Abstract:
An interactive television (ITV) system transmitting ITV content created and received by different ITV platforms via a single ITV stream. The system provides universal time codes which are embedded into the ITV stream. Each time code is associated with a program identifier which uniquely identifies a particular program. An ITV receiver receives the ITV stream and compares the program identifier and time code with a program held in the receiver&#39;s memory. When a match is found, an interactive event indicated by the program is executed. The program may be loaded into the receiver&#39;s memory using a back channel.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/309,812 (attorney docket 45357/NJP/M770) filed on Aug. 3, 2001, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to an interactive television (ITV) system and method, and more particularly, to a system and method for embedding universal triggers into an ITV program for receipt by different ITV receivers.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Interactive television (ITV) combines conventional television with additional interactive content to present a viewer with an enhanced version of a television program or commercial. Typically, the interactive content is in some way related to the television program being viewed, such as biographical information about one of the actors in the program, additional information about a topic covered in the program, and the like. If the television program is a game show, the interactive content often allows the viewer to play along with the game. For example, a viewer may answer the same questions as the contestants on the game show.  
           [0004]    In order to allow a viewer to experience an enhanced television program, a broadcaster encodes a television program with ITV data and broadcasts the encoded television program to the viewers. The ITV data may take many forms, such as, for example, HTML, XML, JAVA, or JAVA Script commands. If the receiving viewer&#39;s television system is equipped with an ITV receiver, the ITV receiver may decode the embedded ITV data for accessing the associated interactive content or performing an action indicated by the command.  
           [0005]    A problem that often arises in providing an ITV program is that there may be different, dissimilar types of ITV receivers receiving the ITV program. For example, one ITV receiver may be configured with an HTML based platform while another receiver may be configured with a JAVA based platform. Similarly, there may be more than one organization responsible for developing the interactive content. Each organization may develop the interactive content using a different ITV platform. Consequently, the unique ITV data generated by one organization using one type of platform may be different, and unusable, by a receiver configured to receive and decode ITV data generated by a different organization using a different type of platform.  
           [0006]    One approach in solving the above problem is to generate and transmit, for a particular television program, a separate ITV stream for each type of ITV platform. Each ITV stream would therefore be tailored to a particular receiver&#39;s needs. Transmitting multiple content streams, however, is laborious and results in an inefficient use of bandwidth.  
           [0007]    Accordingly, what is desired is a system and method for transmitting ITV content created and received by different ITV platforms without having to generate and deliver content streams catered to each individual platform.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention is directed to transmitting ITV content created and received by different ITV platforms via a single ITV stream. According to one embodiment, the invention is directed to an ITV system that includes a transmitter transmitting an ITV signal embedded with a universal code. The ITV system further includes a first ITV receiver that includes a first memory storing the universal code and a first ITV command generated according to a first ITV platform, and a second ITV receiver that includes a second memory storing the universal code and a second ITV command generated according to a second ITV platform. Each ITV receiver retrieves the universal code from the ITV program, searches for the universal code in its respective memory, retrieves from the memory the stored ITV command associated with the universal code, and controls the first ITV receiver according to the retrieved ITV command.  
           [0009]    According to one embodiment of the invention, the universal code is a time code indicative of a time in which a particular ITV event is to occur.  
           [0010]    The present invention is also directed to a method for providing an ITV program where the method includes receiving the ITV program at an ITV receiver. The ITV program is encoded with a universal code that is associated with a discrete ITV command. The method further includes retrieving the universal code from the ITV program, searching for the universal code in a memory resident in the ITV receiver, retrieving from the memory the discrete ITV command associated with the universal code, and controlling the ITV receiver according to the discrete ITV command.  
           [0011]    The present invention is further directed to an ITV program receiver that includes a video input receiving an ITV program encoded with a universal code where the universal code is associated with a discrete ITV command. The ITV receiver also includes a memory storing the discrete ITV command and associated universal code. A processor coupled to the video input and the memory is configured to retrieve the universal code from the ITV program, search the memory for the universal code, retrieve the discrete ITV command associated with the universal code from the memory, and execute the ITV command.  
