Simulcast web page delivery

• US 7,349,975 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2000
• Issued: 03/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: JLB Ventures, LLC
• Original Assignee: JLB Ventures, LLC
• Inventors: Kikinis, Dan
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Zarni
• Application Number:
  US09/718,595
• Publication Number:
  US 20020073219A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,681 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/227, 709/224, 709/231, 709217-219, 709/223, 348/7, 348/156, 348/206, 348/262, 348/264, 348/426, 707 1- 10, 455/503, 725/37, 725/46, 725/105
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/28 Arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/40 Arrangements for broadcast specially adapted for accumulation-type receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/51 specially adapted for satellite broadcast systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/74 of satellite networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/95 characterised by a specific format, e.g. an encoded audio stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/82 the transmission system being the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/84 which are fixed telephone networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4355 involving reformatting operations of additional data, e.g. HTML pages on a television screen optimising the visualization of content for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/9577; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/066; media handling at the source in data packet switching networks H04L65/764
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8146 : involving graphical data, e.g. 3D object, 2D graphics
• 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 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 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 21/8583 : by creating hot-spots
• 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 7/165 : Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A multimedia broadcast system provides program schedule information simulcast as a Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) data stream including commands and displayable, selectable indicia associated with the commands, along with programs for display. A set top box is adapted to separate the HTML data stream and to store that data in a cache as WEB pages retrievable by a WEB browser in the set top box, whereupon the program schedule information is displayed including the displayable, selectable indicia. Selecting the indicia directs the set top box via the associated command to tune to a program associated with the displayable indicia. The indicia may be any text, icon, dynamic figurine, and the like. In a preferred embodiment program schedule WEB pages, including the commands and displayable indicia, are stored especially marked on a WEB server coupled to the Internet and to a scanner adapted to scan the WEB server for marked pages, and to upload the marked pages to a satellite broadcast system.

Claims

1. A system for providing future programming information comprising:

a scanning module; and

a database, remote from a broadband receiver of a set-top box, configured to receive future programming information from one or more content sources,

wherein the database is repeatedly scanned by the scanning module to identify one or more future programming information items stored therein,

wherein the identified future programming information items are broadcast in a displayable single data stream to the broadband receiver, and

wherein the identified one or more future programming information items comprise at least one web page accessible to devices other than set-top boxes from a first content source of the one or more content sources.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one web page includes a command that, when executed, causes a channel associated with the one or more future programming information items to be displayed.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising the broadband receiver, wherein the broadband receiver comprises a satellite data link adapted to download a satellite-broadcasted data stream, and the identified one or more future programming information items are received via the satellite data link.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the future programming information received by the database further comprises television programming.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one page includes a command and displayable indicia associated with the command.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising circuitry configured to display a 3D object corresponding to the displayable indicia.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the 3D object comprises a figurine.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising the broadband receiver, wherein the broadband receiver comprises:

a satellite data link adapted to download a satellite-broadcast data stream; and

a land-based modem,

wherein the identified one or more future programming information items is received from the database through at least one of the satellite data link and the land-based modem.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the broadcast receiver further comprises a user-operable Internet browser for accessing Web-based information.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one web page received from the first content source includes a page mark, wherein the page mark is used to identify pages for transmission to the set-top box.

11. A method for commanding a set-top box, comprising:

receiving, at a broadband receiver in the set-top box, a displayable single data stream comprising future programming information having displayable indicia associated with one or more commands, wherein the display single data stream is received from a repeatedly scanned remote database and wherein the future programming information includes at least one active page accessible over a network to one or more devices other than set-top boxes from a content source providing the at least one page to the remote database; and

storing said future programming information.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving a selection of the displayable indicia associated with the one or more commands; and

in response to receiving the selection, executing the one or more commands associated with the selected displayable indicia, wherein executing the one or more commands causes a channel associated with the future programming information to be displayed.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the displayable single data stream is performed via a satellite data link adapted to download a satellite-broadcasted data stream.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the future programming information corresponds to television programming information.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein storing said future programming information further includes storing the one or more commands and the displayable indicia associated with the one or more commands.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the displayable single data stream is performed via at least one of a satellite data link adapted to download a satellite-broadcast data stream and a land-based modem.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising executing the one or more commands associated with the displayable indicia, wherein the execution of the one or more commands including displaying a user-operable Internet browser for accessing Web-based information.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of displaying a 3D object associated with the displayable indicia.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the 3D object comprises a figurine that represents the future programming information.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one active page is provided by the content source with a page mark, wherein the page mark is used to identify pages for transmission to the broadband receiver of the set-top box.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one active page includes a command-bearing tag configured to command one or more actions of the set-top box.

22. The method of claim 11, wherein the receiving the displayable single data stream includes:

receiving multimedia information from the remote database; and

separating the displayable single data stream from a remainder of the multimedia information.