Providing Television Broadcasts over a Managed Network and Interactive Content over an Unmanaged Network to a Client Device

• US 20090328109A1
• Filed: 06/22/2009
• Published: 12/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ActiveVideo Networks, Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ActiveVideo Networks, Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lennartsson, Andreas, Shamgin, Vlad, Li, Hsuehmin, Marsavin, Andrey, Pavlovskaia, Lena Y., Lawrence, Charles, Dahlby, Joshua, Brown, Gregory E., Edmonds, Jeremy
• Application Number:
  US12/489,017
• Publication Number:
  US 20090328109A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/23 with coding of regions that are present throughout a whole video segment, e.g. sprites, background or mosaic
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/48 using compressed domain processing techniques other than decoding, e.g. modification of transform coefficients, variable length coding [VLC] data or run-length data motion estimation in a transform domain H04N19/547; processing of decoded motion vectors H04N19/513
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/527 Global motion vector estimation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• 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 21/2343 involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• 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 21/4622 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 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A client device receives a broadcast content signal containing an interactive identifier over a managed network at a client device. The interactive identifier may be a trigger that is included in a header or embedded within the digital video data. The trigger may have a temporal component, wherein the trigger can expire after a certain period of time. In response to identification of the trigger, the client device sends a user request for interactive content over an unmanaged network. For example, the managed network may be a one-way satellite television network, IP-television network or cable television network and the unmanaged network may be the Internet. The client device switches between receiving data from the managed network to receiving data from the unmanaged network.

Claims

1. A method for providing interactive content over an unmanaged network to a display device associated with a user, the display device receiving broadcast video content over a managed network, the method comprising:

receiving from a network connected client device a request for interactive content over the unmanaged network;

sending a first encoded data stream having interactive content to the network connected client device over the unmanaged network;

switching between receiving a broadcast content signal from the managed network and receiving the first encoded data stream having interactive content from the unmanaged network; and

outputting the interactive content for display on the display device of the user.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast content signal contains a plurality of broadcast programs.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the networked client device selectively outputs one of the broadcast programs.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the managed network has a one-way transmission path.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the managed network is a satellite network.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the managed network is an IP television network.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the managed network is a cable television network.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the unmanaged network and the managed networks operates over a single communications link.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein the interactive content identifier is a trigger.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the trigger is located within a broadcast program.

11. The method according to claim 9 wherein the trigger has a temporal expiration.

12. The method according to claim 11 further comprising:

identifying the trigger within the selected broadcast program when an interactive content request signal is received from a user input device.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein sending from the client device includes sending at least an indicia of the trigger to a processing office within the user request for interactive content.

33. A method according to claim 1, wherein the client device comprises two separate enclosures where a first enclosure receives data from the managed network and a second enclosure that transmits and receives data from the unmanaged network.

34. A method according to claim 33 wherein switching requires a signal to be transmitted between the first enclosure and the second enclosure.

36. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first encoded data stream having interactive content includes broadcast content.

14. A client device for receiving a broadcast program over a managed network and requesting and receiving interactive content over an unmanaged network, the client device comprising:

a managed network port for receiving broadcast program having one or more associated triggers;

a processor for creating a request for interactive content wherein the processor creates the request based upon a current trigger associated with the broadcast program;

an unmanaged network port for transmitting the request for interactive content to a processing office and for receiving the interactive content from the processing office.

15. A client device according to claim 14 further comprising:

a user input receiver for receiving a user input signal indicative of selection of interactive content.

16. A client device according to claim 15 wherein the processor creates a request for interactive content when the user input receiver receives a user input signal from a user input device.

17. A client device according to claim 15 wherein in response to user input the processor sends a request for updated interactive content.

18. A client device according to claim 14 wherein the interactive content is not rendered on the client device.

19. A client device according to claim 14, further comprising:

a switching module for switching between the managed network port and the unmanaged network port in response to the user input signal.

20. A client device according to claim 14, wherein the processor decodes the interactive content before outputting the interactive content to a display device.

21. A client device according to claim 14 wherein the managed network port is a satellite network port and the processor decodes the broadcast program transmitted from a satellite in a first format.

22. A client device according to claim 21 wherein the processor decodes the interactive content encoded in a second format.

23. A client device according to claim 21 wherein the user input receiver is an infrared receiver for receiving a transmission from a user'"'"'s remote control.

24. A computer program product having computer code on a computer readable storage medium operative with a processor for providing interactive content over an unmanaged network to a display device of a user, the computer code comprising:

computer code for receiving a broadcast content signal containing an interactive identifier over a managed network at a client device;

computer code for sending from the client device a request for interactive content based on the interactive identifier over the unmanaged network;

computer code for switching between receiving data from the managed network at the client device and receiving data from the unmanaged network;

computer code for receiving from the unmanaged network at the client device the requested interactive content; and

computer code for outputting the interactive content for display on the user'"'"'s display device.

25. The computer program product according to claim 24, wherein the broadcast content signal contains a plurality of broadcast programs.

26. The computer program product according to claim 24 further comprising:

computer code for selectively outputting one of the broadcast programs.

27. The computer program product according to claim 24 wherein the managed network is a satellite network.

28. The computer program product according to claim 24 wherein the managed network is an IP television network.

29. The computer program product according to claim 24 wherein the managed network is a cable television network.

30. The computer program product according to claim 24 wherein the interactive identifier has a temporal expiration.

31. The computer program product according to claim 24 further comprising:

computer code for identifying the interactive identifier within the selected broadcast program when an interactive content request signal is received from a user input device.

32. The computer program product according to claim 24 wherein the computer code for sending from the client device includes:

computer code for sending at least an indicia of the interactive identifier to a processing office within the user request for interactive content.

35. A method for providing modified video content to a display device associated with a client device that receives video content over a managed network, the method comprising:

receiving transmission of a video content signal at a location remote from a client device associated with a subscriber;

modifying the video content signal by stitching at least one other video signal together with the video content signal;

transmitting the modified video content signal on an unmanaged network to the client device coupled to the managed network;

wherein the modified video content signal includes a signal component indicating to the client device to switch between outputting the video program from the managed network and the modified video program on the unmanaged network.