MXPA01008022A - Electronic program guide with support for rich program content - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic program guide that assists a user to navigate through a variety of digital and analog feeds made available by digital television technology is provided. Features such as allowing the user to purchase items, allowing the user to choose the content of the display screen, enabling more efficient use of black areas, among others are provided. Default settings based on prior user settings is provided to allow for an automatically customized environment. This automatic customization may entail, for example, the automatic resizing of windows based on the user's prior preferences. Also provided is a feature that allows for the automatic activation of a local or remote application through the user's set-top box based on the content currently being viewed.

Description

ELECTRONIC PROGRAMMING GUIDE WITH SUPPORT FOR RICH CONTENT IN PROGRAMMING FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to interactive television program guide systems. More particularly, this invention relates to interactive television programming guide systems for rich content in programming that is made available through digital television technology.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 'Digital television allows a high amount of programming to be available to home viewers. This programming transcends traditional content boundaries by making available not only preprogrammed video programming, but many other types of content. This other type of content includes c services, special events feeds, electronic commerce, internet capabilities, stock and news data and an almost unlimited amount of information. Conventional interactive television programming guides simply list programming information and can provide features that allow a user to navigate between limited and sometimes fixed content. The need to help the user navigate through the almost endless content offered by digital television becomes evident. The availability of a significant amount of content allows the user to be better informed on particular issues. Conventional television programming guidelines do not focus on presenting the user with an arrangement or content arrangement that includes or covers everything. The reason for this is probably due to the fact that analogue television is limited in terms of the amount of content offered and due to the static nature of the programming offered by analogue television. These characteristics of analog television make the conventional television programming guide suitable to serve the purpose of informing the user, simply making the user aware of the existence of the content and without providing important organizing capabilities for the actual information that will be transmitted. However, digital television demands a tool that not only informs the user of the existence of the content, but also presents the content in a clear and efficient way. This becomes increasingly important as new types of digital television content become available. Different types of content are related to each other and multiple feeds of similar content may be available. A conventional television programming guide can only provide a listing of these related items and may not allow the user to simultaneously observe all related content. US-A-5,331,349, EP-A-0 737 007 and US-A-5,754,253 show the use of an image outside of an image (ie, picture-out-picture or POP, for its acronym in English) to exhibit passive television content. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a way in which the vast amount of content offered by digital television can be organized and made navigable to the user. It is also an object of the present invention to provide programming guides rich in content for digital television, which allow the user to observe or have immediate access to all the related content available.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other objects of the invention are achieved in accordance with the principles of the present invention, by providing systems and methods that can present the rich content made available by means of digital television technology in a more customizable form. and efficient, which includes the use of interactive features. In the case where an analog carrier carries several digital television feeds, the content-rich interactive television programming guide, as described by the present invention, can provide a listing describing the digital television feeds made available by the analog carrier. The user can select to display any of the available digital television feeds on the screen. The digital television feeds themselves may contain many different types of programming. For example, this may include video, audio, data, interactive content, enhanced transmissions, etc. One of the most beneficial aspects of digital television technology is that, through a particular analog carrier, multiple digital television feeds can be provided and that the content supplied by these digital television feeds can all be related to a single theme. If desired, the content of most digital television feeds can be related to a single topic or, there is no relationship between the content provided by the digital television feeds, if desired. For example, an analog carrier can carry digital television feeds that are all related to business news. There may be video feeds that carry updates of live video news or any other suitable content, an electronic indicator (hereinafter referred to solely as an indicator) may be provided stock or securities, configurable by means of a digital television feed (ie , the digital television feed may simply be a data stream having the stock quotes of all the bags and the present invention may be used to extract from this current the corresponding data to which the user wishes to observe), update feeds may be provided. of text and graphics that may represent the development of the stock market and ad feeds can provide any suitable form of advertisements. These are just a few examples of the types of related content that can be provided. Any other suitable arrangement can be used. Another aspect of the present invention includes the use of black areas. The black areas are usually the black spaces that appear either on the top Pl330 bottom of a display screen or on the left and right sides of a screen, for example, when a widescreen program is being watched on a standard-aspect television or when a standard-looking program is observed on a screen television wide, respectively. The programming guide of the present invention attempts to make use of the black areas, which by the present invention are defined as any empty space visible between the content displayed on the display screen. The content can be moved, placed and resized within the black areas. This allows additional content to be placed on the display screen. This also allows greater freedom in arranging or arranging the content on the display screen. To take advantage of the numerous related digital television feeds, it is worthwhile to be able to observe the information that is provided by several digital television feeds simultaneously. To this end, the present invention provides a television programming guide of rich content that allows multiple feeds to be displayed simultaneously. This can be achieved, for example, through the use of black areas, which can support additional content in accordance with the expanded definition of P1330 black areas, as stated above. One way in which content can be displayed is through the use of windows. That is, each digital television feed can be assigned to a window, which can be placed in the visible area of the user's display screen. This window can be moved or moved and resized by the user or the window can be moved and resized automatically by the rich content television programming guide, based on the user's preference settings or based on any other suitable factors. With the large number of options and preference settings that may be available with a rich content television programming guide, this programming guide attempts to make it easier to maintain user references as well as other personal data, by using of heuristic particularities. These particularities can allow the programming guide to learn what it likes and dislikes to each particular user and can store settings automatically, so that the user does not need to be burdened with the manual change of the user's settings and other personal data. These settings can relate to anything, ranging from what background colors to use to what credit card number P1330 to use for acquisitions made through the peculiarities of interactive television commerce, made available by television with improved transmission. If desired, the user can also be provided with the option to manually cancel the automated system and manually store the settings. If desired, the features of the present invention may be used independently of a television programming guide of rich content. For clarity, the present invention is described with the assumption that the features will be used as part of a television programming guide of rich content. The additional features of the invention, its nature and the various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a block diagram of an illustrative programming guide system, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the digital channel feeds that are incorporated in analog carriers, in accordance with the present P1330 invention. Figure 3 is a diagram of a stream or flow of packets that constitute a digital flow, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 4 is a block diagram showing a packet filter that decomposes a packet stream into digital feeds, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 5 is a block diagram showing a digital video feed that will be separated by filtering and processed, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 6 shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 7 shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 8 shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 9 shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 10 is a flow chart of steps P1330 illustrative, involved in the decision of how to format the exhibition, in accordance with the present invention. Figure HA shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 11B shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 12A shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 12B shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 13 shows an illustrative window of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 14 shows an illustrative window of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 15 shows an illustrative window of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 16 shows an illustrative window of P1330 the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 17A shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 17B shows the illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide of Figure 17A, after the user moved the windows and resized them, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 18A shows a cascaded window structure, illustrative of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 18B shows the illustrative window of the rich content programming guide of Figure 18A, after the user selected the highlighted window, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 19 shows an illustrative window of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 20 shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 21A shows an illustrative window of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention.

P13_0 Figure 2IB shows the illustrative window of the rich content programming guide of Figure 21A, after a specified period of time elapsed, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 22A shows an illustrative window of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 22B shows the illustrative window of the rich content programming guide of Figure 22A, after the user executed an alternating or switching command, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 22C shows the illustrative window of the rich content programming guide of Figure 22B, after the user executed an alternating or switching command, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 22D shows the illustrative window of the rich content programming guide of Figure 22A, after the user executed N-l times the toggle or switch command, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 22E shows the illustrative window of the rich content programming guide of Figure 22D, after the user executed a switching command, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 23 is a flowchart of the illustrative steps involved in changing the content of a display window, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 24 is a diagram showing the multiple analog feeds that will be displayed simultaneously in accordance with the present invention. Figure 25 shows an illustrative window of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 26 is a flowchart of the illustrative steps involved in acquiring a compact disc, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 27A shows an illustrative window of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 27B shows the illustrative window of the rich content programming guide of Figure 27A, after the user made a selection, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 28 is a flowchart of the illustrative steps involved in acquiring concert tickets, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 29 is a flow chart of the illustrative steps involved in creating a digital music video feed on the fly, P1330 in accordance with the present invention. Figure 30 shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 31 shows an illustrative window of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 32 shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 33A shows an illustrative indicator window, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 33B shows the illustrative indicator window of Figure 33A, after a period of time has elapsed, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 34A shows an illustrative indicator window, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 34B shows the illustrative indicator window of Figure 34A, after a period of time has elapsed, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 35A shows an illustrative selection window that is displayed after selecting an indicator element of Figure 35A, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 36 shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 37 shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 38 shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 39A shows an illustrative window of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 39B shows the illustrative window of the rich content programming guide of Figure 37A, after it has been automatically resized, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 40A shows an illustrative window of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 40B shows the illustrative window of the rich content programming guide of Figure 38A, after it has been resized. Figure 40C shows the illustrative window of the rich content programming guide of Figure 38A, P1330 after it has been resized. Figure 41 shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 42 is a block diagram illustrating a possible storing technique, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 43 is a flowchart of the illustrative steps involved in activating an application from within a content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 44 shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 45 shows an illustrative display screen of the rich content programming guide, in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES An illustrative programming guide system 30 according to the present invention is shown in Figure 1. The data of the programming guide, such as, for example, program listings, program descriptions, information for ordering pay-per-view shows and the like, may P1330 is stored in a database 32 of the programming guide of the main installation 34. The main installation 34 can distribute the data of the programming guide to multiple television distribution facilities 36, by means of communication routes, such as the communications route 38. The television distribution facilities 36 can be television transmission facilities, cable system headends, satellite distribution facilities or other suitable television distribution facilities. In Figure 1, only one television distribution installation is illustrated to avoid excessively complicating the drawings. For clarity, the invention will be described primarily in relation to the use of this television distribution facility. The communication path 38 can be any suitable communication path, such as a satellite link, a cable link, a fiber optic link, a telephone link, the Internet, etc. Each television distribution facility 36 has several associated users, each of which has the television set 40 of the user connected to the television distribution facility 36, by means of one of the communication routes 42. The communication routes 42 can be any suitable type of Pl330 suitable link to support television and data programming. For example, if the television distribution facility 36 is a cable system, the communication routes 42 can be cable. The routes 42 are used to distribute the television programming to the television set 40 of the user. The television signals distributed to the television set 40 of the user can be analog or digital or both. The routes 42 are also used to distribute data, such as data from the programming guide, to the television set 40 of the user. The data can be distributed using the band or out-of-band technique and can use digital or analog techniques. The data can be distributed continuously, periodically or on demand. The routes 42 are preferably bidirectional, so that functions such as pay-per-minute acquisition of the programming guide and client-server functions can be supported. When the services other than the services of the programming guide are provided to the user, data may be provided on the routes that relate to these services that are not of the programming guide. As shown in Figure 1, the television set 40 of the user may contain a set-top box 44 connected to an optional set-top recorder.

