Thumbnail cache

Abstract

A thumbnail management system is provided for an intelligent TV. Thumbnails may accumulate over time and require removal from a data storage device. Thumbnails may expire based, in part, on the type of media they represent, such as broadcast programs, movies, pay-per-view, games, and user content, such as music and images. Thumbnails may also be removed upon removal of the referencing media file.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 presenting, on a television operable to present live television content, a programming guide, the programming guide, further comprising, two or more television channels and two or more programs associated with each of the two or more television channels;   receiving a first selection of a program or channel within the programming guide;   in response to the first selection, providing a first dialog box with a first selection device to indicate the selected program or channel as a favorite and a second selection device to associate a reminder with the selected program;   receiving a second selection, from a user, of the first selection device or the second selection device;   upon determining the second selection is of the second selection device that indicates the reminder, associating a reminder with the selected program in the programming guide;   searching the programming guide for matches between the selected program and a future presentation of the selected program by determining equivalency of name and/or channel;   upon determining that the future presentation of the selected program will begin within a first predetermined time, displaying a reminder dialog; and   removing the reminder dialog upon the reminder dialog receiving one of (a) a second user input selecting the future presentation of the selected program to be presented by the television, (b) a third user input selecting a cancel operation, and (c) a signal indicating an occurrence of no user input within a second predetermined time.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 upon determining the second selection is of the first selection device for indicating the favorite, determining that the input is associated with a television channel which is not a favorite or a program which is not a favorite; and   presenting, on the intelligent television, a dialog soliciting the user to (a) set the television channel as the favorite or (b) set the program as the favorite.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising;
 upon determining the second selection is of the first selection device for indicating the favorite, determining that the input is associated with a television channel which is a favorite and a program which is a favorite; and   presenting, on the intelligent television, a dialog soliciting the user to (a) clear the channel as the favorite or (b) set the program as the favorite.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 upon determining the second selection is of the first selection device for indicating the favorite, determining that the input is associated with one of the number of television channels which is not a favorite and one of the number of programs which is a favorite and presenting, on the television, a dialog soliciting the user to (a) set the one of the number of television channels as the favorite and (b) clear the one of the number of programs as the favorite.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 upon determining the second selection is of the first selection device for indicating the favorite, determining that the input is associated with a television channel which is a favorite and a program which is not a favorite; and   presenting, on the television, a dialog soliciting the user to (a) clear the one of the television channel as the favorite and (b) set the program as the favorite.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a match between the first selection and a program is determined by commonality of name and channel. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 storing the reminder in a data storage portion of the television;   determining the reminder is in the past; and   upon determining the reminder is in the past, deleting the reminder.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the match, further comprises, equivalency of time of day. 
     
     
         9 . A television, comprising:
 a data storage to store data and instructions;   a network interface to receive television content information, the television content information further comprising, an electronic programming guide (EPG) with two or more television channels and two or more programs associated with each of the two or more television channels; and   a processor in communication with the data storage and the network interface that:
 presents the EPG; 
 receives a first user input to select a first program from the two or more programs; 
 presents a dialog that accepts input to set a reminder for the program or selects the program as a favorite; 
 receives a second input that selects the reminder; 
 searches the EPG for matches between the first program and a future presentation of the program; 
 upon identifying the future presentation of the program that will begin within a first predetermined time, displays a reminder dialog; 
 removes the reminder dialog when one of:
 a third user input selects the future presentation of the program to be presented by the television; 
 a fourth user input selects a cancel operation; and 
 a signal indicates that no user input occurs within a second predetermined time. 
 
   
     
     
         10 . The television of  claim 9 , wherein the processor further:
 receives a fifth input that selects the favorite in the dialog;   determines that the fifth input is associated with the television channel, which is not a favorite, and the program, which is not a favorite; and   presents a second dialog to solicit the user to:
 set the television channel as the favorite; or 
 set the program as the favorite. 
   
     
     
         11 . The television of  claim 9 , wherein the processor further:
 receives a fifth input that selects the favorite in the dialog;   determines that the fifth input is associated with the television channel, which is a favorite, and the program, which is not a favorite; and   presents a second dialog to solicit the user to:   clear the television channel as the favorite; or   set the program as the favorite.   
     
     
         12 . The television of  claim 9 , wherein the processor further:
 receives a fifth input that selects the favorite in the dialog;   determines that the fifth input is associated with the television channel, which is not a favorite, and the program, which is a favorite; and   presents a second dialog to solicit the user to:
 set the television channel as the favorite; or 
 clear the program as the favorite. 
   
     
     
         13 . The television of  claim 9 , wherein the processor further:
 receives a fifth input that selects the favorite in the dialog;   determines that the fifth input is associated with the television channel, which is a favorite, and the program, which is a favorite; and   presents a second dialog to solicit the user to:
 clear the television channel as the favorite; or 
 clear the program as the favorite. 
   
     
     
         14 . The television of  claim 9 , wherein a match between the selected program and the future presentation of the program is determined by commonality of name and channel. 
     
     
         15 . The television of  claim 14 , wherein the processor further:
 stores, in the data storage, the reminder;   determines the reminder is past; and   deletes the past reminder.   
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory medium with instructions that when executed cause a a processor to perform a method for establishing a reminder on an intelligent television, the instructions comprising:
 instructions to present an electronic programming guide (EPG) on a display of the intelligent television, wherein the EPG includes a presentation of two or more channels, and wherein each channel includes a second presentation of two or more programs;   instructions to receive a first user input to select a first channel or a first program in the EPG;   instructions to receive a second user input indicating a desire by a user to establish a reminder for the first program or to identify the first channel or the first program as a favorite;   instructions to provide a first dialog with a first input device to set the reminder, a second input device to set the first channel as a favorite, and a third input device to set the first program as a favorite;   instructions to receive a second user input of the first input device;   in response to the second user input, instructions to search the EPG for a future presentation of the selected program;   instructions to match the first program with the future presentation of the first program in the EPG;   in response to the match, instructions to display a reminder dialog; and   instructions to remove the reminder dialog when one of the following occurs:
 a third user input selects the future presentation to be presented on the display 
 a fourth user input selects a cancel operation; and 
 a signal occurs that indicates no user input was received for a second predetermined time. 
   
     
     
         17 . The instructions of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 instructions to receive a fifth user input is received in the second input device or the third input device in the reminder dialog, wherein the neither the first channel or first program were favorites; and   in response to the fifth user input, instructions to present a third dialog, wherein the third dialog includes a third input device to set the first channel as a favorite and a fourth input device to set the first program as a favorite.   
     
     
         18 . The instructions of  claim 16 , wherein the match is based on a commonality of a name and/or channel between the first program and the future presentation of the first program. 
     
     
         19 . The instructions of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 instructions to store the reminder in a data storage portion of the television; and   instructions to determine if the reminder has passed;   upon determining the reminder is in the past, instructions to delete the reminder.   
     
     
         20 . The instructions of  claim 18 , wherein the match, further comprises, equivalency of a time of day.