Transaction based interactive television system

An interactive presentation system comprising:

• means for receiving interactive data which includes commands and event specific data as needed throughout a presentation of a first event having one or more aspects which make up the first event, in accordance with specific requirements of any particular said aspect of the first event and as needed immediately before or during the presentation of said particular aspect, such that a participant need only be tuned to said particular aspect and not from the beginning of the first event in order to participate in said particular aspect;
• means for storing the event specific data;
• and
• means for acting responsive to the commands in order to use the event specific data stored by the storing means to allow the participant to interact with said particular aspect of the first event of the presentation.

An interactive presentation system comprising:

• means for receiving interactive data such that when a participant chooses to participate in a first event said interactive data includes a first set of commands and first event specific data, and when the participant chooses to participate in a second event said interactive data includes a second set of commands and second event specific data;
• means, in communication with the means for receiving, for storing interactive data in programmer tables and for updating the programmer tables in response to the interactive data;
• said programmer tables defined such that interactive data is only received as needed and said first event can be interleaved with said second event while maintaining interactivity with each of said first and second events;
• and
• means, in response to said interactive data and the programming tables, for presenting transactions such that when the participant chooses to participate in the first event the transactions presented are in association with the first event, and when the participant chooses to participate in the second event the transactions presented are in association with the second event;
• wherein, said participant can change between the first event and the second event throughout the first event and the second event, thereby interleaving the first event with the second event and interleaving the transactions presented in association with the first event with the transactions presented in association with the second event while maintaining interactivity with each of said first and second events.

An interactive presentation system comprising;

• means for constructing interactive data which is relevant to each aspect of one or more aspects which when taken together comprise an event of an interactive presentation such that said interactive data relevant to said each aspect is selfcontained and does not rely on said interactive for a previous-in-time aspect of the event;
• means for sending said interactive data synchronized with [the] said each aspect to which it relates to a participant such that the interactive data for said each aspect is received immediately before or during the presentation of said each aspect so that the participant need not be tuned to the event from the beginning of the event in order to interact with [the] said each aspect to which the participant is presently tuned;
• and
• means for the participant to receive the interactive data relevant to said each aspect of said event immediately before or during when said each aspect is being presented and interact with the interactive data and [the] said aspect of the event, so that the participant does not need to receive any interactive data relevant to prior aspects of the event.

A method of broadcasting an interactive presentation comprising the steps of:

• broadcasting a first event and one or more aspects of the first event;
• broadcasting interactive data which is relevant to each aspect of the first event such that said interactive data relevant to said each aspect is self-contained and does not rely on said interactive data for previous-in-time aspects of the first event;
• and
• said broadcasting step including the step of sending said interactive data synchronized with said each aspect to which it relates to a participant such that the interactive data for said each aspect is received immediately before or during the presentation of said each aspect so that the participant need not be tuned to the beginning of said first event in order to interact with said each aspect to which the participant is presently tuned.

A method for receiving an interactive presentation comprising the steps of:

• receiving interactive data which includes commands and event specific data as needed throughout a first event having one or more aspects which make up the first event, in accordance with specific requirements of any particular aspect of the first event and as needed immediately before or during the presentation of said any particular aspect, such that a a participant need not be tuned to the first event from the beginning of the first event in order to participate in said any particular aspect;
• storing the event specific data;
• and
• acting responsive to the commands in order to use the event specific data stored by the storing means to allow the participant to interact with said any particular aspect of the first event of the presentation.