Patent Publication Number: US-8984557-B2

Title: Method and apparatus for displaying entertainment system data upon selection of a video data display

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/341,706, filed Dec. 30, 2011 which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/214,827, filed Jun. 23, 2008, now Pat. No. 8,108,897, issued Jan. 31, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/916,704, filed Jul. 26, 2001, which is a continuation of prior U.S. application Ser. No. 09/166,134, filed Sep. 30, 2008, now Pat. No. 6,295,646, issued Sep. 25, 2001, the priority of which is hereby claimed. The entire contents of those applications or patents are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of entertainment systems. Specifically, the present invention relates to graphical user interfaces (GUI) in entertainment systems that display video data and entertainment system data. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A current trend in the electronics and computer industry is the convergence of computer systems and more traditional entertainment system components. As this convergence continues, more components in these systems will be combined together resulting in an increase in entertainment selections and entertainment system data available to users. 
     Current mechanisms for storing and providing entertainment system data to users are component specific. For example, programming guides made available by many cable companies provide some entertainment system data relating to entertainment selections available to the users. Typically, the programming guides provide an on-screen display of programming information for channels supported by the cable system. The programming guides, however, do not store or display entertainment system data from sources other than the cable company to the user. Thus, for example, if a user&#39;s entertainment system includes a digital satellite system (DSS), a vertical blanking interval (VBI) decoder, a modem, a network connection, or a video library, the entertainment system data from these entertainment selections would not be available to the user on the cable system&#39;s programming guide. 
     In addition, the programming guides typically display limited information about an entertainment selection. The information is usually limited to the title of the entertainment selection, the time it is broadcasted, and the channel broadcasting the entertainment selection. The information is typically presented in a static text format. 
     SUMMARY 
     A graphical user interface (GUI) is disclosed. The GUI includes a first window that displays video data of a first entertainment selection from a first entertainment selection source. A first area of the first window, displays entertainment system data that corresponds to the first entertainment selection. The GUI includes a second window that displays video data of a second entertainment selection from a second entertainment selection source. A second area of the second window, displays entertainment system data that corresponds to the second entertainment selection. Upon selection by a user of the respective window, entertainment system data regarding the entertainment selection corresponding to the respective window is displayed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating the system components of one embodiment of an entertainment system according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system controller according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of modules implementing an embodiment of a database system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates entertainment system data records stored in a database according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a channel scan unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a graphical user interface according to a first embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 7  is a flow chart illustrating a method for managing entertainment system data according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating system components of an entertainment system  100  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The entertainment system includes a common input/output (I/O) bus  110  that connects the system components in the entertainment system  100  together. It should be appreciated that the common I/O bus  110  is illustrated to simplify the routing of signals between the computer system components. The common I/O bus  110  may represent a plurality of known mechanisms and techniques for routing I/O signals between the computer system components. For example, the common I/O bus  110  may include an appropriate number of independent audio “patch” cables that rout audio signals, coaxial cables that rout video signals, two-wire serial lines or infrared or radio frequency transceivers that rout control signals, or other routing mechanisms that rout other signals. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the entertainment system  100  includes a television/monitor  121 , video recorder/playback device  122 , digital video disk (DVD) recorder/playback device  123 , audio/video tuner and amplifier  124 , audio playback/recorder device  125 , and compact disk player  126  coupled to the common I/O bus. The video recorder/playback device  122 , DVD recorder/playback device  123 , audio playback/recorder device  125 , and compact disk player  126  may be single disk or single cassette devices, or alternatively may be multiple disk or multiple cassette devices. 
     In addition, the entertainment system  100  includes a speaker system  131 , microphone  132 , video camera  133 , and a wireless I/O control device  134 . In one embodiment, wireless I/O control device  134  is an entertainment system remote control unit, which communicates with the components of the entertainment system  100  through IR signals. In another embodiment, wireless I/O control device  134  may be a wireless keyboard and cursor-positioning device that communicates with the components of entertainment system  100  through IR signals or RF signals. In yet another embodiment, wireless I/O control device  134  may be an IR remote control device similar in appearance to a typical entertainment system remote control with the added feature of a track-ball or other navigational mechanisms which allows a user to position a cursor on a display of the entertainment system  100 . 
