Context-Sensitive Interactive TV Ticker
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current television tickers lack viewer control and interactivity, losing context when channel changes or commercial interruptions occur, making them unsuitable for interactive television environments.
Innovation Solution
A context-sensitive ticker system that correlates content with television program information, such as EPGs and close-captioning data, to maintain relevance across channel changes and commercial breaks, allowing viewers to interact with ticker items for additional information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the ticker is encoded in the same analog or digital signal as the television signal, then the ticker can be integrated with the television signal for broadcast, but the viewer has no control over the content, format, layout, or other presentation aspect of the ticker
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the ticker generation function from the television signal transmission. The production studio generates ticker information and sends it as separate data packets through the communication network, independent of the video signal path. This allows viewers to control ticker display locally without affecting the broadcast signal integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
A communication network acts as an intermediary between the production studio and the viewer's set-top box. The ticker information is transmitted through this intermediary as data packets, enabling decentralized control while maintaining system integration. The set-top box receives and processes these packets to generate the ticker display locally.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the ticker is generated at the production studio and combined with the television signal, then the ticker can be broadcast to viewers, but the ticker loses context when the viewer changes channels or when the program is interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The ticker system dynamically adapts its content based on real-time program information. The set-top box continuously receives program metadata (EPG data, close-captioning data) and automatically updates the ticker content to match the currently displayed program. This dynamic adaptation maintains context sensitivity without requiring manual intervention or complex encoding in the broadcast signal.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses program information feedback loops to maintain context correlation. The set-top box monitors the currently playing program through EPG data and close-captioning inputs, then uses this feedback to automatically select and display relevant ticker content. This closed-loop approach ensures the ticker remains contextually relevant across channel changes and program interruptions.
3Productivity
If the ticker information is included along with the MPEG stream, then the ticker can be transmitted efficiently, but the viewer cannot access or modify the ticker content independently
Solution Approach 1:
The ticker information is extracted from the traditional integrated signal approach and transmitted as separate data packets through the communication network. This extraction allows the ticker content to be independently accessed, processed, and displayed by the set-top box, giving viewers full control over ticker presentation while maintaining efficient transmission through dedicated data channels.
Data Source
AI summary
An in-context interactive television ticker is provided. The ticker is rendered on a display screen that also shows a television program, and presents ticker content that is in-context with subject matter of the television program. The ticker remains rendered and context-sensitive to the subject matter of the currently shown television program, whenever there is a change in the television program, such as when the subject matter of the current television program changes, when a commercial interruption occurs during the television program, or when the television channel is changed. The ticker is interactive in that the viewer can perform various interactive operations with the ticker, including interacting with the ticker to obtain additional information related to an in-context item presented by the ticker.