US20070154163A1 - Systems and methods for creating aggregations of episodes of series programming in order - Google Patents

Abstract

A viewer of an episode of a series such as a television series may wish to access episodes of the series that the viewer missed when they were originally broadcast. Interactive applications may receive the viewer's indication of interest to record missed episodes of the incomplete series, which may include instructions regarding recording options for including the missed episodes in a series aggregation. Interactive applications may identify the episodes to be included in the series aggregation, and record the missed episodes, which may then be stored and organized to create a series aggregation, in the order that they were first broadcast with episodes that the viewer may already have available. Interactive applications may present the episodes of the series aggregation in the order that they were originally broadcast, by providing the viewer with options on how to access the episodes.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• This invention relates to interactive media guidance systems and more particularly to interactive media guidance systems that record media presented as episodes in a series, such as episodes of a television program series, any other program series, or any other type of series. This invention is an improvement on the basic series recording functionality that exists today (sometimes called a “Season Pass”). Series recording functionality relates to a user selecting to record a program that is part of a series. When the user selects to record a program that is part of a series, a media guidance system automatically schedules to record each episode of the series that is aired or will record “new” episodes of the series that are aired for the first time.
• When users of an interactive media guidance system discover a series late (such as late in the season of a television program series), or miss viewing or recording some or all episodes of a series (within a season or one or more seasons of an entire series), it is often difficult for users to access or to view the episodes of the series in episode order or to capture the repeats (i.e., re-runs) of episodes that were not originally recorded. While many, most, or all episodes of a series may become available over time (as re-runs), not all episodes may be available at once or in the order that they were presented in the series. For example, a television program series may be in syndication, but not all episodes of the television program series may be available at one time, and some episodes may never be re-run.
• Some media content may be episodic content. Episodic content typically is self-contained within each episode and does not include a common storyline with other episodes of the media content. For example, episodes of the series “Seinfeld” are typically episodic. Viewers may watch one episode without watching all of the previous episodes in the series to understand the story. However, other media content may be serial in nature. Serial programming is any programming containing a temporal component, such as a recommended order of viewing. Serial programming may share themes and/or plot sequences with other episodes in the series.
• An example of serial programming includes episodes of the series “24.” A user who watches an episode of the series “24” out of sequence may not recognize or understand certain characters, themes, or plot elements that were introduced in previous unwatched episodes. This often causes the viewer to be confused or to lose interest in the media content. To comprehend episodes of serial programming fully, other related programming must typically be watched prior to watching the serial programming, or the serial programming must be watched in the order that it was originally presented.
• Thus, for serial series, while the sequence for future viewing is particularly important, re-runs of episodes of the series will not always be available in the sequence that they were originally presented. Sequence may be important for some episodic series as well. For example, a user who watches some episodes of the series “Seinfeld” out of sequence may not recognize or understand certain characters, themes, or plot elements that were introduced in previous unwatched episodes. Even when television programs are in re-runs in their original season, not all episodes are necessarily provided, and the episodes that are provided may not be provided in sequence. Viewers may also simply miss an episode or series of episodes.
• It is therefore desirable to provide systems and methods that may allow users to record some or all episodes of a series conveniently and thereby to view the episodes of a series in order.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• In accordance with the principles of the present invention, an interactive media guidance application is provided that may present, in the order that the episodes were originally presented, a desired group of episodes of a past or current series. This desired group of episodes will be referred to herein as a “series aggregation.” As will be described in greater detail below, the series aggregation is created by collecting (e.g., compiling or recording from a remote server, an on-demand server, any other suitable server, a recording device, broadcast, or any other suitable source) episodes out of the order in which they were originally presented and may present the episodes of the series aggregation in the order in which they were originally presented. The series aggregation may be episodes from one or more seasons of a series, a user- or application-selection of episodes of a series, or any other desired group of episodes.
• One or more episodes within a series aggregation may already be recorded on a recording device, may already be available on-demand from a server, or may already be available through any other suitable means. Episodes that are not already recorded on a recording device, already available on-demand from a server, or already available through any other suitable means will be referred to herein as missed episodes, regardless of whether the user has previously watched or recorded the episode. In some embodiments, no episodes of a series aggregation will have been recorded, available on-demand from a server, or available through any other suitable means prior to a user indicating a desire to create a series aggregation—i.e., in this case all episodes may be considered missed episodes.
• The media guidance application may receive a user's instruction to record missed episodes of a series aggregation. In one embodiment, user's instructions may simply be a user requesting the media guidance application to record missed episodes of a series aggregation using either a text or voice entry. For example, a user may simply call a toll-free number and instruct the media guidance application to record missed episodes of a series aggregation by saying, “Create series aggregation of The Sopranos Season One.” In another embodiment, the media guidance application may be an online website, in which the titles and seasons of various media are offered as prompts, and the user may select from menus of available media. In response to the user's instruction, the media guidance application may query one or more media sources for the missed episodes and record them. The media guidance application may organize the missed episodes in order with the episodes that the user has already recorded (if any have been recorded) or that are already available (e.g. on-demand from a server) to create an aggregation of episodes that allows the user to watch episodes of the series in order (i.e., a series aggregation).
• In some embodiments, the media guidance application may wait until all of the episodes of a series aggregation have been recorded before prompting the user to playback the episodes in order. In other embodiments, the media guidance application may prompt the user to begin watching episodes after a predefined number of sequential episodes has been recorded (e.g., the first three episodes of a series aggregation).
• As indicated above, the series aggregation may be for a past series or a current series. In a past series, all missed episodes in the series aggregation have already been originally presented (e.g., broadcast, premiered via video-on-demand, etc.). When creating a series aggregation for a past series, all missed episodes to be recorded are considered re-runs or repeats of the original presentation of the program.
• By convention, numbering of episodes may be in the order that the episodes were originally presented. For example, episode1.1 may be the first episode in the first season of the series (or series aggregation) that was originally presented, episode1.2 may be the next or second episode in the first season of the series that was originally presented, and so on until the last episode in the first season of the series that was originally presented. Episode2.1 may then be the first episode in the second season of the series, episode2.2 may be the next or second episode in the second season, and so on until the last episode in the second season of the series, and the last episode in the last season of the series. Thus, episodes may be identified as x.y, where x is the season number, and y is the episode number in season x.
• For a current series, the series aggregation may include originally presented episodes, but may also include original presentations of one or more episodes that will occur in the future. For example, a season of a program may include 23 episodes. Episodes1.1-1.11 may have already been originally presented, episode1.12 is currently being originally presented (i.e., broadcasted), and episodes1.13-1.23 will be originally presented in the future. At the current time, the media guidance application may receive a user's instruction to create a series aggregation for this program. To create this series aggregation, the media guidance application may record episodes1.1-1.11 in the manner in which the media guidance application records missed episodes (described below). If episode1.12 is currently being presented, the media guidance application may record this program if it is available for recording or may treat this program as a missed episode if the user did not tune to the program in time to capture the whole program as a recording. Episodes1.13-1.23 may be recorded when they are originally presented in the future. Episodes1.13-1.23 may still be considered missed episodes and the description of missed episodes herein may apply equally to episodes of a program that are originally presented in the future. Episodes of a series that are originally presented in the future may be considered a missed episode because a user may not watch a series aggregation until episodes in a series aggregation have been recorded. Thus, the original presentation of these episodes will be missed by the user.
• Until all episodes of a series aggregation have been recorded, the series aggregation may be considered an incomplete series or an incomplete series aggregation. When recording missed episodes of an incomplete series aggregation, the media guidance application may record, in some embodiments, only missed episodes. In other embodiments, the media guidance application may also record non-missed episodes when it is desirable to replace a copy of an episode that the user has recorded (e.g., to replace a standard-definition copy with a high-definition one).
• The media guidance application may record missed episodes of an incomplete series aggregation from any accessible source of media (although in some embodiments only certain predefined sources may be used). For example, the media guidance application may determine whether missed episodes will be provided as television programs over the user's broadcast, cable or satellite delivery system, Internet, Internet protocol television (IPTV) or any other means, and may schedule the missed episodes for recording. The media guidance application may, for example, query a video-on-demand (VOD) server in the user's television delivery system or another on-demand media server (such as a website), and record missed episodes on demand.
• The media guidance application may also, for example, provide the user with an option to wait for the series aggregation to be available after the episodes are available from the user's “free” sources, or to pay a certain amount of money immediately to get the series aggregation on-demand, on a DVD, or any other suitable option. The media guidance application may also, for example, provide the user with information on how long the user would have to wait until the episodes are available from the user's “free” sources, so that the user can make a decision whether to pay a certain amount of money immediately to get the series aggregation on-demand, on a DVD, or any other suitable option. Also, the media guidance application may make the decision whether to get the series aggregation on-demand, on a DVD, or any other suitable option automatically based on user preferences. For example, the user may set the media guidance application always to pay a certain amount of money immediately to get the series aggregation on-demand, on a DVD, or any other suitable option, when the user would have to wait more than three months or any other user-defined time until the episodes are available from the user's “free” sources.
• Missed episodes may be recorded using any suitable approach. In some embodiments, a missed episode may be recorded when it becomes available to the media guidance application. For example, an episode of a series may be recorded when it is broadcast, or may be downloaded immediately if available on demand. The episode may be recorded on the user's equipment or on a remote recording device (e.g., a remote server) for the user. In other embodiments, identifiers such as unique resource identifiers, episode identification numbers or universal resource locators (URLs) may be stored by the media guidance application. The media guidance application may retrieve the actual episode from the appropriate source when the user instructs the application to play the episode back.
• In some embodiments, the interactive media guidance application may provide a display having options the user may select to indicate how the user wishes to view missed episodes. The options may include, for example: setting alerts for when an entire series is available from a media provider or across different media providers accessible to the user's equipment; aggregating episodes of a series; accessing episodes on-demand; obtaining a DVD of episodes; purchasing episodes via PPV if available; and downloading episodes of a series that are new to the user.
• Further features of the invention, its nature, and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1A shows an illustrative flow diagram for creating a series aggregation of missed episodes of a series in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 1B shows an illustrative flow diagram for collecting episodes of a series to be included in a series aggregation in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 2 is a diagram of one embodiment of an episode list data structure in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 3 is a diagram of one embodiment of a missed episode identifier list data structure in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 4 is a diagram of one embodiment of a recorded episode identifier list data structure in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 5 shows an illustrative program listings display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 6 shows an illustrative program information display screen for a program that a user selected to be recorded in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 7 shows an illustrative series aggregation setup display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 8 shows an illustrative manual series aggregation setup display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 9 shows an illustrative advanced series aggregation setup display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 10 shows an illustrative series aggregation list display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 11 shows an illustrative priority display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 12A shows an illustrative notification display screen for a complete series aggregation in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 12B shows an illustrative notification display screen for an incomplete series aggregation in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 13 shows an illustrative display screen with series aggregation options in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 14 is a diagram of an illustrative interactive media guidance system in accordance with the present invention.
• FIG. 15 is a diagram of illustrative user television equipment in accordance with the present invention.
• FIG. 16 is a diagram of additional illustrative user television equipment in accordance with the present invention.
• FIG. 17 is a diagram of an illustrative remote control in accordance with the present invention.
• FIG. 18 is a diagram of illustrative user computer equipment in accordance with the present invention.
• FIG. 19 is a generalized diagram of illustrative user equipment in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
• The amount of media available to users in any given media delivery system can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form of media guidance, an interface that allows users to efficiently navigate media selections and easily identify media that they may desire. An application which provides such guidance is referred to herein as an interactive media guidance application or, sometimes, a media guidance application or a guidance application.
• Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms depending on the media for which they provide guidance. One typical type of media guidance application is an interactive television program guide. Interactive television program guides are well-known guidance applications that, among other things, allow users to navigate among and to locate television programming viewing choices and, in some systems, digital music choices. The television programming (and music programming) may be provided via traditional broadcast, cable, satellite, Internet, IPTV or any other means. The programming may be provided on a subscription basis (sometimes referred to as premium programming), as pay-per-view programs, or on-demand such as in video-on-demand (VOD) systems. The providers of the different types of programming may be referred to herein as media sources.
• With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speed wireless networks, users are able to access media on personal computers (PCs) and devices on which they traditionally could not. Non-television-centric platforms (i.e., platforms that distribute media with equipment not part of the user's broadcast, cable or satellite television-delivery network) allow users to navigate among and locate desirable video clips, full motion videos (which may include television programs), images, music files, and other suitable media. Consequently, media guidance is also necessary on modern non-television-centric platforms. For example, media guidance applications may be provided as online applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or as stand-alone applications or clients on hand-held computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), or cellular telephones. In some systems, users may control equipment remotely via a media guidance application. For example, users may access an online media guide and set recordings or other settings on their in-home equipment. This may be accomplished by the online guide controlling the user's equipment directly or via another media guide that runs on the user's equipment. Remote access of interactive media guidance applications is discussed in greater detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/246,392, filed Oct. 7, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
