Interactive cable television system

In an improved subscriber television reception system adapted for use in an interactive cable television system comprising

• a plurality of subscriber television reception systems, each of said subscriber television reception systems comprising a multichannel television receiver, each of said multichannel television receivers having a plurality of different television reception channels, each of said television reception channels having a different associated communication frequency;
• a cable television subscriber distribution network operatively connected to said plurality of subscriber television reception systems;
• and
• a cable television programming transmission means operatively connected to said subscriber distribution network for providing transmitted television programming thereto, said subscriber distribution networks providing said transmitted television programming to said plurality of subscriber television reception systems, said cable television programming transmission means comprising means for substantially simultaneously providing a multiplexed multi-information television program communication signal along with at least one different regular television program information signal as said transmitted television programming to said subscriber distribution network;
• said multiplexed multi-information television program communication signal comprising a plurality of multi-information packets, each multi-information packet comprising a plurality of simultaneously provided different program information message signals related in real time and content to each other, each of said different program information message signals in said multi-information packet being at a different associated communication frequency different from each other, and different from said television reception channel associated frequencies whereby said different program information message signals in said packet are frequency separated from each other and not directly receivable on said television reception channels;
• said one different regular television program information signal having an associated communication frequency corresponding to a television reception channel frequency and being directly selectably receivable on the corresponding television reception channel;
• each of said multichannel television receivers being capable of independently selectably receiving information on any one of said plurality of different television reception channels dependent on the television reception channel selected;
• the improved comprising a multi-information selection interface means operatively connected between said subscriber distribution network and said multichannel television receiver, said multi-information selection interface means comprising first signal separation means operatively connected to said subscriber distribution network for demultiplexing said multiplexed multi-information television program communication signal and providing a first pass band output signal comprising only said multi-information packets of said frequency separated related different program information message signals, and signal selection means operatively connected to said first signal separation means for receiving said first pass band output signal and selectably converting any one of the associated frequencies of said simultaneously provided frequency separated related different program information message signals into the associated frequency of a designated one of said television reception channels and passing said selected frequency converted one of said simultaneously provided frequency separated related different program information message signals to said multichannel television receiver in said improved subscriber television reception system;
• whereby said improved subscriber television reception system may independently selectably choose between said regular television programming being transmitted on said corresponding television reception channels and said multi-information television programming being received on said designated television reception channel.