MXPA99005401A - Electronic programming guide with movie preview - Google Patents

Abstract

A preview system activated from an on-screen programming guide (10) displays a video preview of a selected particular program on the display screen (38). The video preview clip is displayed on less than the full screen so that the video can be highly-compressed to save bandwidth.

Description

ELECTRONIC PROGRAMMING GUIDE WITH A PRELIMINARY MOVIE VIEW Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to television programming information, and more particularly to a system and method for providing preliminary views of planned programming to assist an observer in making his programming decisions.

Background of the Invention As the number of television stations in a metropolitan area or in a cable network has increased, the number of programs of potential interest that are presented to an observer has increased drastically. With the use of parabolic antennas capable of receiving direct signals from the satellite, the multitude of programs available to the observer has been further increased. In addition, television faces a digital future that will see the fusion of television and PC technology. The television set of the future Ref.030571 will include a microcomputer, a modum of interconnection with other computers over networks, intranets, and the internet, and will be connectable to computer peripherals such as printers. Such close capabilities as "video on demand" (NVOD), "video on demand", access to the worldwide network, "audio on demand", etc., will present to the observer a large amount of information and widths of band. As it has become increasingly evident, information overload can actually reduce the usefulness of the information provided. Consequently, there is a great challenge in providing an interface or interconnection that manages and provides an easy-to-use, intelligent interconnection with the available information. Consequently, television programming systems that are provided directly on the observer's television screen have been developed to help the observer navigate through various programs and determine which programs to observe or record. One such television programming system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,121 commonly assigned (Young et al.), The full description of which is incorporated herein for reference. In a Young mode, the television program includes a series of menu screens that have a network of cells or cells corresponding to different television programs. The observer can move the image through the cells or cells to observe which television programs are being presented on several channels at various time intervals. In addition, the observer can select certain cells or cells to obtain more information about the associated program or to activate other submenus with additional options. The recent development of television programming systems, such as the Young patent described above, have created many new challenges. One such challenge is to help observers select programs to observe the vast amount of programming available. As more programming is available, the consumer needs more information to help select, especially in the case of pay-per-view where the consumer must intelligently budget the entertainment costs.

Brief Description of the Invention The present invention is a method and system for providing video previews for particular programs selected from an electronic programming guide. According to one aspect of the invention, a stream of bits modulated on a bearer includes video packets of preliminary views. When an observer selects a particular program from a guide on the screen, a stream of video signals, including video packets or signals for the particular program, is selected and used to generate a "preview" video signal. The preview preview video signal is then displayed on the screen. According to another aspect of the invention, the preview video signal is displayed on only a portion of the screen to allow the video signal to be transmitted using a lower bandwidth. According to another aspect of the invention, a single video preview is transmitted in a digital datastream as a carousel or endless loop. These are streams of individual bits for each preview. According to another aspect of the invention, the various video previews are transmitted in a single stream of bits. The different preliminary views are transmitted as a carousel or endless loop. Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent in view of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an EPG and preview window displayed on the screen of a TV system; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a TV system; Figure 3 is a block diagram of a unit of physical elements for generating an electronic screen programming guide (EPG); Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the hierarchical database used to generate the EPG; Figures 5A-5B are schematic diagrams of the data structures in the database; Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing the transmission of an EPG in a digital satellite system; Figure 7 is a block diagram of the system for displaying the videos of the preliminary views; Figure 8 is a flow chart of the steps for displaying a preview video; Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of digital information carried by a carrier; and Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of different carousel configurations or endless closed circuits for transmitting preliminary view packets.