• For purposes of illustration, the present invention will be described herein as relating to television-centric approaches, but this is not meant to limit the invention. For example, the present invention may be applied to presenting in the order originally presented other types of media, such as audio series or on-demand media series (e.g., web sites that only make available one episode or a subset of episodes of a series at a time).
• An illustrative interactive media guidance system in accordance with the present invention will be described herein, e.g., in connection withFIGS. 14-19. Where appropriate, references to an illustrative media guidance system as it relates to the present invention will also appear in connection with the description of the processes, data structures, and display screens, e.g., in connection withFIGS. 1-13.
• A media guidance application in accordance with the present invention is provided that presents, in the order that the episodes were originally presented, a desired group of episodes of a past or current series (i.e., a series aggregation). The creation of a series aggregation may be desirable when a user of an interactive media guidance system discovers a series late (such as late in the season of a television program series or after the season of a television program series has completed), or misses viewing or recording some episodes of a series. For a program that is a serial series, the sequence for future viewing is particularly important, but re-runs of episodes of the series will not always be available in the sequence that they were presented. The creation of a series aggregation, such that the media guidance application collects (i.e., compiles or records from a remote server, an on-demand server, any other suitable server, a recording device, broadcast, or any other suitable source) a desired group of episodes, enables a user to view the episodes in the order in which they were originally presented.
• The series aggregation may be episodes from one or more seasons of a television program series, a user or application selection of episodes of a series, or any other desired group of episodes. The selection of episodes of a series may be a subset of episodes that are a sequence of episodes within a season (e.g., television program series “The Sopranos,” episodes3.4-3.16), a sequence of episodes within more than one season (e.g., “The Sopranos,” episode4.16 through episode5.2), non-sequential episodes of one or more seasons (e.g., “The Sopranos,” episodes1.1,1.4,1.5, and1.7), a special sequence of episodes (e.g., all the first and/or last episodes of each season of “The Sopranos”), or any other desired subset of episodes of a series within one or multiple seasons.
• Once all episodes of a series aggregation have been recorded, the series aggregation may be considered a complete series aggregation. Until all episodes of a series aggregation have been recorded, the series aggregation may be considered an incomplete series aggregation. The general term “series aggregation” may be referred to herein as either a complete or incomplete series aggregation or both, where appropriate. The general term “series aggregation” is not meant to be limited to a complete or incomplete series aggregation, unless described as such.
• FIG. 1A shows illustrative process100 for creating a series aggregation that may be used in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. Atstep102, an interactive media guidance application may receive an indication of interest from a user to create a series aggregation of selected episodes of a series. In one embodiment, user's instructions may simply be a user requesting the media guidance application to record missed episodes of a series aggregation using either a text or voice entry. For example, user equipment device may include a user microphone. A user may simply instruct the media guidance application to record missed episodes of a series aggregation by saying into the microphone, “Create series aggregation of The Sopranos Season One.”
• In an alternate embodiment, user equipment device may include a keyboard, remote control, or other suitable device for free text entry or for making choices among presented options, such as a remote control for a menu or a mouse for PC navigation. A user may simply instruct the media guidance application to record missed episodes of a series aggregation by entering free text to a display screen using the keyboard, remote control, or other suitable device. Systems and methods for receiving a user instruction to create a series aggregation are discussed in greater detail below, e.g., in connection with the display screens ofFIGS. 5-11 and the data structure ofFIGS. 2-4.
• Atstep104, episodes of the selected series to be included in the series aggregation may be collected. Episodes may be collected by the media guidance application by compiling or recording them from a remote server, an on-demand server, any other suitable server, a recording device, broadcast, or any other suitable source. After episodes are collected by the media guidance application atstep104, then process100 may proceed to step106.
• Atstep106, the episodes of the complete series aggregation may be organized and displayed in the order in which they were originally presented. The media guidance application may also inform the user that the series aggregation is complete by displaying a list of all episodes in the series aggregation in the order in which each episode was originally presented. Informing the user when the series aggregation is complete and displaying the series aggregation may be performed in various ways and will be discussed below in greater detail, e.g., in connection with a further description ofstep116 andFIGS. 2-4.
• FIG. 1B shows illustrative substeps ofstep104 for collecting episodes of a series to be included in a series aggregation that may be used in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention. Atstep108, episodes of the series to be included in the series aggregation may be identified based on the user's instruction. The episodes identified instep108 may include all the episodes of the series aggregation. The episodes identified may be, for example, all episodes of a season of a program series. For illustration of the invention, a season of a program series “The Sopranos” may be discussed herein as the desired group of episodes for a series aggregation. This is not meant, however, to limit the invention to only this desired group of episodes of this program. In this illustrative example, it will also be assumed that there are23 episodes in the season of the program series “The Sopranos.”
• At step110, the interactive media guidance application may identify episodes of the series aggregation that are already available to the user. An episode may be identified as available to the user if it is found located in a storage device in a home network and/or other local or remote storage devices that have recorded programs available to the user. All episodes that have been recorded that are available to the user may be used to complete the series aggregation and in some embodiments it may not be necessary to record these episodes again as part of creating the series aggregation. Further details regarding storage devices and recording episodes on storage devices are discussed in greater detail below, for example in connection with the system description inFIGS. 14-19.
• Atstep112 shown inFIG. 1B those episodes that are currently considered missed episodes that are available for recording may be identified. An available missed episode may be an episode of the series aggregation that needs to be recorded to complete the series aggregation and that may be known to be available from one or more queried media sources currently or at some known time in the future. Further systems and methods for querying one or more media sources to determine availability of programming will be discussed in greater detail below, e.g., in connection withFIGS. 2-4 and14-19. Examples of the one or more sources from which the media guidance application may acquire and record missed episodes include traditional broadcast, cable, or satellite programming media sources and subscription-based media sources or purchase-based media sources, pay-per-view, VOD, Internet downloads, DVD providers, IPTV or any other type of media source.
• Atstep114 shown inFIG. 1B, the media guidance application may record missed episodes that have been identified as available in step112 (described below). At decision block116 a determination may be made whether the series aggregation is complete. The series aggregation may be considered complete if all episodes of the series aggregation have been recorded for the user based on the performance ofsteps110,112, and114.
• If the series aggregation is determined to be complete atdecision block116, then process100 shown inFIG. 1A may proceed to step106. If the series aggregation is determined to be incomplete atdecision block116 shown inFIG. 1B, then process100 shown inFIG. 1A may return to step112 shown inFIG. 1B to further identify missed episodes that are available for recording.
• In practice, one or more steps shown in process100 ofFIG. 1A may be combined with other steps, performed in any suitable order, modified, performed in parallel—e.g., simultaneously or substantially simultaneously—or deleted. For example, in one embodiment, step110 shown inFIG. 1B may be deleted if it is desirable for the media guidance application to acquire all episodes of the series aggregation, regardless of whether some episodes are already available. In other embodiments, step110 may be bypassed if the media guidance application determines that no episodes are already available to the user.
• In some embodiments, the return to step112 fromdecision block116 when a determination is made that the series aggregation is complete may be modified. For example, in some embodiments the return to step112 may occur continuously until missed episodes are identified as being available for recording. In other embodiments, the return to step112 may occur at a predetermined time interval (e.g., every10 minutes, every30 minutes, every hour, every12 hours, once a day, etc.). The return to step112 may occur based on an event, such as when the media guidance application receives new program data information. When the media guidance application receives new program data information, this may indicate that more missed episodes may become available shortly in the future that were not available previously.
• In some embodiments, recording missed episodes atstep114 may involve setting up an episode of the series aggregation for recording, and recording the episode at a later time. Therefore, the actual recording of the episode may occur after reachingdecision block116 because the episode may not be broadcast until some future time. In this embodiment, the determination of whether a series aggregation is complete atdecision block116 may involve determining if all episodes are already recorded or scheduled for recording. If this test is satisfied, process100 shown inFIG. 1A may still proceed to step106, but the media guidance application may not inform a user that the series aggregation is complete yet because some episodes have not been recorded, because these episodes may not be broadcast until some future time (i.e., the series aggregation is incomplete). In this embodiment all missed episodes have been identified as available currently or at some future time and are being currently recorded or will be recorded at some known future time. In other embodiments, the media guidance application may present the series aggregation, but may inform the user that the series aggregation is incomplete. In another example, a user may access an incomplete series aggregation at any step in process100. For example, it may be desirable to access the series aggregation after step110 shown inFIG. 1B when the episodes already available to the user have been identified.
• A complete or incomplete series aggregation may be accessed by displaying a list of all episodes in the series aggregation, where the episodes are displayed in the order in which each episode was originally presented. As described above, in some embodiments, the media guidance application may inform a user that a series aggregation is complete atstep106 shown inFIG. 1A. In other embodiments, the media guidance application may display an incomplete series aggregation. When an incomplete series aggregation is displayed, the media guidance application may indicate which of the episodes have been recorded, which episodes are scheduled for recording, and which episodes are not available for recording (see, e.g.,FIG. 10). In some embodiments, when an incomplete series aggregation is provided, only those episodes that have been recorded may be displayed. In other embodiments, only those episodes that have been recorded may be displayed with the episodes scheduled for recording or the episodes that are not available for recording. In some embodiments it may be desirable to display the missed episodes.
• It may be desirable to access an incomplete series aggregation if a part of a specified sequence of episodes of the series aggregation has been recorded. For example, if episodes2.1-2.3 and episodes2.7-2.10 of “The Sopranos” are available, the media guidance application may begin to present the series aggregation. In this example, the user may watch episodes2.1-2.3 and in the interim time in which the user is watching the episodes, the media guidance application may find that one or more of episodes2.4-2.6 and2.11-2.23 have become available and may be recorded. The media guidance application would essentially begin presenting an incomplete series aggregation from the beginning and fill in the gaps of the later missing episodes (i.e., complete the series aggregation) as the user is watching the beginning episodes.
• It will be appreciated that other specified sequences of incomplete series aggregations may be accessed prior to completion. For example, continuing the same example, in some embodiments, the user may begin watching at episode2.7 and watch episodes2.7-2.10, while the media guidance application gathers the remaining episodes of the series aggregation from episode2.11 onward. This may be desirable because the media guidance application may monitor a viewer's viewing history and be aware that the user has viewed or played episodes2.1-2.6 previously. Systems and methods for monitoring viewing histories to determine programming that has been viewed or played is discussed in greater detail in connection with Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/374,043, filed Aug. 13, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,762, Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/105,128, filed Feb. 21, 2002, and Cordray et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______ (Attorney Docket No. UV-377A), which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, and below in connection withFIGS. 3, 4 and9.
• In embodiments where a series aggregation is incomplete, a user may be provided with an opportunity to access and purchase, if necessary, missed episodes on-demand (e.g., video on-demand or VOD), from pay-per-view (PPV), from a DVD, downloading via the Internet, or in any other manner of accessing episodes other than from a broadcast media source. This embodiment may be desirable to a user if one or more episodes of a series aggregation are not available, or are available from a broadcast media source, but at a time in the future that is not desirable to the user. The time in the future may not be desirable to the user because the user would like to watch those one or more episodes of the series aggregation sooner than the time in the future when the program may be recorded by the user's recording device. For example, the system may prompt the user with, “You have all but three episodes, and those three are available for purchase at $1.99 each. Buy now?” or “The system has been searching for two missing episodes for more than90 days. Would you like to watch the series anyway, while we continue looking?” In some embodiments the user may be provided with the opportunity to record or acquire the remaining missed episodes from VOD, PPV, DVD, the Internet or any other manner aside from a broadcast media source. This may be desirable if a user wants to expedite creating the series aggregation. In some embodiments the user may be provided a choice between continuing to create the series aggregation from a broadcast media source (without additional payment) or acquiring some or all of the remaining missed episodes from one or more of the other media sources provided above (which may require payment). In some embodiments the user could get periodic updates on when the remaining missed episodes may be available and whether they may be acquired from other media sources for a payment.
• The media guidance application may organize all episodes of the series aggregation atstep106 shown inFIG. 1A, and any other time the user accesses an incomplete series aggregation, present the status of a series aggregation. The organization of all episodes of the series aggregation may involve both providing a display screen showing the series aggregation and/or gathering information and/or the episodes themselves from the recording device or devices where the episodes of the series aggregation are stored. Information used in organizing the series aggregation may be stored in a local or remote database or any other storage means. The information in one or more of these databases may be in any suitable data management format, environment, or application, for example, a relational database format, an object oriented database format, a data warehouse, a data directory, a knowledge management system, or any other suitable device, environment or application for storing and indexing related information. For purposes of illustration of the invention a data structure will be described to organize the information necessary for providing the series aggregation but any format, environment, or application may be utilized. Exemplary data structures for organizing episodes of a series aggregation will be described below, for example, in connection withFIGS. 2-4.
• FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of series aggregation information that is organized intoillustrative data structure200. Although not shown,data structure200 may include an identifier for the series aggregation that allows user equipment to recognize that the data structure contains series aggregation identifiers, thereby allowing the user equipment or other devices to correctly parse the data structure. It will be appreciated that multiple series aggregations may be created by the media guidance application and thus multiple instances ofdata structure200 corresponding to each series aggregation may be needed.
