WO2000057627A2

WO2000057627A2 - Generating hot spots containing targeted advertisements in television displays

Info

Publication number: WO2000057627A2
Application number: PCT/US2000/008009
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kris Narayan
Original assignee: Transcast International, Inc.
Priority date: 1999-03-25
Filing date: 2000-03-25
Publication date: 2000-09-28
Also published as: WO2000057627A3; AU4177400A

Abstract

Hot spot data identifying the location of hot spots in image frames and access addresses of vendor systems associated with each hot spot may be sent with television signals. Each hot spot may contain an image portion displaying an advertisement of an advertiser. The image portion may be replaced by another image portion according to a viewer profile, with the replacing image portion being the targeted advertisement. Access addresses of vendor systems associated with the replacing image portion also replace any access addresses associated with the replaced image portion. Replacement may be performed by broadcasters or at a viewer end.

Description

GENERATING HOT SPOTS CONTAINING TARGETED ADVERTISEMENTS IN TELEVISION DISPLAYS

Related Applications

The present invention is related to the following U.S. Patent Applications, which are

incorporated in their entirety herewith:

(1) Patent Application entitled, "A Method and Apparatus for Enabling Viewers of

Television Systems to Conveniently Access Various Vendor Systems", Serial Number:

Unassigned, Filed: October 30, 1998 (hereafter, "Related Application 1"); and

(2) Patent Application Entitled, "Encoding Hot Spots in Television Signals", Serial Number:

Unassigned, and filed concurrently herewith ("Related Application 2").

Background of the Invention

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to television systems, and more specifically to a method and

apparatus for generating hot spots containing targeted advertisements in television displays.

Related Art

Television systems are generally used to display images encoded in a television signal.

A television signal typically contains several image frames, and television systems are generally

designed to process the television signal to display the image frames. The television signal may

be in progressive or interlaced formats designed for analog or digital television systems, and can

be in one of several known formats such as NTSC, PAL or SEC AM. "Hot Spots" are often encoded in television signals. A hot spot generally refers to a

portion of a displayed image, which (portion) can be selected by a user (or viewer), and a pre-

specified associated action is performed in response to the selection. The user may select the hot

spot by 'clicking' (or otherwise actuating) on the displayed image portion. In a common

situation, a hot spot represents an advertisement and the associated action enables the user to

access vendor systems related to the advertizing party.

A vendor system may be, among others, a web server or a telephone call processing

system. Vendor systems generally enable a user to purchase a service or product, or to access

additional information about the advertized product or vendor. Some example embodiments

enabling a user to conveniently access various vendor systems are described in RELATED

APPLICATION 1 and RELATED APPLICATION 2. Thus, hot spots provide a convenient

mechanism by which a viewer can be drawn to vendor systems by appropriate advertisements.

It is often desirable to include targeted advertisements (as hot spots) in television

displays. As an illustration, one may wish to display advertisements related to sports cars to

single/rich people and advertisements related to vans and medium sized cars to families. By

providing targeted advertisements, there is generally an increased probability that the advertizing

party will benefit from the advertisements.

At a macro level, broadcasters may wish to include different advertisements depending on the time of day, geography, demographics of expected viewers etc., in the television

programs. At a micro-level, a end- viewer may wish to view different advertisements depending

on the user's personal wishes (e.g., as determined by a user profile). In addition, intermediate

broadcasters may wish to incorporate their advertisements also.

Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus which enables targeted

advertisements to be included in a television signal. The advertisements may need t be provided

as hot spots such that a viewer can access any vendor systems associated with the hot spots.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention is directed to sending hot spots with targeted advertisements (and

associated accesses addresses of vendor systems) in television signals. A broadcaster may

generate a television signal encoding an image frame. An authoring block may be used to

generate hot spot data identifying the image portions forming hot spots and associated access

address addresses.

The image portions forming hot spots may be replaced by image portions ("replacing

image") according to a viewer profile. As the replacing image portion may be selected

according to the viewer profile, the replacing image portion may be a targeted advertisement.

