MXPA97009043A - Asymmetric system of communications of da - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an asymmetric data communications system (ADCS) that provides point-to-multipoint television programming that includes conventional television programming, near-demand video (NVoD) or video-on-demand (VoD) and, the variety complete of available programming, through a digitized and compressed UHF transmission. A subsystem of programs of the ADCS receives the programming of the content providers and processes the received signals for the channel and the VoDóNVoD service, then sends the added signal to a transmission subsystem that modulates, channels, amplifies, filters and transmits or disseminates the Digital UHF signals over the air. The subscribed viewers are equipped with an intelligent control box (ICB) configured in an appropriate manner to receive, demodulate and decode the transmission or diffusion of digital UHF and to transmit the resulting signal to one or more deployment devices or other terminal devices. The ICB also provides a matrix or gate switch to receive signals on any available transmission path. In addition to the ICBs of the subscribed viewers, a return path subsystem of the ADCS system includes an administrative and session control facility to which the ICBs are linked through the public switched telephone network or an appropriate wireless alternative, so that the transaction and observation data can be received from the subscribed viewers. The return path subsystem, in turn, is linked to the program subsystem in order to route any necessary or useful information to that subsystem to provide programming.

Description

ASYMMETRIC SYSTEM OF DATA COMMUNICATIONS FIELD DB THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general to the field of communications and, in particular, to the fields of television and telecommunications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Originally television proming was only provided by broadcast by air or air. The most widely received air or air transmissions were and continue to be in the very high frequency (VHF) band and, only to a much more limited extent, in the ultra high frequency (UHF) band of the RF spectrum. However, in recent decades, the provision of television proming to households has increasingly been provided through the CATV (cable) service. The CATV transmission offered a bandwidth considerably superior to that which was available in aerial form, while the quality of its transmission -for those equipped with the coaxial cable necessary to receive the analog signal and the hardware or equipment required to eliminate the mixed- has generally been better than analog airborne transmission, which is subject to a variety of ways of P1565 / 97MX signal interference. The high bandwidth and quality of the transmitted signal from CATV transmission in relation to air broadcasting has led CATV to be a dominant force in the multichannel proming market. These CATV coaxial supply systems, in principle, provide sufficient bandwidth to allow two-way communication with subscribers, which has fueled speculation that the CATV could provide a first point of convergence for the supply of television services Interactive However, the CATV service is inherently limited by its degree of geohic penetration. The CATV service is simply not available in the places where the cable providers have decided not to attend. Still, in the places where the CATV service is available, the installation of the coaxial cable is interruptive as well as expensive. The provision of interactive proming content has become a major goal of the converging industries of television, entertainment, proming, online telecommunications and computing. For example, telecommunications companies have invested a considerable amount of resources in developing the "video dial tone", P1565 / 97MX in which proming services would be provided through the telephone system. Although this approach shows enormous potential and the ability or ability to revolutionize both the telecommunications and television industries, it presents certain non-trivial technological and economic problems. The provision of video dial tone services to the home, can convert the installation of optical fiber and / or coaxial cable instead of the existing twisted pair telephone connections, which presents a very expensive and laborious proposal that is not expected to be implemented for some time. In addition to the efforts to move towards what is already known as high definition television (HDTV) and to provide these HDTV services by air or air, comparatively little attention has been paid to improving services recently. of television proming that are supplied by air waves. One possible reason for this comparative lack of effort, may be that the perceived need to support interactivity seems to go against a video delivery system that uses as its means of transport one that apparently lacks a return route. Meanwhile, the options available for the supply of television proming, comparatively P1565 / 97MX have continued to grow in areas such as. example the "wireless cable" and the direct transmission satellite, which tends to attract attention, further away from diffusion by air or air. Another factor that prevents or at least complicates any attempt to provide improved air television service is imposed by existing federal communications regulations, which are set forth in Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) of the United States of America. . These regulations establish a framework for the provision of air or air programming that is as rigid as highly detailed and which, with incomplete legislation, is subject to modifications only by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and, then only within the mechanism provided by the Administrative Procedures Act, USC §§551-559, §§701-706, §1305, §1305, §3344, §5372, §7521. Another obstacle to providing an alternative means of providing large-scale programming services, such as air or air broadcasting, has to do with equipping those intended to receive these programming services, with the means to receive and watch the programming. In addition to the direct expense associated with providing a new device, the P1565 / 97MX viewers may entertain concerns regarding the compatibility of a new home device with any of the existing equipment at home, in which a viewer can make a significant investment. Even if the device were provided free of charge by the service provider, for example, subscribers may be reluctant to trust a particular system if it is not compatible with existing supply systems, simply for reasons that have to do with it. with aspects such as overcrowding and consumption of available space. However, the apparent demand not only for traditional television programming but also for such services such as, for example, television purchases from home or telemarketing, video games, data services such as, for example, electronic catalogs, quotes of the stock market, sports scoreboards and electronic newspapers and interactive services, as well as video on demand (VoD), video almost on demand (NVoD), continue to grow. This consumer demand, coupled with an increase in the demand for demographic information and the preferences of consumers by marketing organizations to use in their characterizations and definition of objectives of the masses. consumers, increasingly segmented, confronted with a P1565 / 97MX increasing number of alternatives to see, clarifies that any alternative means to supply or provide a schedule must have a return route to allow interaction with the viewer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The system, method and device in accordance with the present invention, solves the problems described above by providing an asymmetric data communications system (ADCS) capable of providing an alternative to conventional air television and CATV transmission and which, is also capable of providing a function not supplied by any of those supply systems. The system in accordance with the present invention provides an alternative means for the provision of entertainment and video and audio entertainment programming, as well as a variety of data services, such as, for example, stock market quotes, bookmarks. sports, electronic newspapers and that can transport services that have not yet been conceptualized. The ADCS system of the present invention provides at the same time a return path capable of supporting interactivity with the viewer, allowing the viewer to request transactions and order services that require authorization, to involve it in a P1565 / 97MX interactive participation in distributed programming in a programming channel and in other forms of interaction, as well as providing a data channel and a mechanism to collect demographic information from subscribers. A first aspect of the system according to the present invention, makes available the diffusion spectrum by air not previously used. In brief and, as described more fully below, the system according to the present invention, digitizes, compresses and modulates signals for transmission in the UHF band of the spectrum that is normally assigned to television diffusers, the compression of the signal using the techniques currently available to reach eight or more times the capacity using conventional techniques such as the one that can currently be transported in said band. The ADCS system in accordance with the present invention, thus provides multi-channel point-to-multipoint broadcast services on a previously available scale using only cable and, it does so with a very high quality of transmission and reception and without interfering with the existing broadcast channels according to the NTSC (National Television System Committee), PAL (Phase Alternation Line), SECAM (Sequential Couleur A Memoire), or P1565 / 97MX another color television transmission standard. In addition, a subsystem of the program of the present invention adds the heterogeneous programming coming from several content providers for the digital UHF transmission, as well as VoD and NVoD, both services are provided only with the fulfillment of an authorization function. The system according to the present invention provides an alternative to CATV for those who wish to subscribe services that have previously been considered as exclusive CATV domains. Notably, subscribers who are dissatisfied with CATV services or who are simply not served by CATV will be able to access a large number of channels and at a considerably lower cost, since the system described above will allow program providers to offer Point-to-multipoint diffusion at a cost lower than that associated with the base cable installed system. Subscribers can receive and participate in interactive television without the need of a cable connection. These subscribers will simply need an appropriate device, referred to herein as an intelligent control box (ICB) and, described below in detail. P1565 / 97MX In accordance with the present invention, the ICB is adapted not only to receive, decompress, decode and transmit for display or display the received digitized UHF signals, but to provide a terminal capable of establishing a return path to the diffuser through the public switched telephone network (PSTN) (for example, POTS, ISDN, ADSL, B-ISDN) or a suitable wireless alternative. The ICB serves as an electronic doorphone that provides the function of matrix switch for the interconnection between the ADCS and a television, computer or any suitable monitor or terminal device of the consumer. As will be described later, the ICB can include the function of decoding the transmission, data storage, switching and storage functions. The ICB may also include the ability to switch between a variety of non-ADCS or downstream input sources, which include conventional "air or by air" television, CATV, the MMDS (microwave multipoint distribution system or "). wireless cable "), DBS (" direct transmission via satellite "), LMDS (" multipoint local distribution system ", provided, for example, by Cellular Vision), VCRs, computer / video games and mobile devices. Masive storage. P1565 / 97MX The final part of an ADCS system according to the present invention is a return path installation which, together with the ICBs with which it is linked by the PSTN or the wireless alternative, constitutes the path subsystem of return of the ADCS system in accordance with the present invention. In accordance with the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative to conventional wired cable television (CATV). It is another object of the present invention to provide this alternative to conventional wired television in the form of a radio-frequency (RF) point-to-multipoint broadcast and reception system by air. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an alternative to conventional wired cable television that includes a return route by which transactions, orders, demographic information and other user information can be sent or collected from a wireless device. the subscriber's house. It is another object of the present invention to provide the return path in the form of a wired or wired point-to-point configuration, such as, for example, a configuration using technology P1565 / 97 X switched telephone (analogue or digital), which in the context of a point-to-multipoint digital UHF broadcast system provides an asymmetric data communications system. It is another object of the present invention to provide an ADCS that has a program subsystem capable of adding a variety of heterogeneous programming, digitization and compression of these signals for diffusion in UHF. Another object of the present invention is to provide an ADCS having a return route facility to which subscribers have access in a public telecommunications network to capture and satisfy program requests and other transactions and also to collect demographic information from the subscriber. . It is a further object of the present invention to provide an intelligent control box to act as an electronic doorphone in the presence of the subscriber, which has the form of a matrix switch capable of providing an interface that is capable of receiving and decoding the transmission. Digital RF of the UHF band and, communicate messages from the subscriber to the ADCS.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic view of a P1565 / 97MX mode of an asymmetric data communications system in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 is a block diagram of the components of a mode of an asymmetric data communications system in accordance with the present invention, showing data paths between the components. Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the architecture and functions of the main components of a mode of an asymmetric data communications system in accordance with the present invention. Figure 4 is a block diagram of a program subsystem of a mode of an asymmetric data communications system in accordance with the present invention. Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the processing steps of the signal from multiple video sources made in the program subsystem and / or the transmission subsystem of a mode of an asymmetric data communications system in accordance with the present invention and indicating alternative suitable techniques to perform each step. Figure 6 is a block diagram and partially schematic showing the transmission subsystem of an asymmetric system mode of P1565 / 97MX data communications in accordance with the present invention. Figure 7 is a block diagram of an ICB of a mode of an asymmetric data communications system in accordance with the present invention. Figure 8 is a block diagram of a return path installation of a mode of an asymmetric data communications system in accordance with the present invention. Figure 9 is a logical flow diagram of an operation representative of the ICB and the return path installation of an asymmetric data communications system in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPCT? M r > BAT.T OF THE INVENTION The system and the components of the system in accordance with the present invention, will be described with reference to the accompanying figures and in an order that reflects the supply of the services to the consumers. A high level view of a system mode in accordance with the present invention is provided in Figure 1. As shown, a program subsystem 10 is equipped to receive content from various sources, including: non-local content providers 12 via satellite or any other means or via a P1565 / 97MX appropriate transmission (including, for example, optical fiber); of local TV programming entities via microwave, fiber optics, cable or other suitable transmission routes; or in any suitable way from any other source (not shown). The content received may include conventional television broadcasts, telemarketing, data services, electronic catalogs, stock market quotes, sports scores, electronic newspapers and other content, whether currently available or not. The video request (VOD) or video on demand (NVoD) can also be received by any means known and provided by conventional video servers, as described more fully below. The program subsystem 10 collects and processes the signals from these various sources and, after processing the signals, provides the programming, data and any other content received in an appropriate form and in a suitable data link 18 to a transmitting subsystem. or site 20. Transmitting subsystem 20 includes transmission equipment, described in detail below, to generate a signal having sufficient effective radiated power (ERP) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to reach a set of intended subscribers. 30 with P1565 / 97MX an acceptably high reception quality. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the program subsystem 10 and the transmitting subsystem 20 transmit their combined content in digital form and in the ultra high frequency (UHF) band of the RF spectrum (407-806 MHz). The homes of each of the subscribers 30 are equipped with the appropriate reception and processing equipment (not shown in this view, but described in detail later). Using this equipment, subscribers 30 can select from among the variety of content transported by the signals transmitted by the equipment at a transmission site or location 20, as well as from among the complete array of other programming sources in such a way that the equipment in the houses act as an entrance or electronic access. The communications of the subscribers 30 may include VoD requests, NVoD or other interactive or non-interactive program service and, may also include marketing information with respect to the subscriber 30. The messages of the (or about) the subscriber 30, are transmitted through switched telephone technology, that is, through lines 40 of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) (or a suitable wireless alternative, not shown) and by switching and other service sites maintained and operated by a provider P1565 / 97MX from local telephone service 45 to a return route facility 50 (which may also be operated by a telephone service provider, BellSouth Corp., for example). The installation 50 of the return route can also undertake or carry out transactions with other service providers (identified collectively by reference number 48). The return path facility 50 also receives communications from other subscribers (via lines 49A, 49B, .... 49N) and, performs a variety of functions including control of the sections with the subscribers 30 and conducting administrative functions, these two, will be discussed in detail later. Finally, the return path facility 50 communicates the authorization requests to the program subsystem 10 via a high data capacity link 52, such as, for example, a broadband circuit or other high capacity link. The overall architecture of the ADCS according to the present invention is shown in greater detail and in the form of a block diagram in Figure 2. In the houses 32 of the subscribers 30, for example, the antenna 131 is installed to receive the signal from broadcast from the transmission subsystem 20. The received signal is routed to an intelligent control box ("ICB") 130, P1565 / 97MX which is also configured to receive input from all other available 100 sources. The ICB 130 is equipped to receive the input of the subscriber 30 and to transmit to the television 34 an appropriate signal, such as for example, NTSC, PAL, SECAM or other analog normal television signal. The ICB 130 may also be equipped to route signals to one or more additional televisions or other terminal devices such as personal computers ("PCs") (not shown). The ICB 130 may be coupled to a network interface unit ("NIU") 36 in order to communicate in a network. Alternatively, the function of the NIU 36 could easily be implemented by a resident device within the ICB 130. Also in Figure 2 is shown the connection of the subscriber's house 32 with the return route facility 50 via the PSTN 40 and the facilities 45 of the telephone service provider as an optional way 42 by means of which the return route facility 50 can send messages to the ICB 130. The return route facility 50 receives, through the telephone service provider 45, messages not only from the subscriber 130, as shown, but also from any number of subscribers (not shown in this view) reached by the transmission subsystem 20, preferably by P1565 / 97 X a high-capacity link with sufficient bandwidth to simultaneously receive messages from a large number of subscribers.