• Data structure200 may includefield202 that may include all episodes of a series aggregation.Field202 may include a list of episodes of the series aggregation and may identify each episode using episode identifiers.Field202 may be populated with a list of episode identifiers in response to a user's indication of interest to create a series aggregation, as instep102 of process100 ofFIG. 1. Episode identifiers for a series aggregation may be acquired from one or more of a service provider, data source, programming source, television distribution facility, or any other data provider, server, or media source (referred to herein collectively as the media sources). Episode identifiers will be discussed in further detail below in connection withFIGS. 3 and 4.Field202 may be organized in the form of a linked list of episode identifiers, an array of episode identifiers, a table of episode identifiers, or any other organization scheme of episode identifiers. It will be appreciated that all fields in data structures ofFIGS. 2-4 may be organized using any organization scheme.Field204 may include all episodes recorded of the series aggregation.Field206 may include all missed episodes of the series aggregation.Field208 may include all missed episodes of the series aggregation that are available and/or scheduled for recording.Field210 may include all missed episodes of the series aggregation that are unavailable.
• The types of features that can be specified by the series aggregation information ofdata structure200 may be more specific or less specific depending on the particular implementation. For example,data structure200 may include a field of other episodes in a series that relate to a series aggregation. Looking back to “The Sopranos” example, if the series aggregation for the data structure is forseason1 of “The Sopranos”, this field may include episode identifiers for episodes in seasons2-4 (i.e., episodes not in the series aggregation). This may be desirable to a user to enable a user to have episodic information for seasons or other groups of episodes for which a user is not currently creating a series aggregation.
• Whendata structure200 is created or instantiated for a series aggregation,field204 may be empty because the media guidance application may not yet be aware of any episode available to a user.Field206 may include all episodes of the series aggregation because the media guidance application considers all episodes whendata structure200 is created as missed episodes at this point in the process (i.e., step108 shown inFIG. 1B).Field208 may also be empty because the media guidance application may not have scheduled any episodes for recording yet or identified any episodes as being available yet. Initially, likefield206,field210 may include all episodes of the series aggregation because the media guidance application may not have queried yet media sources to see if episodes are available.
• When episodes are identified as available to the user (i.e., previously recorded) at step110 shown inFIG. 1B, episode identifiers (i.e., unique program IDs) for those episodes may be added tofield204. When an episode identifier is added tofield204, it may be removed fromfield206 and210 because the episode is no longer considered a missed episode or unavailable. In order to determine if an episode is available to a user the media guidance application may acquire episode identifiers for the episodes on the user's storage device (local or remote). The media guidance application may then compare the episode identifiers acquired from the user's storage device with those episode identifiers infield206 to determine whether the episodes on the user's storage device are needed for the series aggregation. As will be described in further detail below, for example, in connection with the system description inFIGS. 14-19, episode identifiers may be stored with the episode on a user's storage device at the time of recording. The episode identifiers may be included in the program guide data for each episode or program and may be available for storage with the episode or in a separate storage location. In other embodiments, episode identifiers may be acquired from one or more of the media sources after the episode is stored on the user's storage device.
• When episodes are identified as available for recording atstep112 shown inFIG. 1B, episode identifiers for those episodes may be added tofield208 shown inFIG. 2 and removed fromfield210. Atstep112 shown inFIG. 1B, episode identifiers may be acquired as part of program information data when querying when one or more of the media sources. The episode identifiers acquired as part of the program information data instep112 may be stored as a separate field indata structure200 shown inFIG. 2 or may be stored in a separate location in the user's storage device. Episodes may be identified as available for recording if an episode identifier from the program information data matches an episode identifier infield210. It is in response to this determination or match that the episode identifier for the matched episode is added tofield208 and removed fromfield210.
• In some embodiments,field208 may include two separate fields: (1) one field for those episodes that may be available for recording, but not scheduled for recording; and (2) one field for those episodes that may be available for recording and scheduled for recording. Episodes may be available for recording, but not scheduled for recording if the episode does not meet certain qualifications. For example, an episode may not be in a desired format (e.g., a user only wants to schedule high-definition programs to be included in the series aggregation and not standard-definition programs). In an embodiment where only one of the described fields is utilized infield208, an episode may only be added tofield208 if it meets all qualifications. In an embodiment where two fields are utilized forfield208, the media guidance application may be able to inform the user of episodes that do not meet all the user or system-specified qualifications. This may be beneficial to a user because a user may choose to record an episode not meeting all of the user's qualifications in order to expedite completion of a series aggregation.
• Another example of episodes available but not scheduled for recording may be episodes discussed above, such as premium episodes, like on-demand episodes, pay-per-view (PPV) episodes, DVD episodes, etc. An episode may also be available but not scheduled for recording if a scheduling conflict arises in recording programs. Conflict in scheduling series aggregation episodes and how these conflicts are resolved are discussed in greater detail below, e.g., in connection withFIG. 11.
• When episodes are recorded atstep114, episode identifiers may first be added tofield208 to indicate they are scheduled for recording and then when they are recorded they may be added tofield204 and removed fromfield206 and208. When a determination is made as to whether a series aggregation is complete atdecision block116 shown inFIG. 1B, the media guidance application may compare the identifiers infields202 and204 shown inFIG. 2 to determine if they are the same because this may indicate that all episodes of the series aggregation have been recorded. Alternatively, the media guidance application may determine iffield206 is empty because this may indicate that there are no missed episodes. When a determination is made that a series aggregation is complete atdecision block116 shown inFIG. 1B, the media guidance application may automatically create a DVD locally. For example, once the season of “The Sopranos” has been recorded locally, the media guidance application may automatically create one or more DVDs for long-term storage, with or without additional payment.
• FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of information for a missed episode that is organized intoillustrative data structure300.Data structure300 may be included as episode identifiers or entries infields206,208, and210 ofdata structure200 ofFIG. 2.Field302 may include an episode identifier for a missed episode of the series aggregation thatdata structure300 represents. Episode identifiers may be implemented in any number of ways, including: episode or program identification numbers that include either separately or together with the episode identifier a season identifier; identification by the name of the program, season number of the program, and episode number of the program; or any other implementation of identifying a specific episode of a series aggregation. The episode identifier infield302 ofdata structure300 allows user equipment to recognize that the data structure contains episode identifiers, thereby allowing the user equipment or other devices to correctly parse the data structure.
• Field304 may include information regarding the date, time, and channel a missed episode may be available. The particular broadcast (i.e., by date, time and channel) referred to infield304 may be the next available broadcast that meets the user- or media guidance application-specified qualifications. In some embodiments, an episode may be available on different dates, times, and channels sofield304 may include a list of entries for the missed episode. Including a list of entries for missed episodes infield304 may be beneficial for the following reasons. In one example, if a scheduling conflict occurs, having multiple available times to record a program may be beneficial to resolve the conflict. In addition, some of the episodes that match the missed episode identifier may have different characteristics and may be more or less desirable depending on various media guidance application settings. For example, if an episode is available in multiple formats (e.g., high-definition and standard-definition), one of these formats may be more desirable to the user than the others.
• In some embodiments there may be no entries infield304 indicating that the missed episode is unavailable. In this situation,data structure200 may be used as an identifier infields206 and210. If there are entries infield304 indicating that the missed episode is available,data structure200 may be used as an identifier infields206 and208. In some embodiments,field304 may indicate if a program is available on-demand and thus the date and time aspects of this field may not be necessary. Additionally,field304 may also indicate if a particular episode is available for purchase or free of charge.
• Field306 may indicate the one or media sources from which the missed episode is available. If there are multiple matches infield304 for an episode,field306 may include corresponding information for each entry infield304. The media sources may include a broadcast provider, satellite provider, cable provider, VOD provider, PPV provider, DVD provider such as Netflix, Blockbuster or any other DVD provider, Internet provider, any server, or any other provider of media. Each entry infield306 may include an identifier to the media source that can provide (through broadcast transmission, downloading, mail, etc.) the episode to the user. The identifier to the media source may include an identifier or other information that indicates where the episode is available at that media source to enable acquisition of the episode.
• Field308 may include format information for each entry infield304. As mentioned above, episodes may be transmitted in standard-definition, high-definition, or in any other available format. Different formats of programming are discussed in greater detail below in connection with the system diagrams ofFIGS. 14-19. Various other episode-specific information may also be included as a field indata structure300. Entries infield308 may correspond with those entries infield304.Field310 may include one or more users or the user equipment's history of a missed episode. For example, as discussed above, the media guidance application may monitor a viewer's viewing history to determine if a viewer has viewed or played an episode. As will be discussed below in greater detail in connection withFIG. 9, the media guidance application may receive an instruction from the user to not record episodes viewed or played previously with the series aggregation. In this embodiment, this episode may be constructively considered “recorded” and its episode identifier may be removed fromfield206 and added tofield204 even though the episode may not actually be recorded. Other approaches for resolving this problem using the data structures may be implemented, but, generally speaking, this approach may enable the series aggregation to be completed in accordance with the user's settings (i.e., to not record episodes the user has already viewed or played).
• The types of features that can be specified by the series aggregation information ofdata structure300 may be more specific or less specific depending on the particular implementation.
• FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of information for a recorded episode that is organized intoillustrative data structure400.Data structure400 may be included as episode identifiers or entries infield402 ofdata structure400 ofFIG. 4.Field402 may include an episode identifier for a recorded episode of the series aggregation thatdata structure400 represents. The episode identifier infield402 ofdata structure400 allows user equipment to recognize that the data structure contains episode identifiers, thereby allowing the user equipment or other devices to correctly parse the data structure.Field404 may include information regarding the media source in which the episode of the series aggregation is stored. For example, the episode may be stored on a storage device on a home network, on a local server, on a remote server, or any other storage device. Storage of episodes will be discussed in greater detail below in connection withFIGS. 14-19. The information about where the episode is stored on the media source may include an identifier or other information that indicates where the episode is available at that media source.Fields406 and408 are similar tofields308 and310 ofdata structure300 and their description applies equally todata structure400.
• As described above atstep116 of process100 ofFIG. 1, for example, the media guidance application can inform a user that a series aggregation is complete. Further details regarding the use ofdata structures200,300, and400 in accessing a series aggregation when it is complete are discussed in further detail below in connection withFIG. 10. The types of features that can be specified by the series aggregation information ofdata structure400 may be more specific or less specific depending on the particular implementation.
• FIGS. 5-13 show illustrative display screens that may be used to implement the systems and methods of the present invention. Some of these illustrative display screens (e.g.,FIGS. 5-11) provide a user with an opportunity to create a series aggregation.FIG. 5 shows illustrative program listings displayscreen500 that displays program listings. Various solutions for displaying program listings are found in Ellis, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/157,256, filed Sep. 17, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.Display screen500 providesgrid guide501 providing program listings from various sources.
• Display screen500 includes program listings organized by channel, time, or any other suitable category.Display screen500 includes program listing504 as an exemplary program listing.Program listing504 includes scheduledaggregation icon506 to indicate that an episode that is identified in that listing is scheduled to be recorded as part of a series aggregation. Scheduledaggregation icon506 may be displayed for a particular episode, for example, when a user has selected that episode to be included as part of a series aggregation atstep102 shown inFIG. 1. A program listing may include a canceledaggregation priority icon508 to indicate that the episode that was scheduled to be part of a series aggregation may not be recorded due to a conflict that the media guidance application resolved by canceling the scheduled recording based on aggregation priorities. Various icons may be included as part ofdisplay screen500 to indicate an episode's status as part of a series aggregation by accessing program guide information and/or the data structures of, e.g.,FIGS. 2-4. Aggregation priorities are discussed in more detail below, e.g., in connection withFIG. 11.
• In response to a user selection of a remote control INFO button whenhighlight window502 is over program listing504, a media guidance application may display an information display screen such asinformation display screen600 shown inFIG. 6.Information display screen600 may also be displayed in response to a user selection of a remote control INFO button while the user is watching a program, from any other display screen, or at any other time.Information display screen600 includestitle display602 and may include program video (not shown) for a program that is currently airing on a tuned channel.Information display screen600 also includes scheduled to be aggregatedicon604 that indicates that the episode is part of a series aggregation. Scheduled to be aggregatedicon604 may be displayed as a result ofstep108 shown inFIG. 1B and may be similar toicon506 ofFIG. 5.
• The media guidance application may provide a user with related program guide options ininformation display screen600. Related program guide options may includeaggregate series option606, remind option, lock option, other air times option, and other suitable program guide options. Examples of some of these and other options are illustratively shown in Rudnick et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/356,268, filed Jul. 16, 1999, and Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/105,128, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
• Atstep102 shown inFIG. 1A, the media guidance application may receive a user's indication of interest to create a series aggregation of selected episodes of a series by selecting “Aggregate”option606. The media guidance application may also receive a user's instruction to record missed episodes of a program series by selecting an “Aggregate” button on a user interface (e.g., remote control), described in more detail below, e.g., in connection withFIGS. 17-19. In response to the user selecting an “Aggregate” button on a user interface, the media guidance application may display a series aggregation setup display screen such as series aggregationsetup display screen700 shown inFIG. 7.
• FIG. 7 includes options that provide the user with the ability to set or to modify settings for series aggregations. For example,advanced setup option702,season setup option704,manual setup option706,alert user option708, canceloption710, and savesetup option714 may be provided indisplay screen700. Other options may be shown if desired. In some embodiments the options indisplay screen700 may be displayed as an overlay over the screen from which the user selected to create the series aggregation (e.g., while watching a TV program, from a grid guide, a search results display screen, etc.).
• A user may movehighlight window712 over any of these options and press a remote control OK button to select the option. For example, in response to a user selection ofseason setup option702, the media guidance application may allow the user to select which season or seasons should be included in a series aggregation (seestep102 ofFIG. 1). The season or seasons selected may identify the episodes of the selected series to be included in the series aggregation as shown, for example, instep108 ofFIG. 1B.
