Device and method for the integrated presentation of a secondary service as a part of a primary service

• US 6,772,434 B1
• Filed: 05/24/2000
• Issued: 08/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Godwin, John P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hoye, Michael W.
• Application Number:
  US09/577,792
• Time in Patent Office: 1,532 Days
• Field of Search: 725/25-31, 725/38-39, 725/61, 725/109-110, 725/63-72, 725/48-49, 725/59, 725/131, 725/132, 725/139, 725/140, 725/151, 725/152, 380/241, 380/33, 380/223, 380/242
• US Class Current: 725/68
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4623 Processing of entitlement messages, e.g. ECM [Entitlement Control Message] or EMM [Entitlement Management Message] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6143 involving transmission via a satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing an integrated presentation of existing media program services and secondary media program services is described. The method comprises the steps of receiving and displaying an electronic program guide comprising channels and programs carried by both the primary service and the secondary service, accepting a election of a secondary media program or channel displayed on the electronic program guide but transmitted on a secondary media program channel; accessing a mapping to determine a primary media program channel associated with the selected secondary media program channel; commanding a first tuner module to receive conditional access information associated with the primary media program channel from the primary service provider; evaluating the conditional access information to determine if a second tuner is authorized to receive the secondary media program channel and or evaluating the subscriber access information carried on the electronic program guide; and commanding a second tuner module to receive the secondary media program if the second tuner is authorized to receive the secondary media program channel.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a receiver to receive at least one of a set of secondary media programs from a secondary media provider, wherein the receiver is configured to receive at least one of a set of primary media programs from a primary service provider the method comprising the steps of:

accepting a selection of a secondary media program;

accessing a mapping to determine a primary media program channel associated with the selected secondary media program;

receiving conditional access information associated with the primary media program channel in the first tuner module from the primary service provider;

evaluating the conditional access information to determine if a second tuner module is authorized to receive the secondary media program; and

commanding the second tuner module to receive the secondary media program if the second tuner module is authorized to receive the secondary media program channel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receive receipt conditional access information associated with the primary media program channel in the first tuner module from the primary service provider comprises the steps of:

accessing a mapping between the primary media program channel and a service channel having the conditional access information; and

commanding the first tuner module to receive the condition access information on the service channel.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the set of secondary media programs are associated with one service channel.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the secondary media programs in the set of secondary media programs are associated with a different service channel.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the set of secondary media programs comprises at least one subset of secondary media programs, and each of the subset of secondary media programs is associated with one service channel.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the service channel further comprises auxiliary program material related to the program material transmitted on the secondary media program channel.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the conditional access information comprises a control word having a service ID indicating whether the second tuner module is authorized to receive the secondary media program.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

receiving program guide information describing the set of primary media programs and the set of secondary media programs from the primary service provider; and

presenting the program guide information.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving conditional access information associated with the primary media program channel in the first tuner module from the primary service provider comprises the steps of:

receiving a command message over a utility channel of the primary service provider, the command message having conditional access information indicating if access to a subset of the set of secondary media programs is authorized.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the command message is received in a subset of a set of first tuner modules; and

the command message further comprises conditional access information indicating which subset of the set of secondary media programs is authorized.

11. A method of controlling a receiver to receive at least one of a set of secondary media programs from a secondary media provider on a plurality of secondary program channels, wherein the receiver is configured to receive at least one of a set of primary media programs from a primary service provider on a plurality of primary program channel, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving program guide information from the primary service provider in a first tuner module, the program guide information including a description of each of the primary and secondary media programs and primary program channels associated with each of the primary and secondary media programs;

generating an integrated program guide comprising a combination of the primary media programs and the secondary media programs and the primary program channels; and

presenting the integrated program guide information.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

accepting a selection of a secondary media program;

accessing a mapping between the primary program channel associated with the secondary media program and the secondary program channel; and

commanding a second tuner module to receive the secondary program channel.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

