PROVIDING INFORMATION FOR BROADCAST AND BI-DIRECTIONAL COMMUNICATION SERVICES

• US 20090193467A1
• Filed: 02/20/2009
• Published: 07/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NDS Limited (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Scientific-Atlanta Incorporated (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rodriguez, Arturo A.
• Application Number:
  US12/389,612
• Publication Number:
  US 20090193467A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4753 for user identification, e.g. by entering a PIN or password cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• 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 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

The present invention provides methods and systems for accessing services in a television system. In one embodiment, a DHCT presents a subscriber an EPG presentation containing a plurality of selectable bi-directional services that are purchasable for a period of time and rendered to a buying subscriber on an individualized basis as offered by the cable television system. The subscriber navigates an EPG menu presentation with an input device such as a remote control device and selects a purchasable service by choosing the visual representation that corresponds to the desired service. The DHCT receives the user input, translates the selected command into an executable program call that queries service availability and, if the service is available, initiates the selected bi-directional audiovisual service on a personalized session.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing a program guide, the program guide comprising first information corresponding to plural bi-directional communication services, wherein at least one of the plural bi-directional communication services corresponds to a bi-directional audiovisual service (BDAVS); and

providing second information in the program guide associated with the plural bi-directional communication services, the second information of a different type than the first.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information comprises respective titles of the bi-directional communication services.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information comprises an icon in proximity of a title of at least one of the bi-directional communication services, the icon suggesting to a viewer that the title corresponds to a bi-directional communication service.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the program guide further comprises a list of channels, wherein one or more of the channels are mapped to one or more of the bi-directional communication services.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a manner of presenting the first information is user configurable.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the program guide comprises titles corresponding to scheduled broadcast programs.