• A user may also select to search for an episode. For example, the media guidance application may allow the user to select to search descriptions, reviews or any other information using a keyword or keywords. The media guidance application may also make available collateral material about a series or episode that the user is searching for. The user may also select to search for episodes or series that might be of interest. For example, the media guidance application may, in response to a user selection to set up a series aggregation for a season of “Seinfeld”, display a display screen which may inform the user, “If you like Seinfeld, you may also like Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
• In response to a user selection ofmanual setup option704, the media guidance application may display a manual setup display screen which may allow a user to select manually which episodes to be included in a series aggregation (seestep102 ofFIG. 1). An illustrative manual setup display screen will be discussed in further detail below, e.g., in connection withFIG. 8. The episodes selected may also identify the episodes of the selected series to be included in the series aggregation as shown, for example, instep108 ofFIG. 1B.
• In response to a user selection ofadvanced setup option702, the media guidance application may display an advanced series aggregation setup display screen, which will be discussed in further detail below, e.g., in connection withFIG. 9. In response to a user selection ofalert user option708, the media guidance application may allow a user to select when to be alerted by the media guidance application with respect to the progress of completing the series aggregation. For example, the user may select to be alerted when the series aggregation is complete (e.g., all episodes within a series aggregation have been recorded), when a user-selected number of episodes in the sequence of episodes have been recorded where the sequence of episodes recorded enables a user to begin accessing the series aggregation (e.g., the first three episodes of the series aggregation, the first six episodes of the series aggregation, the seventh through twelfth episodes where the users viewing history indicates that the user has previously viewed episodes1-6, etc.), or at any other suitable time. Various alert options and display screens will be discussed in further detail below in connection withFIGS. 12A-12B. In some embodiments presenting episodes of the series aggregation as instep106 shown inFIG. 1A may allow the user to view the series aggregation.
• In response to a user selection ofsave setup option714, the media guidance application may save the settings that the user selected for the series aggregation. Using a series aggregation may invoke process100 fromFIG. 1 and the creation ofdata structure200 and other necessary information, for example,data structures200 and300 saving the settings may also involve saving the series aggregation that the user selected (including the associated data structure200) as part of the user's profile information. This may be useful in a multi-user environment, for example, if a user's profile information is used in connection with advanced series aggregation options discussed further below, e.g., in connection withFIG. 10. Finally, in response to a user selection of canceloption710, a media guidance application may exit to the previously displayed display screen, such asinformation display screen600 shown inFIG. 6 without creating a series aggregation.
• It will be appreciated that the options provided indisplay screen700 are merely illustrative and one or more options may be added or removed. For example, all of the advanced options fromFIG. 9 may be included indisplay screen700. In addition, one or more or all options may be removed such that certain options may be selected by default. For example, in one embodiment,option702 may be the only option provided in display screen700 (which may appear simply as an overlay) and may allow the user to select one of the pre-determined groupings of episodes (e.g., a particular season). In another embodiment, no options may be included and the media guidance application may determine which season (or other desired grouping of episodes) is associated with the selected program and create the series aggregation based on the default grouping. Default options may be set for creating a series aggregation and may include any one or more of the options provided inFIGS. 7 and 9.
• In response to a user selection ofmanual setup option706 shown inFIG. 7, the media guidance application may display a manual series aggregation setup display screen such as manual series aggregationsetup display screen800 shown inFIG. 8.FIG. 8 includes episode listings such aslisting802. Listing802 includesicon804 to indicate that a particular episode may have already been recorded as part of the series aggregation, or as part of a one-time recording that may be selected to be included as part of the series aggregation.
• Manual seriesaggregation display screen800 also includes delete thisepisode option806 that may provide a user with the ability to delete the episode from memory or storage devices that may be provided for storage. The media guidance application may provide the user with the ability to movehighlight window808 over delete thisepisode option806 to select to delete the particular listed episode that is associated with the delete thisepisode option806.Option810 may be included adjacent to a listing that may provide a user with the ability to record the episode as part of the series aggregation. Throughdisplay screen800, the media guidance application may receive a user instruction to select particular episodes of one or more seasons of a series to be recorded as part of a series aggregation or to be included as part of a series aggregation if the episode is already recorded.
• In response to a user selection ofadvanced setup option704 shown inFIG. 7, the media guidance application may display an advanced series aggregation setup display screen such as advanced series aggregationsetup display screen900 shown inFIG. 9.FIG. 9 includes advanced series aggregation options that provide the user with the ability to set or to modify settings for series aggregations. For example,aggregation priority option902, channels toaggregate option904, see allepisodes option906, days toaggregate option908, time toaggregate option910, aggregate episodes viewed beforeoption912,format option914, and savesetup option916 may be provided. Other options may be shown if desired.
• Advanced series aggregationsetup display screen900 includesaggregation priority option902 for a user to set the aggregation priority for a series aggregation. Aggregation priority may be set to high priority, medium priority, low priority, or any other suitable priority. In another embodiment, a media guidance application may provide a user with the ability to movehighlight window918 overaggregation priority option902 and to press a remote control “OK” button. The media guidance application may then provide the user with a series aggregation priority order display screen. An illustrative series aggregation priority order display screen will be discussed further in detail below, e.g., in connection withFIG. 11. Essentially, aggregation priority may allow the media guidance application to prioritize recordings of episodes as compared between different series aggregations, among episodes of a series aggregation, as compared to other recordings set-up (regular series recording, one-time recording, etc.), or many other prioritization.
• Advanced series aggregationsetup display screen900 shown inFIG. 9 includes channels toaggregate option904 for a user to set to record series aggregations from “free” channels, premium channels, on-demand channels, “pay-per-view” channels, or any other combination of channels. The series aggregation channel selections may also include, for example, the original channel for the program that was used to set the series aggregation, all possible channels, a user-selected selection of channels, a specific type of channel, such as broadcast or premium channel, or any other suitable selection of channels.
• Advanced series aggregationsetup display screen900 includes see allepisodes option906 for a user to see a list of all episodes in a series aggregation. In response to a user selection of see allepisodes option906, the media guidance application may display a series aggregation list display screen that lists all episodes that the user has selected to be included in a series aggregation. The list of all episodes can include episodes from all available media sources. An illustrative series aggregation list display screen will be discussed further, e.g., in connection withFIG. 10.
• Advanced series aggregationsetup display screen900 shown inFIG. 9 includes days toaggregate option908 for a user to set to record series aggregations only on specific days. A user may select a specific day, all days, or any other suitable combination of days.
• Advanced series aggregationsetup display screen900 includes time to aggregateoption910 for a user to set to record series aggregations only at specific times. The user may select to record the episodes during prime time, late night, early morning, daytime, same time of day as the selected episode, or any other time or combination of times. By default if the user does not select a time, the media guidance application may choose to record only episodes that air at times of day that a user does not typically watch television.
• Advanced series aggregationsetup display screen900 includes aggregate episodes viewed beforeoption912 for a user to set to record or not to record episodes that have been viewed before. The media guidance application may maintain a history of all episodes viewed by a particular user to make this determination. This determination may be part of the instructions received from the user to create a series aggregation of a selected series atstep102 shown inFIG. 1. This is discussed in greater detail above in connection withFIGS. 1, 3, and4.
• Advanced series aggregationsetup display screen900 includesformat option914 for a user to set to record standard definition, high definition, or any other format for episodes of a series aggregation.
• Finally, advanced series aggregationsetup display screen900 includes savesetup option916 for a user to save the settings that the user selects in advanced series aggregationsetup display screen900.
• As stated above, advanced series aggregationsetup display screen900 includes see allepisodes option906 for a user to see a list of all episodes in a series aggregation. In response to a selection of see allepisodes option906, the media guidance application may display a series aggregation list display screen such as series aggregationlist display screen1000 shown inFIG. 10. The media guidance application may display series aggregationlist display screen1000 on a platform that is different from the main television platform or other device where the aggregation occurs. For example, the media guidance application may display series aggregationlist display screen1000 on an Internet browser, cellular telephone or any other suitable device where the user may set up and schedule different series aggregations. The media guidance application may also create the aggregation on any suitable device. Finally, the media guidance application may display the series aggregation on any suitable device. With reference now toFIG. 10, series aggregationlist display screen1000 may list all episodes that are in the series aggregation, and may include episodes that have not been scheduled to be recorded, episodes that have been recorded, or episodes that have been scheduled to be recorded. Series aggregationlist display screen1000 includes episode listings such aslisting1002 that may include episode descriptions and any other information for episodes in a series aggregation.
• In order to provide access to a series aggregation, the media guidance application may accessdata structure200 fromFIG. 2.Data structure200 provides the three categories of episodes described above for episodes that are included in a series aggregation: episodes recorded (i.e.,field202 ofFIG. 2 andicon1004 ofFIG. 10); episodes that are scheduled for recording (i.e.,field208 ofFIG. 2 andicon1010 ofFIG. 10); and episodes that are unavailable for recording (i.e.,field210 ofFIG. 2 andicon1014 ofFIG. 10). When providingdisplay screen1000 ofFIG. 10, the media guidance application may referencedata structure200 ofFIG. 2 to provide information necessary to access the series aggregation.
• Icon1004 may be included in a listing to indicate that a particular episode may have already been recorded as part of the series aggregation or was already recorded by the user upon selecting to create the series aggregation. Regardless, each episode that hasicon1004 and as part of itslisting1002 may be included infield204 ofdata structure200 in indicating it is stored as part of the series aggregation. Series aggregationlist display screen1000 may also include delete thisepisode option1006 that may provide a user with the ability to delete the episode from memory or storage devices. The media guidance application may provide the user with the ability to movehighlight window1008 over the delete thisepisode option1006 to select to delete the particular listed episode that is associated with the delete thisepisode option1006.
• Icon1010 may be included in a listing to indicate that a particular episode may be scheduled to be recorded as part of the series aggregation.Icon1010 may be similar toicon506 and604 or FIGS.5 and6, respectively, and may be related tofield208 ordata structure200 ofFIG. 2. Series aggregationlist display screen1000 may also include cancel thisaggregation option1012 that may provide a user with the ability to cancel the recording of the episode as part of the series aggregation for an episode that is associated withoption1012.
• Icon1014 may be included in a listing to indicate that a particular episode may not be scheduled to be recorded as part of the series aggregation because, for example, the episode is not scheduled to be available in the foreseeable future from a broadcast media source. Series aggregationlist display screen1000 may also include order thisepisode option1016 that may provide a user with the ability to order the episode on-demand, on a DVD, on pay-per-view, or in any other suitable way. For example, if an episode is not scheduled to be available in the foreseeable future, the media guidance application may provide the user with the opportunity to select to order the episode on-demand, on a DVD, on pay-per-view, or in any other suitable way to avoid waiting for the episode to be available from a broadcast media source. These options may be provided indisplay screen1000 or in a separate display screen. In some embodiments some episodes may only be available from a broadcast media source. In this embodiment, order thisoption1016 may not be provided because it is only available for free from the broadcast media source. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may provide a user with information that a particular episode will be available for free in a certain number of days, so that the user may decide if he or she wants to pay money to get it sooner. In this embodiment, get this sooneroption1022 may be provided. To make the determination of whether the episode may be available sooner for an additional payment, the media guidance application may need to search a remote database. In response to selecting get this sooneroption1022, the media guidance application may provide the user with a series aggregation options display screen discussed further in detail below, e.g., in connection withFIG. 13.
• A user may also select anindividual listing1002 to see aprogram information screen600 shown inFIG. 6 for that episode. The individual episode may be deleted from the memory or storage devices that may be provided as storage frominformation screen600 shown inFIG. 6. The media guidance application may also display additional information oninformation screen600 about the highlighted episode or about all episodes on series aggregationlist display screen1000 shown inFIG. 10. The information may include a series episode title, an episodic description, guest actors or any other information of interest. The information may be found as a field in data structures, such asdata structure300 and400.
• Additional aggregation option1018 may be included in series aggregationlist display screen1000. A user may selectadditional aggregation options1018 to set up additional series aggregations that may be related to the series aggregation listed indisplay screen1000. For example, if the series aggregation listed indisplay screen1000 is the first season of “The Sopranos”, a user selection ofadditional aggregation option1018 may allow the user to select to create a series aggregation of the second season of “The Sopranos”, a program related to “The Sopranos” such as “Joey” in which the same actor from “The Sopranos” stars, or any other related program. As described above, this information of related groups of episodes to the selected series aggregation may be included as a field ofdata structure200.
• See allepisodes option1020 may also be included in series aggregationlist display screen1000. A user may select the see allepisodes option1020 to see a list of all the episodes in the series that may be selected to be included as part of a series aggregation. For example, if the series aggregation listed indisplay screen1000 is the first season of “The Sopranos”, a user selection of see allepisodes option1020 may allow the user to see a list of all the episodes of “The Sopranos”.
• In response to selectingaggregation priority option902, the media guidance application may provide the user with a series aggregation priority order display screen such as series aggregation priorityorder display screen1100 shown inFIG. 11.
• With reference now toFIG. 11, series aggregation priorityorder display screen1100 displays series aggregation listings for series aggregations, such aslisting1102. Listings may be displayed in the priority order that series aggregations in one series are given over series aggregations in another series. One listing may be displayed for each scheduled series aggregation. The media guidance application may allow the user to movehighlight window1104 over a listing and to use remote control navigation buttons to move the listing up or down. The priority order indisplay screen1100 may be used by the media guidance application to determine the priority of individual series aggregations with respect to all aggregations.
• An embodiment relating to priority of individual episodes with respect to episodes within the same series aggregation may be provided. For example, a user may desire to record the episodes that were originally broadcast earlier in the series before the episodes that were originally broadcast later in the series. For example, it may be desirable to record episode4.2 before episode4.10 if a conflict exists because it may be necessary to view episode4.2 before episode4.10. This embodiment would also present the series aggregation sooner while still presenting the episodes in the order that they were originally presented.
• FIGS. 12A and 12B show illustrative alerts for seriesaggregation display screens1200 and1202.Display screens1200 and1202 can be delivered to any device, such as a telephone, e-mail, SMS or any other suitable device.Display screen1200 may provide an alert indicating that a series aggregation is complete.Display screen1200 may provide the user with options regarding viewing the series aggregation in a display screen, such as in a display screen similar todisplay screen1000 ofFIG. 10. As indicated indisplay screen1200, the alert may appear as an overlay of a grid guide. This is merely provided for illustration and alerts may appear in some other display screen or manner including, for example, over television programming, in a login screen in response to logging into the media guidance application, in a welcome display screen in response to turning on television or other user equipment, etc.
