Patent ID: 7684409

Claim:
A method of efficiently delivering messages and program material from a service provider to an individual receiving device in a uni-directional, multi-channel communications system that provides parallel distribution of information from the service provider to the receiving devices, the method comprising: transmitting the program material on a first channel; transferring the messages from the service provider to the receiving device only on a second and agreed-upon channel at an agreed-upon time, wherein each message is tagged with an address corresponding to the receiving device by the service provider and then transmitted by the service provider to the receiving device on the second and agreed-upon channel with the receiving device filtering the agreed-upon channel to detect the address and decode its messages; determining if the receiving device is scheduled to record program material transmitted by the service provider at the agreed upon time; and if the receiving device is not scheduled to record program material transmitted by the service provider at the agreed upon time, tuning the receiving device to the second and agreed upon channel at the agreed upon time.