CA1249032A - Pay per view entertainment system - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT

In a pay per view entertainment system, prerecorded entertainment such as musical works are distributed to subscribers over a cable network. The subscribers are able to listen to edited versions or previews of the complete musical works and to select desired musical works for recording.
Before the musical work is recorded on a special receiver, the subscriber is billed for the service.

Description

~L2~

A PAY PER VIEW ENTERTAIN~ENT SYSTEM

7 ., BACKGROUND OF THE INVE~TION

9 j l. Field of the Invention ll ,l The present invention relates ~o a pay per view 12 entertainment system, and more specifically, to a pay per view 13 ;I cable system in which subscrlbers are able to select, record, 14 and pay for audio entertainment in their homes.

16 2. Description of the Prior Art 18 The recording industry produces an enormous amount of 19 ~ recorded material for distribution to the public. The rather archa:c distribution and promotion system of the recording 21~ i~.dustry enables the consuming public to hear only a small 22 portion of recorded material prior to purchase. The industry's 23 distribution system enables only a relatively small number of 24 recorded works to be packaged in cellophane and sent to retail 2S outlets for purchase by the consumer. Unless the consumer is 26 amiliar with artists or has heard the recording an the radio 27 or television, the cons~er has no ~nowledge of what is in the ~ cellophane wrapped package and has no op?ortunity to listen to 29 the recording. Consequently, large amounts of commercial quality music go unpurchased, 3%

1 The advent of cable television has made it possible

2 for prerecorded films and other televlsion programs to ~e

3 distributed to the public on a pay per view basis. These pay

4 per view systems enable a rather large audience of viewers to tune in to the selected programs at a predetermined time. Such 6 a pay per view system does not presently exist for prerecorded 7 music, because there is no way to economically distribute the 8 rather wide variety of prerecorded music to the large number of 9 consumers that might be interested in paying for such entertain~ent on a pay per view basis.

12 Acc~rdingly, there is a need for a pay per view system 13 to distribute prerecorded music to the consuming public.

17 The present invention relates to a system for 18 distributing prerecorded entertainment to the consuming l9 public. The system includes a source of prerecorded entertainment that is in the form of complete musical works and 21 highlighted selections or previews o~ these complete musical 22 works. The source uses ccmpact disc mastering eguipment or ~3 cart duplication equipment to make the prerecorded musical 24 entertainment available to an operator. The operator possesses playback equipment that is connected to .~ network of ~oaxial 26 cable. The coaxial cable connects the operator to each 27 individual subscriber. Each individual subscriber posses a 2~ receiver which is capable of receiving the previews of the ~9 complete musical works. I the subscriber is desirous of making a recording of the com~lete music~l work, he enters data 3%

l into a keyboard and the receiver records the desired 2 selection. The service charge associated with the recording of 3 the selected musical work is automatically charged to the 4 subscriber.

7 .
8 Figure l is a block diagram of the pay per view 9 entertainment system of the present invention;

11 ,', Figure 2 is a flow diagram of the distribution of 12 ~, prerecorded entertainment between the system source and system 13 ~ operators;

Figure 3 is a flow diagram o the distribution of 16 prerecorded entertai~ment from the system operator to ::
17 subscribers and the payment of subscribers for such services;

19 Figure 4 is a block diagram of the equipment of the system operators for distributing the prerecorded entertainment;
21 ,-2~ Figure 5 is a block diagram of a recsiver used by 23 subscrlbers to receive the prerecorded entertainment;

Figure 6 is a plan view of the receiver for 26 subscribers:

28 Figure 7 is a side view of the receiver of Fig. 6; and Figure 8 is a rear view of the receiver illustrated in Fig. 6.

1 DETAILED DESC~IPTION OF_I~VENTION

3 Referring now to Fig. 1, a block diagram illustrates 4 the pay per view entertainment system o:f the present invention. The system is controlled by a source 10. The 6 source 10 is a corporation or group of people who obtain 7 prerecorded entertainment which in the preferred embodiment of B the present invention is prerecorded musical works. It should 9 be understood, however, that the entertainment is not solely limited to musical works but could include video recordings or 11 computer software. The source 10 obtains the prerecorded 12 entertainment and distributes it to an operator 11.

