Per
`
`WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION
`International Bureau
`
`INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT)
`
`(51) International Patent Classification 5 :
`H04N7/173, G11R27/02, 27/10
`GllB 27/36
`
`Al
`
`(11) International Publication Number:
`
`WO 90115507
`
`(43) International Publication Date:
`
`13 December 1990 (13.12.90)
`
`(21) International Application Number:
`
`PCT/ AU90/00226
`
`(22) International Filing Date:
`
`30 May 1990 (30.05.90)
`
`(30) Priority data:
`PJ 4500
`
`I June 1989 (01.06.89)
`
`AU
`
`(71) Applicant (for all designated States except US): RIGHT
`HEMISPHERE PTY. LTD. [AU/ AU]; 28 Adeline
`Street, Faulconbridge, NSW 2776 (AU).
`
`(72) Inventor; and
`(75) Inventor/ Applicant (for US only) : VOGEL, Peter, Samuel
`[AU/ AU]; 28 Adeline Street, Faulconbridge, NSW 2776
`(AU).
`
`(81) Designated States: AT (European patent), AU, BE (Euro(cid:173)
`pean patent), CH (European patent), DE (European pa(cid:173)
`tent)*, DK (European patent), ES (European patent),
`FR (European patent), GB (European patent), IT (Euro(cid:173)
`pean patent), JP, LU (European patent), NL (European
`patent), SE (European patent), US.
`
`Published
`With international search report.
`
`(54) Title: TELEVISION PROGRAM SELECTION
`
`RFinput 101
`
`(57) Abstract
`
`A signal representative of a television
`program guide and a signal indicating which
`program is currently being received are re(cid:173)
`ceived at the point of reception of a television
`program signal. The program guide signal is
`used to cause a program guide to be displayed
`on a television screen. A viewer selects one or
`more programs to be recorded or viewed from
`the displayed guide. While the received pro(cid:173)
`gram indicating signal indicates that the pro(cid:173)
`gram currently being received is one of the se(cid:173)
`lected programs, recording or viewing of the
`program is enabled. A further extension of the
`invention causes the name of a television pro(cid:173)
`gram to be recorded on a video recording
`along with the program so that on replay the
`recording can readily be identified.
`
`'
`
`* See back of page
`
`Microprocessor
`104
`
`IR Transmitter 1 05
`
`IR
`Receiver
`113
`
`;
`
`4
`
`cccccc
`cccccc
`1::1
`1::1
`ecce
`A
`<101> v
`ecce
`
`IR Remote 112
`
`RF Modulator 11 0
`
`RF Output 111
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`Dish, Exh. 1004, p. 1
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`DESIGNATIONS OF "DE"
`
`Until further _notice, any designation of "DE" in any international application
`whose international filing date is prior to October 3, 1990, shall have effect in the
`territory of the Federal Republic of Germany with the exception of the territory of the
`former German Democratic Republic.
`
`FOR THE PURPOSES OF INFORMATION ONLY
`
`Codes used to identify States party to the Per on the front pages of pamphlets publishing international
`applications under the Per.
`
`AT
`AU
`BB
`BE
`BF
`BG
`BJ
`BR
`CA
`CF
`CG
`CH
`CM
`DE
`OK
`
`Austria
`Australia
`Barbados
`Belgium
`Burkina Fasso
`Bulgaria
`Benin
`Brazil
`Canada
`Central African Republic
`Congo
`Switzerland
`Cameroon
`Germany, Federal Republic of
`Den murk
`
`Spain
`ES
`Fl
`Finland
`France
`FR
`GA Gabon
`GB
`United Kingdom
`GR Greece
`HU
`Hungary
`IT
`Italy
`JP
`Japan
`KP
`Democratic People's Republic
`of Korea
`Rcpuhlic of Korea
`Liechtenstein
`Sri Lanka
`Luxembourg
`
`KR
`L1
`LK
`LU
`
`MC Monaco
`MG Madagascar
`ML Mali
`MR Mauritania
`MW Malawi
`NL
`Netherlands
`Norway
`NO
`Romania
`RO
`so
`Sudan
`SE
`Sweden
`Senegal
`SN
`su
`Soviet Union
`Chad
`TO
`Togo
`TG
`us
`United Stutes of America
`
`I
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`TELEVISION PROGRAM SELECTION
`
`1ECHNICAL FJELD
`
`The present invention relates to means for and methods of
`controlling video appliances, such as video cassette recorders or
`television receivers, so that selected television programs are viewed
`or recorded.
