Abstract: A known system derives information from the VPS- and Teletext signals and displays the title of the current program and the network name on screen for a few seconds, each time a new channel is selected. The VPS- and Teletext signals contain more program-related information than mentioned above. The present invention concerns deriving the end-time and/or the remaining duration of the current program as well as the starting-time of the next program for display on-screen.

Abstract: An interactive television system where interactive information is inserted in the vertical blanking interval of a standard television signal. The signal is received and decoded by a stetop decoder which sends the decoded signal via an infrared signal to a handheld device. The viewer using the handheld device can interact with a game, sports, or education event or other presentation on the television. The system includes a proprietary high level command language and programmer (PIU) tables which are maintained in the memory of the handheld device. The PIU tables store the transactions of the various events presented on the television. The transactions are sent from the insertion system to the decoder throughout the broadcast of the television program.

Abstract: Based on a series of video data for producing one or a plurality of text displaying images and a series of accompaniment MIDI data, a signal processing circuit (1) prepares a quasi video signal containing the two kinds of data as arranged in alternating fields or in alternating pluralities of fields in time series and identification data for identifying the series of video data and MIDI data. The quasi video signal is transmitted to terminal units (5) for users via a CATV or like transmission path. The terminal unit extracts from the quasi video signal fields of MIDI data and video data containing identification data specifying a piece of music selected by the user, and reproduces the accompaniment of the selected piece and displays the text thereof based on the extracted data.