Improved processing of information transmitted in the vertical retrace interval of a television signal

Claim 1

In a television signal processing system wherein the television signals include image-representative information and a plurality of accompanying segments of supplementary information including program identification information, and a multi-page listing of program title information and program source information, the supplementary information being encoded during vertical blanking intervals of the signal with at least the program identification information being disposed within vertical blanking intervals of related image-representative information and further being included within said listing, signal processing apparatus comprising: tuning means for selectively receiving television signals transmitted by individual program sources, the received signals including image-representative information and accompanying segments of supplementary information, first signal decoder means (U2) for decoding said listing and said included program identification information, memory means (U5) for storing and retrieving at least said program title information and included program identification information decoded by said first signal decoder means, a first controller means (U3) coupled to said first decoder means for selectively transferring said segments of supplementary information among said memory means, said first decoder means and said first controller means, second signal decoder means (U6) for decoding said program identification information disposed within blanking intervals of related image-representative information, said first controller means (U3), upon initial reception of signals from an individual program source by said tuning means. causing said second signal decoder means to decode said program identification information accompanying related image-­representative information, controlling said first signal decoder means to identify matching program identification information within said listing and to recover at least corresponding program title information from said listing, characterized in that said first signal decoder means (U2) is arranged for decoding a first predetermined set of pages of the listing having page numbers ending in a first predetermined set of digits and said first signal decoder means (U2) causes such set of pages of the listing to be stored in sequence in predetermined locations in said memory means during a time interval until subsequent pages of said listing having page numbers ending in the first predetermined set of digits are overwritten into corresponding memory spaces.