`
`BACKGROUND ART
`
`With the increasing use of video cassette recorders (VCRs) in the
`home, VCRs are being increasingly used for recording broadcast
`programs for later replay and viewing. Many VCRs are equipped
`with timing means for starting and stopping recording of programs
`at times selected by the user. To take advantage of this ability, the
`user must consult a television schedule, select the programs to be
`recorded, and enter into the VCR's memory the start time and end
`time or duration of the selected programs, and channel to be
`recorded.
`In some cases this process can be complicated and error(cid:173)
`prone. There is a great need for convenient ways of selecting
`programs to be recorded.
`In an attempt to address this problem, some manufacturers
`have equipped VCRs with bar-code reading wands. Users can pass
`the wand over a bar-code printed on the television schedule which
`identifies the channel and time of the selected program. This
`information is used to set the timing means of the VCR. Another
`variation on this concept involves use of a sheet of times, dates and
`channels bearing the associated bar codes.
`In this case, the user
`must scan the appropriate bar code on this sheet for time, date and
`channel corresponding to programs selected for recording.
`While these prior-art schemes have somewhat alleviated the
`difficulties, programming VCRs for recording is still error prone and
`inconvenient. Attempts have been made to provide improved
`programming by providing a device which accepts a machine(cid:173)
`readable version of the television schedule via the medium of
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`magnetic card, tape or similar means, the user being then offered a
`display of available programs from which to select. Although this
`arrangement ..does represent an improvement over prior schemes, it
`suffers the disadvantage that the user must obtain the medium on
`5 which the schedule is distributed, which may be inconvenient. The
`media cost and cost of the reading device is also considerable.
`Another shortcoming of prior-art schemes is that they rely on time(cid:173)
`of-day information for starting and stopping recording, with the
`result that unwanted material can be recorded, or part of the
`10 wanted program missed, in cases where actual broadcast times
`differ from scheduled times.
`It is also not possible using such
`schemes to control recording with great precision, with the result
`that selective recording, as required for example for eliminating
`advertisements from recordings, is not possible.
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`DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
`
`The pre~nt invention is directed towards providing new and
`useful alternatives to known arrangements for controlling video
`appliances so that selected programs can be viewed or recorded. As
`well as making selection simple, fast and accurate, the present
`invention offers a number of other benefits not hitherto obtainable.
`According to the present invention there is provided a method
`of selecting television programs to be recorded including the steps of
`receiving a first signal conveying data representative of a television
`programming schedule, decoding said received signals, displaying
`the resulting . decoded schedule information, selecting one or more of
`programs displayed in said schedule as programs to be recorded,
`receiving a second signal identifying for each television channel the
`program being currently broadcast, decoding said second signal, and
`controlling recording of the selected programs according to the
`selection from the schedule and the content of said decoded second
`signal.
`According to another aspect of the present invention there is
`provided a method of selecting television programs to be viewed
`including the steps of receiving a first signal conveying data
`representative of a television programming schedule, decoding said
`received signals, displaying the resulting decoded schedule
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`information, identifying a number of programs displayed in said
`schedule as programs to be recorded, receiving a second signal
`identifying for each television channel the program being currently
`broadcast, decoding said second signal, and enabling viewing of the
`selected programs according to the programs selected from the
`schedule as those to be viewed and the content of said decoded
`second signal.
`According to another useful extension of this inventive concept,
`there is provided a television program recording identifying method
`comprising the steps of receiving a first signal representative of the
`name of a television program being broadcast, receiving a second .
`signal being a television broadcast, and recording said first signal
`while simultaneously recording said second signal.
`In another aspect, the invention consists in a television program
`recording selector including a receiver adapted to receive a first
`signal conveying data representative of a television programming
`schedule, means to decode said received signals, means for
`displaying the resulting decoded schedule information, means for
`selecting a number of programs displayed in said schedule as
`programs to be recorded, means for receiving a second signal
`identifying for each television channel the program being currently
`broadcast, means for decoding said second signal, and means for
`controlling recording of the selected programs according to the
`programs identified as those to be recorded and the content of said
`decoded second signal.
