Abstract: Disclosed is a process for an advertising bidding system in which advertisers can bid on advertising time slots or enhanced ads that can be inserted in either prerecorded or live television programming. A high degree of flexibility is provided by allowing embedded ads to be purchased and displayed in a very short time period. This allows TV broadcasters to increase revenues and allows advertisers to have more flexibility in advertising. Objects can be inserted in the display video broadcast using enhancements such as by using mark-up language overlay pages or by video combination techniques. The effect of these ads can be evaluated for advertising campaigns.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system that optimizes transmission bandwidth of a broadband transmission system such as a cable television, satellite system, or wireless information service. Requests for content items from users are employed to add or delete content items from a list. Content items in the list are ranked relative to the number of requests received or by rate of request. Package groups are created with most requested content items being broadcast more frequently than less requested content items. Transmit groups are produced from package groups and placed in a broadcast queue. A transmit process transmits groups retrieved from the queue.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system that optimizes transmission bandwidth of a broadband transmission system such as a cable television, satellite system, or wireless information service. Requests for content items from users are employed to add or delete content items from a list. Content items in the list are ranked relative to the number of requests received or by rate of request. Package groups are created with most requested content items being broadcast more frequently than less requested content items. Transmit groups are produced from package groups and placed in a broadcast queue. A transmit process transmits groups retrieved from the queue.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and system in which “labels,” comprising supplemental information such as advertising, promotional, or informational elements including interactive elements, may be superimposed post-production into a video stream. This can be done by using overlay screens including interactive overlay screens or by combining video segments. As such, the labels do not have to physically be part of the actual scene during filming. Once a video stream is created, a space for available advertising is designated either manually or automatically by pattern recognition techniques. A list of available advertising space is generated. During viewing of television broadcasts, advertisements are placed in the video signal. Labels are displayed by superimposing an HTML page that is blank except for the advertisement onto the video signal. Advertisements can be superimposed post-production, and can be personalized and localized. The advertisements can be customized on a per-household basis.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and system in which “labels,” comprising supplemental information such as advertising, promotional, or informational elements including interactive elements, may be superimposed post-production into a video stream. This can be done by using overlay screens including interactive overlay screens or by combining video segments. As such, the labels do not have to physically be part of the actual scene during filming. Once a video stream is created, a space for available advertising is designated either manually or automatically by pattern recognition techniques. A list of available advertising space is generated. During viewing of television broadcasts, advertisements are placed in the video signal. Labels are displayed by superimposing an HTML page that is blank except for the advertisement onto the video signal. Advertisements can be superimposed post-production, and can be personalized and localized. The advertisements can be customized on a per-household basis.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and system that renders enhancement images onto receptor sites of a scene of a pre-existing program. A receptor site defines an area of a scene onto which an enhancement image may be rendered and provides information that may include size, scale, rotation, perspective, contour and coloration. Rendering processes may be direct, planar, conformal, blended, or migrated and may produce photo-realistic images that appear to be a natural part of a scene. Selection of enhancements may be targeted or opportunistic and may employ secondary selection criteria including demographics, viewer preferences, pricing and other information. Receptor site identification may employ human or software resources, or a combination thereof. Receptor site information may be determined through human or software resources or a combination thereof and may include the acquisition of characteristics of a displayed object image that then may be applied to an enhancement image.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and system in which “labels,” comprising supplemental information such as advertising, promotional, or informational elements including interactive elements, may be superimposed post-production into a video stream. This can be done by using overlay screens including interactive overlay screens or by combining video segments. As such, the labels do not have to physically be part of the actual scene during filming. Once a video stream is created, a space for available advertising is designated either manually or automatically by pattern recognition techniques. A list of available advertising space is generated. During viewing of television broadcasts, advertisements are placed in the video signal. Labels are displayed by superimposing an HTML page that is blank except for the advertisement onto the video signal. Advertisements can be superimposed post-production, and can be personalized and localized. The advertisements can be customized on a per-household basis.

Abstract: An interactive television program guide is provided in which advertisements may be displayed on program guide screens. Banner advertisements may be displayed above and below program listings. Panel advertisements may be provided adjacent to program listings. The advertisements may contain video. The advertisements may be used to promote television programs and conventional goods and services. When a user selects an advertisement, the program guide provides the user with an opportunity to order products or services, request information, set reminders for upcoming programs, view program descriptions, record programs, or take other such actions. Embedded advertisements may be provided within the program listings region and may be automatically displayed immediately adjacent to related program listings.

Abstract: An interactive television program guide with remote access is provided. The interactive television program guide is implemented on interactive television program guide equipment. A remote program guide access device is connected to the interactive television program guide equipment by a remote access link to provide a user with remote access to program guide functions.

