MXPA97002071A - Download of televis graphics and subtitles - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for downloading subtitles and on-screen graphics to a television terminal for the display, comprising a system administrator computer (22) and a data transmission apparatus coupled thereto for transmitting downloadable display orders and cube definition data and transmission program codes to the terminal (14). The intervention of the manufacturer is minimized since the system operator sweeps (2) a graphic image (1) to create a bitmap and encodes the bitmap in the cube definition data (4). The system administrator also generates display control commands to download them to the terminal without the intervention of the manufacturer, which controls when, how, where and how the graphics images will be displayed. The program code, the definition data can be downloaded globally or directed by the transmission of in-band video data, in-band audio data or out-of-band data. The output graphics for the display may be accompanied by a predetermined audio signal

Description

DOWNLOAD OF GRAPHICS AND TELEVISION SUBTITLES This is a continuation request in part of the Application Serial No. 08 / 072,291 filed on June 7, 1993 entitled "Visual Display System with Programmable Visual Display Parameters", of Application Serial No. 07 / 983,909 filed on December 1, 1992 entitled "Programmable Subscriber Terminal" and Application Serial No. 08 / 073,404 filed on June 7, 1993 entitled "Visual Display System for a Subscriber Terminal".

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the field of television terminals by subscription and, in particular, to a method and an apparatus for loading graphics and subtitles on the screen, for example, a logo and system or commercial name of the television system. cable to a television terminal to display them visually on a television screen associated with "turning on" the terminal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A subscriber communications terminal, known in the cable television industry as the P388 Scientific-Atlanta 8600X terminal, which is obtained from Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, is reprogrammable. That is, a new driver software for controlling the operation of the terminal can be loaded from the RF section of cable television, as described in United States Patent Application Serial No. 07 / 983,909 filed on 1Q. December 1992 and which is mentioned here as a reference. The terminal comprises a multifunction control circuit (MCC) that controls the input of data to the subscriber terminal from the RF section of a subscription television system. The MCC controls a plurality of decoders for in-band data (typically in the horizontal or vertical extinction range of the television signal), in-band audio data, and out-of-band data that temporarily stores in a volatile memory area. Among the multiplicity of transactions between the RF section and the subscriber terminal are several for loading program code and / or program code parameters from the RF section into the memory space of the control microprocessor. The control program can, therefore, be changed, improved, features can be added, obsolete features and the like can be disabled.

In addition, in connection with a reprogramming feature, the 8600X terminal comprises a visual screen display system for generating display of characters and graphics for observation on a television screen associated with it, as described in the Patent Application of the United States Serial No. 08 / 073,404 filed June 7, 1993, entitled "Visual Display System for a Subscriber Terminal", incorporated herein by reference. The visual display system described comprises a visual display processor and a visual display memory that is divided into a screen definition section for symbols, a symbol adjustment definition section and a screen definition section for graphics. The visual display processor can produce a display of text or symbols, a display of graphics or a combination of text displays and graphics. The flexibility allows the text to be written with an overlay of graphics, for example a logo or similar. The visual display generated can be of variable sizes and placed in any desired location of the exhibition area. The symbol definitions and the display parameters are programmable in the memory of the subscriber terminal from the RF section. The programming capability of the display parameters of the 8600X terminal is described in United States Patent Serial No. 08 / 072,291 filed on June 7, 1993 entitled "Visual Display System with Programmable Display Parameters" and that it is incorporated here by reference. In a described modality, the stored display data and the visual display attributes are downloaded from the system manager of the RF section to the non-volatile memory of the subscription terminal, for example an EPROM Flash »or a battery-backed RAM. The stored screen information and attributes are loaded in a global way with other data and executable codes for all subscriber terminals. In another modality, a series of visual display transactions are used to construct on-screen visual displays with on-screen display information and attributes on the screen. A high level display language is described, where communication transactions are sent or routed globally to the subscriber terminals. The transactions describe screens that are preferably compressed, the compressed information is decoded by expansion routines, transforming them into a common format for display and loading in the same area as other visual displays and visual display attributes data. The loaded data is subsequently used by the visual display processor in the same way as other display information and other attributes. On the other hand, to provide the capability of a visual display of a graphic and subtitles of design, for example a stylized logo and the name of a color system operator, the logo and the subtitle can be designed upon request at the manufacturer's location of the equipment and sent to the system operator in the form of a memory module containing pre-stored data. Referring briefly to Figures 18 and 19, the manufacturer provides a "cube" program and data code (cubicle section definition data of the graph) by means of an SRAM that the system administrator must insert into a download mixer to download them to a terminal. In addition, the manufacturer also provides orders for a database for the display, which can be downloaded using a disk or tape that is inserted into the personal computer, which consists of a Scientific-Atlanta System Manager 10 computer. This operation requires Considerable effort and time on the part of the manufacturer of the equipment (Scientific-Atlanta) in order to provide, including the steps of scanning an image, finishing the image, encoding the image in a first memory and encoding commands or commands of downloadable exhibits in a second memory, P388 to be supplied to the system operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a method and an apparatus for downloading subtitle and graphics data by which it decreases and, where appropriate, the participation of the equipment manufacturer is eliminated. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a means by which the system operator is self-sufficient; the system operator designs its own subtitles and graphics screens upon request to download them to the subscriber terminal. Another additional object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus by which the system operator can first download data of graphics and subtitles that are directed to a first group of subscriber terminals and second graphics and subtitle data that can be addressed to a second group of subscriber terminals. According to the principles of the present invention, the measures that the manufacturer of the equipment must take are diminished or eliminated. According to a first method and apparatus according to the present invention, the program code on the disk is provided by the P388 manufacturer for the system operator to insert it in the system administrator. The code contains means to control the creation of space or place for additional cubes that are subsequently downloaded. Then, a bitmap of the logo (the new cube definition data) is inserted separately into the system administrator and downloaded to fill in the spaces created in the code. The cube and / or code definitions are downloaded using the pre-assigned download mixer and the downloadable display commands or commands are also downloaded, through transactions through the announcer channel mixer (barker) / pre-assigned text. Preferably, by means of the system administration computer, a second embodiment of this invention allows the system operator to design and code its own logo, subtitles and display control orders for the download. The program code allows this implementation to be provided by the manufacturer to be installed by the system administrator. The download mixer in this mode is used to transmit the program code through code download transactions. The advertiser (barker) / text channel mixer of this mode is used to transmit encoded cube definition data and downloadable display order transactions to the system operator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic and detailed block diagram of a subscription television system according to the present invention, comprising a system administrator 22 to control the download of graphics and subtitles to television terminals of subscriber 14 by mixers 44-52, the out-of-band data transmitter 54 and other data transmitters, such as the data repeaters described below. Figure 2 comprises Figures 2A and 2B connected as shown, in a detailed block schematic diagram of one of the subscriber terminals 14 of Figure 1. Figures 3 to 7 are pictorial representations of the different forms of the display system screen display of the subscriber terminal illustrated in Figure 2. Figure 8 is a pictorial representation of a pointer of the screen definition section for symbol, of the visual display memory. Figure 9 is a pictorial representation of a generic symbol of the adjustment definition area for symbol, of the visual display memory. Figure 10 is a pictorial representation of the palette records that are used in the color selection for the symbol. Figure 11 is a functional block diagram of the visual display controller, illustrated in Figure 2, and a pictorial representation of the visual display memory, divided into a section of screen definitions for symbol, a section of definitions of adjustment for symbol and a section of screen definitions for graphics. Figure 12 is a detailed block diagram of the analog processor illustrated in Figure 11. Figure 13 is a detailed block diagram of the digital processor illustrated in Figure 11. Figure 14 is a detailed pictorial representation of the registers that can be configured in the visual display controller illustrated in Figure 11. Figure 15 is a pictorial flow chart of the process of visual display communication transactions and the variation of display data and display attributes in the visual display system . Figure 16 is a pictorial representation of a visual display transaction.

Figures 17A and 17B are examples of two screens for visual display in different terminals 14, where each screen represents a service name for different service rows. Figure 18A comprises a flow diagram of a method for providing subtitle and graphics data at the manufacturer's location, by means of cube creation and image creation software (step 4); Figure 18B comprises a representation of a letter G of stylized color forming 12 cubes; Figure 18C comprises a stylized letter G print screen in the form that it is visually downloaded and displayed on an associated television set and Figure 18D comprises a terminal memory print of the graphics and character memory of terminal 14, where the cube data of the letter G is shown towards the screen control. Figure 19 comprises a flow chart of a first method mode for the manufacturer, through the system operator, to provide the subscriber terminal 14 of Figure 2 with the subtitle and graphics data, downloadable visual display commands and of code. Figure 20 comprises a flow diagram for a second improved embodiment of the method of Figure 19.

