Importance

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Abstract

A system interactively controlled by a TV viewer remote control transmitter displays portions of a scroll program guide on the viewer's display screen. A tuner receives TV radio frequency or optical transmission signals in a plurality of cable channels and passes a viewer usable signal to a signal combiner. A computer receives control signals from the TV viewer remote control transmitter. It controls the tuner to pass the viewer usable signal in response to one of the control signals. It receives and stores a scroll input picture image signal containing local program guide data and generates a scroll output picture image signal consisting of at least a portion of the scroll input picture image signal. The signal combiner combines the viewer usable signal from the tuner with the output picture image signal from the computer to provide a display signal for input to the viewer's display screen. The computer is responsive to variable control signals from the remote to advance, back up, and freeze the scroll output picture image signal. It is also responsive to directional control signals from the remote to reposition 'highlight' background to corresponding program data slots on the scroll grid and to display further program information coresponding to the program of the data slot shown in 'highlight'. In addition, it is responsive to further directional control signals to redraw the grid to display earlier or later time segment program data than is normally displayed on the viewer's screen.

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First Claim