Patent ID: 7477320

Claim:
A method for delivering and storing control data for an interactive device using a horizontal overscan portion of a video signal, the method comprising: (a) receiving the video signal at the interactive device during a transmission session, the transmission session comprising a plurality of frames, wherein the plurality of frames define a program that is displayed to a viewer during the transmission session; (b) extracting the control data from the horizontal overscan portion of the video signal using a decoder integral to the interactive device, said decoder being configured to extract control data encoded into the horizontal overscan portion of the video signal, defining the control data and a genus code with control words, the genus code identifying a specific interactive device for which the interactive device control data are intended; (c) storing the control data in the interactive device, such that the control data will be available for use after the transmission session has ended; (d) waiting for the transmission session to end; (e) after the transmission session has ended, using the control data extracted from the horizontal overscan portion of the video signal during the transmission session and stored in the interactive device to cause the interactive device to perform a behavior defined by the control data.