     The entertainment system  100  also includes a system controller  140 . According to one embodiment of the present invention, the system controller  140  operates to store and display entertainment system data available from a plurality of entertainment system data sources. According to another embodiment of the present invention, system controller  140  is configured to control a wide variety of features associated with each of the system components. As shown in  FIG. 1 , system controller  140  is coupled, either directly or indirectly, to each of the system components, as necessary, through I/O bus  110 . In one embodiment, in addition to or in place of I/O bus  110 , system controller  140  is configured with a wireless communication transmitter (or transceiver), which is capable of communicating with the system components via IR signals or RF signals  110 ′. Regardless of the control medium, the system controller  140  is configured to control one or more of the entertainment system components of the entertainment system  100 , although it is understood that each of the components may be individually controlled with wireless I/O control device  134 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , system  100  may be configured to receive entertainment selections and entertainment system data from various entertainment selection sources. In one embodiment, entertainment system  100  receives entertainment selections and entertainment system data from any or all of the following sources: cable broadcast  141 , satellite broadcast  142  (e.g., via a satellite dish), very high frequency (VHF) or ultra high frequency (UHF) radio frequency communication of the broadcast networks  143  (e.g., via an aerial antenna), telephone/computer network broadcast  144 , and/or information stored locally at system controller  140  or another component of the entertainment system  100 . Further, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, that cable broadcast input  141 , satellite broadcast input  142  and VHF/UHF input  143  may receive input from digital broadcast programming and digital cable programming. The cable broadcast input  141 , satellite broadcast input  142 , VHF/UHF broadcast input  143 , and telephone/computer network broadcast input  144  may be received by the audio/video tuner and amplifier  124 , the system controller  140 , or other component on the entertainment system  100 . 
     Although the present invention is described in the context of the exemplary embodiments presented in the figures, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and may be practiced in a variety of alternate embodiments. Accordingly, the innovative features of the present invention may be practiced in a system of greater or lesser complexity than that of the system depicted in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a computer system  200  that may be used to implement the system controller  140  according to the present invention. The computer system  200  includes a processor  201  that processes data signals. The processor  201  may be a complex instruction set computer (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction work (VLIW) microprocessor, a processor implementing a combination of instruction sets, or other processor device.  FIG. 2  shows an example of the present invention implemented on a single processor computer system  200 . However, it is understood that the present invention may be implemented in a computer system having multiple processors. The processor  201  is coupled to a CPU bus  210 , which transmits data signals between processor  201  and other components in the computer system  200 . 
     As an example, memory  213  may be a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device, a static random access memory (SRAM) device, or other memory device. The memory  213  stores data signals that are executed by the processor  201 . A bridge memory controller  211  is coupled to the CPU bus  210  and the memory  213 . The bridge memory controller  211  directs data signals between the processor  201 , the memory  213 , and other components in the computer system  200  and bridges the data signals from these components to a first I/O bus  220 . 
     The first I/O bus  220  may be a single bus or a combination of multiple buses. As an example, the first I/O bus  220  maybe a high performance I/O bus that operates at high throughput rates. The first I/O bus  220  may include for example a Peripheral Components Interconnect (PCI) bus, a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) bus, a NuBus, or other buses. The first I/O bus  220  provides communication links between components in the computer system  200 . A network controller  221  is coupled to the first I/O bus  220 . The network controller  221  links the computer system  200  to a network of computers and supports communication among the machines. A display device controller  222  is coupled to the first I/O bus  220 . The display device controller  222  allows coupling of a display device to the computer system  200  and acts as an interface between the display device and the computer system  200 . The display device controller  222  may be a monochrome display adapter (MDA) card, a color graphics adapter (CGA) card, an enhanced graphics adapter (EGA) card, an extended graphics array (XGA) card or other display device controller. The display device may be a television set, a computer monitor, a flat panel display or other display device. The display device receives data signals from the processor  201  through the display device controller  222  and displays the information and data signals to the user of the computer system  200 . According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display device may be implemented by the television/monitor  121  (shown in  FIG. 1 ). 