14 The source 10 obtains the prerecorded entertainment from record companies in the form of equalized master 16 recordlngs, which can be in analog or digital formats. From 17 these master recordings, compact disc ~CD) masters and carts 18 are prepared. Preview carts are prepared, which include 19 highlighted segments from the master recordings. The source is ~ responsible for obtaining the master recordings, quality 21 c~ntrol of their duplication, and distri~ution of the 22 duplicated master recordings. The complete works and previews ~.3 are distributed to the system operator 11 or multi-system 24 operator 12. The multi-system operators 12 are simply sub-operators who operate iu geographical locations different 26 from that of.the operator 11.

~ The source 10 is also responsible for the advertising of the 29 system, the programming of the prerecorded enter~ainment, legal services, customer service, and customer bil~ing.

, 3;~

1 The operator 11 and multi-systems operators 12 2 distribute the prerecorded entertainment on a coaxial cable 3 network connected to subscribers. The cable network is 4 preferably the same cable network presently used to distribute television programs. The prerecorded entertainment is applied 6 to a cable controller 13 at the location of the subscriber and 7 , to a specially designed receiver 14, hereinafter described in B 1I greater detail. The cable controller 13 is also connected to 9 the subscriber's television 15 to provide the subscriber with video information regarding the prerecorded entertainment. The receiver 14 is also connected by a modem and telephone lines to 12 l a financial service organization, such as a national credit 13 " network 16 and a bank 17. The financial service organizations 14 enable the source 10 to~paid ~ a service fee for the L5 subscriber's use of the system.

17 Referring now to Fig. 2, a flow diagram illustrates 18 the flow of prerecorded entertainment from the source 10. The lg input(20 to the system is the master recordings from the record ~, companies. The source 10 as explained above is responsible for 21 the CD mastering 21 of the complete work or program and the 22 cart duplication 22 cf the previews. These CD masters and cart 23 duplications are the output 23 which are distributed by source 24 10. The source 10 in turn distributes the CD masters and preview carts to operator 11.

27 Referring now to Fig 3, a block diagram illustrates 28 the distribution of the recorded entertainment and the payment 29 of subscribers for such services. Coaxial cable connects the MSO 12 to the cable controller 13 which is present at the 3~ .

1 location of each subscriber. The coaxial cable is capable of 2 5arrying two data channels, 6 mono channels, and six stereo 3 channels. The cable controller 13 applies the video channels 4 to the subscriber's television 15. A special receiver 100 S which includes an internal modem receives the mono and stereo 6 channels and two data channels. The receiver 100 is described 7 hereinafter in greater detail. The internal modem is connected 8 '~ by telephone lines to a clearing house 200. The clearinghouse 9 200 is capable of checking the subscriber's credit or account at bank 201. The clearinghouse 200 performs a billing function 11 by transferring funds to source 10.

13 Referring now to Fig 4, a block diagram illustrates 14 the equipment 30 of the system operator 11 for distributing the prerecorded entertai~ment. The equipment 30 includes a cada 16 transceiver 40. The transceiver 40 is preferably of a type 17 manufactured by Sony Corporation which is cap~.ble of 18 - transmitting digital audio and data transmissions within 19 . existing cable systems. The system, transmits within a 6 MH2 wide channel a total of 32 monaural or data channels, 8 eight 21 b~t:stereo channels, 4 sixteen bi~ digital stereo channels, or 22 128 digital channels or any combination thereof. The equipment ?.3 also includes a plurality of cart machines 31-36 which play the 24 previews of the recorded entertainment. The output of the cart machines 31-36 is a mono audio output which is applied to the ~6 cada transceiver 40. The cada transceiYer 40 also receives the 27 input from compact disc machines 41-46, in the orm of stereo 28 audio signal5. These stereo audio sigllals include the complete ~9 works of prerecorded entertainmen~ which are ~istributed to the subscribers or recording. The compact disc mach.ines 41-46 ~re-f~ 3~

1 responsive to a time code generator 50 and comparators 51-52 2 which control the playing of sides 1 and 2 every thirty 3 ' minutes. The receiver 100 is responsive to a clock 53. The 4 receiver 100 is also responsive to a time code generator 54 and comparators 55,56 which are capable of providing forwarding and 6 reversing data to the cada transceiver. The output of the cada 7 '' transceiver 40 is supplied to the MSO's 12. A video menu 60 is 8 ll transmitted to TV 15.

