WO2002017638A1

WO2002017638A1 - Open architecture set-top box

Info

Publication number: WO2002017638A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/026118
Authority: WO
Inventors: William A. Ruhnke
Original assignee: Istream Tv
Priority date: 2000-08-21
Filing date: 2001-08-21
Publication date: 2002-02-28
Also published as: AU2001286591A1

Abstract

A standards-based set-top box (106) provides users with access to a variety of services. Basing the set-top box (106) on readily available PC components and software reduces manufacturing, maintenance, programming, and upgrade costs. Third party software is used where possible so that software development, maintenance and upgrades are performed by those best able to do so.

Description

OPEN ARCHITECTURE SET-TOP BOX

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60/226,575 filed

August 21, 2000.

BACKGROUND

Field of Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of delivery of informational and

entertainment services to users via a set-top box. More particularly, the present invention relates

to hardware and software configurations for set-top boxes.

Background of the Invention

Conventional set-top box ("STB") devices can be used to provide a user interface for

television sets to a variety of information and entertainment resources and applications. For

example with the assistance of an STB, a television set can receive and decode analog and digital

television broadcasts, interface to digital networks (e.g., the Internet), be used to play games,

read and send emails and faxes, and download and play movies. In the context of an interface to

the Internet, for example, an STB acts as a specialized computer that can "talk to" the Internet.

Generally, the STB contains a Web browser (typically a Hypertext Transfer Protocol client), and

communicates with the Internet using the Internet's primary communication protocol, TCP/IP.

Conventional set-top boxes can also act as a "dumb terminals" that access software applications

hosted by remote servers. These applications include, for example, enabling a user to check a

bank account, play a game, or type a letter or email, on their television screen.

Currently, service providers are able to provide services to homes with personal

computers (PCs) using other delivery paradigms. For example, cable service providers can provide high-speed access to the Internet to PC users in a number of cities using high-speed cable modems. Likewise, broadband service providers are turning to digital subscriber lines (DSL) to

provide high-speed access to the Internet for their subscribers. For those persons who do not

have PCs or for institutions, such as hospitals and hotels, where current high-speed access paradigms are too expensive to implement, this connectivity is not available. Many of these

institutions and individuals have STBs connected to television sets however. Consequently, there is a significant need for STBs that give existing and future television sets the ability to

interface to the external world, such as the Internet or other services.

Additionally, a connectivity paradigm which utilizes a PC may expose the user to certain features and operating paradigms common to PC's that may be undesirable to the user because of the possibility of improper operation, and may impose an administrative or technical support

burden on the institution or service provider. Consequently there is a need for an STB that can

support the PC connectivity paradigm without providing full PC functionality.

Conventional STB development environments generally involve common development software platforms such as Liberate or Spyglass on an operating system to drive its hardware.

These operating systems include NxWorks or Windows CE. There are severe limitations to developing STB applications within the constraints of these popular platforms, as these operating systems and specialized hardware do not support all aspects of the PC connectivity paradigm and

thus cannot use common solutions and readily available drivers. For example, emerging technologies like video-on-demand (VOD) and World Wide Web browsing using emerging browser technologies such as Macromedia's Flash and Shockwave, Apple's QuicktimeNR, etc.,

can be expensive, difficult, or in some cases, impossible to integrate using conventional STB development platforms. Moreover, using one of these development platforms forces reliance on these software developers for providing properly functioning features and updates and

interoperability with new formats or applications released for the PC connectivity paradigm.

Developers are also subject to the weaknesses of the development environment without much choice to fix a problem outside of the development software. For instance, none of these platforms properly layout an HTML page from the world wide web, breaking frames and tables

often, as well as not working with newer technologies such as Flash and Apple's QTNR.

In addition, many conventional STBs use processors that are integrated into proprietary

motherboard designs. Most of these proprietary designs are not generally available. Consequently, upgrades to these STBs to keep up with changing technologies, if such upgrades exist at all, can be expensive, time-consuming and difficult.

