Method of providing video on demand with VCR like functions

• US 5,357,276 A
• Filed: 12/01/1992
• Issued: 10/18/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Tech 5 SAS
• Original Assignee: Scientific-Atlanta Incorporated (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hayashi, Michael T., Huppertz, Jeffrey B., Godlewski, Voytek E., Raley, Michael W., Banker, Robert O., Lett, David B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Powell, Mark R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): GRANT, CHRISTOPHER C
• Application Number:
  US07/984,038
• Time in Patent Office: 686 Days
• Field of Search: 358/86, 455/6.1, 455/4.2, 455/5.1, 455/6.2, 380/5, 380/7, 380/10, 380/20, 380/23, 348/6, 348/7, 348/8, 348/13
• US Class Current: 725/102
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0086 the connector comprising a circuit for steering the operations of the card connector
• 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 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• 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

A near video on demand time shifting feature for a subscriber terminal emulates the video cassette recorder functions of pause, fast forward, and rewind for a NVOD service subscription. The subscriber terminal stores global transactions concerning NVOD events in an event portion of memory. The subscriber terminal provides an on screen display feature for assisting in ordering the NVOD service and a user interface which provides the functions of pause, fast forward and rewind. When viewing a NVOD event, if the subscriber selects the pause function, the subscriber terminal causes a pause on screen display to be viewed for one time increment. After the elapse of the time increment, the subscriber terminal will tune the channel of the next showing which is one time increment earlier than that presently viewed. If the subscriber selects the rewind function, the subscriber terminal will tune the channel of the next showing which is one time increment earlier than that presently viewed. If the subscriber selects the fast forward function, the subscriber terminal will tune the channel of the previous showing which is one time increment later than that presently received.

Claims

1. A method of time shifting the viewing of a programmed event in a near video on demand (NVOD) system including a plurality of near video on demand channels, each channels having the event shown spontaneously and sequentially on each of the channels, but time shifted a different number of predetermined time increments, wherein each programmed event has a first show interval, a last show interval and a plurality of show intervals therebetween and wherein the duration between show intervals is equal to the duration of the predetermined time increments, the method comprising the steps of:

viewing the programmed event on a preset NVOD channel;

periodically providing a present showing number which corresponds to the relative time that has passed since a start of the programmed event;

selecting a forward time shift for viewing the program event;

determining if the present showing number is during a last show interval when the forward time shift is selected;

tuning in response to said forward time shift being selected from the present NVOD channel to a NVOD channel carrying the program event which started the event one time increment later than the present NVOD channel when the present showing number is determined to occur before the last show interval; and

preventing tuning in response to said forward time shift being selected when the present showing number is determined to occur during the last show interval.

2. A method of time shifting the viewing of a programmed event in a near video on demand system (NVOD) including a plurality of near video on demand channels, each channels having the event shown spontaneously and sequentially on each of the channels, but time shifted a different number of predetermined time increments, wherein each programmed event has a first show interval, a last show interval and a plurality of show intervals therebetween and wherein the duration between show intervals is equal to the duration of the predetermined time increments, the method comprising the steps of:

viewing the programmed event on a preset NVOD channel;

periodically providing a present showing number which corresponds to the relative time that has passed since a start of the programmed event;

selecting a backward time shift for viewing the program event;

determining if the present showing number is during a first show interval when the backward time shift is selected;

tuning in response to said backward time shift being selected from the present NVOD channel to a NVOD channel carrying the program event which started the event one time increment earlier than the present NVOD channel when the present showing number is determined to occur after the first show interval; and

preventing tuning in response to said backward time shift being selected when the present showing number is determined to occur during the first show interval.

4. The method of time shifting the viewing of a programmed event as recited in claim 2 further comprising the steps of:

determining if the present showing number is during a first show interval by;

(1) providing an indication of the time of the start of the viewed programming event;

(2) determining a difference time corresponding to the difference between the present time when the backward time shift is selected and the start time;

(3) comparing the difference time and time of the predetermined time increment; and

(4) indicating that the present showing number is during the first show interval when the difference time is less than the time of the predetermined time increment.

3. A method of time shifting the viewing of a programmed event in a near video on demand (NVOD) system including a plurality of near video on demand channels, each channels having the event shown spontaneously and sequentially on each of the channels, but time shifted a different number of predetermined time increments, the method comprising the steps of:

viewing the programmed event on a present NVOD channel;

selecting a pause time shift while viewing the programmed event;

tuning from the present NVOD channel to a second NVOD channel carrying the program event which started the event one time increment later than the present NVOD channel;

indicating on the viewing screen of the device on which the programmed event is being viewed a value corresponding to the relative time between the present time and the time until a same event viewed on the present NVOD channel when the pause time shift was selected occurs on the second NVOD channel; and

periodically decrementing the value indicated on the viewing screen until the same event occurs on the second NVOD channel.