A video-on-demand application server system comprising one or more computers and computer-readable memory operatively connected to the one or more computers of the video-on-demand application server system, and programmed to perform at least the following steps:
- (a) receiving, by the video-on-demand application server system from a Web-based
- content management system, first video-on-demand application-readable metadata associated with first video content and usable to generate a templatized video-on-demand content menu,
- wherein the first video-on-demand application-readable metadata comprises:
- (1) first title information comprising a first title;
- and
- (2) first category information and first subcategory information to specify a hierarchical location of the first title information for the video content in a templatized video-on-demand content menu;
- wherein the first video content and the first video-on-demand application-readable metadata was previously uploaded, via the Internet, to the Web-based content management system;
- (b) generating, by the video-on-demand application server system, video-on-demand content menu information data, including at least the first video-on-demand application-readable metadata associated with the first video content and configured to populate the templatized video-on-demand content menu;
- wherein the templatized video-on-demand content menu includes one or more templates with at least the following layers:
- i. a first layer comprising a background screen to provide at least one of a basic color, logo, or graphical theme to display,
- ii. a second layer layered on the first layer comprising one or more reserved areas that are reserved for displaying content provided by a different layer,
- iii. a third layer layered on the second layer comprising reserved area content generated using at least some of the first video-on-demand application-readable metadata;
- (c) sending, via a broadband connection, from the video-on-demand application server system to an interactive application stored in non-volatile memory on a subscriber device associated with a subscriber of a video-on-demand system, the generated video-on-demand content menu information data,
- wherein the interactive application generates for display by the subscriber device a templatized video-on-demand content menu by populating the one or more templates using the generated video-on-demand content menu information data received from the video-on-demand application server system;
- (d) receiving, via the broadband connection, by the video-on-demand application server system from the interactive application, an electronic request for the first video content associated with the first title selected for display by the subscriber device in response to the subscriber selecting, via the subscriber device, the first title associated with the first video content from the hierarchically-arranged first category information and first subcategory information of the templatized video-on-demand content menu;
- (e) causing, by the video-on-demand application server system, the first video content to be transmitted via the broadband connection from a video server to the subscriber device for display by the subscriber device,
- wherein the first video content was received by the video server from Web-based content management system after being uploaded, via the Internet, to the Web-based content management system.