I? Program Subsystem As shown schematically in Figures 1 and 2 and, functionally in Figure 3 and, as shown in even greater detail in Figure 4, the program subsystem 10 is equipped with conventional equipment to receive the content through any appropriate communications link coming from all programming and data sources. Programming and data from non-local content providers 12 can be received for example, via satellite (see Figure 1) by the tuner 23A, while programming from the local TV content providers 14 could be received by the host. tuner 23B from other transmission means, such as for example, microwave or cable and also, via video tapes, compact disk ("CD"), supplied to the program subsystem. Among the variety of content sources to which the program subsystem 10 is preferably linked, there are or are those of video and audio entertainment programming, data services such as electronic catalogs, P1565 / 97MX quotes from the stock exchange, sports scores and the like, electronic newspapers and other services, as well as other types of content that are still not available. In addition to the equipment for receiving the variety of content through various transmission paths, the program subsystem 10 includes, for example, a means 28 of the conventional video server for providing VoD and / or NVoD services. With the VoD and the NVoD, a preselected set of films is supplied simultaneously, but out of phase in a predetermined amount of time (i.e., staggered), in order to allow the subscribers 30 a VCR-like function, as will be discussed with more detail below. For example, at any given time a selection of the films that are in the top 10 places can be provided. The program subsystem 10, the tuners 23A and 23B and the video server system 28 are coupled with the main bus 21 of the program subsystem, in which the received data can be read and managed by one or more processors 24. The processor 24 can be implemented by a device or set of conventional devices that have sufficient processing power to handle the reception and processing P1565 / 97MX suitable for the content signal, as described, and also for managing the video server system 28. When performing its tasks, the processor 24, through the main bar 21 of the program subsystem, can read the system software and other data from the static memory 25 and can store and retrieve data in the dynamic memory 26 and in the device or in the mass storage devices 27, all these can be implemented by conventional technology. The additional input to the program subsystem 10 originates in the return path installation 50 and is supplied over the link 52, which may be a broadband link or other suitable link for transporting a large volume of data. The data supplied to the program subsystem 10 via the return path installation 50 includes, but is not limited to, authorization requests for the requested schedule, such as, for example, payment per event, VoD or NVoD. In accordance with known techniques, the processor or processors of the program system 10 include the function of receiving requests for pre-stored authorization codes corresponding to the subscribers and of incorporating one or more codes in the broadcast signal in order to enable the subscriber who requests to receive an encrypted program, as P1565 / 97MX will be described further below. The received input on link 52, in the form of authorization requests or messages, is demodulated or processed in some other way as necessary by device / 0 22A and, is supplied in main bar 21 of the program subsystem for processing , handling and storage by the processor 24. Messages can be sent by the program subsystem 10 via the 1/0 22A device back to the return path installation 50, as necessary, such as for example to acknowledge the receipt of an authorization request or to provide information to be used in the handling of the ADCS. Referring again to Figure 2, the primary function of the program subsystem 10 is shown. The service of the incoming channel, the sources VoD or NVoD and all the content of the other inputs is received according to the known methods. The programming and the received content are then processed to produce a signal that can be supplied to the transmitting subsystem 20 via the link 18 in a form suitable for physical transmission. The processing performed by the program subsystem 10 applies known methods to achieve a maximum transmission speed and a minimum probability of transmission errors, while maintaining a minimum P1565 / 97MX the amount of transmitter power required and the required RF bandwidth. The bandwidth available for transmission will probably be driven in part by the regulatory environment, as well as by the availability (or lack of availability) of suitable UHF channels in a given market. Under the present regulatory framework, channels are defined in 6 MHz RF bands. The UHF spectrum, defined as the 470-806 MHz band, is divided into 56 of these 6 MHz channels that are identified by convention as numbers 14 to 69. The UHF band has been used for decades to provide television services, in this way, the transmission equipment is available from a variety of vendors. The propagation of the signals in the UHF spectrum is usually in the line of sight and, thus, is limited by obstructions in the path between the transmitter and a receiver, such as, for example, the mountains and the curvature of the earth . However, the presence of these obstructions can lead to the diffraction of UHF signals and, thus, to a certain degree of circumvention of the obstacles. The signals in the UHF spectrum are also reflected from certain obstructions, which tend to divide the energy of the signals into fractions that propagate to a receiver P1565 / 97MX given on one or more trajectories. Multipath propagation can lead to fractions of a UHF signal arriving at a receiver at slightly different times, causing a phenomenon known as "ghosting, in which one or more ghost images follow a main image on the television screen The appearance or formation of phantoms can be solved by means of channel equalization techniques The transmission of a large number of component signals in a UHF transmission from a single point to a multipoint has several technical and regulatory problems. of the FCC grant, for example, rights of the RF spectrum for a use or to an exclusive user of others and in this way, so that they are protected against interference.Co-channel interference is resolved by forcing a separation of several kilometers in the installations diffusion, in order to maintain the desired signal to unwanted signal (D / U) ratio at a level The digital transmission is less susceptible to co-channel interference, however, it is expected that the existing NTSC (or PAL, SECAM or other analogue television standard) channels are protected to the extent currently required for several years. In addition to the co-channel protection, the signals of P1565 / 97MX UHF are protected by rules designed to limit interference between adjacent channels. These rules, known as "UHF taboos", restrict the D / U between immediately adjacent channel signals to be -6 dB or greater, to require the separation of the transmitting sites a predetermined distance to resolve the interference introduced by the radiation from a local oscillator, to require the separation of image frequencies associated with the visual and sound carriers and to avoid the use of adjacent channels second to fifth to combat intermodulation distortion. The UHF taboos are exposed at 47 C.F.R. § 73.699 (Table II) (incorporated herein by reference). In order to support the provision of the maximum number of programming channels, as well as a desirable number of movies available for VoD or NVoD provisioning and to allow this service to be as close as possible to a "VCR-like function", it is It is desirable to substantially reduce the bandwidth necessary for the provision of the appropriate service. Several approaches can be used. In one embodiment of the system and method according to the present invention, the resolution of the programming is purposefully selected to be equivalent to that available from the video tapes of theP1565 / 97MX home video system (VHS) or other means accepted by the public that has lower resolution than that associated with conventionally transmitted television signals. The resolution of the video with VHS quality is approximately 256 by 240 pixels. Because video consumers seem comfortable with this resolution, transmission by the ADCS broadcast and program subsystems would appear to be efficient and still without objection to that degree of resolution. In another modality, a data compression scheme is used, for example, MPEG2 compression (Standard 2 of the Expert Group in Film Films, an international standard for compression and transmission of video and audio, described in ISO / IEC CD 13818- 1, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference) or any other standard, format, protocol, data structure, sequence or appropriate organizational scheme to reduce the bandwidth required for transmission. Adopting encoded video streams at 3 Mbps, the number of these digital video streams available on a 6 MHz channel can be calculated according to the following relationship: R = B »log2 (N)» U where R = bit rate; P1565 / 97MX B = channel bandwidth; N = signaling (or quantification) of the modulation level; U = cost-effective load availability (to take into account the early correction of the error).

