Infrared blaster control system in cable television communication systems
First Claim
1. A system for providing VCR control codes to a VCR over a CATV communication system including a headend and at least one settop terminal, comprising:
- a headend comprising;
means for storing a set of VCR control codes for a plurality of different VCRs; and
means for transmitting at least a subset of said set of VCR control codes over said CATV communication system; and
a settop terminal comprising;
means for selecting and downloading a first subset of said transmitted VCR control codes;
means for storing said first subset in memory; and
means for testing said first subset to determine whether said selected subset correctly pertains to said VCR;
wherein said selecting and downloading means selects and downloads a second subset of said transmitted VCR control codes and overwrites said first subset if said testing means determines that said first subset does not correctly pertain to said VCR.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for delivering selective VCR control codes to programmable settop terminals over a CATV communication system includes a headend for storing and transmitting VCR control code information to the settop terminals and a plurality of settop terminals for receiving the control codes. The CATV communication system delivers the VCR control codes to individual subscribers within the vertical blanking interval of one of the broadcast channels or over a control data channel. A set-up procedure is required for each VCR to determine the appropriate set of VCR control codes. Upon determining the specific type of VCR the subscriber has, the VCR control codes transmitted through the CATV system are stored in the settop terminal in non-volatile memory. Since the settop terminal only stores the VCR control codes for a single type of VCR, memory requirements are minimized.
232 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A system for providing VCR control codes to a VCR over a CATV communication system including a headend and at least one settop terminal, comprising:
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a headend comprising; means for storing a set of VCR control codes for a plurality of different VCRs; and means for transmitting at least a subset of said set of VCR control codes over said CATV communication system; and a settop terminal comprising; means for selecting and downloading a first subset of said transmitted VCR control codes; means for storing said first subset in memory; and means for testing said first subset to determine whether said selected subset correctly pertains to said VCR;
wherein said selecting and downloading means selects and downloads a second subset of said transmitted VCR control codes and overwrites said first subset if said testing means determines that said first subset does not correctly pertain to said VCR. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A settop terminal for use in a system which provides VCR control codes over a CATV communication system, the system including a headend having means for storing a set of VCR control codes for a plurality of different VCRs and means for transmitting at least a subset of said set of VCR control codes over said CATV communication system;
- the settop terminal comprising;
means for selecting and downloading a first subset of said transmitted VCR control codes; means for storing said first subset in memory; and means for testing said first subset to determine whether said selected subset correctly pertains to said VCR;
wherein said selecting and downloading means selects and downloads a second subset of said transmitted VCR control codes and overwrites said first subset if said testing means determines that said first subset does not correctly pertain to said VCR. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
- the settop terminal comprising;
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13. A method for providing VCR control codes to a VCR over a CATV communication system including a headend and at least one settop terminal, the method comprising the steps of:
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at said headend; a) storing a plurality of VCR control codes for a plurality of different VCRs; and b) transmitting at least a subset of said plurality of VCR control codes over said CATV communication system; and
,at said settop terminal; c) selecting and downloading a first subset of said transmitted VCR control codes; d) storing said first subset in memory e) testing said first subset by transmitting one of the VCR control codes within said first subset to the VCR to initiate a VCR function, and verifying that said VCR function has occurred; and f) repeating step e until all VCR control codes within said first subset have been verified. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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Specification