FI115186B - Television broadcasting system and method for broadcasting television advertising - Google Patents

Description

115186

Television broadcasting system and method of broadcasting television commercials

The invention relates generally to television broadcasting systems, and in particular to the broadcasting of teleshopping advertisements on a television channel, among other software.

Advertiser-sponsored television broadcasts broadcast television commercials during specific breaks or periods of advertising that are interrupted by other software. Producing a TV commercial is a long and expensive process. The production costs of commercials in Finland are typically FIM 100,000-10,500,000 and the production process is long, typically 6-8 weeks. Due to the high production costs of the ad film, it is desirable to have many adverts. Possible changes must be made directly to the ad films, usually weeks before the scheduled ad delivery time. Making changes is also relatively expensive. On the other hand, it is also desirable to keep the original 15 commercials short because of the cost, so that the amount of information placed therein is limited. The amount of information displayed in the ad film is also limited by the desire to keep the ad clear. On the other hand, you want to run ads tailored to regional or short campaigns, topical ads, or respond quickly to advertiser needs. 20 There is therefore a need for technology to improve the cost-effectiveness and diversity of television advertising.

: The object of the invention is an advertising transmission technology which allows the listing of additional information in television commercials.

This object is achieved by the method of claim 1 and the television broadcast system of claim 12.

· ·. According to the basic principle of the invention, at the same time as the television * ··. ads are broadcast on the sio program, additional information related to these advertisements is broadcast on the television channel along at least one teletext broadcast page. Preferably, the television advertisement includes an invitation to enter a teletext mode or a specific teletext page for additional information about the advertisement. Thus, the invention can easily provide various additional information, such as promotions, product information, address information, and other content that is variable or otherwise unreasonable in the advertisement film, in addition to the basic advertisement formed by the television commercial. This allows the customer's advertising production to be utilized in a more versatile and cost-effective manner. A basic TV ad does not need to contain all the information content and may not need to be multi-versioned in a production unit. Teletext vision advertising according to the invention can increase the volume of promotional advertising, because different offers can be added along with the basic advertisement for different campaigns. Additional information may also be regional, whereby teletext pages with different content will be broadcast alongside the 5 basic ads. In addition, the content of a teletext page broadcast alongside the advertisement may vary according to the time of broadcast or other criteria.

In one embodiment of the invention, said additional information is always transmitted on a specific or specific teletext pages, the content of which is dynamically changed depending on the advertisements to be broadcast on television channels. In other words, a small number of teletext pages are used to display additional information for various advertisements. Additional information related to a particular ad session may remain on the pages, for example, only during the time of the advertisement or during the commercial break and possibly for a moment after the commercial break. In this way, a large number of variable advertising can be implemented on a few teletext pages. This is more efficient use of capacity than permanently reserving a teletext page for each advertiser for more information.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, said teletext page containing additional information is one to which the receiver is accessed directly from a television program or advertisement when the user activates the teletext mode with a predetermined button on the receiver remote control. This page: is preferably a teletext service start page or Basic page, which by default is displayed by the receiver equipment whenever a user activates a teletext service. ". Age. This landing page can be used to display additional information during, and possibly for a short time after, advertisements in times of

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. ·. ·! normal content, such as the teletext site's main • · 11! Old man. An example of such a landing page is, in present analogue television systems, a teletext page 100 to which the receiver will go unless the user has otherwise configured the receiver. Alternatively, the receiver 30 may initiate teletext mode from a plurality of alternative pages, depending on which, a predetermined button on the remote control the user presses. These embodiments of the invention provide the user with access to the desired additional information by simply activating the teletext mode.

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In yet another embodiment of the invention, activating a teletext mode during commercials opens a landing page that informs the user of a predetermined teletext page providing additional information related to the advertisement by pressing a predetermined button on the receiver's remote control.

The invention will now be described by means of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a television transmission system according to the invention, Figure 2 shows a television screen showing a television commercial, Figure 3 shows a television screen showing Figure 4 illustrates a television screen showing a television commercial and a super-teletext landing page with a link to the commercial information related to the advertisement, Figure 4 shows a digital television receiver or a Set Top Box remote control, Figure 5 and Figure 6 shows a television screen showing a television ad and a super-text 7V page with additional information related to this ad.

The invention is applicable to both analogue television systems and digital television systems with teletext service (teletext, teletext).

': · I The teletext system is used as a value-added service that transmits extra information through the television broadcast system. In conventional analog television systems, teletext information is placed on a television signal. In fact, it is included in a portion of the video information that is · · · * not displayed on the TV screen, so teletext information does not require • · additional bandwidth in the television system. More specifically, teletext information is placed on vertical lines of vertical blanking interval (VBI) that do not appear on the television screen. These horizontal lines are lines 6-30 22 and lines 320-335.

