Contents Receiving System And Client

What is this patent about?

’650 is related to the field of content delivery, specifically focusing on personalized subsidiary content alongside main content in systems employing both a main receiving terminal and multiple subsidiary terminals. The background involves delivering digitized video content, along with subsidiary content like data broadcasts and advertising, to receiving terminals. A challenge arises when different users within the same household have varying preferences for subsidiary content, necessitating a way to personalize this content.

The underlying idea behind ’650 is to enable the personalization of subsidiary content delivered alongside main content by using unique identifiers associated with each subsidiary receiving terminal. The main receiving terminal transmits subsidiary content tailored to the specific ID of each subsidiary terminal, ensuring that each user receives content relevant to their individual preferences. This allows for a shared viewing experience of the main content while providing personalized information and data to each user through their own device.

The claims of ’650 focus on a content reproducing system comprising a main terminal and multiple subsidiary terminals. The main terminal stores content, displays content on a first display, and controls communication with the subsidiary terminals. It also stores device-specific IDs for each subsidiary terminal, content information for identifying different content types, and association information linking specific content to specific device IDs. The subsidiary terminals each have a display and a controller that transmits their device-specific ID to the main terminal upon connection.

In practice, the system operates by the main terminal determining whether a subsidiary terminal can connect based on its device-specific ID. Using the stored association information, the main terminal then transmits the appropriate content to each connected subsidiary terminal. For example, one subsidiary terminal might receive English audio while another receives subtitle data, all while the main terminal displays the main video content. This allows family members to watch the same movie but receive personalized supplementary information.

This approach differentiates itself from prior art by addressing the need for personalized subsidiary content. Earlier systems lacked the ability to tailor subsidiary content to individual users' preferences. By using device-specific IDs and association information, ’650 enables a more engaging and relevant user experience, allowing each user to receive the information and data they are most interested in while still participating in a shared viewing experience. The system can also handle payment transactions related to the content based on the user's ID.