Access addresses associated with the advertiser of the targeted advertisement may also be

include with the hot spot data. A viewer end may enable a viewer to access the vendor systems by actuating the hot spots, for example, by clicking on the image portion forming a hot spot.

The hot spot data may also include classification data which identifies the type of

advertisement to be included in a hot spot. The user profile may determine the actual

advertisement incorporated into the hot spot. For example, a classification may specify an

automobile, and an advertisement for a van may be substituted for a profile specifying a large

family, an advertisement for a sports car may be substituted for a profile specifying a single

working person.

The hot spot data may also include control data to control the selection of replacing

advertisement. For example, one value may specify whether the replacing advertisement and

the replaced advertisement need to belong to the same advertiser. The advertiser may be

identified by an advertiser identification code which is included in the hot spot data. The

advertiser identification code may be used for accounting also.

The selection and substitution of advertisements and access addresses may be performed

at several locations in the transmission path of a television signal. For example, broadcasters

(both original and intermediate broadcasters) may perform the substitution. More specific

targeting may be accomplished by including advertisements for individual viewers at viewer

locations. Therefore, the present invention enables targeted advertisements to be incorporated into

hot spots of television displays by selecting the replacing advertisements based on user profiles.

The present invention enables substitution at different locations in the transmission path

by sending the hot spot data with the television signals.

The present invention allows a broadcaster to control the types of replacing

advertisements by including product/service classification data in the hot spot data.

The present invention allows additional control to the broadcasters by including control

data which may control the selection of the replacing advertisements.

The present invention allows for advertisements targeted to the requirement of individuals

by enabling substitution at viewer end.

The present invention allows for advertisements targeted to large groups by enabling

substitution at broadcaster end.

Further features and advantages of the invention, as well as the structure and operation

of various embodiments of the invention, are described in detail below with reference to the

accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first

appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings,

wherein:.

Figure 1 is a flow-chart illustrating a method according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the substitution of advertisements and access addresses

related to hot spots in an image frame;

Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating a typical system in which the present invention

can be implemented; and

Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating the detail of a transaction enabler block in one

embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

1. Overview and Discussion of the Invention

The present invention enables targeted advertisements to be included as hot spots m

displays based on television signals. Specifically, the present invention enables a suitable image

("replacing image" or "replacing advertisement") to replace an image portion specified as a hot

spot. The advertisement used for substitution is determined according to a viewer profile such

that the advertisements are targeted per typical viewer requirements. The hot spot has associated access addresses of different vendor systems, and a user may access the vendor systems by

actuating the hot spot (or clicking on the image portion forming an advertisement).

While the viewer profile addresses the viewer requirements, a classification field may be

associated with the hot spots to enable a originator of the television signals (e.g., broadcaster)

to control the type of advertisements used as a replacing advertisement or replacing image. A

classification data may be associated with each hot spot. The classification data generally

specifies the type of product or service the advertisement may relate to. The replacing

advertisement may then be determined based on an examination of viewer profile as related to

the classification field. A viewer profile generally specifies the viewer requirements, for

example, likely status (economic, mental, physical, etc.), needs (physical, emotional) and

interests of the potential viewer(s).

As an illustration, a hot spot classification may specify that the advertisement relates to

cars. For a viewer profile m the mcome range of $50,000 to $ 100,000, an advertisement relating

to Toyota cars may be the replacing advertisement. On the other hand, for a viewer profile

specifying an income range of $ 1 ,000,000 and above, an advertisement related to "Mercedes-

Benz" may be the replacing advertisement. In addition, if a viewer profile specifies that the

vιewer(s) is a single person, an advertisement related to sports-car may be the replacing

advertisement. It may be noted that the classification may totally be ignored in determining a

replacing advertisement. Therefore, the present invention enables targeted advertisements to be sent as hot spots

to viewers. The substitution may be performed by any of several parties as the television signal

is transmitted from a broadcaster to a viewer. The invention is described below in further detail

with reference to several examples.

2. Method

Figure 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method according to the present invention. In step

110, a television signal and corresponding hot spot data is generated. The hot spot data may

include data identifying image frames portions forming hot spots, access addresses of vendor

systems associated with each hot spot, the classification data for the advertisement, advertiser

identification data, and control data.

