Patent ID: 6918132
Filing Date: 2005-07-12
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An interface method for viewing and selecting among a variety of currently available commercial broadcasts comprising the steps of: determining an association of each said commercial broadcast with a program category of a plurality of program categories; and within a single viewing screen simultaneously presenting video broadcast information in reduced-scale presentations for each of said commercial broadcasts, including: (1) generating reduced-scale presentations of each of said commercial broadcasts, including locally originating said reduced-scale presentations from full-scale video information for exclusive display on said viewing screen; and (2) dynamically clustering said reduced-scale presentations in correspondence with said program categories, including simultaneously displaying a plurality of clusters of said reduced-scale presentations in which each said cluster includes said reduced-scale presentations for all of said commercial broadcasts associated with said program category that corresponds to said cluster; thereby utilizing said viewing screen to display each said cluster as a totality of said commercial broadcasts that are currently available within said program category that corresponds to said cluster.