The above relationship applies to any video encoding / compression scheme and the results of the table apply to any video streams encoded at 3 Mbps per video stream. The level of quantification and the efficiency with which video streams are encoded are functions P1565 / 97MX of available technology. In general, the programming that will be supplied is digitized as a channel service, compressed appropriately, encoded and modulated in accordance with known techniques, for which, in Figure 5 some alternatives are shown. Starting with the multiple video sources received by the program subsystem 10, each can be coded (or "compressed") in the source 112 if possible in order to reduce the bandwidth necessary to transmit it. Suitable source coding techniques that can be used include character coding, sampling, quantization, pulse code modulation (PCM), differential PCM (DPCM), block coding and synthesis coding /analysis. Another class of source or compression coding techniques, known as reductive redundancy coding, reduces the volume of data required to transmit a signal by eliminating redundancy of the signal, as well as the information that would be rejected instead of being processed by a spectator due to the psychobiological limitations of human perception. For example, a typical video scene contains a lot of information that does not change from frame to frame. Transmitting only the changes of the scene allows a significant reduction in the volume of data of P1565 / 97MX transmission without any loss of information for the viewer. Another form of source or compression coding takes advantage of the psychobiological phenomenon that the human eye is less able to resolve the color images than the black and white images, allowing a measured reduction in the amount of data that will be transmitted without a detectable loss of resolution. Well-known compression techniques can be used. For example, but without limitation, the MPEG-1 standard (Group of Experts in Film Films of the International Organization of Standards (ISO)) or the MPEG-2 standard would offer the possibility of a "scalable" resolution, which is implemented normally in the form of an integrated circuit chip available commercially. However, any suitable compression technique could also be used. Using MPEG-1 only as an example, a ratio or compression ratio of the order of 100: 1 can be obtained. Accounting for imperfections in the transmission, the effective bandwidth required for a video stream can accordingly be reduced to the order of 0.08 MHz, which implies a theoretical upper limit of 72 VHS-quality video streams per channel of 6 MHz in accordance with the current spectrum allocation. Transmission efficiencies can be achieved P1565 / 97MX suitable with currently available channel coding methods, such as for example 16-QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation), 4-VSB (trailing sideband), 1-PSK (phase shift manipulation) or OFDM (multiplexing by orthogonal frequency division). The second processing step for the incoming video streams is the channel coding 114 which can be used to reduce the required bandwidth and the presence of transmission errors. The channel coding includes the coding of the waveform, such as for example the M-area signaling, and the antipodal, orthogonal, bioorthogonal and transorthogonal coding. Channel coding may also include structured sequence coding, for example, using block codes or convolutional codes. Both codes, block codes and convolutional codes are aimed at minimizing the error bit rate (BER) by means of early error correction (FEC). The BER is one of the most important quality factors observed to evaluate digital transmission systems. It is intended that the FEC techniques reduce the residual BER by several orders of magnitude and also that they increase the gain of the system by coding the bit stream before the modulation. The coding includes the addition of bits P1565 / 97MX extra to the stream of bits in accordance with specific rules; In this way, they intentionally add a certain amount of redundancy. Using the above techniques, reliability can be exchanged against efficiency to achieve adequate system performance. After the incoming signal has been encoded in the source and properly coded in channel, the multiple compressed video sources can be further processed using spectrum propagation techniques 116, such as for example direct sequencing (DS), jumps in the frequency (FH), jumps in time (TH) and hybrids of these techniques. Spectrum propagation techniques improve the resistance against signal interference and, thus, the efficiency characteristics of the bandwidth by distributing the transmitted power over a sufficiently wide bandwidth to ensure that the power per unit width band remains very small. It is difficult for a casual listener to intercept spectrum propagation signals, but true security requires encryption. In order to protect them against unintended reception, the multiple signals of the video source are encrypted according to known methods, such as for example the P1565 / 97MX block encryption and data stream. The digital signals from the multiple video sources that have been compressed, channel coded and propagated are also synchronized 120 and modulated 122 according to known methods, some of these methods are listed, but not limited, in Figure 5. Finally , the signal from the multiple sources of compressed, coded, propagated, encrypted, synchronized and modulated video sources is multiplexed in accordance with known techniques listed in reference number 124 of Figure 5, including, but not limited to, the multiplexing by frequency division, multiplexing by time division, multiplexing by division of code, multiplexing by division of space and multiplexing by polarization division. The fully processed, modulated and multiplexed signals are supplied, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, on the link 18 to the place or transmission site 20. The techniques referred to in the scheme of Figure 5 and the accompanying description, they are illustrative but not exhaustive of the techniques that could be used to practice the present invention. Other known techniques and their choice may also be used; as well as the chosen parameters, may depend not only on the designer's preferences, but also on the restrictions of P1565 / 97MX design imposed by the setting of the transmitter, the selected equipment and other factors. In addition, the processing associated with these techniques could be performed in the program subsystem 10, as described above, but alternatively, it could be performed at least in part, in the transmission subsystem 20, as shown in Figure 6 and described in the text that accompanies the Figure. The VoD or NVoD function of the program subsystem can also be implemented in accordance with known methods. It is widely understood that the VoD service means that a desired video program can be observed at a time within 5 minutes after it has been selected. Preferably, a user can exert virtual control over the transmission, by pausing, rewinding, forwarding or other function that one would do with a conventional videocassette player. In order to obtain this function, for example, with a two-hour movie, it would be necessary to transmit twenty-four simultaneous video streams, starting one again every five minutes. The advance, the rewind and the pause are achieved in this way by tuning to the appropriate channel displaced in time. The program subsystem 10 would receive a request for authorization from a subscriber 30, as P1565 / 97MX further describes in connection with Figure 9 and, would transmit this authorization, for example in a vertical suppression interval of a preselected channel, the authorization would be received by the ICB 130 of the requesting subscriber 30 and thus enables reception and the observation of the channel displaced in time in an appropriate manner. Providing 10 two-hour movie offers with a 5-minute VoD feature would require 240 simultaneous video streams. Assuming that 8 video streams can be reliably transmitted on a single 6 MHZ RF channel, 30 RF channels would be required for this VoD function, the availability of these channels will depend on the market, as well as the status of the federal regulations applicable. To facilitate the delivery of VoD, the relaxation of the delay from 5 to 10 minutes, which will thus be closer to the NVoD, would reduce by half the total bandwidth required to 15 RF channels.

