Convenient video program start over system and method for a video entertainment distribution network
a video entertainment and start-over technology, applied in the field of interactive television systems, can solve the problems of not being able to quickly rewind not being able to disclose the means for quickly reverting back to the beginning of an ongoing program, and rewinding to the start of a relatively long program would tax the storage requirements of a typical vod system as well unduly, so as to achieve a minimally interactive and simple procedure
Inactive Publication Date: 2014-08-14
SEDNA SERVICES
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- Claims
- Application Information
AI Technical Summary
Benefits of technology
Enhances user experience by allowing seamless reversion to the beginning of a video program with minimal user interaction, reducing the likelihood of missing program content and improving acceptance of advanced features like 'start over' functionality in video entertainment distribution networks.
Problems solved by technology
This makeshift mode of program selection does abate the necessity of maintaining an active knowledge of future programming, yet the initial portions of the video programs are almost always invariably missed due to the fact that the user is only able to obtain knowledge of the ongoing program after it has been playing for some predetermined amount of time.
However, no means are disclosed for quickly reverting back to the beginning of the ongoing program.
Furthermore, it is contemplated that such a system that enables rewind to the start of a relatively long program would unduly tax the storage requirements of a typical VoD system as well unduly burden multi-media transport mediums such as currently implemented coaxial cable or hybrid fiber cable (HFC) distribution lines having only a finite amount of available bandwidth.
Typical users of consumer products will not make use of an available function of that product lithe use of that functionality requires a complicated sequence of steps or actions.
Rewind functionality provided by the '263 device is available for ongoing programming, however no means are disclosed for easily, and quickly finding the beginning of the ongoing program using a simple “start over” procedure, The act of rewinding a program while “channel surfing” is a burdensome task wherein the user is required to rewind the program in an iterative fashion until the starting location is found.
Thus there has remained a long-felt, unsatisfied need for a system which implements “start over” functionality to an ongoing program of a conventional video distribution system, whereby play of an ongoing video program may be initiated from the start thereof utilizing a process that involves a minimally complicated sequence of commands.
Method used
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[0027]Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a generic diagrammatic view of a video entertainment distribution network system having interactive television (ITV) capabilities 10. The system generally comprises a head end II which processes broadcast video programs and other programming services emanating from a plurality of programming sources 12 and forwards these video programs onward to a client device such as a typical set top box (STB). Each STB 13 is operable to control which programs are shown on their associated display such as a conventional television 14, and outputs commonly used NTSC, PAL, or SECAM formatted signals to the television set. The distribution network 15 is typically comprised of a lattice of coaxial cable lines or hybrid-fiber-cable (HFC) for connectivity of the head end to the plurality of STBs in the network, and may also include a plurality of broadcast centers or nodes that each service a subset of STBs within a small demographic area. Although a co...
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A system and method are described herein for providing an convenient video program start over system and method for a video entertainment distribution network whereby a user may interactively revert back to the beginning of an ongoing video program that is currently broadcasted over the video distribution network. The novel system and method may be implemented on any video network having interactive television (ITV) capabilities, wherein user requests from a client are serviceable at an upstream head end, and video storage means exist for the purpose of storage of time based broadcast video programs. The system preferably utilizes a process that involves a minimally complicated sequence of commands that are easily understood and remembered by virtually any user, thereby enhancing the probability of consumer acceptance. The start over system and method may be embodied as a program of instructions, defining a controller, that are executed by a micro-processor located in the STB (client) or head end (server). Optional means are also provided for allowing only a subset of all available broadcast video programs that emanate from a plurality of programming sources to be used with the start over system.
Description
BACKGROUND TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) on U.S. Provisional application No. 60 / 590,056 Entitled “ONE TOUCH, START OVER”, filed on Jul. 2 2004, by James R, Albrecht, et al.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates generally to interactive television systems providing DVD-like functionality, and more specifically, to a system which enables the instantaneous replay from the start of a partially elapsed program emanating from a conventional programming source using an convenient minimally interactive procedure.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Historically, television programming sources provided multi-media entertainment to the consumer public over an aerial broadcast medium such that individual program offerings were supplied only at predetermined times as determined by the programming source. With this constraint, a consumer was essentially forced to modify his or her personal schedule in order to view the desired progra...
Claims
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IPC IPC(8): H04N21/6587H04N9/79H04N21/2387H04N7/173
CPCH04N21/6587H04N21/2387H04N9/79H04N7/173H04N21/2393H04N21/47202H04N21/47217
Inventor HANNUM, SANDIALBRECHT, JAMES R.WONG, MATTBRADLEY, BRUCE R.SHEEDY, PETER
Owner SEDNA SERVICES