BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Entertainment such as television programs and information provided on or through various Web sites as well as transmission of such entertainment are often sponsored by indirect sources such as merchants who sponsor the transmission and/or the program by advertising their materials during transmission of the program or between segments of the program. For example, merchants often sponsor television programs by paying for commercials which are broadcast between portions of the program.

Merchants may also sponsor entertainment programs using"product placement" advertisement techniques, whereby the merchants pay to have their products placed within one or more scenes of a program. For example, a merchant may sponsor a television program and/or broadcast thereof by paying to have a chair, refrigerator, car, watch, or the like placed in one or more scenes of a television program. One reason for paying for such product placement is the hope that viewers will notice the product and at some later time purchase the product.

Product placement advertisement techniques may be desirable for several reasons. In particular, product placement advertisements in television programs allow viewers to see the product, see how the product works, and identify and associate a manufacturer and/or supplier with the product.

In addition, product placement advertising allows merchants to take advantage of an image associated with a program or characters on a program to facilitate sales of its products.

For example, a character wearing or using a product may have a certain persona that attracts a potential consumer's attention to the product, and which may cause the consumer to desire to purchase the product.

For the above and other reasons, product placement advertising during a broadcast of a television show or other form of entertainment may be beneficial to merchants desiring to

advertise products during a program transmission. However, advertising products using such product placement techniques may be relatively inefficient. More particularly, an amount of product sales resulting from product placement on a broadcast program may be less than desired.

Product placement on broadcast entertainment programs may not translate well to sales of the placed products for a variety of reasons. One reason product placement may not translate well to sales of the products is that it may be difficult for potential consumers watching a broadcast of the program to determine a manufacturer and/or supplier of a placed product.

Specifically, the item or a brand marking on the item may be relatively small, making identification of the supplier or manufacturer of the product difficult. In addition, product placement advertising may be relatively inefficient because, by the time a consumer is finished watching a particular program, the consumer may have lost interest in the product, or forgotten details regarding the product. Accordingly, methods and apparatus for increasing an amount of consumer interest and potential sales of a placed product on a broadcast program are desired.

In addition to increasing efficiency of product placement advertising, it may be desirable to provide additional information corresponding to a broadcast program. For example, it may be desirable to provide a recipe corresponding to a meal being prepared on a broadcast television cooking show, or provide information regarding various hospitals or medical facilities that perform a procedure shown on a broadcast television show. Accordingly, improved methods and apparatus for providing information relating to a program are desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides improved methods and apparatus for providing additional information corresponding to a transmitted program. More particularly, the invention provides on-demand, additional information corresponding to portions of the program.

In accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a system for providing program information and additional information relating to the program includes a program transmission source, an information source, an interaction device, and may also include a supplemental video source. In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, the supplemental video source is configured to transmit information corresponding to a program broadcast from the program transmission source. In accordance with a further aspect of this embodiment, the interaction device is configured to allow a viewer to select a portion of the

transmitted supplemental video information and retrieve additional information from the information source corresponding to the transmitted program.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, information corresponding to a portion of the television show is stored at a Web site. The information includes a program table including a show identification, frame sequence, and frame position information; and a product table including a show identification, frame sequence, and product information. In accordance with an alternate embodiment, program information and corresponding supplemental information are stored on the same media, e. g., a digital video disc.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, information transmitted from the supplemental video source corresponds to portions of the broadcast program, and the program and the supplemental video information are simultaneously broadcast to a viewer, such that as the viewer watches the program, the viewer may see both the broadcast program and the transmitted supplemental video information. In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, viewer information may be sent to an information storage location such as a Web site, using the interaction device, as the viewer watches the program. This allows, for example, a viewer to select one or more items (e. g., placed products) shown on the program, using the interaction device and obtain additional information corresponding to the items during or after transmission of the program.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the information source is configured to facilitate sale of viewer selected products. In accordance with one exemplary aspect of this embodiment, the information source includes information relating to the placed products. In accordance with another aspect, the information source may include hyperlinks to other Web sites including information relating to the placed products.

In accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention, once a viewer selects an item or portion of the program, a shopper interest table is generated. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the shopper interest table includes viewer identification information and program position information. Information in the shopper interest table may suitably be compared to information in the product table to determine items in which the viewer may be interested.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims, considered in connection with the figures, wherein like reference numbers refer to similar elements throughout the figures, and: Figure 1 is an illustration of a system for transmitting program information and supplemental video information in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of databases in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention; and Figure 3 is an illustration of a method of using an interactive information transmission system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS The present invention generally relates to a method and an apparatus for broadcasting a program to viewers and supplying the viewers with supplemental information relating to the program. Although the invention may be used in connection with providing information for a variety of purposes, the invention is conveniently described below in connection with providing supplemental information relating to products placed in scenes of the program.

