WO2005048590A1

WO2005048590A1 - System for generating an interactive menu

Info

Publication number: WO2005048590A1
Application number: PCT/IB2004/003587
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alberto Vuan; Lucio Cosmo
Original assignee: Vda Multimedia S.R.L.
Priority date: 2003-11-13
Filing date: 2004-11-03
Publication date: 2005-05-26
Also published as: ITTO20030903A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for generating an interactive menu on an appliance (1, 2, 301) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals. The invention is characterized in that said system comprises memory and/or data storage means (105, 205, 323) containing multimedia contributions, in particular audio-video sequences, being suitable for realizing said interactive menu in animated form.

Description

SYSTEM FOR GENERATING AN INTERACTIVE MENU

DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to a system for generating an interactive menu on an appliance suitable for receiving and displaying television signals.

The term "television signal" generally identifies an analog or digital signal which can be presented on a screen for entertainment purposes. In the following, therefore, the term "television signal" will not be limited to the analog signal broadcast by width modulation, but will also include digital signals having entertainment contents (movies, documentaries, television programs, broadcasts of sports events, etc.) being encoded, e.g. according to the MPEG2 standard, and broadcast as needed. In particular, QPSK modulation (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) is typically preferred for satellite broadcasting, whereas for cable broadcasting either QAM modulation (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) or COFDM (Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) are generally used, depending on the length of the cable stretches. Therefore, within the scope of the present invention "television signal" means an audio/video signal provided to a common image displaying device for entertainment and/or information purposes. According to the state of the art, various solutions are known for generating menus, i.e. lists of functions, operations or indications in general, shown on an appliance suitable for receiving and displaying television signals, which guide the user through the choice of the activities that he/she wishes to carry out on the appliance, for example selecting a TV channel or adjusting a set of screen parameters (e.g. brightness or contrast). In a first known form, the appliances suitable for receiving and displaying television signals (television sets, but also projectors and monitors in general) are fitted with a character generator and suitable means allowing to display a menu on their own screen or an associated screen. Menus of this kind are not fully interactive, and consist of static information lists displayed together with or separately from the television signal. The user is therefore obliged to read the menu, sometimes having to wait for pages to change, and obtains the selection of the desired television, channel only after exiting said menu, through a choice made by using the set's remote control. Thus, if the user reads on the screen that the TV channel "Canale 5" is stored in a certain location of the program memory, he/she may watch the program only by exiting the menu and pressing a key on the remote control to tune the television set to "Canale 5". Systems of this type therefore require that the user pays constant attention to the screen for reading information being often very concise and difficult to understand. With the introduction of cable and satellite television, a multiplicity of television channels has become available to a user owning a device suitable for receiving and displaying the different television signals. Such a device may be a television set suitable for receiving analog or digital signals, depending on its typology.

If a user owns an analog television set and wants to display digital signals, his/her system must comprise a set-top box connected to said analog television set. Said set-top box is a device receiving digital television signals, with different modulations depending on whether the signals come over coaxial cable, antenna or optical fiber. The task of said set-top box is to decode the incoming television signal in accordance with that signal's standard, and to re-encode it into a signal which can be displayed by the user's television set or monitor. As already mentioned, due to the increasing number of channels and services available to the user, reading the setup menus and program menus of television sets, i.e. the so-called EPG service (Electronic Program Guide), has become too tiresome for the user, so that appliances for receiving and displaying television signals have been developed which comprise generators of graphic elements. The menu of said appliances has thus evolved to a much more pleasant form for the user. Further evolutions have then led to introduce in menus elements for navigating within the menus themselves, i.e. a series of pages comprising graphic elements such as buttons selectable by remote control, which allow to browse the various menu pages. According to a known solution, some of these buttons permit to open a window within which the user can see, in a smaller size, the movie which is being broadcast on the channel selected in the menu (Picture in Picture technology).

Even in this more advanced form, menus often turn out to be very complex due to the great deal of information that they must contain, and require that the user reads the menu attentively in order to make his/her choices. At present, thanks to technological innovation, devices suitable for receiving and displaying television signals, such as, for instance, television sets, have turned into real multimedia terminals through which the user, beside watching the normal TV programs, can use the most modern and advanced services, such as Internet access, electronic mail, the possibility of playing videogames, the reception of digital television, interactive television for commercial and banking services, programming the room's air-conditioning, services available outdoors such as restaurants, museums, jeweler's shops, etc.

Multimedia terminals of this kind can be found, for instance, in hotels. In order to offer all these services to their guests, hotels have been fitted with a real interactive communication system wherein the rooms' video terminals are peripheral stations exchanging information with a central unit, or server, so as to provide the user with all the services that he/she requests through remote control.

The increasing availability of services, however, goes along with an increasing complexity of the system and, above all, with an increasing difficulty encountered by the user when using the interactive communication system. Although hotels tend to offer their guests specific manuals for accessing the available services, the necessity of reading such an amount of instructions may sometimes even be annoying for the guests or anyway cause lack of interest on their part, especially for those coming from abroad. The result is that the user will not fully use the hotel's services; actually, sometimes the complexity of the system is perceived by the user as a flaw of the service provided by the hotel.

Without having to refer specifically to hotels, similar problems can also be found in the latest- generation devices suitable for receiving and displaying television signals being present in private homes. As a matter of fact, the increasingly complex systems allow to access a growing number of services, e.g. Pay Per View and Internet, but their menus are increasingly complex as well and difficult to understand for the user.

Nevertheless, given the growing demand for an even larger number of services, there is a clear need for a system for generating an interactive menu which allows to overcome the above- mentioned problems of the known art. The main aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a system for generating an interactive menu on an appliance suitable for receiving and displaying television signals (TV, Monitor, Set-Top Box), wherein the services available to the user are presented in a simpler and more stimulating manner compared to the current systems of the known art, thereby making the use of complex systems possible also to people without a deep technical knowledge or totally unskilled.

A further aim is to provide a system allowing to use an appliance suitable for receiving and displaying television signals without the need to read a large amount of information from the menu. A further aim of the present invention is also to improve the known systems suitable for displaying graphic menus, by means of a low-cost solution which can be easily integrated into the current systems.

These and further aims of the present invention are obtained by means of a system, as well as a method, for generating an interactive menu according to the annexed claims, which form an integral part of the present description.

More specifically, said aims are obtained by means of a system for generating an interactive menu on an appliance suitable for receiving and displaying television signals, characterized in that said system comprises memory and/or data storage means containing multimedia contributions suitable for realizing said interactive menu in animated form.

By multimedia contributions we mean information provided through different communication means (video, audio, music, etc.); in particular, by multimedia contributions we mean audio- video sequences such as films, cartoons and animation products in general, which may be accompanied by musical excerpts and audio recordings in general (e.g. describing a service). Advantageously, said memory and/or data storage means containing multimedia contributions are located at a station of a user of said menu, for instance in the set-top box or in the television set operated by the user.

Said multimedia contributions comprise suitable images and/or films of an animated guide helping the user navigate in the menu and select the desired services. Further aims and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and annexed drawings, which form an integral part of the present description and are supplied by way of non-limiting example, wherein:

- Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a system for generating an interactive menu according to the invention. - Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of a system for generating an interactive menu according to the invention.

- Fig. 3 shows an architecture of a third embodiment of a system for generating an interactive menu according to the invention.

- Fig. 4 shows a diagram of a central unit and a peripheral station, with the indication of some of the information flows exchanged, in a system according to the invention.

- Fig. 5 is an example of a navigation page obtained through a system provided according to the invention.

- Fig. 6 is a diagram pertaining to the management of the multimedia contributions in a system for generating an interactive menu according to the invention.

- Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the work carried out by the animation interface or "pro- activity" controller in a system according to the invention.

- Fig. 8 shows a schematic example of coordination of the multimedia contributions and of the pages of the navigation system managed by the animation interface or pro-activity controller.

- Figs. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E, 9F show some embodiment examples of the interactive menu generated by the system according to the invention.

- Fig. 10 shows a further embodiment of the architecture of the system for generating an interactive menu according to the invention. Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a system for generating an interactive menu according to the invention.

