User-configurable video data service and interface

• US 20070180489A1
• Filed: 02/02/2006
• Published: 08/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.P.
• Inventors: Sullivan, Marc, Joseph, Kurt, Pasquale, Thad, Kortum, Philip
• Granted Patent: US 9,071,882 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/135
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23476 by partially encrypting, e.g. encrypting the ending portion of a movie
• 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 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot

Abstract

An embodiment of a system and method wherein a streaming ticker information relating to a video content is integrated with the video content and transmitted to a customer device over a communication network.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium accessible to a processor for executing instructions contained in a computer program embedded in the computer readable medium, the computer program comprising:

an instruction to receive an input for a video program;

an instruction to receive a streaming ticker information related to a content of the video program; and

an instruction to integrate the streaming ticker information with the related video program.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the computer program further comprises an instruction to receive an input from a customer segmentation database.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the computer program further comprises an instruction to send the integrated ticker information with the related video program over a network to a customer device.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the computer program further comprises an instruction to receive an input for integrating a smart tag with the video program.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the computer program further comprises an instruction to provide supplementary information related to the streaming ticker information over the network, wherein the supplementary information is supplied in response to a user initiated request received over the network.

6. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the computer program further comprises an instruction to receive an input related to an information request from an end-user set-top-box (STB).

7. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the computer program further comprises an instruction to receive specific STB customer related information.

8. A system for vending products related to streaming ticker information displayed with a video program comprising:

a product information database comprising information for a vendible product;

a user-to-processor interface for selecting, on a user display device,

i) the vendible product, and

ii) for enabling the user to request vending options for the vendible product; and

a processor configured to initiate a display, on the user display device, options related to the selected vendible product.

9. The system of claim 8 further comprising a communication network interface linking the processor and the product information database.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the streaming ticker information is integrated with the video program data.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein the object information database is located with a service provider central office.

12. The system of claim 8 wherein a smart tag is temporally associated with the video program.

13. The system of claim 8 wherein vendible product vending options are displayed in a sub-window of a user'"'"'s video display.

14. The system of claim 8 wherein an interactive menu of options for vending objects may be accessed in association with the user display device.

15. A computer readable medium containing instructions that when executed by a computer perform a computerized method for integrating streaming ticker information with a video program comprising:

obtaining a video program;

obtaining streaming ticker information associated with the video program content; and

integrating the streaming ticker information with the video program content.

16. The medium of claim 15 wherein the method further comprises displaying the streaming ticker information with the video program.

17. The medium of claim 15 wherein the method further comprises linking the video program with a product information database of vendible products related to the streaming ticker information.

18. The medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises integrating a smart tag with the video program content.

19. The medium of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises displaying vending options for the product information database of vendible products.

20. The medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises an interactive menu displayed on a user display device with information related to product information database of vendible products.