System and method for providing product information over an interactive television system

• US 20030084453A1
• Filed: 11/01/2001
• Published: 05/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Time Warner New York Cable LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Commerce.TV Corporation
• Inventors: Campbell, Colin, Laughlin, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US09/985,113
• Publication Number:
  US 20030084453A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/60
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• 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 21/8543 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 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/088 the inserted signal being digital
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/16 Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems

Abstract

A system and method are provided for creating and delivering programming enhancements for interactive commerce in a television distribution network. The system includes databases of program schedule information, product information on items available for purchase, and available enhancement layouts. A computer application allows the creation of customized program enhancements, each containing product information relating to a particular program. The system further includes broadcasting apparatus to broadcast program enhancements to viewers on the network at an appropriate time so as to have each enhancement available for display to the viewers during the particular program with which it is associated. To conserve system resources, the program enhancements are assembled, formatted and queued for broadcast only shortly before the associated programs are aired. Received program enhancements are stored on viewers'"'"' set top boxes, and activated when the set top boxes receive a trigger that is broadcast with the associated programs.

Claims

1. A system for providing product information over a broadcast programming network, comprising:

a first processor configured to associate, in response to a user input, information relating to products with schedule information relating to a television program, including a channel on which, and a date and time at which, the program is to be broadcast;

a second processor configured to direct the broadcast of the product information at a time prior to the time the television program is scheduled to be broadcast; and

a viewer terminal configured to receive the television program and the product information and to display the product information with the television program to a viewer.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the first processor is further configured to retrieve the schedule information relating to the television program from a database including schedule information relating to a plurality of current television programs, and to retrieve the product information from a database containing product information relating to a plurality of items available for purchase;

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the second processor is further configured to broadcast the product information to the viewer terminal on the channel on which the television program is scheduled.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the first processor is further configured to associate with the product information, in response to the user input, one of a plurality of formats for displaying the product information with the television program, the second processor is further configured to direct the broadcast of information relating to the one format with the product information, and the viewer terminal is further configured to display the program enhancement in the one format.

5. A system according to claim 4, wherein the second processor is further configured to convert the product information and the associated format information into XML format prior to broadcast, and the viewer terminal is further configured to convert the XML-formatted product information and format information into a form suitable for display to the television viewer.

6. A system according to claim 4, wherein the second processor is further configured to broadcast the product information and the associated format information in the form of digital packets, and the viewer terminal is further configured to receive the digital packets and reconstruct the product information and the format information therefrom.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein the viewer terminal is further configured to store the received product information and display the stored product information upon receipt of a trigger signal broadcast with the program.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein the channel on which the program is broadcast carries an analog television signal, and the product information is broadcast via the vertical blanking interval of the analog television signal.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast product information includes a list of products selected by the system user.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein the broadcast product information further includes additional information in at least one of graphic and text form related to items on the list of products.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein the first processor is further configured to enable the system user to select by geographic region the channel over which the product information is broadcast.

12. A method for providing product information over a broadcast programming network, comprising:

associating, in response to a user input, information relating to products with schedule information relating to a television program, including a channel on which, and a date and time at which, the program is to be broadcast;

directing the broadcast of the product information at a time prior to the time the television program is scheduled to be broadcast; and

receiving the television program and the product information at a viewer terminal and displaying the product information with the television program to a viewer.

13. A method according to claim 12, further comprising:

retrieving the schedule information relating to the television program from a database including schedule information relating to a plurality of current television; and

retrieving the product information from a database containing product information relating to a plurality of items available for purchase;

14. A method according to claim 12, further comprising:

broadcasting the product information to the viewer terminal on the channel on which the television program is scheduled.

15. A method according to claim 12, further comprising:

associating with the product information, in response to the user input, one of a plurality of formats for displaying the product information with the television program;

directing the broadcast of information relating to the one format with the product information; and

displaying on the viewer terminal the program enhancement in the one format.

16. A method according to claim 15, further comprising:

converting the product information and the associated format information into XML format prior to broadcast; and

converting at the viewer terminal the XML-formatted product information and format information into a form suitable for display to the television viewer.

17. A method according to claim 15, further comprising:

broadcasting the product information and the associated format information in the form of digital packets; and

reconstructing the product information and the format information from the digital packets received at the viewer terminal.

18. A method according to claim 12, further comprising:

storing the received product information at the viewer terminal; and

displaying the stored product information upon receipt of a trigger signal broadcast with the program.

19. A method according to claim 12, wherein the channel on which the program is broadcast carries an analog television signal, and the product information is broadcast via the vertical blanking interval of the analog television signal.

20. A method according to claim 12, wherein the broadcast product information includes a list of products selected in response to the user input.

21. A method according to claim 20, wherein the broadcast product information further includes additional information in at least one of graphic and text form related to items on the list of products.

22. A method according to claim 12, further comprising:

associating the channel over which the product information is broadcast with a geographic region selected in response to the user input.