Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
  • H04N21/443—OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
  • H04N21/4438—Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
  • H04N21/431—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
  • H04N21/434—Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream
  • H04N21/4345—Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/47—End-user applications
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/47—End-user applications
  • H04N21/482—End-user interface for program selection
  • H04N21/4821—End-user interface for program selection using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
  • H04N21/81—Monomedia components thereof
  • H04N21/812—Monomedia components thereof involving advertisement data
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N5/00—Details of television systems
  • H04N5/76—Television signal recording
  • H04N5/78—Television signal recording using magnetic recording
  • H04N5/782—Television signal recording using magnetic recording on tape
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/47—End-user applications
  • H04N21/478—Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application

Definitions

• This invention relates to electronic program guides that incorporate advertising messages or words.
• an onscreen electronic program guide As the number of television channels available on cable and by satellite expands, an onscreen electronic program guide (EPG) become more indispensable. Such an EPG permits the user to sort the available present and future programming by theme, time, and channel. As a result, the user can find a program of interest more easily.
• EPG electronic program guide
• advertisements are inserted in an EPG on the screen of a display monitor between the individual television program listings.
• a memory stores EPG data and advertising data.
• a microprocessor is programmed to recover EPG data corresponding to a number of television programs and advertising data from the memory.
• the microprocessor controls the monitor to display the recovered EPG data on the screen in lines of television program listings, each television program listing being displayed in a separate line, and to display the recovered advertising data in a line on the screen instead of one of the television program listings.
• the EPG and advertising data are displayed in a first area of the screen and a detail window is displayed in a second area of the screen.
• One of the lines of EPG data is highlighted with a cursor.
• a description of the television program listing highlighted by the cursor is inserted in the second area.
• a description relating to the advertising data is inserted in the second area.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of apparatus for carrying out the invention
• FIG. 2 is a screen format produced by the apparatus of FIG. 1.
• a source of television signals 10 in FIG. 1 such as a terrestrial antenna, or a cable is connected to a television tuner 11.
• the output of tuner 11 is a modulated intermediate frequency signal containing video and audio television information.
• Tuner 11 is connected by an intermediate frequency amplifier (IF AMP) 12 to a picture detector (PICTURE DET) 13 and a sound detector (SOUND DET) 14, which produce base band video and audio signals, respectively.
• IF AMP intermediate frequency amplifier
• PICTURE DET picture detector
• SOUND DET sound detector
• the audio signal is coupled by a sound amplifier (SOUND AMP) 15 to a loudspeaker 16.
• the video signal is coupled by a video amplifier not shown to one input of a switch 18.
• Sound detector 14 and picture detector 13 are connected to the audio and video inputs, respectively, of a video cassette recorder (VCR) 17.
• VCR video cassette recorder
• television sig, nal source 10 could be directly connected to the RF input of VCR 17, if its internal tuner and demodulating circuitry is to be utilized.
• the output of VCR 17 is connected to the other input of switch 18.
• the output of switch 18 is connected to one input of a conventional picture-in-picture (PIP) integrated circuit chip 19.
• PIP chip 19 is connected to the video input of a television receiver or monitor (TV) 20 having a screen (not shown).
• An updatable data base of the schedule of program listings of all the available channels for a prescribed period of time, e.g. a day or a week, is electronically stored in a program schedule memory 22.
• These program listings typically include for each program the title, a program description, the day of the week, the start time of the day, the program length, and the channel on which the program is transmitted and thus available for reception at source 10.
• the period of time for which the program listings are stored is different for the guides, depending upon viewer priorities and preferences. For example, the information needed to display the TISPG and CSPG may be stored for one or two days and the information needed to display the TSPG may be stored for a week or more.
• the data base can be updated by a continuous data link in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of one television channel broadcast to the television receiver in well known fashion.
• VBI vertical blanking interval
• the data base can be updated by unplugging memory 22 and replacing it with a memory having the updated data base.
• Memory 22 is connected to a microprocessor 24 that is programmed to control the operation of the described equipment.
• An operating program for microprocessor 24 is stored in a read only memory (ROM) 26.
• ROM read only memory
• a viewer input device 28, preferably in the form of a remote IR controller, is coupled to microprocessor 24 to provide commands from the viewer.
• a video processor 30 is coupled to microprocessor 24.
