摘要:
An interactive electronic program guide is disclosed for use with a television delivery system. The guide is generated by a set top terminal that receives a television signal from an operations center and extracts from the signal individual programs for display on a television screen associated with the terminal. The guide is used to select programs and interactive features for display on the screen. The guide includes a plurality of interconnected menus having display information. The guide also includes a cursor controlled by the user input device for sequencing through the menus and selecting a menu item. The menus include an introductory menu displayed when the guide is started, a main menu that allows access to program submenus and interactive submenus, and during program menus. The during program menus include both overlay menus that are displayed during a program and hidden menus that are not displayed. The interactive features of the guide include a logo displayed during a program indicating that interactive features are available for the program. Upon user selection, a menu of the interactive features is displayed during the program as an overlay window. Interactive features include, for example, additional information related to the program, quizzes, facts, etc. Upon selection of an interactive feature, the feature is displayed in a menu during the program.
摘要:
A novel advanced set top terminal capable of digital decompression, displaying picture-on-picture, outputting multiple video channels, outputting multiple audio signals, outputting multiple audio channels corresponding to a single video channel, and other advanced functional capabilities for use in a television program delivery system is described. The invention relates to methods and apparatus for upgrading existing set top terminals to provide these advanced functional capabilities. The invention is particularly useful in television program delivery systems providing advanced functional capabilities using a set of hardware upgrades and/or an expansion card. Specifically, the invention is an ungradable system that supports displaying picture-on-picture, multiple video channels, multiple audio signals and multiple audio signals corresponding to a single video channel, among other features and capabilities through the use of internal software, hardware upgrades, an upgrade module and/or expansion cards. The upgraded hardware generally includes microprocessors, various output ports, tuners, demodulators, demultiplexors, decryptors and memory.
摘要:
A method for parsing purchase information from code in a Web page. The method includes detecting at least one known product keyword and at least one product data string following that product keyword and being associated with that product keyword. The product data string can be a descriptor for the product keyword for one product in the purchase. The method also includes detecting at least one known transaction keyword and at least one transaction data string following that transaction keyword and being associated with that transaction keyword, the transaction data string being a descriptor for the transaction keyword. The data type of the descriptors can be checked to determine if they are of the same type as the corresponding product or transaction keyword. These processes can be repeated for all of the data strings in the HTML page, and this detected purchase information can be placed into an organized form.
摘要:
A method and apparatus for streaming content to an access network in an interactive information distribution system. The method encapsulates the content in accordance to an Internet Protocol (IP). The content is then transcoded into a format supported by the access network, and streamed over a distribution network to a remote server or to a subscriber terminal that is coupled to the access network. The apparatus is embodied as stream caching server for streaming the content encapsulated within the IP packet to access networks via a stream distribution network in response to a request for content. A packet processor is coupled to the stream server for processing the encapsulated content within the IP packets into a format native to the access network.
摘要:
Efficient messaging techniques that facilitate interactive program guide (IPG) delivery and allow a terminal to specifically designate requested items of information from a server. The IPG can be provided via a number of IPG pages, with each page including a number of defined regions. In one method, selection for a particular region of a particular page is received at a terminal and a determination is made whether the selected region is currently received. If the answer is no, a request for the selected region is generated and sent to a server. The request can conform to a particular message format that includes a number of fields, e.g., a region ID field that identifies the selected region, a subtype field that identifies a particular type, a time slot field that identifies a specific time slot, and a page offset field that identifies a specific page from among many.
摘要:
A rate generator for generating a plurality of different frequencies that represent video requests in a video on demand (VOD) system. The rate generator comprises a plurality of parallel groups, each group comprising a phase accumulator module having a plurality of phase accumulators, a phase increment model having a plurality of phase increment registers, and an adder, coupled to the phase accumulator module and the phase increment module. The adder sums the phase increment value from the phase from the phase increment module and the output of the phase accumulator module and provides the value back to the phase accumulator module. When the sum reaches a pre-determined value, the adder resets and generates a pulse at a frequency dependent on the phase increment and the sampling frequency. In addition, a method for deriving the rate generator architecture is also provided.
摘要:
A method and apparatus for allocating bandwidth within a bandwidth constrained interactive information distribution system. The system determines if a requested information stream may be provided to a requesting subscriber at an appropriate bandwidth level (i.e., appropriate bitrate providing full quality), a minimal bandwidth level (i.e., a reduced bitrate providing minimally acceptable quality) or not at all. Each information stream and any ancillary streams may be stored twice by the system, once at an appropriate encoded bitrate and once at a minimal encoded bitrate.
摘要:
A method and apparatus for combining video frame sequences with a video display of an interactive program guide (IPG). The apparatus comprises a plurality of compositors that combine background information, video frame sequences and program guide graphics into a single video frame sequence. The sequence is then digitally encoded to form an MPEG-like bitstream. The same background information and informational video is composited with a different program guide graphic to form another video sequence that is also encoded. A plurality of such sequences are produced with each sequence having a different program guide graphic. Each sequence is encoded and then multiplexed into a transport stream such that all the encoded sequences are transmitted to a subscriber's terminal using a single transport stream. As such, the subscriber can transition from one program guide to the next without interruption of the background or video display as the program guide graphic is changed.
摘要:
A system and method for efficient delivery of video segments. One embodiment relates to the delivery of short-time duration video segments. The video segments may be delivered as part of a media-rich interactive program guide (IPG) or for some other application. The system and method provides a viewer with access to a video segment starting at its beginning (or any other selectable point within the video segment). Such access may be provided using a server-centric interactive technique. The server-centric technique may involve use of a demand-cast system and method. Demand-cast messaging may occur between a session manager, transport stream generator, and terminal. For example, a video object on a screen may be activated by a viewer using a remote control for a terminal. Activation of the object may cause transmission of a request from the terminal to a session manager for a video segment corresponding to the object. In response to the request, the session manager may initiate a process to accomplish delivery of the video segment from a transport stream generator to the terminal.
摘要:
A method and apparatus for combining video frame sequences with a video display of an interactive program guide (IPG). The apparatus comprises a plurality of compositors that combine background information, video frame sequences and program guide graphics into a single video frame sequence. The sequence is then digitally encoded to form an MPEG-like bitstream. The same background information and informational video is composited with a different program guide graphic to form another video sequence that is also encoded. A plurality of such sequences are produced with each sequence having a different program guide graphic. Each sequence is encoded and then multiplexed into a transport stream such that all the encoded sequences are transmitted to a subscriber's terminal using a single transport stream. As such, the subscriber can transition from one program guide to the next without interruption of the background or video display as the program guide graphic is changed.