Description of the Preferred Modality Summary of the Preview System Figure I shows a preferred embodiment of the invention. An electronic program guide shows the movies and / or other programs available from a DBS service. These films or programs may be available on request or almost on request, ie with a short wait or they may be explored for future observation. The observer typically has access to an electronic program guide on the screen (EPG) 10 which displays the programming on a grid or array with vertically listed channels, the times listed horizontally, and the guide entries placed at the inputs of the grid indexed by a particular channel and time. In the preferred embodiment, the user can activate a guide entry for a particular movie and observe a preview, known as an advertising preview, of the movie in a preview window 12 displayed on the screen. The entry can be activated by first moving the pointer / cursor over the entry in the guide and then clicking to activate the preview, or activation can be self-activated any time the pointer / cursor is moved over an entry. In a preferred embodiment, the preview window 12 is dimensioned so that the video can be smaller to reduce the requirements of the bandwidth. In a DBS (digital broadcast system) the signals of the video base band are digitized, compressed, transmitted. Because of advances in the compression technique, the reference spectrum once used to transmit a single program can now transmit four programs. Typically, in addition to video signals, other bit streams encoding information such as audio signals, VBI (vertical blanking information data such as closed captioning and teletext), program guide information, and access information conditioned, they are provided as separate bit streams, multiplexed into a composite bit stream, and transmitted. In a preferred embodiment, a stream of advertising advance bits comprising streams of audio and video bits of highly compressed film advertising advances is formed and provided by a DBS. Each ad preview includes header bits that identify the movie and provide other information about the advertising preview. The heading and the advertising advance form a package of advertising advance. The bit stream of the advertising advance is modulated on the carrier as a carousel or an endless closed circuit so that each advertising advance is retransmitted cyclically and will be retransmitted after a short delay.

A decoder at the observer's site receives the bearers and controls a tuner / demodulator to select a bearer. The bearer is sampled, decoded, corrected for its errors, and demultiplexed to separate the various streams of bits. The decoder includes electronic video decoder chips that decompress the compressed video signal to reconstruct the images of virtually any size. When the observer activates the guide to display an advertising preview, the decoder is controlled to tune the bearer that transmits the bit stream of the advertising advance, select the bit stream of the advertising advance of the demultiplexed bit streams, process the header bits of each package of the advertising preview to identify the video of the advertising preview and the audio signal for the selected films, decompress the data of the video advertising advance, and transfer the decompressed video data as an auxiliary video signal to a controller of the display of image within the image, which displays the advertising advance within the window that is 1/9 the size of the full screen.

Various techniques can be used to activate the preview function and are not part of the present invention. For example, an icon in the guide entry can be selected or you can use a pop-up menu.

Summary of an EPG System In a preferred embodiment, the electronic program guide of the invention can be implemented either on a personal computer, a PCTV, a boxed upper-adjustment device, or a television that includes a customer's dashboard. However, the invention is not limited to any particular physical element configuration and will have increased utility when new combinations of computers and television systems are developed. In what follows, any of the above will sometimes be referred to as a "TV System". The block diagrams of the representative TV systems are shown in Figure 2. The details of the implementation are not shown because the invention is not limited to any particular TV system.

