A management system and method for use with on-demand cable programming, wherein a customer telephones a cable supplier and requests that a particular video program be played. The management system uses a plurality of video sources, wherein each of the video sources is capable of playing the requested video program. A telephone switch system and routing table are used to route incoming customer requests directly to the interface in control of the video-source serving the region from where the request originated. The volume of requests received from each customer region serviced by the cable supplier is evaluated. If the volume of customer requests surpasses a threshold level, then additional video sources are added to the cable network by the cable supplier. The cable head ends that service the various customer regions are then reassigned among the new number of video sources so that the volume of requests is generally evenly divided among the multiple video sources, concurrently, the routing table is changed to maintain the geographic association between customer regions and each appropriate video source.

This television information system transmits selected video picture information to one of a number of subscribers who have television sets connected to the system. First, the subscriber makes a selection by transmitting a request to the head end. A central computer interprets the request, searches the available data banks for the information, and records it. Next, the information along with an identifying number is returned to the system and sent to a control station. At the control station, the identifying number is used to route the information to a particular modulator associated with the subscriber who made the request. The information is stored and used to modulate a unique carrier frequency which has been dedicated to that subscriber. The control station sends the modulated carrier frequency (containing the selected information) to a feeder line to which may be connected a number of subscribers, including the one who made the request. If the requesting subscriber's television set is tuned to his carrier frequency, he can receive the requested information. Privacy is assured by dedicating to each subscriber a different carrier frequency and associated television channel, and by filtering out all other channels which might be transmitted on the feeder line. Standard, unmodified television sets may be used with this system; and rapid retrieval of information from large data banks is possible.

A plurality of recorded audio/video signal sources of a program library sequentially transmit segments of a broadcast signal within a time compressed transmission period through a common signal carrier path to a plurality of subscriber stations at which selected segments are detected and expanded for real time reproduction through standard television receivers. Program selection is effected at the subscriber stations through telephone dialing codes also transmitted to the service station by standard telephone communication producing insertion of message information in the broadcast signal during spacing intervals between the sequential segments thereof.

The present invention relates to a digital interactive communication system accessible to a plurality of subscribers who can select by means of their touch-tone telephones any of a plurality of pre-recorded video presentations representative of products and services for sale. In this system, the subscriber requests are received by a voice network interface which is coupled to a local area network. A plurality of data processors, typically single-board computers, capable of various tasks are operatively connected to the local area network. A number of these data processors are each dedicated to serving one subscriber during a requesting session. Other data processors coupled to the local area network provide either navigational, subscriber, or purchase information during a subscriber session. Also coupled to the local area network is a large-scale data base which stores digital information representing the video presentations which are requested by subscribers for viewing on their televisions sets. Coupled to the large-scale data base is a second local area network, for transmitting the digital information representing the video presentations to a CATV network for distribution to the subscriber's television set.

In a broadcast program transmission control apparatus and method using a scheduling computer to produce program scheduling signals representing a schedule of programs to be generated at predetermined times by respective ones of a plurality of program generation devices; each program generation device is provided with a corresponding controller into which the respective program scheduling signals are downloaded from the scheduling computer; and a switching device is operative to switch the programs generated by the program generation devices to a master broadcast output.