P388 Figure 21 comprises a diagram showing the transactions for cleaning the terminal memory, loading the memory with memory spaces including codes and subsequently filling the memory spaces with downloaded data for cube definition. Figure 22 comprises a flowchart of a further improved method for downloading graphics data, where the manufacturer only provides the program code. The system administrator downloads the code, for example, by means of a download mixer and downloads its own display and logo control command without the intervention of the manufacturer. Figure 23A is a color photograph of a printing screen for the Glentv screen, composed of graphical cube definition data, displayed according to the present invention, in an associated television set and Figure 23B is a color photograph From a printing screen for a terminal data memory of graphical cube definition and alpha numeric characters, the data for the Glentv graph is shown in the center of Figure 23B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION DB THE PREFERRED MODALITIES Figure 1 is a detailed diagram of an interactive television system by subscription, of P388 according to the present invention. The system of Figure 1 is intended to serve as an example and should not be construed as limiting the invention. A central control center 10 orchestrates the operation of the television system by subscription. The central control center 10 is usually associated with the central office of a multi-service system operator and can communicate with and control various RF sections, for example the RF section 12. The RF section 12 provides a plurality of services by subscription and without subscription, including television service, to a local area, for example, a city or a group of cities or towns. Other services may include telecommunications, energy management, domestic purchases and other interactive and non-interactive services. A subscriber terminal 14 is also shown and can be located in a subscriber's home or commercial location 70. Subscriber terminal 14 is typically coupled with a video cassette recorder (VCR) 18 and a television 20, as shown . It should be clear that the subscriber terminal 14 can also be directly coupled to the television 20 (which is not shown). The information can be communicated between the central control center 10 and the RF section 12 by any P388 known medium, including telephone networks, satellite transmissions, optical fibers, coaxial cable, other transmission lines, telecommunication devices, etc. or any combination of known means. The RF section 12 can be coupled to the subscriber terminals 14 of a plurality of subscribers by means of a subscription television distribution system 58, for example coaxial cables, satellite, optical fibers, telecommunication devices or others with means or combinations of means known. The central control center 10 includes a system administrator 22 that gives commands to other components of the central control center 10. The system administrator 22 is a PC-based computer system having a processor and a memory to provide an interface user graph that allows an operator to generate controllable control transactions, which are downloaded to the subscriber terminals 14 of the subscription television service. Controllable control transactions can be directed to the operation of the terminal, pay per event and messages. The blinking control transactions may also include menu screens and interactive and non-interactive screens that include subtitles and graphics designed in accordance with the present invention. The system administrator 22 understands P388 preferably a Network Controller of the Scientific-Atlanta System Manager 10 type, more conveniently, a typical personal computer comprising a keyboard and a monitor with a UNIX-based operating system and appropriate software applications, as will be discussed below. The use of the graphic interface of the system administrator 22 makes it possible for the operator to construct a screen or menu screens according to the present invention and orders that the screen be downloaded to the subscriber terminals 14 of the subscription television service in a global, group or individual basis. Upon receiving the download order, the system administrator 22 generates a transaction containing screen data along with a screen identifier and downloading to the subscriber terminals 14. For interactive services, the system includes a path communication link. return between the subscriber terminals 14 and the system administrator 22. Typically, as shown in Figure 1, the RF sections 12 include an IPPV RF 34 processor to receive return path information transmitted from an IPPV RF module, within of the subscriber terminal 14, over at least one passband in P388 inverse of the frequencies, and a modem 36 which retransmits the return path data from the IPPV RF processor 34 to the system administrator 22 via the modem 32. The central control center 10 may, alternatively or additionally, include a processor telephone 30 to receive the return path information directly from a telephone type IPPV module within the subscriber terminal 14. The system administrator 22 communicates to the RF section controller ("HEC") 28 of the section manager 12 , for example, by means of modems 26 and 38. The data transmissions between the system administrator 22 and the HEC 28 can follow the RS-232C communication protocol but are not limited in this respect. For example, authorization data may be transmitted from the system administrator 22 to the HEC 28. The HEC 28 forwards the authorization data and transmits it to the subscriber terminals, either in band, through the mixers 48, 50 6 52 over the mixed channels, the data repeaters (not shown) for unmixed channels, or out of band through the out-of-band data transmitter 54, for example, at 108.2 MHz. The HEC 28 is preferably a RF-section controller Scientific-Atlanta model 8658. The central control center 10 can also, P388 for example, provide billing services for the service provider, including billing for pay-per-event events. A billing computer 24 stores the billing information and can also format and print invoices. An electronic program guide (EPG) data provider 16 supplies television programming data to the RF section 12 via the satellite receiver 40 or by other known means, for example and without limitation, cable, optical fiber and telecommunications. These data include program information arranged by time and channel. One of these services is offered by StarSight Telecast Inc. The Insight service provides extensive listings of television programs. Cable operators can acquire this data and provide it to their subscribers. The EPG data received by satellite receiver 40 is passed to the information service processors ("ISP") 42. The transmission of the EPG data from the satellite receiver 40 to the ISP 42 can follow the RS-232C communication protocol but not is limited in that aspect. The ISP 42 can also receive text data for transmission to its subscribers. Text data can include weather information, sports results, messages, etc. and can P388 is provided by an information service provider or accumulated or generated by the system operator. The ISP 42 is responsible for receiving the EPG data as well as other data and for transmitting it to the subscribers. The ISP 42 provides data to the mixers 44 and 46. The transmission of data from the ISP 42 to the mixers 44 and 46 may follow the RS-485 communication protocol but is not limited in this respect. Of course, the current number of mixers to which the ISP provides data may depend on the amount of data to be transmitted, the number of channels on which the data is to be transmitted and the frequency at which it is desired to supply the data to the Subscriber terminal. The two mixers 44 and 46 in Figure 2 are only exemplary. The mixers 44 and 46 put the data in band for transmission to the subscribers, together with the mixing in an associated television signal. The EPG data and the text data in a preferred embodiment are placed in the vertical extinction range, for example, and the data can be placed anywhere on the 6 mega-Hertz channel of an NTSC television signal except for the lines 4, 5 and 6, and the vertical synchronization pulse. For example, the data could be of modulated amplitude in the sound carrier (in-band audio). In addition, the data could P388 is transmitted in a separate out-of-band channel (not shown) by the out-of-band data transmitter 54. While a NTSC television signal (US standard) is described by way of the example in this description, the signal may be a signal PAL, SECAM, a compressed digital video signal or a high definition signal that has a wider bandwidth, either analogue or digital. Additional information pertaining to the ways of transmitting the data may be obtained from U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 07 / 983,766, entitled "Bandwidth / Out of Band Data Transmission Method and Method for a System of Television "presented on December 1, 1992 and which is mentioned here as a reference. The EPG data received by the satellite receiver 40 will usually be extensive, containing data for programs up to one to two weeks in advance. If all this data is to be transmitted to the subscriber terminal 14, the terminal must be able to store the data in its memory. To store so much information a significant amount of memory is required that would greatly increase the costs of the terminal. Therefore, the ISP 42 may select portions of data to be transmitted to the subscribers. The ISP 42 receives the EPG data, selects the portion to be transmitted P388 to the subscribers and passes that portion to the mixer, for example to the mixer 44 and / or 46. Not only the ISP 42 can select portions of the EPG data, but it can also add data to the local stations not covered by the provider. EPG data 16. ISP 42 can also reformat data to make it more pleasing to subscribers. The EPG data is conveniently marked as short term or long term, for example for the mixers 44, 46. The mixers 44, 46 send the most immediate data, for example, the following hours of the EPG data, more frequently (to a higher repetition rate) than long-term data. For this purpose, mixers 44 and 46 are provided with a dynamic random access memory, for example, at 356 kbytes, 512 kbytes, or even at 1 megabyte for temporary storage of data for transmission. As discussed above, the ISP 42 can also obtain text data from an information service provider, for example, a stock capture service, or locally generate text data. Text data can originate from many different information service providers and reach ISP 42 by many different means, including via satellite, modem dialing, direct connection modem, P388 direct connection to the system administrator 10 or by other known means. The text data can either be transmitted as it is received or can be reformatted by ISP 42 and then transmitted to the mixer (44 or 46) for transmission to the subscribers, as already mentioned above. A plurality of program sources, one of which is shown in the program source 60, supplies television signals to the RF section 12 via the satellite receiver 62 as shown, or by other means such as local broadcast, icroondas , coaxial cable, optical fibers, telecommunication devices, etc. or a combination thereof. The ISP 42 passes the data to the HEC 28, which controls the mixers 48, 50 and 52 and also to the out-of-band data transmitter 54. The data transmission from the ISP 42 to the HEC 28 can be followed with the communication protocol RS- 232C, but it is not limited in this respect. Data Transmissions from the HEC 28 to the mixers 48, 50 and 52 and the out-of-band data transmitter 54 can follow the RS-485 communication protocol, but it is not limited to this aspect. The mixers 48, 50 and 52 mix the television signals and can also insert data in band. In addition, like mixers 44, and 46, mixers 48, 50 and 52 may contain access memory Dynamic random P388 for the temporary storage of data for transmission. The mixers 44, 46, 48, 50 and 52 can be Scientific-Atlanta 8656-SSU / SEU model mixers. All data can be transmitted in unmixed channels through the data repeater (not shown) as the Scientific-Atlanta 8556-100 data repeater. The out-of-band data transmitter 54 transmits data on a separate carrier ie, not within a 6 mega-Hertz channel, for example at 108.2 MHz. The out-of-band transmitter 54 may be a dirigible transmitter from Scientific-Atlanta Model 8653-SU (ATX) to transmit global, group or specifically directed transactions to the subscriber. The ATX is capable, for example, of transmitting any of a plurality