Improvements in applications for 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 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 (U5) means 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 (U2) coupled to said first decoder means (U3) 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 (U2), upon initial reception of signals from an individual program source by said tuning means, sequentially causing said second signal decoder means to decode said program identification information accompanying related image-­representative information, thereafter controlling said first signal decoder means to identify the same program identification information within said listing and to recover at least corresponding program title information from said listing, characterized in that said program identification information included within said listing is accompanied by coded display control signals, and said apparatus further comprises a third signal decoder means (U7) for detecting the presence of said accompanying coded display control signals and for causing storage of memory address information in response thereto corresponding to the location of said included program identification information in said memory means, said first controller means (U2) being responsive to said memory address information when controlling said first signal decoder means and said first control means thereafter transferring said program title information from said memory means for display thereof along with related image-representative information.