SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FILTERING A TELEVISION CHANNEL LIST BASED ON CHANNEL CHARACTERISTICS
A system and method for automatically managing television channel lists is disclosed. Pixel resolutions characteristics of a plurality of televisions channels are analyzed. One or more high definition television (HDTV) channels having HD pixel resolutions from the plurality of available television channels are selected. The one or more selected HDTV channels are stored in a HD channel list.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/029,815, filed on Feb. 12, 2008, incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to management of television channels, and in particular, to automatic management of high definition (HD) channel lists.
2. Description of the Related Technology
High definition (HD) television broadcast channels, while becoming increasingly more available, still remain a small percentage of all available air and cable channels. Usually, cable channels do not contain any Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) information, and cable companies typically do not provide the channel list to the public. Therefore, viewers, in the beginning, do not know where any of the HDTV channels are located. Unlike most air feeds, which sometimes have channel names that indicate HD, channel names for cable channels typically do not have any indications of HD. Therefore, viewers that receive cable channels, therefore, often have to scroll through all channels to find available HD channels.
Adding to the difficulty of finding available HD channels is the fact that digital television channels have physical channel numbers and virtual channel numbers associated with them. The physical channel number is the actual channel number from where the channel is being broadcast. The virtual channel number, which is optional, is the channel number that can be used for repositioning the channel on a digital TV. For example, ABC-HD can be broadcast on physical channel 84-2 and have a virtual channel number of 7-1. As a result, on a digital TV, ABC-HD will come out on 7-1 instead of 84-2. Unfortunately, many channels on cable do not have these virtual channel numbers which make finding channels easier for viewers. Therefore, it results in the viewer being even more confused on where to find the HD channels. They do not know the physical channel numbers, and these numbers are not disclosed to the viewer by the cable provider.
While a favorite channel list, which is available in some television sets, can be used to store the HDTV channels, the viewers would still initially have to manually locate the HDTV channels. In addition, when a stored HD channel is no longer available or a new HD channel is added to the cable programming, the favorite channel list needs to be manually updated. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a television set with an integral capability to manage HD channel lists, including automatically generating and updating HD channel lists.
SUMMARY OF CERTAIN INVENTIVE ASPECTSThe system, method, and devices of the invention each have several aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of this invention as expressed by the claims which follow, its more prominent features will now be discussed briefly.
In one embodiment, there is a method of automatically managing television channel lists, the method comprising programmatically analyzing pixel resolutions characteristics of a plurality of television channels, selecting one or more high definition television (HDTV) channels having HD pixel resolutions from the plurality of available television channels, and storing the one or more selected HDTV channels in a HD channel list.
In another embodiment, there is a system for automatically managing television channel lists, the system comprising a processor configured to programmatically analyze pixel resolutions characteristics of a plurality of television channels, and select one or more high definition television (HDTV) channels having HD pixel resolutions from the plurality of television channels; and a memory in data communication with the processor, and configured to store a HD channel list including the one or more selected HDTV channels.
In another embodiment, there is a method for automatically managing television channel lists, the method comprising determining that an high definition (HD) device is tuned to a television channel, programmatically analyzing the quality of a signal for the television channel, determining whether the television channel is included in an existing high-definition (HD) channel list, and updating the existing HD channel list with the television channel depending on the quality of the signal.
In another embodiment, there is a system for automatically managing television channel lists, the system comprising a processor configured to determine that a high definition (HD) device is tuned to a television channel, programmatically analyze the quality of a signal for the television channel, determine whether the television channel is included in an existing high-definition (HD) channel list, and update the existing HD channel list with the television channel depending on the quality of the signal; and a memory in data communication with the processor and configured to store the HD channel list.
In another embodiment, there is a method for automatically managing television channel lists, the method comprising programmatically analyzing a plurality of television channels for selection characteristics; selecting one or more channels having the selection characteristics; and storing the one or more selected channels in a channel list configured to list those television channels having the selection characteristics.
Certain embodiments provide a method and system for automatically managing high definition (HD) channel lists.
The following detailed description is directed to certain sample embodiments of the invention. However, the invention can be embodied in a multitude of different ways as defined and covered by the claims. In this description, reference is made to the drawings wherein like parts are designated with like numerals throughout.
