Abstract:
Apparatus is provided by which a television viewer can view other images e.g. during commercials or main program. For example, during a commercial, a viewer may channel surf or surf the internet. A banner is provided on a viewing screen while the viewer watches these other images. In this way the advertiser providing those commercials can still reach those viewers who are channel or internet surfing. Also, the banner will indicate to the viewer when the commercial is over and the normal programming has resumed. In another embodiment, during the main program user can activate one or more small commercial windows and position them on the screen based on his preference, e.g. using a remote device. Information is communicated to a broadcaster by the viewer&#39;s video system indicating the above-mentioned commercial windows are open on the viewer&#39;s screen. When each commercial window is positioned on the screen the viewer receives compensation based on the amount of time the commercial windows are displaying commercials to the viewer. All or part of commercial windows automatically close when a main commercial block starts. The commercial windows automatically open when the main commercial block finishes. In one embodiment, the viewer can turn the commercial windows ON/OFF on his discretion.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Present techniques for providing television commercials have several weaknesses.
     1. During television commercials, viewers very often change channels. Unfortunately, this means that the advertiser who is paying to provide the commercials loses its ability to try to sell products to the viewer. This also provides a disadvantage to the viewer, because the program may resume while he is watching something else on the video screen.   2. Commercials use 100% of the television screen space. This means that commercials can only be shown as interruptions of a TV program. The total time duration of such interruptions are regulated. This defines a potential cap on advertisement revenue.   3. The viewer cannot choose to avoid viewing commercials unless he or she changes the channel, in which case he or she may miss portions of the main program. Television viewers consider commercials to be an unavoidable payment for watching television programs. It would be desirable to provide a video system in which the advertiser can still appeal to viewers, while permitting viewers to change channels or use their video systems for other purposes, e.g. web surfing or any other unrelated viewing.   

     SUMMARY 
     A video system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention permits an advertiser to provide advertisements in the form of a window or banner on a television screen. In one embodiment, unlike conventional television commercials, the window or banner can be present during a main program. Also, in one embodiment, unlike conventional television commercials, the banner or window can be provided on the viewer&#39;s television screen even if the viewer changes the channel or uses his television screen to perform other tasks, e.g. web browse. Accordingly, rather than loosing the viewer completely, the advertiser can continue to try to appeal to the viewer. Also, while browsing, the viewer can follow what is occurring during the broadcast so that he or she knows when the commercials are over. 
     In one embodiment, a special timed banner advertisement can be placed on a regular web page, thus gaining advertising space, and notifying the viewer when the normal program resumes. This notification can be provided in a special field, e.g. in the form of a countdown indicating when the normal program is to resume. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the invention, one or more advertisement windows (typically small windows) are shown on the video screen during a main program. In one embodiment, the location and appearance of these windows can be controlled by the viewer, e.g. using remote control. Thus, the video system of this embodiment permits a broadcaster (or other video data owner) to generate additional revenue for the advertiser by adding commercial material during the main program time. This is in contrast to presently existing commercials, which occupy the entire television screen, and therefore can only be shown during commercial breaks. 
     A video system in accordance with another embodiment of the invention includes a “no overlapping mechanism, during which commercial windows are automatically closed so that a regular full-screen commercial can be shown. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the invention, information is communicated to the broadcaster indicating whether the viewer continues to leave the above-mentioned banners or small windows open on the screen. This information can be sent back to the broadcaster via a wide area network (“WAN”) to which the video system is connected. (The WAN can be the internet.) The broadcaster maintains a file that tracks this information. The viewer can be compensated for displaying the advertisement windows on top of the main program. This compensation can be in the form of money or discounts for products purchased from the advertiser. This compensation can be used to entice viewers to watch commercials that they would otherwise avoid. 
     In addition to gathering data concerning the turning on and off of commercial banners by viewers, a video system in accordance with the invention permits a broadcaster to gather statistical data about main program popularity. 
     In one embodiment, the video system of the present invention is assigned an electronic address. The broadcaster can direct certain advertising banners to specific video systems by communicating the banners to systems having specific addresses. In one example of this embodiment, the broadcaster can direct advertising banners to video systems known to be in a particular geographic location, e.g. a particular town. Thus, a video system in accordance with this embodiment permits the broadcaster to provide advertisements in small localities, e.g. a particular neighborhood. This permits small businesses to buy advertising time during television programs that would otherwise be uneconomical and poorly targeted to the advertiser&#39;s potential customers. This also permits the broadcaster to increase its advertising revenue by permitting many different small or local businesses to advertise during broadcasts. In particular, each business can provide advertisements to a different locality during a television program. Thus, small businesses, (rather than larger companies) can afford to advertise during broadcasts. 
