Method and apparatus for downloading on-screen graphics and captions to a television terminal

Abstract

A method of downloading on-screen graphics and captions to a television terminal for display comprises a system manager computer and data transmission apparatus coupled thereto for transmitting program code, cube definition data and downloadable display commands to the terminal. Manufacturer intervention is minimized in that the system operator scans a graphic image to create a bit map and encodes the bit map into the cube definition data. The system manager also generates display control commands for downloading to the terminal without manufacturer intervention which control when, how long, where and how the graphic image is displayed. In this manner, a system operator may generate a custom screen for display representing their particular logo or service name. Moreover, screen data for different service names are addressably downloaded to different groups of subscribers to the different services. The program code, the cube definition data and the downloadable display commands may be globally or addressably downloaded via in-band video, in-band audio or outband data transmission. The output graphics for display may be accompanied by a predetermined audio signal.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.