Patent ID: 7168050

Claim:
A method for displaying selectable menu items of an OSD menu displayed on a screen of a digital television, the method comprising: displaying on the screen a first menu level having a plurality of main menu items, the plurality of main menu items including a first main menu item related to a first set of controllable functions of the digital television and a second main menu item related to a second set of controllable functions of the digital television, each main menu item occupying a separately delineated space of the first region and the first and second main menu items occupying adjacent spaces among the separately delineated spaces; allocating, in response to a user selection of one of the first and second main menu items, a new separately delineated space formed by redisplaying the plurality of main menu items to interpose the new separately delineated space between the separately delineated space occupied by the selected main menu item and the separately delineated space occupied by the unselected main menu item, such that the interposed space abuts on each of the separately delineated space occupied by the selected main menu item and the separately delineated space occupied by the unselected main menu item; and displaying, in the allocated space, a second menu level having at least one sub-menu item related to the digital television controllable functions of the selected main menu item, wherein, upon a user selection of a main menu item other than the selected main menu item, the first menu level is redisplayed by erasing the at least one sub-menu item displayed in the allocated space, closing the allocated space such that the first and second main menu items again occupy adjacent spaces, and then re-executing said allocating.