US 6,002,394 AGranted

Systems and methods for linking television viewers with advertisers and broadcasters

AssigneeStarsight Telecast, Inc.

InventorsSteven M. Schein, Sean A. O'Brien, James Jay Leftwich, Susan Broughton

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Abstract

The present invention provides systems and methods for providing television schedule information to a viewer, and for allowing the viewer to link, search, select and interact with information in a remote database, e.g., a database on the internet. The television schedule information can be displayed on a variety of viewer interfaces, such as televisions screens, computer monitors, PCTV screens and the like. The television schedule information may be stored on the viewer's computer, television, PCTV, or a remote server (e.g., a website), or the television schedule information may be downloaded from a remote database to the viewer's computer, television or PCTV.

Claims19

Dependent claims

An interactive television system having a display screen comprising:

means for storing television schedule information including television program titles;
means for displaying some of the schedule information including television program titles on the screen;
means for selecting one of the displayed television program titles;
a plurality of Internet data sources, each data source having a unique address;
means responsive to the television program title selecting means for searching the Internet to identify one or more data sources from the plurality of Internet data sources having data contextually related to the selected television program title;
means for selecting a data source from the one or more identified data sources having data contextually related to the selected television program title;
means responsive to the data source selecting means for establishing a link to the selected data source according to the unique address of the selected data source;
means for searching the linked data source for the data contextually related to the selected television program title;
and
means for displaying the data from the linked data source on the screen.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/837,078Filed 11 Apr 1997 · continuation in part
Priority: 2 Oct 1995
Granted: 14 Dec 1999
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification37 codes

H04N 21/4435
OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB: memory management
H04N 5/782
Using magnetic recording: on tape
H04N 7/08
Television systems: systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information…
H04N 7/0884
The inserted signal being digital: for the transmission of additional display-information, e.g. menu for programme or channel selection