`In another aspect, the invention consists in a television program
`viewing selector including a receiver adapted to receive a first signal
`conveying data representative of a television programming
`schedule, means to decode said received signal, means for displaying
`the resulting decoded schedule information, means for selecting a
`number of programs displayed in said schedule as programs to be
`viewed, means for receiving a second signal identifying for each
`television channel the program being currently broadcast, means for
`decoding said second signal, and means for controlling viewing of
`the identified programs according to the programs selected as those
`to be viewed and the content of said decoded second signal.
`- According to another useful extension of this inventive concept,
`there is provided a television program recorder comprising means
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`for receiving an identifying signal representative of the name of a
`television program being broadcast, recording means adapted to
`record said signal while simultaneously recording the television
`program being broadcast, replay means for simultaneously
`replaying said identifying signal and said program, and means for
`displaying said identifying signal in the form of text.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`A particular embodiment of the invention will now be described
`with reference to the drawings in which:-
`Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a television program selector
`according to the invention;
`Fig. 2 shows the control panel of this embodiment
`Fig. 3 shows an example of the schedule menu display of this
`embodiment; and
`Fig. 4 shows an example of the status menu display of this
`embodiment
`
`MODE FOR CARRYING OUT 1HE INVENTION
`
`As seen in Fig. 1, an embodiment of the invention is provided for
`use in conjunction with video cassette recorders (VCRs). This
`embodiment takes the form of a device which communicates with
`the VCR via an infra-red (IR) control signal, this signal being similar
`to the control signal used by the hand-held remote control of
`conventional VCRs.
`This embodiment of the invention is in turn
`controlled by a hand-held remote control. Using this control means,
`the invention allows the user to control the usual functions of a VCR,
`such as recording or playing a tape, as well as the novel functions
`provided by this invention. This arrangement is particularly
`benefiCial as it can be used with a wide range of VCRs without
`modification of the VCR. Referring to Fig. 1, RF input 101 is derived
`from the television antenna being used to receive off -air programs
`or a separat~ antenna, and comprises a signal modulated with data
`relating to the television schedule and the programs currently being
`broad'Cast. This signal is received by receiver 102, and fed to
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`demodulator 103 which provides as an output digital data which is
`fed to an input of microprocessor 104.
`Microprocessor 104 executes program instructions stored in
`read-only-memory ROM 107, and is responsible for all control and
`user-interface functions of this embodiment of the invention.
`Received data comprises two main types: periodic data and real(cid:173)
`time data. Periodic data comprises the television schedule for the
`current day and future days, including the name of each program,
`its scheduled start time, the channel on which it is to be broadcast,
`and a classification (such as whether or not it is suitable for viewing
`by children). The periodic data is transmitted from a remote source,
`such as the television broadcast station or a separate transmitting
`station, at infrequent intervals, say once every hour. Real-time data
`comprises information which identifies which program is currently
`being broadcast on each channel, including the program
`classification. This data is transmitted from the remote source as
`soon as possible after a change of program on any channel, and is
`then repeated occasionally, say every 10 seconds, until another
`change of program occurs.
`On receipt of program schedule data, microprocessor 104 stores
`the data in random access memory RAM 106.
`On receipt of a command from the user requesting information,
`such as the program schedule, microprocessor 104 retrieves the
`relevant data from RAM 106, formats it for display and stores it in
`text random access memory TRAM 108.
`Text generator 109 accesses the data stored in TRAM 108 and
`generates a video raster signal which when conveyed to a television
`receiver via RF modulator 110 and RF output 111 causes the text to
`be displayed on the television receiver screen.
`IR receiver 113 receives infra-red control signals from IR
`remote 112, which for convenience is a hand-held control device.
`IR remote 112 includes a switch array which provides means for
`users to issue instructions to microprocessor 104, and in this
`embodiment is constructed as shown in Fig.2, so as to offer most
`conveniently the functions described below.
`IR transmitter 105 is an infra-red emitting diode which is used
`to -control a VCR, via the infra-red remote control channel commonly
`used with VCRs.
`IR transmitter 105 is pulsed under control of
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`microprocessor 104 to generate control data which controls the
`operation of the VCR, for example, by issuing a PAUSE command or a
`RECORD command.