As is well known, the image to be displayed can be transmitted as an analog signal, for example in accordance with the NTSC standard used in the United States of America, or as a digital modulated signal. The signals can be received on a cable, telephone lines, the Internet, or by means of an antenna or satellite dish. Typically, television sets are designed to receive analog signals and computer display devices are designed to display images encoded in a digital format. However, the decoder system converts the digital data to an analog signal for display on a television set. In Figure 2, analog or digital TV signals, received via cable 30, antenna 32, or satellite dish satellite signal 34, are provided to a television system. If the signal is from a digital broadcasting service, then a decoder 36 converts the signal to the video signal of the baseband and the audio signal or channel 3/4 RF. If the signal is an analog signal, it is passed as a live video output. The television system 38, depending on its configuration, receives some selected outputs and displays the received program. A PCTV includes a TV 40 card, connected to either the live video signal, the baseband video signal, or the 3/4 channel output, digitizes the video image and displays the image of the video. video in a resizable window on the computer monitor. The PCTV is also connected to landline telephone lines by a 42 modem. If the received signal is an analogue TV signal, the PCTV TV card digitizes the analog signal and extracts the included information from the vertical blanking intervals. On the other hand, if the signal is a separate digital signal of audio, video, VBI (vertical blanking information such as closed captions, teletext, and information related to the program), the program guide, and the conditioned access information are provided as separate bitstreams. The currents of audio and video bits for the programs are converted to a format for display and the program guide information is processed to form a database of the program guide. The processor, which executes the program stored in the memory, or available in a stream of digital data "live", generates program guide images, electronic, interactive and images of the received programs. The guide can be used to interact with, and control the programs displayed in the window. A television system configured to display an electronic program guide such as a guide provided by StarSight Telecast includes an on-screen display controller and other physical elements described below. If a standard analog broadcast signal is received, the program guide data is extracted from the VBI by a VBI data separator and processed to form a program database. If a DBS digital signal is received, either from a satellite or cable, the VBI and the program data are provided in separate bit streams. The program guide images are either generated locally or in a remote location and provided to a display controller on the screen. Interactivity is provided by means of a remote control. Alternatively, the program guide may be displayed on a computer monitor that interactively controls the television set through, for example, an IR interconnect, including an IR 44 load provider, to generate the IR codes to control the television and / or a VCR. If the database of the electronic guide is generated locally, the system to create the electronic programming guide should receive the programming information of the television and process the received information to create a database. Adingly, the system requires a data reception unit, a processor, memory to store the program code and a database, an on-screen display generator (OSD), and a control interconnect for tuning to the channels selected. In a preferred embodiment, the programming information is transmitted as a set of brief commands of the specified formats. The different commands communicate the information such as a program of shows for a given channel, the title of each show in the program, the descriptions and the attributes of information about each show in the channel. Adingly, the information for a show that is to be broadcast at a particular time is transmitted in several commands. The ID numbers in the commands facilitate the organization of the information in a related database that uses the program of the database machine (DBE) stored in the memory and executed by the processor. In a preferred embodiment, a board is included in an observer observation apparatus and the database is stored locally and the commands are transmitted in the programming VBIs on a designated channel, for example PBS. An example of a board to receive information from the program guide, generate the database of the program guide, and the program guide display, and interactively control the program guide, is shown in Figure 3. The commands are transmitted to the board in the vertical blanking intervals of the broadcast programming on a designated channel. Alternatively, the commands could be transmitted to the local unit over the land telephone lines. Additionally, as described below, in some systems the database is remotely constructed and the guide itself is transmitted to the local unit. The data bc.se machine builds a hierarchical database in RAM. The hierarchical structure of the database is shown in Figure 4. The database is structured internally as the structures of the program data and the related data structures of the subject by means of management forms and management tables. Each form of management is an index for a management table which contains pointers for the memory blocks where the items in the database are stored. In another embodiment, for example a DSS system, the program's guidance data is transmitted as a stream of bits that is processed by the database machine. Additionally, a database of N.E.W.S. (news, entertainment, weather information, and sports) has been developed. Commands that include history text and history IDs are transmitted. Connections or links from the program guide to stories related to a program can be created and related stories can be accessed from the guide. An advertising database is also created from the commands that include the text and the advertising logos that include the IDs to link the advertisements with the shows displayed in the EPG. The user can access the advertising information directly from the guide. An internet database is also created from the commands including URLs to internet sites related to the programs exhibited on the PEG. If the observer is observing the EPG on a platform that is enabled by Web, for example, WebTV, a PC, or PCTV, then you can directly access a site linked from the EPG. Additionally, a graphics program module constructs several displays or screens that use the program, show the title, and other information from the database. If the OSD driver operates in character mode, the screen is a grid of character codes which are transferred to the OSD controller which generates the display on the screen. An interface program module with the user response to the input, responds to the user input to generate new displays in response to the particular input. In a preferred embodiment, the user uses an input device, for example, a remote control, mouse or slider, or keyboard, to place a pointer over a part of the current display and to click. The input response module responds to the position of the pointer and the particular display currently displayed generates a response display or takes a particular action. In another preferred embodiment, the interconnection of the user responds to the buttons of the function on a remote control. The specific examples will be described later.