of input data rates to 9600 baud by manipulation modulation by biphase code frequency offset. The transmitted data can be, for example, de-mixed information. In a preferred embodiment, the data is inserted in each vertical blanking interval to indicate the type of mixing used in the next video field. In addition, authorization information could be transmitted, this information would authorize the reception of channels or programs in P388 global form or to specific individual or group subscribers. A part of the information transmitted would be global, that is to say, every subscriber would obtain it. For example, the demixing information could be a global transmission. Note that just because each subscriber receives the deduplicated information does not mean that each subscriber terminal can demix the received signal. On the contrary, only authorized subscriber terminals could effectively be able to demix a received signal. On the other hand, data transmissions can be directed transmissions. The authorization data would normally be addressed to individual subscribers. That is, when they are transmitted, the data would have an address (e.g., a subscriber terminal serial number, a group identifier or a global address) associated with them. The targeted subscriber terminal will receive the data and respond accordingly. Unaddressed subscriber terminals will ignore the data. The outputs of the mixers 44, 46, 48, 50, 52 and the out-of-band data transmitters 54 are passed to any necessary processing equipment, such as signal processors, modulators and combiners. These elements are indicated, in general, as block 56 and do not form part of the present invention. The system of P388 distribution 58 leads to a subscriber location 70. At subscriber location 70 is terminal 14. In Figure 1, only as an example, a subscriber terminal is shown. Typically, at one location only one terminal will be found. However, two terminals can be used in the same system as discussed in more detail below, for example, to set several televisions 20. At the subscriber's location, the subscriber's terminal 14 is connected to the subscriber's video equipment, including as for example, a VCR 18 and television 20, for example in a room. Referring now to Figures 2A and 2B, a detailed block diagram of one of the subscriber terminals will now be described. The broadband television signal (RF INPUT) which can comprise hundreds of television channels, is received from the signal distribution system 54 and enters the up / down converter or tuner 100 (Figure 2A). To provide agen-in-picture or clock / record characteristics, various synchronizers 100 (not shown) can be provided to tune more than one television channel simultaneously. Referring to Figure 2B, an out-of-band data receiver 150 is coupled to the broadband input to receive data transactions from the data transmitter P388 out of band 54 (Figure 1). Conventionally, the up / down converter 100 may include an input filter, for example a duplexer, to separate the out-of-band signal and the broadband television signal. The up / down converter 100 can be tuned to a predetermined data carrier channel for receiving in-band video and audio data, when they are not used by the subscriber for recording or watching a selected television channel. The channel can be provided from the system administrator 22 and by one of the data transmission methods described herein. The identification of the predetermined data bearer channel can be pre-stored or downloaded and stored in the subscriber terminal 14. During use, the up / down converter 100 is tuned according to a channel selected by a subscriber via a user interface having an infrared (IR) receiver 124, the remote control 126 or by the terminal keyboard 122. The up / down converter 100 uses a phase locked loop under the control of a tuning control 102 to convert the RF channel signal by omission, selected or predetermined, towards an intermediate frequency signal, for example 45.75 mega-Hertz. A P388 multifunction control circuit (MCC) 104 is linked to the up / down converter 100 by a bidirectional link to the tuner control 102. The MCC 104 is preferably a specific application integrated circuit (ASIC) that combines many data handling and subscriber terminal control functions in a single packet. Of course, the ASIC may include any combination of individual control circuits. Alternatively or in addition, other control circuitry, for example a microprocessor, may be used. The bidirectional link may include a synchronization path and a return path for the feedback control of the synchronization process. A feedback signal for the automatic gain control and one for the automatic frequency control are transmitted to the up / down converter 100 through the filters 101, 103, respectively from a video demodulator 109. A filter, for example a SAW filter 106, filters the IF channel signal to divide it into separate portions of video and audio for processing. The video portion is demodulated and demixed by the synchronization / reset circuit 109, demodulator and video demixer, under the control of the mixer control 110 of the MCC 104. For example, the demixer P388 and video demodulator 109 can perform synchronization reset (a form of de-mixing of the video signal) for synchronization blanking mixing. The video signal then passes through a bandpass filter 130 to a screen display control 132 where reverse video inversion (a second form of demixing) is performed, if necessary, and if programmed. . The demixing of the video portion, whether it is synchronization suppression, synchronization inversion, video line inversion, etc., is under the control of the mixer control 110 of the MCC 104. The demixer control 110 provides the necessary synchronization signals, the inversion axis levels and regardless of whether the video is inverted or not, to the screen display control 132 and provides the synchronization, restoration levels and identification synchronization pulses needed to be restored in the demodulator and video demixer 109. The demixer control 110 receives this de-mixed information, either from pulses in the form of in-band audio data, from data modulated in the video during the vertical extinction interval, or through out-of-band means. In the other path, the audio signal is converted from the IF carrier to a frequency of P388 intermodulation, for example 4.5 mega-Hertz, by means of a synchronous detector 105. The feedback for automatic gain control of the detector 105 is supplied from the output of the bandpass filter 161. The audio signal can then be demodulated by a demodulator FM 119. An amplitude modulation detector 111 performs pulse detection to recover the in-band audio data that is modulated in amplitude on the audio bearer. The received in-band pulses are supplied to a band audio data decoder 117 of the MCC 104 for processing after they are formed by the pulse shaper 115. The in-band data, with the exception of the demixing data, is stored in DRAM 137 temporarily. The demix control 110 accesses the demixed data directly for the video demixing operation. The volume control of the audio signal is effected under the control of a volume control 41 and the microprocessor 128 as described in U.S. Patent No. 5,054,071, which is mentioned herein by reference. After volume control, the audio signal is passed through a low pass filter 123 and a mute switch 125. The output of the mute switch 125 is applied to a modulator 142. The MCC 104 receives the signal from video after the P388 demodulation and demixing and detects the in-band video data from the VBI of the signal with a VBI detector. The in-band video data is transmitted at a frequency of the order of the known teletext systems, for example 4.0 megabits per second. However, the invention should not be considered limited, in this respect. A data clock provides a suitable sampling frequency higher than the Nyquist rate according to well-known techniques. The VBI 129 data decoder stores the data in the DRAM 137 before processing by the microprocessor. The on-screen visual display control 132 selectively generates displays of graphics and characters on the screen, instead of the video signal or overlapped on the video signal. For example, the information stored in the DRAM 137 by the VBI 129 data decoder can be read to the on-screen display control and used to generate graphics and / or characters on the screen. The modulator 142 combines the video signal from the output of a screen display control 132 and the audio signal from the output of the silence control circuit 125 and converts the combined signal to the channel frequency selected by the microprocessor 128, for example channel 3/4 for NTSC. The combined and demodulated signal is supplied as an RF output to the receiver of P388 television in a well-known way. A control microprocessor 128 controls the overall operation of the subscriber terminal 14. The subscriber terminal communicates to the microprocessor 128 and controls it through the interactive user interface with an on-screen display. The user interface includes a keypad 122 on the front panel of subscriber terminal 14 and remote control 126 that generates subscriber control signals for channel synchronization, volume level control, feature selection and the like. These subscriber commands are decoded by an input sweeper and control 148 of the MCC 104. The remote IR receiver 124 of the user interface receives commands from the IR or other remote control 126, as is well known in this art, and provides commands to the microprocessor 128. The user interface may additionally include a display screen 120, for example, a seven-segment, four-digit LED display screen, which displays the tuned channel numbers and diagnostics. The microprocessor 128 also includes a precise real time of the day clock that is periodically renewed by the RF section 12 through globally directed commands, for example, according to U.S. Pat. 4,994,908 showing the time of day display P388 in a CATV system. When the keyboard 122 or remote control 126 is used to select an order or command, the microprocessor 128 operates to execute the command. The subscriber terminal interacts with the subscriber providing several on-screen displays that help the operation of the terminal. On-screen displays provide information and warnings to guide the subscriber through the many complex features of the terminal. For example, the on-screen display can implement a menu page structure to provide on-screen screen commands using the subscriber terminal and its features. The demix control 110 of the MCC 104 uses retrieved demixing data to generate suitable control signals, e.g., inversion control and equalization, synchronization reset or demix regeneration, or reset the input baseband television signal. A secure microprocessor 136 determines whether the demixer control 110 of the MCC 104 carries out the demixing on a particular channel or which form of demixing is required at a particular time, interpreting the authorization and control data downloaded from the system administrator 22 (by means of any of the three transmission schemes of P3T8 data discussed here, out-of-band, in-band audio or in-band video) to the device's non-volatile internal memory (NVM). The NVM in the secure microprocessor 136 stores secure data, for example, authorization data, mixed channel data, some terminal configuration data and other required data. The control processor 128 operates by running a control program that is preferably partially stored in a read-only internal memory to the processor and is partially stored in a NVM, for example an EPROM Flash memory 134. In addition, the program The microprocessor control 128 may also receive in the NVM an expansion card 138. The microprocessor 128 communicates with the NVM 134, 138 via a memory bus 141 having data, addresses and control lines. The microprocessor 128 also controls the data decoders 117, 129 and 146, the volume control 41, the on-screen display control 132 and the tuner control 102, the demix control 110 and the input or entry key sweeper and control 148 by commands through the MCC 104 and the control processor bar (CMB) 131. The microprocessor 128 directly controls the mute switch 125 and the output frequency selection of the modulator 142. The microprocessor 128 includes P388 additional capacity for other communications of auxiliary devices and control through the data port 140. For example, the data port can set an IR trigger ("blaster") for the VCR control through an on-screen menu, a terminal additional subscriber for the dual tuning operation, or the connection to a digital video subscriber terminal. The