Interactive game system using game data encoded within a video signal
First Claim
1. An interactive entertainment system comprising:
- at least one input device;
a control unit comprising;
an input interface for receiving commands from said at least one input device;
a signal formatter for receiving at least one received wireless signal from said input device, and for programming said control unit to produce output signals according to a detected communication protocol of said received wireless signal such that the output signals utilize the detected communication protocol of the received wireless signal; and
a wireless transmitter that transmits said output signals according to said detected communication protocol, said output signals being capable of selectively controlling playback of portions of a separate video playback device utilizing the communication protocol of the input device; and
a flexible signal wire external to said control unit and operatively connected at a first end thereof to said control unit, and operatively connected at a second and opposite end thereof to a wireless transmitting component;
wherein said video playback device is a video disk player, and said output signals are wireless control signals which selectively control playback of selected portions of recorded content played on said video disk player.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An interactive game system includes a specially prepared DVD game disk with video images such as of a game show, and game data and instructions encoded within the VBI data on the disk. A game control unit receives all of the video signals recorded on from the DVD including both video images and the VBI data, extracts the VBI data, and uses the VBI data in conjunction with a plurality of handheld player inputs to allow users to select and answer game questions. The game control unit keeps track of whether the player inputs were correct or incorrect, the players'"'"' cumulative scores in accordance with their answers, and displays the players cumulative scores as video overlay on top of the recorded video images to be sent to a video display such as a standard television set. The game control unit controls chapter selection on the user'"'"'s particular DVD player model via a programmable wireless transmitter, and performs other logic, video, and audio generating and processing functions to allow a highly interactive game playing experience for multiple players.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. An interactive entertainment system comprising:
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at least one input device; a control unit comprising; an input interface for receiving commands from said at least one input device; a signal formatter for receiving at least one received wireless signal from said input device, and for programming said control unit to produce output signals according to a detected communication protocol of said received wireless signal such that the output signals utilize the detected communication protocol of the received wireless signal; and a wireless transmitter that transmits said output signals according to said detected communication protocol, said output signals being capable of selectively controlling playback of portions of a separate video playback device utilizing the communication protocol of the input device; and a flexible signal wire external to said control unit and operatively connected at a first end thereof to said control unit, and operatively connected at a second and opposite end thereof to a wireless transmitting component; wherein said video playback device is a video disk player, and said output signals are wireless control signals which selectively control playback of selected portions of recorded content played on said video disk player. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An interactive entertainment system comprising:
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at least one input device; a control unit comprising; an input interface for receiving commands from said at least one input device; a signal formatter for receiving at least one received wireless signal from said input device, and for programming said control unit to produce output signals according to a detected communication protocol of said received wireless signal such that the output signals utilize the detected communication protocol of the received wireless signal; and a wireless transmitter that transmits said output signals according to said detected communication protocol, said output signals being capable of selectively controlling playback of portions of a separate video playback device utilizing the communication protocol of the input device; wherein said control unit receives a video signal produced by said separate video playback device, superimposes a video overlay onto said video signal according to input received from said at least one input device and according to data encoded within a video blanking interval (VBI) of said video signal, and outputs said video signal with said video overlay to a television set for display thereon. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. An interactive entertainment system comprising:
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at least one player input device for receiving inputs from a plurality of players; and a game unit operatively connected to said at least one player input device, said game unit comprising; a video input port for receiving a video signal containing both video images and game data; a player input port for receiving inputs from said at least one player input device; scoring logic for awarding point values to players according to their respective inputs, and for keeping accumulated scores of said players; a game data extraction section for extracting said game data from said video signal; a video processing section for producing processed video, said processed video comprising at least said accumulated scores of said plurality of players; a video switching section for switching a video display device to be selectively operatively connected to either said video images or to said processed video, such that said video display device selectively displays either said video images or said video images plus player score information. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. An interactive entertainment system comprising:
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at least one player input device, said input device outputting a wireless player command signal; a game unit comprising; a receiver for receiving said wireless player command signal; a processor for controlling progression of a game; an output port for outputting a video playback control signal, said video playback control signal selectively controlling which portion of a prerecorded video program will be played; and logic for detecting a state of said game and, depending on said state of said game, in response to said wireless player command signal performing either the step of (a) sending a command to a video playback device to move an on-screen cursor, or (b) detecting which of a plurality of players responded first to a game event.
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11. An interactive entertainment system comprising:
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at least one input device; a control unit comprising; an input interface for receiving commands from said at least one input device; a signal formatter for receiving at least one received wireless signal from said input device, and for programming said control unit to produce output signals according to a detected communication protocol of said received wireless signal such that the output signals utilize the detected communication protocol of the received wireless signal; and a wireless transmitter that transmits said output signals according to said detected communication protocol, said output signals being capable of selectively controlling playback of portions of a separate video playback device utilizing the communication protocol of the input device; a game controller having; game control logic; a first port operatively connected to said at least one input device; a second port for receiving an input video signal and game data encoded therein from an external video source; a third port for sending at least a portion of said video signal to an external video display device; and audio signal circuitry for producing an audio signal according to progression of a game. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. An interactive entertainment system comprising:
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at least one input device; a control unit comprising; an input interface for receiving commands from said at least one input device; a signal formatter for receiving at least one received wireless signal from said input device, and for programming said control unit to produce output signals according to a detected communication protocol of said received wireless signal such that the output signals utilize the detected communication protocol of the received wireless signal; and a wireless transmitter that transmits said output signals according to said detected communication protocol, said output signals being capable of selectively controlling playback of portions of a separate video playback device utilizing the communication protocol of the input device; a game data extraction unit for receiving a video signal from said video playback device, the video signal containing video information and game data, and for extracting the game data; and a plurality of interactive game units, each interactive game unit comprising; a first display and at least one user input means associated therewith; and response logic for determining whether an input received from said at least one user input is a correct input in response to the video information being shown on a second display, and for indicating on the first display that the user'"'"'s input was correct. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. In combination:
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An interactive entertainment system comprising; at least one input device; a control unit comprising; an input interface for receiving commands from said at least one input device; a signal formatter for receiving at least one received wireless signal from said input device, and for programming said control unit to produce output signals according to a detected communication protocol of said received wireless signal such that the output signals utilize the detected communication protocol of the received wireless signal; a wireless transmitter that transmits said output signals according to said detected communication protocol, said output signals being capable of selectively controlling playback of portions of a separate video playback device utilizing the communication protocol of the input device; and a digital versatile disk (DVD) having machine instructions within video blanking intervals within video data stored on the DVD, wherein said machine instructions are associated with a video sequence on said DVD and said machine instructions cause multiple interactive game units to process data.
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Specification