Device and method for efficient delivery of redundant national television signals

• US 20040174835A1
• Filed: 03/15/2004
• Published: 09/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: John P. Godwin, Robert G. Arsenault
• Original Assignee: John P. Godwin, Robert G. Arsenault
• Inventors: Arsenault, Robert G., Godwin, John P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,292,604 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/316
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2408 Monitoring of the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. client requests monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/433 Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4586 Content update operation triggered locally, e.g. by comparing the version of software modules in a DVB carousel to the version stored locally deployment, distribution, installation, update of software G06F8/65; error detection or correction of the data by redundancy during software upgrading G06F11/1433; arrangements for updating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/25
• 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 21/6118 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6143 involving transmission via a satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6187 involving transmission via a telephone network, e.g. POTS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/814 comprising emergency warnings arrangements specially adapted for emergency or urgency in broadcast systems H04H20/59; arrangements for providing alarms, notifications, alerts to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8146 involving graphical data, e.g. 3D object, 2D graphics
• 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

A method and apparatus of broadcasting is provided that has a geographic identifier memory, an overlay memory storing an overlay, a receiver circuit for receiving a broadcast signal and a control circuit. The control circuit displays the overlay on the broadcast signal in response to the geographic identifier.

Claims

1. A method of broadcasting comprising the steps of:

storing a user geographic identifier in a receiver;

generating a broadcast signal;

applying an overlay onto said broadcast signal in response to said geographic identifier; and

displaying said overlay and said broadcast signal.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said step of applying an overlay comprises the step of overlaying text onto said broadcast signal.

3. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said step of applying an overlay comprises the step of overlaying graphics onto said broadcast signal.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said graphics comprises a station logo.

5. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of generating a broadcast signal including a broadcast geographic identifier.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the steps of broadcasting an overlay having an overlay geographic identifier;

comparing the user geographic identifier with the overlay geographic identifier; and

storing the overlay into an overlay memory in the receiver when the user geographic identifier corresponds to the overlay geographic identifier.

7. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the geographic identifier comprises a zip code.

8. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the geographic identifier comprises a telephone number.

9. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the step of generating comprises generating said broadcast signal through a high altitude platform.

10. A method as recited in claim 9 wherein said high altitude platform comprises a satellite.

11. A broadcasting system comprising:

an uplink facility generating a broadcast signal signal

a receiving device for receiving the broadcast signal, said receiving device including an overlay memory storing an overlay;

a receive circuit for receiving a broadcast signal;

a geographic identifier memory storing a receiver geographic identifier; and

a controller for overlaying said overlay signal onto said broadcast signal in response to said receiver geographic identifier.

12. A broadcasting system as recited in claim 11 wherein said broadcast signal comprises a broadcast geographic identifier, said controller comparing the broadcast geographic identifier with said receiver geographic identifier, and overlaying said overlay signal in response to comparing.

13. A receiving device for a broadcasting system comprising:

an overlay memory storing an overlay;

a receive circuit for receiving a broadcast signal;

a geographic identifier memory storing a geographic identifier; and

a controller and signal processing circuit for overlaying said overlay signal an said broadcast signal in response to said geographic identifier.

14. A receiving device as recited in claim 13 further comprising a local map for identifying said broadcast signal, said controller overlaying in response to said local map.

15. A method of broadcasting comprising the steps of:

storing a user geographic identifier in a receiver;

generating an emergency message signal having an emergency message geographic identifier;

comparing the user geographic identifier to the emergency message geographic identifier in a receive circuit; and

displaying said emergency message signal when the user geographic identifier corresponds to the emergency message geographic identifier.

16. A method as recited in claim 15 further comprising the step of generating a broadcast signal;

and

displaying said emergency message signal and said broadcast signal.

17. A data transmission system having a transmission processor for accepting input data streams and transmitting them over a plurality of broadcast resources, and a reception processor for receiving data transmitted via broadcast resources and generating output data streams therefrom, comprising:

at least a first input data stream and a second input data stream, wherein said second input data stream has a degree of similarity to said first input data stream during at least a first time period;

a first output data stream intended to correspond to said first input data stream,

a second output data stream intended to correspond to said second input data stream, and

a local map at said reception processor for selectively associating selected broadcast resources to said output data streams.

an overlay memory at said reception processor for storing overlays therein;

a user geographic identifier memory at said reception processor storing a user geographic identifier;

wherein said broadcast resources carry only one of said first and second input data streams during at least a portion of said first time period, by means of a selected broadcast resource; and

wherein said local map selects for each output data stream an overlay corresponding in response to said only one of said first and second input data streams in response to said geographic identifier;

the local map associates both said first and second output data streams to said selected broadcast resource during said at least a portion of said first time period;

wherein said overlay memory associates an overlay at least partially in response to said user geographic identifier.

18. The invention of claim 17 wherein the broadcast resources are provided in a satellite communication system.

19. The invention of claim 17 wherein the broadcast resources are provided in a cable communication system.

20. A method of carrying a first number of input data streams on a lesser number of broadcast resources in a communication system, comprising:

detecting a period of substantially common content in two or more input data streams;

during at least part of said period of substantially common content, transmitting the substantially common content over an allocated number of broadcast resource(s) which is at least one but fewer than said first number;

generating at a receiver, from said allocated broadcast resource(s), a number of output data streams greater than said allocated number of broadcast resources, said output data streams being substantially identical in relevant content to a similar number of said input data streams;

retrieving an overlay in response to a geographic identifier; and

overlaying the overlay on each of said output data stream in response to said geographic identifier.

21. The invention of claim 20 wherein a local map associates said output data streams to said allocated number of broadcast resource(s) during said at least part of said period of substantially common content.

22. The invention of claim 20 wherein a remote map associates said input data streams to said allocated number of broadcast resource(s) during said at least part of said period of substantially common content.

23. The invention of claim 20 wherein said number of output data streams is equal to or greater than said first number of input data streams.

24. A method as recited in claim 20 wherein detecting a period of substantially common content in two or more input data steams comprises signal processing the video and audio signals to detect high levels of correlation.

25. A method as recited in claim 20 wherein detecting a period of substantially common content in two or more input data streams comprises comparing metadata of the video and audio signals.

26. A method as recited in claim 20 wherein detecting a period of substantially common content in two or more input data streams comprises signal processing the video and audio signals to detect high levels of correlation and comparing metadata of the video and audio signals.

27. A method as recited in claim 20 wherein detecting a period of substantially common content in two or more input data streams comprises providing control signals from a local station indicating a redundancy with a national signal.

28. A method of revenue sharing between a plurality of local stations and a primary station comprising the steps of:

providing a common signal to a rebroadcaster corresponding to said plurality of local stations and said primary station;

monitoring viewership; and

dividing advertising revenue from the common signal between the plurality of local stations and the primary station.

29. A method as recited in claim 28 wherein said step of monitoring viewership comprises the step of monitoring viewership using output channel geographic identifiers as contained within the receiver controller and provided externally to a monitoring device.

30. A method as recited in claim 28 wherein the step of dividing comprises the step of dividing advertising revenue from the common signal between the plurality of local stations and the primary station in response to said viewership monitoring information.

31. A method as recited in claim 28 wherein said step of providing comprises providing the common signal from the primary affiliate.

32. A method as recited in claim 28 wherein said step of monitoring viewership comprises the step of monitoring viewership by identifying the viewer'"'"'s selected output channel number.

33. A method as recited in claim 32 wherein the viewer'"'"'s selected output channel number, as contained within the receiver controller, is provided externally to a monitoring device.