INTERACTIVE HOME INFORMATION SYSTEM

摘要

A system in some embodiments achieves distribution of conventional cable services in traditional manners while providing interactive television information services on a demand basis using a switching arrangement, and it does so while permitting both types of service to be accessed, as in the past, by the single action of channel selection. In a preferred embodiment, an interactive television information system, providing interactive cable television service when coupled to a cable television system, has (i) an information source available at a headend (11) for supplying a plurality of information services and (ii) an information service distribution (68b) network for delivering the information services to subscriber televisions. Various architectures are provided.