Patent ID: 7814525

Claim:
A method, carried out in a digital television receiver device, of receiving switched digital television programs without need for full interactive two way communication capabilities, comprising: storing a virtual channel table in the digital television receiver device, the virtual channel table having entries for each available channel and having a channel type indicator that identifies switched digital channels; receiving a command indicative of selection of a switched digital channel having the switched digital channel type indicator in the stored virtual channel table; sending a request from the television receiver device for the switched digital channel; responsive to the request, receiving a response that either grants the request or denies the request; and if the response grants the request, receiving an updated virtual channel table having updated table entries, wherein the channel type indicator designates a channel as a four bit binary channel designator wherein one bit represents a navigation bit, one bit designates that tuning parameters are either defined or undefined, one bit designates that a channel is either a switched or unswitched digital channel and one bit designates whether the channel is either hidden or viewable on an electronic programming guide.