,,,: Teletext information is often displayed as a page. In this application. A teletext page generally refers to a set of information intended to be displayed on a television screen at a time. The traditional teletext system supports 800 pages. Each main page can consist of a set. · 35 subpages. For example, "2/4" may appear at the top of the screen to indicate that this main page consists of four sub pages and that the user is viewing 11518 (.

4 other subpages. Using subpages allows you to increase the total number of pages, but at the same time extends the refresh rate. A traditional teletext page is made up of 24 lines of 40 characters each. Therefore, only poor quality graphics can be displayed. As a result, current information services are often text-based. Examples of information services typically provided via a teletext system include news, weather forecasts, stock quotes, and Flight Schedules.

At the receiving end, a teletext decoder is required, which separates the teletext information from the received video information stream and displays it on the screen of the broadcast receiver. Typically, the teletext decoder is integrated with the television receiver. The user can access the desired page by selecting a three-digit number on the control panel, usually on the receiver's remote control. The teletext decoder then separates the selected page from the received video information. After this short period of time required to receive the entire page, the teletext information (page) is displayed on the screen. Preferably, a certain number of pages are stored in memory before and after the selected page. For example, if the user selects the next page, it can be read directly from memory and displayed immediately. This avoids the time delay required for reception and speeds up page navigation. In addition, to facilitate the transition to teletext mode in modern TV receivers, the teletext decoder stores at least a certain landing page or user-selected page in memory in TV mode, whereby the landing page can be displayed on a television screen in teletext mode. immediately when the user activates teletext mode.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of an exemplary television system employing the present invention. The Television Programming and • · Advertising Unit 3 generally represents all the equipment and units required. to produce analog or digital video information to be transmitted VIDEO.

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It is not essential to the invention what these devices are or how the video information is produced. The teletext content update unit 1 generally represents • 30 any device, unit, or function required to produce teletext page content. It is not essential to the invention what kind of ·: these devices are or how and by whom teletext pages are produced.

. let's go. The upgrade unit 1 places the teletext pages in the desired order (1-800) in a carousel-type transmission buffer 2 having a slot 2A for each page to be transmitted. The carousel 2 rotates as if it were and the page being transmitted is transferred to the combiner 5 where it is placed in the deo information VIDEO, i.e. horizontal lines of the video signal, obtained from the unit 3. Thus, the pages on the carousel 2 are transmitted in a fixed order. The video signal generated by the combiner 5 is supplied to the television broadcast unit 6 and the radio frequency television broadcast signal is broadcast over the transmission network 7 to the television receivers 5 and 8. In receivers 8 and 9, the teletext decoder extracts the user selected page from the video information. The user controls the television receivers 8 and 9 by remote controls 10 and 11.

The hardware and operation described above is consistent with the current teletext system. In accordance with the basic principle of the invention, the teletext-10 system is adapted to transmit additional information which is substantially related to the television advertisement being transmitted simultaneously. This action is coordinated by a suitable control mechanism illustrated by the program management unit 4 in the embodiment of Figure 1. When the program management unit 4 schedules the program and advertising unit 3 to broadcast a specific TV ad, it also schedules the teletext unit 1 to simultaneously place in the carousel 2 for more information. The video signal from the combiner 5 thus includes both a television advertisement (actual video information) and teletext information related to the same advertisement. Typically, more advertisements are transmitted during an ad break, and additional information relating to one or more such advertisements may also be transmitted during the ad break. If the same teletext page is used for different ads, the information related to the different ads may be alternately transmitted as separate subpages. It is most advantageous to always broadcast additional information on a specific or specific teletext page, the content of which is dynamically changed depending on the commercials being broadcast on television channels. This tar-, ** ·. indicates that as the advertisement changes (typically at the latest at the beginning of the next 6 advertising breaks), the program manager 4 directs the teletext update unit 1 to place information about the new advertisement on the page or pages in question. In an embodiment of the invention implemented in an analog television system, additional information is placed on the landing page of the teletext system in question, typically page 100, during the commercial break. on this landing page during an ad break and possibly for a short while. : after. In this way, the user can easily obtain additional information related to the advertisement or advertisements only by activating the teletext mode receiver 8 by remote control 35 10. Preferably, the television advertisement presented is prompted to seek additional information from teletext. 11518 (6-page content is normal, typically a teletext main menu. This normal landing page may have an advertising banner that refers to the page or pages that are more detailed between the breaks. The content of these pages, as well as the landing page advertising banners all of these page content changes can be easily accomplished through the content update unit 1 and the carousel 2 according to the control and timing of the program manager 4. In one embodiment of the invention, the landing page is also normal except for the dynamically changing ad banners or links -10 pages with visually changing advertising information.

New digital broadcasting networks have been developed around the world to broadcast television. These networks include: DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting). The DVB system uses MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group) standards 15 for source coding and multiplexing audio-visual signals. Each of the audio, video, and other information signals is separately packaged to form a corresponding packet stream called Packetized Elementary Stream (PES). These base streams (PES) are multiplexed into a standardized data stream called Transport Stream TS (Transport 20 Stream). The transfer current TS, also called multiplex, can include basic currents associated with several programs. TS packets and PES packets also have header fields: · which allow the receiver to recognize different program streams.

The DVB system also includes teletext. Teletext data is carried above: ·. PES packets, which in turn are transferred from TS packets. Require! ·. : 25 The reason for a DVB system digital teletext system is that its * * ·!. / must be able to carry information from analogue teletext systems in DVB bit streams. At least in the initial stages, conventional analog television receivers are used to receive digital TV broadcasts, • by means of a special accessory called Set Top Box (STB). The STB converts the .V 30 received digital video information into an analog video signal. In addition, the STB transcodes the digital teletext data into an analog teletext system and places the teletext information in the video signal, so! that the resulting signal is compatible with a conventional television set equipped with a teletext decoder. In this case, additional information related to the advertisement may be added to the teletext pages in the same manner as described above for an analog television system. Also, the user can display the 11518c 7 teletext page with the remote control of a conventional receiver in the same way as described above.

However, the high-speed digital transmission of the DVB system allows the provision of teletext service without the limitations of the traditional analogue teletext system. For example, in a digital teletext system, you can use higher quality graphics, display more information, use more colors, use windowing, etc. It is also possible to divide the TV screen so that part of the screen displays video (actual TV broadcast) and information. Such an improved digital teletext system is called super teletext.

The invention can also be applied to such super teletext. The transmission apparatus is basically the same, i.e., the operation of the teletext content update unit 1 and the program and advertising unit 3 is controlled and timed by the program management unit 4 so that digital teletext information associated with this advertisement is simultaneously transmitted with the digital commercial video information from the unit 3. The processing and transmission of teletext information and video information takes place in the manner determined for each digital television system. The digital television-20 receiver or Set Top Box STB receives the digital broadcast and separates the audiovisual information and the digital super-teletext information; · Crazy.

: · _ Assume that the STB equipment is integrated with the digital receiver *, 8. The corresponding functionality is also obtained with a separate STB device, which * * ·. 25 ka generates a '/ video signal to be transmitted to a conventional analog television receiver. Let's first assume that the receiver hardware is in TV mode, i.e.

• t Super teletext mode is not activated. In this case, a television advertisement, as illustrated in FIG. 2, is displayed on the screen of a digital or analog television: ... The TV ad has a prompt 21 urging search / 30 country information on that day's offer by pressing 'TEXT TV' on the remote control. The digital television receiver or STB will then move. per-teletext mode, for example, on the screen of the receiver 8; 3. In the upper right corner of the screen, the actual TV broadcast is displayed in a small area 31. The rest of the screen: 35 opens the super-teletext landing page 32. In the case of Figure 3, TV-11518c 8 additional information related to the TV commercial broadcasted during. In addition, the landing page 32 may have a su-per-teletext basic menu or links.

Figure 4 shows a remote control 10 of a digital receiver defined by a NorDig group with certain basic functions. The buttons 41 are numeric buttons. The buttons 42 include an ON / OFF switch, a volume control (V +, V-), a program selection (P +, P-), and a TV mode selector (TV). The button group 43 comprises arrow buttons and an acknowledgment button (OK). The button group 44 comprises a teletext activation button 10 (Text-TV) as well as activation buttons of other modes that are not essential to the invention. Further, at the bottom of remote control 10 are four colored function keys 45, 46, 47 and 48. Assume that button 45 is red, button 46 is green, button 47 is yellow, and button 48 is blue.

In the example presented in connection with Figure 3, it was assumed that additional information related to the television ad would be immediately displayed on the landing page, which is displayed by default when the user presses the "Text-TV" button. However, with the remote control of the type of Figure 4, for example, access to additional information can be accomplished in other ways without being inconvenient for the user.

For example, it is possible that each function key 45-48 is arranged to activate teletext mode, but on different landing pages. This is an example of the additional information related to the first ad during an ad break. the information is obtained by pressing the key 45, the additional information associated with the second advertisement is obtained by pressing the key 46, etc.

• 1 · \. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the user activates the teletext mode in the situation of Fig. 2 by pressing the "Text-TV" button, but now the image screen will display the content of Fig. 5. In the upper left corner of the screen: ·· 'still shows the actual TV broadcast (TV commercial) in area 51. The other area 52 shows the super-teletext home page' 30, which may include a basic menu, for example. In addition, colored rectangles 53, 54, 55 and 56 are shown on the landing page to represent the remote control. buttons 45, 46, 47 and 48. The blue rectangle 56 states,; that it is a link to more information about the ad. When the user presses t the corresponding blue function button 48 on the remote control 10, the receiver moves to display on screen the content of Figure 6. Again, the top right shows TV broadcast (TV commercial) in area 61, but 9115186 in the other area 62 displays advertisement-related promotional information in the same manner as in Figure 3. In this case, obtaining additional information requires the user to press two keys, but this may still be acceptable.

5 In a digital television system, it may also be possible for a television channel to transmit configuration information that determines which teletext page the receiver will display as the landing page when a user activates teletext mode or presses a particular button on the remote control during an advertisement.

The figures and the description related thereto are only intended to illustrate the present invention. However, the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown, but the implementation of the invention may vary within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

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Claims (20)

1. A method of broadcasting a television advertisement on a television system having a teletext service, the method of broadcasting television advertisements on a television channel in association with another television program, characterized in that when television advertisements are broadcast, additional information relating to at least one of these advertisements certain teletext pages, the content of which is dynamically altered depending on the advertisements on the television channels. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the receiver goes directly from a television program or advertisement to display said particular page when the user activates the teletext with a predetermined button on the receiver's remote control. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the receiver switches directly from the television program to display one of said specific pages, depending on which predetermined button the user presses on the receiver remote control. The method of claim 3, characterized in that the receiver displays said particular page when the user presses a corresponding 20 predetermined buttons on the receiver remote control while the receiver is in teletext mode. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the television advertisement contains an invitation to switch to its teletext for further information. A method according to claim 5, characterized in that said prompt indicates which button on the remote control of the receiver the user must press in order to access a teletext page containing additional advertising information. The method of any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the television channel transmits configuration information that defines which teletext page the receiver displays when the user activates the teletext. : on the television or press a specific button on the remote control during an advertisement. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that one of the teletext service pages is a landing page, which by default is displayed by the receiving apparatus when the user activates the teletext mode, and when the television program is broadcasting, on said landing page 115186. additional information related to one or more of these ads will be sent simultaneously. 9. A method according to claim 8, characterized in that additional information related to the ads is transmitted on the landing page only substantially during and possibly for a short period of time after the advertisements, and that other content is transmitted on the landing page at other times, preferably the teletext site main menu. A method according to claim 9, characterized in that said normal landing page has an advertising banner which indicates 10 pages in which additional information related to the advertisements is displayed when the advertisements are not broadcast on a television channel. 10 115186 A method according to claim 8, 9 or 10, characterized in that said landing page is a teletext page 100. 12. A television broadcasting system which transmits teletext pages alongside a television program on a television channel, characterized in that when a television program is shown advertisements, the television broadcasting system is arranged to simultaneously transmit additional information related to at least one of these advertisements, and additional information is always provided on a specific teletext page or pages, the content of which is dynamically changed depending on the advertisements on the television channels. A system according to claim 12, characterized in that said particular page is the one to which the receiver goes directly from a television program or advertisement when the user activates the teletext mode with a predetermined button on the receiver remote control. A system according to any one of claims 12 or 13, characterized in that the television advertisement contains an invitation to enter the teletext mode for further information. The system of claim 14, characterized in that said prompt indicates which button on the remote control of the receiver. the user must click to access additional information about the ad on the (• containing teletext page). A system according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that the system transmits configuration information on a television channel that defines which teletext page the receiver displays when the user activates the teletext mode or presses a certain button on the remote control during the advertisement. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 16, characterized in that the system 5 transmits teletext pages on a television channel alongside a television program, one of which is a landing page which is received by default by the receiver equipment when the user activates teletext mode. to simultaneously submit additional information related to one or more of these advertisements on said landing page. A system according to claim 17, characterized in that the landing page contains additional information related to the ads only substantially during the ads and possibly briefly thereafter, and that at other times the landing page is broadcast with normal content, preferably a teletext site main menu. A system according to claim 18, characterized in that said normal landing page has an advertising banner which indicates a page on which additional information related to the advertisements is displayed when the advertisements are not transmitted on a television channel. 20. A system according to claim 17, 18 or 19, characterized in that said landing page is a teletext page 100. »13 115186