Interactive video distribution systems – Video distribution system with local interaction – Interactive data transmitted in video signal band
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-30
2003-12-23
Faile, Andrew (Department: 2611)
Interactive video distribution systems
Video distribution system with local interaction
Interactive data transmitted in video signal band
C725S135000, C725S139000, C725S051000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06668378
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
FIG. 1
(Prior Art) is a diagram of an interactive television system involving several different types of receiver units
100
-
104
that display information resources and television video. Receiver unit
100
is a personal computer that includes a specialized tuner and decoder expansion card. An example of one such expansion card is available from DirecTV, Inc, a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation. Television video
105
is broadcast from a broadcaster's transmitting antenna
106
to a receiving antenna
107
of a satellite uplink station
108
. The satellite uplink station
108
receives the television video on receiving antenna
107
and transmits the television video
105
to a satellite
109
via a transmitting dish
110
. Satellite
109
in turn relays the television video
105
to a small satellite dish
111
of receiver unit
100
. A viewer is able to view the television video
105
using the screen of the personal computer of receiver unit
100
as a display device. Rather than viewing the television video, the viewer can choose to view Internet content. Receiver unit
100
sends a request for the desired Internet content via an Internet connection
112
, the Internet
113
, and an Internet connection
114
, to uplink station
108
. Uplink station
108
receives the request, retrieves the requested Internet content from the Internet
113
via Internet connection
114
, and sends the requested Internet content to receiver unit
100
via satellite
109
.
Receiver unit
101
is another example of a DirecTV® receiver unit having a special tuner and decoder expansion card and small satellite dish. Although receiver unit
101
is not connected to the Internet, receiver unit
101
can nevertheless display certain information resources and/or Internet content that is provided by the uplink station
108
. An electronic newspaper is an example of such an information resource. Uplink station
108
retrieves the information resource (the electronic newspaper) from the Internet via its Internet connection
114
, and then transmits that information resource to receiver unit
101
by encoding the information resource into broadcast television video signal
105
. Receiver unit
101
receives the broadcast television video signal
105
, decodes it to recover the information resource, and displays the information resource for viewing. A viewer is therefore able to switch from watching television to browsing through the various pages of the electronic newspaper even though receiver unit
101
has no connection to the Internet.
In contrast to DirecTV® receiver units
100
and
101
which principally display either television content or an information resource, receiver units
102
-
104
are considered interactive television receiver units. In interactive television, information from an information resource may be displayed along with television video in a synchronized fashion. When information is to be displayed at a point in the television video, a communication called a “trigger” is broadcast along with the television video. The trigger identifies the information resource and indicates how information from the information resource is to be displayed.
Receiver unit
102
is a personal computer that has a television tuner card. One example of such a receiver unit is the “Windows® 98 Broadcast PC” system which includes a personal computer with the Windows® 98 operating system and a television tuner card. Windows® 98 is developed by and available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. In accordance with this system, an information resource is encoded into vertical blanking interval (VBI) lines 10-20 of an NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) broadcast television signal so that the information resource is transmitted to the receiver unit
102
along with the television video
105
. At an appropriate time in the television video
105
when the information resource is to be displayed to enhance the television viewing experience, a trigger is broadcast. The trigger identifies the information resource and also serves as a queue to receiver unit
102
to display the information resource along with the television video. Receiver unit
102
responds to the trigger and displays the indicated information resource provided that the information resource has been transmitted to the receiver unit
102
.
Receiver unit
103
is another type of interactive television receiver unit. In contrast to receiver units
100
-
101
, receiver unit
103
retrieves information resources from the Internet that are identified by triggers. An example of such a receiver unit is a WebTV® set-top box Internet terminal. Television video
105
is broadcast from broadcast antenna
106
and is received on an antenna
115
of receiver unit
103
. Consider the situation in which the broadcaster transmits a trigger that offers a viewer an option to buy an item by filling out an order form. At an appropriate time in television video
105
, the broadcaster broadcasts a trigger
116
along with the television video. This trigger
116
causes receiver unit
103
to display an icon that offers the viewer the option of buying the item. If the viewer selects the icon using a handheld remote control unit
117
, then receiver unit
103
retrieves from the Internet
113
via an Internet connection
118
an order form web page
119
identified by the trigger. Once the order form web page
119
has been retrieved from the Internet and displayed, the viewer can interact with the order form, enter user-specific information, and submit the user-specific information back to a merchant's server on the Internet. It is therefore seen that receiver unit
103
enhances the television viewing experience by retrieving the information resource
119
identified by the trigger
116
and then displaying that information resource.
Receiver unit
104
is another example of another WebTV® interactive television receiver unit. This receiver unit
104
, unlike receiver unit
103
, is not able to retrieve an identified information resource from Internet
113
. It is, however, nevertheless able to provide an interactive television experience. Consider the situation in which a series of information resources are already present on receiver unit
104
(for example, they may have been received in advance via VBI line 10-20 transport or they may be already be present on receiver unit
104
in the form of a compact disk of other storage medium). At various points in the broadcast television video
105
, the broadcaster may transmit triggers identifying the information resources resident on receiver unit
104
. These triggers may then cause the display of these information resources thereby enhancing the television viewing experience, provided that receiver unit
104
does not have to access the Internet to get information resources.
It is desired to be able to transmit triggers that utilize the full capabilities of both WebTV® receiver units
103
and
104
, but a problem arises. If trigger
116
for the order form were transmitted to receiver unit
103
, then that trigger
116
would also be received by receiver unit
104
. This trigger
116
may cause the viewer at receiver unit
104
to be presented with an icon offering the viewer the option of ordering an item, wherein if the viewer selects the icon the item could not be ordered because the order form
119
could not be accessed. A solution is desired whereby the full capabilities of a receiver unit like receiver unit
103
and a receiver unit like receiver unit
104
can both be utilized in the same system.
SUMMARY
In one embodiment, interactive television content is classified as either “disconnected content” or as “connected content”. In accordance with one such classification, disconnected interactive television content is content that, once present on the receiver unit, likely involves no further connection to the Internet. Connected content, on the other hand, is interactive television content that likely does involve an Internet connection.
An interactiv
Blackketter Dean J.
Leak Bruce A.
Zigmond Daniel J.
Faile Andrew
Tran Hai V.
WebTV Networks Inc.
Workman Nydegger
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