`~
`Referring now to Fig. 2, the layout of switches of the user control
`keyboard can be seen. Twelve switches labelled "CHANNEL" are
`used to select one of 12 channels to be viewed. The switches "Rew",
`"FF", "Rec", "Play", "Pause" and "Stop" control the rewind, fast
`forward, record, play, pause and stop functions of the VCR in the
`usual manner. The switch "sel" is used to select a menu option. The
`four triangular switches surrounding the "sel" switch cause
`movement of the cursor on a menu display in one of the four
`directions indicated. The switches "C", "P", "S" and "?" are used to
`initiate the classification, program, status and QUERY functions
`respectively. The operation of these four functions will now be
`described.
`CLASSIFICATION. Pressing this button causes a display such as
`that shown in Fig. 4 to appear on the television screen. This display
`is known as the STATUS menu. The CLASSIFICATION function
`relates to the text in the left-hand column of the display, headed
`"ENABLE". The letters shown in the column under ENABLE represent
`the following classifications:
`
`c
`G
`A
`R
`AD
`
`Suitable for children
`General viewing
`Adult
`Restricted
`Advertisement or other non-program material
`
`The boxes adjacent to each classification letter indicate whether
`each classification is enabled, a check mark indicating enabled, and a
`cross indicating prohibited. If a program of a classification which is
`prohibited is received, the invention causes the video recorder to
`pause, preventing recording.
`If desired, viewing of programs
`bearing prohibited classification can also be inhibited by the
`invention causing the channel selector of the receiver or VCR to
`select the output of the invention, rather than the channel of the
`program. It is also possible to provide an alarm function to alert
`viewers that a particular program is about to start. For example, the
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`invention can be used to tum on the television receiver when a
`preselected broadcast starts, and to sound an alarm five minutes
`beforehand. To enable or prohibit a particular classification, the
`user pushes the C button, which causes the STATUS display to
`appear with the cursor positioned on one of the indicator boxes. The
`desired classification is then selected by moving the cursor up or
`down using the up or down pointing triangular keys. The enable
`status of the cursored classification can be changed by pressing the
`"sel" button.
`Another box in the ENABLE column labelled "LOCK" enables a
`security function which prevents changing the status of
`classifications unless a personal identity number, known only to
`authorised persons, is entered first.
`PROGRAM. Pressing this button causes a display such as that of
`Fig. 3 to be displayed. This display is known as the PROGRAM menu,
`and shows a list of scheduled programs for each available channel.
`Channel indicator box 301 shows the date and channel to which each
`column of schedule information relates. Each entry in the schedule
`shows the scheduled time of broadcast, title and censorship
`classification. A cursor is used to highlight one schedule item at a
`time. The cursor can be moved up, down, right or left using the
`triangular switches. By way of example, in Fig. 3 item 302 is shown
`as cursored. A program can be selected for recording by pressing the
`"sel" switch when the desired item is cursored. An asterisk is
`displayed next to each item selected for recording, as shown in the
`example of item 303 in Fig. 3. As it will generally not be possible to
`fit all the schedule information on the display, this embodiment of
`the invention is arranged so that the program menu scrolls in both
`axes. This scrolling occurs if the cursor movement switches are
`pressed and the cursor is at the limit of movement in the
`corresponding direction. As seen in Fig. 3, arrows appear on the
`display indicating that further information can be accessed by
`scrolling the display further in the direction of the arrow.
`STATUS. Pressing this button causes the status menu to be
`shown. The column of this display under the heading "CURRENT"
`shows details of the program currently being broadcast on the
`channel selected for viewing. The information displayed includes
`the scheduled time of broadcast, date, channel, title and
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`classification. The status menu also shows a list of programs
`selected for recording. The downward-pointing arrow below the list
`shown in the example of Fig. 4 indicates that there are more items
`selected for recording, and these can be accessed by scrolling the
`display using the downward-pointing cursor control switch.
`QUERY. If this switch is pressed while a menu is being
`displayed, details of the currently cursored broadcast are displayed.
`For example, if a movie is cursored and the "?" switch is pressed, a
`description of the movie is displayed, the text of this description
`having been previously conveyed from the remote transmitter as
`part of the schedule information.
`If the "?" switch is pressed when
`no menu is being displayed, details of the program currently being
`received are displayed.
`As well as responding as described above to commands
`requiring text display as described above, the microprocessor
`performs a number of other major functions.
