Interactive broadband multimedia system

• US 5,877,755 A
• Filed: 08/22/1996
• Issued: 03/02/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Futurevision.com LLC
• Original Assignee: Futurevision Of America Corp.
• Inventors: Hellhake, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Faile, Andrew I.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Miller, John W.
• Application Number:
  US08/703,109
• Time in Patent Office: 922 Days
• Field of Search: 348/6, 348/7, 348/8, 348/10, 348/11, 348/12, 348/13
• US Class Current: 725/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4351 involving reassembling additional data, e.g. rebuilding an executable program from recovered modules
• 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 21/8166 involving executable data, e.g. software arrangements for executing specific programs G06F9/44; broadcasting computer programmes in broadcast systems H04H20/91; involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/088 the inserted signal being digital
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method and apparatus for facilitating interactive television is disclosed. The method for facilitating interactive television comprises the following steps: accessing an interactive program; executing said interactive program; and providing an end user with a set of coded instructions which may be transmitted upstream.

Claims

1. In an interactive television network including a central broadcast server and a microprocessor-based customer premise equipment, including a processor, a memory, and a subscriber interface, a method for delivering a multimedia data file corresponding to an application core program from the central broadcast server to the microprocessor-based customer premised equipment, said application core program comprising logic, the method comprising:

storing the application core program file in the memory;

transmitting a signal from the microprocessor-based customer premise equipment to the central broadcast server representing a request for the multimedia data file;

downloading the multimedia data file from the central broadcast server to the microprocessor-based customer premise equipment;

storing the multimedia data file in the memory; and

executing logic in application core program file.

2. A method for interactive broadcasting of multimedia information from a digital integration center comprising a central broadcast server and an interactive response server to a microprocessor-based customer premise equipment comprising a memory, a central processing unit, and a subscriber interface, in communication with said digital integration center, comprising the steps of:

selecting at least one core program file and at least one multimedia data file from the central broadcast server,

broadcasting the core program file and the multimedia data file from the central broadcast server to the microprocessor-based customer premise equipment,

receiving the core program file in the memory,

loading the core program file into the central processing unit,

executing the core program file in the central processing unit,

obtaining an interactive command information from a subscriber via the subscriber interface,

sending the interactive command information from the subscriber interface to the interactive response server, and

selecting at least one core program file and at least one multimedia data file corresponding to the interactive command information.

3. A method of claim 2 further comprising the step of sending at least one core program file and at least one multimedia data file from a provider to the central broadcast center.

4. A method of claim 2 further comprising the step of playing said multimedia file on an end user station in communication with the microprocessor-based customer premise equipment.

5. A method of claim 4 wherein said end user station is either of a television, a computer, a video-cassette recorder, a keyboard, or a hand-held controller.

6. A method of claim 2 wherein said multimedia data file is at least one of a video, a textual, or an audio presentation.

7. A method of claim 2 wherein said microprocessor-based customer premise equipment is a set-top box in communication with a television.

8. A method of claim 2 wherein the digital integration center further comprises a statistics database in communication with a statistics module, wherein the step of sending the interactive command information further comprises the steps of receiving the interactive command information in the statistics module and storing the interactive command information in the statistics database.

9. A method of claim 8 wherein the step of selecting at least one core program file and at least one multimedia data file corresponding to the interactive command information further comprises the step of dynamically adjusting either of a broadcasting frequency or a likelihood of need for a multimedia data file based upon an algorithm logic in the core program file and the interactive command information.

10. A method of claim 2 wherein said core program file contains user options for downloading and executing additional presentations while the said core program file or multimedia file broadcast is being displayed.

11. A method of claim 2 further comprising the step of displaying an interactive option during a broadcast comprising a text overlay querying a subscriber for additional information via said subscriber interface.

12. A method of claim 2 further comprising pointcasting the core program file and the multimedia data file from the digital integration center to a specific microprocessor-based customer premise equipment, comprising the steps of

broadcasting a selected core program file and a selected multimedia data file from the digital integration center to a specific microprocessor-based customer premise equipment,

attaching CPE identifying information to the interactive command information,

broadcasting additional selected core program file and additional selected multimedia data file to the specific microprocessor-based customer premise equipment, and

identifying additional selected core program file and additional selected multimedia data file with the specific microprocessor-based customer premise equipment and CPE identifying information.

13. An interactive system for broadcasting multimedia information comprising

a digital integration center comprising

a central broadcast server comprising at least one core program file and at least one multimedia data file

a downstream broadcast communication gateway in communication with said central broadcast server, capable of broadcasting said core program file and said multimedia data file,

an interactive response server in communication with said central broadcast server, capable of controlling said central broadcast server based upon an interactive command information,

an upstream interactive communication gateway in communication with said interactive response server, and

a microprocessor-based customer premise equipment in communication with said digital integration center comprising

a memory for receiving said core program file and said multimedia data file from said downstream broadcast communication gateway,

a central processing unit for loading said core program file from said memory and executing said core program file, and

a subscriber interface for obtaining interactive command information from a subscriber and sending said interactive command information to said upstream interactive communication gateway.

14. A system of claim 13 wherein said central broadcast server is capable of receiving at least one core program file and at least one multimedia data file from a provider via at least one receiver in communication with said central broadcast server.

15. A system of claim 14 wherein said receiver includes at least one of a satellite receiver, an off-air receiver, a local originator, a near-video-on-demand player, a multimedia application server, or a video-on-demand server.

16. A system of claim 13 further comprising an end user station controlled by said microprocessor-based customer premise equipment for playing said multimedia data file.

17. A system of claim 13 wherein said end user station is either of a television, a computer, a video-cassette recorder, a keyboard, or a hand-held controller.

18. A system of claim 13 wherein said multimedia data file is at least one of a video, a textual, or an audio presentation.

19. A system of claim 13 wherein said microprocessor-based customer premise equipment is a set-top box in communication with a television.

20. A system of claim 13 wherein said digital integration center further comprises a statistics database containing at least said interactive command information, in communication with a statistics module receiving said interactive command information comprising at least one of usage information, usage statistics, user request information or purchase information.