[19]
`United States Patent
`6,018,768
`[11] Patent Number:
`[45] Date of Patent: *J an. 25, 2000
`Ullman et al.
`
`
`
`U8006018768A
`
`[54] ENHANCED VIDEO PROGRAMMING
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
`INCORPORATING AND DISPLAYING
`RETRIEVED INTEGRATED INTERNET
`INFORMATION SEGMENTS
`
`['15]
`
`Inventors: Craig Ullman, Brooklyn; Jack D.
`Hidary; Nova T. Spivack, both of New
`York, all of NY.
`
`['13] Assignee: ACTV, Inc, New York, NY.
`
`[* ] Notice:
`
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis—
`claimer.
`
`[21] Appl. No: 091109,945
`
`[22]
`
`Filed:
`
`Jul. 6, 1998
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`[63] Continuation—impart of application No. 081615,143, Mar.
`14, 1996, Pat. No. 5,718,181, which is a continuation-impart
`of application No. 081613,l44, Mar. 8, 1996, abandoned.
`
`c06F131oo, 110411 5150
`Int. Cl.”
`[51]
`7091218; 348112
`I52] US. Cl.
`7091217, 218,
`[58] Field of Search
`7091219, 227, 228; 34817, 8, 10, 12, 13,
`461, 564, 906; 45513.1, 5.1, 6.1
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
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`111996 Logston eta].
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`111996 Majeti et al.
`_____
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`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
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`WO 97121546
`
`European Pat. Off. .
`211991I
`311996 WIPO .
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`711997 WIPO .
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`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
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`“Web TV over Digital Cable”; Author-Dale Cripps; May 4,
`1998; http:11wcb—star.com1hdtvnews1wcbtvovcrdigitaleablc-
`.html; pp. 1—4.
`“Internet TV Advertising”; Author=Dale Cripps; May 8,
`1998; http:11web—star.com1hdtvnews1internettvadvertising-
`.html; pp. 1—3.
`“Gates, TV, Interactivity”; Author=Dale Cripps; May 5,
`1998; pp. 1—4; http:11web—star.com1hdtvnews1gatestvinter-
`activityhtml.
`“ICTV” Brochure (a reproduced copy provided}; copyright
`1988 by ICI'V; 27 pages.
`“TV Navigator” brochure; copyright 1997 by Network
`Computer, Inc; 6 pages.
`“Worldgate” brochure; copyright 1998 by Worldgate Com-
`munications; 12 pages.
`“Microsoft Web TV" brochure; copyright 1998 by WebTV
`Networks, Inc; 16 pages.
`
`Primary Examiner—Wet D. Vu
`Attorney; Agent, or Firm—Dorsey & Whitney LLP
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A system for integrating video programming with the vast
`information resources of the Internet. A computer-based
`system receives a video program with embedded uniform
`resource locators (URLs). The URLs, the effective addresses
`of locations or Web sites on the Internet, are interpreted by
`the system and direct the system to the Web site locations to
`retrieve related Web pages. Upon receipt of the Web pages
`by the system, the Web pages are synchronized to the video
`content for display. The video program signal can be dis-
`played on a video window on a conventional personal
`computer screen. The actual retrieved Web pages are time
`stamped to also be displayed, on another portion of the
`display screen, when predetermined related video content is
`displayed in the video window. As an alternative,
`the
`computer-based system receives the URLs directly through
`an Internet connection, at times specified by TV broadcast-
`ers in advance. The system interprets the URLs and retrieves
`the appropriate Web pages. The Web pages are synchronized
`to the video content
`[or display in conjunction with a
`television program being broadcast to the user at that time.
`This alternative system allows the URLs to be entered for
`live transmission to the user.
`
`20 Claims, 7 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`CONTENT
`CREATION
`
`
`
`
`SUBCFIIBEFI SITE
`
`
`LOCAL
`PERSONAL
`
`12
`00M PUTEFI
`
`
`
`DISPLMr
`MONITOR
`
`NTFX—1001 1 Page 1 OH?
`
`

`

`6,018,768
`Page 2
`
`
`
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`.-
`,
`.
`33:23
`$.13;
`fi’ligwf’flefil
`2:223:31;
`345,333
`971996 Reimer el al.
