Patent attributes
A channel block switching system enables a viewer to browse linear channels by switching through blocks of channels as a group instead of switching one channel at a time. Each channel block is displayed as an arrangement of channel windows. Each channel window displays the linear video content of one of the channels in the channel block allowing the viewer to select a channel to watch based on the linear visual content rather than from a static image or a description of the content. The channel block switching system enables display of the channel block using the lowest available resolution. The channel block switching system allows the viewer to listen to the audio content of any channel in the channel block being displayed with the audio for the remaining channels being muted and, optionally, displaying closed captioning.
