Abstract:
An electronic programming guide may enable the user to identify season premiere episodes. Moreover, using simple mouse click operations, the user may select a season series for automatic recording.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
   This invention relates generally to electronic programming guides for facilitating the selection and recording of television programs. 
   Electronic programming guides may display a grid of television program times on one axis and channels or service providers on another axis. The grid may include particular programs listed by channel and time of presentation. The user can select any of the programs in the electronic programming guide for automatic viewing or recording. This may commonly be done by simply mouse clicking on the particular program listing to cause the program to be automatically tuned or automatically scheduled for recording or subsequent (future) viewing. 
   Television programs often run through a predefined series of shows called a season. A given television program may appear at a given time on a given day for a plurality of weeks. After the end of the season, a series of reruns of the previous programs may be broadcast. Thus, television program series generally have a season premiere and a season finale that constitute the first and last programs in a given series. 
   In many cases, users wish to determine when the season premiere will be broadcast since the users may have endured a extended period of reruns, conventionally over the summer. A user may wish to be sure to watch the premiere episode and to thereafter watch the program regularly until reruns start again. 
   Thus, there is a need for an electronic programming guide that facilitates the selection of season premieres and the capture of ensuing episodes. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a graphical user interface in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a graphical user interface in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart for software in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a front elevational view of a processor-based system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a processor-based system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , an electronic programming guide graphical user interface  10  may include a series of program times corresponding to a current time and date and a series of channels or television service providers such as ABC, CBS, etc. A plurality of programs may be listed by time and service provider such as “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” listed from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. on ABC. 
   Conventionally, the user may mouse select a given episode for viewing or recording. In addition, the user may mouse select a future episode to cause that episode to be automatically tuned in at its scheduled broadcast time. 
   The graphical user interface  10  includes a plurality of icons  12 ,  14  and  16 . The icon  12  may be selected by the user to automatically display any upcoming season premieres. That is, if the user maneuvers the highlighting  13  over the icon  12  and then mouse clicks on the season premiere icon  12 , the user is automatically provided information about all upcoming season premieres. Similarly, an ongoing series icon  14  may be provided and a recommended show icon  16  may be provided. 
   Each of the icons  12 ,  14  and  16  may be utilized to preferentially record a given series of programs. Thus, the icons  12 ,  14  and  16  may be associated with a record bar  11  of the graphical user interface  10 . The user may mouse click on a given program and then the record bar  11  to record the program automatically in one embodiment. 
   Similarly, the user may select one of the icons  12 ,  14  or  16  to automatically record an entire season of television programs. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, when the user selects the season premiere icon  12 , the graphical user interface  18 , shown in  FIG. 2 , may be displayed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
   The interface  18  may provide a listing of all the upcoming television program season premiere episodes. In this hypothetical case, four premiere episodes are upcoming on the dates indicated at  26 . Each episode  24  of the series may be scheduled for recording as indicated at  22  or for addition to the user&#39;s favorites list as indicated at  23 . By mouse clicking on a block  20  that is highlighted, as indicated at  25 , the user may cause a check mark  27  or  29  to appear to indicate the user&#39;s selection of a particular show  24  for either recording or addition to the user&#39;s favorites. Other selection systems may also be used. 
   When a program is selected for recording, not only is the premiere episode recorded, but all the episodes in the ongoing series may be automatically recorded. This is accomplished using software that is cognizant of (or is able to become cognizant of) the season schedule for the series through its finale. 
   The user can also mouse select the icon  28  to obtain more information about a given series. The additional information may include program times, channels, recommendations, preview clips, textual descriptions and rerun schedules, as examples. 
   Thus, in the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the user has selected the Sopranos series for recording as indicated by the check mark  27  and NYPD Blue series for addition to the favorites as indicated by the check mark  29 . Thus, all episodes of the upcoming series of Sopranos programs will be automatically recorded and all episodes of the NYPD Blue program are added to the user&#39;s favorites. The user&#39;s favorites may be indicated by highlighting on the electronic programming guide as the shows appear in one embodiment. 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the season record software  30  initially displays the graphical user interface  10 , as indicated at block  32 , and particularly provides the icon  12 . If the user selects the season premiere icon  12 , the software waits for a show selection (diamond  34 ) after displaying the graphical user interface  18 . When a particular show is selected, for example by mouse clicking on the highlighted block  20 , the show schedule may be acquired as indicated in block  36 . The show schedule may be stored in a database associated with the software  30 . 
   Alternatively, the season series schedule may be acquired through an Internet web site that is available for this purpose. Upon selection of the record feature, the Internet web site is automatically accessed and the program schedule automatically downloaded and stored in a database associated with software  30 . 
   Each of the episodes is scheduled for automatic recording when broadcast on the indicated channel at the indicated time (block  38 ). Thereafter, the user may be given an acknowledgement on the user&#39;s display screen indicating that the season series has been scheduled for automatic recording (block  40 ). 
   Referring to  FIG. 4 , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the software  30  may be stored on a set-top box  42  that rests atop a television receiver  41  having a display screen  52 . A remote control unit  44  interface  50  may control the television receiver  44 , through its interface  48  and the set-top box  42 , through its interface  46 . The interfaces  50 ,  48  and  46  may be wireless interfaces such as infrared interfaces in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
   A plurality of highlight navigation keys  45  and a select key  47  may be provided on the remote control unit  44  for selection of the various icons shown in the graphical user interfaces of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . Particularly, the navigation keys  45  may be utilized to move the highlighting  13  or  25  to the desired entry that may be selected using the select button  47 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 5 , the set-top box  42  may include a processor  54  coupled to a bridge  56 . The bridge  56  may couple a graphics accelerator  60  and a system memory  58 . The graphics accelerator  60  may be coupled to the television receiver  41  in one embodiment of the present invention. 
   The bridge  56  may also couple to a bus  64  that may couple to a television tuner/capture card  66 . The card  66  may be coupled to a video source such as a cable or satellite receiver as two examples. The bus  64  may also be coupled to a bridge  68 . The bridge  68  may be coupled to a hard disk drive  70  that stores the software  30 . 
   The bridge  68  may also be coupled to a bus  74 . The bus  74  couples a serial input/output (SIO) device  76  and a basic input/output system (BIOS) storage  82 . The device  76  in turn is coupled to the interface  46  that communicates with the remote control unit  44 . Particularly, the remote control unit  44  may includes its own interface  50  coupled to a controller  78 . The controller  78  receives input commands from a keypad  80 . 
   While the present invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of this present invention.