Patent ID: 6886178
Filing Date: 2005-04-26
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. In a one way broadcast communications network including a broadcasting station for transmitting on a broadcast medium, and a settop decoder coupled to said broadcast medium, said broadcasting station including an Internet access server for retrieving World Wide Web pages in HTML format, said broadcast communications network further including a multi-channel digital television signal formatted into a plurality of MPEG data packets, each of said of said plurality of MPEG data packets being identified by a respective packet identifier, a method for distributing World Wide Web pages over said one way broadcast communications network, said method comprising generating a control map defining the correspondence between the packet identifiers of said MPEG data packets and respective ones of said plurality of stood HTML Web pages; formatting said control map and sad plurality of stored HTML Web pages into MPEG data packets while retaining said HTML format; receiving said MPEG data packets at said settop decoder, said MPEG data packets including said plurality of HTML Web pages and said control map; selecting at said settop decoder, responsive to said control map, at least one of said plurality of HTML Web pages in said HTML format for display, storing World Wide Web pages in HTML format at said broadcasting station to form a plurality of stored HTML Web pages; formatting said plurality of stored HTML Web pages into MPEG data packets while retaining said HTML format; transmitting said MPEG data packets in said digital television signal over said one way broadcast communications network; receiving said MPEG data packets at said settop decoder, said MPEG data packets including said plurality of HTML Web pages; selecting at said settop decoder, at least one of said received plurality of HTML Web pages in said HTML format for display, wherein said control map further comprises a first table and a second table, said method further comprising: transmitting said first table in an MPEG data packet corresponding to a predetermined packet identifier; and transmitting said second table in an MPEG data packet having a packet identifier specified in said first table.