P1330 videotapes 46 or another recording device, such as a digital video disc (DVD) player having recording capabilities or a digital storage device, such as equipment containing a hard disk drive or the like. If desired, the decoder box 44 can be a digital video recorder or a personal video recorder including said hard disk drive. The decoder box 44 can receive television programming and data from the television distribution facility 36, via the communications path 42. In the decoder box 44, an interactive television programming guide and various applications that are not available can be implemented. the programming guide. The television programming coming from the television distribution installation 36 and the display screens generated by the applications of the decoder box 44 can be supplied to the video cassette recorder 46, using the communication path 48, which can be, for example , a wire or wire. To the video cassette recorder 46 commands may be provided from the decoder box 44, using the communications path 50, which may be an infrared link or another suitable communications path. The cassette recorder 48 can pass P1330 television programming from the television distribution facility 36, display screens generated by the decoder box 44 or video signals generated when playing a video cassette on the television 52, by means of the communications path 54. The user can observe the television programming and display screens on television 52 and can use 52 television (or an auxiliary audio system) to listen to music channels or other audio programs. The decoder box 44, the video cassette recorder 46 and the television 52 can be controlled by the remote control 56 or by any other suitable user interface, such as a mouse, a trackball, a wireless keyboard, a system of speech recognition, a touch screen, dedicated keys, etc. If desired, other types of user's television equipment 40, such as those based on personal computer televisions (PC / TVS) or advanced television receivers, can be used, rather than a configuration based on a decoder box. However, for clarity, the present invention will be described primarily in relation to a decoding box arrangement. In addition, different configurations may be used to distribute data to the user's television equipment 40, such as the configurations P1330 in which program listings and other information may be distributed to the user's television equipment 40, bypassing the television distribution facility 36, using routes (e.g., Internet routes) that are separated from the communication routes 42 For clarity, the present invention will be described primarily with respect to the illustrative data distribution arrangement, shown in Figure 1. The television distribution facility 36 may contain a video server 58 to support video-on-demand applications. With these applications, the videos that are stored on the video server 58 can be requested by the users on the television set 40 of the user. The videos can then be reproduced to the users on the communication routes 42. If it is desired to implement applications such as the programming guide application, a server 59 that is separate or integrated to the server 58 can also be provided, using the client architecture -server. Applications such as program guide applications and non-program guide applications can be implemented on any suitable platform. A suitable platform is the user's television equipment 40, which may be based on a P1330 decoder box or in a device that incorporates decoder box functions, such as an advanced digital television receiver, etc. Another suitable platform includes a client-server architecture, based on a server 59 and on the television set 40 of the user. The server 59 may be located in the television distribution facility 36 or in another remote location to the television set 40 of the user. The server 59 operates in cooperation with the user's television equipment 40. In the client-server arrangements, the data of the programming guide can be maintained in a database on the server 59 and can be supplied to the television set 40 of the user on demand. The data of the programming guide stored in the server 59 can be distributed to the server 59 for its database from the programming guide database 32, through the communication link 38. With the client-server arrangements, the interactive programming guides and other applications that are implemented in the platform are partially implemented in the user's television equipment 40 and are partially implemented in the server 59, instead of being fully implemented in the user's television equipment 40. For example, the programming guide functions related to the display of menu screens may be P1330 can be implemented in the user's television equipment 40, while the functions related to the maintenance of a programming guide database in the television distribution facility 36 can be implemented using the server 59 and the functions related to the particularities video on demand can be implemented using the server 58. Web browser applications in the set top box 44 can allow the user access to the Internet 60. The Internet 60 can be accessed either directly (for example, by a modem link) or by installing television distribution 36 (using, for example, a link by cable modem), as shown in Figure 1. Other facilities and services that can be accessed directly or through the television distribution facility 36 include banking services (using the installation of banking 62), purchasing services (using order fulfillment facility 64), betting or gaming services (using game installation 66) and information and other services (using data facility 68). Digital television allows a conventional analog carrier to carry multiple digital channels, as illustrated in Figure 2. Carriers Analog P1330s, such as channel 190, can each carry a set of one or more digital channels 188 in their transmission signal. The digital channels can be transmitted in the form of a stream of packets 170, as shown in Figure 3. A packet 172 can contain a packet identifier (PID) 174, which can identify the digital stream or streams. to which the package is associated. The data packets can be flowed through the communication channels, such as a cable connection, a satellite feed, telephone lines or any other suitable transmission method. The data packets can then be processed by hardware and software resident in a decoder box. This is merely an illustrative way to transmit digital channels. If desired, digital data can be sent by means of a contiguous block of data, which can be stored in the user's decoding box. These data can be updated on a regular basis, continuously or according to demand. If desired, any systems and methods for transferring digital channels may be used, in accordance with the present invention. One of the benefits of digital television is that along with an analog carrier 190 a multitude of digital channels 188 can be transmitted.

P1330 allows the broadcaster of an analog carrier 190, which uses digital technology to transmit more content without adding bandwidth. The data of all these digital channels 188 can be interleaved in packet stream 170. Each packet 172 can contain the data of a particular digital feed. The PID 174 can identify which power the packet data belongs to. If desired, a packet header can provide information, such as a location parameter that can define where this portion of data belongs with respect to the other data portions that constitute that particular feed. Alternatively, a packet 172 may have data from different digital feeds 188, interleaved therein. In that case, the packet header may provide compensation information, length information, location information and feed identification information of each contiguous segment of data in pack 172, which belong to a particular feed. The compensation information and the length information can accurately indicate the segment of the data package you are referring to and the location and identification of the feed can define where this portion of data belongs, with respect to the other portions of data that P1330 constitute the particular food that is being identified. Figure 4 illustrates a filtering operation that can separate each digital feed from the packet data stream. The packet stream 170 can be sent through a packet filter 176 that can read the PID 174 of each packet 172 and can determine which feed 178 each particular data item belongs to. The packet filter 176 may then output separate digital feeds 177, which may be in the form of individual data streams, files, data packets or any other suitable data form. This data can then be used by the different elements of hardware and software of the decoder box, together with the interaction with the header (to facilitate more interactivity). For example, the flow of digital data in a video display is illustrated in Figure 5. One of the feeds 178 that is emitted by the packet filter 176 can be sent to a video processing hardware and video processing software. 180, which may include an MPEG decoder. If desired, by increasing the number of MPEG 182 decoders, more than one digital video stream can be displayed simultaneously. If desired, a digital video stream can be displayed Pl330 simultaneously with one or more analog video transmissions, using a separate tuner for each analog carrier. The formatted and decoded video data is then transmitted from the video processing hardware and software 180 to the display device 184. Figure 6 is an illustration of a display screen 10 showing a main video feed in the full screen and an overlay of listings 12 containing lists of the digital feeds that will be transmitted along with the analog signal that carries the transmission programming of the NBC. The overlap of listings may have been displayed as a result of the user pressing a menu button on the remote control. The lists of the overlap of listings 12 can be selected by the user using the arrow keys of the remote control. If desired, a preview window 14 may be provided in the overlay of listings 12. Alternatively, the preview window 14 may be provided in any other suitable place that can display a preview image, textual description or video of the preview. channel that is currently highlighted by the highlighting region 16 of the overlay of listings 12. Also, in the overlay of listings 12 P1330 may display a region of advertisements 18 containing a graphic or textual advertisement that may be interactive. The overlap of listings 12 is merely illustrative of a technique for presenting program listings. Any suitable technique can be implemented to display program listings. If desired, this choice can be left to the user to perform in the adjustment operation of the decoder box or other user equipment capable of implementing these particularities. Program listings may be permanently visible in the display, may disappear after a predetermined period of time, may be activated and deactivated by the user or may be activated and deactivated based on any other suitable mechanism. Another illustrative form in which the program listings are presented is shown in Figure 7. Figure 7 is an illustration of an exhibit screen 20 that is displayed on a wide screen display device. The program shown in the illustrated channel is being transmitted in a standard screen size. The decoder box may be enabled to determine the size of the display device and may be enabled to determine the transmission size of any particular channel or power. Yes, as illustrated in P1330 Figure 7, the two sizes do not match, then the "black areas" can be observed. In the case where a wide screen display device attempts to display a standard screen display, the result may be a black area 24 on the left side of the display device 20 and a black area 28 on the right side of the display device. 20. These black areas can be used to display additional information to the user, without having to obstruct the view of the main power. For example, a list of other feeds associated with the present analog carrier can be displayed in the black area. This avoids having to overlay the listings on top of the program that is being observed at the moment, as illustrated in Figure 6. These listings can have all the functionality of the listings that are displayed in a separate window (for example, they can be interactive ). The possible combinations of particularities that can be implemented in the black areas are almost unlimited. A preview frame 28 can be displayed which can provide a preview image, textual information or video of a currently highlighted item in the program listings. An advertisement region 28 may display advertisements in the black areas.

