Scaling and layout methods and systems for handling one-to-many objects Number:7,386,806 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) owispatent Systems and methods according to the present invention provide layout structures and methods for user interfaces.<H handling, objects, Scaling, and, lay, 7386806.html, Patent, pto, 7386806

Title: Scaling and layout methods and systems for handling one-to-many objects

Abstract: Systems and methods according to the present invention provide layout structures and methods for user interfaces.

Patent Number: 7,386,806 Issued on 06/10/2008 to Wroblewski

Inventors: Wroblewski; Frank J. (Gaithersburg, MD)
Assignee: Hillcrest Laboratories, Inc. (Rockville, MD)

Appl. No.: 11/325,768

Filed: January 5, 2006

Related U.S. Patent Documents


Application Number	Filing Date	Patent Number	Issue Date
60641421	Jan., 2005

Current U.S. Class: 715/788 ; 725/37; 725/45; 725/47

Field of Search: 715/788 725/47

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Primary Examiner: Bashore; William L.
Assistant Examiner: Alvesteffer; Stephen
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Potomac Patent Group PLLC

Parent Case Text

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to, and claims priority from, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/641,421, filed on Jan. 5, 2005, entitled "Scaling and Layout Methods and Systems for Handling One-to-Many Objects", the disclosure of which is incorporated here by reference.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A user interface displayed on a screen comprising: a plurality of control elements, at least some of said plurality of control elements having at least one alphanumeric character displayed thereon; a textbox for displaying alphanumeric characters entered using said plurality of control elements; and a plurality of groups of displayed items, wherein a layout of said plurality of groups on said user interface is based on a first number of groups which are displayed, and wherein a layout of said displayed items within a group is based on a second number of said items displayed within that groups, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be dislayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular region disposed at a respective center point, wherein if said second number is one for one of said plurality of groups, the item in that group is placed in said rectangular region by offsetting a center point associated with that item from the center point of said group and scaling said item within said rectangular region to a size such that a second item of the same size will not fit.

2. The user interface of claim 1, wherein said displayed items are movie cover images, said first number of groups is four, said second number of items within a leftmost group displayed on said user interface is seven and further wherein: said four groups include a leftmost group, a left-center group, a right-center group each having a center point, and a rightmost group; said layout of said four groups on said user interface is such that a center point of each group is disposed at a corner of a trapezoid; the left-center group and the right center group having their center points further from a bottom of said user interface than the center points of the leftmost and the rightmost group; and said left-center group has three items which are arranged such that center points of each item are located on a circumference of a circle and each of said three items overlap.

3. The user interface of claim 1, wherein said plurality of control elements are laid out in two horizontal rows.

4. The user interface of claim 1, wherein said text box is displayed above said plurality of control elements and said groups of displayed items are displayed below said plurality of control elements.

5. The user interface of claim 1, wherein said displayed items are images.

6. The user interface of claim 5, wherein said images are movie covers.

7. The user interface of claim 1, wherein said number of groups changes based upon search results entered using said plurality of control elements.

8. The user interface of claim 1, wherein said groups do not overlap and at least some of said items within each group do overlap.

9. A user interface displayed on a screen comprising: a plurality of control elements, at least some of said plurality of control elements having at least one alphanumeric character displayed thereon; a textbox for displaying alphanumeric characters entered using said plurality of control elements; and a plurality of groups of displayed items, wherein a layout of said plurality of groups on said user interface is based on a first number of groups which are displayed, and wherein a layout of said displayed items within a group is based on a second number of said items displayed within that group, wherein said layout of groups involves plaicing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular reg ion disposed at a respective center point, wherein if said second number is two for one of said plurality of groups, two items are placed in said rectangular region by aligning the center points of said two items on a diagonal within said rectangular region.

10. A user interface displayed on a screen comprising: a plurality of control elements, at least some of said plurality of control elements having at least one alphanumeric character displayed thereon; a textbox for displaying alphanumeric characters entered using said plurality of control elements; and a plurality of groups of displayed items, wherein a layout of said plurality of groups on said user interface is based on a first number of groups which are displayed, and wherein a layout of said displayed items within a group is based on a second number of said items displayed within that group, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular region disposed at a respective center point, wherein if said second number is three for one of said plurality of groups, three items are placed in said rectangular region by arranging the center points of said three items on a circumference of a circle within said rectangular region.