Optionally, a second cada transceiver may be employed 11 ` for transmitting additional data, if necessary.
12 ,:
13 ~, Referring now to Fig.5, a block diagram illustrates 14 the receiver 100 of the present invention. The receiver 100 lS includes two main sections, i.e., a program and logic control 16 section 101 and a audio/video routing section 102. The cable 17 controller 13 is coupled between the coaxial cable network and 18 the subscriber's television set 15.

The lnput from the cable network is applied to an 21 addressable cable converter box 103 and a rf video decoder 104 2~ which separate the selected signals from the plurality of input 23 signals. The video portion o. the selected signals is applied 24 to the subscriber's television 15. A trap may be necessary to insure that only the desired video signal is applied to the 26 television 15. The selected complete work or pre~iew signals 27 are applied to power amplifiers 105, 106 which drive stereo 28 speakers 107, 108. The speakers enable the subscriber to hear 29 the selected audio signals. The selected audio signals are also applied to a level indicator 110 which allows the 1 subscriber to monitor the quality of the audio signals to be 2 recorded. The audio signals are recorded on a cassette 3 recording unit which includes cassette electronics 111 and 4 cassette transport 112. The cassette electronics 111 are controlled by the program and logic control section 101.

7 ~ The program and logic control section 101 receives 8 input signals from the cada unit in the form of a clock/data 9 signal and a trigger signal. The program and logic control section 101 is also responsive to input signals from the 11 program/preview selection assignor 91 which are applied to a 12 PIA 113. The PIA 113 is connected to a bus llo that couples 13 the input signals to a microprocessor 114.

The microprocessor 114 controls the program and logic 16 control section 101. The miCroproCessQr 114 is connected to a 17 programmable read only memory 115, which contains a program, 18 ' and to random access memory 116 which stores data. The ~9 microprocessor 114 controls displays 117, 118, 119, 120 in order to provide visual indications of.various activities 21 as~ociated with the operati.on of ~he receiver 100. The 22 dispiays are driven and controlled by controller 124 and by 23 drivers 121, 122, 123.

Input data to the microprocessor 114 is applied 2~ through a PI~ 125 and a switching multiplexer 126. The 2~ subscriber inputs data by activating one of switches 131-136 or 28 the keypads 137-138.

The ~icroprocessor 114 also controls the output of 3~

1 data for billing purposes. An acia 141 is connected to the bus 2 110 and trans~ers data to an autodial modem 140 via a key type 3 ' lockout switch 199 and 2 data selector 198. A credit card 4 reader 142 or other suitable device is used to input financial data regarding the subscriber. This information is transmitted 6 by the modem 140 over telephone lines to the national credit 7 ,j network 16.

9 ,i Referring now to Fig. 6, a plan view illustrates the 10 ; console 150 for the receiver 100. The console 150 includes 11 ,¦ keypads 137, 138 for entering preview and program data. The 12 , program reset switches 131 are part of keypad ~ , and the 13 ,I preview reset switches 132 are part of keypad 137. The 14 speakers 107, 108 and cassette transport 112 are disposed within the console 150. The console 150 also includes controls 16 and indicator lights 111 for the cassette, the purchase switch 17 136, the pin switch 135, the select switch 134, and the date 18 switch 132. Displays 117, 118, and 119 are disposed on the 19 console 150 for easy viewing.

2l ~ Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8, side and rear views of 22 the console are provided. On the side of console 150 there is ~3 a lock lSl which prevents the unauthorized use of the modem.
24 On the rear of the console 1$0, there are two standard telephone connectors 152, 153, a power cord 154, a master reset 26 button 197, video in connector 196, optional video output 27 connector 155 ~or video trap) and preview output connector 28 156.

