US 6,564,378 · Granted 2003-05-13

The Interactive TV Guide That Made Channel Surfing Smart

Imagine a TV remote that lets you browse upcoming shows in a list while still watching live TV in a small window — and when you find something good, one button switches you right to it. This patent covers that whole experience: the list, the preview window, and keeping them perfectly synced as you flip through channels.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers an interactive on-screen program guide that displays a browsable list of TV programs with a movable highlight, a live video window showing the currently tuned channel, and a detailed description of whichever program is highlighted. What's protected here is the specific way these three elements stay synchronized when a user navigates the list or changes channels using remote control keys — the system ensures the video window and highlighted program listing always match each other.

Why it matters

This patent captures a foundational interaction pattern for modern television. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, interactive program guides were transforming how people discovered and watched TV, shifting away from passive channel flipping toward browsable, searchable menus. United Video Properties held a dominant position in this market, and this patent protected a core feature: the ability to preview what you're about to watch without losing your place in the program guide.

Real-world use

When you use an on-screen TV guide today and scroll through upcoming shows while a preview plays in the corner, you're using the core interaction this patent locked down decades ago.

Original USPTO abstract

An interactive television program guide system is provided in which a user may direct the program guide to display a browsing display screen. The browsing display screen includes a list of current programs including a movable highlight region, a video window containing a television program to which the system is currently tuned, and a detailed description of the highlighted program listing. The user may position the highlight region using remote control cursor keys. The user may then synchronize the content of the video window with the highlighted program listing by pressing a select key or a channel up or down key. If the user changes channels repeatedly using the channel up and down keys, the contents of the video window and the highlighted program listings remain in synchronization.

Patent details

Publication number: US 6,564,378
Filing date: 1998-04-02
Grant date: 2003-05-13
Assignee: United Video Properties, Inc.
Inventor(s): SATTERFIELD KEVIN D., LEMMONS THOMAS R., NELSON JENNIFER E., MARSHALL CONNIE T., PERRY BRENT E.
CPC class: H04N21/431

View original record on Google Patents →

Want to file your own patent?

If you're designing a new interface for streaming or media, check our free scanner to see what's already protected in the TV guide space before building your own discovery system.

Free patentability scan