II. Transmission Subsystem Transmission subsystem 20 is shown in detail in Figure 6. Although multiplexing and signal modulation has been described above in connection with program subsystem 10, that function or part of it, could alternatively be P1565 / 97MX provided in the transmission subsystem 20, as shown in Figure 6. If the function had been supplied to the program subsystem 10, it could, in accordance with the foregoing, be excluded from the transmission subsystem 20. However, as shown herein, the transmission line 18 which may include a plurality of separate lines, delivers the entire contents of the programming of the program subsystem 10 to the transmission subsystem 20. The subsets of the programming content can be introduced to the multiplexers 21A, 2IB, 21C .... 21N, where these are multiplexed according to known methods, as described in connection with box 124 of Figure 5. The multiplexed signals emitted from the multiplexers 21A , 21B, 21C, ... 21N, are then digitally modulated in 22A, 22B, 22C, .... 22N, respectively, in accordance with conventional modulation techniques. Each modulated and multiplexed signal is then overconverted in RF frequency by means of a corresponding overconverter 23A, 23B, ... 23N, which can be implemented by conventional equipment. The output of the overconverters 23A-23N is then amplified by the power amplifiers 24A, 24B, 24C, .... 24N, respectively. Each power amplifier 24A-24N, which can be a conventional equipment, must be able to generate an output peak P1565 / 97MX with sufficient RF radiated power appropriate to allow proper reception of the equivalent NTSC transmission (or PAL, SECAM or other analog television standard). The output of each power amplifier 24A-24N is filtered by one or more filters 25A, 25B, 25C, .... 25N, each filter is of the type available in conventional form and sufficiently sized to support the power of the output of the corresponding amplifier 24A-24N to reduce spurious signals to acceptable levels. In an alternative embodiment, the number of sets of transmission equipment could be reduced by additionally multiplexing a set of signals before the overconversion and amplification modulation. The output signals of the filters 25A-25N are applied to the combiners, which can be a conventionally available equipment. For example, the output of the filters 25A and 25B are combined by the combiner 26AB, while the output of the filter 25C and perhaps other filters, are fed to the combiner 26C and, the output of the filters including the filter 25N is introduced into the filter. the 26N combiner. The output of each combiner 26AB, 26C, .... 26N, is applied if necessary to the corresponding transmission lines 27AB, 27C, .... 27N, respectively. Since the transmission lines can P1565 / 97MX 3 be required to transmit various high-energy signals, conventional coaxial transmission lines may not be usable. In these cases, the transmission lines are preferably large diameter waveguides (eg, 18 inches in diameter). The size of the waveguide is controlled by the lowest frequency that will be transported, while the highest frequency that can be transported by the same waveguide is limited by the transmission efficiency, which can be approximately 10% per above the lowest channel frequency. Since the strips of the UHF television band 470-806 Mhz, as many as five different waveguides would be necessary to support the transmission through that band, although for convenience of illustration three are shown. The portions of the waveguide transmission lines 27AB, 27C and 27N are supported by at least one transmission tower 28 having a suitable height above the floor, while taking into account the relative altitude from its base. For example, the transmission tower 28 could be 1000 feet high or more, if required. Each of the transmission lines of the waveguide 27AB, 27C and 27N is coupled to a corresponding antenna 29AB, 29C and 29N, respectively. These antennas are also supported by the P1565 / 97 X transmission tower 28 which must be strong enough to support them together with the waveguide transmission lines 27AB, 27C and 27N and, in accordance with the foregoing, must be manufactured with sufficient resistance in accordance with known methods. Preferably, at least three antennas should be used in order to support transmission across the entire UHF band. As with transmission lines, antenna efficiencies depend on frequency. The height of the transmission tower 28 must ensure sufficient vertical opening of the antennas 29AB, 29C and 29N. As an alternative to a single large structure, several small support structures (not shown) could be used. It can be expected that the transmission subsystem 20 generates a high level of radiation. non-ionizing, which, depending on the height at which the antennas are actually mounted, may require that its site be more preferably located, at an appreciable physical distance from human populations. As described above, known components may be used in transmission subsystem 20, preferably of a type suitable at least for use with high definition television (HDTV).

P1565 / 97MX III. Return Path subsystem Transmissions by the transmission subsystem 20 are received by the subscribers who are within the transmission or broadcast pattern of the transmission subsystem 20 and who in their houses 32 have an appropriate receiving device. In accordance with the present invention, the receiving device is a component of a piece of equipment that has several functions and that is referred to as an ICB (intelligent control box) 130. Along with the return path installation 50 to which it is linked by a telecommunications system , such as for example the lines 40 of a PSTN (or a suitable wireless alternative, not shown) and the switching and other facilities operated and maintained by the public telephone service provider 45, the ICB 130 constitutes a portion of the subsystem 80 of return path of the described method of the system according to the present invention. The use of the PSTN lines 40 between the portions of the return route subsystem 80 takes advantage of the conception by humans that the time and information content of the communications differs greatly from those of the route of travel. diffusion, perhaps of the order of 109. The information sent current P1565 / 97MX above by a subscriber 30, would tend to be sporadic rather than continuous. The second portion of the return path, the return path installation 50, implements two types of functions: The switching and accounting system 60 and the external transaction system 70, each of which will be described below.