subscriber terminal 14 can receive global data and direct the other text data and demixer data transmitted from the RF section 12 by the vertical band blanking interval (VBI). Alternatively or additionally, the steerable and global data may be transmitted in a separate out-of-band data carrier if an out-of-band receiver is provided. The memory control 112 allows the data coming from the three data decoders 117, 129 and 146 to be placed in a volatile memory, for example the DRAM 137. From there, the control microprocessor 128 can be accessed via the CMB 131. More Details will be discussed below. The MCC 104 also distributes control instructions from the control microprocessor 128 to other parts of the MCC 104 to provide operation of the remainder of the subscriber terminal 14. The MCC 104 is additionally connected to a secure microprocessor bar (SMB) 143 which allows communications between the microprocessor P388 secure 236 and other portions of the subscriber terminal 14. The SMB 143 is further coupled to the expansion card 138 to provide renewable security. The memory control 112 and the microprocessor interfaces of the MCC 104 are the central communications facilities for the control microprocessor 128 and the secure microprocessor 136. The memory control 112 receives requests from the microprocessor 128 and 136 and other data decoders and controls to write or read in memory. Solve contests for memory transfers, giving priority to real-time applications and microprocessors, and schedule the data flow. The microprocessors 128, 136 communicate through internal registers of the MCC 104 with the memory control 112 and other portions of the MCC 104. The expansion card 138 may be a printed card containing memory and / or secure microprocessor components, which they can be connected to a connector 200. The connector 200 can be configured such that, when it receives the expansion card 138, it is flush with the top cover. The connector 200 electrically extends the control microprocessor memory bar 141 and the secure microprocessor bar 143 to the expansion card P388 138. The data memory or additional program, the renewed security or any other application supported by the microprocessors 128, 136 can be provided by the expansion card 138. In addition, the circuitry coupled to the microprocessor 126 can be provided to detect whether or not it is installed the expansion card. In this way, the subscriber terminal 14 can be controlled according to the information contained in the expansion card 138, when it is installed, and according to the internal software, when the expansion card 138 is not installed. Additional details relating to the expansion card 138 may be obtained from U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 07 / 983,910 entitled "Subscriber Terminal with Plug in Expansion Card", which is referred to herein by reference. The VBI 129 data decoder performs two main functions. The first function is to process all the mixed transactions that are sent to the subscriber terminal. When processing a transaction you can include digital filters, error detection, error correction, decryption and data storage. The second function is to determine the line number and the field number of the video. The line and field numbers are used by other components of the subscriber terminal, such as P388 are the demixer control 110 and the display control 132. The secure and control microprocessor interface 310 provides connection between the registers for the VBI decoder 129 and the control microprocessor. 128 and the secure microprocessor 136. The control microprocessor 128 is interfaced with the VBI decoder 129 to control its operations. The secure microprocessor 136 provides the VBI decoder 129 with the information required to perform the information recognition and demixing functions. For example, the secure microprocessor 126 may provide a current decrypted core, the next decrypted core, and the address of the subscriber's terminal. Additional details of the VBI decoder are discussed in Application Serial No. 08 / 229,805 entitled "Subscription and Terminal Television System for Permitting Simultaneous Display of Various Services" filed on April 19, 1993 and mentioned here by reference. Referring to Figure 3, a brief description of the on-screen display will be provided below. As mentioned before, the on-screen display is supplemented from the screen display control 132. The screen may include, P388 for example, 16 lines with either 45 characters per line, 24 characters per line, or a combination of both. The cubes used for displaying text may vary in size. In a preferred embodiment the size of the cubes is preferably conformed to one of the following inequalities: (height x width) / 2 <; 256 or (height n x width m <510) for m pair and m + 1 for m non) In this case, there is a minimum of seven pixels and a maximum of thirty-one or thirty-two pixels for the width of the cube. There is a minimum of six pixels and a maximum of sixty-three or sixty-four pixels for the height of each cube. Underlining can be enabled and disabled on a cube-by-cube basis, such as a lower cube line. The visual background display can be made, for example, in any of 4096 different colors, including transparent. The overlapping characters or graphics on the active video may be surrounded by a black background block to allow easy distinction of the video. Additional details of on-screen display control can be obtained from U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08 / 073,404 entitled "Visual Display System for Subscriber Terminals" filed on June 7, P388 1993 and which is incorporated herein by reference. The subscriber terminal is capable of accessing a wide variety of information using text channels, EPGs, interactive templates and messages that are transmitted as data from the RF section 12 to the subscriber terminal 14, for example, in the extinction range vertical of the video portion, modulated on the audio bearer, or by out-of-band transmission. Further understanding of the techniques by which data can be transmitted from the RF section 12 to the subscriber terminal 14 can be obtained from Patent Application Serial No. 07 / 983,766 entitled "Method and Apparatus for the Transmission of Data in Band / Out of Band to a Television System ", presented on December 1992 and referred to here by reference. Additional details of the technique by which the EPG data is transmitted from the RF section 12 to the subscriber terminal 14 can be obtained from the United States Application Serial No. 230,144 entitled "Electronic Payment Programming Guide by Event ", filed on April 19, 1994 and mentioned here by reference. In a single-tuner mode, various data streams can be selected by the user for display. In a mode of two or more tuners, several video channels and data streams may be displayed. In addition, several video channels can be combined in the RF section for transmission. Additional details of the display of various video channels, text channels and message capabilities of the subscriber terminal can be obtained from US Application Serial No. 08 / 229,805, entitled "Subscription Television System". and Terminal to Train Simultaneous Display of Various Services "filed on April 19, 1994. Subscriber terminal 14 includes a pay-per-event pulse module (IPPV) for transmitting return path information from subscriber terminal 14 to the HEC 28 and / or the system administrator 22 of the central control center 10. The IPPV module can be one or both telephone types 252 and the RF-IPPV type 154. This return path information of the RF-IPPV type it can be transmitted by a coaxial cable, an optical link or other known means. The return path information may include billing data related to IPPV services. As described above, the subscriber terminal 14 can either transmit the billing data in a telephone line directly to the telephone processor 30 or back the cable to the IPPV 34 RF processor. If the data is sent to the IPPV 34 RF processor, are sent by modem 36 associated with the RF processor IPPV 34 to the modem 32 associated with the system administrator 22. The system administrator 22 accumulates the billing data from the telephone processor 30 and the modem 32 and supplies them to the computer Billing 24 so that customers receive their billing for programming services. The IPPV module also allows subscribers to request authorization from their subscriber terminal to receive events, such as pay-per-view or close-to-request (NVOD) video transactions, store the data associated with the acquisition of the event in the NVM of the secure microprocessor 136 and then transmitting the data to the system administrator 22 via the telephone return path or the RF return path through the signal distribution system. The on-screen display system will be described more fully, below, starting with respect to Figures 3 through 10. In Figure 3, each of the on-screen displays can be generated as an array of pixels having up to 320 vertical columns and 200 horizontal rows. The 200 x 320 pixel size is selected to generate the proper resolution for a standard NTSC receiver. Of course, other video formats, such as various PAL formats, high definition video formats and the like, can be supported by adding pixels and additional lines. Also, pixels of different sizes may be provided which form other display areas for any television signal format. Each on-screen display is generated by the display controller 127 (FIG. 2B) producing analog pixels for the horizontal scanning lines of the subscriber's television receiver's screen. The display controller 127, under the control of the control processor 128, controls the time of said display and which display will occur on the screen of a receiver. For example, the subtitle screen and logo design of a system operator may appear when the terminal 14 is operated and displayed on the associated television 20 until a keyboard key 122 or remote control 126 is activated by a user. Screen display processor 127 operates on a video field based on the video field. An exhibition screen is formed from the display attributes and stores display data that describe the screen or field in terms of pixels. This field can then be displayed in a non-interleaved form for purposes other than video or mixed in a P388 interspersed with active video. The field can be displayed visually many times to produce a static display, or the display parameters and display data can be changed to produce variable images. In either case, the on-screen display is activated by a command or command from the control processor 128 and will continue to display a screen that is stored in the display memory until it is disabled by the control processor. This produces a particularly advantageous system when the control processor 128 and the display processor 127 can operate in parallel without completely monopolizing the resources of the control processor. In this display environment, three types of display modes can be produced, including a symbol or text screen mode, a graphics screen mode and a combination mode, where the graphic and text screens can be displayed together. In addition, any of these modes can be used in combination with a frame or margin screen mode. In the symbol or text screen mode, as seen in Figure 3, the on-screen display is defined as a plurality of symbols, each symbol is of a variable pixel array of size mxn, where m = 6, 7 ... 16; n = 6.7 ... 32 and x n < 512. By providing a P388 variable symbol size, many different types of placements and symbol sizes can be made, for example different character fonts. Additionally, different character sets of foreign languages such as Japanese, Arabic, Chinese or others can be easily made in this way. A text screen can encompass the entire display arrangement or can be any size smaller than even a symbol. Each text screen is defined by a vertical start and stop point VINICIO, VPARO, and a horizontal start and stop point HINICIO, HPARO. A preferred example for a character set in English would be an 8x12 pixel array that would give a maximum of 16 symbol lines in a text screen display with 40 characters per line. Another preferred example, for a character set in Chinese, would be a 12x12 pixel array that would give a maximum of 11 symbol lines on a text screen display with 26 characters per line. A plurality of these symbol arrangements, each defining a particular character in a character set, are grouped in the display memory to form definitions of symbol sets, for example as in English, Chinese, source A, source B, etc. . It is clear that the subscriber terminal 40 can store several symbol game definitions.