Detailed Description of the EPG System Board description Figure 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the electronic physical element unit 52 used to effect the display of the program on the electronic display and other functions. The particular physical element unit 52 shown is for customers or subscribers of TVRO (Only TV Reception) having satellite dish antennas for satellite signal, for watching television. This unit is connected in series with the TVRO equipment of the existing customer or subscriber. In Figure 3, the unit receives the Baseband Video in 123 from the client's TVRO system. The unit optionally outputs output 128 of the Baseband Video or output 130 of channel 3/4 RF. The unit includes a microprocessor 100 of 8 bits, 64 bits of the ROM 101 of the code, 512 K of the RAM 102 for the storage of the program data, a network of usual doors 103, segmented base registers 104 for the rapid manipulation of the the data of the memory, the security logic device 106 for decoding the input encoded data, a serial bus 108 for the interconnection of the display controller, the serial bus 110 for communication with the interprocessor, the timer watchdog 112 for error recovery, IR input 113, IR transmitter circuits 116 for TV, VCR control, IR output 117, logical encoding and decoding device of CRC-32 118, the supply of energy on the board 120, the video input 123, the Formatter and Display Controller on the Screen 124, the usual color converter 126, the RF modulator 127, the Choice of the Baseband Video or the RF outputs 128 or 130. The formatter and controller of the display on the screen (OSDCF) 124 functions as an I / O controller, an on-screen display controller (OSD), and also as a VBI data separator of closed header data (CCD). The VBI (vertical blanking interval) is a dead space in a TV signal that allows a television signal to reposition the electronic scanning beam from the bottom to the top of the screen. The digital data, for example closed caption data, are modulated on the carrier signal during the VBI. The OSDCF 124 includes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) which digitizes the video signal of the input baseband and extracts the digital information transmitted in the VBIs. As explained more fully below, the messages for transmission to the database are transmitted in the VBIs. These messages are transferred to the processor 100 which executes a process of the database machine to build or update the database. The OSD part of the OSDCF 124 includes a temporary storage memory, a character memory, timing functions, and an external RAM. The OSD reads the high-level graphic commands sent from the processor 100 and stores the graphic information in the RAM. The outputs of the red OSD (R), green (G), blue (B), the graphic data which are used to generate a local video signal. Depending on the state of the user's input interface, described later, the local OSD video output or the live video input signal will be displayed.

Consequently, the graphic data of the screen display generated by the database machine is transferred to the RAM of the OSD which generates a local video signal that causes the screen display to be displayed on the screen of the screen. television.

Programming of Data Structures The DBE accumulates a hierarchical database in the RAM: the hierarchical structure of the database is shown in Figure 4. The database is structured internally as the programming data structures and the topic data structures linked by management forms and management tables. Each form of management is an index for a management table which contains pointers for memory blocks in which the database structures are stored. The hierarchy for programming data structures, in descending order, is: Channel Data Table: Contains the channel subscriber unit list; Show List: contains the time sets for each show that will be broadcasted for a channel; Title of the Show: contains the text of the title and shows the attributes of the title- Description of the Show: contains the evaluations of the show, the attributes and the description of the text.

A data table of the channel is the highest data structure in the hierarchy. This table includes an entry for each channel received by the subscriber unit. The entries in the channel data table are changed infrequently and are determined by the location of the subscriber unit and the type of services received. Each entry in the channel data table includes the information that refers to the channel and a management form for the management table of the show list for the channel. The following data structure in the hierarchy is the list of shows. The list of shows includes the start time which is typically from midnight GMT and 24 hours of programming. The programming of the channel is given by an ordered sequence of sets of shows, with a set of shows for each show that is going to be broadcast by a particular channel for a particular day. Each set includes a duration, management of the title of the show, and management of the description of the show. Finding an entry corresponding to a given start time requires that the entries be scanned, in order, from the start of the show list and the addition of duration values. The database, when fully constructed, retains a weekly value of the show lists for each channel. You have access to the days of the week increasing the handling of the list of shows in two bytes. The lists of shows are updated every day at midnight GMT, with the list of shows for the day that has been completed that is deleted and the list of shows for the same day of the following week that is added to the database. The following data structure in the programming hierarchy are the title entries of the shows, shown in Figure 5A, and show the entries of the description, shown in Figure 5B. For a given set of shows, the entry of the title of the show and the entry of the show description is allowed using the management forms included in the set. The title entries of the show and the description of the show are stored in a memory group divided into blocks. Each show title is identified by a unique 20-bit show identification number (SID) and each description of the title is identified by a unique 20-bit number assigned at the end of the title. The forms of management of the title of the show are based on the SID and the ways of handling the title of the show are moved to a table of management of the titles of the shows. The entry in the table of the titles of the shows is allowed by a way of handling the titles of the particular shows that includes the address of the first block in the whole of the memory where the entry of the title of the show is stored. In a similar way, the entry of the management table of the description of the shows is allowed by a way of handling the description of the shows that stores the address of the first block in the memory group. where the entry of the description of the shows is stored.