Web browsing using a television set interface has presented many problems for developers. One source of this problem is on-chip HTML interpreters that are commonly used in conventional STBs. These on-chip HTML interpreters can accurately decode only the simplest of web pages. Consequently, older STBs frequently are unable to properly display a web page containing tables, frames, or embedded technologies (like rich media and flash). Moreover, these

hardware based designs cannot adapt to emerging technologies without hardware upgrades, i.e., hardware replacement. Such hardware replacement is inconvenient, time-consuming and

expensive. Thus, there is a need for STB hardware and software solution that enables a television set to act as a reliable, cost-effective interface to the external world including the

• Internet, VOD providers and other service providers. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention solves the outstanding need in the art by providing a standards-

based set-top box with which a user interacts to obtain desired services. These services include,

but are not limited to, Internet access and web-browsing, email, video-on-demand, games and cable television. Applicable environments for the a system using the set-top box of the present

invention include, but are not limited to, hotels, hospitals, schools and homes.

Using a standards-based approach relieves designers of a systems incorporating the set- top box of the present invention from having to develop or becoming reliant of specialized hardware and software to provide services. Rather, this hardware and software is obtained from

readily available sources. The software is integrated into a menu-based graphical user interface (GUI) in a well-known manner. Not only is the software easily integrated into the GUI, but

maintenance and upgrade of the software is not the responsibility of the set-top box system

designer. The maintenance and upgrade functions are performed by the supplier of the software, who is generally better able to perform such maintenance and upgrade tasks.

The set-top box of the present invention is based on a reliable, readily-available motherboard having standard components executing Microsoft's "Embedded NT." Standard components reduce manufacturing costs, as well as maintenance and upgrade costs. Consequently, the costs to manufacture a set-top box according to the present invention can be substantially reduced. Preferably, the set-top box is connected to a television set. The GUI is displayed on the

television set screen. A user traverses through the menus of the GUI to select and customize the particular service he or she selected. The user can communicate with the set-top box in any manner, including remote control device, wireless keyboard or any other control device.

Services are provided by a service provider. As used herein, the term service provider refers to any service provider, including, but not limited to, a system, a server, a business entity

or any combination thereof. The service provider can be located on premises, remotely or both locally and remotely. For example, in a hotel where only video-on-demand services are

provided, the service provider can be an on-premises video-on-demand server that hosts the movies that are available for viewing using the video-on-demand service. If, however, that hotel

also offers Internet access, the service provider likely includes a business entity, for example, a remotely-located internet service provider (ISP) in addition to the on-premises video-on-demand server.

Thus, one object of the present invention is to provide a standards-based set-top box.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a reduced-cost set-top box.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a set-top box to enable modern technologies including video-on-demand and Internet access.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a set-top box that is easy to upgrade and maintain.

Another object of the present invention is to use Microsoft's "Embedded NT" in a set-top

box. These and other objects of the present invention are described in greater detail in the detailed description of the invention, the appended drawings and the attached claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a system using a set-top box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a motherboard for a set-top box according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of a main screen of the GUI of a preferred embodiment of the present invention for choosing services.

Figure 4A illustrates a video-on-demand screen for selecting video-on-demand services according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4B illustrates a video-on-demand screen for selecting video-on-demand services

according to an alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4C illustrates a video-on-demand control screen for controlling video-on-demand functionality.

Figure 5 illustrates a WEB screen for providing Web and browsing services according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 illustrates a CABLE screen for selecting cable services according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 illustrates a GAMES screen for selecting games according to the preferred

embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8A illustrates an EMAIL screen for accessing email services according to the

preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8B illustrates an EMAIL send screen 804 for sending emails. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of a system using the STB of the present invention. A user 102 accesses services provided by a service provider 104. Service

provider 104 provides services to user 102 through a set-top box (STB) 106 connected to a

television set 108. Service provider 104 can provide any appropriate service, including for

example, Internet service, VOD service, email service, fax service, game service or any combination of such services. Service provider 104 can be any system, server, business entity or

any combination thereof capable of providing services to user 102.

