Claims
- 1. In an interactive viewing system having a head end in two-way communication with a plurality of viewer stations having a video display operatively coupled to a controller, the head end providing to the viewer stations programming comprising a plurality of programs provided on a plurality of channels, the system including at least one interactive program guide for listing one or more of the plurality of programs, a method of reminding a user that a selected program is available, the method comprising the steps of:
- displaying the program guide on the video display;
- selecting the selected program from the program guide;
- setting a reminder tag associated with the selected program and the user, said reminder tag indicating that the user has requested to be reminded at a future time of the availability of the selected program;
- storing the reminder tag at the head end;
- monitoring the reminder tag to determine the future time; and
- reminding the user at the future time that the selected program is available.
- 2. The method of claim 1 in which the reminding step further comprises displaying a reminder panel on the video display at the future time.
- 3. The method of claim 2 in which the reminder panel includes an identification of the selected program.
- 4. The method of claim 3 in which the reminder panel includes an identification of a time at which the selected program is available.
- 5. The method of claim 4 in which the reminder panel includes an identification of a channel on which the selected program is available.
- 6. The method of claim 1 in which the future time is immediately before the time at which the selected program is available.
- 7. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of allowing a user to acknowledge the reminder panel and turn automatically to a channel on which the selected program is available.
- 8. In an interactive viewing system having a head end in two-way communication with a plurality of viewer stations having a video display operatively coupled to a controller, the head end providing to the viewer stations programming comprising a plurality of programs provided on a plurality of channels, the head end storing program schedule information which identifies for the plurality of programs a time at which the program is available and a channel on which the program is available, the system including at least one interactive program guide for listing one or more of the plurality of programs, a method of reminding a user that a selected program is available, the method comprising the steps of:
- displaying the program guide on the video display of the user's viewer station;
- selecting the selected program from the program guide;
- setting a reminder tag associated with the selected program and the user, the reminder tag indicating that the user is to be reminded at a future time of the availability of the selected program;
- storing the reminder tag at the head end;
- monitoring the reminder tag to determine the future time; and
- displaying a reminder panel on the video display of the user's viewer station at the future time, the future time being shortly before a time at which the selected program is available, the reminder panel identifying the selected program.
- 9. The method of claim 8 in which the reminder panel further identifies the channel on which the selected program is available.
- 10. The method of claim 9 in which the reminder panel further identifies the time at which the selected program is available.
- 11. The method of claim 8 further comprising the steps of:
- determining whether a second program, available on the same channel as the selected program at a predetermined time after the time at which the selected program is available, has the same title as the selected program; and
- causing the reminder tag to be reset for the second program if the determination is positive.
- 12. The method of claim 11 in which the predetermined time is one day.
- 13. The method of claim 11 in which the predetermined time is one week.
- 14. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of causing the reminder tag to be automatically reset for each successive predetermined time.
- 15. In an interactive viewing system having a head end in two-way communication with a plurality of viewer stations having a video display operably coupled to a controller, the head end providing to the viewer stations programming comprising a plurality of programs provided on a plurality of channels, the head end storing program schedule information which identifies for the plurality of programs a time at which the program is available and a channel on which the program is available, the system including at least one interactive program guide for listing one or more of the plurality of programs on the video display, a method for reminding a user that a selected program is available, the method comprising the steps of:
- selecting the selected program from the program guide;
- setting a reminder tag associated with the selected program and the user, the reminder tag being stored at the head end and indicating that the user is to be reminded of the availability of the selected program at a future time, the future time being a predetermined time before the availability of the selected program;
- displaying a reminder panel on the video display at the future time; and
- allowing the user to respond to the reminder panel to turn directly to a channel on which the selected program is available.
- 16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the steps of:
- monitoring the reminder tag at the head end to determine the future time; and
- sending a signal from the head end to the controller at the future time, the signal causing the head end to display the reminder panel.
- 17. The method of claim 15 further comprising the steps of:
- monitoring the reminder tag at the head end to determine the future time; and
- polling the head end from the controller to learn of the future time.
- 18. In an interactive viewing system having a head end in two-way communication with a plurality of viewer stations having a video display operably coupled to a controller, the head end providing to the viewer stations programming comprising a plurality of programs provided on a plurality of channels, the head end storing program schedule information which identifies for the plurality of programs a time at which the program is available and a channel on which the program is available, the system including at least one interactive program guide for listing one or more of the plurality of programs on the video display, a system for reminding a user that a selected program is available, the system comprising:
- an input device for inputting user commands to the controller, the user commands including commands to cause the display of the program guide on the video display of the user's viewer station, the user commands further including commands to allow the user to navigate through the program guide to display program information for the plurality of programs to locate and identify the selected program, wherein identification of the selected program in the program guide causes the controller to set a reminder tag associated with the user and the selected program, the reminder tag indicating that the user is to be reminded of the selected program at a future time;
- a communication system associated with the controller for communicating the reminder tag to the head end for monitoring to determine the future time, the communication system receiving from the head end a reminder signal at the future time; and
- a display system associated with the controller for displaying a reminder panel on the video display of the user's viewer station at the future time the reminder panel being displayed in response to the reminder signal.
- 19. The system of claim 18 wherein the user commands further includes a command to cause the controller to turn to a channel on which the selected program is available, the command being operable only when the reminder panel is displayed.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/435,638, filed on May 5, 1995 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (15)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2034995 |
Jun 1980 |
GBX |
9501057 |
Jan 1995 |
WOX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
435638 |
May 1995 |
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