Patent ID: 6160545
Filing Date: 2000-12-12
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
A method for delivering interactive program guide (IPG) data to at least a first subscriber terminal population in a first local communication plant that receives corresponding local programming services therefrom, and a second subscriber terminal population in a second local communication plant that receives corresponding local programming services therefrom, wherein said first and second subscriber terminal populations also receive global programming services via a global communication plant, comprising the steps of:providing first IPG identifiers to said first subscriber terminal population to assign the subscriber terminals thereof to a first IPG region;providing second IPG identifiers to said second subscriber terminal population to assign the subscriber terminals thereof to a second IPG region;providing the IPG data to the first and second subscriber terminal populations via the global communication plant;wherein the IPG data includes at least: (a) global data that provides information regarding the global programming services, (b) first local data that provides information regarding the local programming services of the first local communication plant, and (c) second local data that provides information regarding the local programming services of the second local communication plant;at each subscriber terminal in the first and second subscriber terminal populations, recovering the global data from the IPG data provided thereto;at each subscriber terminal in the first subscriber terminal population, filtering the IPG data in accordance with the first IPG identifier to recover the first local data, while ignoring at least the second local data; andat each subscriber terminal in the second subscriber terminal population, filtering the IPG data in accordance with the second IPG identifier to recover the second local data, while ignoring at least the first local data.