The classification data may specify which product or service type the advertisement

relates to. An advertisement may fall in multiple classifications. Several classification

approaches can be implemented as will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts. Example

classifications may be found with the art unit classification generally employed by the United

States Patent and Trademark Office.

The advertiser identification data is used to determine the number of advertisements

generated for given advertisers. The numbers are typically used for determining the payments

for advertisements and other accounting as is well known in the relevant arts. The control data may specify policies for replacement. For example, one control data

element may specify which of the hot spots may be used for replacement and which may not be

used for replacement. Another control data number may specify that advertisers from the same

advertiser as that specified by advertiser identification data can be used as replacing

advertisements. Such control enables the originator of a television signal to control replacements

down the transmission path.

In step 120, the image frames of the television signal may be sent on a first logical

channel and the hot spot data may be sent in a second logical channel. As an illustration, the hot

spot data may be sent in the non-display signal portion of the television, for example, as

described in RELATED APPLICATION 1. In the alternative, the hot spot data may be encoded

in the display data portion of the television signal as described in RELATED APPLICATION

2. In yet another alternative embodiment, a different physical channel can be used for the

transmission of the second logical channel.

Hot spot data may be sent either in a single television signal image frame or m multiple

image frames using multiple packets. Details of sending hot spot data in multiple packets in

example embodiments are described in RELATED APPLICATION 2. It should generally be

understood that any pre-determined convention can be used for sending the hot spot data in a

second logical channel. However, the hot spot data may need to be correlated with the image

frames encoded in the television signals. Accordingly, the hot spot data is preferably recorded and transmitted in a parallel contemporaneous channel.

In step 130, a suitable advertisement ("substituting image") for substitution is determined.

In an embodiment, the classification data may be ignored in providing^{^} a replacement

advertisement. In an alternative embodiment, the determination may be based on the

classification data and viewer profile. An example of such usage is noted in the section above

with reference to cars. As will be described in further detail below, the viewer profile can be

particularized to individual viewer requirements at a viewer end and the advertisements may

accordingly be specifically targeted for the individual.

In step 140, the suitable image portions (advertisements) are substituted in the image

frame portions specified in the hot spot data. In general, substitution may alter only the portion

of the image specified by the hot spot data, that is, the remaining image may be unaltered.

Different vendor systems may be associated with different suitable images. The vendor systems

corresponding to the substituted image may replace any vendor systems corresponding to the

replaced advertisements.

The substitution process and the manner in which hot spot data may be used is described

below in further detail with reference to Figures 2 A and 2B. It should be further noted that the

substitution may be performed at various locations down the transmission path, for example, as

described below with reference to Figure 3. In step 160, the hot spot data is recovered at a user end. The determinanon needs to be

consistent with the encoding scheme employed for the second channel. Any consistent scheme

can be chosen for communicating hot spots and associated vendor systems. In step 170, a user

may actuate (or select) hot spots and access the associated vendor systems.

Thus, the method of Figure 1 can be used to generate hot spots containing targeted

advertisements and enable a viewer to access vendors systems suited to the viewer's needs. The

present invention is described below in further detail, first with an illustration of the substitution

process. Example environments for implementing the present mvention are described later

3. Substitution

Figures 2 A and 2B together illustrate the substitution process in an embodiment. Like

components are referred to by the same numerals. Figure 2A depicts a sample image frame 200

having hot spots (or display image portions) 210 (Pepsi Logo on a T-Shirt), 220 (Nike

Advertisement on a shoe), and 230 (IBM Advertisement m the background) for three advertisers

(advertising parties) Pepsi, IBM and Nike respectively. For purposes of explananon, dotted lines

are shown around each hot spot.

Each hot spot may be identified by the relative space occupied m the image frame or

display screen. For example, each image may be viewed as having X and Y coordinates, with

the top-left corner bemg viewed as (0, 0) coordmate. Hot spot 220 may be identified by the used rectangle area. Online access addresses associated with each hot spot area may also be encoded.

All the information may be encoded in a known way, for example, in ASCII format.

Hot spot 210 of Figure 2 A is shown displaying advertisement for "IBM" in the image

frame portion. URLs (access addresses) ofwww.ibm.com" and "ecommerce.ibm.com" may

be associated with hot spot 210. The classification may specify that the advertisement relates

to "High Technology Company". In Figure 2B, hot spot 210 is shown displaying "CISCO" in

the image frame portion as a result of substitution. In this substitution, the determination of the

replacing advertisement (CISCO) may have been based on the classification data and the viewer

profile. The image frame area for substitution may be identified by the hot spot data. A URL

ofpurchases.cisco.com" may be associated with the CISCO image, and "purchases.cisco.com"

may replace both ofwww.ibm.com" and "ecommerce.ibm.com" in the hot spot data.

Hot spot 220 is shown substituted with COKE (in place of PEPSI), possible based on user

profile and product classification. The access addresses may also be substituted as described

above. The rest of the image, including hot spot 230, is shown unaltered in Figure 2B.

Substitution may be performed by different parties as a television signal reaches an origination

point to a viewer. An example environment allowing for substitution is described below with

reference to Figure 3. 4. Example Environment

Figure 3 illustrates an example system 300 in which the present invention can be

implemented. System 300 includes production block 370, storage 360, authoring block 350,

replacement block 355, library 356, and broadcast block 340 at broadcaster end 380. System

300 further includes transaction enabler 330, television 310, replacement block 325, library 326

and remote control 320 at user (viewer) end 390. A viewer end refers to a location where

television signal images are viewed by a viewer.

In addition, system 300 may include advertisement log 399. Advertisement log 399

generally keeps track of the advertisements sent to a viewer and is some times referred to as as-

aired log when substitution at user end 390 is not enabled. As each advertisement is originally

inserted in broadcast block 380 or used as a replacing advertisement and transmitted in image

frames, advertisement log 399 is updated with the information. Typically, the updated

information is per advertiser and the specific advertisement sent to the viewer. The information

may include advertiser and advertisement information and may be received from broadcast end

380, user end 390 where the advertisements are inserted into television displays.

Replacing blocks 355 and 325 illustrate example locations where advertisements (display

in hot spots) and access addresses can be replaced (or substituted) in accordance with the present

invention. However, the replacements can be effected at several other intermediate points (e.g., intermediate broadcasters/carriers) also as will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts

based on the description herein. Such other replacements are contemplated to be within the

scope and spirit of the present invention.

Broadcaster end 380 generates television signals including hot spot data in the display

data portion. The display portions in hot spots can be varied according to the expected aggregate

profile of the viewers. As should be readily appreciated, intermediate broadcasters may be able

to define more specific aggregate viewer profiles and thus be able to generate advertisements

that are better targeted to the expected viewers.

User end 390 receives the television signals and displays the encoded images on a

television display screen. User end 390 may also have the ability to substitute targeted

advertisements. However, in this case, the substitution is based on individual viewer profile.

At each substitution location, a library of potential advertisements may be maintained and the

advertisements and corresponding access addresses may be substituted. User end 390 may then

enable a viewer to access various vendor systems by actuating the hot spots defined by the

encoded hot spot data. The details of broadcaster end 380 and user end 390 are described in

further detail below.

Production block 370 may contain different components such as cameras which are used

to film a show. The resulting display signal may be stored in storage 360. Production block 370 may be implemented in a known way. Even though storage 360 is shown as a single unit shared

by blocks 340, 350 and 360 for convenience, storage 360 may contain several logical or physical

units, with some of the units being local and/or proximately located to the individual blocks.

Authoring block 350 processes the display signal to incorporate hot spot data into the

display data portion of a television signal. Authoring block 350 receives the display signal from

storage 360 as incorporating hot spot data may not be practicable in real time in some situations.

However, if real-time incorporation is possible, authoring block 350 may receive the display

signal directly from production block 370.

Authoring block 350 may encode hot spot data using one of several approaches. For

example, the hot spot data may be encoded in the non-display portion (e.g., see RELATED

APPLICATION 1), in the display portion (e.g., see RELATED APPLICATION 2), or sent in

a separate physical channel. By specifying the display image portion forming a hot spot, the

image portion can be replaced by another image portion (another advertisement), and by

specifying the classification of advertisement, a targeted advertisement can be used as the

replacing image portion.

Authoring block 350 may store the generated hot spot data and the signals containing the

captured image in storage 360 to enable replacing block 355 to substitute different

advertisements and vendor systems for targeted advertizing in accordance with the present invention. The implementation of authoring block 350 will be apparent to one skilled in the

relevant arts at least based on the disclosure herein. Even though production block 370 and

authoring block 350 are described as different components, it should be understood that the two

blocks may be combined into a single block, particularly when computer animation is being

used.

Replacing block 350 receives the display signal stored in storage 360 and corresponding

hot spot data, and incorporates different targeted advertisements in hot spots depending on the

profile of the expected viewers. Various demographics and other information may be considered

in determining the viewer profile. Based on the classification data and viewer profile, replacing

block 350 may retrieve an appropriate advertisement from library 356.

Library 356 may be a compendium of advertisements indexed for convenient access by

replacement block 350. Library 356 can be a local data base or accessed from various remote

sites dynamically. In general, library 356 is updated with new advertisements and associated

vendor systems over time. An advertisement may be a part of several classifications according

to a designer choice. Replacing block 350 may store the hot spot data and display signals (with

the changes resulting from the replacement) in storage 360.

Broadcast block 340 may broadcast television signals based on the display signals

generated by replacing block 350. The hot spot data may also be transmitted for enabling a user to access the advertiser systems associated with the advertisements (hot spot displays). As noted

above with authoring block 350, different approaches can be used for transmitting display

signals and the hot spot data.

To be able to operate using only the existing infra-structure, broadcast block 340 may

send the hot spot data within the television signals, in display data portion, non-display data

portion or both. However, when viewers can request television programs on demand as Internet

becomes more pervasive with higher bandwidth, a separate connections can be used for

transmission of hot spot data and television signals to send to user end. Thus, broadcaster end

380 sends television signals and hot spot data to user end 390.

Now turning to user end 390, replacing block 325 may operate similar to replacing block

355, but operating from a local library 326 (may be implemented similar to library 356) and

local profile specific to a viewer. In addition, replacing block 325 may enable a viewer to over¬

ride the advertisement classification data and display advertisements only according to a local

viewer profile. In an embodiment, replacing block 325 enables overriding only not inconsistent

with any instructions specified by control data of the hot spot data. Replacing block 325 may

send the displayed advertisements information to advertisements log 399.

The local profile generally includes data identifying the viewer requirements. Some of

the data for a user profile may be generated from the data accessed by a user. For example, if a user is accessmg technology related web pages, the profile may provide for a preference for

technology company related advertisements. Some of the data for a user profile may be

configured by a user. For example, a user may specify her age and family status, and the

advertisements suited for her profile may be selected. More complex marketing approaches can

5 be implemented as will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts based at least on the

disclosure provided herein.

Therefore, replacing block 325 may perform any necessary replacements m the television

signals and hot spot data received from broadcast block 340, and forward the resulting signal and

data to transaction enabler 330. In an embodiment, replacing block 390 sends the television

10 signals with replacement in television signal format such that transaction enabler 330 may

simply forward the signal to television 310 for display of the encoded image frames.

Television system 310 displays the images encoded in a television signal received on line

331. As described below m further detail, transaction enabler 330 enables users (or viewers of

television 310) to access various vendor systems specified by the hot spot data encoded m the

[ 5 television signal received on line 331. As should be appreciated, the vendor systems may have

been incorporated at any of several places.

Even though transaction enabler 330 is descπbed as a separate device from local video

players, an alternative embodiment may be implemented with transaction enabler 330 integrated 20 within the local video players (VCPs, DVDs, etc., which produce compatible television signals).

Such integration into a single device will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts.

Integration enables at least cost-savings. Some of the below description is applicable to such

integrated systems also.

The operation of transaction enabler 330 may be controlled from remote control unit 320

by a user. Even though remote control unit 320 is described below as interfacing with

transaction enabler 330 using remote signals (e.g., infra-red signals), it should be understood that

other forms of control units may be employed to control transaction enabler 330. A user may

operate remote control unit 320 to access various vendor systems in accordance with the present

invention.

Transaction enabler 330 decodes the hot spot data in the television signals received from

broadcast block 340 and enables a user to access various vendor systems by actuating the hot

spots. To enable such access, transaction enabler 330 may need to have access to a web

connection using connection 336 and /or telephone line using lines 335. In addition, transaction

enabler 330 may need to generate new image frames on line 331 for a convenient user interface.

An example embodiment of transaction enabler 330 is described below with reference

to Figure 4. The embodiment recovers the hot spot data encoded in the non-display portion of

a television display signal even though other transmission schemes can be chosen for transmitting the hot spot data. Only the details of transaction enabler 330 as may be applicable

to the present invention are described here. For further details, the reader is referred to

RELATED APPLICATION 1.

5. Transaction enabler

Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating the internals of an example embodiment of

transaction enabler 330. Image decoder 410 generates pixel data elements representing image

frames encoded in a display signal received on line 343. Image decoder 410 may store the pixel

data elements in memory 430. Image decoder 410 may be implemented in a known way.

Memory 430 may represent several memory modules including fast random access memories

and relatively slower non-volatile memories. The non- volatile memories may store data and

program instructions which enable the operation of the present invention.

VBI (vertical blanking interval) decoder 420 recovers any digital data encoded in the

received display signal. The digital data may include data identifying the hot spots and

associated vendor system information. Each image frame may include such information or a

convention may be employed according to which the information is made to be applicable to

several successive frames. VBI decoder 420 provides the hot spot data to processor 460.

Infra-red (IR) receiver 450 receives remote control signals from remote control unit 170,

and provides digital data representing the remote control signals to processor 440. IR receiver 450 may be implemented in a known way. It may be noted that other receivers which receive

control signals from viewers and provide corresponding digital data to processor 440 may be

implemented.

Telephone interface 460 enables a telephone call to be initiated on line 335. Such

telephone calls may be generally initiated either to connect to an ISP or to contact a phone with

a live-operator. When a telephone call is initiated with a live operation, telephone interface 460

may provide the necessary micro-phone (for a viewer to speak) and receiver for reproducing

audible voice. Alternatively, a user may utilize a conventional telephone set that is attached to

line 335. LAN (local area network) interface 465 may provide a high speed connection to

connect with a web server (corresponding to an URL) or even initiate a voice call (e.g., using

voice over Internet Protocol) using line 336.

Processor 450 may control the images displayed on television system 110. When a user

does not wish to use the advertisement information or when there is no vendor system

information in a received display signal, processor 440 may control select line 481 to cause the

television signal received on line 343 to be passed directly on line 331. When vendor system

information is present in the received display signal, one of the lights 455 may be turned on to

indicate that the vendor systems information is present in the display signals. Alternatively, a

branded logo may appear on the viewer's screen. 23 When advertisement information needs to be displayed on television systems, processor

450 may modify the image frames to provide a suitable user interface. The modification is

generally performed by processing the pixel data elements stored in memory 430. Typically,

other images (e.g., cursor and advertisement related information) may be overlaid on top of the

image frames.

In an embodiment, a user may indicate when the advertisement information needs to be

turned ON or OFF. When the information needs to be displayed, processor 440 may overlay the

advertisement information on the image frames contained in a received display signal. For

example, the display portions (typically containing objects) with the advertisement information

may be highlighted to indicate that a vendor system is associated with the portions. A user may

click on one of the high-lighted portion, and transaction enabler 330 may display the associated

vendor systems with suitable explanation messages. The user may select one of the vendor

systems (access addresses) associated with the selected display portion. Transaction enabler 330

may provide the necessary connection to the selected vendor system.

If the vendor system corresponds to a web-server, transaction enabler 330 may need to

operate as a web-browser. The web-browser enables transaction enabler 330 to receive different

web-pages in a known way. Transaction enabler 330 may convert the web pages into image

frames, and encode the image frames into a display signal having a format compatible with

conventional television signals such that the images can be displayed on television system 1 10. A user may continue to browse the world- wide- web by operating remote control unit 170.

As control signals indicating that the cursor needs to be moved are received, processor 440 may

need to modify the displayed image frames to indicate the cursor position. When a user clicks

on a position corresponding to a new URL in a displayed web-page, transaction enabler 330 may

need to fetch a web page with the new URL in a known way. This browsing mechanism may

enable a viewer to access additional information from a vendor system.

Thus, transaction enabler 330 may provide the necessary interface to enable a viewer to

access vendor systems associated with various advertisements encoded as hot spots in television

signal displays.

6. Some Modifications

Even though the present invention is described with reference to several example

embodiments above, it should be understood that several variations to these embodiments can

be implemented without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as will be

apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts. For example, instead of maintaining a local library

at the point of substitution, a broadcaster may send multiple potential advertisements for

substitution along with (contemporaneously) a television signal, and one of the received

advertisements may be selected based on the user profile. As an illustration, a video graphics language can be used to send multiple advertisements

(potential replacing display portions) and one of the advertisements can be selected based on a

user profile. Video description languages such as those available with MPEG-4 can be used to

encode the advertisements as scene graphs. Hot spot data may also be sent as described above.

In an embodiment illustrated with reference to Figure 3, production block 370 and

authoring block 350 may be implemented to generated the multiple advertisements and hot spot

data. Replacing block 325 may receive the scene graphs representing potential advertisements

(display image portions), and select one of the advertisements for display based on the user

profile. The scene graph corresponding to the selected advertisement may be rendered in the

corresponding image portion. The scenes can be rendered in a known way.

Sending multiple scene graphs may require substantially more bandwidth than that

available in the non-display signal portion or display signal portion. Accordingly, in an

embodiment, a second parallel channel may be used for transmitting the scene graphs. Thus, by

enabling a broadcaster to send the potential replacing display portions (and associated audio and

hot spot data), a broadcaster may have more control of the advertisements displayed to a viewer.

Thus, a broadcaster may send one set of advertisements some times and another set of

advertisements some other time. 26 7. Conclusion

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should

be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus,

the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-

described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following

claims and their equivalents.

Claims

What Is Claimed Is:

' 1. A method of generating hot spots containing targeted advertisements in television

displays, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) generating a television signal including an image frame, wherein said image frame

contains an image portion forming a hot spot;

(b) generating hot spot data identifying the location of said image portion in said image

frame and an access address of a vendor system associated with said hot spot;

(c) selecting one of a plurality of advertisements according to a viewer profile; and

(d) replacing said image portion in said image frame with said image portion

corresponding to said selected advertisement,

wherein the selection of step (c) according to said viewer profile and replacement of step

(d) enables the generation of hot spots containing targeted advertisements in television displays,

and wherein said hot spot may be used to by a viewer of said image frame to access said vendor

system.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (b) comprises the further step of including a

classification data in said hot spot data, wherein said classification data specifies a type of

product or service said advertisement relates to, and wherein classification data is used in step

(d) for selecting said one of said plurality of advertisements.

1 3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises the further step of including a

2 advertiser identification code in said hot spot data, wherein said advertiser identification code

3 can be used to count the number of advertisements related to a advertiser sent to said viewer.

1 4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises the further step of including a

2 control data in said hot spot data, wherein said control data controls the replacement of step (d)

3 and the selection of step (c).

i

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said control data specifies that the advertisements of

2 the same advertiser as that specified by advertiser identification code needs to be used in the

3 selection of step (c).

1 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said television signal is generated by a broadcaster,

2 and wherein step (d) is performed by said broadcaster.

l

7. The method of claim 6, wherein step (d) is performed by an intermediate broadcaster.

1 8. The method of claim 6, wherein step (d) is performed at a viewer end and wherem said

2 viewer profile corresponds to an individual viewer at said viewer end, whereby advertisements

targeted specifically for said individual viewer can be generated.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said television signal is sent on a first channel and

said hot spot data is sent on a second channel.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of advertisements are sent by a

broadcaster along with said television signal.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said advertisement selected in step (c) is provided

from a local library.