# US 2014/0208367 A1 · Television chat system

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- Number: US 2014/0208367 A1
- Document ID: US20140208367A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/222,489
- Filed: 2014-03-21
- Published: 2014-07-24
- Earliest claimed: 1998-08-26
- Assignees: United Video Properties, Inc.
- Applicants: United Video Properties, Inc.
- Inventors: Toby DeWeese; Pamela L. McKissick; William L. Thomas; Michael D. Ellis
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140208367A1

## CPC

- H04N 21/4788: communicating with other users, e.g. chatting {(arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104)}
- H04L 12/1818: {Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties}
- H04N 7/147: {Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals (selecting H04Q)}
- H04N 7/17318: {Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests}
- H04N 21/2408: {Monitoring of the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. client requests (monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60)}
- H04N 21/254: Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server {(arrangements for maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00; network services using third party service providers H04L67/53)}
- H04N 21/2665: Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
- H04N 21/4223: Cameras (H04N23/00 takes precedence)
- H04N 21/431: Generation of visual interfaces {for content selection or interaction}; Content or additional data rendering
- H04N 21/4316: {for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window}
- H04N 21/454: Content {or additional data} filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
- 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)}
- H04N 21/4751: {for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children}
- H04N 21/4755: {for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre (retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306)}
- H04N 21/4756: {for rating content, e.g. scoring a recommended movie}
- H04N 21/4758: {for providing answers, e.g. voting}
- H04N 21/4782: Web browsing {, e.g. WebTV}
- H04N 21/4786: e-mailing {(message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00)}
- H04N 21/632: {using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices (broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104)}
- H04N 21/6581: {Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application}
- H04N 21/812: {involving advertisement data (advertising per se G06Q30/02)}
- H04N 21/8173: {End-user applications, e.g. Web browser, game}
- 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)}
- H04N 21/8545: for generating interactive applications
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)

## Abstract

A television chat system is provided that allows television viewers to engage in real-time communications in chat groups with other television viewers while watching television. Users of the television chat system may engage in real-time communications with other users who are currently watching the same television program or channel. The system allows real-time communications in a chat group to be transmitted between users at user television equipment devices via a television distribution facility. The television chat system of the present invention permits users to join chat groups related to television programs, channels, or categories of programs that the user may be interested in. Real-time communications may be textual messages, audio communications, or video communications.

## Claims

### Claim at position 1

1-20. (canceled)

### Claim 21

A method comprising:
receiving, from a first device, an indication of a program from a first user;
in response to the receiving the indication, generating a message related to the indicated program and a selectable option that enables a second user to access the indicated program; and
transmitting to a second device of the second user the message and the selectable option, wherein the message is displayed together with the selectable option on the second device.

### Claim 22 (depends on 21)

The method of claim 21, wherein the message comprises a title of the indicated program.

### Claim 23 (depends on 21)

The method of claim 21, wherein the second device is configured to display the indicated program in response to receiving a selection of the selectable option.

### Claim 24 (depends on 21)

The method of claim 21, further comprising enabling the second user to access the indicated program in response to receiving a selection of the selectable option.

### Claim 25 (depends on 21)

The method of claim 21, further comprising generating for display the indicated program on the second device.

### Claim 26 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the message and the selectable option to be displayed together on the second device to the second user.

### Claim 27

A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions thereon, the instructions comprising:
instructions to receive, from a first device, an indication of a program from a first user;
instructions to generate a message related to the indicated program and a selectable option that enables a second user to access the indicated program in response to the receiving the indication; and
instructions to transmit to a second device of the second user the message and the selectable option, wherein the message is displayed together with the selectable option on the second device.

### Claim 28 (depends on 27)

The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the message comprises a title of the indicated program.

### Claim 29 (depends on 27)

The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the second device is configured to display the indicated program in response to receiving a selection of the selectable option.

### Claim 30 (depends on 27)

The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 27, further comprising instructions to enable the second user to access the indicated program in response to receiving a selection of the selectable option.

### Claim 31 (depends on 27)

The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 27, further comprising instructions to generate for display the indicated program on the second device.

### Claim 32 (depends on 27)

The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 27, further comprising instructions to generate the message and the selectable option to be displayed together on the second device to the second user.

### Claim 33

A method comprising:
receiving, responsive to input from a first user at a first device, information associated with a program, wherein the information is based on input from a second user at a second device;
in response to the receiving the information associated with the program, generating a display related to the program, wherein the display comprises a selectable option that enables the first user to access the program;
receiving an indication that the first user has selected the selectable option; and
in response to the receiving the indication, enabling the first user to access the program at the first device.

### Claim 34 (depends on 33)

The method of claim 33, wherein the display comprises a title of the program.

### Claim 35 (depends on 33)

The method of claim 33, wherein the first device is configured to display the program in response to receiving a selection of the selectable option.

### Claim 36 (depends on 33)

The method of claim 33, further comprising enabling the first user to access the program in response to receiving a selection of the selectable option.

### Claim 37 (depends on 33)

The method of claim 33, further comprising generating the program for display on the first device.

### Claim 38

A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions thereon, the instructions comprising:
instructions to receive, responsive to input from a first user at a first device, information associated with a program, wherein the information is based on input from a second user at a second device;
instructions to generate a display related to the program in response to the receiving the information associated with the program, wherein the display comprises a selectable option that enables the first user to access the program;
instructions to receive an indication that the first user has selected the selectable option; and
instructions to enable the first user to access the program at the first device in response to the receiving the indication.

### Claim 39 (depends on 38)

The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 38, wherein the display comprises a title of the program.

### Claim 40 (depends on 38)

The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 38, wherein the first device is configured to display the program in response to receiving a selection of the selectable option.

### Claim 41 (depends on 38)

The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 38, further comprising instructions to enable the first user to access the program in response to receiving a selection of the selectable option.

### Claim 42 (depends on 38)

The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 38, further comprising instructions to generate the program for display on the first device.