• Display screen1202 ofFIG. 12B may provide an alert indicating that a series aggregation is incomplete. The alert indisplay screen1202 may be provided in similar display screens like the alert indisplay screen1200. The alert for an incomplete series aggregation may appear indisplay screen1202 when a specified sequence of episodes of a series aggregation has been recorded (e.g. episodes5.1-5.3—i.e., one beginning episode of a series aggregation). Further details and embodiments are discussed hereinabove, for example, in connection withstep116 ofFIG. 1.Display screen1202 may provide the user with options regarding viewing the series aggregation in a display screen, such as in a display screen similar todisplay screen1000 ofFIG. 10.
• In response to selecting get this sooneroption1022, the media guidance application may provide the user with a series aggregation options display screen such as series aggregationoptions display screen1300 shown inFIG. 13.Display screen1300 shows an illustrative display screen for providing various options to view episodes of a series that have already been broadcast.Display screen1300 provides several options from which a user may select to view episodes of a series.Display screen1300 may also include a program listing including information on channel, time, actors, or any other suitable information.
• Display screen1300 includes access episodes of a series on-demand option1304. A user may select this option to indicate a desire to access episodes of the series on-demand, for example, from a video-on-demand server. In response to selecting this option, the media guidance application may display a display screen that may include episodes of the series that may be accessed on-demand.
• Display screen1300 includes receive episodes of a series on aDVD option1306. A user may select this option to indicate a desire to receive a DVD with episodes of the series. In response to a user selection of this option, the media guidance application may send a DVD to the user with episodes of the series. The user's address may be acquired from the user profile information. The user may then be able to view the episodes of the series.
• Display screen1300 includes purchase episodes of aseries option1308. A user may select this option to indicate a desire to purchase episodes of a series, for example, on pay-per-view through a pay-per-view provider. In response to a user selection of this option, the media guidance application may provide the user with various payment options, or may collect payment using user profile information. The user may then be able to view the episodes of the series.Options1304 and1306 may or may not require payment.
• Display screen1300 includes download episodes of aseries option1310. A user may select this option to indicate a desire to download episodes of a series, for example, to user equipment device from the Internet. In response to selectingoption1310, the media guidance application may download episodes of the series to user equipment device from the Internet.
• Display screen1300 includes createseries aggregation option1312. In response to selectingoption1312, the media guidance application may display series aggregationsetup display screen700 shown inFIG. 7 to create a series aggregation. Creating a series aggregation may then follow the process as set forth in process100 ofFIG. 1. After completing the process100, the user may then be able to view the episodes of the series.
• An illustrative interactivemedia guidance system1400 in accordance with the present invention is shown inFIG. 14.System1400 is intended to illustrate a number of approaches by which media of various types, and guidance for such media, may be provided to (and accessed by) end-users. The present invention, however, may be applied in systems employing any one or a subset of these approaches, or in systems employing other approaches for delivering media and providing media guidance.
• The first approach represents a typical television-centric system in which users may access television (and in some systems music) programming. This is the approach described herein, but other approaches may be contemplated by the present invention. The television-centric approach includesprogramming sources1402 anddistribution facility1404. Media such as television programming and digital music is provided fromprogramming sources1402 todistribution facility1404, usingcommunications path1406.Communications path1406 may be a satellite path, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path or combination of such paths.
• Programming sources1402 (or media sources) may be any suitable sources of television and music programming, such as television broadcasters (e.g., NBC, ABC, and HBO) or other television or music production studios.Programming sources1402 may provide television programming in a variety of formats in high definition and standard definition, such as, for example, 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i, and any other suitable format.
• Distribution facility1404 may be a cable system headend, a satellite television distribution facility, a television broadcaster, or any other suitable facility for distributing video media (e.g., television programs, video-on-demand programs, pay-per-view programs) and audio media (e.g., music programming and music clips) to the equipment of subscribers of the corresponding cable, satellite, Internet or IPTV system. In some approaches,distribution facility1404 may also distribute series program episodes and other media to users, such as video and audio clips, web pages, and interactive applications, that may be offered to subscribers of a given cable, satellite, Internet or IPTV system.Distribution facility1404 may be any of the one or more media sources described herein, such as VOD provider, broadcast provider, Internet provider, or any other media source. There are typically numeroustelevision distribution facilities1404 insystem1400, but only one is shown inFIG. 14 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.
• Distribution facility1404 may be connected to varioususer equipment devices1408,1410, and1412. Such user equipment devices may be located, for example, in the homes of users. User equipment devices may includeuser television equipment1410,user computer equipment1412, or any other type of user equipment suitable for accessing media. User equipment1108 may be any type of user equipment (e.g., user television equipment, user computer equipment, cellular phones, handheld video players, gaming platforms, etc.) and, for simplicity, user equipment devices may be referred to generally asuser equipment1408.
• User equipment devices1408,1410, and1412 may receive media (such as television, music, web pages, etc.), series program episodes, and other data fromdistribution facility1404 over communications paths, such ascommunications paths1414,1416, and1418, respectively.User equipment devices1408,1410,1412 may also transmit signals todistribution facility1404 overpaths1414,1416, and1418, respectively.Paths1414,1416, and1418 may be cables or other wired connections, free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wireless signals), satellite links, or any other suitable link or combination of links.
• A second approach illustrated inFIG. 14 by which media and media guidance are provided to end users is a non-television-centric approach. In this approach media such as video (which may include television programming), audio, images, web pages, or a suitable combination thereof, are provided to equipment of a plurality of users (e.g.,user equipment1408,user television equipment1410, and user computer equipment1412) byserver1430 viacommunications network1426. This approach is non-television-centric because media (e.g., television programming) is provided by and delivered at least partially, and sometimes exclusively, via equipment that have not traditionally been primarily focused on the television viewing experience. For example, episodes desired by a user to be in a series aggregation may be provided by the Internet. Non-television-centric equipment is playing a larger role in the television viewing experience.
• In some embodiments for this approach,communications network1426 is the Internet. Thus a missed episode desired by a user to be included in a series aggregation may be downloaded from the Internet.Server1430 may provide for example a web site that is accessible to the user's equipment and provides an online guidance application for the user. In such approaches, the user's equipment may be, for example, a PC or a hand-held device such as a PDA or web-enabled cellular telephone that incorporates a web browser. In other embodiments,server1430 uses the Internet as a transmission medium but does not use the Web. In such approaches, the user's equipment may run a client application that enables the user to access media. In still other approaches,communications network1426 is a private communications network, such as a cellular phone network, that does not include the Internet.
• In yet other approaches,communications network1426 includes a private communications network and the Internet. For example, a cellular telephone or other mobile-device service provider may provide Internet access to its subscribers via a private communications network, or may provide media such as video clips or television programs to its subscribers via the Internet and its own network.
• The aforementioned approaches for providing media may, in some embodiments, be combined. For example, adistribution facility1404 may provide a television-centric media delivery system, while also providing users' equipment (e.g.,1408,1410 and1412) with access to other non-television-centric delivery systems provided byserver1430. For example, a user's equipment may include a web-enabled set-top box or a television enabled PC.Distribution facility1404 may, in addition to television and music programming, provide the user with Internet access whereby the user may accessserver1430 viacommunications network1426.Distribution facility1404 may communicate withcommunications network1426 over anysuitable path1434, such as a wired path, a cable path, fiber-optic path, satellite path, or combination of such paths.
• Media guidance applications may be provided using any approach suitable for the type of media and distribution system for which the applications are used. Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-alone applications implemented on users' equipment. In other embodiments, media guidance applications may be client-server applications where only the client resides on the users' equipment. For example, media guidance applications may be implemented partially as a client application on control circuitry on a user's equipment (e.g.,control circuitry1902 ofFIG. 19 discussed below), and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g.,server1440 ofFIG. 14 discussed below). The control circuitry may be configured to receive an indication of interest from a user to create a series aggregation of selected episodes of a series. The control circuitry may then transmit the indication to a remote server. The remote server may then collect episodes of the series, and organize the episodes in the order in which they were originally made available. The control circuitry may then receive from the remote server data indicating the collected and organized episodes.
• In still other embodiments, guidance applications may be provided as web sites accessed by a browser implemented on the users' equipment. In such online embodiments, control circuitry may transmit the indication of interest as, for example, a POST command, and the data indicating the collected and organized episodes may be received in a web page. Whatever the chosen implementation, the guidance application will require information about the media for which it is providing guidance. For example, titles or names of media, brief descriptions, episode identifiers, or other information may be necessary to allow users to navigate among and find desired media selections.
• In some television-centric embodiments, for example, the guidance application may be a stand-alone interactive television program guide that receives program guide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed, trickle feed, or data in the vertical blanking interval of a channel).Data source1420 insystem1400 may include a program listings database that is used to provide the user with television program-related information such as scheduled broadcast times, titles, channels, ratings information (e.g., parental ratings and critic's ratings), detailed title descriptions, genre or category information (e.g., sports, news, movies, etc.), program format (e.g., standard definition, high definition), episode identifiers (such as those used indata structures300 and400 ofFIGS. 3 and 4, respectively), and information on actors and actresses.Data source1420 may also be used to provide series program episodes, advertisements (e.g., program guide advertisements and advertisements for other interactive television applications), real-time data such as sports scores, stock quotes, news data, and weather data, application data for one or more media guidance applications or other interactive applications, and any other suitable data for use bysystem1400 indisplay screens500,600,700,800,900,1000,1100,1200,1300, or any other display screen. As another example,data source1420 may provide data indicating the types of information that may be included in interactive media guidance overlays (e.g., at the request of the user, absent user modification, etc.). The interactive media guidance application may query one or more media sources to performstep108 shown inFIG. 1 by querying data fromdata source1420 shown inFIG. 14,programming sources1402, servers or other equipment, such asserver1430, service providers such asservice provider1442,distribution facility1404, a device in thehome network1413,user equipment1408,1410 or1412, or any other suitable media source.
• Program guide data, including episode identifiers (such as those ofdata structures300 and400 ofFIGS. 3 and 4, respectively), may be provided to user equipment, including user equipment located onhome network1413, using any suitable approach. For example, program schedule data and other data may be provided to the user equipment on a television channel sideband, in the vertical blanking interval of a television channel, using an in-band digital signal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitable data transmission technique. Program schedule data and other data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog or digital television channels. Program schedule data and other data may be provided to the user equipment with any suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, in response to a request from user equipment, etc.). The frequency by which data is provided may, if desired, be linked to the querying of media sources for information regarding missed episodes (see, e.g., steps112 and114 ofFIG. 1B).
• In some television-centric embodiments, guidance data fromdata source1420 may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. For example, a guidance application client residing on the user's equipment may initiate sessions withserver1440 to obtain guidance data when needed. In some embodiments, the guidance application may initiate sessions withserver1440 via a home network server (e.g., a server located inhome network1413 that supports the user equipment devices located in home network1413).
• There may be multiple data sources (such as data source1420) insystem1400, although only one data source is shown inFIG. 14 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. For example, a separate data source may be associated with each of a plurality of television broadcasters and may provide data that is specific to those broadcasters (e.g., advertisements for future programming of the broadcasters, logo data for displaying broadcasters' logos in program guide display screens, etc.).Data source1420 and any other system components ofFIG. 14 may be provided using equipment at one or more locations. Systems components are drawn as single boxes inFIG. 14 to avoid overcomplicating the drawings.
• Data source1420 may provide data including episode identifiers (such as those ofdata structures300 and400 ofFIGS. 3 and 4) todistribution facility1404 overcommunications path1422 for distribution to the associated user equipment and home network1413 (discussed below) overpaths1414,1416,1418, and1419 (e.g., whendata source1420 is located at a main facility).Communications path1422 may be any suitable communications path such as a satellite communications path or other wireless path, a fiber-optic or other wired communications path, a path that supports Internet communications, or other suitable path or combination of such paths.
• In some television-centric and non-television centric approaches,data source1420 may provide guidance data directly touser equipment1408 overpath1424,communications network1426, and path1428 (e.g., whendata source1420 is located at a facility such as one of programming sources1402). In some embodiments of the present invention,data source1420 may provide guidance data directly to user equipment located on home network1413 (discussed below) overpath1424,communications network1426, and path1439 (e.g., whendata source1420 is located at a facility such as one of programming sources1402).Paths1424,1428, and1439 may be wired paths such as telephone lines, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, satellite paths, wireless paths, any other suitable paths or a combination of such paths.Communications network1426 may be any suitable communications network, such as the Internet, the public switched telephone network, or a packet-based network.
• User equipment devices, including user equipment devices located on home network1413 (discussed below), such as user television equipment and personal computers, may use the program schedule data and other interactive media guidance application data to display program listings and other information (e.g., information on series programs, digital music) for the user. An interactive television program guide application or other suitable interactive media guidance application may be used to display the information on the user's display (e.g., in one or more overlays that are displayed on top of video for a given television channel, such as display screens500,600,700,800,900,1000,1100,1200,1300, or any other display screen). Interactive displays may be generated and displayed for the user using any suitable approach. In one suitable approach,distribution facility1404,server1430, or another facility, may generate application display screens and may transmit the display screens to user equipment for display. In another suitable approach, user equipment may store data for use in one or more interactive displays (e.g., program schedule data, advertisements, logos, series program episodes, etc.), and an interactive media guidance application implemented at least partially on the user equipment may generate the interactive displays based on instructions received fromdistribution facility1404,server1430 or another facility. In some embodiments of the present invention, user equipment may store only the data that is used to generate the interactive television displays (e.g., storing series program episode information, storing logo data for a particular television broadcaster only if the logo is to be included in one or more interactive television displays). In some embodiments of the present invention, user equipment may store data that is not necessarily used to generate the interactive television displays (e.g., storing advertisements associated with a particular television broadcaster that may or may not be displayed depending on, for example, the outcome of negotiations with the television broadcaster). Any other suitable approach or combination of approaches may be used to generate and display interactive overlays for the user, such as display screens500,600,700,800,900,1000,1100,1200,1300, or any other display screen.
