Granted Patent B2

US 7,380,031 · App. 11/314,915 · Granted May 27, 2008

Abstract

Claims (27)

1. A hybrid data distribution system for transmitting encoded data to a digital device and for transmitting decoded data to an analog device, comprising:

a database for storing the encoded data therein, wherein the encoded data comprises information associated with an interactive item selection system;

at least one processor coupled to the database for accessing the encoded data from the database and for decoding the encoding data to generate decoded data;

a modulator coupled to the at least one processor for receiving the decoded data from the at least one processor and for transmitting the decoded data in analog form to the analog device;

means for transmitting the encoded data in digital form to the digital device, wherein the means for transmitting the encoded data to the digital device is coupled to each of the database and the digital device;

wherein the analog device is coupled to a first television and is configured to display the decoded information received from the modulator on the first viewing surface; and

wherein the digital device is coupled to a second television and is configured to:

decode the encoded data received from the means for transmitting; and

display the decoded information on the second television.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor comprises:

a first plurality of processors; and

a central processor, wherein the first plurality of processors are configured to decode a first type of encoded data, and the central processor is configured to decode a second type of encoded data.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the first type of encoded data comprises an item selection system for viewing by a user of the first viewing surface, and the second type of encoded data comprises at least one movie for viewing by the user of the first viewing surface.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the means for transmitting comprises at least one of an Ethernet switch, a cable modem, and a wireless transmitter.

5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising billing software coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the billing software is configured to generate a first bill associated with the transmission of the encoded data from the means for transmission to the digital device, and a second bill associated with the transmission of the decoded data from the modulator to the analog device.

6. A hybrid data distribution system for transmitting encoded data to a digital device and for transmitting decoded data to an analog device, comprising:

a modulator coupled to an analog device that is coupled to a first television;

at least one processor coupled to the modulator;

a database coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the database is configured to store encoded data, and the encoded data comprises information for an interactive item selection system; and

means for transmitting the encoded data to a digital device that is coupled to a second television;

wherein the means for transmitting is coupled to each of the database and the digital device, and the at least one processor is configured to:

directly or indirectly obtain the encoded data from the database;

decode the encoded data; and

directly or indirectly transmit the decoded data to the modulator, and

wherein the modulator is configured to transmit the decoded data in analog form to the analog device, and the means for transmitting is configured to:

directly or indirectly obtain the encoded data from the database; and

transmit the encoded data in digital form to the digital device.

Assignments (8)