Triggerless interactive television
US8307403B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 2, 2005 |
| Grant date | Nov 6, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 31, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N21/631
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Various technologies and techniques are disclosed that relate to providing interactive television by synchronizing content to live and/or recorded television shows. Content is synchronized without the use of in-band triggers. A broadcast stream is received, and search/action pairs are received from a transmission path, such as from the Internet or user. When the search criteria are found in the broadcast stream, the associated action is performed and the content is synchronized with the show. An application programming interface is used to facilitate synchronization, and includes a set search method, a search function template method, and a clear search method. The set search method initiates searching of the broadcast stream and registers one or more callback methods for performing the associated action when the match is found. The search function template serves as the template for registering the callback methods. The clear search method clears the system resources from the search.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.