Method and system for home shopping using video-on-demand services

A method for presenting product information to viewers, comprising the steps of:

• receiving requests from the viewers for an on-demand video about a product;
• in response to the received requests, transmitting the on-demand video for presentation to the viewers;
• receiving orders for the product in response to presenting the on-demand video to the viewers;
• determining inventory data for the product that accounts for the received orders;
• and
• sending a notification to at least one of the viewers about the determined inventory data during presentation of the on-demand video to the viewers.

A method for providing a viewer with an opportunity to purchase a product, comprising the steps of:

• receiving a request for a video that comprises an offer to sell the product;
• transmitting the video to a television system in response to receiving the request;
• determining inventory data for the product;
• and
• transmitting the inventory data to the television system, wherein the television system is operable to receive the transmitted video and the transmitted inventory data and to change a presentation of the video based on the inventory data.

A method for presenting content on a television, comprising the steps of:

• in response to a user request, receiving first signals carrying prerecorded video content that comprises a sales presentation;
• receiving second signals carrying dynamic content generated in response to a sales event;
• integrating the dynamic content and the prerecorded video content in response to processing the first signals and the second signals;
• and
• showing the integrated dynamic content and prerecorded video content on the television.

A method for presenting dynamic content during presentation of an on-demand video program, comprising the steps of:

• transmitting a request for the on-demand video program;
• in response to the transmitted request, receiving first signals conveying prerecorded content stored on a machine-readable medium;
• in response to the transmitted request, receiving second signals conveying dynamic content;
• processing the first received signals and the second received signals;
• and
• in response to the processing step, presenting the dynamic content on a video monitor while presenting the prerecorded content on the video monitor.

A method for identifying on-demand videos offering products for sale, comprising the steps of:

• identifying a first plurality of on-demand videos that offer for sale products having a first feature in common;
• identifying a second plurality of on-demand videos that offer for sale products having a second feature in common;
• receiving a request from a remote viewer to identify on-demand videos offering for sale products having a selected one of the first feature and the second feature;
• if the received request is to identify on-demand videos offering for sale products having the first feature, identifying the first plurality of on-demand videos to the remote viewer for access over a communication network;
• and
• if the received request is to identify on-demand videos offering for sale products having the second feature, identifying the second plurality of on-demand videos to the remote viewer for access over the communication network.

A method for providing remote access to a plurality of video segments, each featuring a respective product for sale, comprising the steps of:

• storing the plurality of video segments on a storage medium;
• associating video segment in the plurality of stored video segments with at least one of a plurality of product categories;
• receiving a first electronic message, from a remote site, identifying a selected product category in the plurality of product categories;
• in response to receiving the first electronic message, transmitting to the remote site a list of each video segment in the plurality of video segments that is associated with the identified product category;
• receiving a second electronic message, from the remote site, identifying a selected video segment of the transmitted list;
• and
• in response to receiving the second electronic message, transmitting the selected video segment to a television system at the remote site.