• In still other embodiments, interactive media guidance applications (television-centric and non-television centric) may be provided online as, for example, websites. For example,server1430 may provide an online interactive television program guide. As another example,user equipment1408 may be a mobile device, such as a cellular telephone or personal digital assistant (PDA). The mobile device may be web-enabled to allow the user to access an online guidance application (which may be modified from its original version to make it appropriate for a cellular phone). Alternatively, the mobile device may have an applet that communicates withserver1430 to obtain guidance data via the Internet.
• Server1430 may receive program schedule data and other data (e.g., series program episode information) fromdata source1420 viacommunications path1424,communications network1426, andcommunications path1432 or via another suitable path or combination of paths.Path1432 may be a satellite path, fiber-optic path, wired path, or any other path or combination of paths.User equipment1408 may access the online interactive media guidance application and other sources fromserver1430 viacommunications path1428.User equipment1408 may also access the application and other services onserver1430 viacommunications path1414,distribution facility1404, andcommunications path1434. For example, a cable modem or other suitable equipment may be used byuser equipment1408 to communicate withdistribution facility1404.
• User equipment such asuser television equipment1410,user computer equipment1412, and user equipment located onhome network1413 may access the online interactive media guidance application andserver1430 using similar arrangements. Episodes to be included in a series aggregation may be accessed through such arrangements as well.User television equipment1410 may access the online interactive media guidance application andserver1430 usingcommunications path1436 or usingpath1416,distribution facility1404, andpath1434.User computer equipment1412 may access the online interactive media guidance application andserver1430 usingcommunications path1438 or usingpath1418,distribution facility1404, andpath1434. User equipment located onhome network1413 may access the online media guidance application andserver1430 usingcommunications path1439 or usingpath1419,distribution facility1404, andpath1434.Paths1436,1438, and1439 may be any suitable paths such as wired paths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, wireless paths, satellite paths, or a combination of such paths.
• In some embodiments,system1400 may support other interactive applications in addition to the interactive media guidance applications. Such applications may be implemented using any suitable approach. For example, the interactive applications may be implemented locally on the user equipment or in a distributed fashion (e.g., using a client-server architecture in which the user equipment serves at least partly, and for at least some of the time, as the client and a server, such asserver1440 atdistribution facility1404,server1430, or other suitable equipment acts as the server). Other distributed architectures may also be used if desired. Moreover, some or all of the features of the interactive applications of system1400 (including the media guidance application) may be provided using operating system software or middleware software. Such operating system software and middleware may be used instead of or in combination with application-level software. In yet other approaches, interactive applications may also be supported by servers or other suitable equipment at one or more service providers such asservice provider1442. Regardless of the particular arrangement used, the software that supports these features may be referred to as an application or applications.
• For example, an interactive application such as a home shopping service may be supported by a service provider such asservice provider1442 that has sales representatives, order fulfillment facilities, account maintenance facilities, and other equipment for supporting interactive home shopping features. A home shopping application that is implemented using the user equipment may be used to access the service provider to provide such features to the user. The user equipment may accessservice provider1442 viadistribution facility1404 andcommunications path1444 or viacommunications network1426 andcommunications path1446. Communications paths such aspaths1444 and1446 may be any suitable paths such as wired paths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, satellite paths, or a combination of such paths.
• Another example of an interactive application is a home banking application. A home banking service may be supported using personnel at facilities such asservice provider1442. An interactive home banking application that is implemented using the user equipment may access the home banking service viadistribution facility1404 andcommunications path1444 or viacommunications network1426 andcommunications path1446.
• If desired, an interactive media guidance application such as a network-based video recorder or a video-on-demand application may be supported usingserver1440,server1430, a home network server, or equipment atservice provider1442. Video-on-demand content and video recorded using a network-based video recorder arrangement may be stored onserver1440 orserver1430 or a home network server or atservice provider1442 and may be provided to the user equipment when requested by users. An interactive television program guide, for example, may be used to support the functions of a personal video recorder (sometimes called a digital video recorder) that is implemented usinguser equipment1408. Illustrative equipment that may be used to support personal video recorder functions include specialized personal video recorder devices, integrated receiver decoders (IRDs), set-top boxes with integrated or external hard drives, or personal computers with video recording capabilities.
• Interactive applications such as media guidance applications (e.g., interactive television program guide applications and video-on-demand applications), home shopping applications, home banking applications, game applications, and other applications (e.g., applications related to e-mail and chat or other communications functions, etc.) may be provided as separate applications that are accessed through a navigation shell application (i.e., a menu application with menu options corresponding to the applications). The features of such applications may be combined. For example, games, video-on-demand services, home shopping services, network-based video recorder functions, personal video recorder functions, navigational functions, program guide functions, communications functions, and other suitable functions may be provided using one application or any other suitable number of applications. The one or more applications may display various overlays on user equipment including, for example, interactive television information on top of video for a given television channel.
• Interactive television program guide applications, home banking applications, home shopping applications, network-based video recorder and personal video recorder applications, video-on-demand applications, gaming applications, communications applications, and navigational applications are only a few illustrative examples of the types of interactive media guidance and other applications that may be supported bysystem1400. Other suitable interactive applications that may be supported include news services, web browsing and other Internet services, and interactive wagering services (e.g., for wagering on horse races, sporting events, and the like). Interactive television overlays that are displayed by these applications may also be customized in accordance with the present invention.
• Users may have multiple types of user equipment by which they access media and obtain media guidance. For example, some users may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobile devices. As shown inFIG. 14,home network1413 communicates withdistribution facility1404 andserver1430 overpaths1419 and1439 (and, in the case ofserver1430, communications network1426).Such home networks1413 may be located, for example, in homes of users or distributed, for example, among homes of users.Home networks1413 may each include a plurality of interconnected user equipment devices, such as, for exampleuser equipment devices1408,1410 and1412. In some embodiments, users may control in-home devices via a media guidance application implemented on a remote device. For example, users may access an online media guidance application on a website via a personal computer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA or web-enabled cellular telephone. The user may set settings (e.g., recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidance application to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guide may control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with a media guidance application on the user's in-home equipment.
• FIGS. 15-19 show illustrative arrangements for user equipment. An illustrative set-top box-based arrangement foruser equipment1410 is shown inFIG. 15.User television equipment1410 may be stand-alone or a part of home network1413 (FIG. 14).User television equipment1410 may include arecording device1506 shown inFIG. 15 such as a digital video recorder (e.g., a personal video recorder (PVR)) that uses a hard disk or other storage for recording episodes.Recording device1506 may alternatively be a digital video disc recorder, compact disc recorder, video recording device, video recorder, or other suitable recording device (not shown).Equipment1410 may also include atelevision1508. In some embodiments, such as when a user selects to create a series aggregation from high-definition channels, television1208 may be HDTV-capable. Input/output1502 may be connected to communications paths such as paths1516 and1536 (FIG. 15). Input/output functions may be provided by one or more wires or communications paths, but are shown as a single path inFIG. 15 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. Television programming, program guide data, episode identifiers (such as those ofdata structures300 and400 ofFIGS. 3 and 4), and any other suitable interactive media guidance application data or other data may be received using input/output1502. Commands and requests and other data generated as a result of user interactions with the interactive media guidance application may also be transmitted over input/output1502.
• Set-top box1504 may be any suitable analog or digital set-top box (e.g., a cable set-top box). Set-top box1504 may contain an analog tuner for tuning to a desired analog television channel (e.g., a channel comprising television programming, interactive television data, or both, to display video for an analog television channel when a user selects to create a series aggregation from an analog television channel), and multiple other tuners may also be provided. Set-top box1504 may also contain digital decoding circuitry for receiving digital television channels (e.g., channels comprising television or music programming, interactive television data, series program episode data, etc.). Set-top box1504 may also contain a high-definition television tuner for receiving and processing high-definition television channels. Analog, digital, and high-definition channels may be handled together if desired. Multiple tuners may be provided (e.g., to handle simultaneous watch and record functions or picture-in-picture (PIP) functions).Box1504 may be an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) that handles satellite television. If desired,box1504 may have circuitry for handling cable, over-the-air broadcast, and satellite content.
• Set-top box1504 may be configured to output media, such as television programs, in a preferred format. Because television programs may be received in a variety of formats, set-top box1504 may contain scaler circuitry for upconverting and downconverting television programs into the preferred output format used by set-top box1504. For example, set-top box1504 may be configured to output television programs in720p.In this example, the scaler circuitry may upconvert standard-definition television programs having480 lines of vertical resolution to720pformat and downconvert certain high-definition television programs having1080 lines of vertical resolution to720pformat.
• Box1504 may include a storage device (e.g., a digital storage device such as a hard disk drive) for providing recording capabilities.Box1504 may also be connected to arecording device1506 such as a video recording device, personal video recorder, optical disc recorder, or other device or devices with storage capabilities. In some embodiments,box1504 may be configured to record either standard-definition television programs or high-definition television programs. In some embodiments,box1504 may be configured to record both standard-definition television programs and high-definition television programs.
• Set-top box1504 contains a processor (e.g., a microcontroller or microprocessor or the like) that is used to execute software applications. Set-top box1504 may contain memory such as random-access memory for use when executing applications and/or recording episodes for a series aggregation. Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Hard disk storage inbox1504 or inrecording device1506 may be used to back up data and to otherwise support larger databases (e.g., program guide databases or other interactive television application databases) and storage requirements than may be supported using random-access memory approaches. Hard disk storage inbox1504 or inrecording device1506 may also be used to store and back up program guide settings or saved user preferences, such as user preferences that may be saved after a user selects (e.g. options shown inFIGS. 7 and 9), and to record episodes in a series aggregation.
• Set-top box1504 may have infrared (IR) or other communications circuitry for communicating with a remote control or wireless keyboard. Set-top box1504 may also have dedicated buttons and a front-panel display. The front-panel display may, for example, be used to display the current channel to which the set-top box is tuned.
• Set-top box1504 may also have communications circuitry such as a cable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment. Such communications may involve the Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths. If desired, the components of set-top box1504 may be integrated into other user equipment (e.g., a television or video recording device, video recorder or other recording device).
• Recording device1506 may be used to record videos provided by set-top box1504. For example, if set-top box1504 is tuned to a given television channel, the video signal for that television channel may be passed torecording device1506 for recording on a videocassette, compact disc, digital video disk, or internal hard drive or other storage device. In some embodiments,recording device1506 may be configured to record either standard-definition television programs or high-definition television programs. In some embodiments,recording device1506 may be configured to record standard-definition television programs and/or high-definition television programs depending on what a user may select atoption914 shown inFIG. 9.Recording device1506 may have communications circuitry such as a cable modem, an ISDN modem, a DSL modem, or a telephone modem for communications with other equipment. Such communications may involve the Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths, such as when a missed episode desired by the user to be included in a series aggregation may be downloaded from the Internet. The components ofrecording device1506 may be integrated into other user equipment (e.g., a television, stereo equipment, etc.).
• Recording device1506 may be controlled using a remote control or other suitable user interface. If desired, video recorder functions such as start, stop, record and other functions fordevice1506 may be controlled by set-top box1504. For example, set-top box1504 may controlrecording device1506 using infrared commands directed toward the remote control inputs ofrecording device1506 or set-top box1504 may controlrecording device1506 using other wired or wireless communications paths betweenbox1504 anddevice1506.
• The output ofrecording device1506 may be provided totelevision1508 for display to the user. In some embodiments,television1508 may be capable of displaying high-definition programming (i.e., HDTV-capable). If desired,multiple recording devices1506 may be used for multiple aggregations or norecording device1506 may be used. Ifrecording device1506 is not present or is not being actively used, the video signals from set-top box1504 may be provided directly totelevision1508. Any suitable television or monitor may be used to display the video. For example, if the video is in a high-definition format, an HDTV-capable television or monitor is required to display the video. In the equipment ofFIG. 15 and the other equipment of system1400 (FIG. 14), the audio associated with various video items is typically distributed with those video items and is generally played back to the user as the videos are played. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via external speakers (not shown).
• Another illustrative arrangement for user television equipment1410 (FIG. 14) is shown inFIG. 16.User television equipment1410 may be stand-alone or a part of home network1413 (FIG. 14). In the example ofFIG. 16,user television equipment1410 includes arecording device1602 such as a digital video recorder (e.g., a personal video recorder (PVR)) that uses a hard disk or other storage for recording video or missed episodes desired by a user to be in a series aggregation, for example, atstep108 shown inFIG. 1.Recording device1602 may alternatively be a digital video disc recorder, compact disc recorder, video recording device, video recorder, or other suitable recording device.Equipment1410 ofFIG. 16 may also include atelevision1604. In some embodiments,television1604 may be HDTV-capable. Input/output1606 may be connected to communications paths such aspaths1416 and1436 (FIG. 14). Television programming, program schedule data, and other data (e.g., advertisement data, data indicating one or more television channels for which the display of an overlay is to be customized, episode identifiers (such as those ofdata structures300 and400 ofFIGS. 3 and 4), etc.) may be received using input/output1606. Commands and requests and other data received from the user through a remote control may be transmitted over input/output1606.