Fig. 1 shows an appliance (1) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals, comprising means (101) for receiving television signals (102) coming from the outside of said appliance (1) (whether high-frequency or baseband signals), and means for displaying audio- video information (107) such as, for instance, a screen and stereophonic loudspeakers.

Said appliance (1) also comprises means (108) for receiving commands from a user. The most widespread form, on account of the low production costs, is the one shown in fig. 1, wherein the user operates an infrared remote control (109); in this case, said means (108) for receiving commands will consist of a suitable infrared signal receiver known to a technician skilled in the art.

For the purposes of the invention, however, the example of the infrared remote control (109) should not be understood as restrictive, in that it is foreseen that the user may also operate said appliance (1) by means of voice commands. In this case, said means (108) for receiving commands will consist of a suitable interface capable of recognizing voice commands and of translating them into machine instructions, i.e. electric commands driving suitable actuators of said appliance (1).

Whatever the form chosen for receiving the user's commands, said means (108) for receiving commands will transmit said commands to suitable control means (106) comprising at least one microprocessor. Therefore, if the user wants to tune said appliance to a certain television channel (supposing that the signal (102) is a radio-frequency one), e.g. RAI 1, by pressing the key 1 on the remote control he/she will send a signal to said appliance which will be received by said means (108) for receiving commands, and consequently a signal will be received by said control means (106), which in turn will communicate with said means (101) in order to obtain the reception of the desired television signal (102) by requesting the tuning to the transmission frequency of the channel chosen by the user, in this case RAI 1.

The selected television signal (102) will then be sent, under the control of said control means (106), to said means for displaying audio-video information (107), so that the program chosen by the user can be displayed.

In order to simplify the choice of a television channel or among the various options offered by the television set, e.g. brightness adjustment, time setting, etc., the appliance (1) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals according to the invention is provided with further means allowing to display an interactive menu on said appliance (1). hi this description, "interactive menu" means the "man-machine" interaction devoted to the management of a list of operations or indications in general, being displayed on the video screen the user is interfaced with, guiding him her in choosing the activities that he/she wants to carry out on said appliance (1). i the embodiment of fig. 1, said appliance (1) comprises memory and/or data storage means (105) containing multimedia contributions (104), in particular audio-video sequences, suitable for realizing said interactive menu.

When requested by the user, by pressing an appropriate remote control key or issuing a voice command, the means (108) for receiving commands will transfer the command to the control means (106) in a way similar to that previously described for the selection of a television channel.

As they receive the menu display command, said control means (106) will request suitable means (103) for managing multimedia contributions (104) to access said memory and/or data storage means (105) containing multimedia contributions (104). The control means (106) will therefore receive a data flow suitable for realizing said menu in a simpler and more communicative form for the user. Said data will then be sent to said means for displaying audio-video information (107) in order to display said interactive menu. The use of means (103) for managing multimedia contributions (104) and memory and/or data storage means (105) containing multimedia contributions within an appliance (1) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals (102) allows to provide a menu which, as far as inventiveness is concerned, is not only graphic as in the prior art, but also comprises audio- video (i.e. animated) sequences helping the user consult the menu and choose among the activities and services made available to him/her through said appliance (1). The system for generating an interactive menu according to the invention, in fact, permits to define a set of multimedia contributions creating an animated guide; in the examples of figures 9A to 9F, said multimedia contributions include images and/or films of an animated guide having a girl's features. It is nonetheless possible, in accordance with the application of the system, to study other embodiments of said animated guide, which may be an animated character fit for the situation, e.g. an animated mascot of the company providing the service. The task of said animated guide will be to describe and/or offer the contents of the menu and possibly of the services which maybe accessed through said menu. As they receive commands from the user, which, as previously mentioned, may be sent in various ways (remote control, voice, keyboard, etc.), the control means (106) being present within said appliance (1) will from time to time request specific multimedia contributions. Thus, the menu becomes interactive, i.e. allows information to be exchanged with the user. In fact, supposing that the user requests to set some parameters of the television set, first of all he/she will activate the initial menu page and, for example, the system will recall multimedia contributions related to a video animation wherein a girl welcomes the user and describes the available programmable settings of the appliance. Once the user has chosen an option, said control means (106) will recall a new multimedia contribution, which will consist in a new film accompanied by an audio/video description of the procedures to be followed for setting the parameter or for obtaining the desired function, and possibly by a musical excerpt played in the background.