P388 An example of a character from an English character set, an 8x12 pixel array, is illustrated in Figure 9. The character has a 1x8 underlined pixel and a 1 pixel wide delineation around a character field of 7x9 pixel. The character is defined by the selection of pixels from the character field in a particular pattern. Each pixel of a symbol definition is stored as an attribute field of a 2-bit pixel, which describes one of the four possibilities shown in the box in the figure. Each pixel can be either a foreground pixel, a background pixel, a black pixel or a white pixel. To construct a text screen display, a plurality of symbol pointers (each directs a selected symbol in a definition of symbol sets) are stored in the sequence in which the characters are to be displayed. For example, if the word LIST is to be displayed on the screen, then successively the symbol pointers for English characters adjust the elements L, I, S, T in concatenated form. The pointers can also contain symbol attributes for each character as shown in the example in Figure 8. The illustration shows a symbol pointer as a 16-bit word that has a 7-bit symbol attribute field and a direction of 9-bit symbol. He P388 7-bit attribute field contains a 4-bit field that defines the color of a character. These four bits can select one of the sixteen colors of a color palette record stored for that purpose. The other three symbol attribute bits include a bit to determine if the character will flash, another bit to determine if the character should be underlined, and a foreground mode bit for character special effects. In the graphics screen mode, the display system uses the entire 300x200 pixel display as a pixel mapping graphic, as seen in Figure 4. Each pixel can be displayed visually as one of the sixteen colors of the memory color palette foreground or background. In graphics mode, colors are selected by the 4 bits stored for each pixel. For the combination mode as seen in Figure 5, both the symbol screen mode and the graphics screen modes are used simultaneously. A graphics screen less than the full screen is defined and displayed in normal graphics mode. The screen can then overlap with a text mode display that is not displayed in the graphics window area. The inverse is also provided when a text screen can be overlapped on a screen P388 of graphics. The display processor also includes a margin screen feature, wherein a margin screen of a particular color may be placed around the graphics or symbol screens. The margin particularity is shown in the form of an example in Figure 6, where the margin pixels are active when the graphics screen and the symbol screen are inactive and the margin screen becomes incapacitated. The color of the margin screen is produced by loading a 12-bit color value into a margin screen parameter register. The margin location is adjusted by loading the horizontal start and end locations, and the vertical start and end locations on the screen. The margin screen can be disabled by storing a vertical start number that is greater than the maximum number of lines on a screen. The display controller receives a number of display parameters that it uploads to its control registers to regulate the processing of the display function. The first set of display parameters is the heights and widths of the screens that can be a maximum of the entire screen of a 320x200 pixel array and, if it is smaller than the total display area, the locations of the display screens. All these P388 screens that will be active in the display area will have these parameters stored in them. The second set of parameters is a nxm symbol game dimension that defines one of the symbol definition games. As will be discussed in more detail below, multiple symbol definition games can be stored and displayed on a screen. The display system provides an extremely flexible and powerful tool for producing on displays displays for the subscriber terminal 14. The display system can be used in a text mode only or only in pixel full mapping mode. The display can be a combination of text with a graphical window placed in a variable form and variable in direction, which by itself is with a complete pixel mapping. The screens can be full size or any smaller defined size. For a display of graphics or characters, thirty-two colors can be programmed for one character or pixels. The color palette records can be changed to display 16 selections for the foreground and 16 selections for the background, from 4096 color palette selections. On a line-by-line basis, a character set can be changed. On a character basis P388 by character background and foreground color selections are available. In addition, the characters can have the characteristics of margin, underlining, flickering and highlighting on a selectable basis. The display system provides a color palette of approximately 4096 colors that are defined as 12-bit digital words that have a 4-bit luminance component, a 4-bit BY chrominance component (blue-luminance), and a chrominance component RY of 4 bits (red - luminance). The combinations of these bits allow a user to select a wide variety of colors. Of course not all 4096 combinations of the 12 bits will define useful colors, but there are a large number of useful tints and shades available. The digital processor contains a plurality of palette records, as shown in Figure 10, within which these colors can be stored. Any of the thirty-two colors can be stored at once, since there are sixteen color background records and sixteen foreground color records. The system uses a 4-bit pointer to select one of the sixteen colors, both for the foreground and the background, by matching the registers. This feature is useful to provide a P388 plurality of letters of a selected color on a selected background color, for example, blue letters on a white background. This configuration can be easily programmed by the same color pointer for all letters that indicate a palette record pair that has a blue color loaded in the foreground record and a white color loaded in the background record. A block diagram of the system on the screen display controller 127 is illustrated more fully in Figure 11. The screen display controller 127 operates under commands from the control microprocessor 128 to provide on-screen displays for the subscriber terminal. , in the form of text screens, graphic »screens, or combinations of text and graphic screens. The on-screen display controller 127 comprises a two-part display processor including an analog processor 300 and a digital processor 302. The digital processor 302 receives commands and configuration data from the control microprocessor 128 over a bus 301 and the video synchronization data 303 from the VBI decoder 129, indicating the start of each horizontal line and the start of each vertical field. The digital processor P388 302 uses the display parameters from the control microprocessor 128 to access the display information in the DRAM 137 for the particular screen display to be generated. The on-screen display can be text only and, in that case, the screen definition portion for symbol 305 and the symbol setting definitions portion 307 of DRAM 137 are accessed. If the on-screen display is only graphics, then the graphics screen definitions portion 309 of the DRAM 137 is accessed. If a combined screen of graphics and texts is needed, then the three portions 305, 307 and 309 of the display memory are accessed. The digital processor 302 accesses information in these portions of the display memory on a nybble basis per nybble. The nybbles are preferably stored in DRAM 137, with the least significant nybble being stored. It carries data from the DRAM 137 via its connections to the memory controller 112, through the control lines, address lines and data lines 311. The digital processor 302 requests data from the DRAM 137 providing a calculated start address, the number of memory locations accessed and control commands to the memory control 112, and the data is returned on the data lines 311 and 313. The P388 digital processor 302 processes this data to convert them into a series of digital words, each indicating the luminance and chrominance values of a pixel for on-screen display. These digital words representing analog pixels, together with the appropriate timing signals, are sent from the digital processor 302 to the analog processor 300 over the data and timing lines 315. As best illustrated in Figure 12, the analog processor 300 includes a conversion means 314 for converting digital pixel words into analog pixels. Analog processor 300 also receives the incoming video signal VIDEO INPUT, after its modulation, and inputs the signal to a part of an analog multiplexer 316 that can select, with a pixel by pixel basis, either analogical pixels coming from of the VIDEO INPUT signals or analog pixels from the digital to analog pixel converter of the analog processor 300. The analog processor 300 selects which pixel to output based on a pixel selection signal PIXSEL. The digital processor 302 generates the PIXSEL pixel selection signal based on whether the display processor is capable and outputs a valid color definition. The digital processor 302 makes the signal of P388 PIXSEL pixel selection select the VIDEO INPUT signal, if these two conditions are not met. The multiplexed output then leaves the modulator 142 as the signal VIDEO OUTPUT. The analog processor 300 also generates the pixel clock signal PIXCLK from a clock oscillator CLK. This is the basic training signal of the display processor and divides a horizontal line with 455 pixels of a duration of approximately 139 nanoseconds each. The pixel clock is needed for the temporary display when VIDEO INPUT signal is not tuned by the subscriber terminal, and then it is generated directly from the CLK oscillator clock signal. This is called internal video mode. If the pixel clock is used for a display where the video signal is present, then it is generated by phase synchronization with the horizontal synchronization of the VIDEO INPUT signal, by a synchronization slicer 291 in a hook loop Phase 293. The digital processor 302 is controlled by the control processor 128 by reading and writing the registers R1-R12 shown in Figure 3. The display attributes for the on-screen display can be controlled by loading and reading particular registers in the 302 digital processor. The kind of screens that can be displayed and their P388 location on the display area of the television receiver are provided by a margin parameter register of margin R2, a register of symbol screen parameters R4, and a register of display parameters of graphics R5. All screen records have information that relates to the horizontal start point (SH) and the horizontal stop point (EH) and the vertical start point (SV) and the vertical stop point (EV) of each the respective screens. A graphics screen or symbol screen may also be associated with the starting memory locations, from which the display information was stored in the DRAM 137. This information