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US 5,874,985 AGranted
Message delivery method for interactive televideo system
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorJoseph H. Matthews, III
Life of this patent
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AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorJoseph H. Matthews, III
Estimating the term…
The present invention includes a method of selectively delivering programming to a viewer station (e.g., a home) on an interactive television or televideo (IT) system. The method includes delivering a message to a selected viewer station having a selected video display set. The message may be delivered while the selected viewer station receives virtually any programming over the interactive televideo system, including selected programming that is chosen by a viewer at the selected viewer station and is carried on a selected programming channel. With reference to a preferred embodiment, the IT system transmits a message signal to the selected viewer station on a communication channel different from the channels carrying the programming, including the selected programming channel. The interactive station controller receives the message signal and generates from it a viewer message.
In an interactive televideo system having a central control node in bidirectional communication with plural viewer stations that include video display sets operably coupled to interactive controllers, the central control node delivering programming over multiple channels to plural viewer stations and receiving information from the interactive station controllers, a selected viewer station having a selected interactive station controller and receiving selected programming on a selected programming channel and rendering the selected programming on a selected video display set, a method of delivering a message to the selected viewer station, comprising:
In an interactive televideo system having a central control node in bidirectional communication with plural viewer stations that include video display sets operably coupled to interactive station controllers, the central control node delivering programming over multiple channels to the plural viewer stations and receiving information from the interactive station controllers, a method of delivering a message to a selected viewer station having a selected video display set and a selected interactive station controller, comprising:
In an interactive televideo system having a central node in bidirectional communication with plural viewer stations that include video display sets operably coupled to interactive station controllers, the central control node delivering programming over multiple channels to the plural viewer stations and receiving information from the interactive station controllers, a method of delivering a message to plural selected viewer stations having selected video display sets and selected interactive controllers, comprising:
In an interactive televideo system having a central control node in bidirectional communication with plural viewer stations that include video display sets operably coupled to interactive station controllers, the central control node delivering programming over multiple channels to the plural viewer stations and receiving information from the interactive station controllers, a memory associated with each of selected interactive station controllers coupled to selected video display sets, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.