`These functions are now described with reference to Fig. 1.
`VCR CONTROL. Certain commands received by IR receiver 113,
`in particular those which effect the usual VCR functions such as play,
`stop, channel change, are passed on to the VCR being controlled.
`Because control codes used by different models of VCRs are not
`standardised, the command code required by the VCR will in general
`not be the same as that generated by the corresponding button of IR
`remote 112. To permit use of the invention with a wide range of
`25 VCRs, data representing the control codes required by the particular
`VCR in use is stored within the ROM or RAM of the invention, so that
`when a VCR, control command is to be issued, the corresponding code
`can be looked up and transmitted. Microprocessor 104 maintains a
`VCR status table in RAM 106, which stores data such as television
`channel c~ently being received and VCR transport status such as
`stopped, recording or spooling. This status table is updated each
`time a VCR control command is issued.
`SCHEDULE UPDATE. Data conveying schedule information is
`periodically received by receiver 102. This information is stored in
`35 RAM 106. When the available memory is full, the oldest schedule
`information is discarded.
`-CURRENT PROGRAM IDENTIFICATION. Whenever a change of
`program occurs on one of the available television channels, an
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`identifying signal is received by receiver 102. This signal includes
`data identifying the channel concerned, the classification of the
`program, the name of the program, and such other identifying
`information as may be desired. When an identifying signal is
`recognised by microprocessor 104, it takes different action
`depending on the current status of the VCR (ascertained by
`reference to the status table in memory) and the instructions
`previously issued by the user. The VCR status must be taken into
`account because different commands must be generated depending
`on what the VCR is doing at that moment. For example, if
`advertisements have been prohibited (using the status display) and
`the received identifying signal indicates commencement of an
`advertisement, the microprocessor must ascertain whether the
`channel indicated by the identifying signal is the channel currently
`selected by the VCR's tuner. Because any channel change commands
`previously issued to the VCR by the user have been forwarded to
`the VCR by the invention, the identity of the currently-selected
`channel is always available to the microprocessor.
`In this example,
`if the VCR is tuned to the channel on which a prohibited
`advertisement is in progress, further reference is made to the status
`If it is, a suitable
`table to ascertain whether the VCR is recording.
`"pause" command is issued. When an identifying signal indicates
`that the program being recorded has resumed, the status is again
`checked before issuing a "resume recording" command, in case the
`user has issued a command which has changed the status of the VCR
`in the meantime. Another example of action taken on receipt of a
`current program identification signal is comparison to a list of
`programs selected from the program guide display for recording.
`If
`the current program is identified as one selected for recording, the
`30 VCR status is read and, depending on the current status, the
`commands required to start recording are issued. For example, if
`the VCR is currently tuned to a different channel, "channel up" or
`"channel down" commands are issued as required to select the
`channel to be recorded. Other commands, such as "power on" may
`also be issued if required before the "record" command is issued.
`The functions of this embodiment of the invention are
`implemented by suitable software stored in ROM 107 and executed
`by microprocessor 104. The program required to achieve this can
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`be effectively realised in many different ways well known to those
`skilled in · the art.
`The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present
`invention, and changes, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be
`5 made without departing from the scope of the invention.
`For example, whereas the exemplary embodiment described
`above takes : tlte form of apparatus separate from the video
`recording or ; viewing apparatus, the invention can also be practised
`by including suitable means within a video recorder, television
`receiver or other appliance.
`In such a case, control of the receiving
`or recording, appliance can be effected by suitable connection to the
`control means of the appliance, rather than the infra-red control
`path used . ay the embodiment above .
`It will also be understood that the functions offered to the user
`according to .. the embodiment described above are given by way of
`example only, and other functions can be provided without
`departing fro:tn the scope of the invention. For example, whereas
`the embodiment described causes recording or viewing of the
`classifications not enabled to be inhibited, it is envisaged that other
`options can be provided. For example, the user can instruct that
`advertisements be muted, in which case the invention is arranged so
`that on recei~t of data indicating that an advertisement is being
`received on the channel being viewed, a command is issued to the
`television receiver to cause muting of the sound signal, the sound
`being re-enabled on resumption of program.
`It is also envisaged that the user controls of the invention can be
`incorporated with control of other appliances, for example, by
`incorporating the function switches of the invention into an infra(cid:173)
`red remote control handpiece of another appliance, such as a VCR or
`television receiver.
