METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION REGARDING OBJECTS IN A VIDEO STREAM

Abstract: A method and system for providing a signal including selectively providing supplemental information regarding one or more objects contained within the signal. A signal to be transmitted is received, and map references for objects within the first signal is created. Supplemental information for mapped objects is captured. The first signal, the map and the supplemental information are transmitted to a receiver capable of receiving and reproducing the signal and the supplemental information and interpreting the map. Upon receipt, the signal is reproduced and the map is interpreted. Selection of a map reference causes the supplemental information associated with the selected object reference to be displayed.

Description: METHOD AND APPARATUS FORPROVIDING SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION REGARDING OBJECTS IN AVIDEO SYSTEM FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to the field of information handling systems, and particularly to utilization of broadcast information with an information handling system. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Traditional broadcast media such as radio and television have since their inception provided only non-interactive, serially transmitted information. The user would tune a receiving unit to the channel on which the information was broadcast and passively accept whatever information or programming the broadcaster decided to send. The only choice or participation a user had over received information was to choose among one or more simultaneously broadcast parallel signals on different stations, or to turn off the receiver. The user had no control over the content of the information, and no additional information was transmitted along with the broadcast information other than the core program itself. The limitations of traditional broadcast media were due largely to the limited state of broadcast and information handling technology, and due to limited broadcast resources such as spectrum occupation and channel licensing by government agencies. Traditional broadcast media receivers merely decode the incoming signal and unselectively reproduce whatever information the signal contains . However, advances in broadcasting and information processing technology have resulted in the capability to process broadcast signals far beyond the capabilities of traditional broadcast media systems. For example, television signals may be transmitted as digital -encoded signals rather than as analog- encoded information. Further, signal multiplexing, data compression and other information processing algorithms allow for multiple signals to be transmitted in a single broadcast channel. Additional processing power beyond that provided by traditional analog systems is required to perform such information processing techniques. As a result, the traditional television and the information handling system are being conceptually converged into a single unit so that the television receiver may take advantage of the information processing capabilities of the information handling system. This is exemplified in the development of such standards as the Broadcast PC architecture developed by LSI Logic of Milpitas, California in conjunction with Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, California and Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington, that define how an information handling system receives and processes broadcast media signals. During the reception of broadcast media signals such as a television program, it is often desirable to determine information about an object or a subject contained within the broadcast signal. For example, while watching a television program about ocean liners, a user may desire to know specific information about a particular ship displayed as part of the program such as the name of the ship, country of registration, owner, etc. With traditional broadcast technology, the user would find out that specific information only if the producer of the show thought it was relevant to the show or of interest to all viewers and included the information as a part of the program. It would be highly desirable to provide a method and system that would allow a user to obtain content specific information about objects or subjects in a broadcast program as the user desires without necessarily providing that information to all users if they do not so desire. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a method for providing a signal including selectively providing supplemental information regarding an object contained within the signal. In one embodiment, the method includes steps for providing a signal to be transmitted, the signal having one or more objects, creating a map having a reference for each of the one or more objects within the signal, encoding within the map an association between each reference and supplemental information regarding H ua H μ H CD C H co rt rt Ω μ SD TJ Ω rt H. CD O TJ en cn T. H Hi μ cn rt y- t. Hi CD CD CD P CD P P X CD rt μ P' tr O P P o O Hi CD CD μ P Hi μ C Hi tr CD P μ tr CD μ CD μ SD <! P Ω <! CD n ID. CD CD 3 < Ch ii μ SD SD T. iQ CD 0 CQ TJ 0 CD TJ rt CQ CD SD rt Ω Lr CQ Ω π> CD ς: 0 CD 3 Ω μ P TJ CD rt P P CD Hi P < P J <. Hi CD P CO tr CD 0 P ^ P H. CQ P T Hi CO SD l-h Hi i P rr μ Ω CQ rt CD SD O D y- y μ • a 0 Hi SD 3 rt μ μ Ch SD rr S rt TJ rt h- ' H μ μ y- y rt H. 