Preferably, user 102 interacts with service provider 104 using STB 106 and television set 108. As described below, user 102 accesses services using a graphical user interface (GUI) 110 displayed on television set 108. User 102 can access STB 106 using any of a number of well-

known control means, including for example, a remote control, wireless keyboard, wire keyboard or any other control device that allows user 102 to send control commands to STB 106 to obtain

desired services.

The system illustrated in Figure 1 can be used in a variety of environments. For example, contemplated uses include systems to provide services in hotels, hospitals and other public

accommodations. In these cases, service provider 104 is likely to be server or other system on

the public accommodation's premises. As used herein, the term service provider refers to any service provider, including, but not limited to, a system, a server, a business entity or some combination thereof. The service provider can be located on premises, remotely or both locally and remotely. For example, in a hotel where only video-on-demand services are provided, the

service provider can be an on-premises video-on-demand server that hosts the movies that are available for viewing using the video-on-demand service. If, however, that hotel also offers Internet access, the service provider likely includes a business entity, for example, a remotely- located internet service provider (ISP) in addition to the on-premises video-on-demand server.

Alternately, service provider 104 is located remotely or is a business entity that provides the

services to the public accommodation. The present invention can also be used in other environments, including homes to obtain the services offered by service provider 104, and in office environments as a network terminal.

The STB of the present invention is a quick time-to-market, full-featured information

appliance solution providing an integrated Internet and television viewing experience. As used

herein, the term Internet refers to the computer network commonly referred to as the Internet or World-Wide Web. However, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that any computer network providing content can be used. It has been designed to achieve fully functioning

features that conventional development companies are finding difficult or impossible to implement in conventional STBs using conventional development software. The STB of the present invention works much as today's standard cable converters do, with viewers using their remote controls to call up desired services. Although services like e-mail may require a wireless keyboard, most of the interactive functions preferably work with the push of a button.

The STB of the present invention uses an open hardware and software architecture

conforming to established standards where possible. It has also been designed with use of

standards in mind. Consequently, no feature provided by the STB of the present invention relies on dedicated proprietary hardware or software. Preferably, the hardware design is based on

integration of standard components built to work with the Microsoft Windows NT operating system environment. The software design is based on integration and authoring for and with the Microsoft Win32 environment.

Use of a standards-based platform allows the present invention to incorporate and make

changes to a modular STB design with predictable results. It also allows the use of lower cost

hardware that carries better third party support. These advantages are gained because the

business and development infrastructure underlying the present invention are well-established.

In the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, STB 106 functions much like a "dumb terminal." As such, STB 106 can log onto a closed network server which hosts all applications, in essence becoming a network client ofthe network server. Preferably, "Embedded NT," the core of Microsoft Windows NT on a chip, is implemented for instant boot. There is little stored software such as drivers, codecs, and web browser plug-ins required for full front-end functionality. Preferably, the Windows NT operating system is not visible to the user,

though it could be in alternate embodiments ofthe present invention. Instead, the user navigates through on-screen menus via the handheld remote control, or the wireless keyboard/pointing

device. A "roaming profile" ofthe user is maintained on the server. The "roaming profile" is a

set of configuration parameters that can be set to customize the STB ofthe present invention according to the preferences of individual users. All necessary codecs and web plug-ins are

preferably pre-installed. Such codecs and web plug-ins include a VOD (video-on-demand) codec for full screen 30 frames per second (fps) playback from the server as well as plug-ins to enable web browsing functionality for emerging web technologies (Macromedia Flash, Real player,

Apple's QuickTime player for video and QTVR panoramic images, etc.) VOD codecs for use in the present invention are widely available from multiple sources, including for example the Divx codec (from http://www.geocities.com/divxplayer/), the 3ivX codec (from

http://www.3ivx.com/), and the MPEG4v7 codec from Microsoft.

In addition, The STBs of he present invention are upgradeable and maintainable

remotely. For example, the STB ofthe present invention acts as a dumb terminal, needing only

the TCP/IP protocol for communication with the servers. This means that upgrades to software

and adding capabilities can be performed remotely so STBs do not have to be pulled off site for

maintenance.