11. A user interface displayed on a screen comprising: a plurality of control elements, at least some of said plurality of control elements having at least one alphanumeric character displayed thereon; a textbox for displaying alphanumeric characters entered using said plurality of control elements; and a plurality of groups of displayed items, wherein a layout of said plurality of groups on said user interface is based on a first number of groups which are displayed, and wherein a layout of said displayed items within a group is based on a second number of said items displayed within that group, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular region disposed at a respective center point, wherein if said second number is four for one of said plurality of groups, four items are placed in said rectangular region by arranging the center points of said four items on corners of a rhombus within said rectangular region.

12. A user interface displayed on a screen comprising: a plurality of control elements, at least some of said plurality of control elements having at least one alphanumeric character displayed thereon; a textbox for displaying alphanumeric characters entered using said plurality of control elements; and a plurality of groups of displayed items, wherein a layout of said plurality of groups on said user interface is based on a first number of groups which are displayed. and wherein a layout of said displayed items within a group is based on a second number of said items displayed within that group, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular region disposed at a respective center point, wherein if said second number is five for one of said plurality of groups, five items are placed in said rectangular region by arranging the center points of five items along a right half of a grcumference of an ellipse within said rectangular region.

13. A user interface displayed on a screen comprising: a plurality of control elements, at least some of said plurality of control elements having at least one alphanumeric character displayed thereon; a textbox for displaying alphanumeric characters entered using said plurality of control elements; and a plurality of groups of displayed items, wherein a layout of said plurality of groups on said user interface is based on a first number of groups which are displayed, and wherein a layout of said displayed items within a group is based on a second number of said items displayed within that group, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular region disposed at a respective center point, wherein if said second number is six for one of said plurality of groups, six items are placed in a grid such that three items are arranged in an upper row above three items arranged in a lower row, wherein an upper leftmost item is aligned above a lower leftmost item and a top edge of said upper leftmost item is higher than a top edge of an upper rightmost item, said upper rightmost item is aligned above a lower rightmost item, said lower rightmost item is aligned below said upper rightmost item and a bottom edge of said lower leftmost item is lower than a bottom edge of said lower rightmost item, an upper center item is left of the center point of said group and overlaps both items in said upper row, a lower center item is right of the center point of said group and overlaps both items in said lower row and overlaps said upper center item.

14. A user interface displayed on a screen comprising: a plurality of control elements, at least some of said plurality of control elements having at least one alphanumeric character displayed thereon; a textbox for displaying alphanumeric characters entered using said plurality of control elements; and a plurality of groups of displayed items, wherein a layout of said plurality of groups on said user interface is based on a first number of groups which are displayed, and wherein a layout of said displayed items within a group is based on a second number of said items displayed within that group, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular reg ion disposed at a respective center point, wherein if said second number is seven for one of said plurality of groups, seven items are placed in a grid such that one item is in the center, three items are arranged in an upper row above the center item and three items are arranged below said center item in a lower row, wherein an upper leftmost item is slightly higher than an upper rightmost item and is aligned with a lower leftmost item, the upper rightmost item is slightly lower than the upper leftmost item and is aligned with a lower rightmost item, the lower rightmost item is in line with both the upper rightmost item and the lower leftmost item and a top edge of a middle item in the upper row are higher than top edges of both the upper leftmost item and the upper rightmost item, and a bottom edge of a middle item in the lower row is lower than a bottom edge of both the lower leftmost item and the lower rightmost item, wherein the center item overlaps all other items, the middle items in either row overlap items in that row and wherein the center item is left of the center point of said group and the middle items are right of the center point of said group.

