User originated content notification

• US 20040268385A1
• Filed: 06/30/2003
• Published: 12/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gray, James, Matz, William, Brothers, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US10/610,776
• Publication Number:
  US 20040268385A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• 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 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• 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 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• 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 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of originating a hot key signal from a terminal device of a user of an interactive television service, the method comprises determining a destination for the hot key signal and determining a location of the available content. The hot key signal including the destination for the hot key signal and the location of the available content is then generated and transmitted from the user'"'"'s terminal device over a network connected with the user'"'"'s terminal device.

Claims

1. A method of originating a hot key signal from a terminal device of a first user of an interactive television service, the method comprising:

determining a destination for the hot key signal;

determining a location of the available content;

generating the hot key signal, the hot key signal including the destination for the hot key signal and the location of the available content; and

transmitting the hot key signal from the terminal device of the first user over a network connected with the terminal device of the first user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination for the hot key signal is terminal device of a second user of the interactive television service.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the available content is an indication of a channel.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the hot key signal comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) data packet, the IP data packet having a header portion and a body portion, the header portion having a data field indicating the destination of the hot key signal and the body portion having a data field indicating the location of the available content.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the destination for the hot key signal is an IP address of a terminal device of a second user of the interactive television service.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a location of the available content is based on a current content being viewed by the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a location of the available content is based on an indication of a channel from the user.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein generating the hot key signal further comprises determining a content type for the available content.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the content type for the available content is based on a type of the current content being viewed by the user.

10. A system comprising:

a processor;

a memory, the memory having stored therein a series of instructions for originating a hot key signal from a terminal device of a first user of an interactive television service, the series of instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to determine a destination for the hot key signal, determine a location of the available content, generate the hot key signal, the hot key signal including the destination for the hot key signal and the location of the available content; and

a transmitter to transmit the hot key signal over a network connected with the transmitter.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the destination for the hot key signal is a terminal device of a second user of the interactive television service.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the location of the available content is an indication of a channel.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the hot key signal comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) data packet, the IP data packet having a header portion and a body portion, the header portion having a data field indicating the destination of the hot key signal and the body portion having a data field indicating the location of the available content.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the destination for the hot key signal is an IP address of a terminal device of a second user of the interactive television service.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor determines a location of the available content based on a current content being viewed by the user.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor determines a location of the available content based on an indication of a channel from the user.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein generating the hot key signal further comprises determining a content type for the available content.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein determining the content type for the available content is based on a type of the current content being viewed by the user.

19. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a series of instructions for originating a hot key signal from a terminal device of a first user of an interactive television service, the series of instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

determine a destination for the hot key signal;

determine a location of the available content;

generate the hot key signal, the hot key signal including the destination for the hot key signal and the location of the available content; and

transmit the hot key signal from the terminal device of the first user over a network connected with the terminal device of the first user.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the destination for the hot key signal is a terminal device of a second user of the interactive television service.

21. The machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the location of the available content is an indication of a channel.

22. The machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the hot key signal comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) data packet, the IP data packet having a header portion and a body portion, the header portion having a data field indicating the destination of the hot key signal and the body portion having a data field indicating the location of the available content.

23. The machine-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the destination for the hot key signal is an IP address of a terminal device of a second user of the interactive television service.

24. The machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein determining a location of the available content is based on a current content being viewed by the user.

25. The machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein determining a location of the available content is based on an indication of a channel from the user.

26. The machine-readable medium of claim 24, wherein generating the hot key signal further comprises determining a content type for the available content.

27. The machine-readable medium of claim 26, wherein determining the content type for the available content is based on a type of the current content being viewed by the user.