By using Microsoft's Internet Explorer technology for web browsing, rather than a

dedicated HTML interpretation chip, the STB ofthe present invention provides a web browsing

experience that works as reliably as the web browser on a typical home computer. Since the web

browsing functionality ofthe STB ofthe present invention is software based, it is not difficult to

upgrade and enhance the browser and its associated plug-ins (for use of emerging web

technologies like Macromedia Flash and Apple's QuicktimeVR).

The preferred embodiment ofthe STB ofthe present invention includes the following

features:

(1) VOD as described above;

(2) Capable of displaying MPEG-2, as well as all popular formats of internet

streaming video, including MS Windows Media, Real Media, QuickTime, etc.

(3) Access to email services via webmail or dedicated mail accounts (i.e.,

MSN, AOL, CompuServe, etc.)

(4) Proper layout of websites to a television display, including those using

emerging internet technologies (i.e., Flash, QTVR, Panoramic Video, etc.) (5) Font and image upsizing for computing on standard television/monitor

(6) Access to PC compatible software applications (i.e., Microsoft Word,

Excel, etc.)

(7) The Smart Card reader makes it possible to maintain a database of set-top

users, and retain their "roaming profile".

(8) Expansion slot for additional devices (i.e., smart card reader, cable-TV

tuner, etc.)

(9) Integration of high quality scan rate conversion chips. This means a professional quality of video output and no "display flicker" which is common in lower grade set-top boxes.

(10) Remotely upgradeable.

(11) Security when serving video from an encoded library or serving web pages

which may contain secure data.

The STB ofthe present invention also differs from conventional STBs in the design of a

manufacturer's back-end, which includes server types and methods of transport. Though the STB ofthe present invention has features found on other STBs currently available or projected to be

available soon, it is unique in the way it executes tasks to provide these features. The methods of execution ofthe STB ofthe present invention work differently because of some key differences from other STBs, such as processor type, motherboard, operating systems, development

platform, HTML browsing method, hardware/software dependencies, and ISP dependencies. The STB ofthe present invention utilizes these elements in a manner common to PC's. These differences allow the STB ofthe present invention to yield easier and cost efficient deployment, maintenance, and upgrades. The STB's familiar operating systems and intuitive development platforms are more open than conventional STBs, enabling a client to easily create and/or customize the hardware and graphic user interface for their application. This open environment also yields a modular approach to creating reference designs for a client, OEM or other user of

the STB of the present invention to build their own solution.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a motherboard 202 for STB 106 according to the

preferred embodiment ofthe present invention. Motherboard 202 makes use of cheap, widely

available features. Only the most relevant features of motherboard 202 are described for the sake of clarity. Motherboard 202 is preferably based on a standard ATX footprint having dimensions

of 7.48 inches by 9.0 inches. This is somewhat larger than the standard STB form factor.

Consequently, the enclosure for STB 106 has to be modified to accommodate the larger dimensions of motherboard 202.

Motherboard 202 preferably contains a 133 MHz front-side bus (FSB), a central processing unit (CPU) 204, on-board memory 206, video controller 208, and input/output (I/O) controller 210, and a DMA controller 211. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, CPU 204 is a 500 MHz Socket 370 Coppermine CPU or 600 MHz Socket A AMD Duron CPU;

on-board memory 206 is 64Mb of PC100 DRAM; video controller 208 is a 2D SVGA blitter at

230 MHz; I/O controller 210 is a i810 Accelerated Hub Architecture chipset for fast I/O; and

DMA controller 211 is Utra DMA (UDMA) 66. In addition, motherboard 202 also preferably

contains on-board 10/100 Mbps Ethernet 214, NTSC video out 216 and stereo audio out 218. Preferably, motherboard 202 also includes chassis intrusion detection circuitry to log chassis opening events. Motherboard 202 also preferably allows for cable tuner capability 220, a smart card port 212 and infrared keyboard remote controller 222 via on-board expansion ports. A motherboard providing some ofthe preferred features such as motherboard 202 is readily

available from PC-Chips or MSI Computer.