Various embodiments to be described below can be embodied in various types of HD devices that are capable of receiving and displaying high definition (HDTV) channels. Such HD devices can include HD television (TV) sets, personal computers (PCs) or laptops, PDAs, cellular phones, and the like. Alternatively, various embodiments can also be embodied in peripheral devices that are in data communication with HD devices such as DVD players, cable modems, set-up boxes, video adapters for PCs and laptops, and the like. Some of the devices include a processor such as a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, a high definition video processor (HDVP), and the like, that is capable of processing data inputs from different TV channels and make certain decisions based on the data inputs. The devices can also include a memory such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a hard disk, and the like, that is capable of storing HD channel lists.
I. Generation of HD Channel Lists by Auto Program FunctionDuring the example auto program procedure, available channels in the selected source are discovered and mapped into a channel map, and, in addition, pixel resolutions of the discovered channels are analyzed to detect HDTV channels among the discovered available channels as described above with reference to
In certain embodiments, the user can view the contents of the HD channel list after it has been generated.
In certain embodiments, a new HD channel list is generated or updated by analyzing only those channels previously mapped to a channel map instead of discovering and analyzing all new available channels as described above with reference to
In certain embodiments, not only is the HD channel list generated or updated when the Auto Program or the HD Auto Program function is executed by a user as described above, but the HD channel list is also updated automatically even if the Auto Program or the HD Auto Program functions is not executed by a user. For example, in the embodiments to be described below, a process for an update of a HD channel list can be launched whenever a TV is tuned to a new channel. In that example, the newly tuned channel is analyzed for usability of the signal and/or HD quality and can be either added to or deleted from the existing HD channel list.
If the answer for the decisional state 520 is NO (the channel is not a HD channel or is carrying an unusable signal), the process proceeds to another decisional state 531, where it is determined whether the usable HD channel is stored in the HD channel list. If the answer for the decisional state 531 is NO (not in the HD channel list), the process ends at state 550. If the answer for the decisional state 531 is YES (in the HD channel list), the process moves to a state 533, where the channel is removed from the HD channel list. The process then ends at state 550.
If the answer for the decisional state 520 is YES (the channel is a HD channel and is usable), the process proceeds to another decisional state 541, where it is determined whether the usable HD channel is stored in the HD channel list. If the answer for the decisional state 541 is YES (in the HD channel list), the process ends at state 550. if the answer to the decisional state 541 is NO (not in the HD channel list), the process moves to a state 543, where the channel is added to the HD channel list. The process then ends at state 550.
Certain embodiments of the automatic management of HD channel list described above can be implemented in conjunction with some existing channel filtering technologies. For example, some TVs, e.g., ClearQAM TVs, have auto program feature that discovers all available channels and then detects and removes scrambled channels from the channel map. The capability to filter out the scrambled channels in those TVs can be integrated with certain embodiments described above so that the HD channel list would contain HDTV channels that are not scrambled.
IV. Automatic Management of Channel Characteristics ListIn the preceding sections, various embodiments automatic management of HD channel lists were described. In those embodiments, certain characteristics or qualifies of channels are analyzed, and determinations are made as to whether to include or delete the channels from the HD channel list. The characteristics or qualities being analyzed for automatically managing HD channel lists are channels with HD pixel resolutions. It would be apparent to one skilled in the art that the system and method for automatically managing HD channel lists described above in Sections I, II, and III can be generalized to automatically managing lists directed to alternative channel characteristics. Examples of the alternative characteristics include, but not limited to, channels with Second Audio Program (SAP), channels with captions for viewers with hearing impairments, foreign language channels with English subtitles, and the like. Much the same way the automatically managed HD channel lists can help users to quickly locate and view HDTV channels, the automatically managed alternative characteristics lists can also help users to quickly locate and view channels having the alternative characteristics. For example, a channel with all SAP available channels can be helpful for viewers who only know Spanish, and a channel list with all caption available channels can be helpful for viewers who are hearing impaired. The system and method for automatically managing a list for alternative characteristics are basically the same as those for automatically managing the HD channel list described above except that channels (all available, mapped, etc.) are analyzed for the alternative characteristics, e.g., channels having SAP, rather than for pixel resolutions characteristics.
