System and method for providing television program information to an entertainment device

Abstract

Television programs are represented by program interface objects (PIOs) within an interactive television system. The PIOs provide a visual indicator for quick identification of the represented television program, attributes providing information concerning the represented television program, and actions that may be performed on or in connection with the represented television program. The PIOs may be sorted, filtered, and/or managed based on user-provided criteria. The PIOs may be transmitted between a variety of electronic devices and software applications.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method for providing television program information to an entertainment device, the method comprising: 
 storing a plurality of program interface objects (PIOs) within a server, each PIO comprising a plurality of attributes carrying information about a television program, a plurality of user-selectable actions performable by an entertainment device in connection with the television program, and at least one visual indicator displayable in a graphical user interface (GUI) to facilitate user interaction with the PIO;    selecting at the server at least one stored PIO for transmission to an entertainment device; and    transmitting the at least one selected PIO from the server to the entertainment device via a network.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein selecting comprises: 
 receiving a request from the entertainment device; and    selecting the at least one stored PIO for transmission based on the request.    
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the request comprises selection criteria, the method further comprising: 
 searching the stored PIOs for ones satisfying the selection criteria.    
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the selection criteria relates to at least one attribute of a PIO.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the server comprises demographic data pertaining to a user of the entertainment device, and wherein selecting comprises: 
 selecting at least one PIO for transmission based on the demographic data.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the demographic data comprises at least one of age, gender, household income, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and occupation.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein at least one attribute of a PIO includes demographic data.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the server comprises a set of user preferences, and wherein selecting comprises: 
 searching the stored PIOs for ones satisfying the user preferences.    
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the user preferences relate to at least one attribute of a PIO.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the user preferences specify at least one attribute that a PIO must include in order to be selected for transmission.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the user preferences specify at least one attribute that a PIO must not include in order to be selected for transmission.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one stored PIO relates to a television signal being currently broadcast from the server to the entertainment device, and wherein selecting comprises: 
 selecting at least one PIO related to the television signal being currently broadcast.    
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one stored PIO relates to a television signal scheduled to be broadcast from the server to the entertainment device, and wherein selecting comprises: 
 selecting at least one PIO related to a television signal scheduled to be broadcast.    
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein transmitting comprises: 
 addressing the at least one selected PIO with a network address of the entertainment device.    
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the network is selected from the group consisting of a cable television network, a direct satellite broadcast (DBS) network, an Internet, an intranet, and a home radio frequency (RF) network.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the entertainment device is selected from the group consisting of a personal computer, an interactive television (ITV) system, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, and a pager.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one visual indicator is selected from the group consisting of a graphical icon, an animated image, a video clip, and a text description.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one PIO is selected from the group consisting of a JavaBean object, a Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) object, and an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) object.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one attribute is selected from the group consisting of a title, a starting time, a running time, a description, an indication of a channel on which a television program is broadcast, an Internet link, and a storage location of a television program.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one user-selectable action is selected from the group consisting of recording a television program associated with a corresponding PIO, displaying a previously-recorded television program associated with a corresponding PIO, and displaying an attribute of a corresponding PIO.  
     
     
         21 . A system for providing television program information to an entertainment device, the system comprising: 
 a storage device that stores a plurality of program interface objects (PIOs) within a server, each PIO comprising a plurality of attributes carrying information about a television program, a plurality of user-selectable actions performable by an entertainment device in connection with the television program, and at least one visual indicator displayable in a graphical user interface (GUI) to facilitate user interaction with the PIO;    a selection component that selects at the server at least one stored PIO for transmission to an entertainment device; and    a transmission component that transmits the at least one selected PIO from the server to the entertainment device via a network.    
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 21 , further comprising: 
 a request reception component that receives a request from the entertainment device; and    wherein the selection component is further configured to select the at least one stored PIO for transmission based on the request.    
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the request comprises selection criteria, the system further comprising: 
 searching the stored PIOs for ones satisfying the selection criteria.    
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the selection criteria relates to at least one attribute of a PIO.  
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the server comprises demographic data pertaining to a user of the entertainment device, and wherein the selection component is further configured to selecting at least one PIO for transmission based on the demographic data.  
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the demographic data comprises at least one of age, gender, household income, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and occupation.  
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein at least one attribute of a PIO includes demographic data.  
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the server comprises a set of user preferences, and wherein the selection component is further configured to search the stored PIOs for ones satisfying the user preferences.  
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein the user preferences relate to at least one attribute of a PIO.  
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein the user preferences specify at least one attribute that a PIO must include in order to be selected for transmission.  
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein the user preferences specify at least one attribute that a PIO must not include in order to be selected for transmission.  
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein at least one stored PIO relates to a television signal being currently broadcast from the server to the entertainment device, and wherein the selection component is further configured to select at least one PIO related to the television signal being currently broadcast.  
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein at least one stored PIO relates to a television signal scheduled to be broadcast from the server to the entertainment device, and wherein the selection component is further configured to select at least one PIO related to a television signal scheduled to be broadcast.  
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the transmission component is further configured to address the at least one selected PIO with a network address of the entertainment device.  
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the network is selected from the group consisting of a cable television network, a direct satellite broadcast (DBS) network, an Internet, an intranet, and a home radio frequency (RF) network.  
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the entertainment device is selected from the group consisting of a personal computer, an interactive television (ITV) system, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, and a pager.  
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein at least one visual indicator is selected from the group consisting of a graphical icon, an animated image, a video clip, and a text description.  
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein at least one PIO is selected from the group consisting of a JavaBean object, a Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) object, and an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) object.  
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein at least one attribute is selected from the group consisting of a title, a starting time, a running time, a description, an indication of a channel on which a television program is broadcast, an Internet link, and a storage location of a television program.  
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein at least one user-selectable action is selected from the group consisting of recording a television program associated with a corresponding PIO, displaying a previously-recorded television program associated with a corresponding PIO, and displaying an attribute of a corresponding PIO.  
     
     
         41 . A system for providing television program information to an entertainment device, the system comprising: 
 means for storing a plurality of program interface objects (PIOs) within a server, each PIO comprising a plurality of attributes carrying information about a television program, a plurality of user-selectable actions performable by an entertainment device in connection with the television program, and at least one visual indicator displayable in a graphical user interface (GUI) to facilitate user interaction with the PIO;    means for selecting at the server at least one stored PIO for transmission to an entertainment device; and    means for transmitting the at least one selected PIO from the server to the entertainment device via a network.