If desired, the use of black areas can be deactivated by the user. In addition, the user can choose to "stretch" the main power of the standard screen to make it fit on the wide screen display screen 20. In the case where a wide-screen transmission is being displayed on a standard screen display 40, as illustrated in Figure 8, a black area 42 and at the bottom may be present at the top of the display 40. of the display 40 a black area 44 may be present. The content of these black areas may be similar to that of Figure 7. If desired, the sides of the transmission feed may be cut off and the upper and lower parts may be stretched to adjust the display screen 40, eliminating the black areas. Another feature of the rich content television programming guide, described by the present invention, may allow a user to move or move the video window 48 of the display 40, so that it covers all black area above or below. this. For example, if the user moves the video window 48 upwards, so that it completely covers the black area 42, the result may be an exhibit that resembles the screen 52 of Figure 9.

P1330 Here, black area 46 is twice the height of black area 44 of Figure 4. This may allow larger images and a more extensive content listing to be displayed in black area 46. Figure 10 is a flow chart that presents an illustrative process to determine how to manage or manage black areas. As the user tunes to a particular feed, the decoder box, in step 56, can determine whether the user is observing a wide screen display screen or a standard display screen. If the user is observing a wide display screen and if the particular feed is in the form of a wide-screen display (as determined in step 68), you do not need to do anything to manage or manage the black areas, since there will be no areas blacks, as seen in step 62. However, if in step 68 it is determined that the particular program has the format of a standard screen, then in step 64, the image supplied by the transmission power can be stretched to fit On the display screen or, the image may be cut to fit on the display screen or, the black areas may be available to display some other content. If in step 56, it is determined that the display device is a standard screen and, if it is determined that the particular transmission power is in the form of a wide screen display, in step 58, the transmitted power may be cut off, so that it fits on the display screen, in step 66. Alternatively, in step 66 it may be chosen to leave the black areas and use them to display some other content or the image supplied by the transmission power may be stretched to fit on the screen of exhibition. If in step 58 it is determined that the transmission power has the format of a standard screen display, then nothing needs to be done, since there will be no black areas. The rich content television programming guide, described by the present invention, may allow a user to select the content of the content listings, such as the overlaying of content listings 12 of Figure 6. If the highlighting region 16, using, for example, the arrow keys of the remote control to display the listings and perhaps using the enter key of the remote control to select the particular listing, a screen such as the screen 70 of Figure HA. The display screen 70 contains the selected feed of the content list 16 highlighted. The system can automatically select an ad feed that is transmitted by the analog carrier and have advertisements for this feed displayed in the advertisement region 72, simultaneously with the power selected by the user. The user preferably has no control over whether an advertisement is displayed or not, although, if desired, the user can be granted control over whether the ad feeds will be displayed. Figure 11B illustrates an alternate modality of an exhibit screen that may result from selecting the highlighted content list 16 of Figure 6. In this embodiment, an additional feed is displayed as an overlay 74 on top of the original feed that is being displayed . This arrangement of exhibiting multiple feeds is merely illustrative. Any other suitable arrangement may be used, as desired. One of the particularities of greater benefit of digital television is the ability of a transmission provider to transmit related digital television feeds. This feature can be used to provide the user with additional information and resources about particular interests, issues, events, etc. An important P1330 particularity of the rich content television programming guide, as described by the present invention, is the ability to organize the content of this additional information, so as to simplify access to the user and that he is aware of any available resources . For example, a provider of business-related information can transmit an analog carrier that can have a video feed of financial news as its main source. The provider can simultaneously transmit several other digital channels on the analog carrier. These additional feeds can include, for example, another video feed, ten text / graphics updates and a configurable stock pointer. When a user tunes to a particular analog carrier, which consists of several digital feeds, the decoder box can provide a default arrangement of content that can be displayed simultaneously to the user. This arrangement can be an arrangement both in terms of the content of the windows and the visual distribution of the windows on the user's display screen. This default fix can be a default setting on the part of the transmission provider, it can be a default user-defined fix, it can be a default fix based on an artificial intelligence mechanism of the decoder box, which learns the tastes particular of the user with respect to the content being observed, or may be any combination of these or other suitable mechanisms. The default arrangements, based on the particular preferences of the user, can be stored in a user profile that is unique to each user of a particular decoder box (for example, for each member of a family). Each user can register to activate their respective settings and preferences. Figure 12A is an illustration of a typical default distribution of a business channel. There can be a video window 82 that can display a default video with the activation of the business channel. There can also be a text / graphic update window 92 that can display a text / graphics update by default with the activation of the business channel. There may be a configurable stock indicator 90 that may exhibit a default set of stock price quotes with the activation of the business channel. There may also be an announcement region 88 that can be selected automatically and P1330 that may be beyond the user's control. If desired, the user can be granted a limited amount of control over the advertisement region 88. The configurable stock indicator 90 can be selected by the user, using the arrow keys of the remote control or by placing the cursor over the stock indicator 90 , using a wireless mouse, a tracking ball or any other suitable input device and then pressing a button (ie, clicking) or pressing the enter key. This can bring an adjustment screen, such as the one illustrated in Figure 13. The user can choose the actions that will be added to the stock indicator 90, by entering the stock symbols in the text box 96. The characters can be entered by means of a wireless keyboard, a telephone-type numeric keypad on a remote control or when navigating through an alphabet that can be displayed on screen 98 or that can be displayed as a separate overlay. The user can observe the stock symbols currently configured for the indicator in window 93. If desired, additional features can be provided. These may include features such as a particularity that looks for the stock symbol by company name. A user can enter the full or partial name of the P1330 company in the text box 96 and you can press the enter key on the remote control to have the system look for the symbol of the company name and perhaps provide a query of whether the symbol is added to the indicator. Tis just one possible modality for the adjustment screen of an indicator. If desired, any other arrangement can be used to adjust or configure an indicator. In addition, an indicator can be used for any purpose, not just to display stock prices. The window 93 of the present quotes contains a scroll bar 100 that indicates the existence of additional elements in the list which are not being displayed. The user can use the cursor of a mouse to click on the scroll bar 100 and scroll down the listings. Alternatively, the user can use the up and down arrow keys of the remote control to scroll automatically after the last item displayed is highlighted. The modality shown is purely illustrative. Any of these modes can be implemented to scroll and display a scroll bar. Figure 12A illustrates the use of windows to display video content, text content, P1330 graphic content, etc. Tcan be achieved by treating a windowless display screen as a large black area. As windows are added, the black areas are defined as the unused portions of the display screen that surrounds the windows. If desired, these black areas can be used to display any suitable content without the use of windows. For example, a list of programs can be displayed in a black area adjacent to a video window that can inform the user of the schedule of feeding that can currently be observed in that video window. Tis a merely illustrative use of the black areas in conjunction with the windows. Any other suitable uses of the black areas can be implemented. The display screen 80 of Figure 12A contains a video window 82. When an analog carrier carries more than one video feed, one video can be displayed in the video window 82 at a time. If desired, multiple video windows can be provided that will be displayed simultaneously. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 12A, two video channels are available for observation in the video window 82. Tis shown in Figure 14. The two video channels have corresponding channel icons in the video channel bar 84. The designations of the channel number P1330 of these channel icons can be chosen arbitrarily or the designation of the channel number can be chosen based on some kind of relationship with the content of the video or the broadcaster. A user may move a highlight region between the channel icons in the channel bar 84. A user may choose to watch a particular video channel by pressing the remote control input key when the highlight region is on the corresponding channel icon to the channel you want to observe. The video window 82 can display the video channel 1 designated as the default channel by tuning the business news channel. Switching to the designated video channel 2 would involve selecting the icon 86 of the video channel 2. As the user moves the highlighting region between the icons of the video channels of the bar 84 of video channels, when the highlighting region is in a video channel that does not correspond to the current video feed that is being displayed, a preview box 85 may be provided to display a preview image, a textual information or a video corresponding to the channel represented by the channel icon of highlighted video The update window 92 can be implemented in a similar way. That is, the icon bar 94 of the update channel can be used P1330 to display the icons of the update channels that correspond to the different feeds, providing text / graphics updates. As a viewer moves a highlight region between the icons of the update channels, a preview box can be provided which can display a preview image, a textual preview information or a preview video corresponding to the channel icon update currently highlighted. In an alternate mode, instead of having channel icons, the user can simply select a window and select a list of feeds for the display in the corresponding window. This is illustrated in Figure 12B. The only visual difference between Figure 12A and 12B is that there are no channel icons in Figure 12B. The video window 102 can display a video feed by default when the business news channel is activated. The user can select the video window 102 using the arrow keys and the enter key of the remote control. This can cause overlap 104 to appear, as shown in Figure 15. Overlay 104 displays a list of available video feeds that can be displayed in video window 102. Each listing can be accessed by moving over it.