• Recording device1602 may contain at least one analog tuner for tuning to a desired analog television channel (e.g., to display video for a given television channel to a user, to receive program guide data and other data) and multiple other tuners may also be provided.Recording device1602 may also contain digital decoding circuitry for receiving digital television programming, music programming, program guide data, and other data on one or more digital channels.Recording device1602 may also contain circuitry for receiving high-definition television channels, for example, if a user has selected to create a series aggregation from high-definition channels throughoption914 shown inFIG. 9. If desired,recording device1602 may contain circuitry for handling analog, digital, and high-definition channels.Recording device1602 also contains a processor (e.g., a microcontroller or microprocessor or the like) that is used to execute software applications.Recording device1602 may contain memory such as random-access memory for use when executing applications. Nonvolatile memory may also be used to store a boot-up routine or other instructions. The hard disk and other storage inrecording device1602 may be used to support databases (e.g., program guide databases, series aggregation information databases or other interactive television application databases). The hard disk or other storage inrecording device1602 may also be used to record video such as television programs or video-on-demand content or other content provided torecording device1602 over input/output1606.Recording device1602 may also store series aggregation information and episode identifiers for episodes that are part of a series aggregation, such asdata structures200,300, and400 ofFIGS. 2, 3, and4, respectively. Episode identifiers such as those indata structure400 ofFIG. 4 may be stored onrecording device1602 with its corresponding episode or as part of a separate storage database such as series aggregation information databases.
• Recording device1602 may have IR communications circuitry or other suitable communications circuitry for communicating with a remote control.Recording device1602 may also have dedicated buttons and a front-panel display. The front-panel display may, for example, be used to display the current channel to which the recording device is tuned.
• Recording device1602 may also have communications circuitry such as a cable modem, an ISDN modem, a DSL modem, a telephone modem, or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment. Such communications may involve the Internet or other suitable communications networks or paths.
• If desired, recording device1302 may include a satellite receiver or other equipment that has wireless communications circuitry for receiving satellite signals.
• Recording device1602 ofFIG. 16 orrecording device1506 ofFIG. 15 may record new video while previously recorded video is being played back ontelevision1604 or1508. This allows users to view video while episodes are being recorded in accordance with aggregation priorities set atoption902 shown inFIG. 9. Users may also press a pause button during normal television viewing. When the pause button is pressed, the current television program is stored on the hard disk ofdigital video recorder1602. When the user presses play, the recorded video may be played back. This arrangement allows the user to pause and to resume television viewing seamlessly.Recording devices1602 and1506 may also be used to present a previously-recorded program while simultaneously recording a new program.
• The set-top box arrangement ofFIG. 15 and the personal video recorder with a built-in set-top box arrangement ofFIG. 16 are merely illustrative. Other arrangements may be used if desired. For example, user television equipment may be based on a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), or any other suitable television equipment arrangement. If desired, the functions of components such as set-top box1504,recording device1602, a WebTV box, or PC/TV or the like may be integrated into a television or personal computer or other suitable device.
• An illustrativeremote control1700 for operating user television equipment1410 (FIG. 14) or suitableuser computer equipment1412 is shown inFIG. 17.Remote control1700 is only illustrative and any other suitable user input interface may be used to operate user equipment (e.g., a mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, voice recognition system, etc.).Remote control1700 may havefunction keys1702 andother keys1704 such as keypad keys, power on/off keys, pause, stop, fast-forward and reverse keys. Volume up and downkeys1706 may be used for adjusting the volume of the audio portion of a video. Channel up and downkeys1708 may be used to change television channels and to access content on virtual channels.Cursor keys1710 may be used to navigate on-screen menus or interactive displays, such as those shown inFIGS. 5-13. For example,cursor keys1410 may be used to position an on-screen cursor, indicator, or highlight (sometimes all generically referred to herein as a highlight or highlight region) to indicate interest in a particular option (e.g.,902-619,FIG. 9) or other item on a display screen that is displayed by the interactive television application.
• OK key1712 (sometimes called a select or enter key) may be used to select on-screen options that the user has highlighted. In one embodiment, the OK key1712 can be used to indicate interest in changing the order of priority for series aggregations. For example, when an aggregation priority option (902,FIG. 9) appears on a display screen, a user can press the OK key1712 shown inFIG. 17 to indicate interest in changing the order of priority for series aggregations. In response, an interactive screen such as that shown inFIG. 10 can appear.
• Keys1702 may includeRECORD key1714 for initiating recordings.MENU button1716 may be used to direct an interactive media guidance application to display a menu on the user's display screen (e.g., ontelevision1508 or1604 or on a suitable monitor or computer display).INFO button1718 may be used to direct an interactive media guidance application to display an information display screen. For example, when a user presses INFO key1718 while video for a given television channel is displayed for the user, an interactive television program guide may display a FLIP/BROWSE overlay including program schedule information for the current program on the given television channel on top of the video. As another example, when a particular program listing in an interactive television program listings display screen is highlighted, the user pressingINFO button1718 may cause an interactive television program guide to provide additional program information associated with that program listing (e.g., a program description, actor information, schedule information, etc.).
• AGGREGATE button1720 may be used to indicate a desire to create a series aggregation. For example, a user may useAGGREGATE button1720 or on-screen options to establish series aggregation settings for the interactive media guidance application. The series aggregation settings may be any of the settings provided in series aggregationsetup display screen700 shown inFIG. 7 or any other suitable settings (e.g.,display screen900 ofFIG. 9).AGGREGATE button1720 may be selected when, for example, a program is being viewed.AGGREGATE button1720 may also be selected when, for example, programinformation display screen600 shown inFIG. 6 is displayed.AGGREGATE button1720 may also be selected when, for example, program listings displayscreen500 shown inFIG. 5 is displayed. OnceAGGREGATE button1720 has been selected, the interactive media guidance application may display series aggregationsetup display screen700 shown inFIG. 7 and allow the user to be set up the series aggregation.
• EXIT button1722 may be used to exit the interactive media guidance application or to exit a portion of the interactive media guidance application (e.g., to cause an interactive television program guide to remove a FLIP, BROWSE, or other interactive television overlay from the display screen). In one example,EXIT button1722 can be associated with an exit option in a series aggregation setup display screen (e.g.,700,FIG. 7).GUIDE button1724 may be used to invoke an interactive television program guide (e.g., a program guide menu screen, program listings screen, or other program guide screen).
• The keys shown inFIG. 17 are merely illustrative. Other keys or buttons may be provided if desired. For example, a music button may be used to access music with the interactive media guidance application. An edit button may be used to edit stored content (e.g., to remove commercials, remove portions of a video, etc.). Alphanumeric buttons may be used to enter alphanumeric characters. A last or back button may be used to browse backward in the interactive media guidance application (e.g., to return to a previous channel, web page, or other display screen). Video recorder function buttons such as a play button, pause button, stop button, rewind button, fast-forward button, and record button, may be used to control video recorder functions (local or network-based) in system1400 (FIG. 14). A help key may be used to invoke help functions such as context-sensitive on-screen help functions.
• Illustrative user computer equipment1412 (FIG. 14) is shown inFIG. 18.User computer equipment1412 may be stand-alone or a part of home network1413 (FIG. 14). In the arrangement ofFIG. 18,personal computer unit1802 may be controlled by theuser using keyboard1804 and/or other suitable user input device such as a trackball, mouse, touch pad, touch screen, voice recognition system, or a remote control, such asremote control1700 ofFIG. 17. Video content, such as television programming or web pages having video elements, and interactive media guidance application display screens may be displayed onmonitor1506. Television and music programming, media guidance application data (e.g., television program guide data), video-on-demand content, video recordings played back from a network-based video recorder, and other data may be received frompaths1418 and1438 (FIG. 14) using input/output1808. User commands and other information generated as a result of user interactions through a remote control with the interactive media guidance application and system1400 (FIG. 14) may also be transmitted over input/output1808.
• Personal computer unit1802 may contain a television or video card, such as a television tuner card, for decoding analog, digital, and high-definition television channels and for handling streaming video content. Multiple video cards (e.g., tuner cards) may be provided if desired. An illustrative television tuner card that may be used may contain an analog television tuner for tuning to a given analog channel, digital decoding circuitry for filtering out a desired digital television or music channel from a packetized digital data stream, and a high-definition television tuner for tuning to a high-definition channel, for use, for example, when a user selects to create a series aggregation from high-definition channels inoption914 shown inFIG. 9. Any suitable card or components incomputer unit1802 may be used to handle video and other content delivered via input/output line1808 if desired.
• Personal computer unit1802 may contain one or more processors (e.g., microprocessors) that are used to run the interactive media guidance application or a portion of the interactive media guidance application.
• Personal computer unit1802 may include a hard drive, a recordable DVD drive, a recordable CD drive, or other suitable storage device or devices that stores video, program guide data, and other content such as missed episodes desired by a user to be in a series aggregation. The interactive media guidance application andpersonal computer unit1802 may use a storage device or devices to, for example, provide the functions of a personal video recorder.
• User equipment, such asuser equipment1408,user television equipment1410,user computer equipment1412, and user equipment located on home network1413 (FIG. 14), may be used with network equipment such asserver1430,server1440, a home network server, and equipment at service providers such asservice provider1442 ofFIG. 14 to provide network-based video recording functions. Video recording functions may be provided by storing copies of television programs and other video content on a remote server (e.g.,server1430 orserver1440 or a home network server) or other network-based equipment, such as equipment at a service provider such asservice provider1442.
• Video recordings may be made in response to user commands that are entered atuser equipment1408 or user equipment located on home network1413 (FIG. 14). In a personal video recorder arrangement, the interactive media guidance application may be used to record video locally on the user equipment in response to the user commands. In a network-based video recorder arrangement, the interactive media guidance application may be used to record video or to make virtual recordings (described below) on network equipment such asserver1430,server1440, a home network server, or equipment atservice provider1442 in response to the user commands. The user commands may be provided to the network equipment over the communications paths shown inFIG. 14. The personal video recorder arrangement and the network-based video recorder arrangement can support functions such as fast-forward, rewind, pause, play, and record.
• To avoid unnecessary duplication in a network-based video recorder environment,system1400 may provide network-based video recording capabilities by using virtual copies or recordings. With this approach, each user may be provided with a personal area on the network that contains a list of that user's recordings. The video content need only be stored once (or a relatively small number of times) on the network equipment, even though a large number of users may have that video content listed as one of their recordings in their network-based video recorder personal area. Personal settings or any other suitable data may be stored in a user's personal area on the network.
• The user television equipment and user computer equipment arrangements described above are merely illustrative. A more generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment1408,1410, and1412 (FIG. 14) and user equipment located on home network1413 (FIG. 14) is shown inFIG. 19.Control circuitry1902 is connected to input/output1604. Input/output1904 may be connected to one or more communications paths such aspaths1414,1416,1418,1428,1436, and1438 ofFIG. 14. Media (e.g., television programming, music programming, other video and audio, and web pages) may be received via input/output1904 (e.g., fromprogramming sources1402, servers or other equipment, such asserver1430, service providers such asservice provider1442,distribution facility1404, etc.). Interactive media guidance application data, such as program schedule or series program episode information for an interactive television program guide, may be received fromdata source1420 via input/output1904. Input/output1904 may also be used to receive data fromdata source1420 for other interactive television applications. The user may usecontrol circuitry1902 to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable data (e.g., series program episode information) using input/output1904.
• Control circuitry1902 may be based on anysuitable processing circuitry1906 such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, etc. In some embodiments,control circuitry1902 executes instructions for an interactive media guidance application or other interactive application (e.g., web browser) from memory. In client-server based embodiments,control circuitry1902 may include communications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidance application server, such asserver1440 ofFIG. 14.
• Memory (e.g., random-access memory and read-only memory), hard drives, optical drives, or any other suitable memory or storage devices may be provided asstorage1908 that is part ofcontrol circuitry1902. Tuning circuitry such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2 decoders or other digital video circuitry, high-definition tuners, or any other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of such circuits may also be included as part ofcircuitry1902, for use, for example, when a user desires to replace a standard-definition format of an episode recorded on user equipment device with a high-definition format of the same episode. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog, or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided. The tuning and encoding circuitry may be used by the user equipment to receive and to display, to play, or to record a particular television or music channel or other desired audio and video content (e.g., video-on-demand content or requested network-based or local video recorder playback). Television programming and other video and on-screen options and information (e.g., interactive screens ofFIGS. 5-13) may be displayed ondisplay1910.Display1910 may be a monitor, a television, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual images. In some embodiments,display1910 may be HDTV-capable.Speakers1912 may be provided as part of a television or may be stand-alone units. Digital music and the audio component of videos displayed ondisplay1910 may be played throughspeakers1912. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio viaspeakers1912.
• A user may control thecontrol circuitry1902 usinguser input interface1914.User input interface1914 may be any suitable user interface, such as a mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touch pad, voice recognition interface, or a remote control.
• Peripheral device1918 may also be connected toprocessing circuitry1906 overcommunications path1916. Peripheral devices may include cellular phones, personal data assistants, handheld media players, and any other suitable peripheral device.Communications path1916 may include for example, USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, or wireless paths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared).Processing circuitry1906 may provide content and data toperipheral device1918.
• It should be understood by one skilled in the art that media guidance applications may also record the episodes in formats that are suitable for display by peripheral devices connected to user equipment devices without departing from the scope of the present invention. The user equipment devices may transfer the suitable formats of the content to the peripheral devices to which they are connected.
• In some embodiments, the media guidance application may adjust the format of recorded episodes based on the capabilities of the user equipment device accessing the episodes. For example, the display format of some media may be different when played back by a laptop computer, I-Video device, media player, mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or BlackBerry™. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may record missed episodes in the highest definition format available, and may translate the display format into a smaller size or resolution appropriate for the accessing device.
• The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiments described herein are presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the invention is limited only by the claims which follow.

