ASSOCIATING WEB SITES TO TELEVISION PROGRAMS

摘要

One type of home entertainment system, known as a PC-TV system, integrates televisions and computers into one system, allowing users to switch between using a video monitor to watch television programs or to support computer activities, like work processing or surfing the world wide web. Although the systems often include electronic program guides which help users sift through thousands of available television programs, these guides lack data about the thousands of on-line computer services, such as websites, that are available. Accordingly, the present invention provides a system and method that not only includes data about websites generally, but also allows users to logically relate this data to specific television programs. In one system embodiment, the system automtically displays a list of relevant websites for a given channel or program and gives the user the option to communicate with a website from the list. Thus, the present invention makes it much easier to manage and access the information available from on-line computer services.