     A second I/O bus  230  may be a single bus or a combination of multiple buses. The second I/O bus  230  may include an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, or other buses. The second I/O bus  230  provides communication links between components in the computer system  200 . A data storage device  231  is coupled to the second I/O bus  230 . The data storage device  231  may be a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROM device, or other mass storage device. A keyboard interface  232  is coupled to the second I/O bus  230 . The keyboard interface  232  may be a keyboard controller or other keyboard interface. The keyboard interface  232  may be a dedicated device or can reside in another device such as a bus controller or other controller. The keyboard interface  232  allows coupling of a keyboard to the computer system  200  and transmits data signals from a keyboard to the computer system  200 . An audio controller  233  is coupled to the second I/O bus  230 . The second I/O bus  230  operates to coordinate the recording and playing of sounds is also coupled to the I/O bus  230 . A wireless communications interface  234  is coupled to the second I/O bus  230 . The wireless communications interface  234  may be an IR transceiver or a RF transceiver for transmitting and receiving signals between system components of the entertainment system  100  (shown in  FIG. 1 ). 
     A bus bridge  223  couples the first I/O bus  220  to the second I/O bus  230 . The bus bridge  223  operates to buffer and bridge data signals between the first I/O bus  220  and the second I/O bus  230 . 
     According to one embodiment, configuring a graphical user interface that displays video data and corresponding entertainment system data of entertainment selections from multiple entertainment selection sources concurrently is performed by the computer system  200  in response to the processor  201  executing sequences of instructions contained in the memory  213 . Such instructions may be read into the memory  213  from other computer-readable mediums such as data storage device  231  or from a computer connected to the network via the network controller  211 . Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in the memory  213  causes the processor to configure a graphical user interface that displays video data and corresponding entertainment system data of entertainment selections from multiple entertainment selection sources concurrently, as will be described hereafter. In alternative embodiments, hard-wire circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating modules implementing a database system  300  according to an embodiment of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the modules are implemented in software and reside in main memory  213  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) of the computer system  200  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) as sequences of instructions. It should be appreciated that the modules may be implemented by hardware as components coupled to the bus  220  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) or a combination of both hardware and software. Block  310  represents a system control agent that receives entertainment system data from multiple sources. The system control agent  310  manages the organization and retrieval of the entertainment system data in the database  320 , and presents the entertainment system data to users. The system control agent  310  includes a data parser  311 , data engine  312 , and query interface  313 . 
     Entertainment system data may be received by the system control agent  310  from a plurality of sources. These sources may include modem transfer  341 , DSS  342 , VBI  343 , file input stream  344 , or other input streams  345 . Network transfer source  341  provides entertainment system data obtained from remote systems via a conventional modem. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the remote systems are web servers accessed via the Internet using a plain old telephone service (POTS) connection, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) line, or other network connection. DSS source  342  provides entertainment system data obtained via a digital broadcast and a digital satellite receiver. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the entertainment system data is received via a separate digital channel by the DSS receiver. VBI source  343  provides entertainment system data from the vertical blanking interval of a television broadcast. The entertainment system data is decoded from the VBI of the television broadcast by a VBI decoder. File input stream  344  provides entertainment system data obtained from a computer file. The file may be located locally on the computer system  200  or remotely at another computer system. The file may contain, for example, a video clip, a movie review, a video game or other application. Other input streams  345  represent other conventional sources from which entertainment system data could be obtained. It is to be appreciated that any other conventional medium could be used to provide entertainment system data to system control agent  310 , including RF broadcasts, ultrasonic broadcasts, IR broadcasts, or other broadcasts. It should also be appreciated that entertainment system data may be provided by the users of the entertainment system  100  (shown in  FIG. 1 ). Entertainment system data may be obtained from any one or more of the sources  341 - 345 . 
