The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 25, 2006
Filed:
Oct. 02, 2000
Robert G. Arsenault, Redondo Beach, CA (US);
Stephen P. Dulac, Santa Clarita, CA (US);
Tam T. Leminh, Cypress, CA (US);
Laura J. O'donnell, El Segundo, CA (US);
Robert G. Arsenault, Redondo Beach, CA (US);
Stephen P. Dulac, Santa Clarita, CA (US);
Tam T. Leminh, Cypress, CA (US);
Laura J. O'Donnell, El Segundo, CA (US);
The DirecTV Group, Inc., El Segundo, CA (US);
Abstract
A system and method for providing program guide information to subscribers is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method is applied to a broadcasting system having a first service network broadcasting a first signal having a first set of programs, a second service network broadcasting a second signal having a second set of programs, and a third service network broadcasting a third signal having a third set of programs, wherein the first signal, the second signal, and the third signal each include service channels uniquely identified by a service channel identifier, a method of providing a unified program guide to a receiver station. The method comprises the steps of merging at least a portion of a first program guide describing at least a portion of the first set of programs with at least a portion of a second program guide describing at least a portion of the second set of programs to produce a unified program guide describing at least a portion of a union of the first set of programs and the second set of programs; mapping at least a portion of the unified program guide to a first service channel of the first signal and the second signal; and mapping the portion of the unified program guide to a second service channel of the third signal, wherein the second service channel is logically offset from the first service channel.