The advantages of the system described so far are apparent from the above description. In particular, the creation of an interactive menu comprising multimedia contributions, such as audio-video sequences, saves the user the trouble of having to read a great amount of information; the audio contribution even saves the user from having to stay in front of the appliance screen, allowing him/her to carry out other activities.

Finally, the audio contribution allows people having sight disabilities to access functions or services listed in the menu; the video contribution also helps by improving the communication with the user, so that the latter learns more quickly how to navigate within the menu and how to use the functions of the appliance (1) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals.

The example shown in figure 1 is not to be considered as restrictive and requires that the system according to the invention is integrated within said appliance (1) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals (102). Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the system according to the invention: in this case, it is assumed that the user has at his/her disposal an appliance (2) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals, e.g. a television set or a monitor in general, according to the prior art. The appliance (2) shown in fig. 2 communicates through a suitable interface, e.g. a scart socket, with a second appliance (200), which may be an improved set-top box capable of generating an interactive menu on said appliance (2) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals.

Said second appliance (200) receives the user's commands through suitable means (208) for receiving commands, which, similarly to what described with reference to fig. 1, may be an infrared interface for communicating with a remote control (209) or voice recognition means capable of recognizing voice commands given by the user.

Said second appliance also comprises means (201) for the reception of television signals (202) (whether radio-frequency or baseband signals), control means (206), means (203) for managing multimedia contributions (204), and memory and/or data storage means (205) containing multimedia contributions.

Unlike the example shown in fig. 1, the system according to the invention therefore provides for using a second appliance (200) being capable of communicating with said first appliance (2) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals. The multimedia contributions suitable for generating the interactive menu needed for simplifying the navigation within the list of operations executable on said first appliance (2) are stored in suitable memory and/or data storage means (205) containing multimedia contributions located in said second appliance (200).

When the user, through remote control, keyboard or voice command, requests a page of the animated interactive menu, the control means (206) of said second appliance (200) will select a suitable multimedia contribution (204) to be played on said first appliance (2) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals. To this purpose, the system is provided with means (203) for managing multimedia contributions (204), which access said memory and/or data storage means (205) containing multimedia contributions and manage the transfer of information to said control means (206); it is clear that, without departing from the object of the present invention, said means (203) for managing multimedia contributions may be replaced with suitable software and hardware solutions within said control means (206). Through further communication means (207), said second appliance (200) will transfer an audio/video signal to said first appliance (2), so as to display the interactive menu and play the audio contributions being an integral part of said interactive menu.

In an embodiment of the present invention, said first appliance (2) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals may be a television set; in this case, the television signals may be received through and antenna cable or through the communication means (207) provided on said second appliance.

Alternatively, said first appliance(2) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals maybe a simple monitor capable of receiving television signals through said second appliance

(200). hi the event that the user's station requires the presence of said second appliance (200) to connect said first appliance (2) to a parabolic antenna or to an optical fiber cable in order to receive television signals, said second appliance must comprise suitable means (201) for the reception of television signals (202).

Depending on the type of television signal (202) coming to said second appliance (200), said means (201) for the reception of television signals (202) may comprise a suitable optical fiber or coaxial interface as well as elements for tuning to a certain TV channel (whether broadcast in digital or analog form), or a simple input for baseband signals.

The management of said means (201) for the reception of television signals (202) is performed by the control means (206), which receive the user's command through the means (208) for receiving commands, as previously described, and transfer the video signal to the communication means (207).

Said second appliance (200) is also fitted with means (210) for controlling said first appliance (2) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals. Said means (210) are necessary in order to provide control on all of the functions of said first appliance (2): when the user wants to modify a parameter of said first appliance, e.g. the light contrast, the control means (206) will retrieve the corresponding multimedia contribution and will have it played on said first appliance (2). At this point it is necessary that said second appliance (200) receives from said first appliance (2) feedback information concerning the status of the light contrast and its eventual change, so as to be able to recall a new multimedia contribution and to keep the user up-to-date. Such an information exchange passes through said means (210) for controlling said first appliance (2).