A. Intelligent Control Box tICB) The ICB 130 forms that portion of the return path subsystem 80 of the system in accordance with the present invention that resides in the home of the subscriber 30 and receives the digital UHF broadcast from the transmission subsystem 20. In addition to this role, the ICB 130 also provides the subscribers 30 with a variety of additional capabilities and functions. The architecture of an ICB mode 30 in accordance with the present invention is shown in Figure 7. The ICB 130 acts as a matrix switch (i.e., an electronic gatekeeper) to provide an interface between the ADCS, the complete variety of other sources of programming and, the television monitor of the viewer, the computer or other peripheral devices. In addition to UHF transmission or diffusion over the air of the ADCS, the ICB 130 is provided with ports of P1565 / 97MX input to receive signals from any number of available sources. The ICB 130 can accept the input of an antenna 132 which includes a route 132A for the transport of NTSC signals and also a route 132B for transporting ATV signals (for "advanced television") as well as the reception of digitized UHF signals transmitted by the subsystem 20. In accordance with the present invention, the ICB 130 can also accept input from any number of non-ADCS input program sources, such as, for example, from a VCR 133, from a DBS provider 134, from a MMDS provider 135, from an LMDS 136 provider or from a CATV 137 provider. Entry from any other available source, including mass storage or other device, as well as any type of currently existing or future transmission, may be received by ICB 130 , as denoted by the port of entry identified as "others" 138, which may be adapted or modernized to receive an appropriate connector as necessary. All program entries received by the ICB 130 are transmitted to the input selector 170 (matrix switch), which can be any type of hardware or equipment available for switching between a plurality of signals, more preferably, under the control of a conventional or normal processor. The selector of P1565 / 97MX input 170 is coupled to the main control bar 180 of the ICB 130 system by which it can receive the switching signals of the CPU 184 in order to execute the selection commands of the subscriber 30 as will be discussed in additional below. The ICB 130 includes at least one dedicated or exclusive tuner for each type of input. The signals commuted by the input selector 170 are each supplied to an appropriate tuner. The selected aerial NTSC signals received by antenna 131 can be tuned, for example, by analog tuner 161, as a selected CATV signal that can be received on port 137. In an alternative mode, one or more tuners can be supplied. additional analogs to simultaneously receive two analog signals, if it is desired to route these two signals to different televisions, computers or other devices to provide a display or display of image within picture or frame in frame (PIP) or to support another function. The signals at the input 132B, such as for example the digital UHF signal transmitted by the transmission subsystem 20 in accordance with the present invention, are received by the tuner ATV 162, which can be a digital tuner and demodulator available in P1565 / 97MX conventional way. The DBS input arriving at port 134, if selected and switched according to the above by the input selector 170, can be received by the tuner 163, while the MMDS signals entering the port 135 and are switched by the input selector 170 is received by the MMDS tuner 164. Similarly, the LMDS signals arriving at 136 and being switched by the input selector 170 can be tuned by the LMDS tuner 165. All the preceding tuners can be implemented by any of the commercially available devices to receive the respective signals. In addition, the preceding tuners are illustrative rather than exhaustive; signals which require tuning which can not be effected by means of the preceding tuning devices, such as for example signals in accordance with schemes not yet conceived, can be received by a device or by several associated and suitable tuning devices represented by box 166 with which it can be modernized or updated to ICB 130 as desired. In this way, the subscriber 30 does not have to collect, operate and maintain a set of devices from various vendors, each of which provides only a single solution purpose. P1565 / 97MX The output of the analog tuner 161 (and any of the additional analog tuners that can optionally be included in the ICB 130) can be transmitted to the secure processor subsystem 172. The secure processor subsystem 172 can be any known system for receiving signals mixed or insured in some other way over a private distribution system. Typically, the secured processor subsystem 172, its components, and its function are compatible with encryption techniques of the type used in the program subsystem 10, illustrated, for example, in block 118 of Figure 5. The secure processor subsystem 172 includes a conventional analog mixing eliminator 173 to eliminate mixing of the signals received and sent by the analog tuner 161. The secure processor subsystem 172 (or other processor means described below) is programmed to detect one or more authorization codes included in the received transmission and only to eliminate the mixing of a particular transmission with the detection of this or of these codes. The secure processor subsystem 172 may include a non-volatile memory subsystem 174 for storing information necessary to decode received transmissions, including normal cable program transmissions, transmissions of P1565 / 97MX pay-per-view programs and the like. In order to interconnect televisions or other observation devices that accept a baseband input with a decoder device (eg, a CATV decoder, not shown), the secure processor subsystem 174 is optionally coupled with the baseband interface Normal EIA-563, the output of the baseband which can be provided to television sets equipped with the baseband or other devices on line 182B. Turning to the digital signals received by the ICB 130, each tuner between the set of tuners 162-166, which demodulates signals is tuned for reception in order to reconstruct the desired analog signal. The resulting signal of each tuner is transmitted by a dedicated or exclusive line (shown here in a bundle or bundle of these lines, denoted in Figure 7 using the notation "/ 5") to the video decoder 176, a device available in the form conventional for interpreting an input current in accordance with a preselected compatible technique with, for example, the method used to compress the video signal in the program subsystem 10. The video decoder 176 thus recovers the compressed signal to produce a P1565 / 97MX video signal. An analog channel received for example by the analog tuner 161 and selected by the input tuner 170 can be routed via the secure subprocessor system 172 directly to the module 182 of the NTSC signal generation. The digital signals received by the tuners 162-166 can also be provided in dedicated or exclusive lines (shown in tied or bundle form using the notation "/ 5") to the main control bar 180 of the system, by means of which they can be provided, as an illustrative example, through the computer interface 196 to a computer or other device. The analog mixing eliminator 172 and the video decoder 176 are both coupled to the graphics aid module 178. The graphics aid module 178 can be any conventional graphics processor suitable for adding a desired graphics overlay in the video signals received from the video decoder 176 and / or the analog mixing eliminator 172 in response to the instructions implemented by the software running on the CPU 184 and supplied on the main control bar 180 of the system. The function of the graphics aid module 178 can alternatively be implemented by the CPU 184, if it was appropriately programmed and had the P1565 / 97MX sufficient output capacity. As will be further described below, the graphics aid module 178 generates a video signal superimposed on the existing television signal provided, in response to instructions received on the main bar 180 of the system. For example, a menu of observation options, information regarding the order of a VOD or a Nvod video or any other information regarding subscriber transactions that may be superimposed on the screen. The graphics help module 178 can generate a menu, a button image or a logo or other pattern or symbol and inject the image into the video stream so that the image appears on a designated portion of the screen. The information used in the generation of on-screen images, as will be described below, may be available in the received signals or may use information stored in the ICB 130, for example, preloaded in the static memory 186. The video stream that emerges of the analog mixing eliminator 173 or the video decoder 176 and, of the graphics aid module 178, is supplied to the signal generation module NTSC 182. As an alternative to the NTSC, the signal generation module 182 could generate signals in accordance with any format P1565 / 97MX video available and desired. The NTSC signal generation module 182 includes conventional circuitry for transforming the output of the analog mixing eliminator 172, the video decoder 176 and the graphics aid module 178 in a normal way usable by a conventional television or monitor (not shown in FIG. this view) . Alternatively, this function could convert the input signals into any suitable standard format. As shown in Figure 7, the NTSC signal generating module 182 generates a set of coordinated signals and supplies them to one or more terminal devices (not shown), adapted to receive and display television signals, including without limitation, to one or more televisions or personal computers. The output of the NTSC signal generation module 182 to one or more terminal devices includes a NTSC 182A video stream in channel 3 and / or 4, a composite 182B / Svideo Out signal (which may also carry baseband signals routed through EIA-563 171), and left and right 182C audio signals. The signal provided by the ICB 130 could be any signal that is derived totally or partially from the received input and could be in any desired form. Even more generally, the CPU 184 can issue instructions to operate televisions, computers or other terminal devices or P1565 / 97MX peripherals without limitation, for example, through the computer interface 196, which can be a suitable conventional device, coupled to the main control bar 180 of the system. In addition to the previously described components and function, which have to do with the reception and provision of television signals, possibly with inserted graphics, the ICB 130 includes several additional components to implement other functions. The processing associated with the operation and control of the ICB 130 functions is performed by the CPU 184. The CPU 184 can be any suitable processor available commercially and, preferably, one capable of performing in excess of 30 Mips, such as for example an integrated circuit chip (IC) POWER PC® 6 PENTIUM®, programmed to process the incoming digitized UHF signal in accordance with known methods, as well as selecting and processing the rest of the input provided or provided on ports 134, 138, 140, 144 and 145, when chosen by the subscriber 30. Alternatively, the CPU 184 could be a general purpose chip or a chip set to perform the same set of functions. In the software running in the system stored in the static memory 186 (which can be an EEPROM, a ROM or the like), the CPU 184 has access through the bar P1565 / 97MX main 180 control system to static memory 186 and dynamic memory 188, which can be a conventionally available memory, preferably with a storage capacity of at least 4-5 MB. The CPU 184 also has access through the main control bar 180 of the system to the information with respect to the present channel, to the graphics aid module 178 with respect to the graphic display signals and the video decoder 176 and an input selector 170, as well as the secure processing subsystem 172 and the tuners 161-166, in order to assert or assert the appropriate command messages to said components. The interaction by the subscriber 30 with the ICB 130 can be by any suitable means, but preferably by means of a conventional infrared (IR) remote control, according to the described modality. The input controller 190 receives signals from the remote control input device 158 controlled by the subscriber via an IR receiver and the associated circuitry (not shown). Using the input device 158 (or any other suitable input means), the subscriber 130 can issue instructions to the ICB 130 to switch between programs, to request VoD or NVoD services via the return path facility 50, to control the supply of these services P1565 / 97MX requested with VCR function, to purchase items offered for sale on purchasing channels or to supply any desired entry originated by the subscriber 30. The instructions received by the entry controller 190 may be asserted or affirmed by the main control bar 180 of the system as commands to the input selector 170 and the tuners 161-166, the secure processor subsystem 172, as well as the video decoder 176 and the graphics aid module 178. The input controller 190 may also send messages to the CPU 184 when, for example, the subscriber 30 requests an interactive program or another service. The interaction by the ICB 130 with the return route installation 50 via the PSTN lines 40 and the telephone service provider 45 is conducted by the CPU 184 through a WAN communications processor and the modem. 192. The WAN communication processor and the modem 192 can be any conventional device suitable for converting the messages received by the main control bar 180 of the system into a WAN compatible protocol, such as for example an IP (internet protocol). and, modulate the converted message signals received from the WAN communications processor for transmission P1565 / 97 X on lines 40 of the PSTN by means of switching and other facilities maintained and operated by a telephone service provider 45 (as shown in Figures 1-3). In addition to the main function of providing television programming to the subscriber 30 or the handling of instructions to one or more terminal devices such as televisions or computing devices, the CPU 184 operates in accordance with the software resident in static memory 186, by example, and, using known methods, implements an authorization function that enables subscribers (and only subscribers) of particular services, to be able to see or observe the programming associated with said services. The CPU 184 is also programmed to capture and send via the telecommunications connection 194 to the return path facility 50 the subscriber's requests for the entry of transactions by the remote control system 158, as well as data with respect to the observation or visibility and other observable events.