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`1071996 Takahisa .............. 455766
`5,564,073
`
`1171996 Schulhof cl al.
`.. 7097219
`5,572,442
`5535353 1211990 Harperelal-
`- 3431435
`
`5,589,892 123-1996 K119? 3" a]—
`343-173}
`311997 LEWIS .................. 34878
`5,612,731.!
`
`5,633,918
`57199? Mankovitz
`579793.24
`
`5,643,083
`4?;qu Vaughn 81 a].
`463,140
`171997 Yoshinobu ______
`5,549,234
`455,751
`5,659,366
`871997 Kerman
`348,460
`
`5,668,592
`5,677,703
`5,694,163
`5,696,905
`5,724,091
`5,724,103
`5,729,252
`533443}
`'
`'
`_
`5,751,002
`5,701,600
`5,774,664
`5,773,131
`
`9.11997 Spaulding, II
`348713
`10.31997 Matthews, 111 et al.
`. 345.3115
`
`....... 343713
`1271997 Harrison
`
`
`12.91997 Reimer et a1.
`703.327
`3.31998 Freeman 91 a].
`343713
`3.31998 Batchelor
`3487553
`3.11998 l~nser 3457302
`3.31008 Back
`348,563
`_
`.
`
`“"1993 wag'F'e‘aL
`-- 4535!“
`m 43576.2
`.....
`0.31998 “6012,1811
`
`. 709F218
`6.31998 HldaIy el al.
`
`..
`.. 709,218
`7.-’1998 Hidary et al.
`
`NTFX—1001 I Page 2 OH?
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Jan. 25, 2000
`
`Sheet 1 of 7
`
`6,018,768
`
`
`
`CONTENT
`
`
`URL
`CR EATEON
`ENCODER
`
`
`
`
`SUBCRIBER SlTE
`
`
`
`
`LOCAL
`URL
`
`
`DECOD ER
`
`
`12
`
`
`
`LOCAL
`PERSONAL
`COMPUTER
`
`
`DIS PLAY
`
`MONITOR
`
`
`32
`
`
`
`CONTENT
`CREATION
`
`
`SERVER PATH
`
`
`
`SERVER
`URL
`DECODER
`
`
`
`
`INTERNET
`SERVER
`
`18
`
`
`
`DISPLAY
`
`MONITOR
`
`
`
`LOCALPC @
`
`SYSTEM DESIGN
`
`Fig. 2
`
`’6
`
`2"
`
`NTFX—1001 I Page 3 of17
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Jan. 25, 2000
`
`Sheet 2 of 7
`
`6,018,768
`
`38
`
`GET URL
`
`
`
`
`
`
`URL
`SEEN IgEFOFIE
`
`CHECK FOR
`M!SSPELLING
`
`50
`
` UFIL
`SEEN BEFORE
`?
`
` ADD TO
`URL LIST
`
`58
`
`SEND NETSCAPE
`GOTO COMMAND
`
`NTFX—1001 I Page 4 of17
`
`SOFTWARE DESIGN
`
`Fig. 3
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Jan. 25, 2000
`
`Sheet 3 of 7
`
`6,018,768
`
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`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Jan. 25, 2000
`
`Sheet 4 of 7
`
`6,018,768
`
`4
`
`148
`
`
`
`INTERNET
`CONTENT
`URL
`
`SERVER
`CREATION
`ENCODER
`
`
`
`VIDEO
`
`
`WITH 93 URLs
`
`
`
`URLs
`URLs
`SUBCRIBER
`
`SITE
`
`
`DIGITAL
`
`CABLE BOX DIGITAL
`
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`
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`
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`152
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`30 URC E
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`Fig. 6
`
`NTFX—1001 I Page 6 of17
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Jan. 25, 2000
`
`Sheet 5 of 7
`
`6,018,768
`
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`NTFX—1001 I Page 7 01'17
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Jan. 25, 2000
`
`Sheet 6 of 7
`
`6,018,768
`
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`NTFX—1001 I Page 8 of17
`
`
`
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Jan. 25, 2000
`
`Sheet 7 of 7
`
`6,018,768
`
`192
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`NTFX—1001 1 Page 9 of17
`
`

`

`6,018,768
`
`1
`ENHANCED VIDEO PROGRAMMING
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
`INCORPORATING AND DISPLAYING
`RETRIEVED IN'I‘EGRA'I‘ED INTERNET
`INFORMATION SEGMENTS
`
`This application is a continuation-in-part of US. appli-
`cation Ser. No. 081615,143, filed Mar. 14, 1996, entitled
`“ENHANCED VIDEO PROGRAMMING SYSTEM AND
`METHOD FOR INCORPORATING AND DISPLAYING
`RETRIEVED INTEGRATED INTERNET INFORMA-
`TION SEGMEN'I'S,”now U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,181, which is
`a continuation-in-part of US. application Ser. No. 081613,
`144, filed Mar. 8, 1996, entitled "INTEGRATED INTER-
`ACTIVE VIDEO AND INTERNET SYSTEM”, now
`abandoned, and is related to US. application Ser. No.
