Patent ID: 7844987

Claim:
An interactive program guide for television programming, the interactive program guide being executable on one or more processors and displayed on a television and comprising: a display region configured to display a plurality of selection items corresponding to a plurality of media items; a first subset of said selection items rendered on said display region as active selection items at a first hierarchical level; a second subset of said selection items rendered on said display region as active selection items at a second hierarchical level; and a third subset of said selection items rendered on said display region as inactive selection items at said first hierarchical level; wherein said second subset includes said first subset of selection items and also includes at least one of said third subset of selection items, wherein active selection items can be selected by a user, but inactive selection items cannot be selected by the user, wherein said first and second hierarchical levels respectively correspond to different magnification levels, wherein at least one of said selection items is displayed at both said first hierarchical level and said second hierarchical level, and further wherein said at least one of said selection items is displayed at second hierarchical level with a visual characteristic, other than a change in magnification, that differs from the manner in which said at least one of said selection items was displayed at said first hierarchical level, wherein said region configured to display said plurality of selection items is configured to display said plurality of selection items asymmetrically such that said plurality of selection items are not arranged in a symmetrical rectangular format in at least one of said hierarchical levels, and wherein said plurality of selection items are dynamically populated such that at least one of said plurality of selection items may vary over time.