           [0012]    According to one embodiment of the invention, the ITV receiver further includes a network interface receiving the discrete ITV command for storing the memory.  
           [0013]    It should be appreciated, therefore, that the present invention allows any number of ITV events to be synchronized to a particular television program without having to embed discrete commands generated according to a variety of differing formats for a variety of disparate ITV receivers. The present invention therefore allows efficient use of bandwidth while catering to different types of ITV receivers. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ITV system according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary ITV receiver according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a more detailed block diagram of the ITV processor resident in the exemplary ITV receiver of FIG. 2 according to one embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process for controlling different types of ITV receivers via a single ITV stream according to one embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]    [0018]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ITV system according to one embodiment of the invention. The ITV system illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an encoder  12  coupled to a video source  10 . The video source  10  provides live or recorded video programs to the encoder  12  for embedding ITV data into the video program. The ITV data may be embedded, for example, in a vertical blanking interval (VBI) (for example, line  21 ), or an MPEG 2 private data field (or a similar field of additional video formats) of the video portion of the program.  
         [0019]    The encoder  12  may be an encoder conventional in the art, such as, for example, a DV2000 universal data encoder or ITV Injector, marketed by Ultech LLC, Middlebury, Connecticut. The video source  10  may be a camera, VCR, betacam, DVD player, PC, CD-ROM player, or any other device capable of delivering a video feed to the encoder  12 .  
         [0020]    Once the ITV data is encoded into a video program, the modified program is output by the encoder  12  and may be recorded by a data recorder  14  for subsequent broadcast. At an appropriate time, the video program with the embedded ITV data is broadcast via a data player  16  and a broadcast station  18 .  
         [0021]    A television program with embedded ITV data is received by different ITV receivers  20   a ,  20   b  (collectively referenced as  20 ). The ITV receivers  20  may take the form of set-top boxes, digital cable boxes, televisions with embedded set-top box functionality, or other suitable devices with ITV related software, middleware, and/or hardware. According to one embodiment of the invention, ITV receiver  20   a  includes a first type of ITV platform, such as, for example, an HTTP based platform, while ITV receiver  20   b  includes a second type of ITV platform, such as, for example, a JAVA based platform.  
         [0022]    According to one embodiment of the invention, instead of generating different ITV streams for controlling different types of ITV receivers, a single ITV stream is generated and broadcast for a given television program. The single ITV stream includes universal codes that may be decoded and interpreted by the different ITV receivers irrespective of their ITV platform. The universal codes help identify particular ITV commands that are preloaded into a receiver according to the receiver&#39;s particular ITV platform. In this manner, the discrete ITV commands themselves need not be embedded into the ITV program. Instead, their associated universal codes may be embedded and broadcast with the ITV program to different ITV receivers.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of an exemplary ITV receiver  30  according to one embodiment of the invention. ITV receiver  30  may be, for example, similar to ITV receiver  20   a  or  20   b  of FIG. 1. The exemplary ITV receiver  30  includes a video input  42  for receiving an ITV program broadcast from a broadcast station. The received ITV program is transmitted to an ITV processor  38  coupled to a decoder  40 . Together, the ITV processor  38  and the decoder  40  cause the execution of relevant ITV commands for triggering ITV events and displaying relevant ITV content via a display interface  32 . According to one embodiment of the invention, the ITV commands are synchronized with the received television program. For example, if the television program is an interactive game show, ITV commands may be inserted into the program to display game show questions to an ITV viewer in a manner that is synchronized with the questions that a studio contestant may see in the studio. Furthermore, ITV commands may be timed to prevent ITV viewers at home from answering a question after a studio contestant has pressed a button to answer the question.  