is loaded in the base address register R8 of the symbol screen, for the symbol screen, and in the R9 register of the graphics screen base address, for the graphics screen. Because the margin screen is generated internally and is not stored in DRAM 137, register R2 also contains a 12 bit digital word that describes the color of the margin screen. All pixels of the margin screen are generated from this color. To activate the symbol screen, the graph screen or the margin screen, the start address of the screen should be within the limits of the area P388 of exhibition. Conversely, to deactivate any of the screens, the vertical start address of a respective screen is set to a line number outside the display area. A CONTR control bit is used in the R2 register to disable and enable the screen margin function. The colors for a selected pixel of a screen can be selected by one of the color registers R6, R7 and RIO. To sixteen foreground palette records and sixteen RIO background palette records, one black R6 record and one white R7 record. Each of these registers is capable of storing a 12-bit color, as described in the palette section, 4 luminance bits and 4 bits each of the two chrominance phases. There are two sets of registers Rll and R12 that provide control of the attributes of the symbol line. Each symbol line in a symbol screen display may be of a different font or different style that is defined as a symbol game definition in the display system. There are up to sixteen symbol lines and each of these can have a number of line attributes that is stored in sixteen Rll records of symbol line attributes. The first field of a line attribute record of P388 symbol is the address of one of the four registers R12 of symbol game definition. The second field is a one-bit line attribute that selects either the foreground color or the background color for the underline color. The selected particular color palette record is described in a palette record of a 4-bit field. Additionally, a special effect ULI bit is provided to invert the luminance for underlining, when the bit is not set the luminance of the underlining is normally provided and if the bit is set, the luminance intensity of the underlining is inverted. The two-bit symbol line definition in the line attribute register Rll selects one of four symbol set registers of symbol R12. Each game definition record of symbol R12 stores the size of a particular symbol set, m x n, the number of nybbles in a symbol, and the base address of the symbol definition. The R12 registers together with the Rll symbol line attribute records allow up to four different types of symbol game definitions to be used in the display system. The last two registers that are provided are for the control and selection of different functions of the display processor. The first is a record of P388 video parameter Rl and the other is a register of control parameters R3. The video parameter registers Rl define the control synchronization of the particular video signal to be generated by the display processor. The SYNC S horizontal synchronization start time and the SYNC E term time are stored together with the vertical synchronization start time VSYNC S and the VSINC E terminating time. The CB burst onset time is also defined. S and the termination time CB E. To synchronize the vertical extinction interval, the start time of the equalizer pulse EP S and the termination time EP E in the video parameter register Rl are also stored. The control parameter registers R3 in a two-byte register, which stores a number of control bits, selects the modes and features for the display processor. The blink rate BR for symbols and underlines, for example, is stored in increments of .25 seconds ranging from 0 to 4 seconds. The BD flashing duty cycle, as an example, can be set with two bits that indicate the duty cycle of 25%, 50% or 75%, or inversely 75%, 50% or 25%. The blank screen bit BK can be used to blank the screen, if it is set to 1, or to display the screen in normal form, if it is set to 0. Also, the bit of P388 internal / external selection INT is used to determine if the video signal will be generated internally, if it is set to 1, or to be synchronized to the external video signal, if it is set to 0. If the signal is being generated internally and not is being synchronized to an interleaved video signal, then an ILC interleaving control bit can be set for fields not interleaved or deleted for interleaved fields. Two other fields, PALFOR and PAL / NTSC, are used to select either the NTSC format or the PAL format and, if the PAL format is selected, the type of PAL format to be selected. Other fields could also be used if other definition formats or higher definition formats were used. The GSEL bit is used to select whether the color palette is used for the graphics in the foreground palette or the background palette. The EN control bit is used to capacitate the on-screen display controller or disable the on-screen display controller. The underscore blink bit UNB indicates whether the underscore of a symbol will blink or not. Four bits for a higher address field UA are used to allow the digital processor 300 to extend the size of the DRAM 137 to which it can normally be directed. The PR control bit is used to indicate that a symbol screen has P388 priority on a graphics screen or if the graphics screen has priority over the symbol screen. To display a screen, a screen display routine from the executable code is called for execution by the control processor 128. The screen display routine will move the particular screen information that is programmed for the display, from the non-volatile memory (ROM or EPROM Flash) to the display memory area of the DRAM 137. The screen display program may then disable the digital processor 300 by eliminating the EN training bit to load the Rl-R12 processor registers with the attributes of desired display. Normally, the on-screen display routine will only disable the display of the 1302 digital processor by adjusting the blank BK bit if needed to only reload palette records or line attribute records. The control processor 128 does not need to load all the processor registers since it can read them to determine if a change is currently needed. For example, once the video parameter register R1 and most of the R3 control registers have been programmed for one time, normally they do not need to be changed. Similarly, the color registers R6, R7 and RIO, after they have been established with the palette P388 of desired colors, will remain relatively unchanged for many display scenarios. However, because four sources or definitions of different symbol sets can be used simultaneously, the line attribute and the symbol set definition registers Rll do not need to be changed for all scene changes. The registers most likely to need to be changed are the registers R8 and R9, in order to indicate to the digital processor 300 where the screens will be located in the DRAM 137. The next most likely register to be changed is the register of parameters of the display R2 , R4 and R5 that places the different screens in the exhibition area. After the control processor 128 has adjusted the display attributes in registers Rl to R12 to the desired display configuration, it will re-enable the digital processor 300 by adjusting the EN training bit or eliminating the bit from BL white to display the stored screen until the device subsequently becomes incapacitated, or the display information or configuration information changes. Referring to Figure 14, the display and display information attributes on the screen are P388 stored in the data portion of the ROM or Flash EPROM memory 134, 138 of the subscriber terminal. A display routine 322 loads the on-screen display controller 127 with the display attributes, and the display memory portion 305, 307, and 309 of the DRAM with the data that currently forms the display. Display attributes and display data may vary in ROM and EPROM Flash 134, 138 in several ways. IC chips from ROM or EPROM Flash can be replaced with reprogrammed IC chips 326. Alternatively, the non-volatile memory in which this data is stored can be plugged into modules, for example those shown as 138 in Figure 2. In yet another alternative embodiment, the display attributes and display data may be changed by downloading them from the system manager 22 of the RF section to the non-volatile memory 134, 138 with other data and executable codes. This is accomplished through code transactions of downloaded programs as described in Bacon's Patent Application, et al., United States Application Serial No. 07 / 983,909 filed December 12, 1992. Another alternative is to provide a specific display transaction from the administrator of the P388 RF section system. The display transactions are received on the distribution system and entered into the subscriber terminal as part of the vertical extinction interval data. The VBI 129 decoder removes the VBI data from the tuned channel of the video and communicates with the memory controller 112 to temporarily store the display transaction data in the 320 area of the DRAM 137. The VBI decoder 129 recognizes the display transactions as display attributes and screen display data, and stores these intermediately in portion 320 of DRAM 137, reserved for that purpose. Periodically, the control processor 128 will test a software flag to determine if any display transaction has been stored in the display transaction area 320 of the DRAM 137. When a display transaction has been stored, the control processor 128 will call then to an expansion routine 324 that accesses the display transaction in the DRAM 137 via the memory controller 112. The expansion routine 324 will decode an order in the display transaction and with the parameter data provided in the transaction will proceed , either to change the display attribute data or P388 expand the parameter data in a screen information. The resulting data is stored in the data portion 328 of the EPROM Flash 134, 138. The control processor 128 can then call a display routine 322 to display this new data on the screen and display attributes in the same way as other data and attributes on the screen. The 324 expansion routine is a group of specialized subroutines that are designed to order the display transactions, in order to translate the high level orders of the transaction into a display language specific to the display processor. The commands can be observed as high-level subroutine calls of certain utility functions of the display processor. In this form, on-screen display transactions communicate a high-level screen construction language, which allows a programmer in the RF section of the subscription television system to change the on-screen display of the subscriber terminals in a way easy. Instead of having to program in the specific display language of the display controller, a programmer can compress these functions into a high-level language by describing the functions of the screen that he wishes to display.

