METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ORGANIZING, SORTING AND NAVIGATING MULTIMEDIA CONTENT

摘要

An improved method and apparatus for organizing, sorting, navigating and selecting for use, one or more multimedia content items available from tone or more varied types of multimedia content sources, based on a multimedia content user's characteristics, preferences and entitlements, and multimedia content item attributes and characteristics. In a first aspect of the invention, a method and architecture (Fig. 12) are disclosed which uses an information structure hierarchy of parameter sets and their associated information fields contained therein (Fig. 1) to facilitate identification, description, location and characterization of multimedia content items, multimedia content sources, and user characterizing information. In a second aspect of the invention, a method and architecture are disclosed for sorting multimedia content items by applying sorting criteria expressed in the type and format of the multimedia content item, multimedia content source and user identification, description, location and characteristics information (Fig. 10, 11), at the time of content creation, distribution and delivery through a multimedia content source and at the time multimedia content is selected by a multimedia content user (Fig. 9), for the purposes of identifying and presenting those items appropriate for a particular multimedia content user. In a third aspect of the invention, a method and architecture are disclosed for displaying on a television or computer screen connected to a multimedia terminal, a plurality of video windows containing a menu and visual rendering (Fig. 13) of only those multimedia content items identified as appropriate for the particular multimedia content user, based on the sorting criteria. In a fourth aspect of the invention, a method and architecture are disclosed for navigating the plurality of display windows (Fig. 15 through 20) for the purposes of selecting a multimedia content for use by the particular multimedia content user.