B. Return Route Installation A second portion of the return route subsystem 80 is a return route installation 50. The P1565 / 97MX return path installation 50 is shown in Figure 2 in schematic form, illustrating the function of that system component according to the present invention. Referring to Figure 8, the return path installation is shown in more detail. In brief, the return path facility 50 provides an external transaction system to facilitate observation, shopping, and other transactions by the subscriber 30 executed from home by the ADCS in accordance with the present invention, the system and, also to facilitate compliance with the observation, acquisition or other request, which includes, take an order, process the order, establish delivery of the requested or purchased item, conduct billing for the transaction or acquisition and share the processes with the seller. In addition, the return path facility 50 can also capture observation information and purchase patterns for the subsequent compilation for a market analysis center to determine the most valuable content types for each individual customer. This process facilitates the transmission of targeted advertising messages that can trigger or trigger interactions for more information or a transaction. The return path subsystem 50 is finally P1565 / 97MX adaptable from an ADCS to a symmetric data communications system when the PSTN or other non-broadcast or transmission return path has sufficient bandwidth available to support the entire video supply. The return path installation 50 includes a conventional processing means 54, which may be one or more of the commercially available processors and which is coupled by a main bus 51 of the return path facility with at least one static memory device 55, at least one dynamic memory device 56 and which may also be coupled with at least one mass storage device 57. These memory devices can be implied in commercially available hardware or equipment. Two communication paths between the return path facility 50 and the subscribers, such as the illustrative subscriber 30, can be maintained on a line or several public telephone lines or other transmission lines by the I / O device 53, which can be any Conventional device suitable for modulating and demodulating the input and output in a manner consistent with the transmission line. Since the return path subsystem 50 is responsible for receiving the request messages, the demographic information and P1565 / 97MX other information from all subscribers within the signal range of the transmission subsystem 20, the transmission line or lines preferably have sufficient capacity to handle this transit. In accordance with the function described more fully hereinafter, the return path subsystem 50 sends messages, such as for example authorization requests, to the program subsystem 10 via the device 1/0 58 in the main bus 51 of the subscriber subsystem. return route. Optionally, messages such as for example demographic, billing or other transaction data may also be sent to other service providers 48 via the I / O device 59 in the main bar 51 of the return path subsystem. The I / O devices 58 and 59 can be implemented by any conventional equipment suitable for this purpose. As shown in Figure 3, the function of the return path subsystem 50 includes two main modules: The session control module 60 and the administrative module 70. The processing associated with both modules is performed by the processor 54 in accordance with software that may be pre-stored in static memory 55 and using memory P1565 / 97MX dynamic 56 and mass storage 57 as needed. In the illustrated embodiment, but without limitation, the session control module 60 of the return route installation 50 is responsible for maintaining an interface or interconnection with each ICB 130 that has initiated a session. Programming requests or other transactions are handled and monitored as they are audience observations provided by ICB 130 in accordance with a desired predetermined approach. The session control module 60 also includes the recording of desired aspects of the messages and transactions in the mass storage device 57. Also the transaction requests, the demographic data and other marketing data or other received messages are sent for processing by the administrative module 70. The administrative module 70 captures the occurrence of the requested transactions for billing purposes, registration of the patterns of observation and, to fulfill the requested transaction by transmitting the appropriate requests as necessary on the link 52 to the program subsystem 10. Requests for other types of transactions, such as, for example, purchase offers in channels for domestic purchases or any other transaction, can be taken into account and P1565 / 97MX then supplied to the appropriate provider from a set of other service providers 48 with whom the ADCS operator has established a relationship. The administrative module 70 also captures or collects the client's information with respect to what the client sees, the acquisition patterns and the demographic or psychological information important for marketing or marketing and stores this information as necessary and / or supplies it to one or more of the other service providers 48 in accordance with a predetermined arrangement. This collection of information may be done, for example, but without limitation, in accordance with the agreements with the subscribers that allow the collection of said information, possibly with a reduction in the subscription fee or with some other consideration for the subscriber. The administrative module 70 of the return path subsystem 50, in accordance with a predetermined scheme, can also keep track of the observation and transaction requests for one or more of the other service providers 48 and, you can use this information to conduct billing on behalf of said suppliers 48.