Each entry of the show titles includes an index ID of the themes and the title text of the show. Typically, a unique show title entry will be referenced by many show lists for different channels, days, and time. Therefore, using forms of management in the lists of the shows, all the lists of shows will refer to a single entry of the title of the shows in the memory, so that the memory is used efficiently. Many show ticket entries have a long duration because show titles can be for series that are broadcasted for extended periods of time and can be referred to by many show lists, since many shows are broadcasted through multiple channels . Each entry in the show description includes a subject index ID, critical ratings, MPAA evaluation for the show, feature frame bits, year produced, and the text of the show description. Entries in the show description tend to have a shorter duration than show ticket entries because a description is valid only for a particular episode of a series.

Search Programming To obtain the program information for a particular time and to display the program information in the programming grid, the following steps are required. For each channel in the channel list, you have access to the list of shows for the day and it is scanned. The horizontal blocks for the channel are sized according to the duration of the show sets including and following the selected time. The entry of the title of the show referred to by each set of shows is allowed and the title of the show is displayed in the horizontal block corresponding to the set of shows.

Ad Data Structures A data structure of the ad list is similar to the list of shows. It includes a time of departure and 24 hours of ad programming. The list of announcements is regionalized and includes a set of announcements for each advertisement that is going to be broadcast for a given day. The ad set includes a duration and an Ads ID used to access an ad entry.

Each added entry includes a flag text field, an ad text field, and a pointer to an ad logo, if appropriate. The logo of the ads includes a record of graphics that will be displayed with the advertisement. Ad entries include the banner text of the ad and the ad text.

Construction of the Database The database is built by a program module of the database machine that operates on the processor. Messages that comprise discrete commands are received by the database machine. Examples of the commands include a Region Command which specifies the available channels for a particular subscriber unit that will be included in the Channel Data Table; a Channel Data command that includes the information used to form the entries in the Channel Data Table; and the Show List, the Show Title, and the * Show Description commands that include the reference areas of the SIDs and DIDs in the memory. The data base machine selects only the Commands from the Show List relevant to the channels included in the Channels Table for additional processing. The database machine creates storage locations in memory for all SIDs and DIDs included in any Show List. The information included in the commands that have corresponding SIDs or DIDs is written with respect to the area of memory referred to. In practice, SIDs and DIDs are processed by a copying system for a more efficient search. The messages can be transmitted to a subscriber unit in several ways. A system for receiving messages in the VBIs of broadcast programming has been described above. In a DBS system the messages can be transmitted in a destined stream of bits. In a DBS system the band-video signals are digitized, compressed, and modulated on the analog carrier signals. Because of advances in compression technique, a bearer once used to transmit a single program can now transmit four programs. Typically, in addition to video signals, other bit streams encoding information such as audio signals, VBI (data from vertical bleaching information such as closed captioning and teletext), program guide information, and the conditioned access information, are provided as separate bit streams, multiplexed into a composite bit stream, and modulated on a carrier signal. Alternatively, the database itself can be transmitted in a digital data stream. For example, in DSS the program guide information is transmitted in blocks of 3 hours of programming for 36 channels. The programming is digitally modulated on different bands. As shown in Figure 6, a satellite has several repeaters or answering machines 500 that transmit simultaneously over different bands. Several channels can be modulated on a single band using digital compression techniques. A stream of bits that includes common programming is carried by all bands. However, future programming for the different blocks of the channels is transmitted on different bands. The blocks are transmitted as a carousel or endless loop so that a delay can exist before a particular time band is received. A decoder in the location of the observer receives 16 carriers and controls a tuner / demodulator to select a carrier. The bearer is sampled, decoded, corrected in its errors and demultiplexed to separate the various streams of bits. The decoder includes the video decoder microcircuits which decompress the compressed video signal to reconstruct the images of virtually any size. When the observer has access to the guide, the block for this period of time is loaded into the memory so that the user can interact with the guide. For a future time and different channel there may be a time delay. For example, if the common programming block were Bl and the commonly received block is B4, the user should expect blocks B5, B6, and B7 to be transmitted before the common programming can be received and displayed. The observer could expect a time delay equal to the sum of the time durations to transmit each block, that is, d5 + d6 + d7. If the program guide block is modulated on a different band, the cable box device must be tuned to the band and wait until the desired block is transmitted on the carousel, so that if you have access to the guide for future programming, There could be a delay. For cable, the database is built at the end of the SST header and sent over the land lines to the end of the cable header. The cable company sends the data in any way that is requested, for example VBIs, satellite, digital, etc.

