Abstract: A controller and media-reader are used to identify various physical or logical characteristics of data stored on a pre-recorded medium. These characteristics may include, e.g., the kind of medium, the kind of data, the way the data is segmented or separated, the size of any data segments, the total amount of data or physical size of the medium carrying the data. A controller then compares the identified set of characteristics to stored sets of characteristics which are associated with respective content-identifiers. A successful comparison yields content-identifiers applicable to the data stored on the pre-recorded medium. These content identifiers may be, e.g., information identifying the titles and length of audio or video programs included on the media. The stored sets of characteristic and content identifiers may be located at a remote site.

Abstract: A media player reads program information from a media. A controller is used for deriving therefrom media characterization information and for receiving media identification information and media classification information from an external data base in response to the media characterization information. The controller couples one of alphanumeric and graphical information signals representing the media identification information and the media characterization information to a display device.

Abstract: In a television system in which at least program title information for programs which are to be transmitted in the future is transmitted in advance to form a channel guide listing, apparatus is provided for searching the listing for specific user-entered information, and upon successful conclusion to the search, the apparatus schedules the tuning of the desired program, or in the alternative, notifies the viewer of the availability of the program. In those instances where descriptive text accompanies the program listing, apparatus of the invention performs a search of the text for a particular text string which may relate to the title, the star, the director, or the context of the program, among other search criteria.

Abstract: An interface and a method for customizing program guide information containing program descriptions is provided. The program guide information is downloaded and stored in a memory, preferably in a generic manner. A menu is generated based on the program guide information. The menu includes program identifiers which can be selected by a user to implement the corresponding programs. The menu then can be customized to include identifier(s) indicative of one or more additional programs or item, including user-specific programs and items which are remotely accessed or locally accessed. After customization, the additional identifiers are selectable by the user to implement the corresponding programs or display the corresponding items. Preferably, the customization is performed locally and interactively using displays generated by an electronic host device or another device connected thereto.

Abstract: A controller and media-reader are used to identify various physical or logical characteristics of data stored on a pre-recorded medium. These characteristics may include, e.g., the kind of medium, the kind of data, the way the data is segmented or separated, the size of any data segments, the total amount of data or physical size of the medium carrying the data. A controller then compares the identified set of characteristics to stored sets of characteristics which are associated with respective content-identifiers. A successful comparison yields content-identifiers applicable to the data stored on the pre-recorded medium. These content identifiers may be, e.g., information identifying the titles and length of audio or video programs included on the media. The stored sets of characteristic and content identifiers may be located at a remote site.

Abstract: A selection or display feature of a jukebox containing a plurality of storage media, such as CDs, is automatically programmed by determining a content-related profile of information stored on a medium and, utilizing the profile, retrieving content-descriptive information and utilizing the content-descriptive information. A screen display generator performs diskography on, e.g., an audio or video disk, to determine a disk profile, compares the disk profile to those stored in either a local or remote database, receives associated program descriptive data and incorporates the program descriptive data into a menu for display and selection.

Abstract: In a television system in which at least program title information for programs which are to be transmitted in the future is transmitted in advance to form a channel guide listing, apparatus is provided for searching for specific television programs which satisfy certain criteria concerning a user's viewing preferences, and upon successful conclusion to the search, the apparatus generates a list of such television programs in order to predict for the viewer certain programs which may be of interest. In a first embodiment of the invention the apparatus stores information about the particular television shows which the user watches, as search criteria. In a second embodiment of the invention the search criteria is editable by the viewer to further refine the searches.

Abstract: A television receiver, provides a hierarchy of menus for controlling functions affecting the display of the video image. A "fetch" menu which can be customized by a user, which is absent from the screen during normal program viewing, and which is easily accessible by means of a single key, holds a given number of the user's favorite commands. The user may add commands to the fetch menu which normally reside any position in the menu hierarchy. The user may thereafter cause display of his list of favorite commands via a remote control key, and cause the execution of his desired command without having to find that command at its normal position in the hierarchy.

Abstract: A television system for receiving a plurality of television programs includes a programming unit for causing the television system to receive and record a particular television show aired on a given channel, at a particular time and date in accordance with schedule data entered by a user. The television system includes a controller for generating the on-screen displays in response to user-entered data. Upon completion of a programming entry, the controller causes a display of a substantially grammatically correct sentence summarizing the entered programming instructions and acting as a confirmation screen. In one embodiment, the confirmation screen is interactive in that certain variables within the sentence may be modified by the user to change the sense of the sentence, and thus to modify the programming instructions.