초록 ▼

EPG services are provided, which enables a device such as a computer, a set top box or the like to collect EPG data from multiple EPG data providers or sources. The EPG data is collected at the device by EPG loaders. Each EPG loader collects EPG data from a particular source. The EPG loaders deliver

EPG services are provided, which enables a device such as a computer, a set top box or the like to collect EPG data from multiple EPG data providers or sources. The EPG data is collected at the device by EPG loaders. Each EPG loader collects EPG data from a particular source. The EPG loaders deliver the EPG data to a writer module, which performs scaling and formatting functions to the EPG data. The writer module also stores the scaled and formatted EPG data in a database or other storage. Once stored, applications gain access to the EPG data through a control module. The writer module may also be implemented by chaining EPG loaders in a priority scheme. However, EPG loader interaction reduces independence and forces more rigid interface and implementation constraints upon the design of EPG loaders. The control module provides the accessed EPG data to the applications. EPG services function to isolate the operation of the applications from the EPG data sources. Because the EPG data is stored by the writer module and accessed by the control module, the applications and EPG data sources can change independently of one another without having an effect on the ability of EPG services to collect and provide access to EPG data.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. In a system having one or more applications, a method for scaling, storing, and managing electronic program guide (EPG) data received from one or more EPG data providers comprising the acts of: receiving EPG data from one or more EPG data providers, the EPG data comprising ch

What is claimed is: 1. In a system having one or more applications, a method for scaling, storing, and managing electronic program guide (EPG) data received from one or more EPG data providers comprising the acts of: receiving EPG data from one or more EPG data providers, the EPG data comprising channel data, and time period data; in order to accommodate storage of selected and scaled portions of the received EPG data and thereby exclude from storage remaining portions of the received EPG data, scaling the received EPG data, wherein said scaling includes prior to storing the received EPG data, scaling the received EPG data temporally, wherein the temporal scaling includes making a determination, using the time period data of the received EPG data, of whether portions of the received EPG data will be excluded from storage, wherein the determination is made by means of adjustable and user-definable time range system settings which define at least one time range for which collected EPG data will be stored, and wherein EPG data that has a time period outside the at least one time range will be excluded from being stored, and prior to storing the received EPG data, scaling the received EPG data selectively to a variable and customizable level of richness, wherein the variable and customizable level of richness is determined by adjustable and user-definable system settings, and whereby a variable amount of the received EPG data will be stored corresponding to the variable and customizable level of richness, and a variable amount of the received EPG data that does not correspond to the variable and customizable level of richness will be excluded from being stored; and subsequent to scaling the received EPG data, writing the portions of the received EPG data that were scaled and thereby selected for storage into a storage associated with the system, and to thereby selectively limit an amount of the received EPG data that is actually stored such that the EPG data stored by the system is altered from the EPG data received from the one or more EPG data providers and such that at least some of the received EPG data is selectively excluded from being written to the storage. 2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the act of receiving EPG data comprises an act of receiving EPG data from a plurality of EPG data providers in a plurality of different formats, the method further comprising reformatting the received EPG data into a standardized format compatible with the system, wherein the act of receiving EPG data from a plurality of EPG data providers in a plurality of different formats comprises the following: an act of receiving EPG data from a first EPG data provider using a first loader module; and an act of receiving EPG data from a second EPG data provider using a second loader module. 3. A method as defined in claim 2, further comprising the following: an act of implementing conflict resolution for the first and second loader modules. 4. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein the first and second loader modules follow a priority scheme. 5. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising an act of limiting the amount of the scaled EPG data that may be placed in the storage. 6. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising an act of removing expired EPG data from the storage. 7. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising an act of accessing, for the one or more applications, the EPG data in the storage. 8. A computer program product for use in a system having one or more applications, the computer program product for implementing a method for managing electronic program guide (EPG) data received from one or more EPG data providers, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable storage media having thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the system, cause the system to perform the method described in claim 1. 9. A computer program product as defined in claim 8, wherein the act of receiving EPG data comprises an act of receiving EPG data from a plurality of EPG data providers in a plurality of different formats, the method further comprising reformatting the received EPG data into a standardized format compatible with the system, wherein the computer-executable instructions for performing the act of receiving EPG data from a plurality of EPG data providers in a plurality of different formats comprise computer-executable instructions for performing the following: an act of detecting receipt of EPG data from a first EPG data provider using a first loader module; and an act of detecting receipt of EPG data from a second EPG data provider using a second loader module. 10. A computer program product as defined in claim 9, wherein the one or more computer-readable storage media further have thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to implement conflict resolution for the first and second loader modules. 11. A computer program product as defined in claim 8, wherein computer-executable instructions for scaling the EPG data further comprise computer-executable instructions for selectively scaling the EPG data according to time. 12. A computer program product as defined in claim 8, wherein the one or more computer-readable storage media further have thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to limit the amount of the scaled EPG data that may be placed in the storage. 13. A computer program product as defined in claim 8, wherein the one or more computer-readable storage media further have thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to remove expired EPG data from the storage. 14. A computer program product as defined in claim 8, wherein the one or more computer-readable media further have thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to access the EPG data in the storage for the one or more applications. 15. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the scaling results in the stored EPG data corresponding to more impending broadcast times being richer than EPG data corresponding to less impending broadcast times. 16. A computer program product as recited in claim 8, wherein the scaling results in the stored EPG data corresponding to more impending broadcast times being richer than EPG data corresponding to less impending broadcast times. 17. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the scaling comprises: providing a first, a second and a third level of richness to be selected corresponding to programming to be received from the one or more EPG providers; and selecting, in response to user input, at least one of the first, the second and the third level of richness. 18. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein selecting the first level of richness limits the variable amount of collected EPG data to be stored for programming received during a first period of time to titles, descriptions and at least some attributes and properties corresponding to said programming of the first period of time; wherein selecting the second level of richness limits the variable amount of collected EPG data to be stored for programming received during a second period of time to titles and descriptions, without said at least some attributes and properties, corresponding to said programming of the second period of time; and wherein selecting the first level of richness limits the variable amount of collected EPG data to be stored for programming received during a third period of time to titles, without said descriptions and without said at least some attributes and properties, corresponding to said programming of the third period of time. 19. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein the method includes selecting all three levels of richness, each level of richness corresponding to a different period of time. 20. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein different scaling is performed for different channels. 21. A method as recited in claim 20, wherein all of the EPG data for at least one of the channels is excluded from being stored. 22. A computer program product as recited in claim 8, wherein the storage associated with the system is a database containing EPG data. 23. A method recited as recited in claim 1, wherein the received EPG data is also scaled with regard to language of descriptive textual EPG data contained within the received EPG data, wherein the received EPG data is selected to be stored only if the descriptive textual EPG data matches system language preferences and received EPG data in other languages is excluded from being stored.