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:
Jul. 01, 2014
Filed:
May. 15, 2007
Clinton J. Smoyer, Raymore, MO (US);
Shane M. Smith, Paolo, KS (US);
Clinton J. Smoyer, Raymore, MO (US);
Shane M. Smith, Paolo, KS (US);
CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC, Denver, CO (US);
Abstract
A system and method for enabling television watchers to 'channel surf' faster and reduce the amount of bandwidth used over a network to communicate television channels to end-users. Electronic programming guide information and images associated therewith may be communicated to an end-user. An image associated with a video program may be displayed on an electronic display (e.g., television) in response to an end-user selecting a channel prior to video programming being displayed. By displaying an image prior to the video programming, the end-user may determine whether he or she wants to watch the video program prior to the video programming being displayed, which improves the speed of 'channel surfing.' Because end-users can view the image when selecting a channel, a network can be configured to distribute the channels that are currently being watched rather than distributing many on a continuous basis, thereby preserving bandwidth.