Patent ID: 8225356

Claim:
A method of operating a media control system comprising: detecting a first numeric user input from a remote control, wherein the first numeric user input is defined by an amount of time that the first numeric user input is pressed; determining that the first numeric user input corresponds to a first numeral when the amount of pressed time of the first numeric user input is less than a predetermined amount of time; determining that the first numeric user input corresponds to a first set of alphabetic letters when the amount of pressed time of the first numeric user input is at least equal to the predetermined amount of time, and wherein in response to determining that the first numeric user input corresponds to the first set of alphabetic letters, the method further comprises: processing the first numeric user input to identify the first set of alphabetic letters; selecting a first plurality of media channel names based on the identified first set of alphabetic letters, wherein each of the first plurality of media channel names begins with a first alphabetic letter corresponding to one of the alphabetic letters of the identified first set of alphabetic letters; and generating a first signal configured to drive a display, wherein the display presents the first plurality of media channel names on the display; the method further comprising: detecting a second numeric user input from the remote control after detecting the first numeric user input, where in response to the determining the first numeric user input corresponding to the first set of alphabetic letters, determining that the second numeric user input corresponds to a second set of alphabetic letters and does not correspond to a second numeral associated with the second set of alphabetic letters; processing the second numeric user input to identify the second set of alphabetic letters associated with the second numeric user input; selecting a second plurality of media channel names from the first plurality of media channel names, wherein the selecting the second plurality of media channel names is based on a second alphabetic letter of each of the first plurality of media channel names, and wherein each of the second plurality of media channel names has the first alphabetic letter corresponding to one of the alphabetic letters of the identified first set of alphabetic letters followed by a second alphabetic letter corresponding to one of the alphabetic letters of the second set of alphabetic letters; and generating a second signal configured to drive a second display, wherein the second display presents the second plurality of media channel names.