`08I622,474 filed Mar. 25, 1996, now US. Pat. No. 5,774,
`664, which is herein incorporated by reference.
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`10
`
`15
`
`Today, the capabilities of computers to provide massive
`amounts of educational and entertainment information has
`exploded with the Internet. The Internet has the power to
`transform society through unprecedented levels of informa—
`tion flow between members. Currently, on-line systems offer
`a variety ofdifferent services to users, including news feeds,
`electronic databases (either searchable by the user directly ‘
`on the on-line system, or downloadable to the user’s own
`computer), private message services, electronic newsletters,
`real time games for play by several users at the same time,
`and job placement services, to name a few. However, today,
`most on-line communications occur merely through text.
`This currently stands in great contrast to the audiorvisual
`presentation of the alternative electronic medium, television.
`However,
`it
`is expected that as multi-media’s incessant
`growth continues, audiofvisual programs will proliferate and
`text will become less and less dominant
`in the on-line
`
`35
`
`environment. Even though these programs will be
`introduced,
`the Internet, will
`remain essentially user
`unfriendly due to its very massiveness, organization, and
`randomness. Simply stated, there is no order or direction in
`the Internet. Specific pieces of information are many times
`hard to find, and harder yet, is the ability to put that piece of
`information into a meaningful context.
`Television, on the other hand, has been criticized for being
`a passive medium—“chewing gum for the eyes,” as Fred
`Allen once observed. Television has always been something
`you watched, not something you do. Many social critics
`believe that the passivity television depends on has seeped
`into our entire culture, turning a nation of citizens into a
`nation of viewers. While interactive television systems have
`increased the level of user interaction, and thus, provided
`greater learning and entertainment opportunities, vast infor—
`mation resources such as databases are inaccessible from
`such a medium.
`
`What is needed is a means to close the gap between video
`programming and the information superhighway of the
`Internet. What
`is needed is a wider,
`richer experience
`integrating audiorvisual and textual database elements into
`an organized unique interactive, educational, entertainment
`experience. Currently, the Internet is a repository of infor-
`mation on virtually any subject. However, what is needed is
`a mechanism for combining the user-friendly visual expe-
`rience of television with the vast information resources of
`the Internet.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The system of the present invention combines broadcast
`television programming andror video programming which
`
`40
`
`4s
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`2
`appears on a VHS or Beta tape, CD-ROM, DVD or other
`medium, or video programming at
`a video server
`[hereinafter “video programming”) with the massive
`Internet, creating a new and powerful educational and enter-
`tainment medium. The system allows consumers to receive
`more information in a more efficient manner than either
`television or the Internet alone. Consumers not only can see
`a news report on television, but they can also read pertinent
`information about
`the report, as well as explore related
`information about
`the story. The program becomes the
`introduction to a particular subject, rather than the entire
`subject itself. The act of viewing a program has now become
`a more engaging, enriching experience.
`The system can also create a more intimate relationship
`between the viewer and the program. The user might be
`solving problems or performing virtual experiments on the
`Internet site that a teacher is discussing in an educational
`television program. Similarly, the consumer might be solv-
`ing problems that
`the fictional characters in a television
`program must solve. In both cases, the consumer is an active
`participant in the process, rather than a passive observer.
`Instead of an undirected and unfocused exploration of
`Internet sites, by synching specific Internet pages to the
`video signal, the system puts the Internet in context. The
`television program producers now can decide what addi-
`tional information to offer their audience. This material can
`now be seen in the context of the television program.