determining if access to the set of secondary media programs is authorized, and

generating and presenting an integrated program guide only if access to the set of secondary media programs is authorized.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of determining if access to the set of secondary media programs is authorized comprises the steps of:

receiving a command message over a utility channel of the primary service provider, the command message having conditional access information indicating if access to a subset of the set of secondary media programs is authorized.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the command message is received in a subset of a set of first tuner modules; and

the command message further comprises conditional access information indicating which subset of the set of secondary media programs is authorized.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

determining if access to a subset of the set of secondary media programs is authorized, and

generating and presenting a subset of the integrated program guide only if access to the subset of the second set of secondary media programs is authorized.

17. An integrated receiver, comprising:

a first tuner module for receiving a primary signal having at least one of a set of primary media programs and conditional access information from a primary service provider;

a second tuner module for receiving a secondary signal having at least one of a set of secondary media programs from a secondary service provider;

a conditional access module, communicatively coupled to the first tuner module, for processing the conditional access in information provided by the primary service provider to enable a determination of whether the first tuner module is entitled to receive at least one of the set of primary media programs and whether the second tuner module is entitled to receive at least one of the secondary media programs; and

a controller module, communicatively coupled to the first tuner module, the second tuner module and the conditional access module, the controller module for enabling presentation of the first media programs by the first tuner module when the first tuner module is entitled to receive primary media programs and the secondary media programs by the second tuner module when the second tuner module is entitled to receive secondary media programs.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the conditional access information received from the primary service provider enables a determination of whether the user is entitled to receive all of the secondary media programs.

19. The integrated receiver of claim 17, wherein:

the primary signal includes a plurality of service channels, each associated with a service channel ID, wherein one of the service channels comprises the conditional access information; and

the controller module comprises a first module for reading the conditional access information from the service channel and a second module for evaluating the conditional access information to determine if the second tuner module is authorized to receive all of the second media programs.

20. The device of claim 17, wherein the conditional access information received from the primary service provider enables a determination of whether the user is entitled to receive a subset of the set of secondary media programs.

21. The integrated receiver of claim 17, wherein:

the conditional access information includes conditional access data for each of the secondary media programs; and

the primary signal includes a plurality of service channels, each associated with a service channel ID, wherein conditional access for each secondary media program is indicated by a separate service channel.

22. An integrated receiver, comprising:

a first tuner module, for receiving at least one set of primary media programs, program guide information describing the set of primary media programs, and a set of secondary media programs from a primary service provider, each of the primary media programs associated with a primary program channel;

a second tuner module, for receiving at least one of the set of secondary media programs from a secondary service provider, each of the secondary media programs associated with a secondary program channel; and

a controller, communicatively coupled to the second tuner module and the first tuner module, for selectably providing the received primary media program and the received secondary media program for presentation according to a mapping between secondary media channels and primary media channels stored in a memory accessible to the controller.

23. The device of claim 22, further comprising a user input device for accepting a selection of a primary program channel, and wherein the controller comprises:

a first a module for accessing a mapping between the selected primary program channel and a secondary program channel; and

a second module for commanding the second tuner module to receive the secondary program channel.

24. The device of claim 22, wherein the controller further comprises:

a third module for generating an integrated program guide associating at least one of the set of primary media programs and at least one of the set of secondary media programs to a primary program channel.

25. The device of claim 22, wherein the controller further comprises:

a third module for generating an integrated program guide associating all of the secondary media programs in the set of secondary media programs with a primary program channel when access to all of the secondary media programs is authorized.

26. The device of claim 22, wherein the controller further comprises:

a third module for generating an integrated program guide associating a subset of the set of secondary media programs with a primary program channel when access to the subset of the set of secondary media programs is authorized.

27. The device of claim 22, wherein the first tuner module receives a command message over a utility channel of the primary service provider, the command message having conditional access information indicating if access to a subset of the set of secondary media programs is authorized.

28. The device of claim 25, wherein the command message further comprises conditional access information indicating which subset of the set of secondary media programs is authorized.