The Magnavox Company

Paul M Dormans

Donald Leroy Theurer

Luther W Ricketts

A PABX telephone interfaced cable television system especially useful in hotels and motels for distributing free and premium program channels via a coaxial cable television signal distribution network to one or more subscriber terminals and associated television sets, includes a remotely tuned R.F. signal converter connected to each subscriber's television set and the coaxial cable network for enabling the set to receive a subscriber selected one of the premium channels not normally receivable by the set. The converter is automatically tuned to the selected premium channel by enabling signals transmitted from a central station to the subscriber's converter via the PABX telephone network and the subscriber's telephone. The request for a premium channel is made from the subscriber's telephone by the dialing of a predetermined sequence of digits peculiar to the requesting subscriber and the desired premium channel selected for viewing. The central station includes a control and monitoring means for receiving, verifying, and processing the subscribers dialed telephone request and for providing the enabling signals for tuning the subscriber's converter to the requested premium channel. The control and monitoring means also includes output signals to a paper tape printer for providing a record of the premium channel use activity of each subscriber terminal in the system.

Telephone interfaced subscription cable television system especially

A cable television and communication system is disclosed which is suitable for community antenna television (CATV) closed circuit television (CCTV) and other types of signal distribution systems with service function applications such as for use in hotel, motel, apartment complexes, and the like. The system has the capability of distribution and subscriber reception of unencoded and encoded or limited access video and audio programs with simultaneous two way digital data communication. The subscriber units are interconnected by a tree-organized wideband communication link such as co-axial cable system with a network central unit. Subscriber unit identification control and data exchange is accomplished by the use of a high speed time-slot organized format with each subscriber being assigned a predetermined unique television synchronization related time-slot. The central unit utilizes a small digital computer which functions to provide network supervision and management of subscriber requests, accounting, billing and other processing such as viewing analysis. The system utilizes a modular configuration which allows for a low cost and simple initial installation capable of being later expanded to a more sophisticated version.

Growing community of inventors

Fort Wayne, IN, United States of America

Paul M Dormans