Patent ID: 8701142

Claim:
A method of processing a digital broadcasting signal in a digital television receiver, comprising: receiving in the receiver a digital broadcasting signal including a virtual channel table (VCT), the VCT including a version_number field, a section_number field, a last_section_number field, a short_name field, a major_channel_number field, a minor_channel number_field, a modulation_mode field, a carrier_frequency field, a channel_TSID field, a program number field, an ETM_location field, and an access_controlled field, wherein for an inactive channel the program number field is set to zero, wherein for the inactive channel, the short name, major channel number, and minor channel number fields reflect name and channel number of the inactive channel, and wherein the inactive channel is a channel that is not presently carrying a broadcast program; however, the same inactive channel is scheduled to carry a broadcast program at a predetermined later time from a broadcasting station without local viewer interaction; and processing in a display processor to display the corresponding virtual channel, wherein when the virtual channel is currently inactive, the receiver is capable of skipping over the virtual channel while a user is surfing, wherein the version number field is a 5-bit field.