So far we have stressed the importance of both the multimedia contributions and the means needed for presenting them on an appliance (1,2) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals, hi order to create an efficacious interactive menu which gives a substantial advantage to a user of such an appliance, said menu may also comprise graphic elements, such as buttons, written text, etc.

In such a case, in addition to the above described elements also a graphic generator should be employed, being located within said appliance in the system shown in fig. 1, or within said second appliance in the system shown in fig. 2. The control means provided by the system according to the invention must therefore be able to manage both multimedia contributions and graphic elements.

An example of an embodiment of a system for generating an interactive menu on an appliance suitable for receiving and displaying television signals, which advantageously comprises a graphic generator and means for managing multimedia contributions, is described in the following with reference to figures 3 to 9.

A system will then be referred to, which is particularly suitable for use in hotels and wherein the user appliances are not free-standing, but connected to a communication network. The system described also allows to display a particularly advantageous interactive menu comprising graphic elements and multimedia contributions. In the light of the above description regarding the case of free-standing user appliances, it will be apparent to a man skilled in the art how to relate the contents of the following description, which apply to a system of user appliances connected to a communication network, to the case of free-standing user appliances. Figure 3 shows an architecture being particularly suitable for hotels of the system for generating an animated interactive menu according to the invention.

The system comprises a central unit (303), fitted with means for data processing and means for data exchange over a communication network, and at least one peripheral station (300) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals as well as multimedia contributions. As previously stated with reference to figs. 1 and 2, the user's station may consist of an appliance (1) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals and incorporating the system according to the invention, or else it may consist of a first appliance (2) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals connected to a second appliance (200) integrating elements of the system according to the invention. In figure 3 an assumption is made, being non- limiting for the invention, that the user's station (300) is composed of two appliances: a first appliance (301) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals, which may be a monitor or a television set, and a second appliance (302), which will be called "client" hereafter. A central unit (303) and said peripheral stations (300) exchange information through suitable connection means; in the form shown in figures 3 and 4, which is particularly advantageous for hotel communication systems, the central unit and the various peripheral stations exchange information through a LAN communication network (322) (Local Area Network). Therefore, the various appliances and units connected to said network are provided with suitable interfaces through which they receive and send data over a cable network (304) according to a suitable protocol, preferably Fast Ethernet, with the possibility of using the Token Ring protocol as an alternative. hi fig. 3, reference number 305 indicates a network concentration element, i.e. an element which receives the connection cables (304) of the various units (303,300) being connected to the network. For the invention's purposes, said concentration element is not indispensable and may be of various types and have different technical characteristics: according to the preferred embodiment, said concentration element (305) is a Switch, allowing to allocate dynamically the band assigned to the network users (in this case, the peripheral stations (300) and the central unit (303)); however, said concentration element (305) could also be a HUB, which, as known, divides the band statically among the number "n" of connected users, assigning them a band equal to the n^t part of the total available band.

The choice of the elements to be used for realizing the communication network between peripheral stations and central unit depends on the different specific requirements of every single application. The analysis of these aspects will not be provided herein, being such aspects known to the man skilled in communication systems.

Figure 4 shows a diagram of the main blocks being present within the client (302) and the central unit, wherein the continuous-line arrows indicate the exchange of the main information flows among the various blocks. In particular, the central unit (303) comprises: o Memory and/or data storage elements (323), e.g. hard disk, RAM and EEPROM memories, etc., containing multimedia contributions. o Means (307) for managing multimedia contributions, e.g. data flows in MPEG2 format via unicast or multicast stream, being said means controlled through a suitable protocol such as, for instance, the RTSP protocol. o Means (308) for implementing said control protocol, e.g. said means may consist of an

RTSP Server. o Means (309) for file sharing, e.g. FTP, HTTP and SAMBA daemons. o Means (310) for operation synchronization at system level through dedicated applications

