US 6,239,794 · Granted 2001-05-29

The 1995 Patent That Invented the TV Guide Pop-Up Window

Before streaming apps existed, this patent solved a real problem: how to browse TV listings while watching a preview of what you're about to pick. It's the idea of showing a small video preview window floating over a grid of channel information — a split-screen trick that feels obvious now but had to be invented first.

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The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a system that displays television program listings (like a grid of show names and times) as the main background, with a small picture-in-picture window overlaid on top showing video clips or live footage of whichever program the viewer selects. What's protected is specifically the method of letting a viewer browse listings while simultaneously watching preview video in that floating window, with all text information positioned outside the preview area.

Why it matters

This patent arrived when interactive television guides were becoming a real product category in the mid-1990s. It captures a practical interface innovation that solved the friction of channel surfing — you could now see what a show actually looked like before committing to watch it. The patent gives E Guide, Inc. a way to control how competitors design their own program guide software, particularly the arrangement of preview windows and listing displays.

Real-world use

When you used an early cable or satellite TV guide menu and saw a small preview window pop up showing a clip from a selected program while the full channel list remained visible behind it, you were interacting with this patented layout.

Original USPTO abstract

A television viewer uses a PIP format for display of program related information such as television program listings from a program schedule data base in the background and moving, real time or stored video clip images of a program selected from the displayed listings in the PIP window. All the text of the background information lies outside the PIP window. In one embodiment, as the viewer selects a particular program from the display of current television program listings by means of a cursor or a code number, the corresponding program automatically appears in the PIP window.

Patent details

Publication number: US 6,239,794
Filing date: 1995-06-07
Grant date: 2001-05-29
Assignee: E Guide, Inc.
Inventor(s): YUEN HENRY C., KWOH DANIEL S., MANKOVITZ ROY J., LEUNG ELSIE
CPC class: H04N21/4316

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