P388 The on-screen display transaction is shown in Figure 16. This display transaction is, in general, similar to other communication transactions in the subscription television system. The figure illustrates the basic format for an exhibition transaction. The transaction has a header, 0-6 bytes, which describes the information related to the processing of the transaction for the data decoders of the subscription television system. Byte 5 describes the transaction as an exhibit transaction with a unique transaction code. In byte 0 of the spindle, several bits are placed to mark the transaction for a global or directed reception, and if the transaction will be sent in the VBI or audio data channels. Bytes 1 to 3 are descriptors, in the case of a directed transaction, of the destination terminal and other information. The descriptors of a display transaction can associate a number of display transactions with a single screen or group of screens that are accessed by a display routine using the descriptor, for example, display screen # 35. The spindle continues in byte 6 where a sequence number of 000000 to lililí indicates which transaction should be grouped. A last bit sequence is sent in byte 6 when the final transaction of a P388 sequence has been sent. The current display data or the display attributes for an exhibit transaction are stored in bytes 7-21 of the message. With display transactions any combination of display attributes and display data can be sent from the system administrator to all subscriber terminals or to any of them. The symbol game definitions can be changed, canceled or added by this method in order to produce multiple screens, without changing the screen definitions. The color palettes, line attributes and symbol definition registers can be varied to produce great flexibility in the configuration of these displays. While display transactions can be used to communicate in display data and display attributes in the format and language of the display processor 127, it would be more profitable to build screens from a higher level language. This allows less data to be transferred by the transaction and more efficiently use the communication resources of the subscriber's terminal. In addition, since the programmer is removed from the results of his actions, it is more certain that mistakes are not made since the language is descriptive of the function that P388 is taking place in the exhibition. This causes the programming interface to the system < ie display on the screen is much friendlier for the user. In a preferred embodiment of a high level display transaction language, an order, describing a function to be performed on the screen, is accompanied by data parameters describing the function variables. An appendix to U.S. Application No. 08 / 072,291 filed June 7, 1991, which is mentioned herein by reference, and which is not provided, lists a plurality of these combinations of commands and parameters that form a language of display screen. For example, a command byte equal to zero may indicate that there are no display transactions for the construction of a particular screen. This transaction usually follows a series of transactions that have described a particular screen. This transaction allows the expansion routine to completely describe a particular screen before it completes transactions at this point. A command byte equal to one may indicate that a color must be loaded into one of the color palette records. The transaction identifies the particular registration pair and supplies a color in the foreground and a color P388 background for that pair of records. A command byte equal to two may indicate that a line attribute record must be changed. The transaction indicates that one of the sixteen line attribute records will change and the information will be loaded into it. Line attribute record box contains a palette record point, a control bit, and a pointer for the symbol game definition records. A special register indication (FF) indicates that all line attribute records must conform to the parameters in the transaction. A command byte equal to three may indicate that the margin screen record should be loaded with a particular color. The color combination of Y, B-Y and R-Y to be loaded is provided by the parameter data section of the transaction. Additionally there may be several orders that apply to all screens including orders 4, 5 and 6. A command bit equal to four indicates that a full screen must be filled with a particular character. The data portion of the transaction indicates which character should be used to fill the entire screen. A command byte equal to five indicates that all symbols in a particular symbol screen must have the same attributes. The attributes that are the seven bits P388 most significant symbol point, are stored in the transaction and loaded for all the symbol pointers of a particular screen. A command byte equal to six indicates that a whole screen must be filled with a particular character that has the same attributes. The expansion routine takes the character information from the transaction and loads the nine least significant bits of the symbol pointers of a full screen with the character and the seven most significant bits of the symbol pointers, with the attributes stored in the transaction . It will be evident that when the commands or commands 4, 5 and 6 are used that the definition of the symbol game (obligation attribute definition order) must be sent with one or more of these commands to receive the symbol set. The command byte equal to seven indicates that the display processor must write n characters in the on-screen display. The parameters data of the transaction indicate the row and column where the characters start, and the subsequent data of the transaction indicate the number of characters (n) and a list of the characters to be displayed. In a similar way, a command byte equal to eight will cause an attribute to be written in n symbols in an exhibit. The data stored in the transaction P388 indicate the starting row and column of the attributes, the number of times the attributes are written and which attributes should be given to the symbols. A byte of order equal to nine will cause a single character to be written on the screen display n times. The information stored in the transaction includes the row and column of the on-screen display of where to start typing the character, the number of times the character is written and which character is to be written. A byte of order equal to ten will cause n characters to be written in an on-screen display with common attributes. The parameter data of the transaction includes the row and column of the on-screen display to start the writing of n characters, the number of n characters to be written, the common attributes for each of the characters, and a list of the characters. A byte of order equal to eleven will cause n characters to be written in an on-screen display with n different attributes. The data of the parameters of the transaction include the row and column of the on-screen display to initiate the writing of the n characters, the number of n characters to be written, and a list of the character pairs of P388 attributes. One byte command equal to twelve indicates that a number of n characters of the display memory should be displayed. The parameter data of the transaction indicate the position of the column and the row where the characters must start and a parameter number indicates the particular parameter to be displayed. The number of n characters is then included as the last byte of the transaction. A command byte equal to thirteen indicates that all bytes in the interactive memory of the DRAM 137 must be set to a particular value, the particular value and a set of identification values. An order or command byte equal to fourteen indicates that an on-screen display must be paused for a time by locking a selection key pressed from the remote control of the subscriber terminal, before transmitting the interactive DRAM buffer information. The parameter data includes the duration of time out. A command byte equal to fifteen causes the cursor of the on-screen display to place itself on an underscore that is blinking. The command or command also makes the control processor an interactive character, and adjusts a time out of the P388 character. The parameters for this transaction are row and column values of the underlined symbol, the high and low value for a valid character, the duration of time out and a number diverted for storage of the interactive character in a buffer. A command byte equal to sixteen indicates that the control processor expansion routine must process the transaction as a function without operation. This function can be used to separate display transactions and to provide default conditions for logical branches, where a branch is not functional. Now, with respect to the present invention, it may be desirable for a system operator to display a logo of the system for a period of time after the operation of the terminal 14 and before the operation of some keyboard key 122, 126. Referring to Figure 17A, by way of example, the stylized Glentv logo can be provided to that group of subscribers for display to those who subscribe to a service called Glentv. As described in U.S. Application Serial Nos. 07 / 018,932 and 07 / 018,933 filed February 16, 1993 and referenced herein as reference, billing computer 24 (Figure 1) may provide input to the administrator of the P388 system 22 to identify this group of subscribers according to the selection criteria of the converter group. A group can be managed globally (all in the subscriber population), individually (by addressing single terminal or serial number) or as a group. In addition, another group of subscribers can subscribe to a higher row of the service for a bonus, where the service row can be the Glentv Plus. Referring to Figure 17B, the billing computer 24 can similarly identify that group of subscribers with the system administrator 22. This group of subscribers can be controlled as described above to display Figure 17B, logo, for this service. As described above in relation to the three display operation modes, any of Figures 17A or 17B may comprise a plurality of cubes. For example, the stylized G may be in various colors and comprise a plurality of, for example, four, six or twelve or more data cubes. Referring briefly to Figure 18B, a stylized G comprising twelve color cubes is shown, where ** comprises a foreground color, .. a background color, and - white (black is not shown in use) , where each cube is 13 by 12 P388 pixels and G is four cubes wide and three cubes high (making a total of twelve cubes). The commands and display control commands and the code and the cube data are provided either separately or to the system administrator, but, preferably and in accordance with the present invention, are not provided by the manufacturer in any case. Referring now to Figure 18A, the steps at the manufacturing site for the generation of the cube definition data (a first memory) and the downloadable display orders (a second memory) are shown. Of course, the generated cube definition and the code data can be stored on the same disk to be supplied to the system administrator's site (a single memory). In a first step, the high-definition color copy of the logo is provided by the system operator to the manufacturer. In a second step, a typical color scanner is used to scan the color copy of, for example, Figure 17A or 17B, to generate a bitmap of the data, typically stored in the memory of a personal computer. A thick scan image is typically generated as a result of the scanning process that can be observed on a high-definition monitor of a personal computer. In step 3, the software package P388 of commercial retouching can be used to obtain an improved image in the bitmap memory. Acceptable software may include PHOTOSHOP (TM) software or other commercially available software available from various vendors. At the manufacturing site, the finished image bit map is manipulated and sized appropriately for television viewing and encoded into cube definition data, as described before according to step 4. The output of the process, which is shown in Figure 18B for a stylized G logo, is the first and second memory locations of a single disk or a pair of disks, a tape or other memory eg an S-RAM. More particularly, the cube definition data comprises the segregated bitmap image in a plurality of, for example, twelve cubes of 13 x 12 x 2 pixels, which together comprise, for example 8192 bytes. In a similar manner, downloadable display commands or commands comprising the cubes in the encoded form are generated and stored separately. These orders or exhibition commands describe, as already mentioned, where to start and place the graph, how to fix the cubes to form the graph, the foreground, the background, black registration data (not used in the example of the G). ) and registration data P388 white, and the like, all together comprising approximately 128 bytes. It can be understood from Figure 1 that not all the elements of Figure 1 are required and used to transmit the cube data, program code and command data to the terminal 14 or group of terminals. For example, a mixer 44, 46, 48, 50 and 52 can be designated as a discharge mixer. Another mixer can be designated as a channel announcer (barker) / text mixer or the same mixer can be used for both transactions. Directed commands (global, group or individual) can be used to transmit either the form of the data by the out-of-band transmitter 54 or the mixers can transmit data in-band by means of transmission of in-band audio data or data of video in band. Accordingly, an ATX 54 may be used for out-of-band transactions or data that is transmitted by a demixed channel through a data repeater. Figure 18C shows a display of the stylized G of our example, in color, taken from a color photograph of a printed screen of an exhibition on an associated television 20 via the terminal 14. The screen display processor 127, to generate the exhibition, has reacted to download P388 the program code, the cube definition data and the display control commands stored in the terminal memory. Display control commands, for example, control the terminal to display the stylized logo immediately upon energizing the terminal for a predetermined period of time, preferably until the order is entered by the user of the terminal. Figure 18D comprises a terminal memory printing screen showing the cube definition data for the stylized letter G in the middle of the screen, surrounded by cube definition data of standard alpha numeric character of 8 by 12 By referring to Figure 19, and by way of example, a first method for providing cube definition data, code and downloadable display command code is shown. At the manufacturing site, to the left of the figure, the process of Figure 18 is shown. Cube definition and code data are provided at the output of steps 1 to 4 in the form, for example, of an S- RAM. The S-RAM also contains the program code for reconfiguring the terminal program code, for, for example, defining the display of the cube definition data. The cube definition and program code data will be explained more fully in relation to Figure 21. Also the control code of P388 downloadable display is provided in the form of a database, preferably on disk or tape. These memories are then provided to the system operator for use at site 10 of the system administrator 22 and the location of the mixers, the RF section site 12, which may be the same site as site 10. The SRAM that contains the cube definition data and the code is plugged into the discharge mixer memory. The download mixer then simultaneously transmits the code / cube data by download transactions individually, by groups, or globally to the subscriber terminals 14 by cable 58. Meanwhile, the disk or tape of the orders or Downloadable display commands are inserted and retrieved for storage in the system administrator 22, preferably a System Manager 10 network controller. The system administrator 10, for example, sends the data to a channel mixer designated annunciator (barker) / text that transmits the display order data transactions on the cable 58 to the terminals 14. The code / cube definition data is preferably stored in the ROM or flash EPROM 134, 138 according to this method, while downloadable display commands or commands are stored in DRAM 137.