30- In the operation of the present invention, a minimum ~;~3~ 32 1 of 4 stereo pairs (8 mono) of digital audio are simultaneously 2 transmitted via coaxial cable on a desiqnated channel and are 3 ;, independently selected and recorded on an audio cassette or CD
4 at the subscriber's receiver 100. The digital signal is integrated with the video signal no that when the pay per view 6 channel is selected, a selection menu and/or advertising will 7 appear on the screen of television 15. The complete musical 8 .l, work is supplied from record companies in the form of digital g tape, CD disc or analog masters. All forms are transferred to 3/4" digital cassette or CD for transmission. A digital signal 11 is transmitted every hour on the hour to give the "Forward Roll 12 Command" and every 1/2 hour on the 1/2 hour to give the 13 "Reverse Roll Command" or "continue" command for the audio .
cassette or CD ~t the subscribers receivers 100. Side "A"

selections are transmitted 10 seconds after the hour and Side 16 "B" 10 seco~ds after the 1/2 hour to give the cassette or CD

17 ~ associated with receiver 100 enough time for leader clearance 1~ ;I or first groove cut. Analog cart machines continuously play a 19 : three minute preview or loop of highlighted material from each ' album selection. The consumer is, therefore, able to preview a 21 s~lection before purchase. The record companies will supply ~2 the three minutes of edl~ed material to be used for each cart.

~3 The preview transmission for each cart is transmitted digitally 24 on the same video signal as the main di3ital transmission.

~6 The.controller 13 receives a split feed of the main 27 coaxial cable feeding the subscriber's main channel selector or 2~ cable ready television. The controller 13 and receiver 100 are 29 internally se~ by rf-video decoder 104 to the appropriate channel trans~itting the disital audio signal. .A:Il vulnerable ~Z ~`3~

1 electronics of the receiver 100 are sealed to prevent disclosure or unauthorized tampering.
4 The subscriber operates the invention by turning the television 15 on and switching the main cable selector to the 6 , pay per view channel, A menu of record selections appears on 7 ! the television screen. The subscriber turns the speaker switch ~ ll 149 to "Preview" making sure the speaker volume 139 is on. He 9 I previews the selections on the television menu by pressing the appropriate number for each selection on the preview keypad ~ 137. The selection number appears in a window 117 above the 12 , keypad. Once a selection has been chosen, the speaker switch 13 ,I 149 is switched to "Program" and a 60 minute minimum audio 14 cassette or CD is inserted into the slot 119 marked with the lS ~, arrow pointing downward. The cassette automatically rewinds to 16 ' the head of the leader. Once the casset~e has rewound, the 17 appropriate EQ is automatically selected for the type of 18 cassette being used, e.g., Norm, CrO2, Metal~ The subscriber 1~ presses the date key and enters the month and day using the program keypad 138. The date appears in the window 118. The 21 s~bscriber then presses the select key 124 and enters the 22 selection number he wishes to record using the program keypad 73 138. The selection number appears in the window 119 At this 24 point, the subscriber can double check to make sure that the correct date and selection number appear in the windows 118, 26 ~119.) Once the purchase key 136 is pressed, the date and 27 selection number cannot be changed, unless the master react 28 button is pressed, and the subscriber is then bllled for that 29 selection. By referring ~o the television menu or guide, the subscriber can double check his selection.