Figure 1 illustrates a system 100 for transmitting or broadcasting a program and for providing supplemental information corresponding to the broadcast program in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. System 100 suitably includes a program source 110, a supplemental video source 120, a program receiver 130, an interaction device 140, and a storage device 160.

System 100 is generally configured such that a program such as a television show may be transmitted from source 110 to receiver 130. System 100 is further configured to provide additional or supplemental information corresponding to the broadcast program from storage device 160 to interaction device 140 and/or receiver 130.

Program source 110 may include any suitable device capable of transmitting a program to one or more viewers (illustrated as a household 150). In accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the invention, program source 110 includes a television broadcast transmitter.

In accordance with alternative embodiments of the invention, source 110 may include other video sources such as digital video discs, cable service providers, Internet service providers, or the like.

Supplemental video source 120 may include any device capable of facilitating transmission of video information. For example, source 120 may be configured to provide digitized information corresponding to a broadcast program emanating from program source 110. In accordance with one exemplary embodiment, source 120 provides streaming video (with or without audio) corresponding to the broadcast program. Alternatively, source 120 may provide discrete video images of portions of the program.

A number of images transmitted from source 120 to interaction device 140 may vary from application to application. However, in accordance with one exemplary embodiment, supplemental source 120 provides streaming media corresponding to the broadcast program. In this case, information corresponding to the broadcast program may be compressed, transmitted to interaction device 140, and decompressed using a suitable player. Any suitable compression and play technology, such as Real System G2 from Real Network, Microsoft Windows Media Technologies, or the like, may be used in accordance with the present invention.

The streaming video (with or without audio) may be transmitted from prerecorded video media, or the video may be transmitted live. If the video is broadcast live, the video signal is suitably converted into a digital signal and compressed for transmission to interaction device 140.

As noted above, source 120 is suitably configured to transmit electronic information to a viewer. Accordingly, source 120 may include any apparatus suitable for facilitating transmission of electronic information. However, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, supplemental information source 120 includes one or more servers coupled to an Internet, configured to provide streaming information to the viewer. In accordance with alternative embodiments of the invention, source 120 may include other forms of electronic data storage and transmission devices such as digital video discs, computer hard drives, and the like.

Receiver 130 is configured to receive program information transmitted from source 110 and transform the information into a video image. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, receiver 130 includes an analog or a digital television set. However, in accordance with alternative embodiments of the invention, receiver 130 may include other devices such a computer monitor or the like.

Interaction device 140 is generally configured to allow a viewer to receive information from supplemental video source 120 and to allow the viewer to request additional information corresponding to the broadcast program and/or facilitate consumer shopping for products or

services displayed during the broadcast program. To this end, device 140 may include any device suitable for transmitting information to storage device 160 and receiving information from video source 120 and/or program source 110. Additionally, as discussed in more detail below, interaction device 140 is suitably configured to allow a viewer to select one or more objects displayed on device 140 or device 130. For example, in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, device 140 includes a personal computer, a computer terminal, or the like. However, in accordance with alternative embodiments of the invention, device 140 may be combined with receiver 130 such that the combination includes a personal computer, an interactive television system, or the like configured to receive a transmitted program from source 110 and supplemental information from device 160.

Storage device 160 is configured to store information corresponding to a broadcast. To this end, device 160 may include any suitable storage apparatus, such as, for example, computer hard drives, servers coupled to an Internet, or the like.

Information stored at device 160 may vary in accordance with specific application of the invention. However, in accordance with one exemplary embodiment, device 160 is configured to store program data 210, corresponding to a broadcast program and consumer or viewer data 220 corresponding to viewer selected segments of the program, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Program data 210 may be formatted according to viewer and/or supplier preferences. In accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the invention, program data 210 includes a database having a program table 230 and a product table 240. As discussed in grated detail below, program data 210 is suitably generated before transmission of the program information.

. In accordance with the exemplary embodiment illustrated in Figure 2, program table 230 includes show identification data 232, frame sequence data 234, and position data 236, representing information corresponding to a broadcast program. In particular, show identification data 232 represents a particular show, frame sequence data 234 represents a particular frame or frames of the show, and position data 236 represents a position (e. g., coordinates) within a frame of the program.

Product table 240 is configured to store information associated with products displayed (e. placed products) within a designated portions of a frame or frames of the program.

Accordingly, product table 240 includes show identification data 242, frame sequence data 244, and product information 246.

Product information 246 may be stored and/or presented in a variety of ways. For example, product information 246 may include a description of the product, names, addresses,

and phone information of merchants that supply the product, and the like. In addition, or in the alternative, product information 246 may include Web site information (e. g., a hyperlink) for manufacturers or suppliers of the product.

Storing product information at device 160 and allowing viewers of a program to access the information during or shortly after viewing a product on a broadcast program facilitates sale and purchase of a product, because, in part, it allows the viewer to obtain purchasing information as or shortly after the viewer sees a product of interest. Thus, the present invention may increase efficiency of product sales resulting from products placed on a broadcast program.

Viewer data 220 may be suitably stored in a shopper interest table 250 on device 160.

Interest table 250 is generally configured to capture viewer interest information as a viewer watches a broadcast program, such that the viewer information 220 can be compared to program data 210 during or subsequent the broadcast. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, customer identification data 252, show identification data 254, frame sequence data 256, and frame position data 258 are stored in shopper interest table 250.

As discussed in greater detail below, as a viewer watches a broadcast program, the viewer may indicate, using interaction device 140, that he or she is interested in a particular product displayed. For example, a viewer may select a product by placing a cursor over or proximate the object of interest and selecting the object by depressing a button on a mouse or the like (part of interaction device 140). In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a portion of shopper interest table 250 is generated prior to a viewer's first use of system 100. In particular, consumer identification data 252 is preferably established and stored at table 250 prior to the viewer receiving a broadcast program. Additional information relating to a viewer such as viewer age, sex, marital status, income, and the like may also be collected and stored at viewer data 220.

Information stored at site 160, particularly items selected by viewers, may be valuable to others in addition to suppliers who place products on the broadcast program. For example, marketing firms may desire information relating to a customer (e. g., age, sex, income, and the like) as well as products typically selected by such viewers.

Figure 3 illustrates a method 300 of operating system 100 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Method 300 includes a select broadcast program step 310, a select objects step 320, a select frames step 330, a create program data step 340, a transmit program and supplemental information step 350, a select viewed object step

360, a create viewer data step 370, a retrieve viewer data and corresponding object information step 380, and a purchase product step 390.

During select broadcast program step 310 a program provider selects a program such as a television program to be broadcast over system 100. Generally, a program must be selected and analyzed by a provider to establish program data 210.

Once a program is selected, a provider selects one or more objects for which additional information is to be provided during step 320. For example, the provider may select placed products.

During select frames and position step 330, the provider selects frames corresponding to the objects selected during step 320. Frames selected during step 330 need nor correspond directly with every frame including the selected object of the program. For example, if an object position within sequential frames varies little for a number of frames, only information corresponding to the number of frames for which the selected object is in that position need be stored. Information corresponding to the object's position is also gathered during step 330.

During step 330, a provider may also set a number of positions within a viewing area over which to capture data. For example, the provider may conveniently divide a viewing area into a predetermined number of sections (e. g., nine). Thus, position information need only correspond to one of the predetermined sections-e. g., sections one through nine.

At create program data step 340, program identification data corresponding to the program selected during step 310, selected object information corresponding to objects selected during step 320, and frame and position data selected during step 330, are stored in a suitable database.

Once a database including program and product information is created, a program and supplemental information corresponding to the program are simultaneously broadcast to a viewer during step 350. The program information and/or the supplemental video may suitably be broadcast over wired or wireless media in digital or analog format.

As a viewer observes the program and supplemental video information, the viewer may select, using interaction device 140, one or more objects of the program during step 360. For example, a viewer may view a television program on device 130 and have simultaneously broadcast images (from supplemental video source 120) also displayed on device 130. In this case, the viewer may select an object by placing a selection device such as a cursor over an object and clicking a button on a mouse. If the position information is parsed into a predetermined number of segments (nine in the example above), when a viewer places an

indicator (e. g., cursor) of the interaction device over one of the segments, information relating to all of the placed products within that segment may be retrieved.

Once the viewer selects an object, customer identification data, show identification data, frame data, and frame position data are stored in a suitable data base. A viewer may retrieve information corresponding to viewer selected objects during step 380.

Finally, a viewer may purchase a selected object during step 390 by using information obtained during step 380. As noted above, the viewer may call, write, or use the Internet to purchase any desired items. Because the purchase information is readily available to the viewer, the viewer may be more inclined to purchase placed products.

Although the present invention is set forth herein in the context of the appended drawing figures, it should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the specific form shown.

For example, while the invention is conveniently described above in connection with providing information relating to placed products, the invention may be used to provide various other types of information relating to a broadcast program. Various other modifications, variations, and enhancements in the design and arrangement of the method and apparatus set forth herein, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.