US 5,592,551 · Granted 1997-01-07

The Patent That Invented the Modern TV Guide You Browse on Your Remote

Before smartphones and streaming apps, cable companies needed a way to let you browse what was on TV and buy movies right from your couch. This patent describes an interactive on-screen grid that shows programs by time and channel, lets you select what to watch, and handles payment for movies you want to rent or buy—basically the ancestor of today's TV menus.

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The plain-English version

What it protects

The patent covers a subscription television system that transmits both TV signals and an electronic programming guide data to homes, where a subscriber's terminal displays that guide as an interactive grid organized by date, time, and channel. What's protected is the ability to let viewers select programs from that grid for watching or recording, and to purchase pay-per-view or near-video-on-demand programs directly from that same interface. The claim extends to the entire method and apparatus for delivering and displaying this interactive guide.

Why it matters

This patent was foundational to how cable and satellite TV companies built their subscriber experience in the 1990s and 2000s. Before on-screen program guides, you had to flip through printed TV schedules or call a hotline. By patenting the interactive grid interface and the ability to purchase programs directly from it, Scientific-Atlanta locked down a core piece of infrastructure that became the standard for decades. The patent helped the company dominate the set-top box market and establish the template for digital TV guide systems across the industry.

Real-world use

Every time you've pressed a button on a cable or satellite remote to browse upcoming shows in a grid, select one to record, or rent a movie on-demand, you were using technology directly descended from this patent's core invention.

Original USPTO abstract

A subscription television system is provided that transmits a plurality of television signals to a plurality of subscribers. The television signals include pay-per-view programs (purchased by feature) or near-video-on-demand programs (purchased for a period of time for unlimited viewing) that are provided only to subscribers that purchase the programs. Data representing an electronic programming guide is also transmitted. The electronic programming guide can be displayed by a subscriber terminal at the subscriber's location. The electronic programming guide is a grid listing television programs by date, time and channel. A subscriber can select programs for watching or recording from the electronic program guide. Moreover, the subscriber can purchase pay-per-view or near-video-on-demand programs from the electronic programming guide.

Patent details

Publication number: US 5,592,551
Filing date: 1994-04-19
Grant date: 1997-01-07
Assignee: Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.
Inventor(s): LETT; DAVID B., RALEY, JR.; WILLIAM M., HAYASHI; MICHAEL T.
CPC class: H04N21/2543

View original record on Google Patents →

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