Claims
- 1. A data delivery mechanism having represented therein:
(A) a content item; and (B) an info segment including,
(1) a plurality of ad entries, each ad entry including,
(a) an interruption point specifier indicating a point during play of the content item at which play should be interrupted and an advertisement played instead.
- 2. The data delivery mechanism of claim 1 wherein the info segment further includes:
a content identifier which associates the info segment with the content item.
- 3. The data delivery mechanism of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of ad entries further includes:
(b) a maximum interruption length specifier indicating a maximum duration of play of the advertisement, after which play of the content item should be resumed even if the advertisement has not completed.
- 4. The data delivery mechanism of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of ad entries further includes:
(c) a resume indicator enabling a user to override play of the advertisement.
- 5. The data delivery mechanism of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of ad entries further includes:
(d) an ad type specifier which prevents an advertisement from interrupting the content item if the advertisement meets a predetermined criterion.
- 6. The data delivery mechanism of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of ad entries further includes:
(e) an ad lock specifier which permits an advertisement to be skipped if a predetermined criterion is met.
- 7. The data delivery mechanism of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of ad entries further includes:
(b) a maximum interruption length specifier indicating a maximum duration of play of the advertisement, after which play of the content item should be resumed even if the advertisement has not completed; (c) a resume indicator enabling a user to override play of the advertisement; (d) an ad type specifier which prevents an advertisement from interrupting the content item if the advertisement meets a predetermined criterion; and (e) an ad lock specifier which permits an advertisement to be skipped if a predetermined criterion is met.
- 8. The data delivery mechanism of claim 7 wherein the info segment further includes:
a content identifier which associates the info segment with the content item.
- 9. A data delivery mechanism having represented therein an info segment comprising:
(1) a plurality of ad entries, each ad entry having,
(a) an interruption point specifier indicating a point during play of a content item at which play should be interrupted and an advertisement played instead.
- 10. The data delivery mechanism of claim 9 wherein the info segment represented therein further comprises:
a content identifier which associates the info segment with a predetermined content item.
- 11. The data delivery mechanism of claim 9 wherein the info segment represented therein further comprises at least one of the plurality of ad entries further having:
(b) a maximum interruption length specifier indicating a maximum duration of play of the advertisement, after which play of the content item should be resumed even if the advertisement has not completed.
- 12. The data delivery mechanism of claim 9 wherein the info segment represented therein further comprises at least one of the plurality of ad entries further having:
(c) a resume indicator enabling a user to override play of the advertisement.
- 13. The data delivery mechanism of claim 9 wherein the info segment represented therein further comprises at least one of the plurality of ad entries further having:
(d) an ad type specifier which prevents an advertisement from interrupting the content item if the advertisement meets a predetermined criterion.
- 14. The data delivery mechanism of claim 9 wherein the info segment represented therein further comprises at least one of the plurality of ad entries further having:
(e) an ad lock specifier which permits an advertisement to be skipped if a predetermined criterion is met.
- 15. The data delivery mechanism of claim 9 wherein the info segment represented therein further comprises at least one of the plurality of ad entries further having:
(b) a maximum interruption length specifier indicating a maximum duration of play of the advertisement, after which play of the content item should be resumed even if the advertisement has not completed; (c) a resume indicator enabling a user to override play of the advertisement; (d) an ad type specifier which prevents an advertisement from interrupting the content item if the advertisement meets a predetermined criterion; and (e) an ad lock specifier which permits an advertisement to be skipped if a predetermined criterion is met.
- 16. The data delivery mechanism of claim 9 wherein the info segment represented therein further comprises:
a content identifier which associates the info segment with a predetermined content item.
- 17. A data delivery mechanism having represented therein:
a plurality of segments of a program; and interlaced between the segments of the program, a plurality of info segment pointers each providing access to an info segment which is external to the data delivery mechanism and which includes,
a content identifier associating the info segment with the program, and a plurality of entries, each entry specifying,
an interruption point at which play of the program should be interrupted and a commercial should be played, and one or more conditions controlling the interruption.
- 18. The data delivery mechanism of claim 17 wherein the one or more conditions comprise:
whether a user can override insertion of the commercial; whether a particular type of commercial is allowed to be played at the interruption point; and whether the commercial can be skipped by virtue of a financial payment.
- 19. A data delivery mechanism having represented therein an electronic programming guide comprising:
a plurality of program identifications; and a plurality of info segments, each info segment including,
a program identification associating the info segment with a predetermined one of the plurality of program identifications, and a plurality of interruption point specifiers which indicate points at which, during play of a predetermined program identified by the predetermined one of the plurality of program identifications, play of the program should be interrupted for play of an advertisement.
- 20. The data delivery mechanism of claim 19 wherein:
at least one of the info segments represented therein further includes a maximum interruption length specifier; at least one of the info segments represented therein further includes a permitted ad type specifier; at least one of the info segments represented therein further includes a prohibited ad type specifier; and at least one of the info segments represented therein further includes an ad lock specifier.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to application Ser. No. ______ and application Ser. No. ______, by these inventors and filed concurrently herewith.