Telephone interfaced subscription cable television system especially

Abstract

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.