Claims (41)

1. A method for presenting episodes of a series for a user, comprising:

receiving an indication of interest in episodes of a series from a user;

collecting the episodes of the series for viewing by the user;

organizing the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available; and

presenting the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available.

2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises notifying the user when all episodes of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available.

3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises:

notifying the user when each episode of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available; and

presenting a sequence of episodes of the series, wherein the sequence of episodes includes the beginning episodes of the series.

4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising providing the user with a plurality of options for collecting the episodes of the series, the plurality of options comprising at least:

a first option that does not require any additional payment and collects the episodes of the series from free sources; and

a second option that does require additional payment and collects at least one episode of the series from at least one of a plurality of different media sources that are not free.

5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the plurality of different media sources that are not free comprises at least two of:

a broadcast provider that is not free;

a cable provider that is not free;

a satellite provider that is not free;

a video-on-demand (VOD) server that is not free;

a pay-per-view provider;

a DVD provider;

the Internet;

the user's digital video recorder; and

a telephone.

6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series comprises automatically receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series for a season, wherein the episodes of interest are in the season.

7. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising notifying the user of the status of the collecting of the episodes of the series.

8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein collecting the episodes of the series comprises:

identifying the episodes of the series to be collected;

identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user; and

identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording.

9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein:

identifying the episodes of the series to be collected comprises including the identified episodes in a list of missed episodes;

identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user comprises removing the episodes that are already available from the list of missed episodes; and

identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording further comprises removing the recorded episodes from the list of missed episodes.

10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein collecting the episodes of the series for viewing by the user comprises collecting the episodes of the series out of the order in which they were originally made available for viewing by the user.

11. A system for presenting episodes of a series for a user, comprising:

an interactive media guidance application implemented at least partially on control circuitry configured to:

collect episodes of a series for viewing by a user; and

organize the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available so that they may be viewed by the user in the order in which they were originally made available.

12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

receive an indication of interest in episodes of a series from a user; and

present the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available.

13. The system ofclaim 12, wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises notifying the user when all episodes of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available.

14. The system ofclaim 12, wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises:

notifying the user when each episode of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available; and

presenting a sequence of episodes of the series, wherein the sequence of episodes includes the beginning episodes of the series.

15. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to provide the user with a plurality of options for collecting the episodes of the series, the plurality of options comprising at least:

a first option that does not require any additional payment and collects the episodes of the series from free sources; and

a second option that does require additional payment and collects at least one episode of the series from at least one of a plurality of different media sources that are not free.

16. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the plurality of different media sources that are not free comprises at least two of:

a broadcast provider that is not free;

a cable provider that is not free;

a satellite provider that is not free;

a video-on-demand (VOD) server that is not free;

a pay-per-view provider;

a DVD provider;

the Internet;

the user's digital video recorder; and

a telephone.

17. The system ofclaim 12, wherein receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series comprises automatically receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series for a season, wherein the episodes of interest are in the season.

18. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to notify the user of the status of the collecting of the episodes of the series.

19. The system ofclaim 11, wherein collecting the episodes of the series comprises:

identifying the episodes of the series to be collected;

identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user; and

identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording.

20. The system ofclaim 19, wherein:

identifying the episodes of the series to be collected comprises including the identified episodes in a list of missed episodes;

identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user comprises removing the episodes that are already available from the list of missed episodes; and

identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording further comprises removing the recorded episodes from the list of missed episodes.

21. The system ofclaim 11, wherein collecting the episodes of the series for viewing by the user comprises collecting the episodes of the series out of the order in which they were originally made available for viewing by the user.

22. A method for presenting episodes of a series for a user, comprising:

receiving an indication of interest in episodes of a series from a user;

in response to the indication, transmitting to a remote server a request to collect the episodes of the series for viewing by the user and to organize the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available;

receiving from the remote server data indicating the collected and organized episodes; and

presenting the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available.

23. The method ofclaim 22, wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises notifying the user when all episodes of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available.

24. The method ofclaim 22, wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises:

notifying the user when each episode of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available; and

presenting a sequence of episodes of the series, wherein the sequence of episodes includes the beginning episodes of the series.

25. The method ofclaim 22, further comprising providing the user with a plurality of options for collecting the episodes of the series, the plurality of options comprising at least:

a first option that does not require any additional payment and collects the episodes of the series from free sources; and

a second option that does require additional payment and collects at least one episode of the series from at least one of a plurality of different media sources that are not free.

26. The method ofclaim 25, wherein the plurality of different media sources that are not free comprises at least two of:

a broadcast provider that is not free;

a cable provider that is not free;

a satellite provider that is not free;

a video-on-demand (VOD) server that is not free;

a pay-per-view provider;

a DVD provider;

the Internet;

the user's digital video recorder; and

a telephone.

27. The method ofclaim 22, wherein receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series comprises automatically receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series for a season, wherein the episodes of interest are in the season.

28. The method ofclaim 22, further comprising notifying the user of the status of the collecting of the episodes of the series.

29. The method ofclaim 22, wherein collecting the episodes of the series comprises:

identifying the episodes of the series to be collected;

identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user; and

identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording.

30. The method ofclaim 29, wherein:

identifying the episodes of the series to be collected comprises including the identified episodes in a list of missed episodes;

identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user comprises removing the episodes that are already available from the list of missed episodes; and

identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording further comprises removing the recorded episodes from the list of missed episodes.

31. The method ofclaim 22, wherein collecting the episodes of the series for viewing by the user comprises collecting the episodes of the series out of the order in which they were originally made available for viewing by the user.

32. A system for presenting episodes of a series for a user, comprising:

an interactive media guidance application implemented at least partially on control circuitry configured to:

receive an indication of interest in episodes of a series from a user;

in response to the indication, transmit to a remote server a request to collect the episodes of the series for viewing by the user and to organize the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available;

receive from the remote server data indicating the collected and organized episodes; and

present the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available.

33. The system ofclaim 32, wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises notifying the user when all episodes of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available.

34. The system ofclaim 32, wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises:

notifying the user when each episode of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available; and

presenting a sequence of episodes of the series, wherein the sequence of episodes includes the beginning episodes of the series.

35. The system ofclaim 32, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to provide the user with a plurality of options for collecting the episodes of the series, the plurality of options comprising at least:

a first option that does not require any additional payment and collects the episodes of the series from free sources; and

a second option that does require additional payment and collects at least one episode of the series from at least one of a plurality of different media sources that are not free.

36. The system ofclaim 35, wherein the plurality of different media sources that are not free comprises at least two of:

a broadcast provider that is not free;

a cable provider that is not free;

a satellite provider that is not free;

a video-on-demand (VOD) server that is not free;

a pay-per-view provider;

a DVD provider;

the Internet;

the user's digital video recorder; and

a telephone.

37. The system ofclaim 32, wherein receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series comprises automatically receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series for a season, wherein the episodes of interest are in the season.

38. The system ofclaim 32, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to notify the user of the status of the collecting of the episodes of the series.

39. The system ofclaim 32, wherein collecting the episodes of the series comprises:

identifying the episodes of the series to be collected;

identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user; and

identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording.

40. The system ofclaim 39, wherein:

identifying the episodes of the series to be collected comprises including the identified episodes in a list of missed episodes;

identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user comprises removing the episodes that are already available from the list of missed episodes; and

identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording further comprises removing the recorded episodes from the list of missed episodes.

41. The system ofclaim 32, wherein collecting the episodes of the series for viewing by the user comprises collecting the episodes of the series out of the order in which they were originally made available for viewing by the user.

Images