System for generating, distributing and receiving an interactive user interface

• US 6,934,965 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2003
• Issued: 08/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sedna Patent Services LLC
• Original Assignee: Sedna Patent Services LLC
• Inventors: Edmonds, Jeremy S., Gordon, Donald F., Bayrakeri, Sadik, Ludvig, Edward A., Osborn, Nathan W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Hai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huynh, Son P.
• Application Number:
  US10/464,617
• Publication Number:
  US 20030217360A1
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• Field of Search: 725 39- 44, 725/50, 725/54
• US Class Current: 725/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/577 Motion compensation with bidirectional frame interpolation, i.e. using B-pictures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23608 Remultiplexing multiplex streams, e.g. involving modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• 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 21/4344 Remultiplexing of multiplex streams, e.g. by modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; 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 21/47 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 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• 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 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

Method and apparatus for generating, transmitting and receiving a user interface for an interactive information distribution system. The user interface is generated in a head end of the system as a digital bitstream and transmitted to subscriber equipment for display. Operation of the user interface is facilitated by functions on both a local level within the subscriber equipment and on a system level within the head end. One embodiment of the user interface is an interactive program guide.

Claims

1. A method of generating an interactive user interface comprising:

generating, within a head end of an information distribution system, a plurality of bitstreams that each represent a separate portion of video imagery associated with an encoded user interface, each at said bitstreams including a respective user interface page comprising a common moving image region and a separate graphical region having video imagery associated with user selectable objects; and

broadcasting said plurality of bitstreams so as to send the interactive user interface to a subscriber;

said user interface being adapted for use by the subscriber to selectively present said common moving image region and a separate graphical region of a bitstream of said plurality of bitstreams.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said generating step further comprises:

producing a plurality of video signals representing said user interface pages;

encoding said plurality of video signals to produce said plurality of bitstreams; and

modulating said plurality of bitstreams into a format for transmission.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of assigning a respective bitstream identifier value to each of said plurality of bitstreams.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said generating step further comprises:

arranging said plurality of bitetreams into at feast one transport stream; and

modulating said at least one transport stream into a format for transmission.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said at least one transport stream comprises a system stream that contains a plurality of transport streams.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving an indication of the selection of an object within a presented user interface;

end

causing an event to occur within said head end in response to said signal.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said event is at least one of causing the tuning of subscriber equipment to an analog channel, causing the tuning of said subscriber equipment to a digital channel, and causing a subscriber equipment event to occur.

8. A method of using an interactive user interface comprising:

receiving a transport stream that contains a plurality of bitstreams representing a respective plurality of encoded user interface pages, each page comprising a common moving image region and a separate graphical region;

extracting from said transport stream a first selected bitstream of said plurality of bitstreams;

decoding and presenting said selected bitstream to produce a corresponding first user interface page having a common moving image region and a separate graphical region;

selecting, in said first user interface page, an object that identifies a second bitstream of said plurality of bitstreams; and

decoding said second selected bitstream without resetting a buffer in a decoder.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

producing an overlay graphic for selectively emphasizing objects within said presented user interface page.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

selecting an emphasized object to change the context of the system from a user interface context to an alternate context.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said alternate context comprises one of a pay per view movie context, a broadcast television context, a preview context and an electronic commerce context.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein changing the

context causes the decoder to extract for decoding a bitstream of said plurality of bitstreams that is associated with said alternate context.

13. The method of claim 10 further comprising decoding and presenting an audio bitstream associated with said common moving image region.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said audio is presented continuously during transitions between user interface pages.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein:

each user interface page is encoded using slice based encoding wherein each of said common moving image region and respective graphical regions are represented by respective pluralities of encoded slices.