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Abstract

An interactive video system employs Motion Picture Expert Group (MPEG) video compression to transfer images from a remote server to a television. The images correspond to dialog frames in a graphical user interface. During an authoring process, the dialog frames are created by first creating a background image and then adding foreground elements, such as buttons. A set of MPEG video frames is created by encoding the resulting images according to the MPEG algorithm. The MPEG video frames are delivered to the television in sequence, where an MPEG decoder uses them to reconstruct the dialog images that are subsequently displayed. The system also contains an object-oriented database that maintains the necessary MPEG file ordering and also carries out menu navigation commands received from the user. The object classes include NODE, BRANCH, and DISPLAY. NODE objects correspond to dialog frames, and BRANCH objects correspond to user-selectable features such as buttons. DISPLAY objects correspond to either complete or partial images, as described in corresponding MPEG files. Data and function elements within the objects allow the system to track the user's navigation commands, and to highlight and unhighlight selectable features as navigation proceeds in order to provide visual feedback to the user.

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First Claim