     Entertainment system data includes data related to entertainment selections. The entertainment selections may include programs, music selections, software applications, files, Internet broadcast and other selections that may be made available to users via the entertainment system  100 . Entertainment system data may include information describing an entertainment selection or other information related to the entertainment selection. Examples of entertainment system data include television program information, radio station information, “video-on-demand” program information, laser disc availability, compact disk availability, DVD availability, CD-ROM availability, VHS or 8 mm tape availability, software application titles, Intercast™ broadcasts information, network identifiers such as Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), or other data. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, entertainment system data received from each of the sources  341 - 345  are in a different, source specific format. Data parser  311  receives the entertainment system data from the sources  341 - 345  and translates the entertainment system data into a unitary format. The entertainment system data received from the sources  341 - 345  may include a plurality of information related to an entertainment selection. The data parser  311  generates a record for data corresponding to each entertainment selection. Within each record, the data parser  311  organizes the entertainment system data related to each entertainment system data into traits. Each trait includes an identifier portion that provides a generic description of the trait and a data portion that provides specific data related to the trait or a location of where the specific data may be found. According to one embodiment of the present invention, an identifier portion may be “Title”, “Actors”, “Program Rating”, “Source of Programming”, or “Time of Broadcast” and the data portion may be the title of an entertainment selection, actors appearing in the entertainment selection, rating of the entertainment selection, the station where the entertainment selection may be viewed, and the time the entertainment selection is broadcasted. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the identifier portion may be “Program Theme Song”, “Video Trailer”, “Audio Trailer”, “Images of Cast”, “Program&#39;s Home Page”, “Program&#39;s Newsgroup”, or “Articles about the Program and Cast” and the data portion may include a location of where the information relating to the identifier may be found. For example, the data portion may include a location such as a local address of a graphics file or an audio file stored in the data storage device  232  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) that may be executed. Alternatively, the data portion may include a location such as an Internet address or an URL of a web server that includes a file that contains the information listed in the identifier portion. 
     The data engine  312  receives the entertainment data in the unitary format from the data parser  311  and stores the entertainment system data in the database  320 .  FIG. 4  illustrates entertainment system data record stored in a database  320  according to an embodiment of the present invention, database  320  includes multiple records  410 ,  420 , and  430 . Each of the records  410 ,  420 , and  430  includes a source identifier  411 ,  421 , and  431 , respectively. The source identifiers identify sources from which entertainment system data was received to generate the record. It should be appreciated that a record may include entertainment system data received from one or more sources. Each of the records  410 ,  420 , and  430  are shown to include a plurality of traits. It should be appreciated that each record may include any number of traits. Record  410  includes traits  412 ,  413 , and  414 . Record  420  includes traits  422 ,  423 , and  424 . Record  430  includes traits  432 ,  433 , and  434 . Each of the traits includes an identifier portion and a data portion. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the records  410 ,  420 , and  430  do not include source identifiers. Referring back to  FIG. 3 , it should be appreciated that the data parser  311  may organize the entertainment system data using any known technique into any known format and that the data engine  312  may configure the database  320  according to any known format. 
