Reprogrammable subscriber terminal

A reprogrammable subscriber terminal for a subscription television system which provides a plurality of information sources to the terminal, comprising:

• means for providing over one of said plurality of information sources a download program code parameters transaction, said download code parameters transaction including information identifying a selected one of said plurality of information sources on which new program code will be transmitted;
• a processor for controlling said providing means, said processor including a first memory which stores a boot program and a memory bus defining a memory space larger than said first memory;
• a second memory connected to said memory bus which is defined in said memory space for storing said new program code for the control program of said processor, said control program operative for controlling predetermined features of the subscriber terminal;
• and
• said processor under regulation of said boot program operative for causing said providing means to download said new program code from said selected one of said plurality of information sources into said second memory.

In a subscription television system having a plurality of channels in which signals are transmitted to subscriber terminals, a method of downloading program code to modify the control program of a subscriber terminal, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing in the subscriber terminal a first memory and a second memory;
• storing in said first memory a boot code program operative for downloading new program code for the subscriber terminal into said second memory;
• activating said boot code program in response to a predetermined condition;
• providing over one of said plurality of channels a download program code parameters transaction to the subscriber terminal, said download program code parameters transaction including a destination in said second memory for said new program code and a selected one of said plurality of channels on which said new program code will be transmitted;
• and
• said boot code program operative for receiving said new program code in said selected one of said plurality of channels and storing said new program code in said second memory.

A reprogrammable subscriber terminal for a subscription television system having a plurality of channels in which signals are transmitted to subscriber terminals, said reprogrammable subscriber terminal comprising:

• a tuner for tuning to one of a plurality of channels;
• a control microprocessor;
• a first memory and a second memory;
• and
• a boot code program for said control microprocessor stored in said first memory executed in response to a predetermined condition,
• said boot code program operative for:
• receiving a download program code parameters transaction over one of said plurality of channels, said download program code parameters transaction including a destination in said second memory for new program code and a selected one of said plurality of channels on which said new program code will be transmitted;
• tuning said tuner to said selected one of said plurality of channels identified in said download program code parameters transaction;
• receiving said new program code in said selected one of said plurality of channels;
• and
• storing said new program code in said second memory.