     A video system in accordance with the invention also permits an advertiser to design special commercials targeted for customers with specific interests. Thus, if the broadcaster has a database indicating certain preferences of viewers, the broadcaster can provide advertising banners to specific video systems known to be owned by people having specific interests, e.g. an interest in certain sports, types of food or certain types of cultural events. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a video screen displaying information with first and second overlay windows for displaying information relating to a video broadcast. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a video system in accordance with the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a simplified block diagram of a broadcast system in accordance with the present invention, showing an exemplary set up for timing the overlays. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a video system  1  comprises a video screen  2  that displays video information. Screen  2  can be a CRT screen, a LCD screen, a video projection screen, or other type of screen capable of displaying a visual image. In one embodiment, the video screen can operate in a mode in which it displays a conventional television program, either obtained from an antenna  3 , a cable  4  or a satellite dish  5 . The television program can be broadcast using NTSC, PAL, SECAM, or other analog or digital television picture communication standard, including but not limited to such as the newly emerging HDTV standards. 
     From time to time, commercials are inserted into the television broadcast, and many viewers use this as an opportunity to switch channels, or use the video system for other purposes, e.g. to surf the interne or watch video information from another source. However, viewers frequently want to know when the commercials are over. Accordingly, video system  1  displays a banner  6  providing an indication of what is being broadcast. For example, if a commercial for a product is being broadcast, banner  6  reflects or contains information pertaining to that product. This accomplishes two purposes. First, the viewer has an indication of when the commercial is over. When the commercial terminates, he can change back to the program he was viewing. Second, although the viewer is no longer watching the full commercial, the advertiser can still advertise its message to the viewer within banner  6 . Additionally, the sound of both contents may be mixed to allow the user to follow both, or alternatively, the user can select which sound to hear. 
     Frequently, one commercial in a video broadcast is followed by another commercial. Accordingly, as the commercials change, banner  6  changes to reflect the currently broadcast commercial. Thus, each advertiser sponsoring a portion of the broadcast will be able to use banner  6  to advertise its products or services. 
     In one embodiment, banner  6  is associated with a link. In other words, a user can click on banner  6 , and this will cause the video system to invoke that link. In one embodiment, the link is to an internet web page. In another embodiment, the link is to a source of information other than an internet web page. For example, the link can be to a page of data provided to video system  1  by the broadcaster of the program. In another embodiment, clicking on the banner will cause video system  1  to revert back to the video program. 
     The image contained in banner  6  is typically provided as part of the television broadcast signal received by video system  1 . Data corresponding to banner  6  can be inserted into a portion of the television signal not otherwise used, e.g. one of the retrace or blanking intervals. Since banner  6  is does not display large moving video images, the bandwidth requirements for broadcasting banner  6  are minimal. 
     In one embodiment, the location and size of the banner on the video screen is also communicated to video system  1  as part of the video signal. However, in other embodiments, the location and size of the banner is not communicated as part of the video signal. 
     As mentioned above, typically banner  6  is associated with a link, e.g. a URL link to a web page. Thus, if the advertisement associated with the banner is actually of interest to a viewer, he or she can click on the banner. The link information (i.e. the web page URL) can also be communicated as part of the video signal, e.g. during one of the retrace or blanking intervals of the video signal. The web page can contain further details concerning goods and services being advertised, or even permit the user to purchase the goods and services while accessing the web page. In lieu of a URL link, the link can be to a software routine that executes a function, e.g. dialing a telephone to enable a viewer to order merchandise or some other task. 
     The banner and link information can be updated from time to time, e.g. as the commercials change. 
     Also shown on screen  2  is a cursor  8 . Cursor  8  can be any shape, or have any appearance. A user manipulates cursor  8  with a control device, e.g. a remote controller  10  comprising a joystick, trackball, mouse, touch pad (e.g. touch pad  11   a ) or appropriate control buttons  11   b . If a user moves cursor  8  to banner  6 , a link is invoked corresponding to banner  6 . In one embodiment, the link is to a web page. Moving the cursor to banner  6  invokes the link, and information corresponding to the web page is displayed on screen  2 . (In an alternative embodiment, one must move cursor  8  to banner  6  and click on banner  6  to invoke the link, rather than merely moving cursor  8  to banner  6 .) 
     In another embodiment, the link is to a data source other than a web page. This data source could be another source of visual information, e.g. another movie or television program, e.g. being broadcast from a RF or cable source. Alternatively, the link could execute application software. Alternatively, the link could result in the display of data from a local data source, e.g. a disk drive, or a non-local data source. 