Abstract: An interactive television program guide system is provided in which a user may inform a program guide of the user's interests. Information on the user's interests may be stored in a preference profile. There may be more than one preference profile, each for a different user. Each preference profile contains a number of preference attributes (program titles, genres, viewing times, channels, broadcast characteristics, etc.). A preference level (e.g., strong or weak like, strong or weak dislike, illegal, mandatory, don't care, etc.) that is indicative of the user's level of interest is associated with each preference attribute. Preference profiles may be used to restrict the programs that are listed in various program listings display screens and may be used to limit the channels to which the program guide allows the user to tune.

Abstract: An interactive television program guide system is provided. An interactive television program guide provides users with an opportunity to select programs for recording on a remote media server. Programs may also be recorded on a local media server. The program guide provides users with VCR-like control over programs that are played back from the media servers and over real-time cached copies of the programs. The program guide also provides users with an opportunity to designate gift recipients for whom programs may be recorded.

Abstract: An interactive television program guide system is provided. An interactive television program guide provides users with an opportunity to select programs for recording on a remote media server. Programs may also be recorded on a local media server. The program guide provides users with VCR-like control over programs that are played back from the media servers and over real-time cached copies of the programs. The program guide also provides users with an opportunity to designate gift recipients for whom programs may be recorded.

Abstract: An interactive television program guide is provided. Program guide display elements are arranged and styled using markup language documents. These markup language documents may also indicate and select program guide functions. The program guide interprets the markup language documents and generates the display screens and program guide functionality without user intervention. The program guide may also be updated by supplying new markup language documents that modify display screens and program guide functionality. The markup language documents may be supplied by a main facility or a television distribution facility.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system and method that provides rate controlled insertion of asynchronous data into a synchronous stream in a broadcast system. A calculation of the transmission time for an asynchronous data file is determined from the file size, available data transfer rate, redundancy transmission factor, bandwidth scale factor and connect time latency. Transmission time may be employed to schedule transmission of asynchronous data for use at a predetermined time. Transmission time for multiple files may be combined to determine a transmission start time for a first file such that a last asynchronous file is transmitted by a predetermined time.

Abstract: An interactive television program guide is provided in which advertisements may be displayed in program listings display Legions on program guide screens. The program listings display regions may be browse displays or flip displays. The program guide screens contain video for the current channel to which the user is tuned. The program listings display regions containing the advertisements may be overlaid on top of the current channel. Alternatively, the video for the current channel may be provided in a reduced-size video window. The advertisements may contain video. The advertisements may be used to promote television programs and conventional goods and services. Advertisements may be selectable. When a user selects an advertisement, the program guide provides the user with an opportunity to order products or services, request information, set reminders for upcoming programs, view program descriptions, record programs, or take other such actions.

Abstract: A client-server interactive television program guide system is provided. An interactive television program guide client is implemented on user television equipment. The interactive television program guide provides users with an opportunity to define expressions that are processed by the program guide server. The program guide server may provide program guide data, schedules reminders, schedules program recordings, and parentally locks programs based on the expressions. Users' viewing histories may be tracked. The program guide server may analyze the viewing histories and generates viewing recommendations, targets advertising, and collects program ratings information based on the viewing histories.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system that permits a variable number of disparate streams of data to be packaged together as content into a single distinct program referred to as an omnimedia package. A framework definition may be specified and created for the omnimedia package to allow a client set top box to decode the information and provide access to streams comprising video, audio and metadata information. The framework definition may be employed by a broadcast system to create a broadcast stream. A mechanism is described that permits a content provider to define a framework for delivering a package of related content. The framework definition encapsulates information necessary to build, format, transmit and display the disparate content streams. Data may be downloaded to a receiver prior to the broadcast of an associated program. The present invention may be implemented on terrestrial, cable, satellite, VDSL and other transport systems, including those that support upstream communication.

Abstract: An interactive television program guide with remote access is provided. The interactive television program guide is implemented on interactive television program guide equipment. A remote program guide access device is connected to the interactive television program guide equipment by a remote access link to provide a user with remote access to program guide functions.

Abstract: An interactive television program guide system is provided. An interactive television program guide provides users with an opportunity to select programs for recording on a remote media server. Programs may also be recorded on a local media server. The program guide provides users with VCR-like control over programs that are played back from the media servers and-over real-time cached copies of the programs. The program guide also provides users with an opportunity to designate gift recipients for whom programs may be recorded.

Abstract: An interactive television program guide system with program series reminder and recording capabilities is provided. The system allows a user to set a reminder or schedule a recording for a single episode or for each episode of a program series. In addition, other options may be provided that allow the user to determine, for example, whether to schedule reminders/recordings for episodes on all channels on which the program airs or only on a selected channels, whether to schedule reminders/recordings for all episodes including reruns or only new episodes, whether to schedule reminders/recordings for network or syndicated episodes, and whether to schedule reminders/recordings for episodes on all days or only on selected days of the week. Before the scheduled broadcast time of each episode of each selected program series, the system sends a reminder message to the user that reminds the user of the program episode or sends a record command to a videocassette recorder to initiate recording of the episode.