Modular interactive application generation system

• US 20020199187A1
• Filed: 03/18/2002
• Published: 12/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: IP Planet Networks Ltd.
• Original Assignee: IP Planet Networks Ltd.
• Inventors: Gissin, Yaron, Gissin, Erez, Noam, Johnny, Elgavish, Yuval
• Application Number:
  US10/101,479
• Publication Number:
  US 20020199187A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• 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 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8166 involving executable data, e.g. software arrangements for executing specific programs G06F9/44; broadcasting computer programmes in broadcast systems H04H20/91; involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8545 for generating interactive applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8547 involving timestamps for synchronizing content

Abstract

A system for generating interactive television programs including an interactive item scheduler operative to generate an interactive item schedule for incorporation into at least one television program, the interactive item schedule comprising a first plurality of interactive items each associated with a time-stamp, and an interactive television program integrator operative to incorporate the first plurality of interactive items into at least one television program in accordance with the schedule.

Claims

1. A system for generating interactive television programs comprising:

an interactive item scheduler operative to generate an interactive item schedule for incorporation into at least one television program, the interactive item schedule comprising a first plurality of interactive items each associated with a time-stamp; and

an interactive television program integrator operative to incorporate said first plurality of interactive items into at least one television program in accordance with said schedule.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said interactive television program integrator is operative to receive, for each individual one of at least one television programs, an on-air signal indicating, in real-time, the time at which broadcast of the individual television program began.

3. A system according to claim 1 wherein said interactive television program integrator is also operative to receive, in advance of broadcast, from an external source, a playlist comprising a second plurality of television programs to be broadcast and to generate, off-line, an output instruction to a broadcasting facility describing how to incorporate said first plurality of interactive items into said second plurality of television programs in accordance with said schedule.

4. A system according to claim 3 and also comprising an interactive television GUI operative to generate a graphic display of the playlist and of a library of interactive items and to accept an editor-user'"'"'s input associating an individual interactive item from the library with a temporal location on the playlist.

5. A system according to claim 4 wherein the graphic display also comprises a video window which, responsive to a user'"'"'s indication of a temporal location on the playlist, presents a portion of a program associated with said temporal location.

6. A system according to claim 5 wherein the video window, responsive to an editor-user'"'"'s input associating an individual interactive item from the library with a temporal location on the playlist, presents a portion of a program associated with said temporal location and, concurrently, the portion of the individual interactive item associated with said temporal location.

7. A system according to claim 1 wherein said interactive television program integrator is operative to display said first plurality of interactive items concurrently with a corresponding first plurality of portions of at least one television program in accordance with said schedule.

8. A system according to claim 7 wherein said interactive television program integrator is operative to superimpose at least one of said first plurality of interactive items onto at least one of the corresponding first plurality of portions of at least one television program in accordance with said schedule.

9. A system according to claim 1 wherein said interactive item scheduler comprises an interactive item generator operative to generate at least one interactive item for inclusion in the interactive item schedule.

10. A system according to claim 9 wherein said interactive item generator comprises a library of empty interactive item templates and a template filling user interface operative to accept, from an editor-user, interactive content to fill an editor-user-selected one of the interactive item templates.

11. A system according to claim 10 and also comprising a repository for filled interactive item templates thereby to enable an editor-user to fill templates off-line for real time incorporation into at least one television program.

12. A system according to claim 1 wherein at least one time-stamp for at least one individual interactive item comprises an absolute time for broadcast of the individual interactive item.

13. A system according to claim 1 wherein at least one time-stamp for at least one individual interactive item comprises a time for broadcast of the individual interactive item, relative to an on-air signal to be received which will indicate the time at which broadcast of an individual television program began.

15. A methodology for providing enhanced television type content to a plurality of disparate displays according to claim 14 and also comprising broadcasting said enhanced display-independent television type content with at least one display specific addition.

16. A methodology for providing enhanced television type content to a plurality of disparate displays according to claim 15 and also comprising:

receiving and displaying, at a given one of said plurality of disparate displays, said enhanced display-independent television type content with at least one display specific addition.

20. A system according to claim 19 wherein the user terminals differ with respect to at least one of the following types of terminal characteristics:

user terminal operating system characteristics

user terminal output characteristics

user terminal input characteristics.

21. A system according to claim 19 wherein said interactive content generator comprises:

a library of templates, each template being operative to prompt a content editor to fill the template with specific content, thereby to generate a template instance comprising an action.

22. A system according to claim 21 wherein each template is operative to prompt the content editor to define a template instance trigger thereby to generate an assigned action.

14. A methodology for providing enhanced television type content to a plurality of disparate displays comprising:

providing television type content;

enhancing said television type content in a display-independent manner to provide enhanced display-independent interactive television type content; and

providing a plurality of display specific additions to said enhanced display-independent television type content.

17. A system for authoring and broadcasting of interactive content, the system comprising:

creation of interactive content by non-programmers including at least one of the following editing functions;

drag-and-drop function for incorporation of interactive content into a program schedule;

wizard-based content creation for interactive content; and

editing-level synchronization with broadcasting events including a synchronization information display for the non-programmer interactive content creator.

18. Interactive content screen display apparatus comprising:

a first video area portion displaying a video broadcast;

a second interactive portion displaying interactive content selected by a viewer; and

a third pushed interrupt portion, which cannot be overridden by the viewer, displaying interrupting interactive content pushed by an interactive content provider,

and wherein the second interactive portion cannot be overridden by the interactive content provider.

19. A system for conveying interactive content to a plurality of user terminals having different characteristics, the system comprising:

an interactive content generator; and

a plurality of user-terminal specific compilers operative to compile interactive content generated by the interactive content generator so as to adapt said interactive content for use by a corresponding one of said user terminals,

thereby to provide interactive content generated by said interactive content generator to all of said plurality of user terminals despite their different characteristics.

23. An interactive content generation system comprising:

an interactive content template repository storing a plurality of templates for interactive content items; and

a template filling interface allowing a user to select, view and fill in a template from among said plurality of templates.