(by means of any IPC [InterProcess Communication] protocol). o Further data processing means not shown for clarity's sake, e.g. microprocessor, hard disks for data storage, memory elements, etc. The main elements of the peripheral station (302) are the following: o Means (311) for the reception of multimedia contributions, such as data flows in MPEG format. o Means (312) for decoding and processing said multimedia contributions, and particularly, without being limited to, data flows (streams) in MPEG format. o A module, called "navigator" (313), for graphic visualization. The "navigator" provides the "navigation elements", i.e. the graphic interfaces of the menu (pages, hypertext and links) through which the user operates when choosing and/or accessing services. o Means (314) for controlling the multimedia data flows (MPEG streams) on the peripheral station, such as, for instance, an RTSP client module. o An animation interface or "pro-activity" controller (315), which provides the coordination among navigation elements and multimedia contributions. o A suitable graphic card (316). o Means (317) for receiving commands from the user, e.g. reception of infrared commands from a remote control. o Means (318) for receiving television signals. o Further hardware and software data processing means (319), e.g. microprocessor, hard disks for data storage, memory elements, etc. o Means (320) for file sharing, e.g. FTP, HTTP and SAMBA daemons. o Means (321) for operation synchronization at system level through dedicated applications y means of any IPC [InterProcess Communication] protocol). o Means (324) for controlling said first appliance (301) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals.

The whole set of elements and means described so far allows to present an animated interactive menu being generated also by means of multimedia contributions, in particular audio-video sequences, which help the user to make use of said menu.

Advantageously, the menu may comprise navigation elements provided by means of a graphic generator, being said navigation elements represented on a plane placed on top of the one for playing said multimedia contributions. The superimposition of the two planes is managed by said animation interface or "pro- activity" controller (315), which manages the transparency of the upper plane with respect to the lower one, thus allowing to obtain an easier-to-use menu of services due to its graphic interface.

The "navigator" (313) provides its functions by preparing and managing the user interface in "pages" grouped within a resource file or "graphic interface project". As shown in fig. 5, said pages consist of a plurality of elements called "items", each implementing different graphic functionalities, for example: Image (501) • Static (non-editable) text (502) Editable text 2D button (503) Button with images Button with icon • Button with icon and text Radio buttons Check boxes Simple animations

The items retrieve any necessary images from a linked library, not represented in the illustration for simplicity's sake, which is shared by all pages of the same project.

Moreover, those items with button functionality can be "programmed" so as to "open" other pages or generate commands. Commands will be useful for activating pro-active functions such as the start of a film or a film-strip concerning particular services. As shown in figure 6, the means (311, 312, 314) for managing (checking, receiving, decoding, processing) multimedia contributions, such as films in the form of data flows in MPEG format, receive commands from the navigator and as a whole implement the following functions:

• Request for multimedia contributions (data flows) (stream)

• Play, Pause, Stop • Absolute positioning in the stream

These elements therefore make up a module called "multimedia player", being in itself commonly known as a device for watching movies, which in this case is used to activate and/or deactivate multimedia contributions according to the navigation page, as shown in fig. 6: following a command from the user, received through the selection of a given item within the navigation page, the RTSP Client (314) will communicate the request to the RTSP Server (308) being present in the central unit (303). Following the communication between the two means (308, 314) for the control of the multimedia data flows, e.g. MPEG streams, (RTSP client and RTSP server), the central unit will retrieve the requested multimedia contributions from the memory and/or data storage elements (323) and will send them, through the above- mentioned means (307) for managing multimedia contributions, to the "multimedia player" (consisting of means for receiving, decoding and processing multimedia contributions (311,312)) of the peripheral station that activated the request. Fig. 7 shows a functionality carried out by the animation interface or pro-activity controller (315). Said function allows to obtain animation elements in the navigation pages, which in the known art are static: the graphic system is implemented through two superimposed "planes", i.e. the navigator pages (701) (upper plane) are laid on top of the multimedia contribution (703), e.g. in MPEG format, (lower plane). By acting on the transparency level of some parts of the upper plane through proper transparency masks (702), it is possible to make some areas of the lower plane visible.

