Interactive home information system for distributing compressed television programming

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A system for transmitting video picture information to home televisions coupled to a cable television distribution system, comprising:

means for distributing compressed video picture information over said cable television distribution system in channel space unoccupied by non-compressed television programming; and

at least one node coupled to said cable television distribution system and associated with a portion of said home televisions coupled to said cable television distribution system for decompressing, in real time, said compressed video picture information transmitted over said cable television distribution system, said decompressed video picture information being distributed, upon demand, to subscribers of said cable television distribution system viewing said home televisions associated with said node, said decompressed video picture information including full-motion video information;

wherein the subscriber viewing one of said home televisions can communicate, to said node associated therewith, a request for selected video picture information which has been decompressed at the associated node, the associated node including:

(i) means for dynamically assigning one of a plurality of channels to said subscriber requesting said selected video picture information; and

(ii) means for transmitting said selected video picture information to said home television of the requesting subscriber over the assigned channel.

2. A system for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said home televisions includes an associated home interface controller with means for receiving said decompressed video picture information transmitted by said node over assigned channel.

3. A system for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 1. wherein the associated node is disposed at the start of individual cable TV feeder lines adjacent a bridger amplifier of said cable television distribution system.

4. A system for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 3, wherein the associated node distributes decompressed video picture information to all subscribers viewing home televisions associated with cable feeder lines stemming from said bridger amplifier.

5. A system for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 3, further comprising additional nodes on feeder lines coupled to said bridger amplifier for distributing said decompressed video picture information.

6. A system for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 1, wherein the associated node receives said compressed video pciture information from a source external of the cable television distribution system.

7. A system for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 1, wherein the associated node further includes circuitry for scrambling said decompressed video picture information and said home interface controller contains circuitry for descrambling said scrambled decompressed video picture information.

8. A system for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 7, wherein said scrambling comprises frequency hopping scrambling.

9. A system for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 1, wherein the associated node includes means for blocking said compressed video picture information from travelling downstream, and the associated node transmits said selected video picture information to said requesting subscribers over said channel space occupied by said compressed video picture information upstream from said node and vacated by blocking said compressed video picture information downstream from said node.

10. A system for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 1, wherein said compressed video picture information comprises television programming.

11. A system for transmitting video picture information to home televisions coupled to a cable television distribution system, comprising:

a regional processing center for assembling and processing said video picture information to be transmitted over said cable television distribution system;

a headend for distributing cable television programming to subscribers of said cable television distribution system; and

at least one node coupled to said cable television distribution system and associated with a portion of said home televisions coupled to said cable television system for capturing and storing said processed and assembled video picture information, said video picture information including both still frame and full-motion video information;

wherein the subscriber viewing one of said home televisions can display and interact with said video picture information stored in the associated node by communicating to the associated node, each of said nodes in said cable television distribution system containing a substantially complete copy of said video picture information which said subscriber associated with said node can display and interact with such that the subscriber interacts directly with said video picture information stored in the associated node, without accessing said video picture information stored in said regional processing center;

wherein each of said home televisions includes an associated home interface controller with means for receiving at least one of a plurality of channels transmitted by the associated node, said home interface controller, upon activation, being assigned a channel from the associated node to said home interface controller over aid assigned channel; and

wherein said home interface controller includes frame grabber circuitry for storing frames of video picture information from the associated node, such that said channel from the associated node is assigned to said home interface controller only when video picture information is being transmitted from the associated node to said home interface controller, said channel being released for transmission of video picture information to other home interface controllers at all other times.

12. An interactive television as recited in claim 11, wherein each of said nodes services subscribers viewing the home televisions on a plurality of feeder lines of said cable television distribution system.

13. A method for transmitting video picture information to home televisions coupled to a cable television distribution system, comprising the steps of:

distributing compressed video picture information over said cable television distribution system in channel space unoccupied by non-compressed television programming;

decompressing said compressed video picture information transmitted over said cable television distribution system, in real time, in at least one node coupled to said cable television distribution system and associated with a portion of said home televisions coupled to said cable television distribution system; and,

distributing said decompressed video picture information, upon demand, to subscribers of said cable television distribution system viewing said home televisions associated with said node, said decompressed video picture information including full-motion video information;

wherein the subscriber viewing one of said home televisions can communicate, to said node associated therewith, a request for selected video picture information which has been decompressed at the associated node, the associated node distributing said selected video picture information to the subscriber by:

(i) dynamically assigning one of a plurality of channels to the subscriber requesting said selected video picture information; and

(ii) transmitting said selected video picture information to said home television of the requesting subscriber over the assigned channel.

14. A method for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 13, wherein the associated node blocks said compressed video picture information from travelling downstream, and the associated node transmits said selected video picture information to the requesting subscribers over said channel space occupied by said compressed video picture information upstream from said node and vacated by blocking said compressed video picture information downstream from said node.

15. A method for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 13, wherein said compressed video picture information comprises television programming.

16. A method for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 13, wherein the associated node receives said compressed video picture information from a source external of the cable television distribution system.

17. A method for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 13, further comprising the step of receiving, in a home interface controller associated with each home television, said decompressed video picture information transmitted by the associated node over the assigned channel.

18. A method for transmitting video picture information as recited in claim 17, further comprising the step of scrambling said decompressed video picture information in the associated node and descrambling