P1565 / 97MX IV. operation of the ADCS System of Conformity with the Present Invention. A logic flow diagram for the processing associated with a representative transaction performed by an ADCS mode according to the present invention is shown in Figure 10. In particular, the subscriber 30 via ICB 130 initiates a request for a program particular that requires authorization and, the tracking of the processing or activity by the ICB 130, the return path subsystem 50, the program subsystem 10 and the transmission subsystem 20 will be described. At the upper edge of each box is indicated the subsystem of the ADCS responsible for carrying out the indicated function. The process 200 begins at step 202, wherein the tuner of the ICB 130 (i.e., the input selector 130) is tuned to the regular programming selected by the subscriber 30, which may be a default setting that could be a factory setting or determined by the subscriber 30. Using the remote IR 158, the user may request an observation session, at 204. The CPU 184 of the ICB 130 retrieves from the static memory 186 (or from other storage not shown in Figure 7) the pre-stored code for an observation selection list and execute any processing P1565 / 97MX necessary. Then, using the main control bar 180 of the system and, if necessary, of the video decoder 176 and graphics aid 178, the code of the pre-stored pick list is processed by the signal generation module NTSC 182 and provided on the line 182A to a terminal device, such as example a television set 34, in step 208. If the subscriber 30 does not express interest in a transaction, the process 200 simply returns to the start, step 202. However, if the subscriber 30 requests a transaction in 210 (using the remote IR 158) and the IR controller 190 receives the request at 212, the CPU 184 of the ICB 130 retrieves from the static memory 186 a pre-stored request for a personal identification number (PIN), which then causes it to be displayed on the television set 34, for example, the character string "Enter PIN" ("Enter PIN"). The subscriber 30, having been informed by the message, through the remote IR 158 enters his PIN, which is received by the IR controller 190 and stored by the CPU 184 in the dynamic memory 188. The CPU 184 of the ICB 130, of In accordance with the instructions, it retrieves it from the static memory 186 and starts a procedure to verify the PIN, at 224. If the PIN is not verified, the CPU 184 causes P1565 / 97MX that the "Wrong PIN, Cancel?" Message is displayed on the television set 34. ("Incorrect PIN cancel?") Or, another legend with the effect and expect a response from the subscriber 30. If the subscriber 30 responds with a refusal, the process 200 returns to step 214, in which the PIN it is requested again (pre-assuming that a memory or entry error has been committed by the subscriber 30). If the subscriber 30 responds in the affirmative, process 200 simply reverts to initial pairing 202. If, on the other hand, the PIN was checked in step 224, then CPU 184 invokes the WAN communications processor and modem 192, the CPU 184 marks or calls the return path subsystem 50 (which could also be referred to as "header", as it is in Figure 10). The processor 54 of the return path subsystem 50 establishes a connection with the ICB 130 and reads the request of the subscriber 30, the PIN and other desired subscriber information. The processor 54 of the return path sub-frame 50, which invokes the admin module 70, generates the billing data associated with this request. For the purposes of this logical flow, it is intended, for convenience, that the "header" also include the function implemented by the ecosystem 10 of P1565 / 97MX program. In step 230, the processor 54 of the return path sub-system 50 generates and transmits to the program sub-system 10 the movement that the e-coder 30 is authorized for a particular selected observation selection. An authorization code, which may have been pre-stored in the return path intake 50 and retrieved by program e-program 10 or, which alternatively could have been pre-stored in program sub-program 10, is then included in the transmission by the program subsystem 10 to the traffic e-system 20 and, thus, transmitted, for example, in the vertical suppression range of a particular video stream. The authorization code is ineerted in a video stream that will be transmitted in a frequency band to which ICB 130 is programmed to tune and search for this information. In accordance with the foregoing, the authorization code is identified in the band by ICB 130 and extracted in accordance with known methods, in step 232, to be used in enabling the decoding of the selected transmission or tuning with a channel authorized, I'm going to 234. The CPU 184 of the ICB 130 then adds, if necessary, that the tuner ATV 162 is tuned to the appropriate band, that the input selector 170 is set P1565 / 97MX by switching the ATV 162 tuner transmission through the video decoder 176 and that the video decoder 176 has the authorization needed to eliminate the mixing of the authorized trailer. In 238, the subscriber can finish the session using the remote IR 158, either at the end of the program or for any other reason. If the subscriber 30 during the course of the transmission does not indicate that he wishes to terminate the session, the CPU 184 continues to cause the authorized channel to be displayed on the television set 34. During this period, another function, including the VCR function, may be re-established. another interaction of the eubecriptor. If, on the other hand, the subscriber 30 does not terminate the domain or, if it ends on its own, then the process 200 returns to the initial step 202. The foregoing describes the preferred embodiment of the present invention. You can adopt or implement various changes and modifications to what has been presented without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

P1565 / 97MX

Claims (30)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the present invention, it is considered as a novelty and, therefore, the property contained in the following CLAIMS is claimed as property: 1. A seventh to communicate the content towards a plurality of eubecriptoree, the content is transported For the signals that originate from a plurality of content providers, the system for communicating the content comprises: a plurality of receivers, each receiver to receive at least one of the signals containing content and transmitted by one of the plurality of providers. of content; a means for digitizing the received messages from the plurality of content providers, the digitizing means is coupled with the receiving means to receive the e-mails; a means for compressing the digitized artwork, the compilation means is coupled with the digitizing means to receive the digitized e-mails; a multiplexer coupled with the compression means for multiplexing the digital images in at least one stream of digital data; a modulator means coupled with the multiplexer

   P1565 / 97MX to modulate the at least one stream of multiplexed digitalee data; an RF overcurrent means coupled to the multiplexer means for channeling at least one digitized data stream multiplexed in the frequency band of UHF; an amplifier coupled to the RF overconverter means for amplifying the at least one digital multiplexed UHF data stream; and an antenna coupled to the amplifier to transmit at least one multiplexed digitale data stream of amplified UHF; with which the aggregation of point-to-multipoint programming source can be provided to a plurality of eubecriptor by means of digital UHF broadcasting or transmition.
2. 2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the content providers is transmitted via satellite and the at least one receiver includes a means to receive the messages transmitted via satellite.
3. 3. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein a second signal received from the plurality of signals received is supplied by cable and at least one of the plurality of receivers.
4. P1565 / 97MX is adapted to receive cable transmissions. The communication seventh according to claim 3, wherein a third signal of the plurality of received signals is supplied by microwave transmission and, where at least one of the plurality of receivers includes a receiver adapted to receive tranemieionee via microwave. .
5. 5. The communication system according to claim 4, wherein a fourth signal of the plurality of signals received is transmitted optically by optical fiber and, wherein at least one of the plurality of receivers includes a receiver adapted to receive the optical traceability. .
6. The communications system according to claim 1, wherein the received signal comprises video data and, wherein the at least one compression means is adapted to compress the digitized signal to a resolution of approximately 256 by 240 pixels.
7. 7. A system for communicating with a plurality of sub-subscribers, the communication includes the content carried by the signals originating from a plurality of content providers, at least one of the plurality of subscribers has access to a telecommunications system, the eietema for the

   P1565 / 97MX communication comprises: a program subsystem, which includes: a. a plurality of receivers, each receiver for receiving one of the plurality of content carrier signals; b. a processing means coupled with the plurality of receivers and adapted for: i. digitize the signs of the plurality of content providers; ii. Inert the desired information in the digitized signals; iii. compress the digitized e-cards; and iv. multiplexing the digitized signals in at least one stream of data; c. a means for modulating the at least one digital data stream, the modulation means is coupled to the processing means; d. an RF buffering means coupled to the modulation means for channeling at least a stream of digital data modulated in the UHF frequency band; and. at least one amplifier coupled to the RF overconverter means to amplify the at least one digital modulated signal; F. at least an antenna coupled to the

   P1565 / 97MX menoe an amplifier to transmit at least one amplified data stream; and a return path euphemism coupled with the program e-system and the telecommunication system, the return path sub-system includes a processing means adapted to receive the telecommunication system, the communication coming from the subscribers and communicating to the e-system. of the program the information that will be ineertada by the eubeyetem of program in lae eeñalee digitized received; with which the aggregation of point-to-multipoint programming sources can be provided to the subecrotrees by means of the digital UHF dif- fusion or tranemieion, the tranemieion or difuesion can be received by con- necting the eubecriptor input and, the transmieionee of the program can be modified in reepueeta at the subscriber's entrance.
8. 8. A system for communicating with a plurality of subscribers, the communication includes the content transported by the subscriber that originates from a plurality of content providers, at least one of the plurality of subscribers has access to a telecommunications system, the System for communication comprises:

   P1565 / 97MX a. a program subsystem, which includes: i. a plurality of receivers, each receiver to receive at least one of the plurality of content carriers; ii. a processing means adapted to modify the signals received, the processing means is coupled with the plurality of receivers; b. a transmission system coupled with the program subsystem and to receive the signals received from the program e-system, the transmission subsystem includes: i. a means to digitize the e-mails from the plurality of content providers; ii. means for compressing the digitalized elements, the compression means is coupled with the digitizing means; iii. a multiplexer, to multiplex the signals digitized in at least one data stream, the multiplexer is coupled with the compression means; iv. means for modulating the at least one digital data stream in a radiofrequency band, coupled with the multiplexer means; v. a means of RFconverter coupled to the modulation means for channeling the at least one digital data stream multiplexed and modulated in