`According to a . further extension of the invention, program
`identification data within the invention can be used to label tape
`recordings, using the identifying data received by the data receiver
`of the invention to provide the labelling information.
`For example,
`the invention can be arranged to place a suitable code in the vertical
`interval of the video recording so that the name of a program is
`recorded as the program is recorded. This extension permits
`programs recorded on a tape to be identified by name on replay, as
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`well as facilitating automatic location of a program by name. For
`convenience the invention can be further adapted to cause the name
`of a program to be printed legibly, for example on the casing of the
`video cassette on which the corresponding program is recorded.
`5 This can be achieved in practise using a thermal or impact or other
`printing means controlled by the microprocessor or other controller
`of the invention, program identifying data received by the invention
`being caused to be printed as alpha-numeric characters on the
`outside of the video casette, or onto another medium such as an
`adhesive label which can be subsequently affixed to the enclosure of
`the recording or into a catalogue or elsewhere.
`Whereas in the exemplary embodiment recording of selected ·
`programs is initiated and terminated according to correspondence
`between the name of a selected program and the name of the
`currently-broadcast program being received, it is also possible to
`control recording according to the scheduled time of broadcast.
`It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that the
`display functions and other details of the invention described in
`relation to the embodiment above are given by way of example
`only, and that changes to the features offered and particularly to the
`means of interaction with the user can be made without departing
`from the scope and spirit of the invention. For example, whereas
`the television display is used to display information for user
`inspection and switches are used for user control, the invention can
`be practised using any other suitable display means and control
`means, such as a liquid crystal display or touch-activated screen.
`The screen formats shown in the drawings herein are given by way
`of example only and should also not be construed as limiting the
`scop·e of the invention. Furthermore, whereas the exemplary
`embodiment provides a video-modulated RF output which is
`selected for viewing of menus, it is possible to arrange the invention
`so that the requested information is overlaid on the picture of the
`program being viewed.
`It is also envisaged that the method of transmission of data to
`the invention from a remote station need not be by means of a radio
`transmission as used in the exemplary embodiment above. For
`example, the data could be conveyed to the invention by means of a
`signal embedded in the television broadcast, such as a special-
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`purpose subcarrier or vertical-interval signal, or by cable or fibre(cid:173)
`optic conneqtion, or by data transmitted by optical signalling via a
`designated area of a television picture, or by telephone line, or by
`any other data transmission means.
`It is also possible to transmit
`the non-realtime data by means of portable recording medium such
`as floppy disk or optically marked card.
`It is envisaged that the data used by the invention can originate
`from any source without departing from the scope of the invention.
`For example, the data can originate from a central station where a
`person monitors all television channels and transmits identifying
`information to the invention by activating appropriate switches
`controlling a suitably-equipped transmitter. Alternatively, program
`information can be automatically generated using a data-base in
`which detailed programming data is stored in advance.
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`INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
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`The invention provides improved means for controlling the
`operation of video .recording equipment and television receivers.
`one application the invention can be used to select which of a
`number of available broadcast television programs will be recorded
`by a domestic video cassette recorder.
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`CLAIMS
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`1. A method of controlling a video appliance comprising the
`steps of:
`rece1vmg a first signal representative of a television program
`schedule;
`receiving a second signal indicating which television program
`is currently being received;
`converting said first signal into a display of text
`representative of a television program schedule;
`selecting a subset of items of said displayed text;
`causing said selected subset of displayed text to be marked on
`said display;
`and, if said second signal indicates that a television program
`currently being received corresponds to one of said selected
`items;
`causing a video apparatus to be activated.
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`2. A method of controlling a video appliance according to claim
`1 wherein said first signal and said second signal are
`transmitted as part of a broadcast television signal.
`
`3. A method of controlling a video appliance according to claim
`1 wherein said first signal and said second signal are
`transmitted as a data signal independent of a broadcast
`television signal.
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`4. A method of controlling a video appliance according to claim
`2 comprising the further steps of:
`receiving a classification signal indicating the class of program
`being received;
`selecting a set of classifications which are to be prohibited;
`comparing said classification signal to said set of prohibited
`classifications, and, if said classification signal indicates that
`a received program is a member of the set of prohibited
`classificatio