Television system

• US 20020075402A1
• Filed: 09/13/2001
• Published: 06/20/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Pace PLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Pace Micro Technology PLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Robson, Glenn, Matey, Jesus
• Application Number:
  US09/951,088
• Publication Number:
  US 20020075402A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/460
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/262 Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists scheduling strategies for dispatcher in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/4881; arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/06; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a time schedule or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

The invention relates to a television system and to the generation on the screen and/or audibly, of an indicator to a user of the system of the commencement of a commercial break on a particular channel and/or the end of the break. Various options are also provided to the user which may include any or any combination of, accessing a related internet site, viewing other channels or temporarily pausing recording of data when the indication is generated.

Claims

1. A television system comprising a broadcast data receiver, for the reception of data which is broadcast from a remote location via any of satellite, cable or terrestrial systems, said receiver processing the received data to generate video, audio and/or auxiliary data via a television set or other display screen and speakers and characterised in that a portion of the data which is received relates to commercial breaks which are due to occur in a given time period following the reception of the data said data indicating the start of a portion of data relating to material to be displayed during a commercial break and/or data which identifies the end of the portion of data for the commercial break and, upon receiving one or both of the information data, if the user is, in the given time period, watching a television channel which includes commercial breaks, when a commercial break occurs or is about to occur and/or finish, an indication is generated by the broadcast data receiver to the user to indicate that the commercial break is commencing and/or has finished.

2. A television system according to claim 1 characterised in that the provision of the indication can be by any suitable means such as a visual display on screen and/or an audio indication.

3. A television system according to claim 1 characterised in that the data for each proposed commercial break schedule is transmitted for a given time period and stored in the broadcast data receiver in an information table.

4. A television system according to claim 3 characterised in that for programmes which include live events or whose schedule is affected by live events, updated data is broadcast if the commercial breaks are to be shown at times other than those held in the information tables.

5. A television system according to claim 1 characterised in that the indication of a start of a commercial break, when generated, allows the user to perform a number of operations using the system.

6. A television system according to claim 1 characterised in that user can select, via a receiver provided to access the Internet, an internet site, such as that of a particular advertiser or programme and view the material thereon via the display screen.

7. A television system according to claim 1 characterised in that if the user does not wish to view the commercial break, when the break starts, there is provided an indication which automatically causes the system to perform another function.

8. A television system according to claim 7 characterised in that the system displays to the user another channel or channels on the television system.

9. A television system according to claim 7 characterised in that the function is the accessing of an internet service via the broadcast data receiver.

10. A television system according to claim 7 characterised in that the function stops automatically when the commercial break end indicator is generated.

11. A television system according to claim 1 characterised in that the data which is used to indicate the commercial break start and end is transmitted as part of the data which can be used to generate an electronic programme guide (EPG) and which is typically used to generate on screen a guide of forthcoming programmes which can be selected by the user.

12. A television system according to claim 11 characterised in that the user can select at any instant to display all or a portion of the available channels at that instant or times in the future, and for a display to be generated on screen which indicates those channels on which commercial breaks are shown and the times at which the same are being shown.

13. A television system according to claim 12 characterised in that the display shows those channels which aren'"'"'t showing commercial breaks at a particular time.

14. A television system according to claim 1 characterised in that the data, when received, is stored and referenced against two sets of information within the broadcast data receiver, a timing reference and channel selected information.

15. A television system according to claim 14 characterised in that the time reference is to ensure that the received data, which typically includes the time at which each commercial break starts and stops, is referenced against the actual time so that the indicator is generated when required.

16. A television system according to claim 14 characterised in that channel selected reference is made so that the indicators for a commercial break occurring are only generated if the user is viewing the particular channel on which the commercial break is occurring at the time when the indicator is to be generated.

17. A television system according to claim 1 characterised in that the system includes a storage means for the recording or storage of programme data for subsequent viewing and during recording, if an indicator that the commercial break is about to commence for that television program is received, the control means for the storage means ceases the storage of data until it receives from the receiver the second indicator indicating the end of the commercial break, at which point the storage means control means recommences the storage of the data.

18. A television system according to claim 1 characterised in that when the indicators are generated they are transmitted to the storage means via a SCART connection or via an Infra Red device.

19. A television system according to claim 1 characterised in that upon reception of the indicator of the commercial break commencing the display format of the display screen changes so as to provide a reduced size display of the commercial break material with the remainder of the display used to display another function of the system.

20. A television system according to claim 19 characterised in that upon receiving the indicator of the end of the commercial break the display returns to the format showing the programme which was being watched prior to the commercial break.

21. A television system according to claim 1 characterised in that if the user is interested in the internet site of a particular advertiser they can access the internet and view material of the advertiser via a link displayed on the advert via the display screen.