     In one embodiment, a second banner  13  is provided on video screen  2  that provides a count indicating how long it will be before the commercial is over. This enables a viewer to determine what tasks he or she has time to perform before programming resumes. The information in second banner  13  is communicated, e.g. during one of the above-mentioned retrace or blanking intervals of the television signal. 
     In one embodiment, the time shown in banner  13  is updated from time to time by the broadcaster. In another embodiment, an initial time is provided to video system  1 , and a processor within video system  1  counts down from an initial time communicated as part of the video signal. 
     Also shown in  FIG. 1  is a third banner  14 . For the case of a sporting event, third banner  14  can be game statistics, e.g. the score of a sporting event or other statistics. For example, for the case of a football game, the statistics might be the position of a ball on a football field, the amount of time left in a quarter, etc. 
     While the above-mentioned set of banners can be provided during a commercial, in an alternate embodiment, the banners can be provided during different types of programming intervals. For example, during half time a football game, or between periods in an ice hockey game, a viewer may want to web surf or change channels. The above-mentioned banners can keep the viewer apprised of what is being shown in the main broadcast, so he or she can return to the main broadcast if the half time show is over, or some other interesting event is about to commence. 
     When web surfing, the viewer can choose to look at web pages that are related or unrelated to the program being watched. If the viewer clicks on the advertising banner, in one embodiment, he is directed toward a web page of one or more local merchants, offering products or services such as pizza delivery. Alternatively, the viewer can be directed toward web pages offering products and services of particular interest viewers of the main program, such as NFL clothing and NFL memorabilia. 
     To partially summarize, a method in accordance with our invention allows a broadcaster to provide advertisements and services even if a viewer changes the channel or uses his or her video screen for other purposes. This is accomplished by means of the above-mentioned banner or window that provides those advertisements and links for accessing more information concerning the advertised goods and services, or links which permit the user to purchase those goods and services. In one embodiment, it is left to the viewer if he allows the users to turn off those banners or not. 
     In one embodiment, banner  6  does not contain any moving images. Alternatively, in lieu of a simple banner, a “thumbnail” commercial (i.e. a commercial in a small window region on the screen) may be shown. In yet another embodiment, several small advertising banners can be shown on screen  2 . In yet another embodiment, banner  6  can be divided into a set of segments, each segment bearing a symbol that can be clicked on. For example, one symbol might represent a pizza, and a user could click on that symbol to order a pizza from a local vendor, whereas another segment might link the user to a page listing times for other television programs to be shown. 
     Description of One Embodiment of Video System  1   
     One embodiment of our invention can be practiced using a PC having the following:
     1. A CPU such as a Celeron or Pentium, e.g. as manufactured by Intel, or a K6/K7 processor, e.g. as manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices.   2. 24 MB of memory or greater.   3. The operating system can be Windows 95, Windows 98, WinCE or Win2000.   

       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a computer system  50  within video system  1  in accordance with our invention. Referring to  FIG. 2 , system  50  comprises a CPU  52 , e.g. a Pentium II class CPU, comprising a cache memory  52   a , a core  52   b  and an internal bus  52   c  for facilitating communication between core  52   b  and cache  52   a . Core  52   b  communicates via a CPU bus  54  to a system controller  56 . System controller  56  communicates with the system memory  58  via a memory bus  60 . System memory  58  includes a portion that stores system memory programs. 
     Also included in system  50  is a PCI bus  62  for facilitating communication between system controller  56  and I/O devices  64 ,  66  and disk drive  68 . I/O device  64  can be any type of I/O device. In one embodiment, I/O device  66  is a video capture card with a driver. Data from the video capture card is either loaded by DMA (direct memory access) or by CPU  52  into a frame buffer, typically within main memory  58 . However, the frame buffer may be in other memories within system  50 . 
     Graphics controller  70  uses its own local memory  74  to generate and store pixel arrays to be displayed on a video display unit  76 . 
     It is emphasized that system  50  is only one example of a system that performs a method in accordance with our invention. Other hardware can be used as well. 
     Stored within a memory within video display system  1  are the locations on screen  2  of banner  6 . CPU  52  (or other logic hardware within system  1 ) determines whether cursor  8  has been moved to banner  6 , i.e. by comparing the position of cursor  8  to the values stored in memory corresponding to the location of banner  6 . (This memory can be memory  58  or another memory within the system.) 
