for the particular program for which display screen 9440 of information is displayed. Send display screen 9446 may include data entry area 9448 to allow a user to enter the name or address of a particular recipient of a recording, reminder, or recording request. The send option 9450 can be included on screen 9446 that a user can select to send a recording, reminder, or recording request to a particular user. If desired, the 9446 display can

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264

INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROMEDaL INDUSTRIAL include an option to allow the user to select the message technique (that is, e-mail messages) that will be used.

Figure 124 shows email 9460 i 5 for a particular user providing the user with an attached recording, a reminder for an upcoming show, or an attached recording request for a program

I will come depending on whether, the particular program that। is the subject of email 9460, is it a recording or a program to come. 9460 mail can be sent using a wide area network such as the Internet. Figure 125 shows message announcement display screen 9462 that a user can access from within the guide. The 9462 display can provide a list of> 15 messages that have been received for the current user, í Ads 9462 show that an i has been received

I recording from XYZ transmitter to current user, i Ads 9466 show current user has! received a reminder for a particular program from the¹ 20 XYZ transmitter. Listing 9468 shows that a current user has received a record request for a particular program from the XYZ transmitter. Current user^; you can select each ad to view the information related to that post. Figure 126 shows the 9470 overlay that can be displayed to inform

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265

INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA MONEDAD INDUSTRIAL a current user of a reminder or recording request that has been sent to them. Overlay 9470 may include related options 9472 that may allow the user to take particular actions according to the reminder or recording request. The 9472 related options may allow the user to select to record or tune a program that is the subject of the overlay 9470. If desired, the interactive television application can automatically process the content of the message. For example, upon receiving a recording, it can be added to the list of recordings available to the receiving user. Upon receiving a reminder, the interactive TV application can set a reminder locally. Upon receiving a recording request, the interactive television application can automatically schedule a local recording for the program. Examples of television message systems are illustratively shown in McKissick et al., US Patent Application No. 09 / 356,245 filed July 16, 1999, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. If desired and as mentioned before, copy protection schemes can be provided to users with PVR. Programming or other content that may be displayed on the user's computer can be copy-protected. The

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copy protection information 'that' is associated with programming or other content may be provided to user equipment to support copy protection schemes. Such schemes can be implemented to use copy protection information to prevent users from copying programming or other content without authorization. For example, an interactive television application may block a program from being recorded at a PVR when that program is copy protected. Program recording can be blocked preventing recording from being scheduled. A graphic (that is, an overlay or presentation screen) may be displayed that informs an observer that a particular program or other content that was selected for recording cannot be recorded due to copyright protections. The MPEG-4 standard can be used to broadcast programs with information on copyright protection. Other standards that support such activity can also be used.

0 As mentioned above, a PVR can automatically record shows based on user preferences. Other inference machines can use information such as password or demographic searches (mentioned above) to select programs to record automatically. Examples of guides

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interactive television program that waaa-demcigr áf ioag ge illustratively shows in U.S. Patent Application No. 09 / 139,377 filed August 25, 1998 by Knee et al., which is incorporated herein in its entirety, as reference. Programs can be automatically recorded based on passwords that a user has entered into the system.

If desired and as mentioned before, conflict resolution schemes can be provided to support mechanisms for the observer to resolve scheduling conflicts. An interactive television application may present options, configuration settings, or indicators that can be used by the user to resolve scheduling conflicts. Conflicts can be resolved by allowing the user to interact with the interactive television application to resolve each conflict as it appears. The interactive television application may allow the user to establish a conflict resolution scheme (that is, to set the interactive television application in favor of a type of recording such as a recording of a series).

As mentioned before, personal video recorders and other digital recording devices record television programs on a digital medium, such as a hard drive. The amount of programming that can be stored

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by such devices is limited by the capacity¹ the storage medium. A typical unit can store 30 hours of programming video, compressed to the maximum level.

The systems now use digital video compression methods like MPEG-2, which are practical in real time. An incoming audio / video program can be digitized, compressed and stored as the signal is received. More efficient compression methods are available, such as MPEG-4. However, these methods are much more intensive from a computational point of view. Hardware that is cheap enough to be widely deployable may not be able to compress video using more efficient compression methods (that is, using the MPEG-4 standard) in real time.

The computational tasks associated with a digital video recorder are generally not excessive. A processor in such a device typically has backup processor cycles available. These backup cycles can be used to compress stored audio / video programs more efficiently.

For example, the system can record programs using the MPEG-2 standard, the same as other existing systems. However, deep down, by using 25 processor cycles that are not needed for storing,

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INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA MUWEEDAC INWSTRIAL to manage or retrieve programs, the processor can scan through previously recorded programs and compress them into a more efficient format. After compressing a program into a more efficient format, such as MPEG-4 5, the less efficient version can be removed, freeing up storage space for additional programs.

Programs can also be compressed in multiple steps. For example, you can do 10 pass through of an audio / video file to reduce it by one shape and another pass to reduce it further. Each step can eliminate a specific type of redundancy, for example. As each compression step completes, the previous version can be removed.

The user, network operator or programmer can be allowed to set parameters such as what types of compression are allowed, either in general or for a specific program. For example, a specific type of compression loss may be optional.

The most lossy compression rates can also be reserved for shows that are archived for a longer period of time or for those that have already been watched.

An advantage of this technique is that it allows many more hours of recorded programming in the same amount of storage. For example, most or all

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INSTITUTO MSXICANO OE LA PROPERTY INDUSTRIAL programs currently in progress can be 'almaáS'lldl 5JH on ·¹less efficient format. Recently recorded programs can be stored in a more efficient format. And programs that have been stored for a longer period of time can be stored in the most efficient format.

A more advanced compression standard like MPEG-4 allows objects in the video to be explicitly defined. For example MPEG-4 allows 10 objects in video to be explicitly defined. A web address or commerce application could be linked to one of those objects. MPEG-4 supports intellectual property management. These new features may be limited to programs that were originally broadcast in the MPEG-4 standard or may be provided with other formats to translate the information received in MPEG-4.

If desired, a computational reading medium such as a floppy disk reader, optical disk, etc. can be used to store executable machine code to implement an interactive television application to provide PVR and / or IPG features. If desired, equipment such as that described in Figures 1-2C can be configured to provide features, options, or techniques that are illustratively described herein.

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Mexican Institute of Industrial Property

Thus, interactive television systems and methods that provide extended PVR and interactive television features are provided. A person skilled in this field will appreciate that the present invention can be carried out by means of modalities other than those described, which are presented for the purpose of illustration and not limitation and that the present invention is limited only by the claims that follow.

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