Patent ID: 7818776

Claim:
A method of controlling at least one addressable receiver station computer at a receiver station, said method comprising the steps of: transmitting an information transmission to a plurality of receiver stations, each receiver station of said plurality of receiver stations comprising a receiver and a addressable receiver station computer, said information transmission comprising general information and a control signal addressed to said addressable receiver station computer at least one of said plurality of receiver stations; transmitting specific information from a remote source to said addressable receiver station computer at said at least one of said plurality of receiver stations, said specific information including instructions and data; receiving and storing at least a portion of said specific information from said remote source on said addressable receiver station computer at said at least one of said plurality of receiver stations, said at least a portion of said specific information to reprogram said addressable receiver station computer at said at least one of said plurality of receiver stations; and performing the following steps at said at least one of said plurality of said receiver stations: (a) receiving said information transmission, said received information transmission including said general information and said control signal; (b) outputting at least a portion of said received general information; (c) detecting said received control signal; (d) determining if said detected control signal is addressed to said addressable receiver station computer; (e) said addressable receiver station computer at said at least one of said plurality of receiver stations selecting at least one of a plurality of functions to be performed based on said control signal, said at least one of said plurality of functions comprises displaying on a television screen, a locally generated graphic on top of remotely generated graphics at a predetermined time of a television programming, wherein said locally generated image comprises user specific content, and each of said locally generated graphic and said remotely generated graphics includes content related to said television programming; and (f) said addressable receiver station computer at said at least one of said plurality of receiver stations performing said at least one of said plurality of functions based on said detected control signal, said addressable receiver station computer at said at least one of said plurality of receiver stations executing said at least a portion of said specific information to perform at least one of said steps performed at said receiver station.