User Interconnection The user's interconnection takes the remote control commands as its primary input. In a modality, a user requests several functions by pressing the buttons of the functions on a remote control. In another mode, the GUI is used with different interactive regions on a displayed screen that corresponds to different functions. The user moves the cursor over the interactive region corresponding to a desired function and selects the function to generate a command. The particular way to enter a command is not critical and the technology to use the voice command commands may be available very soon. The interconnection of the user receives the commands and responds with a requested display screen and performing the function required by the command. The function carried out may be to carry out an action such as the registration of a program, the tuning to a channel, access to a related website, the purchase of a pay-per-view program, or the purchase of merchandise. The data and the format of each screen depends on the previous screen, the time of the day, the content of the database, the command received, and other parameters. A state table is used to define the flow of the screen. For each defined screen, there is an input function, an output function, an update function, and a network of functions for handling the request. The input function is required when a state is entered first to collect all the necessary data and the format of the screen. The output function is required to free the memory and data from the screen. The update function is required once per minute to update the time of the screen and to readjust the screen if any information displayed on the screen needs to be updated. Once in a particular state, the table contains a reference to another function of the program corresponding to each key on the remote control or for the interactive region on the screen. These referred functions will be executed in any place in which an associated remote control button is pressed or an interactive region is selected. For example, if the user wishes to register a program, in the GUI mode, the observer moves the cursor over the interactive registration region which is then selected to request that the registration function be performed. A conformation screen will then be generated. Once the user confirms the registration request, an entry is made in a registration queue. An agile record is then required in a real-time execution to examine the queue and handle the registration functions. The screens are displayed by the display controller (OSD) based on the graphic display commands issued by the database machine. Among the basic commands needed to readjust the system's display screens are the Screen Erase Command; the Command of Rectangles - Engraving; the Save or Save Rectangle Command; the Reset Rectangle Command; the Move Rectangle Commands; the ASCII Script Command String; and the Icon Command of the Engraving Channel.

Each screen includes areas that are constant and are based on the code and data stored in the non-volatile memory and the variable areas such as titles and descriptions of the shows which use the data stored in the database. As described above, in the description of the database machine, the database is structured to facilitate the efficient search of information, generally in the form of ASCII text strings, stored in the database. Additionally, the graphics records are also being stored in the database that will be displayed in the windows of the display screen.

Detailed Description of the Preview Unit Figure 7 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the invention and Figure 8 is a flow diagram showing the steps for pre-observing a program. Referring to Figures 7 and 8, an EPG 700 system performs the functions of the database machine and user interconnection as described above. An EPG video signal 702 is provided as a primary signal to be displayed on a first portion of a display screen by an image-in-picture (PIP) controller 704. A preview controller 706 is provided with the information that identifies a particular program selected by the user. The preview controller 706 controls the decoder 36 to tune to the band carrying the bitstream of the preview, has access to the demultiplexed bit stream, processes the preview headers to identify a packet of preliminary views which correspond to the program identified by the observer, and controls the decoder to provide an auxiliary video signal that displays the video signal of the preview corresponding to the selected program. Additionally, if the preview includes the audio signal, the preview controller causes the decoder to process the bits of the audio signal in the preview package and provide an audio signal to the television set. Figure 9 schematically shows the digital information carried by a carrier of a DBS. As described, four channels can be compressed and carried on a carrier. Additionally, VBI information, program guide information, etc. can also be transported. Video streams of advertising advances can also be transported. As described above, if the advertising advances are displayed in a small window, the video signal can be highly compressed so that the bit streams of the advertising advance do not use much of the bandwidth of the conveyor. Figure 10 shows alternative ways of transmitting advertising advances. A bitstream of the advertisement advance can transmit an advertisement advancement such as a carousel 900. Accordingly, for a particular show the preview controller 706 selects the particular bit stream and the advertisement advance will be displayed without noticeable delay. Alternatively, a plurality of advertising advances can be transmitted as a single stream of bits. Each bitstream is included on a carousel 902. In this mode, less bandwidth is required but there may be a perceptible delay before a particular advance is displayed. The PIP controller 704 then displays the preview video on a second portion of the display screen. Alternatively, the preview can be displayed on the full screen. The video signal of the ad advance may not be as highly compressed as when viewed in a window and more carrier bandwidth might be required. The size of the window for advertising display is determined depending on the specification for a particular system. The invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments. Alternatives and substitutions will now be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, although the preferred embodiment uses a television system, the invention is applicable to a PC-TV system. The bitstream of the preview is either processed by the PC-TV directly to display the preview video or an auxiliary video signal is processed to be displayed within a window.