P1330 highlight region 106. This can be achieved through the use of the arrow keys of the remote control. Once the highlighting region 106 is on the desired video feed, the user can press the enter key of the remote control. This can activate the display of the selected video stream in the video window 102. The update window 112 can be implemented in a similar way. The user can select an update window 112 using the arrow keys and the key to enter the remote control. This can cause overlap 148 to appear, as shown in Figure 16. Overlay 148 displays a list of available text / graphics update feeds that can be displayed in update window 112. Each listing can be accessed by scrolling over this the highlighting region 150. Once the highlighting region 150 is on the desired text / graphics update feed, the user can press the key to enter the remote control. This can activate the display in the update window 112 of the selected text / graphics update feed. All the visible windows of the visible exhibit can be displaced throughout the area of P1330 display and placed anywhere in the exhibition area. Movement can be achieved by using the arrow keys of the remote control or by using a drag-and-drop routine, using a mouse, or by using a trackball built into the remote control or, using any other means suitable for Select an item and move it to another place on the screen. If desired, advertisements can be made to remain stationary or the user can be given limited control to ensure that the advertisements will always be in view. This can include, for example, allowing the user to move the ads, although if an ad is placed in such a way that a portion of it is outside the visible area, the ad can automatically scroll until it is in full view. Also, ads can always be on top of other windows. That is, if another item is placed on top of the ad, the ad can be automatically displayed at the top of the window that was placed over the ad. These and other possible methods, as well as a combination of these methods that keep an advertisement in view, serve the main purpose of the presence of advertisements for user information. If desired, any of these methods or a combination of said P1330 methods for displaying advertisements. The possible window movements are illustrated in Figures 17A and 17B. Figure 17A shows a typical display screen 122 of the business news channel. Figure 17B shows the display screen 122 after the user has moved and resized several windows. Windows can be displayed in cascade, where each of them partially covers the next, for each feeding of a particular content category (ie, video, text / graphics update, etc.). For example, the text / graphics update feeds of the business news channel broadcast may be represented as those shown in Figure 18A. The windows 160, 162, 164 and 166 may be update windows that display text / graphics refresh feeds. One possible way in which this particularity can be implemented is to have the first window of the series of cascaded windows display their respective power, while the others are simply empty windows that can display the title along a visible edge . If a user wishes to observe another feeding, then a highlighting region, such as the highlighting region 168, can be moved between the windows until it is P1330 on the desired feeding. The user can then press the key of the remote control to activate the highlighted power. This is shown in Figure 18B. The update window 162 was selected by the user. As a result, the power associated with the update window 162 was activated, as shown in Figure 18B. The previously activated window 160 can switch places in the cascade series with the newly activated window 162. If desired, the previously activated window can move back one position in the series or it can be moved to the back of the sequence or it can be removed from the series. Alternatively, the windows that constitute the cascade structure that are partially visible may exhibit the content that is visible in the visible portions of the partially visible windows. In the case of multiple video windows, this feature may require additional MPEG decoders in the decoder box. Any of these implementations or any other suitable implementation can be used. If desired, the user's control settings can dictate which implementation will be used. The initial display of the cascaded series of the windows may be based on a default configuration or setting. Otherwise, the user can P1330 choose which feeds will be included in the cascade, for example, highlighting any of the windows in the cascade and pressing a setting button on the remote control. This can put an overlay or a window in a black area or another cascaded window that can display a list of available feeds corresponding to the category of the cascaded series. This list is illustrated in Figure 19. A user can select feeds to be included in the cascaded series by selecting check boxes corresponding to individual feeds (or feeds groups). It can be implemented that a maximum number of feeds can be selected. This would alleviate the problem of having too many windows on the screen. However, if desired, this limit will not exist. The cascaded structure of the feeds, as shown in Figures 18A and 18B, may remain constant. However, if desired, the windows can be separated from each other and moved around the screen and placed anywhere in the same. If desired, each window can simultaneously display its corresponding power. Similarly, a cascaded structure can be used for a set or collection of P1330 video feeds, a collection of indicators or a collection of any suitable windows. If desired, it is not necessary that these individual cascading structures contain only windows of the same category (for example, video windows, indicators, etc.), although they may contain a variety of different elements. The channel icons, the efficient use of the black areas, the overlaying of list windows, cascading feed windows and other features presented in this way are merely illustrative ways in which a user can be presented with the feeding options for his activation. Any other suitable means may be used. This includes, but is not limited to, shrinking a portion of the display and inserting a list of content into the empty area, causing a feed window to be permanently displayed with a list of passive or interactive content that may include sublists or cause a display to appear. Content listing in full screen when the user selects a particular item from the display screen or when executing a particular physical act, such as pressing a button on the list on the remote control. These and other modalities can be used consistently or can be used in P1330 combination with others. Another modality of the rich content television programming guide described by the present invention involves a digital music service. A music service provider, such as Music Television (MTV), can provide an analog carrier, which contains as its main power a traditional video music programming channel. Additional digital feeds can also be transmitted with this analog carrier. These feeds may include, but are not limited to, feed with the title, track and artist information of the song currently being played; album covers or other graphics that may be associated with the song that is currently playing; the title, track and artist information of a song played on another channel (which may be either part of the same analog carrier in a different digital feed or a completely different analog carrier); the lyrics; the information to order or order the compact disc and concert information. Any combination of these or other suitable feeds can be implemented in accordance with the present invention. Figure 20 is an illustration of a P1330 default distribution of a digital music service channel. The text / graphics update window 190 may display title, track and artist information, any subset of this information or any combination of this information with other suitable information, such as the date of publication of the album, etc. Another text / graphics update window 194 can be used to display the information for ordering or ordering the compact disc and concert information. A text / graphic update window 198 may be provided to inform the user of the content currently available in other music-oriented feeds. Ad window 196 may also be displayed. These elements are merely illustrative. If desired, other elements and appropriate arrangements can be implemented. These particularities and additional arrangements may be available to the user through an adjustment or configuration routine. All these elements can be received from an analog carrier that is currently tuned or some of these elements can be received from another analog carrier. During the first seconds (or any other desired time interval) in which a song first begins to play, the text / graphics update window 190 may display the title information, P1330 track and artist present song, as shown in Figure 21A. After this time has elapsed, in the text / graphic update window 190 an image of the album cover or other suitable image can be displayed, as shown in Figure 2IB. Two separate feeds, which share a common display window, can be a method used to provide that particularity. If desired, a single feed can be formatted to also provide this particularity. This feature is purely illustrative and does not need to be included as part of the present invention. If desired, the album cover image can be displayed in a separate window. If desired, the user can toggle between the album cover image of the present song, the title, track and artist information of the present song and the title, track and artist information of a predetermined number of previous songs. This can be done in a new separate window on the display screen or it can be done in any of the currently visible text / graphics update windows, such as window 190. Figure 22A illustrates the initial view of the alternating or switching process, where the update window 192 displays the image of the album cover. If the user executes a command of P1330 switching, the contents of the window 192 may change to that shown in Figure 22B, which shows the title, track and artist information of the present song. If the user executes another switching command, the contents of the window 192 may change to that shown in Figure 22C, which shows the title, track and artist information of the previous song. After the user executes the switching command N-l more times, the contents of the window 192 may change to that shown in Figure 22D, which shows the title, track and artist information of the nth previous song. If the user executes the command again, then the content may return to the beginning, as illustrated in Figure 22E, which shows the window 192 that exhibits the album cover image of the present song. If desired, a forward commutation command and a backward commutation command may be provided to allow the user to switch content in the forward direction and in the reverse direction. This is an illustrative feature of the present invention. If desired, other content may be displayed during the switching sequence. If desired, the update window 192 can be selected by the user at any time, to provide additional information (for example, the album cover, the information for P1330 order or order, etc.) without the need to switch, such as, for example, through the use of a drop-down list or any other suitable method. The flow chart in Figure 23 summarizes this process. When a new song begins to be played in step 200, the title, track and artist information of that song can be displayed to the user in a text / graphics update window in step 202. After a period of time elapses default, the album cover image or any other image related to the present song or, if desired, unrelated to the present song, may be displayed instead of the title, track and artist information. At this point, any time the user activates a predefined commutation command, the contents of the update window may be replaced by other content, as illustrated in Figures 22A-22E. The content of each window of the display screen can be recovered from a dedicated power supply or it can be recovered from a combination of different power supplies. If desired, the content can be retrieved only from the present tuned analog carrier. If desired, the content can be recovered from a multitude of feeds that are sandwiched between a multitude of analog carriers.

P1330 This may require additional tuners in the decoder box, since each tuner can tune only one channel of transmissions at a time. This concept is illustrated more generally in Figure 24. The analog carrier 210 and the analog carrier 208 each carry a set of digital television feeds. The digital television feed 212 and the television power 214 of the analog carrier 210 can be displayed simultaneously with the digital power 216 of the analog carrier 208 on the display 218. This may require that a tuner 220 tune the analog carrier 210 and a separate tuner 222 tunes the analog carrier 208. If desired, digital feeds of additional analog carriers can be added to the display screen 218, adding more tuners. If desired, a multiplexing operation can be implemented in time, whereby a tuner or a relatively small number of tuners can be switched between different analog carriers (preferably at high speed), allowing the recovery of elements of data of each analog carrier at the time a tuner is tuned to each particular analog carrier. With the increase in switching speeds, this implementation can P1330 simulate a system that uses a relatively large number of tuners. The text / graphics update window 194 of Figure 20 may display information for ordering the compact disc, concert information and information to order concert tickets. If a song is playing, the user can select the update window 194 to acquire the compact disc on which the present song can be found. If desired, the user may be allowed to acquire the compact disc on which the previous song may be found. By selecting the update window 194, a window may be displayed, such as the window 226 of Figure 25. The window 226 may be an overlay, a separate window in a black area, the window 194, etc. Any information required for the acquisition, such as the quantity, can be entered by the user. If desired, other information may be requested, such as the tape / CD format, boarding method, boarding address, etc. If desired, the default information can be entered based on that user's prior acquisition patterns. Once this information is entered and the user confirms the information (for example, by pressing the key to enter the remote control), information can be accessed.

P1330 of the credit card stored in the memory, either in the decoder box or in a remote location accessible from the decoder box, to process the order. Figure 26 is a flow diagram illustrating this process. After the user selects the information update window 194 for ordering the CD, the window of Figure 25 can be displayed in step 228, requesting additional information for the acquisition. After the user enters the information, it can be determined whether the payment information is stored locally (in the decoder box), in step 230 or, if desired, it can be determined if the payment information is stored remotely. If the payment information is found and validated, perhaps through a PIN that the user must enter, the order can be processed and shipped in step 232. If the payment information is not found or is not validated, then the information The payment can be requested and validated in step 234. Once the correct payment information has been entered and validated, the system can store it locally, remotely, or both, for future use in step 236. This order it can then be processed and shipped in step 232. Tickets can also be ordered for the concert by selecting the update window 194 from P1330 Figure 20. For example, the update window 237 of Figure 27A may be displayed after the user selects the update window 194. The window 237 may be an overlay, a separate window in a black area, a window 194, etc. The user can be instructed to provide information, such as the desired date and location of the concert and the number of tickets the user wishes to purchase. The user can also be given the opportunity to choose one or more particular seats for which he will acquire the tickets. The update window 239 of Figure 27B illustrates a distribution image 235 selectable from a room or stadium for the concert or from any other forum in which the concert is to be held. The user can select a seat 233. The seats that have already been purchased can not be selectable or can, in some way, be distinguishable from those seats that are available, such as, for example, by a different color. Figure 28 is a flow diagram illustrating this process. After a user selects the concert information window, at step 241 a window may be displayed requesting additional information about particular tickets or desired items related to the concert, such as the date and P1330 concert location (if tickets are to be purchased), as well as the amount of tickets. Once the user enters the information, in step 243, a diagram of the entries can be displayed, which can allow the user to select in an interactive way the seat (s) for which he will acquire the tickets. Once the entries have been chosen, it can be determined whether the payment information is stored locally (in the decoder box), in step 245, or, if desired, it can be determined whether the payment information is stored remotely. . If the payment information is found and validated, perhaps by means of a PIN that the user must enter, the order can be processed and shipped in step 247. If the payment information is not found or is not validated, then in the Step 249, the payment information can be requested and validated. Once the correct payment information has been entered and validated, the system can store it locally, store it remotely or can store it both locally and remotely for future use, in step 251. The present order can then to be processed and shipped in step 247. Another feature of the rich content television programming guide, described by the present invention, is that feeds may be added on the fly.

P1330 digital. This provides an efficient mechanism in which bandwidth can be preserved in those cases where a particular digital power supply is not always necessary or in those cases where a particular digital power supply can not always be provided. In the case of a digital music service, video stream feeds are not always required. This is because not all songs have associated music videos. In one mode, a digital video stream feed can always be provided, and in these cases, when a music video is not available, an advertisement can be shown instead of a music video. However, if efficiency is an important issue, then the streaming video feed should only be provided as necessary. Figure 29 illustrates this decision process. The system may first ask whether the music video of the current song being played in step 250 is available. This can be achieved, for example, by sending a control bit at the beginning of the song's audio feed. A value of 1 may imply that the video is available and the value of 0 may imply that the video is not available. These are arbitrary options for values and their representations. Any other correlation of value representations can be used. Another method Pl330 to determine if a video is available is using a client-server routine, by means of which, the decoder box requests the information of the header in order to determine if a particular song has an associated music video. If desired, any other suitable arrangement can be used to determine if a music video is available. If it is determined that a music video is available, then in step 252 a video stream can be created on the fly and can be transmitted to the user. However, if it is found that the music video is not available, then in step 254 it may be decided not to create a video stream feed for a music video. If it is determined that the music video of the present song is available, then the music video may begin playing automatically in a new video window. If desired, the user can adjust a default action which will be executed when the video is available. Perhaps the user wishes to be notified and that he / she be warned that he / she has to open a new window. Any of these appropriate arrangements can be provided. If desired, the user may be provided with the karaoke feature. In this modality, those audio frequencies that human voices carry can P1330 eliminated by filtering, by means of an audio processor in the decoder box. In an alternate mode, the audio feed provider can transmit an audio signal in which the required frequencies have already been filtered out. In addition, the lyrics of the present song can be provided to the user, in a separate window or in one of the default windows, etc. Another modality of the rich content television programming guide, described by the present invention, relates to a golf tournament program. If desired, the broadcaster may provide one or more feeds that are related to a particular golf tournament. The event is not necessarily limited to a golf tournament, but on the contrary, it can be any event. These feeds can all be specifically formatted for a particular event and, therefore, can be made on the fly. Figure 30 illustrates what can be a typical default display screen for a golf tournament. There may be a video window 256, a result indicator 258 and an advertisement 260. The user may select additional features by activating an adjustment or configuration screen, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 31 is an illustration of a window of P1330 listings 262 or one of overlaying listings, etc., that may be displayed to the user to allow the selection of a video feed. Several video feeds can be provided. These video feeds do not necessarily need to be played concurrently. Nor do they need to have the same duration, rather, they can be listings of video feed programs that can be provided at particular times. A user may display the listings, using the highlight region 266, while the region 264 may concurrently display the schedule information which may consist of the date and time of the airing of the highlighted item. Additional features may be provided including an option to recall 270, a record option 268 and an option for more information 272. The recall option 270 may allow a system event to occur just before the highlighted power is about to begin , reminding the user that the feeding will start at that particular moment. The option to record 268 may allow the user to program recording of the highlighted feed. The 272 more information option may display more information about the highlighted feed, such as information based on the P1330 content, in a historical perspective of the event, etc. This is just an illustrative list of the particularities. Other suitable features may be used in addition to, instead of or in combination with those already mentioned. If there is more than one feed that will be transmitted at the same time at any point, then a second video window may be displayed at the time the second feed starts and a third video may be displayed at the time the third feed starts, etc. . An additional MPEG decoder can be used for each additional concurrent video feed to be displayed. An indicator 258 that exhibits results may be provided. This can be a configurable indicator that the user can adjust or configure to display the results of certain players, the results of all players of one or more particular holes, the results of certain players of one or more particular holes, or any other proper arrangement. Another modality of the rich content television programming guide, described by the present invention, relates to the provision of content having to do with a football program. Figure 32 P1330 illustrates what may be a typical default distribution of a display screen of the present embodiment. A video window 280 can be displayed, which can show the main power of the particular football game that is being broadcast. The window 286 of the last move can be used to display a repetition of the last move. If desired, the user may select the window 286 of the last play, which may result in a selection of the plays that have occurred up to that point of the game being presented to the user. The user can choose to display any of the previous moves in window 286 of the last move. This is just an illustrative use of window 286 of the last move. Any other suitable use of this feature may be used. The statistics window 282 can be used to display statistics about a particular player. For example, as the football game commentators are mentioning a particular player (for example, in the audio portion of the video feed that is being displayed in the video window 280) statistics of that player can be displayed on the flight in the statistics window 282. These statistics can include anything from the P1330 statistics of the race until the statistics of the particular game that is currently broadcasting. If desired, the statistics window 282 can be interactive, with which the user can select which statistics will be displayed from a menu of available statistics. A window 288 that displays the results of other games may be displayed. This can be a text window that is updated periodically. If desired, an indicator can be used. If the window 288 is an indicator, then together with the indicator the results of games that are currently being played or of games that have already finished can be displayed. The display can be in any direction. For example, Figures 33A and 33B illustrate the case where the results are displayed vertically from bottom to top. Figure 33A is an arbitrary display of the indicator at any time. A little later (for example, on the order of a second later), the indicator may resemble the display illustrated in Figure 33B. Alternatively, Figures 34A and 34B illustrate an indicator that is displayed from right to left. Figure 34A is an arbitrary display of the indicator at some point. A little later (such as the order of a second later), the indicator P1330 may resemble the display illustrated in Figure 34B. If desired, the indicator can be displayed in any other suitable way, such as diagonally or from the top to the bottom, etc. The indicator can be controlled by the user, in terms of allowing the user to stop the indicator, allow the user to change the direction in which the indicator is displayed or allow the user to perform any other appropriate action on the indicator. If desired, the user can select an item displayed on the indicator to activate a predefined event. If desired, the user can be presented with the choice of events when selecting the item. For example, the football score indicator 301 of Figure 35A may display a particular listing 303, which the user may select and which may, in turn, cause the window 305 of Figure 35B to appear, which allows the user select the desired event. If the game is still in development, the user can tune the game or the user can select any other suitable event. The particularity of the indicator of the present invention is further explored in United States Patent Application, assigned jointly, 09 / 229,047 (Edward B. Knudson, et al.), Which is hereby incorporated in its entirety as P1330 reference. The user can be presented with a window 290 with the option to purchase tickets for future football games. This can be done in accordance with the present invention. An advertisement window 284 may also be displayed, in accordance with the present invention. Another embodiment of the rich content television programming guide, described by the present invention, may relate to the showing of a film. A typical default layout of the main screen of this mode may resemble that illustrated in Figure 36. Figure 36 contains an exhibit screen 308 which may display a video window 300, a text update window 304 and a Subtitles 302. The text update window 304 can be used to display reviews of the reviewer, trivia, notes about the film, etc. If desired, the text update window 304 can be replaced by an indicator that can be displayed through the same text as the text update window 304 is displayed, as well as any other suitable information provided either in real time or stored . If the present transmission provides it, subtitles 302 can be provided, as a P1330 particularity by default, if the film present that is being observed is foreign or, if the user normally observes movies or programs with subtitles in a particular language. If the user wants to watch a movie using the entire area of the display screen, then the subtitles and text information can be displayed as overlays, as illustrated in Figure 37. Text 311 and subtitles 309 can be displayed over the window of video that can display the programming that requires the entire 307 display screen. If desired, the overlay of the text can be made to the programming or the overlap to the programming of any other desired content, even if the programming does not require the screen complete If the film to be watched in the video window 300 will be transmitted both in the wide screen version and in the normal dimensional version version, then the proportion that the user observes more frequently (taking into account that types of movies are observed more frequently and with what type of relationship), can be used to determine which of the dimensional relationships to exhibit as the default relationship. The user can also select which version to observe, when selecting a menu option in the window Adjustment P1330 that can be supplied by selecting the video window 300. For example, the screen shown in Figure 38 can be displayed, if a power supply with standard aspect ratio (4: 3) is supplied and the user selects it or, if The standard dimensional relationship is the default relation. All surrounding areas that are not being used by the text window 321 or by the video window 323 may be black areas and may be used in accordance with the present invention. That is, if desired, menus may be displayed in the black areas, additional digital TV feeds, program listings, etc. If desired, the user can be allowed to resize the video window to any size the user wants. The user can resize the video window using any of several methods. For example, a wireless trackball can be used to select a window and then extend the edge of the window to the desired size that will be included by the selected window. Alternatively, a user can select a window, using the arrow keys of the remote control and pressing the selection key that will provide a menu of adjustment of the selected window. The menu can provide the resize option, which may require the user P1330 use the arrow keys to enter how large or how small the window wishes. Or, if desired, the user can be suggested to enter a numerical value (perhaps in centimeters) that can serve as the dimensions of the resized window. Any suitable method or a combination of these methods can be used to resize the video window. This, of course, is merely illustrative. For example, you can allow any window to be resized by the user (with the exception of the ad windows), not just the video windows. In addition, any suitable means for interconnecting a resizing operation can be used. In the case where the broadcaster provides a single dimensional aspect ratio of the movie, the user can still resize the video window in another relation. For example, if a movie is transmitted only in the standard aspect ratio, the user can choose to resize the window to a wide-screen ratio. The user may be presented with a choice of a menu option to resize the video to a pre-set size. For example, the pre-set size of a movie can be either the standard aspect ratio, the wide screen ratio, or any other suitable ratio for watching a movie. When the P1330 user selects one of these preset sizes, the video window can be automatically resized to the desired size. If desired, this feature can be generalized, so that any dimensioned window can be resized to a pre-set size. For example, Figure 39A shows a video window that can have any arbitrary dimensions (ie, x and y). The user can select an option to automatically resize this window, for example, to the standard dimensional relationship. After resizing, the video window may resemble the video window shown in Figure 39B, where the dimensions have been changed to be in accordance with the standard aspect ratio of 4: 3. In the illustrated example, the areas of the two windows are the same. The dimensions of the window in Figure 39B show that the area is the same as the window in Figure 39A (that is, area = xy) and the dimensional relationship of the resized window is 4: 3, whereas the ratio The dimension of Figure 39A can be any arbitrary ratio or ratio x: y. This can help maintain a consistency in the amount of space required by the video window in the exhibit. This is, of course, merely illustrative. If desired, other methods can be used to resize P1330 automatically windows that can maintain the same area or that may not maintain the same area. If desired, any window (with the exception of the announcement window) can be automatically resized to a prefixed relationship. If desired, the window can be resized both manually and automatically. The resizing of a window can result in the content of the window being resized in proportion to the resizing of the window, or the resizing of a window can cause the window's content to be trimmed. If desired, only one or the other may be used or a combination of the two may be used or, the user may select which mode to use each time a window is resized. This feature is illustrated in Figures 40A to 40C. Figure 40A shows a window that may be in the default size. After the user resizes the window and the rich content television programming guide uses a scheme by which the contents of the windows are resized in proportion to the windows in which they are receiving, the content shown in Figure 40A may become in the content displayed in Figure 40B. As can be seen, reducing the vertical dimension of the window also reduces the vertical dimension of the content. Yes P1330 the clipping is used when windows are resized, then when resizing the window shown in Figure 40A, the window and its contents may be the one shown in Figure 40C. In this case, portions of the content that can not be adjusted in the resized window are cut out of the display. If desired, any other suitable technique can be used to handle the contents of the resized windows. Clipping of images and data in general can be facilitated by any of several methods or a combination of several methods. For example, even when the data is cut, such as sections of images, all the data can still be fed into the decoder box, although the data that is being cut out will simply be overlaid with other data. In the case of a video that is cropped, the full video feed can still be used. However, during the video display, any images that fall outside the video window may override anything else that is visible in the area that additional video images require outside of the video window. This is illustrated in Figure 41. The display screen 320 contains a window 322 that is displaying a cropped image. The dashed lines represent the sections of the image that P1330 are not visible and, in this way, that they were cut. The black areas and the indicator 324 overlap the cropped area, so that only the black areas and the indicator 324 can be observed in that area outside of the window 322, where the content of the window 322 was cut out. This implementation may require the use of a display management device that would manage or manage which layers of content are visible (ie, superimposed) and which layers of content are not visible (ie, cropped). This process can be achieved using the system illustrated in Figure 42. Each element of the display screen (ie, windows, black areas, etc.) can be broken down into unit sections. These unit sections may be of the order of one pixel or one square millimeter or any other suitable size. Figure 42 illustrates the manner in which the elements of the display screen of Figure 41 are combined on the display screen. The sections of black areas 1 am, 330, the content sections of the video window 1 an, 332, the indicator sections 1 ar, 334, and the information in the video window, the information in the indicator window and the information on the display screen 340 may be sent as input to the display manager 336. The display manager 336 may then determine whether any part of the content P1330 extends beyond the edges or boundaries of the window in which it is confined. If clipping is selected, then the display manager can select only those sections of the content that fit in the windows to which the content belongs (as well as the window borders, etc.), represented by 342, to be displayed in the display device 338. The rest of the content is "trimmed". Another feature of the rich content television programming guide, described by the present invention, may allow an interactive application, which may be residing either locally in the decoder box or residing remotely in the header server or in another remote location, be exemplified in the conclusion of a movie. The application may allow the user to classify the film, acquire a video of the film or acquire the video of a movie liked by other users, who classified the present movie in a similar way to the present user or who performs any other appropriate action. This particularity can be implemented using a particularity of a pop-up window, so that, at the conclusion of the movie, a particular command can be sent to the decoder box to activate the interactive application which can, in turn, provoke P1330 that a window appears on the display screen, providing the user with options to acquire videos, etc. If desired, the video window in which the movie has ended can be used to display the interface of the interactive application instead of opening another window. Alternatively, the user can be given the option of having a new window appear or of having the video window used to display the application. Any of these suitable implementations can be used to present the interactive application. This is a purely illustrative feature of the present invention. If desired, interactive applications, passive applications or a combination of the two can be activated at any time desired using any desired modality of the rich content television programming guide described by the present invention. For example, a music service can provide an interactive application when a particular song begins to play, or even to the middle of a particular song or, if desired, at any random time, regardless of the present song. Figure 43 is a general illustration of this particularity. In step 351, it is determined whether the present transmission of digital television power P1330 has an associated application. If the associated application exists, then, based on the user's settings or settings or other factors or, if desired, based on a message that asks the user if they want an application to be activated, the associated application is activated in the step 355. If desired, a permit based on parental controls or other appropriate mechanisms may be required so that activation of particular applications or other features of the rich content television programming guide can be granted, since this relates to the present invention. This feature can be used to provide a web browser that can be activated automatically and which can be ordered to automatically display a website that is related to programming, information, the present song, etc. If desired, a website may also be displayed that is not related to the present program (such as a website that serves as an advertisement). Figure 44 shows a display screen 350 with a video window 354 that is displaying an episode of Seinfeld and a web browser window 352 that is displaying the Seinfeld page. This particularity of the rich content television programming guide, described by the present P1330 invention, is further explored in co-assigned United States Patent Application 09 / 346,134 (to Michael D. Ellis, et al.), Which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Another feature of the rich content television programming guide, described by the present invention, may allow a user to chat or converse with other users who are observing the same program, event or advertisement. Figure 45 shows a display screen 370 which displays a video window 376, a chat window 374 and a window 372 for entering the text of the talk. This is merely an illustrative display screen. If desired, any suitable combination or distribution of elements can be used on the display screen. In the present illustration, the video window 376 may display a television program, such as, for example, Seinfeld. The chat window 374 can display conversations that have to do with Seinfeld. The user can use a wireless keyboard or any other suitable device to enter the characters in the window 372 and enter the text of the chat. This feature of the present invention is further explored in the United States Patent Application, assigned jointly, 09 / 356,270 (to Toby Deweese, et al.), Which P1330 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and those skilled in the art can make various modifications without deviating from the scope and spirit of the invention.

P1330

Claims (150)

1. CLAIMS; 1. A method for making an interactive television programming guide accommodate or arrange the television content, recovered from the digital television feeds, on the user's television equipment having a screen, where black areas are present in either the the upper or lower part, or the left or right side of an exhibited program that is transmitted in a dimensional relationship that does not match the dimensional relationship of the user's television equipment display, which includes: placing interactive content on the black areas. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: using windows to contain the content and, where, the windows are arranged or arranged in the black areas. The method according to claim 1, wherein the content is at least one of the following: text, graphic images, video, audio, data, interactive content, program listings, enhanced transmissions. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the content is comprised by an application P1330 interactive. The method according to claim 4, wherein the interactive application is comprised by a web browser. 6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the interactive application is comprised of a chat application. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: moving the content that is in a part of the black areas to areas that are not part of the black areas, causing the amount of space taken from the black areas to increase according to to the amount of space required by the content that was taken from the black areas. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: resizing the content that is in the black areas, causing the amount of space required by the black areas to change by an amount equivalent to the change in the amount of space the content requires resized 9. A method for accommodating or arranging television content, recovered from digital television feeds, in television equipment of the P1330 user that has a screen, where black areas are present either in the upper or lower part, or in the left or right side of a displayed program that is transmitted in a dimensional relationship that does not match the dimensional relationship of the display of the user's television equipment, which includes: placing interactive content in the black areas. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: using windows to contain the content and, where, the windows are arranged or arranged in the black areas. The method according to claim 9, wherein the content is at least one of the following: text, graphic images, video, audio, data, interactive content, program listings, enhanced transmissions. The method according to claim 11, wherein the content is comprised by an interactive application. The method according to claim 11, wherein the interactive application is comprised by a web browser. 14. The method according to claim 11, in P1330 where the interactive application is comprised of a chat application. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: moving the content that is in a part of the black areas to areas that are not part of the black areas, causing the amount of space taken from the black areas to increase according to to the amount of space required by the content that was taken from the black areas. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: resizing the content that is in the black areas, causing the amount of space required by the black areas to change by an amount equivalent to the change in the amount of area the content requires resized 17. A method for causing an interactive television programming guide to display information concerning the digital television feeds in the user's television equipment having a screen, comprising: displaying on the user's television equipment screen a list of the content that is available in one or more digital feeds that are carried by a P1330 analog carrier, where, the list contains elements, of which, at least the majority are related to a single issue and, where, the elements of the list include information on at least one of the digital television feeds and allow that the user selects one or more of the items in the list. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: highlighting one or more elements of the list, using highlighted regions to denote the currently selected elements and removing one or more of the highlighted regions from the screen. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: allowing the user to move the highlighted region between the elements of the list. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: displaying a check box adjacent to each element of the displayed list and allowing the user to change or toggle each checkbox between a selected mode and an unselected mode. P1330 21. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: displaying a preview window containing the content corresponding to an element selected from the list, wherein, the content of the preview window is any of the following: video, text or graphics. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: displaying the program listings that describe the contents of the digital television feeds that are not currently being transmitted, but will be transmitted at a predetermined future time. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: displaying the program listings that describe the content of the digital television feeds that are not transmitted on another analog carrier other than the currently tuned analog carrier. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: allowing the user to schedule a reminder of the content that is not currently being transmitted, but which will be transmitted at a future time. 25. The method according to claim 17, which P1330 further comprises: allowing the user to schedule a future recording operation to record the content that is not currently being transmitted, but which will be transmitted at a future time. 26. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: allowing the user to select an option to display more information about a particular content and display more information about the particular content upon request of more information by the user. 27. The method according to claim 17, wherein the unique subject is business news. 28. The method according to claim 17, wherein the unique theme is music. 29. The method according to claim 17, wherein the unique theme is a sporting event. 30. The method according to claim 17, wherein the single theme is a movie. 31. The method according to claim 17, wherein the single theme is a networked series. 32. A method for making an interactive television programming guide display content P1330 recovered from the digital television feeds in the television equipment of the user having a screen, comprising: displaying multiple windows on the screen of the user's television equipment, wherein the windows contain television content provided by the television feeds digital, where at least most of the windows contain a content that relates to a single theme and, where, the content of the windows is supplied by means of at least one digital television feed and allow the user to move and resize the windows. The method according to claim 32, wherein the content is at least one of the following: text, graphic images, video, audio, data, interactive content, program listings, enhanced transmissions. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: activating an interactive application, wherein the interactive application has the ability to provide additional information that is related to the single theme. 35. The method according to claim 34, wherein the interactive application is comprised of a P1330 web browser. 36. The method according to claim 34, wherein the interactive application is comprised of a chat application. 37. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: displaying the interactive application in a new window. 38. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: displaying the interactive application in a window currently displayed on the screen. 39. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: automatically using the user's television equipment to trim the content displayed in the windows, after the windows have been resized, if the displayed content no longer adjusts within the limits of window. 40. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: automatically using the user's television equipment to change the proportions of the content displayed in the resized windows, in accordance with the change in the proportions of the windows Pl330 resized. 41. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: displaying the windows in a cascade structure, wherein a first window is visible or observable in front of the cascade structure; Allow the user to select a second window from among the rest of the windows, behind the first window of the cascade structure and change the order of the windows of the cascade structure, where, the second window is displayed in front of the the waterfall structure. 42. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: displaying a set of icons representing different digital television feeds; allow the user to select one or more icons from the icon set and display the contents of the digital television feeds that correspond to the icons that were selected by the user. 43. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: displaying on the user's television equipment screen a first window and P1330 display on the screen of the user's television equipment a second window at the top of the first window, where, the content of the first window is cut off in the area covered by the second window. 44. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: displaying on the user's television equipment screen a first window and displaying on the user's television equipment screen a second window and allowing the user to move the second window, where the movement of the second window is confined to the limits of the first window. 45. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: displaying on the user's television equipment screen at least one ad window and restricting the user from resizing the ad windows and placing the ad windows somewhere out from the screen. 46. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: creating one or more digital television feeds on the fly and P1330 display on the screen of the user's television equipment a new window containing the contents of the digital television feeds that were created on the fly. 47. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: displaying on the screen of the user's television equipment at least one window, wherein the content of the window is an interactive indicator. 48. The method according to claim 47, further comprising: displaying the indicator in one of the following directions: vertical, horizontal or diagonal. 49. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: automatically resizing one or more of the windows, wherein the dimensions of the new windows are in predetermined relationships with each other. 50. The method according to claim 49, wherein the areas enclosed in each of the resized windows are equivalent to the areas enclosed by the corresponding windows before they are resized. 51. The method according to claim 49, wherein resizing is characterized by the use of P1330 a standard dimensional ratio of 4: 3 for the default ratio. 52. The method according to claim 49, wherein resizing is characterized by the use of a standard aspect ratio of 16: 9 for the predetermined ratio. 53. The method according to claim 32, wherein the unique subject is business news. 54. The method according to claim 32, wherein the single theme is music. 55. The method according to claim 32, wherein the unique theme is a sporting event. 56. The method according to claim 32, wherein the single theme is a movie. 57. The method according to claim 32, wherein the single theme is a networked series. 58. A method for adjusting user settings or settings, used in an interactive television programming guide for digital television feeds, implemented using the user's television equipment, which comprises: using the user's default settings for initial use of the user's television equipment by a particular user; automatically change user settings P1330 to correspond to the user's display preferences during the use of the interactive television application and store, for future use, the user's settings that were changed. 59. The method according to claim 58, further comprising: storing the user's settings locally. 60. The method according to claim 58, further comprising: storing the user's settings remotely. 61. The method according to claim 58, further comprising: storing the user's settings locally and remotely. 62. The method according to claim 58, further comprising: automatically selecting which digital television feeds to display by default when the current user tunes to a particular analog carrier, based on the preferences of the current user. 63. The method according to claim 58, further comprising: automatically resizing and moving the P1330 windows based on the preferences of the current user. 64. The method according to claim 58, further comprising: automatically selecting a particular language for the subtitles. 65. The method according to claim 58, further comprising: automatically selecting a particular language for bending. 66. The method according to claim 58, further comprising: maintaining a separate set of user preferences of each user of the user's television equipment and allowing the user to register to activate the particular set of user preferences. 67. A system for making an interactive television programming guide accommodate or arrange television content, recovered from digital television feeds, on the user's television equipment that has a screen, where black areas are present in either the the upper or lower part, or on the left or right side of an exhibited program that is transmitted in a dimensional relationship that does not match the dimensional relationship of the exhibition of the P1330 user television equipment, comprising user's television equipment configured to: place interactive content in the black areas. 68. The system according to claim 67, further comprising user television equipment configured to: use windows to contain the content, wherein the windows are arranged or accommodated in the black areas. 69. The system according to claim 67, wherein the content is at least one of the following: text, graphic images, video, audio, data, interactive content, program listings, enhanced transmissions. 70. The system according to claim 67, wherein the content is comprised by an interactive application. 71. The system according to claim 67, wherein the interactive application is comprised of a web browser. 72. The system according to claim 67, wherein the interactive application is comprised of a chat application. 73. The system according to claim 67, which P1330 further comprises user television equipment configured to: move the content that is in a part of the black areas to areas that are not part of the black areas, causing the amount of space taken from the black areas to increase according to the amount of space required by the content that was taken from the black areas. 74. The system according to claim 67, further comprising user television equipment configured to: resize the content that is in the black areas, causing the amount of space required by the black areas to change by an amount equivalent to the change in the amount of space required by resized content. 75. A system for accommodating or arranging television content, recovered from digital television feeds, on the user's television equipment having a screen, where black areas are present either at the top or at the bottom, or on the left or right side of an exhibited program that is transmitted in a dimensional relationship that does not match the dimensional relationship of the user's television equipment display, which comprises computer equipment. P1330 user's television configured to: place interactive content in the black areas. 76. The system according to claim 75, further comprising user's television equipment configured to: use windows to contain the content, wherein the windows are arranged or accommodated in the black areas. 77. The system according to claim 75, wherein the content is at least one of the following: text, graphic images, video, audio, data, interactive content, program listings, enhanced transmissions. 78. The system according to claim 77, wherein the content is comprised of an interactive application. 79. The system according to claim 77, wherein the interactive application is comprised by a web browser. 80. The system according to claim 77, wherein the interactive application is comprised of a chat application. 81. The system according to claim 75, further comprising user television equipment. P1330 configured to: move the content that is in a part of the black areas to areas that are not part of the black areas, causing the amount of space taken from the black areas to increase according to the amount of space required by the content that was taken out of the black areas. 82. The system according to claim 75, further comprising user television equipment configured to: resize the content that is in the black areas, causing the amount of space required by the black areas to change by an amount equivalent to the change in the amount of area that requires resized content. 83. A system for causing an interactive television programming guide to display information concerning the digital television feeds in the user's television equipment having a screen, comprising the user's television equipment configured to: display on the computer screen of the user's television a list of the content that is available in one or more digital feeds that are carried by an analog carrier, where the list contains elements, P1330 of which, at least the majority are related to a single subject and, where, the elements of the list include information on at least one of the digital television feeds and allow the user to select one or more of the elements of the list. 84. The system according to claim 83, further comprising user television equipment configured to: highlight one or more elements of the list, using highlighted regions to denote the currently selected elements and remove one or more of the highlighted regions from the screen . 85. The system according to claim 84, further comprising user's television equipment configured to: allow the user to move the highlighted region between the elements of the list. 86. The system according to claim 83, further comprising user television equipment configured to: display a check box adjacent to each element of the displayed list and allow the user to change or toggle each P1330 check box between a selected mode and an unselected mode. 87. The system according to claim 83, further comprising user television equipment configured to: display a preview window containing the content corresponding to an element selected from the list, wherein, the content of the preview window is any of the following: video, text or graphics. 88. The system according to claim 83, further comprising user television equipment configured to: display the program listings that describe the content of the digital television feeds that are not currently being transmitted, but will be transmitted at a future time predetermined. 89. The system according to claim 83, further comprising user television equipment configured to: display the listings of programs describing the content of the digital television feeds that are not transmitted on another analog carrier other than the currently tuned analog carrier . 90. The system according to claim 83, which P1330 further comprises user television equipment configured to: allow the user to program a reminder of the content that is not currently being transmitted, but which will be broadcast at a future time. 91. The system according to claim 83, further comprising user television equipment configured to: allow the user to schedule a future recording operation to record the content that is not currently being transmitted, but will be transmitted at a future time. 92. The system according to claim 83, further comprising user television equipment configured to: allow the user to select an option to display more information about a partir content and display more information about the partir content upon request of more information by part of the user. 93. The system according to claim 83, wherein the unique subject is business news. 94. The system according to claim 83, wherein the unique theme is music. P1330 95. The system according to claim 83, wherein the unique theme is a sporting event. 96. The system according to claim 83, wherein the single theme is a movie. 97. The system according to claim 83, wherein the single theme is a networked series. 98. A system for displaying the content retrieved from digital television feeds in the user's television equipment having a screen, comprising user's television equipment configured to: display multiple windows on the user's television equipment screen, wherein the windows contain television content provided by the digital television feeds, wherein at least most of the windows contain a content that relates to a single subject and, where, the content of the windows is supplied by means of at least two digital television feeds and allow the user to move and resize the windows. 99. The system according to claim 98, wherein the content is at least one of the following: text, graphic images, video, audio, data, interactive content, program listings, transmissions P1330 improved. 100. The system according to claim 98, further comprising user's television equipment configured to: activate an interactive application, wherein the interactive application has the ability to provide additional information that relates to the unique subject. 101. The system according to claim 100, wherein the interactive application is comprised of a web browser. 102. The system according to claim 100, wherein the interactive application is comprised of a chat application. 103. The system according to claim 98, further comprising user television equipment configured to: display the interactive application in a new window. 104. The system according to claim 98, further comprising user's television equipment configured to: display the interactive application in a window currently displayed on the screen. 105. The system according to claim 98, further comprising user's television equipment. P1__0 configured to: automatically use the user's television equipment to trim the content displayed in the windows, after the windows have been resized, if the displayed content no longer fits within the window boundaries. 106. The system according to claim 98, further comprising user television equipment configured to: automatically use the user's television equipment to change the proportions of the content displayed in the resized windows, in accordance with the change in the proportions of the resized windows. 107. The system according to claim 98, further comprising user television equipment configured to: display the windows in a cascade structure, wherein a first window is visible or observable in front of the cascade structure; Allow the user to select a second window from among the rest of the windows, behind the first window of the cascade structure and change the order of the windows of the cascade structure, where, the second window is displayed to the P1330 front of the waterfall structure. 108. The system according to claim 98, further comprising user television equipment configured to: display a set of icons representing different digital television feeds; allow the user to select one or more icons from the icon set and display the contents of the digital television feeds that correspond to the icons that were selected by the user. 109. The system according to claim 98, further comprising user television equipment configured to: display on the user's television equipment screen a first window and display on the user's television equipment screen a second window on the user's side. top of the first window, where the content of the first window will be cut out in the area covered by the second window. 110. The system according to claim 98, further comprising user television equipment configured to: display on the television equipment screen P1330 of the user a first window and display on the screen of the user's television equipment a second window and allow the user to move the second window, where the movement of the second window is confined to the boundaries of the first window. 111. The system according to claim 98, further comprising user's television equipment configured to: display on the user's television equipment screen at least one ad window and restrict the user from resizing the ad windows and placing the Ad windows somewhere out of the screen. 112. The system according to claim 98, further comprising user television equipment configured to: create one or more digital television feeds on the fly and display on the user's television equipment screen a new window containing the content of the digital television feeds that were created on the fly. 113. The system according to claim 98, further comprising user's television equipment. P1330 configured to: display on the user's television equipment screen at least one window, where the content of the window is an interactive indicator. 114. The system according to claim 113, further comprising user television equipment configured to: display the indicator in one of the following directions: vertical, horizontal or diagonal. 115. The system according to claim 113, further comprising user television equipment configured to: automatically resize one or more of the windows, wherein the dimensions of the new windows are in predetermined relationships with each other. 116. The system according to claim 115, wherein the areas enclosed in each of the resized windows are equivalent to the areas enclosed by the corresponding windows before they are resized. 117. The system according to claim 115, wherein the predetermined relation is a standard dimensional ratio of 4: 3. 118. The system according to claim 115, wherein the predetermined relationship is a relationship P1330 dimensional widescreen 16: 9. 119. The system according to claim 113, wherein the only subject is business news. 120. The system according to claim 113, wherein the single theme is music. 121. The system according to claim 113, wherein the unique theme is a sporting event. 122. The system according to claim 113, wherein the single theme is a movie. 123. The system according to claim 113, wherein the single theme is a networked series. 124. A system for adjusting user settings or settings in an interactive television application implemented using the user's television equipment, comprising user's television equipment configured to: use the user's default settings for the initial use of the equipment of the user's television by a particular user; automatically change the user settings to correspond to the preferences of the user's exhibits while using the interactive television application and store, for future use, the user's settings that were changed. P1330 125. The system according to claim 124, further comprising user television equipment configured to: store user settings locally. 126. The system according to claim 124, further comprising user television equipment configured to: remotely store the user's settings. 127. The system of claim 124, further comprising user television equipment configured to: store user settings locally and remotely. 128. The system according to claim 124, further comprising user television equipment configured to: automatically select which digital television feeds to display by default when the current user tunes to a particular analog carrier, based on the preferences of the current user. 129. The system according to claim 124, further comprising user television equipment configured to: resize and automatically move the P1330 windows based on the preferences of the current user. 130. The system according to claim 124, further comprising user television equipment configured to: automatically select a particular language for the subtitles. 131. The system according to claim 124, further comprising user television equipment configured to: automatically select a particular language for bending. 132. The system of claim 124, further comprising user television equipment configured to: maintain a separate set of user preferences of each user of the user's television equipment and allow the user to register to activate the particular set of user preferences. 133. A method for displaying the content retrieved from the digital television feeds in the user's television equipment having a screen, comprising: displaying multiple windows on the user's television equipment screen, wherein the windows P1330 contain television content provided by the digital television feeds, wherein at least most of the windows contain content that relates to a single theme and, where, the content of the windows is supplied by means of at least two digital television feeds and allow the user to move and resize the windows. 134. The method according to claim 133, wherein the content is at least one of the following: text, graphic images, video, audio, data, interactive content, program listings, enhanced transmissions. 135. The method according to claim 133, further comprising: automatically using the user's television equipment to trim the content displayed in the windows, after the windows have been resized, if the displayed content no longer fits within the limits of window. 136. The method according to claim 133, further comprising: automatically using the user's television equipment to change the proportions of the content displayed in the resized windows, in accordance P1330 with the change of the proportions of the resized windows. 137. The method according to claim 133, further comprising: displaying on the user's television equipment screen at least one ad window and restricting the user from resizing the ad windows and placing the ad windows somewhere out from the screen. 138. The method according to claim 133, further comprising: creating one or more digital television feeds on the fly and displaying on the screen of the user's television equipment a new window containing the content of the digital television feeds that were created to the flight. 139. The method according to claim 133, further comprising: automatically resizing one or more of the windows, wherein the dimensions of the new windows are in predetermined relationships with each other. 140. The method according to claim 139, wherein the resizing is characterized by the use of a standard aspect ratio of 4: 3 for the ratio P1330 default. 141. The method according to claim 139, wherein the resizing is characterized by the use of a standard aspect ratio of 16: 9 for the predetermined ratio. 142. A system for displaying the content retrieved from digital television feeds on the user's television equipment having a screen, comprising user's television equipment configured to: display multiple windows on the user's television equipment screen, wherein the windows contain television content provided by the digital television feeds, wherein at least most of the windows contain a content that relates to a single subject and, where, the content of the windows is supplied by means of at least two digital television feeds and allow the user to move and resize the windows. 143. The system according to claim 142, wherein the content is at least one of the following: text, graphic images, video, audio, data, interactive content, program listings, enhanced transmissions. P1330 144. The system according to claim 142, further comprising user television equipment configured to: automatically use the user's television equipment to trim the content displayed in the windows, after the windows have been resized, if the content displayed it no longer fits within the limits of the window. 145. The system according to claim 142, further comprising user television equipment configured to: automatically use the user's television equipment to change the proportions of the content displayed in the resized windows, in accordance with the change in the proportions of the resized windows. 146. The system according to claim 142, further comprising user television equipment configured to: display on the user's television equipment screen at least one ad window and restrict the user from resizing the ad windows and placing the Ad windows somewhere out of the screen. 147. The system according to claim 142, which P13.0 further comprises user television equipment configured to: create one or more digital television feeds on the fly and display on the user's television equipment screen a new window containing the contents of the digital television feeds that were created to the flight. 148. The system according to claim 142, further comprising user television equipment configured to: automatically resize one or more of the windows, wherein the dimensions of the new windows are in predetermined relationships with each other. 149. The system according to claim 148, wherein the predetermined ratio is a standard dimensional ratio of 4: 3. 150. The system according to claim 148, wherein the predetermined ratio is a 16: 9 widescreen aspect ratio. P1330