Patent ID: 7355621

Claim:
Integrated television conferencing apparatus with centrally-integrated personalized screening of DTV content overlaid with conferencing comprising: means for video-conferencing a television user comprising a DTV unit with a network processor before, while or after a program broadcast or data application is accessed from memory or via a network data interface or broadcast program channel, whereby such conference and access are integrated centrally and overlaid functionally for management or coordination by a user transaction controller, the controller or processor restricting or permitting such overlaid user access to the program broadcast or data application from memory or via the network by censoring or authorizing one or more program broadcast or data application selectively according to privately pre-defined content-screening criteria using one or more program or data classes or titles, such controller or processor further enabled to restrict or permit the conference by dynamically adding or removing the DTV unit to or from one or more video conferencing active set or selected logical group, whereby television and conferencing services are centrally integrated for personalized screening such that effectively the same controller or processor that functionally overlays management or coordination of user access to the program broadcast or data application according to privately pre-defined content-screening criteria using one or more program or data classes or titles for censoring or authorizing such access, also manages or coordinates user conferencing according to privately pre-defined active set or selected logical group for restricting or permitting such conferencing, such centralized integration of screening criteria being pre-defined privately by a pre-defining user for both television and conferencing thereby enabling privately accessed personal television and conferencing services.