This transparency control, together with an aimed realization of the multimedia contributions, on the whole permits to obtain navigation pages (704) comprising animation elements. Said pro-activity controller (315), through the generation of commands in the navigation pages, receives information about different possible situations, such as, for example:

• Page opening

• Page closing

• Choice of a certain button (rollover)

• Action on a button (ok, confirmation) • Inactivity of the user

For each of these situations, said pro-activity controller (315) decides, page by page:

• Which multimedia contributions (film or film segment, preferably in MPEG format) are to be activated

• Whether to activate or deactivate the automatic replay of the film • The transparency level of the upper plane (navigator)

• The transparency mask (702) to be applied to the upper plane

• Activation of levels and mask in accordance with the position in the film

• Whether the film is to be played only once from the moment the user begins using the system or whenever it is requested through a page event.

• Selection of the film from a list of possible variants, according to environment or random variables.

• To bind the activation of the film to particular environment variables (if, for instance, the user has already used a certain service, explaining its operation again would be pointless).

Since these multimedia contributions should never annoy the user, but on the contrary they should help him/her choose among the available services, when a film is started the user may nonetheless decide to send a command to the navigator (e.g. by selecting an item of the navigation page, by pressing a suitable key on the remote control, or by issuing a voice command) in order to stop the film and continue navigating in the services menu.

Aiming at further clarifying the above concepts and the functionalities of the animation interface or "pro-activity" controller (315), fig. 8 shows, on a time scale, an example of transparency management carried out by said pro-activity controller (315): at time t₀, the user sees the navigation page 301 on the audio/video terminal of the peripheral station and decides to watch a film by selecting the corresponding button from said navigation page or by issuing the corresponding voice command. According to a preferred embodiment, the navigation page will then fade out and, at a certain time ti, the user will only see the requested film on the terminal. If, at a certain time t , later than t_1? the user decides to go back to the menu, by pressing a key on the remote control, e.g. the Menu key, or by issuing a voice command, he/she will be able to see a new navigator page (time t ).

The system described so far allows to provide a system, particularly suited to hotels, for generating an animated interactive menu on an appliance suitable for receiving and displaying television signals, wherein the services available to the user are displayed on the screen of said appliance in a simpler and more stimulating way compared to the current systems of the known art. As previously stated with reference to the case of a free-standing user station, shown in fig. 1, the system described so far is used for generating an interactive menu wherein the definition of a set of multimedia contributions allows to provide an animated guide (see figs. 9A to 9F) to help the user operate the system. According to the navigation page displayed by the user, the pro-activity controller (315) will send the RTSP client (314) a request for a particular film, e.g. an animation wherein the animated guide greets and welcomes the user or describes a certain service. Through the procedure described above and shown in fig. 6, the central unit (303) will then send the requested film, which will be played by the peripheral station (300) together with a particular page, which in the welcome message example could be the initial menu page, thanks to the above-described transparency management carried out by the animation interface or pro- activity controller (315).

Through the definition of multimedia contributions, the interactive communication system according to the invention thus allows to provide a self-explanatory menu and therefore turns out to be easy to use, giving the user the possibility of deciding whether to watch the whole film or display a new navigation page, as previously described with particular reference to figure 8. The advantages of the interactive communication system according to the invention are apparent from the above description. In particular, the creation of an interactive audio/video menu saves the user the trouble of having to read a great amount of information; the audio contribution even saves the user from having to stay in front of the appliance screen, allowing him/her to carry out other activities. Depending on specific production choices, it will also be possible to create a system wherein the navigation in the menu is done through voice commands, without the user having to stay in front of the station. However, considering the limits of the current voice recognition systems, the system according to the invention may instead comprise a graphic generator, as described in fig. 3, and provide an animated menu with graphic and video elements. The use of buttons, and information in general, that remain on the screen while the animated guide is describing a service saves the user from having to remember all the contents of the description given by the animated guide, allowing him/her to exploit the audio/video elements for a better memorization of the information. It is also clear that many other changes are possible for the man skilled in the art to the above- described system, without departing from the spirit of the invention. For instance, fig. 10 shows a second architectural solution which may be used for the system according to the invention. In figure 10, the central unit of fig. 3 has been replaced with two central units (303 ',303"), one of which can be used as a backup unit for the other, i.e. all communications with the peripheral stations are normally managed by a single central unit (303'), but in the event of a failure they will be switched to the other central unit (303"). Alternatively, both central units (303 ',303") may operate simultaneously and be dedicated to different sets of specific functions, e.g. a central unit (303') may be used for managing the multimedia contributions (reception of commands from the RTSP client and transmission of MPEG streams to the peripheral stations), whereas the other central unit (303") may be used for implementing the file sharing control functions. Furthermore, the central and the peripheral units may be connected through telecommunications networks of various kinds: the present description made reference to a wired LAN network, wherein information is transmitted over a cable, but it is also possible to provide wireless LAN networks wherein all communications take place by radio. Another possible solution is to use encoded multimedia contributions by employing advanced compression algorithms, e.g. in accordance with the MPEG 4 standard.