   P1565 / 97 X the radio frequency band; saw. at least one amplifier coupled to the RF overconverter means to amplify the at least one modulated digital data stream; and vii. at least an antenna to transmit at least a stream of digital data, modulated, channeled and amplified; and c. a return path subsystem coupled with the program sub-system and with the telecommunication system, which includes a processing means adapted to receive, on the telecommunication system, the communications coming from the subscribers; with which the aggregation of point-to-multipoint programming source can be provided to the eubecriptor by means of digital transmission or broadcasting and can be taken into account by the communications system the transmission or diffusion with respect to the input of the e-registrar.
9. 9. The communication system according to claim 8, wherein the means of processing the return path subsystem is further adapted to communicate with the program sub-system when receiving a communication from an e-recorder and the means of processing the subsystem of adapted program
10. P1565 / 97MX additionally to modify the signals received when receiving a communication from the return route sub-system, with which the transmission can be modified in response to a request from the subscriber. • The communication number according to claim 9, wherein the received signals include a plurality of programs, the e-mail of the subscriber is related to at least one of the plurality of programs and, the mication of the signals received by the subsystem of the program in response to the request of the subscriber, the inclusion in the transmission of an authorization code, the authorization code corresponds to the request of the subscriber for a particular program. The communication system according to claim 8, wherein the program sub-system further comprises a video server server, the video server server includes at least one video server and is adapted to reproduce at least one video server. a pre-selected set of videoe, the originating means of the return path is further adapted to receive the transmission requests from one of a set of pre-selected videos and to transmit to the program eubeyetem a wiggle with respect to the authorization for transmission to the subscriber of a pre-selected video and, the means of
11. P1565 / 97MX program subsystem processing is additionally adapted to include in the traffic an authorization code corresponding to the subector and the selected video.
12. 12. The communication system according to claim 8, wherein the return path eubeytem also comprises a storage means of data and, where the means of processing the evoietem of the return path is further adapted to create a record that corresponds to the communications received from the subecriptories and to store said register in a data storage medium.
13. The communications system according to claim 12, wherein the registration corresponding to the received communications from the subscribers contains billing information.
14. 14. The communications system according to claim 12, wherein the register corresponding to the communications received from the subscribers contains information on the preference of the eubecriptor derived from the communications of the subscriber.
15. 15. A system for communicating the content to a plurality of eubecriptoree, the content originates from a plurality of content providers and is transmitted by each content provider by means of receivables,

    P1565 / 97MX at least one of the plurality of subscribers has access to a telecommunications system, the system to communicate the content comprises: a. a program subsystem, which includes: i. a plurality of receivers, each receiver for receiving one of the plurality of signals, each signal from one of the plurality of content providers; ii. a processing means adapted to modify the received pattern, the processing means is coupled to the plurality of receivers; b. a transmission system that includes: i. at least one means for digitizing the signals of the plurality of content providers coupled to the receiving means; ii. at least one means for compressing the digitized templates, coupled to the digitizing means; iii. at least one multiplexer, for multiplexing the digitized signals in at least one data stream, coupled with the compression means; iv. a means for modulating the at least one digital data stream coupled with the multiplexer means; v. an overconverting means of RF coupled to the modulation means for channeling at least a digital signal, multiplexed and modulated in the UHF band;

    P1565 / 97MX vi. at least one amplifier coupled with the RF-decompression means for amplifying the at least one digital multiplexed, channelized and modulated signal; and vii. at least one antenna coupled with the at least one amplifier for transmitting the at least one digital signal modulated, channeled and amplified; c. a return path installation coupled to the program e-system and to the telecommunication system, which includes a processing means adapted to receive on the telecommunication network the communications from the subscribers; d. a plurality of intelligent control boxes, each intelligent control box in the subscriber's house, is coupled with the telecommunications system and includes: i. a tuner to receive the transmissions from the transmission sub-system; ii. an input device to accept the subscriber's requests; and iii. a processor coupled with the tuner and with the input diepoeitive and adapted to accommodate or assert the subscriber's requests in the return path installation by means of the system

    P1565 / 97MX telecommunications; With what aggregation of point-to-multipoint programming sources can be provided through the transmission or diffusion of digital UHF, a plurality of sub-subscribers can affirm or re-evaluate the requests in connection with the dif- esion and, the return route inetalation can eatiefacer lae requests.
16. 16. A method for providing asymmetric data communication services, comprising the following: a. receive a message from a plurality of content providers; b. digitize the signals of the plurality of content providers; c. multiplexing the signals of the plurality of content providers in at least one stream of data; d. modulate the at the raenoe a stream of digitalee digitalee data; and. channeling the at least one multiplexed and modulated digital data stream into at least one digital RF signal; F. tranemit the at least one digital RF signal to a plurality of eubecriptoree, each has a device for receiving and demodulating the

    P1565 / 97MX minus an RF signal; and g. receive on the PSTN a message from at least one subscriber reception device; and h. retransmitting to each other service providers each of at least one message from the at least one subscriber receiving device.
17. 17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising the step of modifying the signal transmitted in a reeppette to the wake from the at least one subscriber receiving device.
18. 18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the modification of the tracked signal is the incorporation of at least one authorization code corresponding to the at least one reception device of the subscriber.
19. 19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising the step of generating reject billing data to the message received from the at least one subscriber receiving device.
20. 20. The method according to claim 16, wherein the service re-evaluation is approximately 256 by 240 pixels.
21. 21. A diepoeitivo to allow an eubecriptor to interact with an asymmetric system of

    P1565 / 97MX data communications, the coupled device and the air communication data system, both coupled to a telecommunications system, the device has a plurality of ports, each to receive a signal of the plurality of signals, comprising : to. an input selector coupled with the plurality of ports and adapted to switch the signals arriving at the plurality of input ports in accordance with a selection of the eubecriptor; b. a plurality of receivers coupled with the input selector, each for receiving a selected signal switched by the input selector, the plurality of receivers includes: i. an e-tuner for receiving digital RF transmissions in the UHF band; and ii. a tuner to receive the analog RF signals; and c. a video decoder coupled with the digital tuner; d. a signal generation means coupled to the video decoder; and. an input device for the entry of information of the subscriber; F. a processor coupled with the input selector and the video decoder adapted to read the

    P1565 / 97MX input information of the subscriber and trigger the input selector to perform the requests of the subscriber; and f. a network interface coupled with the processor and the telecommunication system to tranemit the e-recorder from the aeimetric data communications system.
22. 22. The device according to claim 21, wherein the plurality of receivers further comprises a tuner DBS coupled to the input selector.
23. 23. The device according to claim 21, wherein the plurality of receivers further comprises a tuner MMDS coupled to the input selector.
24. 24. The device according to claim 21, wherein the plurality of receivers further comprises an LMDS tuner coupled to the input selector.
25. 25. The diepoeitive according to claim 22, wherein the plurality of receivers further comprises an MMDS tuner coupled to the input selector.
26. 26. The device according to claim 22, wherein the plurality of receivers further comprises a LMDS tuner coupled to the input selector.
27. 27. The device according to claim 23, wherein the plurality of receivers further comprises an LMDS tuner coupled to the input selector. P1565 / 97MX
28. 28. The device according to claim 25, wherein the plurality of receivers further comprises a LMDS tuner coupled to the input selector.
29. 29. The diepoeitive according to claim 21, further comprising a secure processor eubeytem coupled to the analog tuner to eliminate mixing of the analog input selector which requires the elimination of mixing.
30. 30. The diepoeitive according to claim 29, further comprising an EIA-563 baseband interface coupled to the secure processor sub-system.

    P1565 / 97MX SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An asymmetric data communication (ADCS) that provides point-to-multipoint television programming that includes conventional television programming, near-demand video (NVoD) or video-on-demand (VoD) and, the complete variety of programming available, by means of a digitized and compressed UHF tranemieion. An e-program module of the ADCS receives programming from the content provider and processes the signals received for the channel and service VoD or NVoD, then sends the added signal to a transmission subsystem that modulates, channels, amplifies, filters and transmits or It broadcasts the stories of UHF digitalee in the air. They are equipped with an intelligent control box (ICB) configured in an appropriate way to receive, demodulate and decode the transmission or diffusion of digital UHF and to transmit the signal to one or more deployable or other devices. The ICB also provides a matrix or gate switch to receive signals on any available retransmission path. In addition to the ICB of the subscribed viewers, a return route subsystem of the seventh ADCS includes an administrative and session control linkage to which the ICBs are linked through the switched telephone network

    P1565 / 97MX public or an appropriate wireless alternative, so that transaction and observation data can be received from the subscribed viewers. The return path ecosystem, in turn, is linked to the program sub-system in order to route any necessary or useful information to provide the programming to this subsystem.

    P1565 / 97MX