     The query interface  313  configures a graphical user interface that allows a user to access the entertainment system data stored in the database  320 . According to an embodiment of the present invention, the query interface  313  presents the entertainment system data stored in the database  320  in text form. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the query interface  313  presents the entertainment system data stored in the database  320  using multimedia identifiers that may include graphical images, animation, audio clips, or other multimedia identifiers. For example, the query interface  313  may present the identifiers of traits of an entertainment selection using the multimedia identifiers and make the multimedia identifiers user selectable. When a graphical image corresponding to an identifier is selected, the query interface  313  retrieves information in the data portion corresponding to the identifier and presents it to the user. According to an embodiment of the present invention, presenting the information to the user may include displaying the information stored in the data section when the information is specific data related to the trait. According to another embodiment of the present invention, presenting the information may include using the information in the data section to locate additional information when the information is a location. In this embodiment, the multimedia identifier may be a hyper link to a remote web server or a link to a system component local to the graphical user interface. 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating modules implementing a channel scan unit  500  according to an embodiment of the present invention. The channel scan unit  500  generates a graphical user interface that displays video data and entertainment system selection data from a plurality of entertainment selection sources. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the modules are implemented in software and reside in main memory  213  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) of the computer system  200  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) as sequences of instructions. It should be appreciated that the modules may be implemented by hardware as components coupled to the bus  220  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) or a combination of both hardware and software. The channel scan unit  500  includes a channel scan control unit  510 . The channel scan control unit  510  stores a list created by a user of the entertainment system  100  (shown in  FIG. 1 ). According to an embodiment of the present invention, the list includes a number of specific entertainment selection sources that the user has a preference for. The entertainment selection sources on the list may include, for example, specific VHF/UHF channels, cable broadcast channels, satellite broadcast channels, Internet broadcast channels, or other entertainment selection sources accessible by the entertainment system  100  (shown in  FIG. 1 ). 
     A database interface unit  520  is coupled to the channel scan control unit  510 . The database interface unit  520  receives the list of entertainment selection sources from the channel scan control unit  510  and obtains entertainment system data corresponding to entertainment selections broadcasted on the listed entertainment selection sources at the present time from the database  320  (shown in  FIG. 3 ). 
     A tuner interface unit  530  is coupled to the channel scan control unit  510 . The tuner interface unit  530  receives the list of entertainment selection sources from the channel scan control unit  510  and programs the audio/video tuner amplifier  124  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) to obtain video data from the entertainment selection sources. According to an embodiment of the channel scan unit  500 , the tuner interface unit  530  receives the video data from the entertainment selection sources. 
     A display interface unit  540  is coupled to the database interface unit  520  and the tuner interface unit  530 . The display interface unit  540  receives the entertainment system data corresponding to the entertainment selections from the database interface unit  520  and the video data of the entertainment selections from the interface unit  530 . The display interface unit  540  interfaces with the display device controller  222  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) to coordinate the displaying of the entertainment system data with the video data of an entertainment selection. According to an embodiment of the channel scan unit  500 , the display interface unit  540  generates a graphical user interface on a display device. The graphical user interface has a first window that displays video data of a first entertainment selection from a first entertainment selection source. A first area, proximate to the first window, displays entertainment system data that corresponds to the first entertainment selection. A second window on the graphical user interface displays video data of a second entertainment selection from a second entertainment selection source. A second area, proximate to the second window, displays entertainment system data that corresponds to the second entertainment selection. 
     It should be appreciated that in an embodiment of the channel scan unit  500  where the tuner interface unit  530  programs the audio/video tuner amplifier  124  to obtain video data from the entertainment selection sources without actually obtaining the video data from audio/video tuner amplifier  124 , the display interface unit  540  coordinates displaying the video data directly with the audio/video tuner amplifier  124 . The video data displayed on the first window and the second window may be continuous live feed from the entertainment system source, a still image, or other video data. The video data may correspond to entertainment selections that will be broadcasted or have already been broadcasted. 
     It should be appreciated that channel scan unit  500  may support other types of lists created by the user. For example, instead of listing preferred entertainment selections, the user may list a preferred actor or actors. In this embodiment of the present invention, the database interface unit  520  obtains the identity of entertainment selection sources broadcasting the entertainment selections with the actor or actors. The identity of the entertainment sources are transmitted to the tuner interface unit  530 , via the channel scan control unit  510 . The tuner interface unit  530  obtains video data of the entertainment selections. If the entertainment selection source is a component on the entertainment system  100 , such as the video recorder/playback device  122  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) or the DVD recorder/playback device  123  (shown in  FIG. 1 ), the tuner interface  530  may obtain video data corresponding to the entertainment selection from a source other than the component on the entertainment system  100 . The display interface unit  540  coordinates displaying the video data of the entertainment selections with entertainment system data corresponding to the entertainment selections. 
