Patent ID: 6560777
Filing Date: 2003-05-06
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
In a system that includes a server system and a plurality of client receiver systems that are configured to receive i) broadcast video signals on one or more video channels, and ii) information content downloaded from the server system, a method for updating a plurality of information resources at the plurality of client receiver systems, but doing so in a manner that reduces bandwidth requirements, the method comprising:identifying a plurality of information resources that require updating; of those information resources that require updating, identifying which information resources have a data field that has at least one common attribute shared by at least one other data field of one of the other information resources that require updating; for each common attribute that is shared by at least one other data field, generating a collective resource identifier that exclusively identifies all information resources that share at least one common attribute with one other data field of another information resource; for each collective resource identifier, embedding an enhancement trigger into the broadcast video signal, the enhancement trigger comprising the collective resource identifier and enhancement data to be used to update the common attributes of the information resources; broadcasting, by the broadcast signal source, the video signal; and processing, at one or more of the plurality of client receivers, the enhancement triggers received with the broadcast video signal by updating the common attributes of the information resources with the enhancement data.