Method and apparatus for creating multimedia electronic mail messages or greeting cards on an interactive receiver
AssigneesSony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
InventorsP. Robert Hsu, Yunie Sonoda, Jesse Ellenbogen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A user composes a multimedia greeting card or multimedia email message by selecting a design template, which has previously been created and stored on the system. The design template contains one or more slots, into which the user may simply drag and drop any desired text, video, or audio data. The user may also edit and add enhancements to the multimedia greeting card or email message. If desired, the user may electronically mail the resulting product to another user.
Claims22
A method for processing multimedia information using an interactive television receiver in a home, the method comprising:
- receiving a command from a user selecting a design template;
- retrieving a file corresponding to the selected template from a memory of an interactive television receiver configured for receiving a broadcast television signal, the interactive television receiver having one master account for each home and at least one user sub-account;
- displaying an image corresponding to the file on a screen of the interactive television receiver;
- receiving a command from a user selecting multimedia data;
- retrieving the multimedia data from a memory of the interactive receiver;
- and
- using the interactive television receiver to map the multimedia data to the template in response to at least one command from the user.
A computer-readable medium containing instructions for processing multimedia information using an interactive television receiver in a home, by:
- receiving a command from a user selecting a design template;
- retrieving a file corresponding to the selected template from a memory of an interactive television receiver configured for receiving a broadcast television signal, the interactive television receiver having one master account for each home and at least one user sub-account;
- displaying an image corresponding to the file on a screen of the interactive receiver;
- receiving a command from a user selecting multimedia data;
- retrieving the multimedia data from a memory of the interactive receiver;
- and
- using the interactive receiver to map the multimedia data to the template in response to at least one command from the user.
An interactive television receiver for processing multimedia information, comprising:
- means for receiving a command from a user selecting a design template;
- means for retrieving a file corresponding to the selected template from a memory of an interactive television receiver configured for receiving a broadcast television signal, the interactive television receiver having one master account for each home and at least one user sub-account;
- means for displaying an image corresponding to the file on a screen of the interactive receiver;
- means for receiving a command from a user selecting multimedia data;
- means for retrieving the multimedia data from a memory of the interactive receiver;
- means for mapping the multimedia data to the template using the interactive receiver in response to at least one command from the user;
- means for generating a multimedia electronic greeting card based on the mapped multimedia data;
- and
- means for transmitting the generated multimedia greeting card via an arbitrary internet service provider having a proprietary server that is compatible with the interactive television receiver.
An apparatus for processing multimedia information, comprising:
- a radio frequency circuit for receiving a standard television broadcast signal;
- a screen for displaying video information from the broadcast signal;
- a memory having program instructions, the memory associated with an interactive television receiver having one master account for each home and at least one user sub-account;
- and
- a processor configured to use the program instructions to perform the steps of:
- receiving a command from a user selecting a design template;
- retrieving a file corresponding to the selected template from the memory;
- displaying an image corresponding to the file on the screen;
- receiving a command from a user selecting multimedia data;
- retrieving the multimedia data from the memory;
- and
- using the interactive television receiver to map the multimedia data to the template in response to at least one command from the user.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.