`An additional advantage is that consumers don’t have to
`search through the literally hundreds of millions of pages on
`the Internet to find appropriate material. The material has
`already been filtered by the program producers and delivered
`to the consumer automatically.
`Another advantage of the system is that it changes the
`nature of advertising. Since additional information can be
`given to consumers automatically, advertising can now be
`more substantive, allowing customers to make more
`informed choices. Now, the act of purchasing a product seen
`on television can be streamlined—the consumer can be
`given the choice of buying the product instantly using the
`two-way capabilities of the system.
`In addition, users can take advantage of the two-way
`capabilities of the Internet to respond to polls, to send e-mail
`or to link to additional sites. For example, a viewer watching
`a
`television news program,
`through the system of the
`invention, can receive a stream of Web pages which provide
`additional, specific information relating to the news
`content—whether background on the Presidential primaries
`or the latest change in interest rates.
`The video programming and corresponding Internet pages
`can be viewed on personal computers equipped with a
`television card, but
`the open software—based approach
`enables anyone with a television set and JAVA enables PC
`to experience the system of the invention.
`By marrying the appeal of video with the two-way data
`transfer capabilities of the Internet,
`the system creates a
`powerful new medium: Video producers and Internet site
`creators can enhance their content to extend their brand
`identity and differentiate their program offerings to the
`millions of people who are spending more time navigating
`through the resources of the World Wide Web rather than
`watching television; advertisers can speak more directly to
`consumers by directly sending Web pages to the consumer
`instead of only displaying Web addresses in their commer-
`cials; and consumers can gain a new level of interest and
`interactivity over a video-based medium.
`In addition to
`providing significant and immediate benefits to broadcasters
`
`NTFX—1001 I Page 10 OH?
`
`

`

`6,018,768
`
`3
`the system will also present educational
`and advertisers,
`programmers with a way to more effectively use Internet
`resources in the classroom.
`
`Recently, several media companies have joined to create
`a system for linking the Internet and television on the
`personal computer, called " Intercast . ” In this system, content
`will be provided simultaneously with the TV video signal.
`This system, however, requires that stripped down Web
`pages be sent in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the
`video signal, using up to three scan lines limiting ell‘ective
`bandwidth to approximately 28.8 kbps. This approach,
`however, requires specialized hardware to both insert
`the
`Web pages into the V131 and extract these codes at each PC
`since it takes up to three scan lines of the VBI. Thus, the
`complexity and cost of the PC is increased. Because the Web
`pages are transmitted with the video signal,
`the Intereast
`system is not
`a
`true “two-way” system, but merely a
`one-way “piggyback” system. In addition, the Intereast is an
`analog video product, and thus, cannot handle digital video
`data.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`The system of the present invention, on the other hand, is
`a much more flexible, but less complex, system. The present
`invention supports either analog or digital television broad-
`casts without broadcasters or end-users having to alter their
`existing systems, thus enabling broadcasters to reach a wide -
`audience within a short time.
`
`In a first embodiment, the actual Web pages are not forced
`into the very limited bandwidth of the vertical blanking
`interval (VBI). Instead, merely eight fields of line 21 of the
`VBI are used to deliver the relevant Internet Web page
`addresses to the PC. These addresses are callec “uniform
`resource locators” (URLs). The system then directs the
`particular Web browser to retrieve the identified Web pages
`from the Internet. Upon receipt of the particular Web page
`(5), the system syncs the Web page(s) to the video signal, and
`at the appropriate times, presents the Web pages on one
`portion of the computer screen with the television video
`signal, shown in a window on another portion of the screen,
`and thus, provides the synergistic Internet and television
`experience. One of the advantages of the system of the
`present
`invention is that no specialized chip set need be
`produced and implemented into the standard PC. Thus,
`complexity is kept to a minimum.