3~

1 The subscriber presses the PIN (personal 2 identificakion number) key and enters his PIN using the program 3 ke~pad 138. The PIN number appears in t:he window 118 for 15 4 , seconds. The subscriber then puts his credit card into the ' slot 169 at the Dottom of the receiver 10~. The subscriber 6 then presses the purchase key 136. The subscriber waits 7 ' approximately 10-15 seconds. During this period a red light 8 within the PIN key 135 will flash indicating that the 9 . subscriber cannot use his telephone without interrupting the 10 ;I purchase. If appropriate funds are available in the 11 subscriber's checking account, the amount of the selection will 12 be withdrawn and the "Thank You" llla light will activate 13 simultaneously with the Record and Pause indicators 111b, 14 , lllc. The subscriber at this point will not be able to make another selection or withdraw his cassette or CD from the 16 recelver 100 until after the recording has been completed. The 17 subscriber will also not be able to preview during recording.
18 If sufficient funds are not available, the "Change Needed"
19 light llld will be activated, and the subscriber will be unable to record a selection until appropriate funds are deposited ~1 into;his account. Each subscriber receives his own PIN. Each 22 subscriber is obliged to have a credit or checking account and 23 must be willing to disclose its number fcr electronic access.
24 The purchased selection appears in the customer's monthly credit or checking account statement.
26 Funds deposited into the central receiving account 27 will also carry th2 following information for monthly customer 28 receipts and record company profits: price per transaction, ~9 type of transaction ~i.e., savin~s account, checking accoun~t, credit card), account or card number, terminal identification ~ '32 1 ; number, date of transaction, time of transaction, transaction 2 ; referral number and approval number of the bank or credit card 3 ' company. Each record will receive the date and selection 4 number as a code number for accounting ,and processing. If a ' record is rebroadcast at a later date, it should not be listed 6 under the same selection number as previously offered to avoid 7 ., accounting and code number confusion. Monies due via ~ !~ subscriber selections will be sent to the appropriate record 9 l, companies and publishers. At the irst of each month the subscriber will receive their service and/or receiver leasing lL ,I bill for the up-coming month and last month's purchase 12 ~ statement wi~h the subscriber account number, date, selection 3 ,'l number and title, price per selection and total monthly billing O cross reference with their checking account statement.
15 !~ While the invention has been described in its 16 preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the words 17 which have been used are words of description, rather than 1~ limitation, and that changes may be made within the purview of 9 the appended claims without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention in its broader aspects.
21 ~.. ;

?.3 ~5 ~7 ~9

Claims (18)

1. A system for distributing prerecorded entertainment to subscribers which comprises:
a) a source of prerecorded entertainment that includes both complete works of entertainment and previews of the entertainment;
b) means for converting the prerecorded entertainment and previews into an electronic or radio frequency format;
c) a network for communicating the electronically formatted prerecorded entertainment to subscribes;
d) a plurality of receiving means disposed at the location of each subscriber and connected to said network for receiving the complete works of entertainment and previews, said receiving means including;

1. means for the subscriber to monitor the previews received on said receiving means;
2. means for recording the electronically formatted prerecorded entertainment selected by the subscriber;
3. means for the subscriber to enter data regarding selection of complete works of entertainment for recording; and 4. payment means coupled to said receiving means which allows the subscriber to pay for the complete works of entertainment selected for recording.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said network includes a plurality of coaxial cables.

3. A system according to claim 1 wherein said network includes a plurality of FM transmitting means and FM
receiving means.

4. A system according to claim 1 wherein said means for converting the prerecorded entertainment into an electronic format includes a plurality of cart machines and a plurality of compact disc machines coupled to a cada transceiver.

5. A system according to claim 1 wherein the receiving means at the subscriber's location includes a cada receiver.

6. A system according to claim 5 wherein the recording means includes an audio cassette recorder.

7. A system according to claim 5 wherein the recording means includes an audio compact disc recorder.

8. A system according to claim 6 wherein the means for entering data includes a plurality of keys.

9. A system according to claim 7 wherein the means for entering data includes a plurality of keys.

10. A system according to claim 8 wherein the payment means includes a modem for connecting the receiving means to an electronic banking system.

11. A system according to claim 9 wherein the payment means includes a modem for connecting the receiving means to an electronic banking system.

12. A receiver for a pay per view entertainment system that distributes prerecorded entertainment, comprising:
means for a system subscriber to listen to the prerecorded entertainment distributed on the system;
means for the subscriber to enter data regarding the selection of entertainment to be recorded;
recording means, for recording the prerecorded entertainment selected by the subscriber; and means for transmitting the entered data to an electronic banking system.

13. A receiver according to claim 12 wherein said recording means includes an audio cassette recorder.

14. A receiver according to claim 12 wherein said recording means includes an audio compact disc recorder.

15. A receiver according to claim 13 wherein said means for entering data includes a plurality of keys.

16. A receiver according to claim 14 wherein said means for entering data includes a plurality of keys.

17. A receiver according to claim 15 wherein said payment means includes a modem.

18. A receiver according to claim 16 wherein said payment means includes a modem.