Patent ID: 7159230
Filing Date: 2007-01-02
Classification: G08B,H04N

Abstract:
1. A method for providing information contained in an emergency alert message to television viewers, the method comprising: receiving the emergency alert message; determining whether the emergency alert message contains a text message; in response to determining that the emergency alert message contains a text message, converting the text message into a display file and further processing the emergency alert message, wherein the text message conforms to a flexible message format; in response to determining that the emergency alert message does not contain a text message, further processing the emergency alert message without converting the emergency alert message into a display file; determining whether the emergency alert message contains an audio message; in response to determining that the emergency alert message contains an audio message, converting the audio message into an audio file and further processing the emergency alert message, wherein the audio message conforms to the flexible message format; and in response to determining that the emergency alert message does not include an audio message, further processing the emergency alert message without converting the emergency alert message into an audio file, wherein further processing includes creating a digital emergency alert message, wherein the digital emergency alert message is formatted in the flexible message format, the flexible message format facilitating communication of the information contained in the received emergency alert message with any of a plurality of data file formats, and wherein the digital emergency alert message includes information from the received emergency alert message, wherein further processing includes transmitting the digital emergency alert message to a digital subscriber television system, wherein at least a portion of the digital emergency alert message is broadcast by the digital subscriber television system to a plurality of television set-top terminals, wherein the method results in receiving information from a conventional emergency alert message and inputting the at least a portion of the information into a digital subscriber television system.