The above-described method of channel characteristics list management including HD channel list generating and update may be realized in a program format to be stored on a computer readable recording medium that includes any kinds of recording devices for storing computer readable data, for example, a CD-ROM, a DVD, a magnetic tape, a memory (e.g., capable of storing firmware), memory card and a disk.
While the above detailed description has shown, described, and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to various embodiments, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the system illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the intent of the invention.
Claims
1. A method for managing a list of content channels, the method comprising:
- receiving one or more preferred channel characteristics;
- selecting one or more content channels from a plurality of content channels available from one or more content sources, wherein each selected content channel satisfies at least one of the preferred channel characteristics;
- generating a content channel list, wherein the content channel list includes the selected content channels; and
- displaying the content channel list for user selection.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- for each content channel of the plurality of content channels, analyzing the content channel to determine whether the content channel has channel characteristics meeting at least one of the preferred channel characteristics.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of content channels include at least one television channel.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the content channel list for user selection comprises displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) including multiple rows for the selected content channels, a channel column displaying channel numbers of the selected content channels, and a name column displaying names of the selected content channels.
5. The method of 1, wherein the preferred channel characteristics include content channels having high-definition (HD) pixel resolutions.
6. The method of 1, wherein the preferred channel characteristics include content channels having closed captioning.
7. The method of 1, wherein the preferred channel characteristics include content channels having a second audio program (SAP).
8. The method of 1, wherein the preferred channel characteristics include content channels in a foreign language with English subtitles.
9. The method of 1, wherein the preferred channel characteristics are user-selected.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- updating the content channel list based on one or more of the following changes: a change to a selected content channel, a change to the preferred channel characteristics, and a change to the plurality of content channels available from the content sources.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the content channel list is automatically generated when an auto program function is executed.
12. A system for managing a list of content channels, the system comprising:
- a processor for: receiving one or more preferred channel characteristics; selecting one or more content channels from a plurality of content channels available from one or more content sources, wherein each selected content channel satisfies at least one of the preferred channel characteristics; and generating a content channel list, wherein the content channel list includes the selected content channels; a memory for maintaining the content channel list; and a screen for displaying the content channel list for user selection.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured for:
- for each content channel of the plurality of content channels, analyzing the content channel to determine whether the content channel has channel characteristics meeting at least one of the preferred channel characteristics.
14. The system of claim 12, wherein the screen is further configured for:
- displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) including multiple rows for the selected content channels, a channel column displaying channel numbers of the selected content channels, and a name column displaying names of the selected content channels.
15. The system of claim 12, wherein the preferred channel characteristics include one or more of the following: content channels having high-definition (HD) pixel resolutions, content channels having closed captioning, content channels having a second audio program (SAP), and content channels in a foreign language with English subtitles.
16. The system of claim 12, wherein the preferred channel characteristics are user-selected.
17. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured for:
- updating the content channel list based on one or more of the following changes: a change to a selected content channel, a change to the preferred channel characteristics, and a change to the plurality of content channels available from the content sources.
18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions which when executed on a computer perform a method comprising:
- receiving one or more preferred channel characteristics;
- selecting one or more content channels from a plurality of content channels available from one or more content sources, wherein each selected content channel satisfies at least one of the preferred channel characteristics;
- generating a content channel list, wherein the content channel list includes the selected content channels; and
- displaying the content channel list for user selection.
19. The medium of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises:
- for each content channel of the plurality of content channels, analyzing the content channel to determine whether the content channel has channel characteristics meeting at least one of the preferred channel characteristics.
20. The medium of claim 18, wherein the preferred channel characteristics include one or more of the following: content channels having high-definition (HD) pixel resolutions, content channels having closed captioning, content channels having a second audio program (SAP), and content channels in a foreign language with English subtitles.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 6, 2014
Publication Date: Sep 25, 2014
Inventors: Byung Chan Kang (Downey, CA), Taehee Kim (Ridgefield, NJ), Paul Kim (Mahwah, NJ)
Application Number: 14/298,814
International Classification: H04N 21/482 (20060101); H04N 21/462 (20060101);