         [0024]    An ITV viewer interacts with the interactive program via a remote control unit, keypad, keyboard, or the like. The input provided by the user is transmitted to the ITV receiver  30  via a user input interface  34 . After receipt by the ITV receiver, a user input may be transmitted to a head end or any other interested organization over a back channel via a network interface  36 . The back channel may take the form of any type of communication channel known in the art, such as, for example, a telephone or Internet connection. The back channel may also be used to receive ITV commands, software updates, and other types of data from the head end, an ITV producer, or the like.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 3 is a more detailed block diagram of the ITV processor  38  resident in the exemplary ITV receiver  30  according to one embodiment of the invention. The ITV processor  38  includes a command separator  50  software module configured to receive an ITV signal and retrieve embedded ITV data from the signal. According to one embodiment of the invention, the ITV data embedded in the ITV signal are universal codes that may be used by any type of ITV receiver for providing an interactive environment.  
         [0026]    According to one embodiment of the invention, the universal codes embedded in the ITV signal are universal time codes  62  indicating a time in which one or more ITV events are to take place. A unique program identifier  60  may also be associated with each time code or set of time codes for identifying a program stored in memory to which the time codes are to be applied. Alternatively, instead of time codes, universal event codes that may be translated into particular ITV commands may be inserted in appropriate portions of the ITV signal.  
         [0027]    The ITV processor  38  further includes an event processing module  52  coupled to a memory  54  for determining an ITV event to be provided based on the universal time code information. According to one embodiment of the invention, the memory  54  includes a program  58  that is associated with a particular program identifier  56 . The program  58  includes one or more ITV commands and associated time codes indicating the time in which the ITV command is to be executed. The ITV commands stored in memory are generated according to the particular ITV platform supported by the processor  38 .  
         [0028]    ITV commands and associated events may be of a variety of types. For example, an “enable response” command may enable an ITV viewer to provide a response to a game show question. If a studio contestant has already provided the answer, a “disable response” command may disable a further response from the ITV viewer. Each time code may also be associated with a timeout period to end or create a default end to the period for a response. In this way, a viewer may be prohibited from extending a period for a response by interrupting, for example, the video signal and causing the “disable response” command not to be received.  
         [0029]    Other exemplary ITV commands are “go away” and “return” commands for controlling the ITV environment during commercial breaks. The “go away” command may indicate that the ITV environment is being suspended during a commercial break, and the “come back” command may indicate that the ITV environment is being activated after a commercial break. Other commands may be URL links to particular web sites for retrieving and displaying ITV content provided by such web sites.  
         [0030]    According to one embodiment of the invention, the program  58  may be loaded into the memory  54  via the back channel coupled to the network interface  36 . Different types of programs may loaded based on the particular type of ITV platform supported by the ITV receiver. For example, a program for one type of ITV receiver may be HTML based while a program for another type of ITV receiver may be JAVA based. Additionally, different ITV content providers may provide different ITV content for the same show. For example, for a particular sporting show, one ITV content provider may provide game statistics while another content provider may provide player biographies. In this scenario, the program loaded into the memory  54  of the ITV receiver may differ based on the ITV content provider selected by the ITV viewer.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process for controlling different types of ITV receivers via a single ITV stream according to one embodiment of the invention. The process starts, and in step  70 , a broadcaster or separate ITV program producer encodes a television program with a program identifier and universal time code information. In step  72 , the encoded ITV program is broadcast to viewers that may have access to one or more types of ITV receivers. In step  74 , each particular receiver retrieves the time code information embedded in the received ITV program. In step  76 , the ITV receiver searches its memory for ITV events associated with the retrieved program identifier and time code information. In step  78 , the ITV receiver takes actions indicated by the retrieved ITV commands.  
         [0032]    A person skilled in the art should appreciate that any number of ITV events could be synchronized to a particular television program without having to embed discrete commands generated according to a variety of differing formats for a variety of disparate ITV receivers. The present invention therefore allows efficient use of bandwidth while catering to different types of ITV receivers.  
         [0033]    Although this invention has been described in certain specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will have no difficulty devising variations which in no way depart from the scope and spirit of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than is specifically described. Thus, the present embodiments of the invention should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention to be indicated by the appended claims and their equivalents rather than the foregoing description.