`In another preferred embodiment of the present invention,
`the VBI is not used to transmit the URLs to the user. In this
`alternative embodiment, member broadcasters enter the
`Internet through a member account, and will be provided
`with a graphical user interface for pre-scheduling Internet
`addresses, or URLs, for transmission to users at particular
`times of day. This interface could also be used to transmit
`real time live transmissions of URLs to users at the same
`time as a broadcast. The URLs are stored in a “Link File” for
`later transmission over the Internet to the user at the broad-
`casters entered time, which corresponds to the broadcast
`time of an associated program. The timing of URL’s could
`be determined in advance or can be sent out
`live. This
`embodiment eliminates the need to place the URls in the
`VBI, and also allows the broadcaster to store more than one
`Link File for transmission to users in dili‘erent time zones,
`for example. Further, more than one broadcaster could
`access the same master schedule if desired, and add or delete
`certain URLs to personalize the program for their local
`audiences. Also, personalization can be taken to the single
`user, or small group of users, by having the system send a
`different stream of URLs to each user, depending on a
`unique user profile, for example. Thus, the personalization
`feature of the present invention allows each user to receive
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`4
`interests,
`to their
`information uniquely relevant
`demographics, history, etc. This embodiment makes the
`transmission of URLs to the user even less complex than the
`first embodiment disclosed herein.
`
`Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide
`order and direction to the Internet by using television signals
`to place, orient and control such information in a meaningful
`context.
`
`It is an object of the present invention to create a more
`intimate relationship between the viewer and the program by
`enriching the teaming experience through the provision of
`more in-depth information.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a diagram of the system design, showing the
`receipt and decoding of video signals at
`the subscriber
`location using the method of the present invention.
`FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an alternative system
`embodiment to achieve the integration of the Internet infor-
`mation with the video content by decoding the uniform
`resource locators at a server site and then transmitting the
`URls to the subscriber stations via the Internet.
`
`FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the basic software design of
`the present invention.
`FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another preferred system
`embodiment to achieve the direct transmission of URLs over
`the Internet
`to the user at a broadcaster’s entered time
`without encoding the URLs into the VBI.
`FIG. 5 is a diagram of another preferred embodiment
`including a digital cable box.
`FIG. 6 is a diagram of another preferred embodiment
`including a digital TV.
`FIGS. 7 and 8 are a sample display provided to a student
`of a lesson.
`
`FIG. 9 is a diagram of the distributed Com Server
`embodiment.
`
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
`
`The system of the present invention combines the rich
`visual capabilities of video with the vast resources of the
`Internet. As shown in FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of the
`invention is a computer based system for receiving a video
`program along with embedded uniform resource locators
`[URLs)—which direct
`the user’s computer 16 to address
`locations, or Web sites, on the Internet 20 to retrieve related
`Web pages. These Web pages correspond to the video
`presentation. The particular video programming can be
`delivered in analog, digital or digitally compressed formats
`(e.g., MPEG2) via any transmission means,
`including
`satellite, cable, wire, television broadcast or sent via the
`Web.
`
`The video programming is preferably created at a cen-
`tralized location, i.e., content creation 4 as shown in FIG. 1,
`for distribution to subscribers in their homes, for example.
`Program creation is accomplished according to any conven-
`tional means known in the art. After a video program is
`created, uniform resource locators are embedded, in one
`preferred embodiment, into the vertical blank interval of the
`video programming by the URL encoder 8, shown in FIG.
`1. In this embodiment, the URLs are encoded onto eight
`fields of line 21 of the VBI. Line 21 is the line associated
`with close captioning, among other things. However, the
`URLs could also be embedded in other fields of the V31, in
`the horizontal portion of the video, as part of the audio
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`channel, in any subcarrier to the video, or if digital, in one
`of the data fields.
`
`Although FIG. 1 shows the video with URLs over the
`same transmission line, the URLs can be sent down inde-
`pendently of the video program on a data channel. In this
`embodiment, the URLs can be forwarded to the remote sites
`either prior to initiation or during the program. Preferably,
`the URLs have associated time stamps which indicate to the
`subscriber stations when, during the video program,
`to
`display the particular Web pages addressed by the URLs.
`Alternatively, the user can select when to call the particular
`Web pages for display with the video program.
`The particular information in line 21 is not part of the
`visual part of the program, and thus, is not perceptible to the
`human eye, thereby making it ideal to send data information
`to the users. While the bandwidth capacity of line 21 is
`limited, because the system of the present invention trans-
`mits only the uniform resource locators (URLs), and not full
`Web pages,
`there is more than enough capacity.
`Furthermore, no additional hardware is necessary at the PC
`16 to implement the elements of the present invention. Thus,
`the present invention has the additional advantages of being
`very efficient and takes advantage of conventional hardware.