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Ii Ω tr C - y 3 Ch CD rt IQ Ω CQ Hi CD Ch ^ CQ Ch Ch rt TJ CQ 0 ϋ SD P J CD CD CD CD Ch Ω CD rt tr 0 Ch CQ c y- y SD CO SD l- rt μ CD tr P CD Ch TJ SD tr SD Hi Hi CD rt Ω P μ P rt s: H 0 ) 0 <! Hi Ω rt μ CD SD CD SD rt X 0 y- y tr CD CQ P Hi 0 tr rt H 0 Hi CD μ O rt - CQ Hi ii μ Hi CD CD Ch CD 0 rt CD t rt P CD Ch H Ch tr P μ rt rt SD en y- y rt Ω rt Ch Hi tr CD tr rt μ rt SD P μ O rt tr ft SD tr tr rt P rt tr y- y CD SD CD P CD Hi rt CD Ch tr rt Ch Ch " - y P rt tr SD CD CD rt BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The numerous advantages of the present invention may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures ' in which: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information handling system operable to embody the present invention; FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams of a signal and supplemental information regarding objects of the signal in accordance with the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method for selectively providing supplemental information regarding an object of a signal; and FIGS. 5A and 5B are a block diagram and a signal plot, respectively, of the generation and transmission of an image map in accordance with the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing. Referring now to FIG. 1, a hardware system in accordance with the present invention is shown. The hardware system shown in FIG. 1 is generally representative of the hardware architecture of an information handling system of the present invention. A central processor 102 controls the information handling system 100. Central processor 102 includes a central processing unit such as a microprocessor or microcontroller for executing programs, performing data manipulations and controlling the tasks of information handling system 100. Communication with central processor 102 is implemented through a system bus 110 for transferring information among the components of information handling system 100. Bus 110 may include a data channel for facilitating information transfer between storage and other peripheral components of information handling system 100. Bus 110 further provides the set of signals required for communication with central processor 102 including a data bus, address bus, and control bus. Bus 110 may comprise any state of the art bus architecture according to promulgated standards, for example industry standard architecture (ISA) , extended industry standard architecture (EISA) , Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) , peripheral component interconnect (PCI) local bus, standards promulgated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) including IEEE 488 general -purpose interface bus (GPIB) , IEEE 696/S-100, and so on. Furthermore, bus 110 may be compliant with any promulgated industry standard. Other components of information handling system 100 include main memory 104, auxiliary memory 106, and an auxiliary processor 108 as required. Main memory 104 provides storage of instructions and data for programs executing on central processor 102. Main memory 104 is typically semiconductor based memory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and or static random access memory (SRAM) . Auxiliary memory 106 provides storage of instructions and data that are loaded into the main memory 104 before execution. Auxiliary memory 106 may include semiconductor based memory such as read-only memory (ROM) , programmable read-only memory (PROM) erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) , electrically erasable read-only memory (EEPROM) , or flash memory (block oriented memory similar to EEPROM) . Auxiliary memory 106 may also include a variety of non-semiconductor based memories, including but not limited to magnetic tape, drum, floppy disk, hard disk, optical, laser disk, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk read-only memory (DVD-ROM) , digital versatile disk random-access memory (DVD-RAM), etc. Other varieties of memory devices are contemplated as well. Information handling system 100 may optionally include an auxiliary processor 108 which may be a digital signal processor (a special -purpose microprocessor having an architecture suitable for fast execution of signal processing algorithms) , a back-end processor (a slave processor subordinate to the main processing system) , an additional microprocessor or controller for dual or multiple processor systems, or a coprocessor. Information handling system 100 further includes a display system 112 for connecting to a display device 114, and an input/output (I/O) system 116 for connecting to one or more I/O devices 118, 120 up to N number of I/O devices 122. Display system 112 may comprise a video display adapter having all of the components for driving the display device, including video random access memory (VRAM) , buffer, and graphics engine as desired. Display device 114 may comprise a cathode ray-tube (CRT) type display such as a monitor or television, or may comprise alternative type of display technologies such as a liquid-crystal display (LCD) , a light-emitting diode (LED) display, or a gas or plasma display. Input/output system 116 may comprise one or more controllers or adapters for providing interface functions between one or more of I/O devices 118-122. For example, input/output system 116 may comprise a serial port, parallel port, infrared port, network adapter, printer adapter, radio- frequency (RF) communications adapter, universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) port, etc., for interfacing between corresponding I/O devices such as a mouse, joystick, trackball, trackpad, trackstick, infrared transducers, printer, modem, RF modem, bar code reader, charge- coupled device (CCD) reader, scanner, compact disc (CD) , compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , digital versatile disc (DVD) , video capture device, touch screen, stylus, electroacoustic transducer, microphone, speaker, etc. Input/output system 116 and I/O devices 118-122 may provide or receive analog or digital signals for communication between information handling system 100 of the present invention and external devices, networks, or information sources. Input/output system 116 and I/O devices 118- 122 preferably implement industry promulgated architecture standards, including Recommended Standard 