• microprocessor 24 recalls a portion of the program schedule data base from memory 22 and couples it to video processor 30, where the program listings are formatted for display.
• the information stored in video processor 30 is a bit map of what is displayed on the screen of television receiver 20.
• Video processor 30 is connected to the other input of PIP chip 19.
• viewer input device 28 controls microprocessor 24 by cursor movement on the screen of television receiver 20.
• microprocessor 24 and video processor 30 are coupled to a cursor position register 32.
• Microprocessor 24 is also coupled to tuner 11 for channel change, to VCR 17 for play/record selection and start stop, to switch 18 for selection of one of its inputs, and to PIP chip 19 for selection of the mode of PIP operation.
• the format of the electronic program guide is shown in FIGS. 2.
• the format has a background area 40 and an overlaid PIP window 42 in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
• the real time i.e., 5:11 p.m.
• Background area 40 includes a banner and message prompting area 43 at the top of the screen, a program description area 44 in the upper right-hand corner of the screen adjacent to PIP window 42, and a program schedule area 46 below areas 42 and 44.
• Program description area 44 includes the start time and length (duration) of the program being described.
• EPG data retrieved from memory 22 is displayed in lines, each program listing being displayed in a separate line.
• the viewer can move a cursor 48 vertically to highlight one of the lines of program listings displayed in area 46.
• the highlighted background of cursor 48 and the background of program description area 44 are preferably the same color or shade.
• the complete, moving images of a currently broadcast television program in real time and the current time are displayed in PIP window 42 and the audio portion of the television program displayed in PIP window 42 is reproduced by the sound system of monitor 20.
• Advertising inserts are displayed on the screen between the lines of program listings in program schedule area 46 and related information or announcements are displayed in description area 44.
• the advertising inserts are preferably transmitted in the VBI as part of the program schedule information and stored at the television receiver in RAM, represented functional as an advertising insert memory 34.
• the inserts are transmitted as part of the packets of information about the programs, i.e., SIPs, with which the advertising inserts are displayed.
• the apparatus of FIG. 1 functions as described in 08/475,395, the advertising inserts being treated as part of the program listings displayed in area 46 and the brief program descriptions displayed in area 44.
• memory 34 and memory 22 could be physically incorporated in a single RAM. Addresses for the advertising inserts could be stored as part of the pre-established time lists for the programs with which the advertising inserts are displayed. Thus, the addresses link the time lists to the advertising inserts, and each advertising insert is only stored once in memory 34. By linking the advertising inserts to the time lists, the displayed advertising insert becomes time dependent. Thus, the content of the displayed advertisements can, to some extent, be directed to the interests of the viewers. Advertisements of interest to housewives would be displayed in the morning and advertisements of interest to children would be displayed in the early evening. As illustrated in FIG.
• an advertising insert 50 is preferably displayed as a line below the listing, "NBC 4 NEWS" of the television program that the advertiser, e.g., Coca Cola, sponsors.
• the advertiser e.g., Coca Cola
• the viewer highlights the line with cursor 48; then such information is displayed in area 44, instead of information about a television program.
• the announcement in area 44 could inform the viewer that the advertised product is on sale in articular retail establishment at a particular price or give an more detailed product description.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Multimedia (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Marketing (AREA)
• Software Systems (AREA)
• Two-Way Televisions, Distribution Of Moving Picture Or The Like (AREA)
• Television Systems (AREA)
• User Interface Of Digital Computer (AREA)
• Toys (AREA)
• Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Related Child Applications (1)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=21878581

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (11)

Families Citing this family (79)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (6)

• 1997
  • 1997-12-19 BR BR9713597-6A patent/BR9713597A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-12-19 CN CN97181798A patent/CN1112804C/zh not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1997-12-19 CA CA2275720A patent/CA2275720C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1997-12-19 JP JP52803698A patent/JP3527252B2/ja not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1997-12-19 KR KR1019997005570A patent/KR100327556B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1997-12-19 CA CA2844582A patent/CA2844582A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1997-12-19 WO PCT/US1997/023852 patent/WO1998027723A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-12-19 MX MXPA99005769A patent/MXPA99005769A/es active IP Right Grant
  • 1997-12-19 ES ES06010801T patent/ES2424948T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1997-12-19 CA CA2779619A patent/CA2779619C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1997-12-19 EP EP97952633A patent/EP0947093A4/de not_active Ceased
  • 1997-12-19 AU AU56198/98A patent/AU731010B2/en not_active Expired
• 2000
  • 2000-07-24 HK HK00104550A patent/HK1025454A1/xx not_active IP Right Cessation

Patent Citations (4)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events