`Once the video program is created, it can be transmitted
`to user sites over any transmission means,
`including
`broadcast, cable, satellite, or Internet, and may reside on
`video servers. Furthermore,
`the video program, with or
`without embedded URI .s, can be encoded on a VHS or Beta
`tape, DVD or other medium.
`Preferably, each receiver station comprises any Intel x86
`machine (preferably a 486 processor, pentium processor,
`etc.), an Apple Computer, UNIX or any other type of
`standard computer workstation. The local PC 16 is prefer-
`ably connected to either a cable andr'or broadcast television
`connection or to a local VCR or other video source. At each
`
`subscriber site, the local personal computer 16 preferably
`receives the cable transmission by cable connection on the
`back of the personal computer 16. The videofaudio program
`can then be processed for display on the computer screen
`using any conventional PC card capable of displaying N'I‘SC
`signals on a computer monitor, such as a WinTV card. In
`addition to the cable connection, however, in the present
`invention there is also an Internet 20 connection created
`concurrently with the cable connection.
`The Internet 20 connection can be via high-speed line, RF,
`conventional modem or by way of two-way cable carrying
`the video programming. The local PC 16 has lntemet access
`via any of the current ASCII software mechanisms.
`In a
`preferred embodiment, at each subscriber home, an associ-
`ated local URL decoder 12 receives the cable video televi-
`sion program, as shown in FIG. 1. The local URL decoder
`12 extracts the URLs, preferably embedded in the vertical
`blanking interval, with the use of any conventional VB]
`decoder device. The URL decoder 12 may be either a
`stand-alone unit or a card which is implemented into the
`personal computer 16.
`In another preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the
`uniform resource locators (URLs) are encoded into the video
`in the same manner as described above. Again, the URLs are
`preferably encoded onto eight fields of line 21 of the VBI,
`but may also be sent independently of the video. In this
`embodiment, the URL decoder 24 is located at the server
`site, as opposed to the subscriber location. When the decoder
`24 receives the video program signal, it strips out the URL
`codes on line 21 of the V31 and delivers these codes
`independently to an Internet server 28. The URL code is then
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`subsequently delivered over the Internet 20 to the user PC
`16. Simultaneously, the video is broadcast over conventional
`broadcast or cable transmission means 36 to the user’s
`personal computer 16.
`Another preferred embodiment of the system, shown in
`FIG. 4, does not depend on, or even use, the VB]. In this
`preferred embodiment, the system will run an online service
`over the Internet 20. This service will be in the form of an
`Internet Web site 62 that provides a user-interface to a
`database 78 and to one or more associated data servers 90.
`The service will provide member-accounts to TV broadcast-
`ers 66 who sign up to use the system of the invention in
`conjunction with their broadcasts. Each member broadcaster
`will enter the service at
`their computer 70 through Web
`browser software 74 using their member account by entering
`various identification and password information. Once
`within their account, the member will be provided with a
`graphical user interface for pre-scheduling URLs for trans-
`mission to users 118 over a direct Internet connection 94 at
`particular times of day. The same user interface, or
`a
`variation on it, can be used by broadcasters for live trans—
`mission 82 of URLs to users at the same time as a broadcast
`86.
`
`For example, one example of this interface might be a
`scheduling calendar (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly)
`in
`which the broadcaster 66 may allocate time periods which
`coincide with their broadcasts 86, and during which they
`will send out URLs to their users to link to Web pages. For
`each time period (for example, a particular hour long period
`during the day) determined by the broadcaster 66 to be a
`broadcast period (a period during which they want
`to
`transmit URLs that correspond to a television show being
`broadcast from their TV broadcast facility 110 to the exter-
`nal TV 114 of the user 113 at that time), the broadcaster 66
`may then enter a series of URLs into an associated file
`(“Link File”) for transmission over the Internet 20 at that
`time. This Link File might have a user interface such as a
`spreadsheet,
`table, or list, or it could be simply a tab-
`delimited or paragraph-delimited text-file. As an example,
`each of the records in the Link File consists of a data
`structure which could contain information such as:
`
`title5,<additional
`(<timecode>,cURI.>,<label or
`information>,<additional information>, .
`.
`.)