232 (RS-232) promulgated by the Electrical Industries Association, Infrared Data Association (IrDA) standards, Ethernet IEEE 802 standards (e.g., IEEE 802.3 for broadband and baseband networks, IEEE 802.3z for Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.4 for token passing bus networks, IEEE 802.5 for token ring networks, IEEE 802.6 for metropolitan area networks, 802.11 for wireless networks, and so on), Fibre Channel, digital subscriber line (DSL), asymmetric digital subscriber line (ASDL) , frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) , integrated digital services network (ISDN) , personal communications services (PCS) , transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) , serial line Internet protocol/point to point protocol (SLIP/PPP) , and so on. It should be appreciated that modification or reconfiguration of information handling system 100 of FIG. 1 by one having ordinary skill in the art would not depart from the scope or the spirit of the present invention. Referring now to FIG. 2, a signal reproduced on a display of an information handling system utilizing the method and apparatus of the present invention is shown. The invention shown in FIG. 2 provides an advance over navigation between hyperlinked data or multiplexed signals. With the present invention, unlike with hyperlinked data, two or more signals are transmitted simultaneously from a common transmission source. Information in a first signal is transmitted simultaneously with information transmitted in a second signal. The first signal is the main signal and the second signal is an auxiliary signal containing supplemental information regarding an object, word or item contained within the first, main signal. The signals are combined into a total signal in which the second signal is integrated within the first signal. In normal operation, when the first signal is received, the content may be displayed on a display while the content of the second signal is not displayed. When an object contained within the first signal is selected, e.g., with a cursor control device by placing a cursor coincident with the object, the content of the second signal may be displayed, either separately from the content of the first signal, or alternatively combined with the content of the first signal on a single display. In the event the first and second signals are simultaneously displayed on a display, the content of both signals may be strategically designed not to be mutually interfering on the display. For example, if the second signal contained a text formatted description of an object of the first signal, the text of the second signal would by integrated into the first signal such that the text does not overlay the object to prevent obstruction of its view. Thus, it can be seen that the present invention differs from traditional hypermedia content navigation. As shown in FIG. 2, a total signal 200 is transmitted to information handling system 100 for reproduction of the information contained in the signal. A first or main signal 210, contained within total signal 200, may be a program intended to be viewed by a user of information handling system 100. Main signal 210 may be considered the crux or core of the program intended to be received and viewed by all receivers of total signal 200. Information handling system 100 of FIG. 1 may receive signal 200 via input/output system 116 to be processed by central processor 102 as required and sent to display system 112 for being displayed on display 114. For example, signal 200 may be a television signal broadcast through the atmosphere or broadcast via a network such as the Internet, for example. In the case where signal 200 is broadcast through the atmosphere, signal 200 may be an analog National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) compliant signal or a digital or high-definition television (HDTV) signal. In the case where signal 200 is broadcast via a network such as the Internet, signal 200 may be in compliance with the Broadcast PC architecture promulgated by Intel Corporation. Main signal 210 may be displayed on display 114 of information handling system 100, the content of which being an image, for example. An object contained in main signal 210 may be considered a portion, subportion, image, shape, collection, or sentence, or the like, such as object 212. Another object 214 may also appear in sentence 212 that may be of interest to a user of information handling system 100. User of information handling system 100 may operate a cursor control device to select word or phrase 214 of sentence 212 in a manner similar to navigation of a hyperlinked, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) or Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) type document by utilizing a browser type interface over a network of information handling systems such as the World Wide Web. A significant difference between navigation of a hyperlinked document and the present invention resides in the fact that with the present invention, a second signal 216 is broadcast simultaneously or in conjunction with main signal 210, but not with hyperlinked documents. Furthermore, the present invention differs from mere channel switching between different broadcast channels since second signal 216 is related to main signal 210. Thus, when main signal 210 is transmitted to a receiver information handling system 100, second signal 216 is simultaneously transmitted with main signal 210. Main signal 210 and second signal 216 together comprise total signal 200. Further included in total signal 200 is linking information associated with object 212 or 214. The linking information may comprise a map of main signal 210 such that the relative or coordinate position of an object 212 or 214 may be interpreted or determined. When total signal 200 is received and decoded or interpreted by information handling system 100, main signal 210 is reproduced or displayed. A user of information handling system 100 may optionally select to receive or view second signal 216 by selecting object 214 with a cursor control device utilized to control information handling system 100 such that a cursor may be positioned by the user at selected positions of the image of main signal 210 as the image is displayed on display 114. When the coordinate position of the cursor correlates with the relative position of object 214 as determined by the linking information, information handling system 100 selectively receives second signal 216 such that the information contained within second signal 216 is reproduced or displayed. Through further actuation of the cursor control device, e.g., by selecting object 218 of second signal 216, the user may subsequently optionally revert to receiving main signal 210. As can be seen from FIG. 2, one or more objects contained within main signal 210 may be mapped and linked to one or more supplemental signals such as second signal 216, or additional supplemental signals such as signals 220 or 226. Objects 212, 214, 218, 222 and 224 are selected by the creator or originator of main signal 210 and the positions thereof mapped. Main signal 210 may be combined or encoded with the object mapping information and supplemental signals 216, 220 and 226 that contain additional or supplemental information concerning or related to the mapped objects, and combined into total signal 200. For example, main signal 210 may be program related to geography. Object 212 may contain the name of the sponsor of the program that is mapped as a linking object 214 to second signal 216 containing additional information about that sponsor. A selection of object 218 may indicate the name of a continent of subcontinent. When object 218 selected by the user, third signal 220 is received or displayed that may provide additional information about the continent or subcontinent of object 218. When the user selects object 222, additional information about a selected country of interest may be optionally retrieved via reception or display of fourth signal 226. Referring now to FIG. 3, an illustration of a moving video signal having an additional signal transmitted therewith in accordance with the present invention will be discussed. A total signal 300 may be a moving video signal comprising a series of image frames 310, 312 and 314. When an object contained within a signal 300 such as ocean liner 316 is in motion, the moving object actually represents separate objects 316, 318 and 320 in successive frames 310, 312 and 314. Normally, a separate signal would be required to be associated with each object 316, 318, and 320 such that the signal would be received when the object is selected. The additional signal 322 may be additional or supplemental information on the ocean liner, or may be an alternative view 324 of the ocean liner, for example. However, since the three objects 316, 318 and 320 actually represent the same object, the ocean liner, which is in motion, only one additional signal is required to be transmitted along with main signals 310, 318 and 320 in order to conserve resources such as bandwidth and memory. Thus, the user will receive the same signal 322 regardless of whether the object was selected in frames 310, 312, or 314. Furthermore, additional signal 322 may be stored in a buffer or memory 104 of information handling system 100 while the related object or objects 316, 318 or 320 are displayed. Alternatively, during periods when an object us moving at higher rates, the user may not be able to select the object. Under such conditions, additional signal 322 need not be transmitted until the object has sufficiently slowed so as to be selectable by the user, further allowing for conservation of resources. As an example, under Broadcast PC architecture, a signal may contain from 1.2 megabytes to 6 megabytes of data transferred per second. A map and the additional information may require on the order of a few hundred to a few megabytes of data to be transferred per second such that the map and additional information may be contained within the same bandwidth or channel as the main information. Furthermore, data compression or multiplexing algorithms may be utilized as desired or needed to send greater amounts of information within a single channel without any loss or degradation of any of the signals. The image map is created by the producer of the main signal or program and combined with the main signal and "the supplemental signal to yield the total signal. In an image map, each object has one or more shapes (e.g., rectangles) associated with the object that define the location of the image on display 114 including the overall shape of the object. Since the objects (e.g., objects 316-320) may be in motion, it is not necessary to define the shape of each object precisely. The map may be defined by a program of instructions (i.e. computer software) executable by information handling system 100. An exemplary map and objects may be defined as follows: Image Map File Array of image objects End Image Map File Image Object Structure Name of object Array of rectangles describing location and shape of image being described Additional information about object Hyperlinks End Image Object It can be seen that the additional signals may include a variety of forms of information related to objects within a main signal. For example, the additional signal may include text information in an alternative language from that utilized in the main signal. Further, more detailed or explanatory information about an object, character, or actor of a main signal 310 may be provided in an additional signal 322. A link or hyperlink to another information handling system via a network such as the Internet also may be provided. The additional signal may provide information concerning the make and manufacturer of a product contained as an object in a main signal, such as an advertiser or sponsor of the main program signal. The processing of received signals, and the optional selection by the user among the multiple signals may be controlled by a program of instructions such as a user interface, media player or browser running on and executed by information handling system 100. Referring now to FIG. 4, a flow diagram of a method for selectively providing supplemental information regarding an object of a signal will be discussed. The method 400 is initiated by providing at step 410 a fLrst signal to be broadcast. The first signal to be broadcast may be a main program such as a television signal. An object contained within the first signal and about which addition information to be provided is selected at step 412. A map (map 524 of FIG. 5) of the relative position of the object within the signal is generated at step 414. The map allows the object to be selected by a cursor control device such that the object is selected by a user of information handling system 100 by placement of the cursor coincident with the position of the object on a display 114 receiving the first signal. The map may be generated by defining a portion of the first signal at least partially coincident with the object within the first signal. The defined portion may be a simple geometric shape such as a rectangle or circle. Alternatively, the defined portion may be more closely tailored to the outline of the object such as by edge detection of the boundary of the object. For example, a region of contrast between the object and the background surrounding the object may delineate the defined portion. The map, such as the defined portion, the first signal and a second signal containing additional information regarding the object may be combined or encoded at step 416 into a third signal representative of the summation, product, mixing, multiplexing, etc. of the defined portion and the first and second signals. The third signal is transmitted at step 418 and received by a receiving unit at step 420 such as information handling system 100. The third signal is decoded at step 422 such that the first signal is received by information handling system 100. While the first signal is being received, a determination is made at step 424 whether the map or defined portion is selected such as by a user of information handling system with a cursor control device. So long as the defined portion is not selected, the third signal is decoded at step 422 such that the first signal is received. In the event the defined portion is selected, the third signal is decoded at step 426 such that the second signal is received. A determination is made at step 428 whether the reception of the second signal should end such as via action of the user or by the end of a duration of time. So long as a determination is not made that the reception of the second signal should end, reception of the second signal continues at step 426. In the event a determination is made that reception of the second signal should end, method 400 reverts to step 422 at which the first signal is received and decoded from the third signal. In the case where the same object appears in multiple successive frames such as objects 316, 318 and 320 of FIG. 3, the second signal may be decoded from the third signal simultaneously with the decoding of the first signal from the third signal at step 422. The second signal may be stored in a buffer or memory such as memory 104, until the defined portion of an object in the first signal is selected at step 424. In this case, the step 426 of decoding the second from the third signal may be incorporated in step 424, and the second signal may be read from the buffer or memory and displayed upon the object in the first signal being selected. If necessary, such as when the second signal is displayed in lieu of the first signal, the first signal may be captured in a buffer or memory while the second signal is being displayed such that continuous viewing of the first signal may occur after the displaying of the second signal is completed as determined from step 428. Referring now to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the generation and transmission of an image map in accordance with the present invention will be discussed. Referring specifically to FIG. 5A, a frame 510 of a signal may include one or more images 512, 514 and 516 therein. A first shape 518 is generated at least partially coincident with image 512. A second shape 520 is generated at least partially coincident with image 415. A third shape 522 is generated at least partially coincident with image 516. This process continues until all images desired to be mapped (i.e. that are desired to be linked to a second signal) have a shape at least partially coincident therewith generated. Preferably, shapes 518-522 are rectangles (or squares) for ease of processing, however other shapes may also be utilized (e.g., circles, ovals, octagons, triangles, polygons, etc.) . An image map 524 is thereby generated having the size and location of one or more images 512-516 mapped with respect to frame 510. The names of each image (e.g., oval, online storage, circle) may be associated with the respective shapes. Further, any additional information associated with respective images 512-516, including hyperlinks, may be associated with shapes 518-522 including linking information to supplemental signals. Image map 524 and objects 518-522 may be described as an image map file and image object structure as discussed with respect to FIG. 3. Referring specifically to FIG. 5B, once the image map or maps for a signal are generated, the signals and the map may be combined into a total signal and transmitted as a video signal . The plot 526 total signal with respect to time, H(TIME) , is plotted versus time as shown in FIG. 5B. A first frame 528 is transmitted, followed in succession by image map data 524, synchronization and equalization pulses 530, a second frame 532, and further map data 524, and so on. Frames 528 and 532 may be either a first signal or second signal as determined by method 400 as discussed with respect to FIG. 4. Although the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it should be recognized that elements thereof may be altered by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. One of the embodiments of the invention can be implemented as sets of instructions resident in the main memory 104 of one or more computer systems configured generally as described in FIG. 1. Until required by the computer system, the set of instructions may be stored in another computer readable memory such as auxiliary memory 106 of FIG. 1, for example in a hard disk drive or in a removable memory such as an optical disk for utilization in a CD-ROM drive, a floppy disk for utilization in a floppy disk drive, a floptical disk for utilization in a floptical drive, or a personal computer memory card for utilization in a personal computer card slot. Further, the set of instructions can be stored in the memory of another computer and transmitted over a local area network or a wide area network, such as the Internet, when desired by the user. Additionally, the instructions may be transmitted over a network in the form of an applet (a program executed from within another application) or a servlet (an applet executed by a server) that is interpreted or compiled after transmission to the computer system rather than prior to transmission. One skilled in the art would appreciate that the physical storage of the sets of instructions or applets physically changes the medium upon which it is stored electrically, magnetically, chemically, physically, optically or holographically so that the medium carries computer readable information. It is believed that the broadcast image map of the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the forgoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form herein before described being merely an explanatory embodiment thereof. It is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes .

Claims: CLAIMS What is claimed is: 1. A method for providing a signal, including selectively providing supplemental information regarding an object defined within the signal, comprising: providing a signal to be transmitted, the signal defining at least one object; creating a map having a reference for the at least one object defined within the signal; encoding within the map an association between the reference and supplemental information regarding the at least one object; and transmitting the signal, the map and the supplemental information. 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of : receiving the signal such that the signal is reproduced and the map is interpreted; while receiving the first signal, determining whether the at least one object associated with the supplemental information is selected by interpreting the map whereby the association is decoded; and in the event the at least one object is selected, reproducing the supplemental information. 3. A method for providing a signal, including selectively reproducing supplemental information regarding one object defined within signal, comprising: receiving a signal, a map of the at least one object defined within the signal and supplemental information regarding the at least one object such that the first signal is reproduced and the map is selectively interpretable; while receiving the signal, determining whether the object is selected by interpreting the map; and in the event the object is selected, reproducing the supplemental information. 4. The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, the signal being a video signal reproducible on a display of an information handling system. 5. The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one object is selected by a coincident positioning of a cursor of the receiver and the relative coordinates of the at least one object within the map, the position of the cursor being controlled by a cursor control device. 6. The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, said step of reproducing the supplemental information including reproducing the supplemental information simultaneously with the signal . 7. The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, said reproducing step including reproducing the supplemental information separately from the signal. 8. The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, further comprising determining whether to terminate reproduction of the supplemental information, and, in the event a determination is made to terminate reproduction of the supplemental information, terminating reproduction of the supplemental information and executing said receiving step. 9. The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, further comprising the step of providing a selectable link to a network address within the supplemental information. 10. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the supplemental information regarding the at least one object comprises a second signal, said encoding step including the step of encoding the signal and the second signal into a third signal, and said transmitting step including the step of transmitting the third signal. 11. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the supplemental information regarding the at least one object comprises a second signal, said receiving step including the step of receiving a third signal comprising an encoding of the signal and the second signal, and said reproducing step including the step of decoding the second signal from the third signal whereby the supplemental information may be reproduced.

Inventors: COLBATH MARK ALLAN, COLBATH, MARK, ALLAN
Applicants: SPOTWARE TECHNOLOGIES INC, SPOTWARE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: H04N7
IPC codes: H04H1, H04N5, H04N7