US 5,027,400 AGranted

Multimedia bidirectional broadcast system

AssigneeHitachi, Ltd.

InventorsToru Baji, Yukio Nakano, Shiro Tanabe, Tetsuya Nakagawa, Hirotsugu Kojima

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Abstract

A multimedia bidirectional broadcast system including a broadcast station and subscriber terminals. The broadcast station includes a main control unit having therein a data base control table in which program and commerical down load sequences are recorded depending on a setting effected by a subscriber, a motion picture program data base, a commerical data base, a program transmitter for effecting accesses and transmissions of transmission programs onto transmission lines based on the setting of the main control unit, a commercial transmitter for accessing the commerical data base and for transmitting content thereof based on the setting of the main control unit, an image encoder for achieving a bandwidth compression on a video signal, a cell assembler for processing data to be transmitted onto a broadband transmission line so as to generate a cell of the data, and an asynchronous transfer mode exchange for delivering the cell to a subscriber system associated therewith. Each of the subscriber systems includes a network terminal, a terminal control unit, a decoder to decode the compressed video signal, and a television monitor.

Claims47

Dependent claims

A multimedia bidirectional broadcast system comprising:

(a) a broadcast station including:
a main control unit having therein data base control table in which program and commercial down load sequences are recorded depending on a setting effected by a subscriber;
a motion picture program data base;
a commercial data base;
a program transmitter for accessing said motion picture program data base and transmitting content thereof based on the setting of said main control unit;
a commercial transmitter for accessing said commercial date base and for transmitting content thereof based on the setting of said main control unit;
an image encoder for achieving a bandwidth compression on video signals from said program and said commercial transmitters;
a cell assembler for processing data to be transmitted onto a broadband transmission line so as to generate a cell of the data from said image encoder;
and
an asynchronous transfer mode exchange for delivering the cell to a subscriber system associated therewith;
(b) transmission lines, one end of each of which is connected with said broadcast station;
and
(c) subscriber systems, each including:
a network terminal connected with the other end of the corresponding transmission line, receiving the cell;
a decoder connected with the network terminal, decoding the cell;
a program buffer for storing program video signals obtained from said decoder;
a commercial buffer for storing commercial video signals obtained from said decoder;
a mixer for effecting a change-over operation between the program video signals and the commercial video signals;
and
a television monitor for displaying the video signals from the mixer.

17 more elements

A multimedia bidirectional broadcast system comprising:

(a) a broadcast station including:
a main control unit for transmitting an identification code of a subscriber system and for issuing information to be employed to descramble a control signal and broadcast data of a video recorder in the subscriber system, said main control unit having therein data base control table in which program and commercial down load sequences are recorded depending on a setting effected by a subscriber;
a motion picture data base;
a commercial data base;
a program transmitter for accessing said motion picture program data base and transmitting content thereof based on the setting of said main control unit;
a commercial transmitter for accessing said commercial data base and for transmitting content thereof based on the setting of said main control unit;
and
a modulator/mixer distributor connected with said program and said commercial transmitters, processing data to be transmitted onto a transmission line;
(b) transmission lines, one end of each of which is connected with the broadcast station;
and
(c) subscriber systems each including:
a directional filter for separating the control signal from data transmitted from said broadcast station;
a receiver connected with said directional filter for receiving program and commercial data;
a video storage and retrieval means for storing and retrieving the program and commercial data;
and
a terminal control unit which controls said video storage and retrieval means to display the program and commercial data on a television monitor using said control signal.

13 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 07/394,786Filed 16 Aug 1989
Priority: JP 63-20472119 Aug 1988
Granted: 25 Jun 1991
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification14 codes

H04H 60/31
Arrangements for monitoring broadcast services or broadcast-related services: arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
H04H 20/28
Arrangements for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast: arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
H04H 20/76
Arrangements characterised by transmission systems for broadcast: wired systems
H04N 7/173
Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems: with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal