Douglass A Wistendahl

US Patent:

7577978, Aug 18, 2009

Filed:

Jun 16, 2003

Appl. No.:

10/463949

Inventors:

Douglass A. Wistendahl - Bellport NY, US
Leighton K. Chong - Honolulu HI, US

International Classification:

H04N 7/173

US Classification:

725113, 725109, 725110, 725111, 725112, 725135, 725136

Abstract:

A system for converting TV content to an interactive TV game program uses viewer input pointing to “hot spot” objects in TV programs to enter answers in the game program. Viewers can point to hot spot objects whose locations are mapped in the image display frames of a TV program using a standard remote control and TV set-top box. In a preferred embodiment, the interactive TV game program is a crossword puzzle game offered through the TV's electronic program guide (EPG). Correct answers to the crossword puzzle clues can be entered by linkages from corresponding hot spot objects found in TV movies, ads, video spots, and other types of TV programs on the TV channels. Upon finding a hot spot object that corresponds to a correct answer, the viewer can use the directional arrow keys and “Select” or “Enter” key of the remote control to “click” on the object in the image display frame, and the corresponding answer is entered in the crossword puzzle being played, such as by changing transparent text overlaid on the grid of the crossword puzzle to a darkened color on the viewer's TV display, thus fixing the answer in the crossword puzzle. The viewer can enable “clue helpers” such as on-screen prompts or highlighting of clue answers to facilitate play. A viewer who does not use “clue helpers” may receive a higher score for each clue answer correctly found.

US Patent:

20020056136, May 9, 2002

Filed:

Mar 21, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/815020

Inventors:

Douglass Wistendahl - Bellport NY, US
Leighton Chong - Honolulu HI, US

International Classification:

H04N007/173

US Classification:

725/135000

Abstract:

A method for converting existing media content to interactive media content defines “hot spots” in a display frame of TV program content to trigger an interactive response when a viewer “clicks” on the “hot spots”. The “hot spots” are defined by N Data representing their positions in the display area, and are not hyperlink codes embedded in digital video data. By avoiding embedded codes, the underlying TV content can remain uncorrupted, and the hot spot position data can be readily authored as adjunct data without having to edit and process each frame of the TV content. The hot spot positions can be defined as coordinate locations in the display area, and the positions can be haloed in the display image. Another version is to define the hot spots as marker positions in an HTML-type “page” that is parsed or overlaid to display the hot spots at the appropriate positions in the display area. A standard remote can be adapted as a pointing device by using its directional arrows to toggle among haloed “hot spot” positions. The set-top box can also have its detection program for the remote control signals modified so that a series of arrow button presses can be interpreted as pointing in increments in “staircase” fashion to a position in the display area. Another adaptation is to point with a vector ray to a hot spot in the display area by pressing the directional arrows on the standard remote control. Another variation of the system is to detect the viewer's pointing at objects in a display with a mouse or pointing device, and send them as “reverse hot spot” or “no spot” data upstream to the cable head-end, and ultimately to a program sponsor or advertiser for the TV program.