P388 As already described, the groups of subscribers can be defined and directed according to the present invention, or the subscribers can also be addressed globally or the subscribers can be addressed individually. For example, according to the present invention, two groups of customers can be defined with different service rows. When the first group of subscribers turn on their terminals and their televisions, these televisions display Figure 17A. The bonus service clients, or a second group of subscribers, observe the deployment of Figure 17B. After a predetermined period of time, or after the subscriber operates a key on his remote control, the display may disappear and a television station is observed. In addition, according to U.S. Patent 4,911,011, which is mentioned by reference, the control or order of display control or other data, may select a background audio channel, in addition to the audio for a selected television channel, in order to accompany the display of the downloaded graphic. For example, a theme of a song for the system operator or an audio annunciator channel may be selected and the output of the television 20, the audio channel being associated with the background audio channel.

P388 predetermined by the RF section. For example, a channel or audio annunciator signal may be output for Figure 17A, and represents screen number thirty-five, and a second audio annunciator channel may be output for Figure 17B, and represents screen number thirty and six. A second method will now be described according to Figures 20 and 21 wherein the subscriber terminal 14 is updated with the new program code, so that the cube and code definition data is stored in the ROM or in the EPROM flash. The activities at the manufacturing site are reduced. Referring to Figure 20, the program code on the disk (or other suitable memory) is provided by the manufacturer to update the software of terminal 14 to a new permitted storage level, for example, only in the flash EPROM . The system operator creates its own cube definition data by sweeping its own logo and subtitles and retouching the bitmap as required. In addition, the system operator generates its own display orders, for example, so that the display of the screens of Figures 17A and 17B may be varied as to when, how and how long the screens are to be displayed. The code definition and / or cube data are P388 sent to terminal 14 through transactions on cable 58. Downloadable display orders are sent via the cable and annunciator / text channel mixer 58 to terminal 14. Referring to Figure 21, definition data is displayed of cube and code in the flash memory 134. In a first transaction, the flash memory 134 is erased. In a second transaction, according to the second method, a program code and a space in the flash memory 134 is provided, followed by more codes and a code addition check plus erased flash memory. According to well-known techniques, the sum check must match or the data will not be accepted for storage in terminal 14. Finally, once the system operator has prepared the new cube definition data for transmission, a Subsequent transaction follows the new cube definition data (source data) and the cushion bytes as required to fill the spaces in the flash memory. Again, the checksum for the new transaction must match or the transaction will not be made by terminal 14. Note from Figures 20 and 21 that the system administrator 22 preferably includes a sweep input array and software retouched P388 for the design logos, in addition to the software supplied by the manufacturer to control the generation of the code / cube definition data and the downloadable display order data, as illustrated in Figure 18. On the other hand, even if the system operator is not equipped, the terminal 14 can be updated to accept new cube definition data to fill spaces in the downloaded code and stored in the terminal memory when and after the new cube definition data is provided by manufacturer. A third method for providing subtitles and graphics designed on request is described in relation to Figure 22. In this embodiment, the program code data is provided only by the manufacturer to be installed in the system administrator 22. The code data is sent by the code 58 download cable and mixer to update the software for the control terminal 14. The system operator provides its own orders or display control commands and cube definition data that are sent by the cable and mixer of announcer / text channel 58 to terminal 14. The download mixer is not used, as in Figures 20 and 21, to download the cube definition data. The program code is downloaded and stored in memory P388 flash terminal. The base character setting is stored in the flash memory. The design cubes for the logo and the subtitles that the system operator has generated using their own software and the downloadable display commands are stored in the DRAM 137. The cube data is copied from the flash memory to the DRAM 137 when the display processor is readjusted. The transactions containing the design cubes can be sent later to overwrite the cube definition data in the DRAM 137, as needed by the system operator. Finally, the photograph of Figure 23A comprises a printing screen of a stylized complete logo for Glentv. Figure 23B shows the data of cubic design and character graphics, by way of example, to show, in the center of the screen, a storage of cubes representing Glentv. Figure 23A comprises a screen printing screen, for example, the number 35, for Glentv, which can be displayed as described before according to the programmable characteristics that determine when it will be displayed, how long it will be displayed and, of course , how it will be displayed. While preferred embodiments of the methods and apparatus of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in this art.

P388 that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventions as set forth in the appended claims and their equivalents.

P388

Claims (23)

1. CLAIMSI 1. A method for downloading program code data and graphics display generation data to a terminal of a multiple service distribution system, for display on an associated television screen, comprising the steps of: generating a bitmap of the graphics for the display, encoding the bitmap in cube definition data, transmitting the cube definition data from an RF section of the system to at least one terminal; and output the display data according to the cube definition data for display on the associated television.
2. 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of generating the bitmap comprises the step of doing a sweep of the selected graphics image to generate bitmap data.
3. 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the coding step of the cube definition data comprises the step of generating cubes of data having a predetermined height, width and length. .
4. A method according to claim 1, in P388 wherein the cube definition data transmission step comprises transmitting the data by an annunciator / text channel mixer coupled to a system administrator.
5. 5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting the code by means of a downloadable code mixer.
6. 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the cube definition data transmission step comprises the step of transmitting a first transaction to clear the terminal memory; transmitting a second transaction for loading the terminal memory with the code and forming at least one erased memory space, and a third transaction for transmitting the cube definition data and filling at least a portion of the at least one space.
7. 7. A computer program for performing the method of claim 1.
8. 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of storing the downloaded code in the flash terminal and subsequently storing the cube definition data in the memory. flash terminal.
9. 9. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of generating and transmitting orders of P388 downloadable display to store them in the terminal memory.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the terminal memory comprises a dynamic random access memory.
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of storing a base character setting and a downloadable code in the terminal flash memory and storing the cube definition data and the display control commands in the access memory random dynamic of the terminal.
12. Apparatus for controlling the method of claim 1, comprising a system administrator computer, the terminal, a data transmission means for transmitting data to the terminal for display.
13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cube definition data transmission step comprises the step of transmitting first cube definition data to a first group of terminals and second cube definition data to a second group of cube definition data. terminals.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting cube definition data comprises the step of transmitting cube definition data by P388 one of the following means, in-band audio, in-band video or out-of-band transmission.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the cube definition data comprises chrominance and background luminance and foreground data for a planar image having two dimensions.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of outputting the display data continues for a predetermined period of time.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the predetermined time period is determined by the operation of a key by a user.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein the output display data is accompanied by a predetermined background audio signal.
19. 19. Terminal apparatus for receiving downloaded graphics data, downloaded display orders and program code data, comprising: a data receiver in band to receive the data transmitted by a television signal; a first flash memory, coupled to the in-band data receiver, for storing the downloaded program code and an alpha numeric character setting, and a second dynamic random access memory, coupled to the in-band data receiver, for storing the P388 cube definition data downloaded and display orders.
20. 20. System control apparatus for downloading graphics data, display orders and program codes comprising: a system administrator to generate graphics data and display commands for downloading and having means of input to receive a code of program that is going to be downloaded; a code download transmitter to download the downloadable program code through code download transactions; and a graphics data download transmitter for downloading generated graphics data and display orders through generated graphics download transactions.
21. The system control apparatus of claim 20, wherein the code download transactions comprise globally directed transactions and the generated graphics download transactions comprise one of the group-directed or individually directed transactions.
22. 22. The system control apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the system administrator further comprises a computer equipped with software P388 applications, a monitor, a keyboard and an explorer or sweeper attached to the computer to generate graphics data and display orders from a scanned or scanned graphics image. The system control apparatus according to claim 20, wherein one of the code download transmitter or the graphics download transmitter comprises one of a bandwidth video data, band data or data data transmitter. out of band. REVIEW OF THE INVENTION A method for downloading subtitles and on-screen graphics to a television terminal for the display, comprising a system administrator computer (22) and a data transmission apparatus coupled thereto for transmitting downloadable display orders and cube definition data and transmission program codes to the terminal (14). The intervention of the manufacturer is minimized since the system operator sweeps (2) a graphic image (1) to create a bitmap and encodes the bit map in the cube definition data (4). The system administrator also generates display control commands to download them to the terminal without the intervention of the manufacturer, which controls when, how much, where and how the graphics images will be displayed. Program code, cube definition data and downloadable display orders can be loaded globally or addressed by in-band video data transmission, in-band audio data or out-of-band data. The output graphics for the display may be accompanied by a predetermined audio signal.