Did You Know...
...that Robert Adler has the dubious distinction of being the Father of the Couch Potato? Back in 1955 Adler was employed by what was then Zenith Radio Corp., where he was charged to invent something that would allow viewers to turn down the TV volume without leaving their chairs. After a series of flops (such as a wired contraption that people tripped over), Adler hit on the idea of using sound waves. Thus the Remote Control was born...
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5557316 | System for distributing broadcast television services identically on a first bandwidth portion of a plurality of express trunks and interactive services over a second bandwidth portion of each express trunk on a subscriber demand basis An interactive television information system having a node in television communication between a source of television information services and a plurality of home interface controllers. Each subscriber television is associated with a home interface contro... | 09/17/1996 |
| 5550578 | Interactive and conventional television information system An interactive television information system coupled to a cable television system having a headend for supplying information services and an information service distribution network for delivering information services to subscriber televisions. Each subsc... | 08/27/1996 |
| 5539822 | System and method for subscriber interactivity in a television system A system for providing interactive services in a subscription television system comprises a system network controller for controlling the interactive services having controller memory for storing subscriber terminal identification data, transaction identi... | 07/23/1996 |
| 5493328 | Method and system for addressing a home terminal unit using a fiber-to-the-curb system A system for determining the physical location of a home terminal unit senses that a cable carries a communication signal from a home terminal unit to an optical network unit. The system includes the home terminal unit, the optical network unit, and a cab... | 02/20/1996 |
| 5481546 | Interactive nationwide data service communication system for stationary and mobile battery operated subscriber units In a two-way interactive communication video network having a network switching center for point-to-point communications between subscribers at different geographic locations, a local base station configuration is provided for facilitating low power batte... | 01/02/1996 |
| 5473679 | Signaling system for broadband communications networks A network architecture is designed to allow a communications service subscriber to select a signaling provider independently of a) the transport carriers which control the local loops for particular communications services, and b) the providers of those s... | 12/05/1995 |
| 5425027 | Wide area fiber and TV cable fast packet cell network 53 byte length ATM compliant cells are transmitted over a digital optical fiber path to interconnect with a coaxial feeder cable TV system to support two-way digital services at a plurality of sites connected to the TV cable system. At the point of interc... | 06/13/1995 |
| 5408260 | Customer premises ADSL signal distribution arrangement A plurality of ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) terminals are coupled to the coaxial cable of a cable television distribution arrangement. Each ADSL terminal is coupled to a respective ADSL path and a respective customer premises telephone line f... | 04/18/1995 |
| 5367330 | Pay-per-view television delivery system Method and apparatus are provided for controlling and delivering television programming from a control station to one or more substations, which in turn transmit television programming to remote receiving locations on a pay-per-view basis. Programming is ... | 11/22/1994 |
| 5363433 | Information acquisition system An information acquisition system for acquiring information which includes responses in answer to questions which participants have been asked by a radio or television broadcast program includes terminal equipment for inputting a response from a participa... | 11/08/1994 |
| 5247347 | PSTN architecture for video-on-demand services A public switched telephone network (PSTN) provides digital video signals from a video information provider to one or more of a plurality of subscriber premises. A subscriber uses either a standard telephone instrument over the PSTN or a dedicated control... | 09/21/1993 |
| 5220420 | Interactive home information system for distributing compressed television programming An interactive multimedia system with distributed processing and storage of video picture information and associated data and sound in nodes disposed throughout a cable television distribution system. The nodes are coupled to the feeder cable of the cable... | 06/15/1993 |
| 5187735 | Integrated voice-mail based voice and information processing system An innovative "one-stop" full service telephone call/communications handling system combining voice mail, voice recognition, database handling and networking features into an integrated system provides highly cost effective solutions for even small organi... | 02/16/1993 |
| 4891633 | Digital image exchange system A digital image exchange system comprises a data transmission line, at least one video RAM, at least one video signal generator for accessing data from the video RAM and for developing at least two video signals corresponding respectively to the accessed ... | 01/02/1990 |
| 4688248 | Pay television system A pay television system generally comprises a signal generating center, signal distributers and subscriber devices. The center produces and combines a television signal and a control signal and supplies the combined signal to a common cable, and each dist... | 08/18/1987 |
| 4641363 | Community antenna television communication system A CATV communication system in which a distribution unit performs the functions of channel tuning and response to polling for plural associated terminal units. The distribution unit includes a main central processing unit for performing data communication... | 02/03/1987 |
| 4633462 | Multiple access communication on a CATV reverse channel A multiple access communications system links a plurality of geographically dispersed subscriber locations (each of which including a transmitter and receiver) with a central location (also including a transmitter and receiver). Multiple access communicat... | 12/30/1986 |
| 4533948 | CATV Communication system A two way digital communication arrangement utilizes a CATV system to provide bidirectional data transport service between any two points within the CATV system. The headend receives an upstream message and selectively rebroadcasts such message on the dow... | 08/06/1985 |
| 4441180 | Service integrated communication transmission and interchange system A service integrated communications transmission and switching system for audio, video and data, between a user terminal and a central switching station of a telephone system wherein the line connecting the user terminal with the switching station include... | 04/03/1984 |
| 4161751 | High-security cable television access system A poach-resistant system enabling cable television subscribers to receive upon request certain programs otherwise unavailable (i.e., "secure") while precluding such reception by non-requesting subscribers as well as non-subscribers. Before transmission of... | 07/17/1979 |
