Hypertext markup language protocol for television display and control

Abstract

Textual and graphical displays are provided on a television screen using a hypertext markup language (HTML). On-screen display devices allow a user to invoke hyperlinks to different pages of HTML-coded data in addition to functions calls for controlling television and non-television appliance functions. A method provides HTML-coded display data which is processed to provide a signal suitable for reproduction on a television. The display data may provide information on a featured movie or other presentation of an associated video programming service signal such as a network television broadcast. Function calls allow the control of various television functions and programming options, such as the purchase of pay-per-view programming, or television display options such as aspect ratio, channel, brightness, picture-in-picture, or split-screen. Non-television appliances which may be controlled with function calls include audio equipment which is associated with the programming service (e.g., surround sound, filtering) in addition to, for instance, a home heating and air conditioning system or other household appliances. The invention allows a designer to adapt the vast HTML resources of the Internet for use in the television environment for entertainment, educational or informational purposes.