     The channel scan control unit  510 , the database interface unit  520 , the tuner interface unit  530 , and the display interface unit  540  may be implemented using any known circuitry or technique. According to an embodiment of the present invention where the channel scan unit  500  is implemented in hardware, the channel scan control unit  510 , the database interface unit  520 , the tuner interface unit  530 , and the display interface unit  540  all reside on a single semiconductor substrate. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a graphical user interface  600  according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The graphical user interface includes a plurality of windows  610 ,  620 ,  630 ,  640 ,  650 , and  660 . According to an embodiment of the present invention where the list in the channel scan control unit  510  (shown in  FIG. 5 ) includes a list of entertainment selection sources that the user prefers, each of the windows  610 ,  620 ,  630 ,  640 ,  650 , and  660  display video data of an entertainment selection from one of the entertainment selection sources. Each of the plurality of windows  610 ,  620 ,  630 ,  640 ,  650 , and  660  includes an area proximate to the window that may be used to display entertainment system data corresponding to the entertainment selection. Window  610  includes a first area  611  and a second area  612 . Window  620  includes a first area  621  and a second area  622 . Window  630  includes a first area  631  and a second area  632 . Window  640  includes a first area  641  and a second area  642 . Window  650  includes a first area  651  and a second area  652 . Window  660  includes a first area  661  and a second area  662 . The area proximate to the window may be used to display entertainment system data corresponding to the entertainment selection. The entertainment system data may include a call sign and a channel of where the entertainment selection is broadcasted from, the entertainment selection title, rating information, time or length of broadcast, or other entertainment system data. The graphical user interface  600  also includes a navigational tool  670 , such as a scroll bar, that allows a viewer to prompt the graphical user interface  600  to display additional windows that display video data and entertainment system data corresponding to additional entertainment selections not originally displayed on the graphical user interface  600 . According to an embodiment of the graphical user interface  600 , a user may select one of the windows  610 ,  620 ,  630 ,  640 ,  650 , and  660 , to watch the entertainment selection corresponding to the selected window on a full screen of the television/monitor  121  (shown in  FIG. 1 ). According to an alternate embodiment of the present invention, a user may select one of the windows  610 ,  620 ,  630 ,  640 ,  650 , and  660  to obtain additional entertainment system data corresponding to the entertainment selection corresponding to the selected window. 
     The graphical user interface  600  allows displaying of multiple video images concurrently, where each video image corresponds to a different one of multiple broadcast channels currently available for viewing. Descriptive information relating to the programs currently being broadcast on each channel is displayed along with a video image from that program. According to an aspect of the graphical user interface  600 , each of the multiple video images is a current still image, or a “snap shot” of the program being broadcast on the corresponding channel. According to a second aspect of the graphical user interface  600 , each of the multiple video images is taken from real-time broadcast of the program from the corresponding channel. 
       FIG. 7  is a flow chart illustrating a method for managing entertainment system data according to an embodiment of the present invention. At step  701 , the preferences of entertainment selection sources of an entertainment system user are determined. According to an embodiment of the present invention, determining the preference of entertainment selection sources is achieved by referencing a list stored in channel scan control unit. 
     At step  702 , video data corresponding to entertainment selections broadcasted on the entertainment sources is obtained. According to an embodiment of the present invention, obtaining the video data corresponding to the entertainment selections broadcasted on the entertainment sources is achieved by programming a video tuner to obtain the video data from the entertainment selection sources. 
     At step  703 , entertainment system data corresponding to the entertainment selections is obtained. According to an embodiment of the present invention, obtaining the entertainment system data corresponding to the entertainment selections broadcasted on the entertainment sources is achieved by accessing a database. 
     At step  704 , video data of a first entertainment selection from a first entertainment selection source is displayed on a first window. 
     At step  705 , entertainment system data corresponding to the first entertainment selection in a location proximate to the first window is displayed. 
     At step  706 , video data of a second entertainment selection from a second entertainment selection source is displayed on a second window. 
     At step  707 , entertainment system data corresponding to the second entertainment selection in a location proximate to the second window is displayed. 
     In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with references to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense.