MXPA99005342A

MXPA99005342A - Internet television program guide system

Info

Publication number: MXPA99005342A
Application number: MXPA/A/1999/005342A
Authority: MX
Inventors: e boyer Franklin; B Demers Timothy; W Allison Donald; A Regouby Mark; c williamson Steven; L Hensley Joanna; Benjamin Herrington W; N Reedy Paul
Original assignee: Prevue International Inc
Priority date: 1996-12-10
Filing date: 1999-06-09
Publication date: 2000-09-04

Abstract

An Internet television program guide system is provided that allows a user at a multimedia system to access information related to television programs over an Internet communications link. The user can view television program guide listings and related video stills and video clips. The user can perform database searches on the program guide listings (e.g., to search for a particular type of television program). If desired, the user can select an option that directs the multimedia system to tune directly to a television channel for a selected program or to a related television program guide or movie guide service on a television channel. The user can order pay-per-view events using the system.

Description

INTERNET GUIDE SYSTEM FOR TELEVISION PROGRAMS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the Internet, and more particularly, to the techniques for providing a user via the Internet with television program guide services and information. A large number of television channels are available through cable television systems and satellite television systems. Traditionally, viewers had consulted lists of previously printed television programs to determine which programs were scheduled for transmission on a particular day. More recently, television-based program guides have been developed that allow viewers to watch television program listings directly on their television sets. For example, the Prevue® channel is a vertical-scrolling television program list service that a cable system operator can make available to subscribers through a cable channel dedicated to it. Viewers can tune in to the appropriate television channel to see the lists of television programs that are currently being broadcast and those that are scheduled to be broadcast during the next few hours. Although the Prevue® channel is an appreciable service, the viewer is somewhat restricted by the passive nature of the service. For example, the viewer can not watch the television lists for the next day or week. As a result, more advanced television program guide services have been developed that allow the service provider to deliver data from television program listings to the user's set-top box. Typically, the data is sent through the infrastructure of the cable television system (for example, on a particular television channel, during the vertical erase interval or through an out-of-band channel). The programs in the adjustment decoder allow the user to display the television lists on the user's television. These program guide services allow the user to manipulate the television lists by searching or sorting through the lists using criteria such as gender, channel and transmission schedule. An example of such an interactive television program guide is the Prevue Express® guide from Prevue Networks Inc. of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the assignee of the present invention. Although vertical passive guides and interactive guides of set-top decoders are useful sources for television program guide information, the Internet has opened another way by which users can obtain lists of television programs. For example, European patent application EP 0 723 369 A1 shows an arrangement that can potentially be used to convert the teletext of television program listings into an HTML format for the Internet. However, users have not been able to select from the various options that allow the user to use the Internet to observe program information for lists of selected programs from a web page, promotional video clips, interview segments, audio clips, and other multimedia materials related to a certain television program. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a television program guide system that provides lists of television programs from a server to a user's multimedia system through an Internet communication link. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a guidance system for television programs that allows users to press the mouse button on the text or on still images to watch promotional video clips, audio clips, interview segments and other materials. multimedia related to a given television program.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other objects of the invention are achieved in accordance with the principles of the present invention by providing a guidance system for television programs over the Internet. A computer system that has a media library and a data server is used to provide multimedia clips and guide data for related television programs. The multimedia material and the guide data for programs are provided to a web server. The web server provides this information to the user's multimedia system through a communication link over the Internet. The multimedia system has a processing unit to receive information from the communication link via the Internet and to process this information accordingly. The multimedia system also has a video unit to receive television signals. In a first modality, the unit of P820 processing is based on a personal computer running a standard web browser program with ancillary programs. The video unit is based on a television. In a second embodiment, the processing unit and the video unit of the multimedia system are provided by an integrated personal computer, and a television unit. In a third embodiment, the processing unit is in an adjustment decoder that uses the Internet and the video unit is based on a television. The web server can be located near the computer system and the guide data for programs, and the multimedia material is provided to the multimedia system via the Internet. Alternatively, the web server can be located in the cable system header. When the web server is located in the cable system header, the program guide data and the multimedia material can be provided to the web server via a satellite link. Program guide data and multimedia material are provided to the multimedia system via an Internet communication link. Preferably, the guide data for television programs and the related multimedia information are provided to the multimedia system of the television.

P820 user in the form of one or more web pages. Because such an arrangement allows the use of the widely adopted hypertext transfer protocol (http) and emerging standards of the web, a user with a personal computer can access the information using commonly available web browsing programs. Because the program guide information is distributed through the Internet, the user can access this information in remote locations. For example, the user can access the guide service for television programs while traveling by car, truck, train or plane, from a hotel room or at a business meeting, from a personal computer at work, or .any appropriate environment where there is a connection to the Internet. In all arrangements, (whether the user is having access to the guidance service for programs from their home or from a remote location), the system benefits from using the protocols and standards established on the Internet. In addition, because the guide for television programs via the Internet is provided as a site, which has a number of linked web pages, service characteristics can be added or removed by the service provider, easily, without affecting P820 directly to the computer hardware and user programs. The use of a website's platform also allows a wide range of service options to be provided. In particular, . numerous media formats (animation, full motion video, sound, still images and text) are supported and can be interconnected using several integrated hypertext transfer protocol links. The additional features of the invention, its nature and other advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a system diagram showing a media library and a data server interconnected with a web server and several multimedia systems. Figure 2 is a generalized diagram of a user's multimedia system. Figure 3 is a system diagram similar to that of Figure 1 showing an array in which the web server is located in the cable system header.

Figure 4 is a diagram of an initial page for a guide for Internet television programs. Figure 5 is a diagram of a map-based menu to identify a geographic area of interest. Figure 6 is a diagram of a map-based menu for a smaller geographic region than the one shown in Figure 5. Figure 7 is a web page that informs the user that there is no service available. Figure 8 is a web page that offers alternatives for local service. Figure 9 is a web page that allows the user to provide information to the service provider regarding the user's multimedia system. Figure 10 is a web page that presents several guide options for user programs. Figure 11 is a web page that contains information about community events. Figure 12 is a web page that provides the user with the opportunity to provide feedback to a local cable system operator. Figure 13 is a web page that contains information regarding the cable operator's system P820 local. Figure 14 is a web page that contains information about the weather. Figure 15 is a web page that presents several guide options for programs including direct links to television channels related to program guide and movie guide. Figure 16 is a web page that contains guide lists for television programs organized by schedule. Figure 17 is a web page that presents a menu of channel selections. Figure 18 is a web page that contains guide lists for television programs organized by channels. Figure 19 is a web page that contains icons that represent options by category. Figure 20 is a web page that contains guide lists for television programs organized by category. Figure 21 is a search page that contains a blank space for entering search text and various field search options. Figure 22 is a page of a guide list for television programs based on the search results. Figure 23 is a web page 'presenting guide options for programs related to promotional video clips, interview segments, pay-per-view and premium services. Figure 24 is a web page that presents several frozen or fixed images that can be selected by the user when you want to watch related video clips. Figure 25 is a web page that presents options for the user regarding payment by event and first quality services. Figure 26 is a web page that contains lists of television programs for a selected pay-per-view channel. Figure 27 is a web page that contains lists for television programs for a selected premium channel. Figure 28 is a web page that provides information about future special sports events and pay-per-view events. Figure 29 is a web page that contains frozen images that correspond to segments of available interviews. Figure 30 is a web page about P820 program information that contains information about a program selected by the user and that presents related options. Figure 31 is a web page that allows a user to enter information to order a pay-per-view program. Figure 32 is a web page that provides a showcase for advertisers. Figure 33 is a web page that contains detailed announcement information about a selected topic or television program. Figure 34 is a site map showing the options that are selected and the links that are traversed when browsing the television program guide web pages of Figures 4-33.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES An Internet guide system for television programs 10 is shown in Figure 1. The information of television programs is stored in a media library 12 and a data server 14. The media library 12 it preferably contains an array of read-only memory compact discs (CD-ROMs), digital video discs (DVDs), or any other appropriate means of storing content P820 multimedia. The media library 12 contains short films of television shows and interviews and related reviews. The information of television programs stored in the media library 12 is based primarily on video. The data server 14 maintains several databases of information about television programs. For example, the data server 14 may also have a remote media database containing descriptions of videos in the media library 12. The data server 14 can also have a database containing information on standard titles, a pay-per-view database containing information regarding pay-per-view programs, and a database with schedule information. The data server 14 may have a database of cable system operators containing channel arrangements, operator time zone information, weather data for the operator region, data on the postal codes in the area of the operator. cable system operator, etc. Other databases can be supported as desired by the database 14. The information of the television programs on the data server 14 is mainly in non-video formats. The media library 12 and the server P820 data 14 is interconnected with the transmission server 16 via an internal network 18. The media library 12, the data server 14, the network 18 and the transmission server 16 constitute the computer system 19. The information for programs of The television can be stored in the data server 14 in a correlated database format and can be stored in a transmission server 16 in object-oriented database format. A construction process implemented in the C ++ programming language can be used to periodically (for example, once a day) build a temporary data set of television program information (for example, a seven-day data set to one month) to be stored in a transmission server 16. The transmission server 16 also receives information for the Internet guide service for television programs, such as weather report, sports scoreboards, etc., by means of an input of data 17. The information of television programs and related information can be transferred from the transmission server 16 to the web server 20 by means of a communication line 22. The communication line 22 can be part of an internal network or can be a line dedicated communications, P820 standard. The web server 20 may be connected to the Internet 24 by means of a communication link 26. The communication link 26 preferably is a telephone line or other appropriate means of communications for the Internet. If the transmission server 16 and the web server 20 are separate devices, as shown in Figure 1, the transmission server 16 can be used as a common data processing for other applications that use the television program data type that they are stored in the transmission server 16. If desired, the functions of transmission server 16 and web server 20 can be integrated into a signaling machine. . The web server 20 uses standard protocols such as TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) and hypertext transfer protocol to make the information for television programs available on the Internet 24 for users in the systems multimedia 28, 30 and 32 through communication links 34, 36 and 38. Communication links 34, 36 and 38 are Internet links formed from telephone lines, radio frequency (RF) links, modem cabling links , antenna links P820 satellite dish, combinations of links like these or any other appropriate routes of connection to the Internet. The multimedia system 28 has a personal computer 40 and can have a television 42. Certain program guide features require that the personal computer 40 be able to control the television 42 via a link 41, which may be, for example, a video link. infrared communication The link 41 allows the personal computer 40 to tune the television 42 using control signals. The television 42 receives television signals from an input 44. The television signals received from the input 44 and the other television signal inputs shown in Figures 1-3 can be provided by cable television, satellite television, station television, a combination of such sources or any other appropriate source of television programming signals. Internet access for the multimedia system 28 is provided via a communication link to the Internet 34. The multimedia system 30 has a 46 personal computer and television integrated, such as the Gateway 2000 Destination® PC / TV hybrid available from Gateway 2000 Inc. in the North Sioux City, in Dakota P820 South. The television signals are provided at the input 48. Internet access is provided via a communication link to the Internet 36. The multimedia system 32 has an Internet-capable set-top box 50. The set-top box 50 can utilize the World Gate Corporation application programs of the Online Television Set Decoder, which can be implemented in set-top boxes such as the CFT-2200® from General Instrument Corporation of Hatboro, Pennsylvania and the 8600x ® from Scientific Atlanta of Atlanta, Georgia. The set-top box 50 receives the television signals by means of the input 52. The Internet access is provided by means of a communication link to the Internet 38. The video display signals containing Internet and television information are provided to the television 54 via line 56. During the operation of the system 10, certain data processing functions, such as searches and classifications initiated by the user, are typically performed on the web server 20. If desired, such functions are can perform in an appropriate data processing component in multimedia systems 28, 30 and 32.

P820 Certain television guidance functions only require multimedia systems 28, 30 and 32 to contain web browsing capabilities. Other functions require television tuning and video recording capabilities. Figure 2 shows an array of a generalized multimedia system that is capable of supporting controlled television tuning and video recording, if desired. As shown in Figure 2, the multimedia system 58 has a processing unit 60 which preferably contains memory for storing instructions and a microprocessor for executing the instructions. The processing unit 60 has access to the Internet via an Internet link 62. The video unit .64, which may be connected to the processing unit 60 by means of a communication line 66, contains a recording unit. 68, tuner 70, and monitor 72. Television signals are received at input 74. Tuner 70 is used to select television programs from television signals at input 74 to observe or record. The tuner 70 can be controlled under the direction of control signals provided by the processing unit 60 via the communication link 66.

P820 Television signals and Internet information can be observed using the monitor 72. The recording unit 68 allows the user to make recordings in videocassette of television programs. The recording unit 68 can also be controlled by control signals from the processing unit 60. The operation of the processing unit 60 is determined based on the execution of instructions stored in the memory of the processing unit 60 and on inputs of the processor 60. control received from the user by means of a user interface 76. User-friendly interfaces include portable infrared remote controls, keyboards, pointing devices and voice recognition devices. . Multimedia systems such as the multimedia system 58 of Figure 2 can be used in place of multimedia systems 28, 30 and 32. Alternatively, systems such as systems 28, 30 and 32 can be modified to incorporate features such as those are shown in the multimedia system 58. For example, if it were desired to provide a multimedia system with circuitry that could handle video recordings, the video recording units (such as recording unit 68) could be provided in systems such as systems P820 multimedia 28, 30 and 32. Furthermore, in systems such as system 58, certain components may be used more than once (for example, tuner 70 may be contained in a television component and a video cassette recording component). in system 58). Without taking into account the specific configuration of the multimedia systems used in the system 10, the user of such multimedia system has the ability to access guide information for television programs on the web server 20. Many of the features of the guide service for programs on the Internet are available using multimedia systems with the capabilities of a modern personal computer (desktop or laptop). If you want to use certain features of the guide for programs that depend on the control of a tuner or recording unit, the multimedia system should also have the ability to tune to a desired television program from among the different television programs provided in the inputs 44, 48, 52 and 74 and have the ability to memorize that program automatically, under the control of the commands of the processing unit 60. Additional features can also be implemented in the multimedia system 58. Another configuration that can be used for a guidance system for television programs on the Internet is shown in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, the guidance system for Internet television programs has a media library 80 and a data server 82. The library of means 80 contains shorts of television programs, interviews and critics. The information of television programs stored in the media library 80, is primarily video. The data server 82 contains databases of information about the television programs. For example, the data server 82 may have a data base containing descriptions of videos in the media library 80. The data server 82 may also have databases containing information about program titles, payment programs for event and schedules of television programs.

Data server 82 may have a database of cable system operators containing channel arrangements, operator time zone information, weather data in the operator's region, postal code data in the operator's area, cable system operator, etc. Other databases can also be supported by the server P820 data 82. The information of television programs on the data server 82 is mainly in other formats apart from the video format. The media library 80 and the data server 82 are interconnected with the transmission server 84 via an internal network 83. The media library 80, the data server 82, and the internal network 83 conform to the computer system 87 The television program information may be stored in the data server 82 in a correlated database format and may be stored in the transmission server 84 in an object-oriented database format. A construction process implemented in the C ++ programming language can be used to build periodically (eg, once a day) a temporary data set of television program information (eg, a seven-day data set to one month) for storage on the transmission server 84. The transmission server 84 also receives information for the Internet service of guidance for television programs, such as weather report, sports scores, etc., by means of the data input 85. A web server 86 is provided in each header of the cable system 88. The cable system header 88 has additional components (not shown) to distribute the cable television signals to the customers in the area of service that surrounds the header 88. The provision of the web server 86 in a location that is relatively close to the users, - allows information for television programs to be provided efficiently to users. Information from television programs (including video clips and data from associated television programs) is transmitted from the transmission server 84 to each terminal of the cable system 88 via an uplink satellite link 90 and a downlink satellite link 92. Each web server 86 uses the Internet protocol TCP / IP to make information for television programs available to users in multimedia systems 94, 96 and 98 by means of the respective communication links 100, 102 and 104. The communication links 100, 102 and 104 are Internet links formed by telephone lines, radiofrequency (RF) links, modem cabling links, satellite dish antenna downlinks, combinations of links such as these or other suitable routes of connection to the Internet. Although illustrated as direct links between multimedia systems 94, 96 and 98 and web server 86, the links Communication P820 100, 102 and 104 can be Internet routes that pass through extensive portions of the Internet. The multimedia system 94 has a personal computer 106 and can have a television 108. The television 108 receives television signals from the input 110. The access to the web server 86 is provided by means of an Internet communication link 100. The multimedia system 96 has an integrated personal computer and a 112 television, such as the Gateway 2000 Destination PC-TV hybrid. The television signals are provided at the input 114. Access to the web server 86 is provided via an Internet communication link 102. The multimedia system 98 has an Internet-capable setting decoder 116, such as the decoder. Adjustment TV OnLine®. The adjustment decoder 116 receives television signals via the input 118. Access to the web server 86 is provided via an Internet communication link 104. The video display signals containing Internet and television information are provided to television 120 on line 122. The physical computer system of the system P820 shown in Figures 1-3 to provide Internet guidance services for television programs is illustrative and other appropriate arrangements of the computer hardware may be used, if desired. Regardless of the computer hardware system used, however, the present invention, preferably, is involved in providing guidance services for television programs and other features to users over the Internet in the form of multiple web pages that use the standard hypertext transfer protocol (http). In the system of Figure 1, web pages and features associated with the program guide (such as search, etc.) are provided using a web server 20. In the system of Figure 3, web pages and associated features are provided using the web server 86. Because the program guide services of television are provided using web pages, program guide services can be accessed using standard web browsing programs operating in the appropriate processing unit in the user's multimedia system. For example, in the multimedia system 58 of Figure 2, a web browser can be implemented using a unit of P820 processing 60. Suitable web browsers include the web browser, Internet Explorer® from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington, and the Netscape Navigator® web browser from Netscape Communications Corporation of Mountain View, California. Such web browsers support the observation of various types of multimedia content, such as frozen video images, (JPEG or GIF files) and video clips and audio clips (AVI, MOV, and MPG files). If desired, certain of these multimedia support functions may be provided as random web browser programs (eg, special program modules designed to improve the qualities of a web browser application). A suitable plug for a MOV file video device is the Quicktime® application from Apple Computer Inc. of Cupertino, California. The AVI and MPG (or MPEG -Motion Picture Expert Group) files can be run using the ActiveMovie® application from Microsoft Corporation. An illustrative welcome page 124 for the guide service for television programs of the present invention is shown in Figure 4. (A site map is shown in Figure 34). The function keys of the web browser 126 help the user in the P820 multimedia system 58 to navigate through web pages with material such as the welcome page 124. Users can also navigate by pressing with the cursor 142 an image or a highlighted text element, which can be controlled with a pointing device such as a mouse or tracking ball. Other arrangements for selecting links can be used if they are supported by the user interface 76 that is provided in the multimedia system 58. The web browser function keys 126 include forward and backward keys that allow the user to navigate back and forth to along a revision track. The function keys 126 of the web browser are not shown in the other Figures, but are shown in Figure 4 to illustrate the types of function keys that are available in a standard web browser. The welcome page 124 may contain identification logos 128 (which may be, for example, registered trademarks of the United States). The identification logos 128 allow the user to quickly associate a service provider, such as the one assigned to the present invention, Prevue Networks Inc. of Tulsa Oklahoma, with the Internet television guide service. If desired, the welcome page 124 may contain abbreviated instructions 130 that inform the user about some of the features available with the service. Other web pages (np shown) may contain links pointing to welcome page 124. Notices 132 and 134 allow a service provider to generate revenue from parties wishing to advertise products using the online television program guide system 10 (Fig. 1) or 78 (Fig. 3). Notices 132 and 134 may be frozen video images, may be animated, or may be full-motion videos. The audio material can also be associated with the announcements 132 and 134. For example, supplementary audio information can be provided when the user presses the warning 132 or 134. If desired, the announcements 132 and 134 can be linked to the sites of the web provided by the advertiser parties. Notices 132 and 134 that are displayed can change periodically (for example, once every few seconds) to different advertisements for different advertisers. An important aspect of the television program guide service on the Internet, provided by system 10 (Fig. 1) and system 78 (Fig. 3) is related to online lists of television programs and information on upcoming movies and events.

P820 specials. The user can be presented with a number of options referring to the type of online information that is available. For example, the user may be presented with the opportunity to select between the option to go to local 136, the option to go to national 138 and the option to go to satellite 140. Additional features of the service can be accessed after the user has selected one of these options. If the user wishes to make the option selection to go to local 136, the user may be suggested to provide an area code for the local area of interest in space 144. If the service is available, the user guidance system programs links the user to an appropriate website of the local systems operator based on the area code. If desired, the user can select a local area by providing information such as the name of the cable system operator, the name of a city, information about international country and city, etc. Another way in which the user can select a local service area of interest is to use a graphical interface based on a map. As shown in Figure 5, the user is presented with a map of the United States of America 146. The user selects a state of interest using P820 the cursor 142. If necessary, additional maps are provided with higher levels of detail, each allowing the user to make even more geographical selections. Finally, the user is presented with a local map (for example, a map that allows the user to select from different available cable operators). On map 148 of Figure 6, the user can select from three available regions of cable operators: region 1, region 2 and region 3. If there is no local service available, the user can be provided with a web page such as page of no service 150 of Figure 7, in which the user is informed that there is no local service available in the area selected by the user. The page . Non-service 150 may provide the user with an opportunity to present the user's email address, cable provider information, local area code information and comments. The information provided by the user can be used by the operator of the guide system for television programs. If no local service is available, the user can be provided with a new selection page 152, as shown in Figure 8. The new selection page 152 provides the user with another opportunity to P820 select the option to go to national 138 or the option to go to satellite 140. In addition, the new selection page 152 provides the user with the option of selecting a city 154, which is associated with a less restrictive set of program information than the option to go to room 136 (Fig. 4). With the option to select a city 154, the user can select a desired city using the arrow keys 156, (or alternatively, he could write the name of the city directly in space 158). After entering the desired city, the information of the city is presented to the system by pressing the submit 160 button. Because the option to select a city 154 is less localized than the option to go to local 136, choose the option selecting City 154 makes it more likely that there will be a series of program listings available to the user. If the service is available to the user either in the city selected in the city option 154 or in the localized geographic area selected in the option to go to local 136, the user is presented with the registration page 162, as shown in Figure 9. The registration page 162 may contain instructions suggesting the user submit an electronic address and information concerning the user's computer equipment. While with many of the other web pages provided along with the guide service for television programs of systems 10 (Fig. 1) and 78 (Fig. 3), the registration page 162 contains an identification logo 164 and notices 166 and 168. At the completion of the registration page 162, the user is presented on page 170 of the local cable site of Figure 10, which is individually designed to reflect the local geographic area or city selected by the user. The page 170 of the local cable site may contain a welcome message 172 which is individually designed to reflect the name of the operator of the local cable system. A number of options 174 may be presented as hypertext links to the associated web pages. An image 175 is displayed which changes as the user places the cursor 142 at the top of each option 174. For example, the image 175 of Figure 10 is presented when the user places the cursor 142 on the program guide option 190 . Different images are displayed as the cursor 142 passes over each option 174. The images 175 to be displayed are stored as bitmap images (bitmaps) P820 in the processing unit 60 of the multimedia system 58 (Figure 2). This technique of presenting context sensitive images to illustrate the current position of the cursor on hypertext link options is preferably used throughout the guide service for Internet television programs. The various web pages may be displayed depending on which option 174 is selected by the user. For example, by selecting option 176 of community events, the user is presented on page 178 of community events (Figure 11), which contains information on upcoming local community events. If desired, community events listed can be specified to the type of service to which the user subscribes (for example, cable or satellite). The selection of the cable feedback option 180 presents the user with the cable feedback page 182 (Figure 12), which allows the user to send an email address and comments to the local cable system operator. The selection of option 184 of the cable operator takes the user to page 186 of the cable operator (Figure 13), which contains related information P820 with the local cable system. For example, by clicking on the icon 187, the user can be provided with a weekly report prepared by the cable system operator. If the user wishes to customize the program guide service, the user can click on option 185 to customize (Figure 10). The selection of the customize option 185 presents the user with a customization web page containing the guidance features that the user can customize as arrangements of the channels and display colors specific to the genre (eg, pink for lists of sports programs and orange for movie program listings). The personalization web page may also contain user selectable options that control how the user receives the rest of the messages when a desired program is about to begin on the user's television. The user can direct the system to provide a direct reminder on the television screen, to send the user an email reminder, or to remind the user via a predetermined call number, etc. The customize option 185 can be provided in any suitable portion of the program guide service, P820 as in the program guide list page (Figure 16). Another option 174 that is available on page 170 of the local cable site (Figure 10) is option 186 for local climate. The selection of local climate option 186 takes the user to page 188 of the local climate (Figure 14). If desired, a map-based menu (as shown in Figures 5 and 6) or another user input arrangement may be used to provide the user with the opportunity to select the additional cities for which the information of the user is desired. weather. Program guide option 190 allows the user to access the lists of television programs that can be organized by time, channel and category, and can be searched. The selection of program guide option 190 leads the user to page 194 of the program guide menu (Figure 15). Movie guide option 192 allows the user to access the channel lists for premium channels and pay-per-view, interviews, and various promotional media. The selection of movie guide option 192 takes the user to page 196 of the movie guide menu (Figure 23).

P820 The user can search page 194 of the program guide menu (Figure 15) from option 138 to go to national (Figures 4 and 8) or option 140 to go to satellite (Figures 4 and 8). If the user selects option 136 to go to local (Figure 4) and successfully completes registration page 162 (Figure 9), the user can search page 194 of the program guide menu (Figure 15) by selecting program guide option 190 on page 170 of the local cable site (Figure 10). The user can also search page 194 of the program guide menu (Figure 15) via option 154 to select a city. Each of these routes to page 194 of the menu guides for programs requires that selections be made by --- the user slightly different. Option 136 to go local (Figure 4) requires a user to specify a particular local region (or cable system operator) of interest to reach page 170 of the local cable site (Figure 10). To get to page 194 of the program guide menu (Figure 15) from page 170 of the local cable site, the user selects program guide option 190. Option 138 to go to national (Figures 4 and 8) requires a user to select a time zone P820 desired (for example, east, central, mountain or Pacific). To reach page 194 of the program guide menu from the welcome page 124 (Figure 4) or the newly selected page 152 (Figure 8), the user selects program guide option 284. Option 140 to go to satellite (Figures 4 and 8) requires the user to select a desired satellite 286 provider. To reach page 194 of the program guide menu from the welcome page 124 (Figure 4) or the newly selected page 152 (Figure 8), the user selects program guide option 288. Choice 154 of selecting a city (Figure 8) requires the user to enter the information specified by a particular city. When the user presents the city information by clicking 160 to display, the user is taken to the registration page 162 (Figure 9). The user arrives at page 194 of the program guide menu from page 170 of the local cable site (Figure 10) after filling out the form on registration page 162. Regardless of which option is used to reach page 194 of the program guide menu (Figure 15), preferably, the information is retained by system 10 or 78 that indicates what selections have been made by the P820 user. The retention of this information allows the lists of subsequently displayed programs and other information to be automatically personalized to reflect the user's selections. As shown in Figure 15, page 194 of the program guide menu can be constructed from two small web pages: the upper web page 198 and a lower web page 200. The upper web page 198 contains the 202 graphic options and text-based that are common to many different system operators. The lower web page 200 may contain system-specific promotional materials, such as promotion 204 of pay-per-view video. Splitting page 194 of the program guide menu in this way allows system resources to be used more efficiently than would otherwise be possible, because the common material on page 198 can be used to more than one local cable system. If desired, options 206 and 208 of the television channel can be provided in such a way as to allow the user easy access to the program services related to the television channel. When the user selects options 206 or 208, the processing unit 60 (Figure 1-2) P820 sends control commands to the video unit 64 which directs the tuner 70 of the video unit 64 to be tuned to a television channel in which the desired program service is being broadcast. For example, if the user wishes to tune the video unit 64 to the Prevue® channel, the user can click on option 206 of the program guide television channel. When option 206 of the program guide television channel is selected, the processing unit 60 directs the video unit 64 to select the appropriate television signal from the television signal input 74, so that it is displayed on the monitor 72 the Prevue® channel. The Prevue® channel is an example of a type of program guide service that displays a vertical scrolling list of television program titles with a concurrent display of promotional videos and advertisements. If the user wishes to tune the video unit 64 to the Sneak Prevue® channel, the user can click on option 208 of the movie guide television channel. When option 208 of the movie guide television channel is selected, the processing unit 60 directs the video unit 64 to select the appropriate television signal of the P820 television signal input 74, so that the Sneak Prevue® channel is displayed on the monitor 72. The Sneak Prevue® channel is an example of a type of movie guide service that displays promotional videos of upcoming pay-per-view programs and premium channel offerings. Television channel options 206 and 208 allow a user to jump directly from a guide service for Internet-based television programs to guide services for related programs, provided on conventional television channels. Providing this type of direct link is beneficial to the user, because it allows the user to avoid the difficult steps of leaving the Internet-based service and manually tuning the video unit 64 to the appropriate channel while trying to remember the channel number. correct of the desired television service. The options 202 allow the user to choose how to display various program listings for the preselected region of the user's interest (national, satellite, or local). Typical options 202 include option 210 by time, option 212 by channel, option 214 by category and option 216 of search. If option 210 is selected by time, it is P820 presents the user with page 218 by time, as shown in Figure 16. Page 218 by time contains the lists of programs 220 that are organized in the order of channels from the top to the bottom and by broadcast time of left to right. On page 218 by time, the programs in the 220 program listings can be listed starting with programs that are currently broadcasting. For example, if the current time is between 1:30 PM and 2:00 PM, the 220 program listings can start with programs starting at 1:30 PM. Alternatively, the programs in the program lists 220 can be listed based on a predetermined time interval (eg, morning, afternoon or first class time). If desired, the time interval closest to the current time can be displayed. Program listings 220 typically contain information for approximately two hours of programming. The cursors 222 and 224 are used to navigate to the preceding or later time periods, respectively. The cursors 226 and 228 of the web browser allow the user to scroll vertically through the program lists. The user can also navigate through the program listings with the 230 time navigation buttons. For example, if the P820 user would like to see the lists of programs that start in the morning, the user clicks on the navigation button 230 in the morning. If the user would like to see the lists of programs for programs that are currently broadcasting, the user can click on the current navigation button 230. Lists of programs for different days in the month can be viewed by selecting the appropriate day of the 232 calendar buttons. The user can choose from several vision options available by selecting the appropriate time, channel, category or search button from among the viewing buttons 234. The view buttons 234 bring the user to the same web pages that are presented when the corresponding options 202 of Figure 15 are selected. For example, option 212 per channel and channel view button 234 are both linked to the page 242 per channel (Figure 17). Another component of page 218 by time and several other web pages provided by the present system is program information table 236. The contents of the program information box 236 change dynamically, depending on which program title is selected from the program lists 220. For example, the user has selected P820 the "Primal Fear" entry in the program listings 220 of Figure 16. As a result, the contents of the program information box 236 reflect that selection. The program information table 236 typically contains the program title (eg, Primal Fear), the time the program runs (eg, 2:09), a brief description of the program (eg, a passionate shot). ...), and a description of the type or genre of the program (for example, dramatic film). The description of the program may contain information about the actors in the program, the director, etc. The program information table 236 typically provides a rating of the program, such as a star rating (for example three stars) or the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rating for movies or television ratings for television programs. TV. If the user wishes to see additional information regarding the selected program, the user can click on link 238 for a closer look (or alternatively, in any portion of table 236), which takes the user to page 240 of information of the program (Figure 30). If desired, when programs are selected by a user that are currently broadcasting, P820 can display the direct tuning button 231. When the user clicks on the direct tuning button 231, the processing unit 60 directs the video unit 64 to select the appropriate television signal from the television signal inputs 74 to display the selected program on the monitor 72. The page 242 per channel of Figure 17 is presented when the user select option 212 per channel from page 194 of the program guide menu (Figure 15) or when the user clicks on a channel view button, such as channel view button 234 on page 218 by time (Figure 16). Page 242 per channel contains list 244 of channels. The list 244 of channels can be arranged in an order by number of channels and can contain the associated icons 246 for certain channels. A user can click on each individual channel 248 in the channel list 244 to obtain a list of program information based on the selected channel. A user can also click on a graphic text link to a website of the network, listed to be hyperlinked to that site. When a channel 248 is selected, the user is presented with page 250 of the program list Channel P820, as shown in Figure 18. The channel selected from the example in Figure 18 is channel 2. On page 250 of the channel program list, the program listings 252 for the selected channel can be arranged by order of time, starting with the current time. If the programs in the program lists 252 extend to the next day, the programs can be separated by the 254 date separation bar. The title bar 256 contains the information that identifies the currently selected channel. The page 258 by category of Figure 19 is presented when the user selects option 214 by category on page 194 of the program guide menu (Figure 15) or when the user clicks on a category view button, such as the category view button 234 on page 218 by time (Figure 16). Page 258 by category contains the list of categories 260, which can be presented in the form of category 262 icons. A user clicks on the individual category icon 262 in the category list 260 for a list of program information based on the selected category. When a category is selected, the user P820 is presented with page 264 of the list of programs by category, as shown in Figure 20. On page 264 of the list of programs by category, program lists 266 can be arranged in order of time and channel, beginning with the current time and date. The program listings 266 contain the channel information for each program adjacent to the program title. If a user wants to see the program information for a specific channel, the user can click on one of the channels displayed. The user is then presented with a list of programs that is restricted to the programs that appear with the selected channel. If desired, the list of programs displayed on page 264 of the list of programs by category can be limited to the programs that appear in the next 24 hours. The user can see the information for the days after selecting on the appropriate day in the buttons 270 of the calendar. Search page 272 of Figure 21 is presented when the user selects search option 216 from page 194 of the program guide menu (Figure 15) or when the user selects on a search edit button, such like button 234 P820 search edition on page 218 by time (Figure 16). Search field options 274 allow the user to select a search field, such as title, actor, category, description, classification. A series of search text is entered in the search text box 276. After the search text has been entered in the search text box 276 and one of the search field options 274 has been selected, the required search is performed (for example, by the web server 20 (Figure 1) or the web server 86 (Figure 3)) and the user is provided with the search result page 278 of Figure 22. The search result page 278 contains the lists of programs 280 that satisfy the search criteria specified using the page. of search 272 (Figure 21). For example, the program listings 280 of Figure 22 result in a search for the "Gibson" text series in the actor search field, as shown by the search criteria bar 282. The user can go to page 196 of the movie guide menu (Figure 23) from option 138 to go to national (Figures 4 and 8) or option 140 to go to satellite (Figures 4 and 8). If the user selects option 136 to go to local (Figure 4) and P820 successfully completes registration page 162 (Figure 9), the user can reach page 196 of the movie guide menu (Figure 23) by selecting guide option 192 for movies on page 170 of the local cable site ( Figure 10). Each of these routes to page 196 of the movie guide menu requires that slightly different selections be made by the user. Option 136 to go local (Figure 4) requires that a user specifies a particular local region (or cable system operator) of interest, to get to page 170 of the local cable site (Figure 10). To get to page 196 of the movie guide menu (Figure 23) from page 170 of the local cable site, the user selects movie guide option 192. Option 138 to go to national (Figures 4 and 8) requires a user to select a desired time zone (for example, east, central, mountain or Pacific). To get to page 196 of the movie guide menu from the welcome page 124- (Figure 4) or the newly selected page 152 (Figure 8), the user selects option 290 for movie guide. Option 140 to go to satellite (Figures 4 and 8) requires the user to select a provider 286 P820 satellite, desired. To reach page 196 of the movie guide menu from welcome page 124 (Figure 4) or newly selected page 152 (Figure 8), the user selects movie guide option 292. Regardless of which option is used to reach page 196 of the movie guide menu, preferably, the information is retained by system 10 or 78 which indicates what selections have been made by the user. The retention of this information allows the lists of subsequently displayed programs and other information to be automatically personalized to reflect the user's selections. As shown in Figure 23, page 196 of the movie guide menu contains option 294 for novel selections, movie cruise option 296, main event option 298, and interview option 300. When the user selects one of these options by pressing the button on the associated icon, the user is presented with a corresponding web page for that characteristic. If the user selects option 294 of novel selections, the user is provided with page 302 of novel selections, as shown in Figure 24. Page 302 of novel selections P820 contains images 304, 306, 308 and 310 of popular programs for which promotional materials are available. Images 304 and 308 typically contain program titles. The images 306 and 310 typically contain snapshots of actors. The programs for which images 304, 306, 308 and 310 are displayed can be automatically selected according to their next frequency in pay-per-view services. The next frequency can be calculated based on the number of expected occurrences of a given program in a predetermined time period (for example, seven days). The default period can be started by starting with the current date and time, thus allowing a seamless crossing of the monthly barrier. The information used to determine which program images are displayed preferably is customized based on the selections (local, national, satellite, etc.) previously prepared by the user. When the user clicks on one of images 304, 306, 308, or 310, the user is taken to page 240 of program information (Figure 30), which allows the user to obtain additional information, such as video clips and interview segments about the selected program. When a P820 user clicks on the link 312 of pay-per-view or the link 314 of payment by event, the user is taken to the page 316 of payment by event (Figure 26), that provides to the user the lists of programs of payment by event for the selected program. When the user selects the movie cruise option 296, the user is presented with the movie cruise page 318, as shown in Figure 25. The movie cruise page 318 lists the pay-per-view and premium channels that are available to the user (based on previous selections). In particular, the movie cruise page 318 contains 320 options for pay-per-view channels and 322 options for premium channels. If the user selects one of the pay-per-view options 320, the user is taken to page 316 on a pay-per-view basis, as shown in Figure 26. The pay-per-event page 316 contains lists of 324 programs for broadcast programs. pay per event. Multiple pay-per-view programs can be listed simultaneously in a grid format or can be listed as shown in Figure 26 for a selected pay-per-view channel (i.e., channel 35). As with several other pages, page 316 contains the program information table 325, which contains the program information when a program of the program lists 324 has been selected by the user. When you click on the 325 box (or a closer look at icon 325) the user is taken to page 240 of the program information (Figure 30). If the user selects one of the options 322 of premium channels on page 318 (Figure 25), the user is taken to page 326 of premium services, as shown in Figure 27. On page 326 of services Top quality contains lists of 328 programs for premium events. Multiple programs of premium services can be listed simultaneously in a grid format or an individual program can be listed as shown in Figure 27 for a selected premium service (ie, the Disney® channel). The program information box 330 provides the program information for a program that has been selected by the user. In the example of Figure 27, the user has clicked on "Pete's Dragon." By clicking the mouse in the 330 program information box (or a closer-look icon in frame 330), the P820 user on page 240 of program information (Figure 30), where the user can see additional information in the selected program (ie information about the movie Pete's Dragon). When the user selects the main event option 298 on page 196 of the movie guide menu (Figure 23), the user is presented with the main event page 332, as shown in Figure 28. Event page 332 Main lists top quality sports events or pay-per-view events and other special events. By clicking the mouse on an event (for example, event 334), the user may be presented with an information page associated with the program (such as page 240 of Figure 30), provided that additional event information is available. . Alternatively, page 336 of the pay-per-event order can be presented directly to the user (Figure 31). When the user selects the interview option 300 on page 196 of the movie guide menu (Figure 23), the interview page 338 is presented to the user, as shown in Figure 29. The interview page 338 contains still images 340 of several subjects. As with other pages in the online program guide service, the subjects P820 presented on interview page 338 are customized to reflect the selected type of user service (for example, the selection of the user of a particular cable system operator or the selection of the national service user or a particular satellite service) . Accordingly, images 340 refer to interviews for movies and other programs currently available to the user. The determination of which interview images 340 will be made available on the interview page 338 can be based on a calculation of the next frequently scheduled programs in a predetermined period of time (eg, next week). If desired, the interviews corresponding to the. Programs not currently available to the user can also be provided. The user can select a specific interview by clicking on one of the images 340. The user then takes to page 240 of program information (Figure 30). As shown in Figure 30, page 240 of program information contains detailed information of a selected program (for example, the Birdcage movie). The preferred program information page 240 contains the image 342, which is P820 can initially be presented as a still image of the program title (for example, from a JPEG or GIF file). When a user presses the mouse on the image 342, an associated music video clip is presented. The program information page 240 also contains the title 344, the information of the actors 346 and the description of the program 348. The additional information may include the content information 350 and the gender information 352. If desired, it may be provided information about the director, year of release, and other important points. Additional information of the actors can be provided (for example, in the form of biographical information and related video clips accessed by clicking on the actors 346). The interview icon 354, the comment icon 356, and the short promotional icon 358 represent available services. The user can watch the video clips of the interviews in the selected program (ie the movie Birdcage) by clicking on the file type appropriate option associated with a specific service. For example, file options 360, 362, and 364 are associated with an interview service (represented by the 354 interview icon). By clicking on the option 360 of P820 file allows the user to view interview video clips using an appropriate protocol for a MOV file (for example, using the QuickTime application). Pressing the mouse on file option 362 or 364 allows the user to view the interview music video clip using an appropriate protocol for an AVI or MPG (MPEG) file (for example, using the ActiveMovie application). The comment icon 356 and the promotional shortcut icon 358 have associated file options (for example, MOV, AVI, and MPG options) that allow the user to view the comment or promotional video clips for the selected program. The page 240 of program information contains the information linked to the program selected by the user in the previous pages. The user can reach page 240 of program information by several routes. For example, the user can select a program from program listings 220 on page 218 by time (Figure 16) by clicking on the desired program title. The user can also select a pay-per-view or premium program from page 316 on a pay-per-view basis (Figure 26) or on page 326 of premium services (Figure 27) by clicking on the appropriate list.

P820 When the user arrives at page 240 of program information, the program information for the selected program is provided. Icons and other indicators are used to identify which services are available for the selected program. For example, if comment clips are not available for a particular program, then the file options below the comment icon 356 can be omitted. Similarly, if a still video image for a movie is not available, an image 342 may be omitted. The program information page 240 contains the lists of programs 366, which provide the title, channel, and time information and program date for the selected program. In the example shown in Figure 30, the Birdcage movie is appearing on channel 35 (a pay-per-view channel) for three days in the next week's period. When the user presses the mouse on a pay-per-event entry, in program lists 366, the user takes the page of order 336 (Figure 31). As shown in Figure 31, the order page 336 contains instructions 368 on how to order a pay-per-view program. The order page 336 also contains the number request box 370 Telephone P820 and personal identification number box 372. The user can place an order for a pay-per-view program by clicking on the button 374 of site order. The information entered by the user in tables 370 and 372 is used to verify the user's identity and account status. Once the user information has been verified, the selected pay-per-view program can be distributed to the user's multimedia system. The manner in which the pay-per-view program orders are processed depends on the particular physical equipment used to distribute the services to the user. The account and order verification information is presented in general electronically to the header cable system operator or a third-party order execution processor linked to the header system. The team in the header processes the order automatically and arranges pay-per-event program distribution to the user. Typically, the header equipment directs the equipment (such as an adjustment decoder or similar integrated component) in the user's multimedia system to display the ordered event. In the system 78 of Figure 3, the web server 86 in the header 88 of the cable system can be P820 to use to receive and process the pay-per-view orders presented using the order page 336. After processing the order, the web server 86 can direct the conventional pay-per-view equipment "in header 88 to authorize the display of the order. orderly pay-per-view program using the adjustment decoder 116. Similar techniques can be used to distribute pay-per-view programs with other arrangements of physical equipment such as those shown in Figures 1-3, if desired, after the The web server 86 has processed the user's pay-per-view order, the web server 86 can communicate the authorization information to the processing unit 60 (Figure 2) in the user's multimedia system 58 (Figure 2). processing 60 (Figure 2) can direct the video unit 64 (Figure 2) to decode and display the pay-per-view program among the received television signals 74 (Figure 2) ) based on the authorization information. The 336 order page can be provided with user selectable options for recording programs and to remind the user when the selected programs are coming soon to be broadcast.

P820 For example, the order page 336 may contain a recording button that can be pressed with the mouse. Selecting the recording option by pressing the mouse on the recording button directs the multimedia system 58 (Figure 2) to record the selected program (when controlling the recording unit 68 of the video unit 64 with the processing unit 60 ) when the selected program is being broadcast on air. Similarly, the 336 order page may contain a memo reminder button with the mouse. The - selection of the reminder option when you press the mouse on this button directs the multimedia system 58 to remind the user of the next selected program (for example, 10 minutes before the scheduled broadcast time) by automatically tuning to the desired channel, by displaying a reminder message, or by issuing an audible reminder. Reminder messages can also be generated by the web server 20 or 86 and transmitted to the multimedia system 58 by e-mail. If desired, these selectable reminder recording features may be incorporated into other pages, such as page 240 of program information, one of the pages containing the lists of television programs, or a page presented to the P820 user after pressing with the mouse on the button 374 order in place. When a user clicks on an ad (typically an image) on one of the web pages associated with the program guide service, the user can be taken directly to a more detailed ad page. Alternatively, the user can be taken to page 376 of the advertiser's showcase, as shown in Figure 32. Advertiser's showcase page 376 contains selectable images with the mouse, such as images 378, 380, and 382 which are linked to more detailed ad pages. The advertiser's showcase page 376 may also contain an image of the advertiser's logo, such as image 390. The text bar 392, contains the text fields selectable with the mouse that duplicate the selections available by clicking with the mouse on the images. The image of the advertiser's logo on page 376 of the advertiser's showcase can be linked to the advertiser's website. For example, the image 390 can be linked to a website for UPN, so that if the user clicks on the image 390, the user will be taken to the UPN website. If the user presses the mouse on such an image P820 as images 378, 380, or 382 on page 376 of the advertiser's showcase, the user is presented with the advertisement page 394, as shown in Figure 33. Ad page 394 contains detailed information regarding the subject of the image that was selected from page 376 of the advertiser's showcase (Figure 32). In the example of Figure 33, additional information about the "The Sentinel" program is provided, because this program was selected on page 376 of the advertisement window by clicking with the mouse on image 382. If desired, the Ad page 394 may contain appropriate links to additional ad pages or the advertiser's home page. Figure 34 is a site map of the television program guide service. The service can be accessed from the home page 396 of the service provider. The selection of the guide service for television programs from the homepage 396 takes the user to the welcome page 124. If the user selects the go to local option and the service is not available, the page 150 of non-service is presented and page 152 of new selection. If the user selects the option to go to local and the service is available, the user takes the registration page 162. If the maps 146 (Figure 5) and 148 (Figure P820 6) are used to define the local area of interest, maps can be provided on the route 398 between the welcome page 124 and the registration page 162. The selection of an ad when you click on your image can be done typically on any page that contains an ad. In the example of Figure 34, the selection of an advertisement on registration page 162 takes the user to page 376 of the advertiser's showcase. The selection of an image on page 376 of the advertiser's showcase takes the user to the advertisement page 394. The termination of the registration form on registration page 162 allows the user to proceed to page 170 of the local cable site. . From page 170 of the local cable site the user can see page 178 of community events when selecting the community event option. When selecting the cable feedback option, the cable operator option, or the local climate option, the user can have access to cable feedback page 182, cable operator page 186, or page 188 of the local climate. If the user selects the option to go to national on the welcome page 124, the user is taken to page 194 of the program guide menu or P820 to page 196 of the movie guide menu, depending on whether the user selected the program guide option or movie guide. Similarly, if the user selects the go to satellite option on the welcome page 124, the user is taken to page 194 of the program guide menu to the page or page 196 of the movie guide menu, depending on whether the user selected the guide option for programs or guide for movies. The user can also go to page 194 of the program guide menu or page 196 of the movie guide menu from newly selected page 152 or page 170 of the local cable site. If the user arrives at page 194 of the program guide menu from either the newly selected page 152 or page 170 of the local cable site, the local area of interest to the user is retained by the system, so that The guide lists for programs exhibited subsequently can be customized to the user's local area. When the user is on page 194 of the program guide menu, the selection of the program guide channel option tunes the system directly to channel 400 of program guide television. Similarly, the selection in the option P820 of the guide channel for movies tunes the system to channel 402 of guide television for movies. The selection of the time option on page 194 of the program guide menu takes the user to page 218 by time. Whether. Select a program that is currently broadcasting and therefore is available to the user in plain sight, you can display a direct tuning option on page 218 by time or any page that contains the program listings. The selection of the direct tuning option tunes the user's television unit directly to the selected television channel 404. Selecting the channel option from page 194 of the program guide menu takes the user to page 242 per channel. When the user selects a desired channel, page 250 of the channel program list is displayed. The selection of the category option from page 194 of the program guide menu takes the user to page 258 by category. When the user selects a desired category, page 264 of the list of programs by category is displayed. When the user selects the search option on page 194 of the program guide menu, search page 272 is displayed.

P820 search page 272 allows the user to enter the search terms and start a search of a program database. After the search is performed, page 278 of search results is displayed. The selection of the movie guide option from the welcome page 124, the newly selected page 152, or the local cable site page 170 presents the user with page 196 of the movie guide menu. If the user selects the interview option, the user is presented with the interview page 338. When the user selects an interview from interview page 338, the user is taken to page 240 of program information to view the interview. If the user selects the option of novel selections from page 196 of the movie guide menu, the user is presented with page 302 of novel selections. When the user selects a novel selection from the images displayed on page 302 of novel selections, the user takes page 240 of program information to view a promotional music video clip for the novel selection. If the user selects the main event option from page 196 of the movie guide menu, the page is presented to the user P820 332 of main event. When the user selects a particular event from page 332 of main events, the user is taken to page 240 of program information to view information about that event. Alternatively, the user can be taken to the order page 316 to place an order for the event. The selection of the movie cruise option on page 196 of the movie guide menu introduces the user to page 318 of the movie cruise. The user can see page 316 of payment by event when selecting the option of payment by event. The user can see page 326 of first quality services when selecting the first quality option. The programs can be selected by the user either from page 316 of payment by event or page 326 of services of first quality. In any case, the user is taken to page 240 of program information to see the additional information in the selected program. The page 240 of program information allows the user to see the multimedia material in a program, interview, event, determined, etc. The content of page 240 of program information depends on the route taken to reach page 240 of P820 program information and options selected by the user. The program information page 240 contains options that allow the user to select a program to view. When the user makes this program selection, the user is presented with the order page 336. The foregoing is only illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and scope of the invention. spirit of invention P820

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A guidance system for television programs via the Internet to provide information web pages to a user in a multimedia system over an Internet communication link, comprising: a computer system for providing lists of television programs and program information that corresponds to the program lists; a web server to receive lists of television programs and program information corresponding to the program listings from the computer system, where; the web server provides the lists of television programs to the multimedia system as interactive web pages on the Internet communication link, when the user has access to the lists of television programs with the multimedia system; the web server provides the user with an opportunity to select a given list of the lists of programs displayed on one of the interactive pages of the web; and the web server provides the multimedia system with the program information that corresponds to the given list of programs when selected by the P820 user. The system according to claim 1, wherein the computer system further comprises a means for providing multimedia material associated with the lists of television programs to the web server. The system according to claim 2, wherein the means for providing multimedia material comprises a means for providing video clips. The system according to claim 2, wherein the means for providing the multimedia material comprises a means for providing video interview segments. 5. The system according to claim 1 further comprises a means to provide an option to go to national, which the user selects to receive the information based on the national television lists. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for providing an option to go to satellite that the user selects to receive the information based on the television listings for satellite coverage. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for providing an option to go to the premises that the user selects to receive P820 information based on the local television listings. The system according to claim 7, further comprising a means for selecting a locality for the local television lists. The system according to claim 8, wherein the means for selecting a location comprises a means for accepting a postal code from which the location is determined. The system according to claim 8, wherein the means for selecting a location comprises a means for selecting a local region of a map. The system according to claim 8, further comprising means for presenting a new selection web page when the television program listings for the selected location are not available. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for presenting web pages containing advertising images that the user selects. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for presenting a web page that has a registration option for using the multimedia system to record a television program P820 selected from the lists of television programs. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: means for providing a guide option for programs; and a means to present a web page of guide menu for programs, when the user selects the option of guide for programs. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: means for providing a guide option for films; and a means to present a web page of guide menu for movies when the user selects the guide option for movies. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: means for providing a guide television channel option; and means for tuning the multimedia system to a guide television channel when the user selects the guidance option. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: P820 a means to provide a direct tuning option when a selected program is currently broadcasting; and a means for tuning the multimedia system to the television channel for the selected program when the user selects the direct tuning option. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for providing a selectable option for arranging television program listings by time. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for providing a selectable option for arranging television program listings by channel. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for providing a selectable option for arranging television program listings by category. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for searching the television program listings. 22. The system according to claim 21, further comprising a means for searching the lists of television programs by title. 23. The system according to claim 21, further comprising a means for searching the lists of television programs by actor 24. The system according to claim 21, further comprising a means for searching the lists of television programs by category. 25. The system according to claim 21, further comprising a means for searching lists of television programs by description 26. The system according to claim 21, further comprising a means for searching lists of television programs by rating. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for displaying segments of interviews selected by the user 28. The system according to claim 27, further comprising a means for providing an interview web page containing images of interviews. selectable for the interview segments that are available 29. The system according to claim 1, which and further comprises a means for displaying shorts of promotional media selected by the user. 30. The system according to claim 29, further comprising means for providing a web page of novel selections containing selectable images of novel selections for the promotional media shorts that are available. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for providing a movie cruise web page containing selectable pay-per-view channels and premium channels. 32. The system of claim 31, further comprising means for providing a pay-per-view web page containing program listings for upcoming pay-per-view events for a pay-per-view channel selected by the user. 33. The system according to claim 31, further comprising means for providing a web page of premium services containing program listings for upcoming premium programs for a premium channel selected by the user. 34. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for providing a web page of order. 35. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for providing a personalization web page. P820 36. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for providing a program information web page. 37. The system according to claim 36, wherein the program information web page is customized to the buyer's taste to reflect the information of a television program selected by the user. 38. The system according to claim 1, wherein the computer system comprises a media library. 39. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a satellite transmission link between the computer system and the server. . 40. The system according to claim 1, wherein: the communication link via the Internet comprises a telephone line; and the web server provides the web pages to the multimedia system over the telephone line. 41. A method for providing web pages of information to a user in a multimedia system over an Internet communication link using a guidance system for television programs via the Internet having a computer system and a computer system. P820 web server, the method comprises the steps of: providing lists of television programs and program information corresponding to the program listings with the computer system; receive lists of television programs and program information corresponding to the lists of programs of the computer system with the web server; provide lists of television programs and program information corresponding to the lists of programs to the multimedia system such as interactive web pages on the Internet communication link with the web server when the user has access to the lists of programs of television with the multimedia system; provide the user with an opportunity to select a certain list of the lists of programs shown on one of the interactive pages of the web; and send the program information that corresponds to the list of selected programs from the web server to the multimedia system. 42. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of providing a multimedia material associated with the programs lists of P820 television to the web server with the computer system. 43. The method according to claim 42, wherein the step of providing a multimedia material further comprises the step of providing promotional music video clips to the web server with the computer system. 44. The method according to claim 42, wherein the step of providing a multimedia material further comprises the step of providing video interview segments to the web server with the computer system. 45. The method according to claim 41, further comprises the step of providing an option to go to national, which the user selects to receive the information based on the national television lists. 46. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of providing an option to go to satellite that the user selects to receive the information based on the television lists for satellite coverage. 47. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of providing an option to go to the premises that the user selects to receive the information based on the local television lists. 48. The method according to claim 47, further comprising the step of selecting a locality for the local television lists. 49. The method according to claim 48, wherein the step of selecting a location comprises the step of accepting a postal code from which the location is determined. 50. The method according to claim 48, wherein the step of selecting a locality comprises the step of selecting a local region from a map. 51. The method according to claim 48, further comprising the step of presenting a newly selected web page when the television program listings for the selected location are not available. 52. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of presenting web pages containing advertising images that the user selects. 53. The method according to claim 52, further comprising the step of presenting a web page that has a registration option to use the multimedia system to record a television program selected from the television program lists. 54. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the steps of: providing a guide option for programs; and present a web page of guide menu for programs, when the user selects the option of guide for programs. 55. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the steps of: providing a guide option for films; and submit a webpage of guide menu for movies when the user selects the guide option for movies. 56. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the steps of: providing a guide television channel option; and tuning the multimedia system to a guide television channel when the user selects the guide option. 57. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the steps of: P820 provide a direct tuning option when a selected program is currently broadcasting; and tuning the multimedia system to the television channel for the selected program when the user selects the direct tuning option. 58. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of providing a selectable option for arranging television program listings by time. 59. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of providing a selectable option for arranging television program listings by channel. . 60. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of providing a selectable option for arranging television program listings by category. 61. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of searching the lists of television programs. 62. The method according to claim 61, further comprising the step of searching the television program listings by title. 63. The method according to claim 61, which P820 also includes the step of searching the lists of television programs by actor. 64. The method according to claim 61, further comprising the step of searching the lists of television programs by category. 65. The method according to claim 61, further comprising the step of searching the lists of television programs by description. 66. The method according to claim 61, further comprising the step of searching the lists of television programs by rating. 67. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of displaying segments of interviews selected by the user. . 68. The method according to claim 67, further comprising the step of providing an interview web page containing images of selectable interviews for the interview segments that are available. 69. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of displaying promotional media shorts selected by the user. 70. The method according to claim 69, further comprising the step of providing a web page of novel selections containing selectable images of novel selections for the promotional media cuts that are available. 71. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of providing a movie cruise web page containing selectable pay-per-view channels and premium channels. 72. The method according to claim 71, further comprising the step of providing a pay-per-view web page containing program listings for upcoming pay-per-view events for a pay-per-view channel selected by the user. 73. The method of claim 71, further comprising the step of providing a web page of premium services containing program listings for upcoming premium programs for a premium channel selected by the user. 74. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of providing a web page of order. 75. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of providing an adequacy web page. 76. The method according to claim 41, which P820 also includes the step of providing a web page for program information. 77. The method according to claim 76, wherein the program information web page is customized to reflect the information of a television program selected by the user. 78. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of providing the lists of television programs to the web server with a media library. 79. The method according to claim 41, further comprising the step of providing the lists of television programs to the web server with a satellite transmission link between the computer system and the web server. 80. The method according to claim 41, wherein the communication link via the Internet comprises a telephone line, the method further comprising the step of providing web pages to the multimedia system over the telephone line.