Subscription television system and terminal for enabling simultaneous display of multiple services

• US 5,485,221 A
• Filed: 04/19/1994
• Issued: 01/16/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Scientific-Atlanta Incorporated (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hayashi, Michael T., Banker, Robert O., Bacon, Kinney C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Groody, James J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US08/229,805
• Time in Patent Office: 637 Days
• Field of Search: 348/6, 348/7, 348/8, 348/9, 348/10, 348/12, 348/563, 348/564, 348/565, 348/569, 348/570, 348/584, 348/731, 348/732
• US Class Current: 348/563
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/12 Overlay of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of switching between the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2743 Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4112 having fewer capabilities than the client, e.g. thin client having less processing power or no tuning capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• 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 21/488 Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4884 for displaying subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/272 Means for inserting a foreground image in a background image, i.e. inlay, outlay
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44504 Circuit details of the additional information generator, e.g. details of the character or graphics signal generator, overlay mixing circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/088 the inserted signal being digital
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/16 Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/161 Constructional details of the subscriber equipment H04N7/164 takes precedence

Abstract

A headend of a subscription television system includes a video combiner that combines video signals from four separate programs into a composite video signal. The video signals are formatted to produce the composite video signal such that one of the programs appears in each quadrant of the displayed picture. Text data streams are then inserted into the vertical blanking interval of the composite video signal. The composite video signal is transmitted in a channel of a broadband television signal to a plurality of subscriber terminals. A plurality of virtual channels are defined by combinations of quadrants of the composite video signal and quadrants of text from the text data streams. When the subscriber selects a virtual channel, the composite video signal is tuned from the broadband signal, and the text data stream forming the text display of the virtual channel is extracted. An on-screen display uses the text data stream and the composite video signal to generate a display signal whereby text may be displayed in three quadrants and video corresponding to one of the programs may be displayed in the remaining quadrant.

Claims

1. A subscription television system comprising a headend for transmitting a broadband television signal and at least one subscriber terminal remote from said headend for receiving the broadband television signal via a distribution system, wherein:

said headend comprises;

a video combiner for combining a plurality of video signals, each corresponding to a different video program, to produce a composite video signal;

circuitry for inserting data streams into said composite video signal, each data stream corresponding to a different data service; and

circuitry for modulating the composite video signal, including the data streams inserted therein, onto a channel of the broadband television signal, the broadband television signal being transmitted to said at least one subscriber terminal; and

said at least one subscriber terminal comprising;

a selector for selecting a virtual channel from a plurality of virtual channels, each said virtual channel representative of a different combination of a video program and a data service;

control signal generating means, responsive to the selected virtual channel, for generating tuning control signals, data extraction control signals, and video program control signals corresponding to the selected virtual channel;

a tuner, responsive to said tuning control signals, for tuning to the channel of the broadband television signal carrying the composite video signal;

processing circuitry for processing the composite video signal received from said tuner, said processor circuitry including extracting means for extracting from said composite video signal a data stream determined from said data extraction control signals; and

an on-screen display control, responsive to said video program control signals, for generating a video output display signal from said extracted data stream and said processed composite video signal to enable simultaneous display of the data service corresponding to said extracted data stream in a first continuous picture portion and the video program corresponding to the selected virtual channel in a second contiguous picture portion different from the first contiguous picture portion.

2. The subscription television system according to claim 1, wherein the data streams comprises text data streams representing text information.

3. The subscription television system according to claim 1, wherein said composite video signal comprises video signals of four video programs formatted such that each video program is located in a quadrant of a composite video signal picture.

4. The subscription television system according to claim 1, wherein said control signal generating means generates the data extraction signals and video program control signals according to information input by a subscriber, whereby the subscriber may select the data information and the video information for display.

5. The subscriber terminal according to claim 4, wherein:

said on-screen display control generates a video output display signal formatted such that the video information appears in a quadrant of a displayed picture and data information appears in the remaining three quadrants of the displayed picture.

6. A subscription terminal for use in a subscription television system that transmits a broadband television signal including a composite video signal having video signals from a plurality of video programs and data streams, comprising:

a memory for storing a mapping of a virtual channel to a channel of the broadband television signal carrying the composite video signal and to a combination of a data stream and a portion of said composite video signal corresponding to a video program of said plurality of video programs;

a selector for selecting said virtual channel;

a tuner, responsive to the selected virtual channel, for tuning to the channel of the broadband television signal carrying the composite video signal stored in said memory;

processing circuitry for processing the composite video signal received from said tuner, said processor circuitry including circuitry for extracting from said composite video signal the data stream corresponding to the selected virtual channel; and

an on-screen display control for generating a video output display signal from said extracted data stream and said processed composite video signal to enable simultaneous display of data information from said extracted data stream in a first continuous picture portion and the video program from the portion of said composite video signal corresponding to the selected virtual channel in a second continuous picture portion different from the first continuous picture portion.

7. The subscriber terminal according to claim 6, wherein the data streams comprises text data streams representing text information.

8. The subscriber terminal according to claim 6, wherein:

said memory additionally stores mappings of additional virtual channels to a channel of the broadband television signal carrying the composite video signal and to additional combinations of data streams and portions of said composite video signal corresponding to a video program of said plurality of video programs; and

said selector is capable of selecting the additional virtual channels.

9. The subscriber terminal according to claim 6, wherein said composite video signal comprises video signals of four video programs formatted such that each video program is located in a quadrant of a composite video signal picture.

10. The subscriber terminal according to claim 9, wherein:

said on-screen display control generates a video output display signal formatted such that video information from the portion of said composite video signal corresponding to the video program appears in a quadrant of a displayed picture and data information from said extracted data stream appears in the remaining three quadrants of the displayed picture.