15. A user interface displayed on a screen comprising: a plurality of control elements, at least some of said plurality of control elements having at least one alphanumeric character displayed thereon; a textbox for displaying alphanumeric characters entered using said plurality of control elements; and a plurality of groups of displayed items, wherein a layout of said plurality of groups on said user interface is based on a first number of groups which are displayed, and wherein a layout of said displayed items within a group is based on a second number of said items displayed within that group, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular reg ion disposed at a respective center point, wherein if said second number is eight for one of said plurality of groups, eight items are placed in a grid such that two items are arranged in a middle row, three items are arranged in an upper row above said middle row and three items are arranged in a lower row below said middle row, wherein an upper leftmost item is aligned with both an upper rightmost item and a lower leftmost item, said upper rightmost item is aligned with both said upper leftmost item and a lower rightmost item, said lower rightmost item is aligned with both said upper rightmost item and said lower leftmost item, and a top edge of a middle item in said upper row is higher than top edges of both the upper leftmost item and the upper rightmost item, and a bottom edge of a middle item in said lower row is lower than a bottom edge of both said lower leftmost item and said lower rightmost item, wherein overlapping occurs between said middle row and all other rows, and that said center items in either said upper row or said lower row overlap items in their respective row.

16. A method for laying out items in a user interface comprising the steps of: laying out a plurality of groups of items within a group display space, said groups being laid out within said display space in one of a plurality of different group layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of groups; and laying out, for each of said plurality of groups, a plurality of items within an item display space associated with a respective one of said plurality of groups, said items being laid out within a respective item display space in one of a plurality of different item layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of items, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular region disposed at a respective center point, wherein if the number of said plurality of items is one for one of said plurality of groups, the item in that group is placed in said rectangular region by offsetting a center point associated with that item from the center point of said group and scaling said item within said rectangular region to a size such that a second item of the same size will not fit.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of: performing said steps of laying out said plurality of groups and plurality of items in accordance with at least one set of layout rules.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said layout rules are applied recursively to said steps of laying out said plurality of groups and said plurality of items.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein said user interface is displayed on a television and said items are movie cover images, wherein selection of one of said movie cover images by a user results in additional information being displayed on said user interface for a movie associated therewith.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of: providing a plurality of control elements on said user interface, at least some of said plurality of control elements having at least one alphanumeric character displayed thereon; and providing a textbox for displaying alphanumeric characters entered using said plurality of control elements on said user interface.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein said number of groups changes based upon search results entered using said plurality of control elements.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein said groups do not overlap and at least some of said items within each group do overlap.

23. A method for laying out items in a user interface comprising the steps of: laying out a plurality of groups of items within a group display space, said groups being laid out within said display space in one of a plurality of different group layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of groups; and laying out, for each of said plurality of groups, a plurality of items within an item display space associated with a respective one of said plurality of groups, said items being laid out within a respective item display space in one of a plurality of different item layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of items, wherein said user interface is displayed on a television and said items are movie cover images, wherein selection of one of said movie cover images by a user results in additional information being displayed on said user interface for a movie associated therewith, wherein said television is a high definition television and a maximum number of movie cover images displayed on a single GUI screen without scrolling is 128.

24. A method for laying out items in a user interface comprising the steps of: laying out a plurality of groups of items within a group display space, said groups being laid out within said display space in one of a plurality of different group layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of groups; and laying out, for each of said plurality of groups, a plurality of items within an item display space associated with a respective one of said plurality of groups, said items being laid out within a respective item display space in one of a plurality of different item layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of items, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular region disposed at a respective center point, wherein if the number of said plurality of items is two for one of said plurality of groups, two items are placed in said rectangular region by aligning the center points of said two items on a diagonal within said rectangular region.

25. A method for laying out items in a user interface comprising the steps of: laying out a plurality of groups of items within a group display space, said groups being laid out within said display space in one of a plurality of different group layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of groups; and laying out, for each of said plurality of groups, a plurality of items within an item display space associated with a respective one of said plurality of grourps, said items being laid out within a respective item display space in one of a plurality of different item layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of items, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular region disposed at a respective center point, wherein if the number of said plurality of items is three for one of said plurality of groups, three items are placed in said rectangular region by arranging the center points of said three items on a circumference of a circle within said rectangular region.

