Video on demand methods and systems
View Patent ↗An entertainment head-end provides broadcast programming, video-on-demand services, and HTML-based interactive programming through a distribution network to client terminals in subscribers' homes. A number of different features are provided, including novel user interfaces, enhanced video-on-demand controls, a variety of interactive services (personalized news, jukebox, games, celebrity chat), and techniques that combine to provide user experiences evocative of conventional television.
1. A method of presenting entertainment comprising:
receiving composite video signals from a network;
separating the composite signals into analog video, digital video, and HTML primitives/control instructions, the composite signals including plural transmission channels;
displaying, on a screen, a selection of on-demand videos, the screen display defined by at least a portion of the HTML primitives;
rendering a control panel on the screen using at least a portion of the HTML primitives;
receiving a request to display an on-demand video from the displayed selection of on-demand videos;
converting the digital video into successive frames of video data, the successive frames of video data comprising a portion of the on-demand video;
receiving an indication of a waiting email message;
displaying the portion of the on-demand video on the screen;
receiving a request to pause display of the portion of the on-demand video;
in response to the request, resumably interrupting display of the portion of the on-demand video; and
during the resumably interrupted display of the portion of the on-demand video, displaying an indication of the waiting e-mail message, wherein the indication of the waiting e-mail message is in response to receiving a request to pause the display portion of the on-demand video;
monitoring a length of time that the pause request has been pending and dynamically reassigning a new transmission channel if the pause request has been pending for longer than a predetermined threshold period.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein after receiving the request to pause display of the portion of the on-demand video, a data record is stored at a head-end indicating a point of interruption of the received video signals.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein after receiving the request to pause display of the portion of the on-demand video, a data record is stored at a proxy server indicating a point of interruption of the portion of the on-demand video.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein after receiving the request to pause display of the received video signals, a data record is stored in memory indicating a point of interruption of the portion of the on-demand video.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein the portion of the on-demand video is recorded during the interruption.
6. A method of presenting entertainment comprising:
receiving video signals a composite signal comprising plural transmission channels modulated onto separate carrier frequencies;
on at least one of the transmission channels, receiving video on demand programming;
on at least one of the transmission channels, receiving HTML-based content including existence of a waiting message;
mapping the video on demand programming transmission channel to a viewing channel;
displaying, on a display screen turned to the viewing channel, the received video on demand programming;
receiving a request from a user to pause display of the received video on demand programming;
in response to the request, resumably interrupting display of the received video on demand programming;
during the interruption, displaying an indication of the waiting message, the indication being displayed in response to the request from the user to pause the display;
removing a control panel from the display screen if a first on-screen control is actuated;
and maintaining the control panel on the display screen if a second on-screen control is actuated;
wherein the second on-screen control is a PAUSE button;
monitoring a length of time that the interruption is pending and dynamically remapping the video on demand programming transmission channel if the interruption has been pending for longer than a predetermined threshold period.
7. The method of claim 6 further comprising resuming display of the received video on demand programming on a different transmission channel.
8. The method of claim 6 wherein the message is a chat message.
9. The method of claim 6 wherein the message is an electronic mail message.
10. The method of claim 6 wherein the message is a promotional message.
11. The method of claim 6 wherein the message is a commercial message.
12. A system for providing entertainment, the system comprising:
a display device;
a remote control;
a digital processor;
volatile and non-volatile memory;
a network connection; and
digital processor executable instructions stored in memory for performing a method comprising,
receiving from the network a composite signal comprising plural transmission channels modulated onto separate carrier frequencies;
on at least one of the transmission channels, receiving video on demand programming;
on at least one of the transmission channels, receiving television programming;
on at least one of the transmission channels, receiving HTML-based content;
mapping the video on demand programming transmission channel to a viewing channel;
displaying, on the display device turned to the viewing channel, the received video on demand programming;
receiving, in the HTML-based content, existence of a waiting email;
receiving a request from a user to pause display of the received video on demand programming;
in response to the request, resumably interrupting display of the received video on demand programming; and
displaying an indication of the waiting e-mail while the display of the received video on demand programming is resumably interrupted, the indication of the waiting e-mail being displayed in response to the request from the user to pause the display;
monitoring a length of time that the interruption is pending and dynamically remapping at least one of the transmission channels.
13. The system of claim 12 wherein after receiving the request, a pause instruction is sent out on a network connection and a data record is stored at a head-end indicating a point of MPEG interruption.
14. The system of claim 12 wherein after receiving the request, a pause instruction is sent out on a network connection and a data record is stored at a proxy server indicating a point of MPEG interruption.
15. The system of claim 12 wherein after receiving the request, a data record is stored in memory indicating a point of display interruption.
16. The system of claim 12 further comprising resuming display of the received video on demand programming.
17. The system of claim 12 which includes removing a displayed user interface if a first control on the user interface is selected and maintaining the displayed user interface if a second control on the user interface is selected.
18. A system for providing entertainment, the system comprising:
a display screen;
a remote control;
a digital processor;
volatile and non-volatile memory; and
digital processor executable instructions stored in memory for performing a method comprising,
receiving a composite signal comprising plural transmission channels modulated onto separate carrier frequencies;
on at least one of the transmission channels, receiving video on demand programming;
on at least one of the transmission channels, receiving television programming;
on at least one of the transmission channels, receiving HTML-based content including indication of a waiting email;
mapping the video on demand programming transmission channel to a viewing channel;
displaying, on the display screen, the received video on demand programming on the viewing channel;
receiving a request from a user to pause display of the viewing channel;
in response to the request, resumably interrupting display of the viewing channel;
displaying the indication of waiting e-mail while the display of the viewing channel is resumably interrupted the indication of the waiting e-mail being displayed in response to the request from the user to pause the display; and
removing a displayed user interface from the display screen if a first control on the user interface is selected and maintaining the displayed user interface if a second control on the user interface is selected, the displayed user interface created from HTML primitives received from the HTML-based content, the HTML primitives stored in the non-volatile memory;
wherein the second control is a PAUSE button;
monitoring a length of time that the interruption is pending and dynamically remapping the video on demand programming transmission channel if the interruption has been pending for longer than a predetermined threshold period.
19. A computer executable method comprising:
receiving a composite signal comprising plural channels modulated onto separate carrier frequencies;
on at least one of the plural channels, receiving on-demand video programming;
on at least one of the plural channels, receiving television programming;
on at least one of the plural channels, receiving HTML-based content including an email waiting indication;
storing the HTML-based content in a local storage device;
displaying the on-demand video programming on a display device;
receiving a request from a user to delay the on-demand video programming display;
resumably interrupting display of the on-demand video programming responsive to the request; and
maintaining a current channel for the on-demand video programming despite the request from a user to delay;
if the delay exceeds a predetermined threshold, returning the current channel to a system pool and reassigning the channel if playback resumes;
while the video programming display is resumably interrupted, displaying an indication of the waiting e-mail message on the display device, the indication of the waiting e-mail message being displayed in response to the request from the user to delay the on-demand video programming display.
20. The computer executable method of claim 19 wherein in response to the request to delay the on-demand video programming, a data record is stored at a proxy server indicating a point of video programming interruption.
21. The method of claim 19 wherein in response to the request to delay the on-demand video programming, a data record is stored in memory indicating a point of video programming interruption.
22. The method of claim 19 wherein the request from a user to delay the on-demand video programming display is indicated by a gesture interface.