METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IMPROVED INTERACTIVE TELEVISION PROCESSING

• US 20100138875A1
• Filed: 06/01/2009
• Published: 06/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: HSNi LLC (Qurate Retail Group (f/k/a Liberty Interactive Corporation))
• Original Assignee: HSNi LLC (Qurate Retail Group (f/k/a Liberty Interactive Corporation))
• Inventors: Johnson, Gerard C., Bunner, Sean, McDevitt, John
• Application Number:
  US12/476,145
• Publication Number:
  US 20100138875A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/60
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2542 for selling goods, e.g. TV shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• 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 21/26291 for providing content or additional data updates, e.g. updating software modules, stored at the client deployment, distribution, installation, update of software G06F8/65; error detection or correction during software upgrading G06F11/1433; arrangements for updating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/25
• 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 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• 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 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• 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

Abstract

A method and system for providing an electronic shopping environment including a server and one or more set-top boxes in communication with the server. In an exemplary embodiment, the server stores product information relating to a plurality of products classified in a first category and to a plurality of products classified in a second category. As soon the server receives transaction data relating to an electronic transaction, the server updates the product information to reflect the transaction data changes. If the updated data relates to one of the plurality of products classified in the first category, the server transmits product display information towards one or more set-top boxes in real-time. Alternatively, if the updated data relates to one of the plurality of products classified in the second category, the server transmits product display information towards one or more set-top boxes on a scheduled periodic basis.

Claims

1. A method for providing an electronic shopping environment, comprising:

receiving electronic digital information relating to at least one product in a first category of products and to at least one product in a second category of the products;

receiving updates, on a scheduled periodic basis, to the electronic digital information relating to the at least one product in the second category to reflect electronic transactions for such at least one product conducted via a set-top box; and

receiving updates to the electronic digital information relating to the at least one product in the first category, the updates received whenever an electronic transaction conducted via the set-top box affects the electronic digital information relating to the at least one product in the first category.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one product in the first category is the subject of a live broadcast feed in which features of such at least one product are discussed.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a plurality of user interface screens based on the electronic digital information, wherein said plurality of user interface screens has a first portion adapted for user interaction to conduct the electronic transactions.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the user interface screens include a video relating to products that are not the subject of the live broadcast feed.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising transmitting at least one of said plurality of user interface screens to the at least one set-top box for display to a user.

6. A method for providing an electronic transactional environment, comprising:

transmitting a user request from a set-top box;

receiving at the set-top box a product information display responsive to the user request, the product information display including product information and order information for a product in a first category of products available for purchase and for a product in a second category of products available for purchase, at least a portion of the product information data is received from a server;

displaying the product information display on a television;

receiving product and order information updates for products in the first category on a real time basis and receiving product and order information updates for products in the second category on a scheduled periodic basis;

displaying an updated product information display on the television; and

interacting with at least one of the product information display and the updated product information display to purchase at least one of the products.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one product in the first category is the subject of a live broadcast feed in which features of such at least one product are discussed.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the product information display includes a video relating to products that are not the subject of the live broadcast feed.

9. A communication exchange server for facilitating television based transactions, comprising:

memory configured to store electronic digital information relating to at least one product in a first category of products and at least one product in a second category of the products;

a first processor configured to update the electronic digital information so as to reflect electronic transactions conducted based on communications received from at least one set-top box,

wherein the first processor is further configured to transmit towards the at least one set-top box the electronic digital information relating to the at least one product in the first category, such transmitting occurring triggered by updates to the electronic digital information relating to the at least one product in the first category so as to reflect transactions conducted at the at least one set-top box on a real-time basis, and

wherein the first processor is further configured to transmit, on a scheduled periodic basis, towards the at least one set-top box the electronic digital information relating to the at least one product in the second category.

10. The communication exchange server of claim 9, wherein the at least one product in the first category is the subject of a live broadcast feed in which features of such at least one product are discussed.

11. The communication exchange server of claim 9, further comprising a second processor configured to generate user interface screens based on the electronic digital information, the user interface screens configured to be displayed on a television and navigable by a user to purchase at least one of the products.

12. The communication exchange server of claim 11, wherein the second processor is further configured to transmit at least one of the user interface screens to the at least one set-top box in response to a request from the at least one set-top box, and wherein the transmission by the first processor towards the set-top box is conducted via the second processor.

13. The communication exchange server of claim 11, wherein the at least one product in the first category is the subject of a live broadcast feed in which features of such at least one product are discussed, and wherein at least one of the user interface screens includes a video for products not the subject of the live broadcast feed.

14. The communication exchange server of claim 9, wherein at least one of the user interface screens includes a video regarding a product selected at the set-top-box via interaction with another of the user interface screens.

15. The communication exchange server of claim 12, wherein the user interface screens are transmitted as an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) document.

16. A set-top box comprising:

a processor configured to facilitate television based transactions,

the set-top box configured to transmit a user request to a server and to receive from the server a product information display responsive to the user request, the product information display including product information and order information for a product in a first category of products available for purchase and for a product in a second category of products available for purchase,

the set-top box configured to display the product information display on the television,

the set-top box configured to receive product and order information updates for products in the second category on a scheduled periodic basis,

the set-top box configured to receive product and order information updates for products in the first category, such updates reflecting the television based transactions conducted via the set-top box on a real-time basis, and

the set-top box configured to display one or more user interface screens on the television, the screens navigable by a user to purchase at least one of the products.

17. The set-top box of claim 16, wherein the at least one product in the first category is the subject of a live broadcast feed in which features of such at least one product are discussed.

18. The set-top box of claim 16, wherein the at least one product in the first category is the subject of a live broadcast feed in which features of such at least one product are discussed, and wherein at least one of the user interface screens includes a video for products not the subject of the live broadcast feed.

19. The communication exchange server of claim 16, wherein the user interface screens are received by the set-top box as an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) document.

20. A method for providing an electronic shopping environment, comprising:

storing electronic digital information relating to at least one product in a first category of products and to at least one product in a second category of the products;

transmitting towards a set-top box, on a scheduled periodic basis, the electronic digital information relating to the at least one product in the second category; and

transmitting towards the set-top box the electronic digital information relating to the at least one product in the first category and retransmitting whenever there is an update to such electronic digital information so as to reflect, in a real-time basis, electronic transactions conducted via the set-top box involving the at least one product in the first category.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein a first server stores the electronic digital information and the transmitting is conducted through the first server and a second server in communication with the first server.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the at least one product in the first category is the subject of a live broadcast feed in which features of such at least one product are discussed.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the electronic digital information is configured to be incorporated into a plurality of user interface screens, wherein said plurality of user interface screens has a first portion adapted for user interaction to conduct the electronic transactions.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the user interface screens include a video relating to products that are not the subject of the live broadcast feed.