     Description of the Broadcast System 
       FIG. 3  shows a broadcast network  109  and WAN  115  combination. Such systems are well known in the art, e.g. DirectPC™ or DirectDUO™ provided by Hughes Network Systems, Inc. etc. There is typically a broadcast end side  113 , and a receiver side  111  including video system  1 . Broadcast antenna  145 , satellite  137  and satellite receiver antenna  5  form together the broadcast system, in this case a direct satellite system, but other types of broadcast systems, such as cable, RF wireless, and wireless cable (either digital or analog) can be used. The signal broadcast through the system can pass through different types of signal communication channels (e.g. cable, then satellite broadcasting, back to cable, etc.) before being received by the end viewer. However, for purposes of explanation, an embodiment in which the transmission/broadcast system  109  is a simple satellite system is shown in  FIG. 3 . Also, WAN  115  and broadcast system  109  need not be in one system, but in many cases they are actually not. 
     On the receiver side  111 , the key components are broadcast receiver  121  (coupled to satellite dish  5  via a cable  127 ), network interface (modem)  117  and PC/viewing station/video system  1 . Typically, the functions of these components can be partitioned differently. Thus, in some embodiments, rather than using a PC as a generic building block, the broadcast receiver  121 , network interface  117  and PC/viewing station  119  are combined into a set-top box, that uses a regular TV as a display device. Network interface  117  is coupled to WAN  115 , e.g. as shown schematically by line  118 . 
     The two networks  115  and  124  can be of any type, such as a WAN, or in particular the internet (as shown at  124 ). Network  115  may in some cases be a generic network. In one embodiment, server  129  can insert data into the broadcast stream via its link  153  to uplink server  131 , or server  129  can send time sensitive signals via links  118 ,  120  and WAN  115  directly to client system  119 . (Uplink server  131  provides the video signal to antenna  145  via cable  155 .) 
     In the above-discussed embodiment, the commercials and banners are broadcast to all viewers. However, in another embodiment, specific advertising banners are provided to selected viewers based, for example, on the location of the viewer. For example, advertisements for a particular business may be provided only to viewers near that business. This can be accomplished in any of several ways. For example, in one embodiment, the banners are provided by the broadcaster via WAN  115  to viewers based on the viewers&#39; WAN address. In such an embodiment, each video system  1  has an electronic address. Server  129  has a file listing the addresses of video systems within a particular locality, e.g. a particular town. Thus, advertisements for a store in a particular town can be directed to viewers in that town via WAN  115 . A file a memory accessible by server  129  lists the WAN addresses of the viewers in that town, and server  129  transmits banners for that store only to the viewers in that town via WAN  115 . System  1  receives and stores the banner information and displays it on screen  2  as banner  6 . Server  129  can also provide link addresses (e.g. URLs or other WAN addresses) associated with those banners so that if the viewers click on the banner, they will be directed toward a web page provided by that store. 
     In an alternate embodiment, server  129  can have a database indicating specific interests of different viewers and the address of their video system  1 . In this alternate embodiment, server  129  broadcasts to a specific set of addresses advertising information that is expected to be of interest to viewers at those addresses. For example, if the database accessed by server  129  indicates that a certain set of viewers are interested in football, server  129  provides banner advertisements that would be of interest to football fans. If the database indicates that another set of viewers are interested in movies server  129  provides banner advertisements that would be of interest to movie fans. 
     In an alternative embodiment, information concerning banner  6  is broadcast via satellite  137  to all viewers along with address information indicating which viewing systems should display that particular banner. 
     As mentioned above, in one embodiment, banner  6  is turned off at certain times to permit the showing of a full screen commercial (or for other purposes). This can be accomplished in one of several ways. For example, the broadcast system can simply cease sending a signal containing banner  6 . Alternatively, the broadcast system can send a signal (either embedded within the video signal provided by satellite  137  or via WAN  115 ) instructing video system  1  to turn off banner  6 . 
     As mentioned above, in one embodiment the viewer has the option of turning advertising banner  6  on or off. In one version of this embodiment, system  1  communicates to server  129  via WAN  115  whether or not a given viewer is keeping banner  6  on. Server  129  keeps track of this information. A broadcaster or advertiser can encourage viewers to keep the banners on by offering various enticements or forms of compensation to viewers who keep banner  6  on. One type of enticement might be monetary, e.g. in the form of payments to the viewer, discounts if the viewer purchases items advertised by video system  1 , or discounts in the viewers cable TV subscription. 
     While the invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, any type of display screen can be used in conjunction with the invention. For example, projection video display screens, LCDs, CRTs or other types of display devices can be used. Similarly, different types of networks or communications media can be used to exchange information between the advertiser and viewer, e.g. optical or electrical cables, phone lines, etc. 
     The information contained in banner  6  can either be received in a television signal or via a network such as WAN  115 . In the case in which banner  6  is received in a television signal, video system  1  can contain two tuners so that two television signals can be received simultaneously—one containing the signal including banner  6  and the other containing a program that is currently being watched.