Television – Special applications – Manufacturing
Patent
1998-05-20
2000-08-08
Kostak, Victor R.
Television
Special applications
Manufacturing
348 6, 348 10, 455 62, 380 10, 380 20, H04N 716
Patent
active
061009164
ABSTRACT:
A technique for the blocking of individual programs and/or portions of programs transmitted in a source signal, e.g., a cable television signal. In particular, individual programs and/or portions of programs within a class of programs are blocked, while allowing for the viewing of certain other programs even within the same programming class. The transmitted source signal contains individual programs having a transparent program identifier and/or transparent content identifier associated with individual programs in the source signal transmission. As the source signal enters, e.g., a particular subscriber location, the source signal is monitored in accordance with a program viewing profile defined by the subscriber. That is, particular ones of the programs and/or portion thereof available in the source signal transmission supplied to the subscriber can either be unblocked, i.e., viewable, or blocked, i.e., unviewable, at the discretion of the subscriber. The blocking of particular ones of the programs and/or portion thereof is accomplished as a function of the transparent program identifier and/or transparent content identifier associated with a program which is embedded in the video and/or audio component of the source signal. The transparent identifiers are transmitted concurrently with the individual program as the source signal is received at the subscriber location. Advantageously, the subscriber is given complete control and selectivity over which programs and/or portions thereof are viewed, e.g., by children of the subscriber.
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"SuperVision--The Family Television Manager," a product brochure/description, found on the Internet at http:/www.parent-tools.com/sv-desc.html on Jan. 22, 1998.
August Katherine Grace
Hauser Avi I.
Manoyan John M.
Sizer II Theodore
Bahgi Habte
Dinella Donald P.
Kostak Victor R.
Lucent Technologies - Inc.
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