`The above data structure is just one example. The records
`in the Link File preferably specify the time, Internet address
`(i.e. URL), label (such as an associated name), and some
`optional additional
`infonnation, for each Web page the
`broadcaster 66 desires to launch during a show.
`When a broadcaster 66 modifies their calendar auditor the
`Link File associated with any given time period(s} in their
`calendar, this information is saved into the database 78 that
`is attached to the site 62. Each broadcaster 66 may maintain
`multiple calendars in the database 78 if they broadcast in
`different time zones, for example.
`The database 78 provides the Link File records for
`upcoming time periods to a server 90, which may be one
`server or
`a distributed network of server programs on
`multiple computers across the network,
`to be utilized for
`scaling to large national or global audiences. The server 90
`provides the link File records, including the URLs, to the
`user’s personal computer 16, which is connected via a
`network. Examples of possible networks include the public
`Internet 94, a direct private network, or even a wireless
`network.
`One feature of the above embodiment is that one or more
`broadcasters 66 may utilize the same schedule in the data-
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`base 78 for their own broadcasts 86 or during the same
`broadcast. For example, a network broadcaster may develop
`a master schedule and various affiliate broadcasters may
`subscribe to that schedule or copy it {in the database) and
`add or delete specific URLs in the schedule for their local
`audiences or unique programming. This scheme enables
`afliliates to insert URLs for local advertisers or local subjects
`into a sequence of more general URLs provided by their
`network broadcaster 66. In other words, the affiliate can add
`links that ride on the network feed and then redistribute it to
`their local audiences.
`
`The above embodiment can also enable personalization in
`the form of unique series of URLs specific to each user's
`unique profile, which is directly sent over the Internet 20 to
`each user‘s specific client software 106. This can be
`achieved from the broadcaster 66 to each individual user
`118, or to particular collections of users. To accomplish
`personalization, the service may send a different stream of
`URLs to each user’s client software program 106. The
`stream of URLs sent would depend on a user profile stored
`in the database 78 or the client software program 106, a user
`profile which is built on demand or over time for each user
`118 based on criteria such as the location of the user, choices
`the user makes while using a client software program 106,
`or choices the broadcaster 66 makes during a broadcast 86,
`or automatic choices made by an algorithm (such as a filter)
`residing on the service 62. Personalization enables each user
`to receive URLs which are uniquely relevant
`to their
`interests, demographics, history, or behavior in the system.
`System Operation
`Once the URLs have reached the personal computer 16,
`system operation is similar for all of the embodiments
`diagramed in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4.
`In a preferred embodiment, a JAVA enabled browser 98 as
`well as specialized software 106 for performing part of the
`method of the present invention are installed on the com—
`puter 16. The JAVA enabled browser 98 allows the computer
`16 to retrieve the Web pages 102 and is preferred software,
`since it is platform independent, and thus, enables efficient
`and flexible transfer of programs,
`images, etc., over the
`Internet 20. The specialized interface software 106
`(hereinafter, "client software”), attached as Appendix A, acts
`as an interface between the video programming and the
`Internet functions of the present invention. The client soft-
`ware 106 retrieves URLs from the video program
`(embodiment of FIG. 1) or directly from the Internet con-
`nection [embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 4), interprets these
`URLs and directs the JAVA enabled browser 98 to retrieve
`the particular relevant Web pages 102, and synchronizes the
`retrieved Web pages to the video content for display on the
`user’s computer 16, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and
`explained in more detail below.
`In a preferred method, the URLs are encoded and embed-
`ded into the video signal by inserting them into the vertical
`blanking interval (VBI), as mentioned above.
`In another preferred embodiment, the URLs are entered
`by member TV broadcasters 66 along with specified times
`for transmitting the URLs to the user. At
`the appropriate
`times, the URLs are sent directly over the Internet to the
`user’s PC‘ 16 via the client software 106 over a direct
`
`point—to—point or multicasting connection.
`One method of the present invention has the capability to
`detect identical URls sent directly after one another which
`causes the browser not
`to fetch URLs in these particular
`cases. As shown in FIG. 3, once the URL code is received
`at the computer, the client software 106 first interprets the
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`URL and determines in step 42 whether the particular URL
`has been received previously. If it has already been received,
`the next received URL is interpreted for determination of
`prior r