26. A method for laying out items in a user interface comprising the steps of: laying out a plurality of groups of items within a group display space, said groups being laid out within said display space in one of a plurality of different group layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of groups; and laying out, for each of said plurality of groups, a plurality of items within an item display space associated with a respective one of said plurality of grourp, said items being laid out within a respective item display space in one of a plurality of different item layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of items, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular region disposed at a respective center point, wherein if the number of said plurality of items is four for one of said plurality of groups, four items are placed in said rectangular region by arranging the center points of said four items on corners of a rhombus within said rectangular region.

27. A method for laying out items in a user interface comprising the steps of: laying out a plurality of groups of items within a group display space, said groups being laid out within said display space in one of a plurality of different group layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of groups; and laying out, for each of said plurality of groups, a plurality of items within an item display space associated with a respective one of said plurality of groups, said items being laid out within a respective item display space in one of a plurality of different item layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of items, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular region disposed at a respective center point, wherein if the number of said plurality of items is five for one of said plurality of groups, five items are placed in said rectangular region by arranging the center points of five items along a right half of a circumference of an ellipse within said rectangular region.

28. A method for laving out items in a user interface comprising the steps of: laying out a plurality of groups of items within a group display space, said groups being laid out within said display space in one of a plurality of different group layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of groups; and laying out, for each of said plurality of groups, a plurality of items within an item display space associated with a respective one of said plurality of groups, said items being laid out within a respective item display space in one of a plurality of different item layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of items, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular region disposed at a respective center point, wherein if the number of said plurality of items is six for one of said plurality of groups, six items are placed in a grid such that three items are arranged in an upper row above three items arranged in a lower row, wherein an upper leftmost item is aligned above a lower leftmost item and a top edge of said upper leftmost item is higher than a top edge of an upper rightmost item, said upper rightmost item is aligned above a lower rightmost item, said lower rightmost item is aligned below said upper rightmost item and a bottom edge of said lower leftmost item is lower than a bottom edge of said lower rightmost item, an upper center item is left of the center point of said group and overlaps both items in said upper row, a lower center item is right of the center point of said group and overlaps both items in said lower row and overlaps said upper center item.

29. A method for laving out items in a user interface comprising the steps of: laying out a plurality of groups of items within a group display space, said groups being laid out within said display space in one of a plurality of different group layout a patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of groups; and laying out, for each of said plurality of groups, a plurality of items within an item display space associated with a respective one of said plurality of groups, said items being laid out within a respective item display space in one of a plurality of different item layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of items, wherein said layout of groups involves placing a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular region disposed at a respective center point, wherein if the number of said plurality of items is seven for one of said plurality of groups, seven items are placed in a grid such that one item is in the center, three items are arranged in an upper row above the center item and three items are arranged below said center item in a lower row, wherein an upper leftmost item is slightly higher than an upper rightmost item and is aligned with a lower leftmost item, the upper rightmost item is slightly lower than the upper leftmost item and is aligned with a lower rightmost item, the lower rightmost item is in line with both the upper rightmost item and the lower leftmost item and a top edge of a middle item in the upper row are higher than top edges of both the upper leftmost item and the upper rightmost item, and a bottom edge of a middle item in the lower row is lower than a bottom edge of both the lower leftmost item and the lower rightmost item, wherein the center item overlaps all other items, the middle items in either row overlap items in that row and wherein the center item is left of the center point of said group and the middle items are right of the center point of said group.

30. A method for laying out items in a user interface comprising the steps of: laying out a plurality of groups of items within a group display space, said groups being laid out within said display space in one of a plurality of different group layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of groups; and laying out, for each of said plurality of groups, a plurality of items within an item display space associated with a respective one of said plurality of grourJs. said items being laid out within a respective item display space in one of a plurality of different item layout patterns which is selected as a function of the number of said plurality of items, wherein said layout of groups involves plagng a center point of each group at a location on said user interface, which location is determined based on the number of groups to be displayed, wherein each of said displayed items associated with one of said groups is displayed within a rectangular region disposed at a respective center point, wherein if the number of said plurality of items is eight for one of said plurality of groups, eight items are placed in a grid such that two items are arranged in a middle row, three items are arranged in an upper row above said middle row and three items are arranged in a lower row below said middle row, wherein an upper leftmost item is aligned with both an upper rightmost item and a lower leftmost item, said upper rightmost item is aligned with both said upper leftmost item and a lower rightmost item, said lower rightmost item is aligned with both said upper rightmost item and said lower leftmost item, and a top edge of a middle item in said upper row is higher than top edges of both the upper leftmost item and the upper rightmost item, and a bottom edge of a middle item in said lower row is lower than a bottom edge of both said lower leftmost item and said lower rightmost item, wherein overlapping occurs between said middle row and all other rows, and that said center items in either said upper row or said lower row overlap items in their respective row.