Claims

1. System for generating an interactive menu on an appliance (1,2,301) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals, characterized in that said system comprises memory and/or data storage means (105,205,323) containing multimedia contributions, in particular audio- video sequences, suitable for realizing said interactive menu in animated form.

2. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 1, characterized in that said appliance suitable for receiving and displaying television signals is a television set.

3. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 1, characterized in that said memory and/or data storage means (105,205,323) containing multimedia contributions are located at a station (300) of a user of said menu.

4. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 1, characterized in that said memory and/or data storage means (105) containing multimedia contributions are located within said appliance (1) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals.

5. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 2, characterized in that said memory and/or data storage means (105) containing multimedia contributions are located within said television set.

6. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 1, characterized in that said memory and/or data storage means (205) containing multimedia contributions are located within a second appliance (200) connected to said appliance (2) suitable for receiving and displaying television signals.

7. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 6, characterized in that said second appliance (200) is a set-top box.

8. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 1, characterized in that said memory and/or data storage means (323) containing multimedia contributions are located at a central unit (303) in communication with a station (300) of a user of said menu.

9. System for generating an interactive menu according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that said multimedia contributions comprise data flows encoded in MPEG format.

10. System for generating an interactive menu according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that said multimedia contributions comprise images and/or films relating to the creation of an animated guide.

11. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 10, characterized in that said animated guide is generated in such a way as to look like an animated character.

12. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 10, characterized in that said animated guide supplies information which is useful for navigating in said interactive menu and therefore for choosing among the available services.

13. System for generating an interactive menu according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that said system comprises an animation interface or pro-activity controller

(315).

14. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 1, characterized in that said menu additionally comprises graphic interfaces.

15. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 14, characterized in that said graphic interfaces comprise elements for navigating in said interactive menu.

16. System for generating an interactive menu according to claims 9 to 15, characterized in that said animation interface or pro-activity controller (15) manages the transparency of navigation elements with respect to multimedia contributions in the background.

17. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 16, characterized in that said animation interface or pro-activity controller (15) receives information pertaining to different possible situations through the generation of commands in the navigation pages.

18. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 15, characterized in that said navigation elements comprise a plurality of objects called "items".

19. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 18, characterized in that said objects called "items" implement a plurality of graphic functionalities.

20. System for generating an interactive menu according to claims 17 and 18, characterized in that said generation of commands in the navigation pages takes place through the selection of said objects called "items".

21. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 1, characterized in that a remote control allows the user to navigate in said interactive menu.

22. System for generating an interactive menu according to claims 20 and 21, characterized in that the selection of said objects (items) is made by means of a remote control.

23. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 1, characterized in that said system comprised means (324) for the recognition of voice commands.

24. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 23, characterized in that the voice commands are recognized and decoded by a suitable interface, so as to allow the user to navigate in said interactive menu.

25. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 1, characterized in that said system comprises at least one central unit (303) and at least one peripheral station (300) communicating through a suitable communication network (322).

26. System for generating an interactive menu according to claim 25, characterized in that said peripheral station (300) comprised means (311,312,314) for managing multimedia contributions.

27. System for generating an interactive menu according to the teachings of the present description and of the annexed drawings, which represent a preferred and advantageous embodiment of said system for generating an interactive menu in animated form.