초록 ▼

An interactive entertainment network system has a video-on-demand (VOD) application which allows viewers to create their own customized lists of preferred video content programs, such as movies, games, TV shows, and so forth. Viewers are permitted to select criteria for grouping various video conten

An interactive entertainment network system has a video-on-demand (VOD) application which allows viewers to create their own customized lists of preferred video content programs, such as movies, games, TV shows, and so forth. Viewers are permitted to select criteria for grouping various video content programs into manageable sets. Lists of programs are provided in one or more scrollable lists, the scrolling rates of which are programmable. Once grouped, previews for the set of programs are displayed. The VOD application allows the viewers to browse the previews at their own rate, skipping forward to the next preview or backward to the previous preview. During this automated browsing, the VOD application enables the viewer to add any of the programs of interest to a customized list. The viewer can retrieve the customized list at any time. If the viewer orders a program from the customized list, the program remains available to the viewer for a rental period (which is adjustable). Upon expiration of the rental period, however, the program is no longer readily accessible until ordered again.

대표청구항 ▼

[ We claim:] [1.] In an interactive entertainment network system in which a content provider serves video content programs to one or more user interface units over a distribution network, a system comprising:a storage medium, resident at the content provider, containing a list of video content progr

[ We claim:] [1.] In an interactive entertainment network system in which a content provider serves video content programs to one or more user interface units over a distribution network, a system comprising:a storage medium, resident at the content provider, containing a list of video content programs correlated with a list of viewers so that an individual viewer has an associated customized list of preferred video content programs that is a subset of all video content programs listed in the storage medium, the customized list of preferred video content programs being configured by the associated viewer;a server, at the content provider, to receive a message from a particular user interface unit which identifies a particular viewer, the server accessing the storage medium to retrieve the viewer-configured customized list of preferred video content programs that corresponds to the viewer identified in the message and transmitting the customized list of preferred video content programs to the particular user interface unit that sent the message so that the viewer can review their customized list as possible suggestions for ordering one or more of the video content programs on the customized list.