Description

BACKGROUND

The present invention describes a framework for organizing, selecting and launching media items. Part of that framework involves the design and operation of graphical user interfaces with the basic building blocks of point, click, scroll, hover and zoom and, more particularly, to graphical user interfaces associated with media items which can be used with a three-dimensional (hereinafter "3D") pointing remote.

Technologies associated with the communication of information have evolved rapidly over the last several decades. Television, cellular telephony, the Internet and optical communication techniques (to name just a few things) combine to inundate consumers with available information and entertainment options. Taking television as an example, the last three decades have seen the introduction of cable television service, satellite television service, pay-per-view movies and video-on-demand. Whereas television viewers of the 1960s could typically receive perhaps four or five over-the-air TV channels on their television sets, today's TV watchers have the opportunity to select from hundreds and potentially thousands of channels of shows and information. Video-on-demand technology, currently used primarily in hotels and the like, provides the potential for in-home entertainment selection from among thousands of movie titles. Digital video recording (DVR) equipment such as offered by TiVo, Inc., 2160 Gold Street. Alviso, Calif. 95002, further expand the available choices.

The technological ability to provide so much information and content to end users provides both opportunities and challenges to system designers and service providers. One challenge is that while end users typically prefer having more choices rather than fewer, this preference is counterweighted by their desire that the selection process be both fast and simple. Unfortunately, the development of the systems and interfaces by which end users access media items has resulted in selection processes which are neither fast nor simple. Consider again the example of television programs. When television was in its infancy, determining which program to watch was a relatively simple process primarily due to the small number of choices. One would consult a printed guide which was formatted, for example, as series of columns and rows which showed the correspondence between (1) nearby television channels, (2) programs being transmitted on those channels and (3) date and time. The television was tuned to the desired channel by adjusting a tuner knob and the viewer watched the selected program. Later, remote control devices were introduced that permitted viewers to tune the television from a distance. This addition to the user-television interface created the phenomenon known as "channel surfing" whereby a viewer could rapidly view short segments being broadcast on a number of channels to quickly learn what programs were available at any given time.

Despite the fact that the number of channels and amount of viewable content has dramatically increased, the generally available user interface and control device options and framework for televisions has not changed much over the last 30 years. Printed guides are still the most prevalent mechanism for conveying programming information. The multiple button remote control with simple up and down arrows is still the most prevalent channel/content selection mechanism. The reaction of those who design and implement the TV user interface to the increase in available media content has been a straightforward extension of the existing selection procedures and interface objects. Thus, the number of rows and columns in the printed guides has been increased to accommodate more channels. The number of buttons on the remote control devices has been increased to support additional functionality and content handling, e.g., as shown in FIG. 1. However, this approach has significantly increased both the time required for a viewer to review the available information and the complexity of actions required to implement a selection. Arguably, the cumbersome nature of the existing interface has hampered commercial implementation of some services, e.g., video-on-demand, since consumers are resistant to new services that will add complexity to an interface that they view as already too slow and complex.