It is noted that in relation to this date the best method known by the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following

Claims (16)

1. A method for providing preview information to aid in the selection of video programming, the method is characterized in that it comprises: receiving a bit stream from the preview in the form of an endless circuit of preview packets; displaying the planning information on a display screen that includes the source and identification information about one of a plurality of available shows; receive the user input to select. To a particular spectacle of the plurality of shows; receive the user input to start a preview operation; processing a package of previews that represent a video preview of the particular show to form a video signal; and display the video preview of the particular show on the screen in response to the video signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises the steps of: receiving the video preview in the compressed form, and decompressing the video preview to display the video preview.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the step of the selection comprises the steps of: highlighting a particular show with a cursor or pointer.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of receiving the bit stream from the preview comprises receiving a bit stream from the preview in the form of an endless circuit of a plurality of view packets. Preliminary, each packet of preliminary views includes header information and compressed video information, and wherein the method is characterized in that it further comprises the step of using the header information to identify a particular packet of previews in the endless circuit which is associated with the particular show selected.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the reception of a step of the bitstream of the preview comprises the reception of a bit stream from the preview in the form of an endless circuit of a single packet of bits. preliminary views repeated a plurality of times, the preview packet includes the header information and the compressed video information, and characterized in that the method further comprises the step of using the header information to identify a particular preview packet in the endless circuit that is associated with the particular show selected.

6. The method according to claims 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, characterized in that it further comprises the step of: displaying the preview in a window that is smaller than the display screen.

7. The method according to claims 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, characterized in that it further comprises the step of: displaying the preview on the entire display screen.

8. A method for providing information to help select video programming, the method is characterized in that it comprises: receiving a stream of preview bits in the form of an endless circuit of the preview packets; displaying the planning information on an exhibition screen including the source and identification information about one of a plurality of available shows, receiving the user input to select a particular show of the plurality of shows and autoactivating the start of a preview operation; and display a preview that includes a video preview of the particular show on the screen.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that it further comprises the steps of: receiving the video preview in the compressed form; and decompress the video preview to show the video preview.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the selection step comprises the steps of: highlighting a particular show with a cursor or pointer.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of receiving a bit stream from the preview comprises receiving a bit stream from the preview in the form of a closed circuit of a plurality of view packets. Preliminary, each preview package includes header information and compressed video information, and wherein the method is characterized in that it further comprises the step of using the header information to identify a particular preview packet in the closed loop which is associated with the particular show selected.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of receiving a bit stream from the preview comprises receiving a bitstream from the preview in the form of an endless circuit of a single packet of preliminary views repeated a plurality of times, the preview package includes the header information and the compressed video information, and wherein the method is characterized in that it further comprises the step of using the header information to identify a particular preview packet in the endless circuit that is associated with the particular show selected.

13. The method according to claims 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12, characterized in that it further comprises the step of: displaying the preview in the window that is smaller than the display screen.

14. The method according to claims 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12, characterized in that it further comprises the step of: displaying the preview on the entire display screen.

15. A system for previously observing selected programs, characterized in that it comprises: a television system for displaying the video signals provided as the video signal of the base band or RF signals; a decoder for receiving the digital signals, providing the selected bit currents, encoded by the digital signals, and converting the selected bitstream to a video signal, with one of the bit streams being a bit stream of preliminary views which includes preview packets in the form of an endless loop of the preview packets, each preview pack includes a header identifying the preview and the video bits of the compressed preview; a preview controller, connected to the decoder to receive the stream of preview bits, to inspect the headers to identify a selected preview packet and to control the decoder to convert the video bits of the preview to the selected package in an auxiliary video signal; a display controller, coupled to receive primary and auxiliary video signals, to display the primary video signal on a first portion of the display screen and the auxiliary video signal on a second portion of the display screen; an EPG system for providing an EPG video signal to display an electronic guide as a primary signal, to provide an interconnection of the user receiving the user input by selecting a particular program displayed on an EPG, to control the view controller Preliminary, to select a particular preview packet corresponding to the particular signal, so that the auxiliary signal will display a preview of the particular channel on the second portion of the display screen.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that the digital signal is a DBS signal.