In addition to increases in bandwidth and content, the user interface bottleneck problem is being exacerbated by the aggregation of technologies. Consumers are reacting positively to having the option of buying integrated systems rather than a number of segregable components. A good example of this trend is the combination television/VCR/DVD in which three previously independent components are frequently sold today as an integrated unit. This trend is likely to continue, potentially with an end result that most if not all of the communication devices currently found in the household being packaged as an integrated unit, e.g., a television/VCR/DVD/internet access/radio/stereo unit. Even those who buy separate components desire seamless control of and interworking between them. With this increased aggregation comes the potential for more complexity in the user interface. For example, when so-called "universal" remote units were introduced, e.g., to combine the functionality of TV remote units and VCR remote units, the number of buttons on these universal remote units was typically more than the number of buttons on either the TV remote unit or VCR remote unit individually. This added number of buttons and functionality makes it very difficult to control anything but the simplest aspects of a TV or VCR without hunting for exactly the right button on the remote. Many times, these universal remotes do not provide enough buttons to access many levels of control or features unique to certain TVs. In these cases, the original device remote unit is still needed, and the original hassle of handling multiple remotes remains due to user interface issues arising from the complexity of aggregation. Some remote units have addressed this problem by adding "soft" buttons that can be programmed with the expert commands. These soft buttons sometimes have accompanying LCD displays to indicate their action. These too have the flaw that they are difficult to use without looking away from the TV to the remote control. Yet another flaw in these remote units is the use of modes in an attempt to reduce the number of buttons. In these "moded" universal remote units, a special button exists to select whether the remote should communicate with the TV, DVD player, cable set-top box, VCR, etc. This causes many usability issues including sending commands to the wrong device, forcing the user to look at the remote to make sure that it is in the right mode, and it does not provide any simplification to the integration of multiple devices. The most advanced of these universal remote units provide some integration by allowing the user to program sequences of commands to multiple devices into the remote. This is such a difficult task that many users hire professional installers to program their universal remote units.

Some attempts have also been made to modernize the screen interface between end users and media systems. Electronic program guides (EPGs) have been developed and implemented to replace the afore-described media guides. Early EPGs provided what was essentially an electronic replica of the printed media guides. For example, cable service operators have provided analog EPGs wherein a dedicated channel displays a slowly scrolling grid of the channels and their associated programs over a certain time horizon, e.g., the next two hours. Scrolling through even one hundred channels in this way can be tedious and is not feasibly scalable to include significant additional content deployment, e.g., video-on-demand. More sophisticated digital EPGs have also been developed. In digital EPGs, program schedule information, and optionally applications/system software, is transmitted to dedicated EPG equipment, e.g., a digital set-top box (STB). Digital EPGs provide more flexibility in designing the user interface for media systems due to their ability to provide local interactivity and to interpose one or more interface layers between the user and the selection of the media items to be viewed. An example of such an interface can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,421,067 to Kamen et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated here by reference. FIG. 2 depicts a GUI described in the '067 patent. Therein, according to the Kamen et al. patent, a first column 190 lists program channels, a second column 191 depicts programs currently playing, a column 192 depicts programs playing in the next half-hour, and a fourth column 193 depicts programs playing in the half hour after that. The baseball bat icon 121 spans columns 191 and 192, thereby indicating that the baseball game is expected to continue into the time slot corresponding to column 192. However, text block 111 does not extend through into column 192. This indicates that the football game is not expected to extend into the time slot corresponding to column 192. As can be seen, a pictogram 194 indicates that after the football game, ABC will be showing a horse race. The icons shown in FIG. 2 can be actuated using a cursor, not shown, to implement various features, e.g., to download information associated with the selected programming. Other digital EPGs and related interfaces are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,314,575, 6,412,110, and 6,577,350, the disclosures of which are also incorporated here by reference.

However, the interfaces described above suffer from, among other drawbacks, an inability to easily scale between large collections of media items and small collections of media items. For example, interfaces which rely on lists of items may work well for small collections of media items, but are tedious to browse for large collections of media items. Interfaces which rely on hierarchical navigation (e.g., tree structures) may be more speedy to traverse than list interfaces for large collections of media items, but are not readily adaptable to small collections of media items. Additionally, users tend to lose interest in selection processes wherein the user has to move through three or more layers in a tree structure. For all of these cases, current remote units make this selection processor even more tedious by forcing the user to repeatedly depress the up and down buttons to navigate the list or hierarchies. When selection skipping controls are available such as page up and page down, the user usually has to look at the remote to find these special buttons or be trained to know that they even exist.

Organizing frameworks, techniques and systems which simplify the control and screen interface between users and media systems as well as accelerate the selection process have been described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/768,432, filed on Jan. 30, 2004, entitled "A Contro