Thus, the present invention is based on a standard on an Intel compatible

CPU/motherboard combination at the standard desktop level of a Pentium-Ill. These

components are widely available and powerful. This CPU decision supports numerous operating systems, development software applications, and required software components that can be used in various embodiments the present invention. The level of processing offered by the Pentium- HI (or AMD Duron), for example, also offers the robust power that more CPU-intensive applications, such as VOD (video on demand) feature requires, power that is lacking in the Cyrix line of processors. Use of a standard PC architecture also means that many third-party hardware

add-ons are available "off the shelf, providing cheap and easy integration of optional features

such as IP Telephony, smart card readers, etc. as well as a method to add the aforementioned preferred features that might be lacking in the motherboard itself.

The STB ofthe present invention does not rely on a third party manufacturer for specific features because it does not use proprietary technologies. We make use of hardware technologies that are standard to the desktop computer market, meaning that we use an open architecture, of which components are readily available, yielding easy integration because all components in question are designed to function within the same environment. This enables us to take a modular approach to the STB design, easily creating variations ofthe product.

The present invention uses standards to maintain an open development architecture. In the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, Microsoft Embedded NT is used, though other operating systems can be used in some circumstances. Embedded NT is used because it requires less custom programming to implement the features provided by the present invention work. In addition, it requires less support for end users. Moreover, it also offers the advantage

of development using standard tools on standard workstations. Integration of desired features may be carried out using third-party applications which are more readily available for the

common PC operating systems. This results in significantly reduced development time and cost

that would otherwise result from having to develop the applications to perform the features ofthe

present invention in a proprietary manner.

In addition to the Embedded NT operating system, STB 106 preferably uses Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which guarantees proper support for the latest internet technologies, as well as

easy upgrade for support of emerging technologies after STB deployment. The STB ofthe present invention offers a very open development architecture, in which a designer may make use of common file types and applications during development. Thus, it is only important that the elements ofthe graphic user interface (backgrounds, buttons, sounds, etc.) be placed into the proper "containers" or locations within the directory structure ofthe hard drive. It is possible to

create a new feature via custom programming easily as there are a wide variety of development

tools available for this platform.

Using the open development platform of Embedded NT and Internet Explorer relieves the present invention from the dependencies of proprietary solutions. For example, the present

invention does not rely on small software developers to provide updated features or fix problems. In addition, Internet Explorer is continually updated through revisions to keep abreast ofthe latest HTML technologies. The revisions can be made locally or by remote download to STB 106. These kinds of revisions are generally prohibitively expensive using hardware HTML processors. Thus, the open development platform is more likely to work with emerging technologies cheaply and efficiently.

Preferably, the user interface ofthe present invention is a graphical user interface (GUI)

110. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, GUI 110 is displayed on television set 108 connected to STB 106. Preferably, GUI 110 is menu-based. In the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, the menu system is HTML based, using any of a number of HTML compatible development tools including Scala Infochannel, Macromedia Flash, or Java. Using dynamic HTML ("DHTML"), the IE window is expanded in physical dimension past the

extents ofthe visible on-screen space. The viewable area is at a resolution of 800x600 pixels.

The present invention preferably uses a resolution of 815x705 pixels, and shifts the window offscreen by -5x-55 with all toolbars and status bars turned off. This provides an IE shell that only

displays the content area of a HTML presentation window. The HTML window contains buttons to trigger the different functions ofthe set-top box. Other readily available third party software is used to provide the additional functionality.

Minimal software development is required to integrate this other software. Such integration would be known to those skilled in the art. For example, the present invention incorporates other third party software for gaming, cable tuning, web browsing, email and video-on-demand. The HTML button and menu system is used as a front-end to these functions.

The programming created to integrate these features exists in a number of ways. For

some features, a Scala or HTML button launches an executable which performs some window management (opening, closing resizing, or changing dominance of a window) and executes another piece of software. Any function or program that can be launched from a browser or run within a browser can be incorporated and customized to the extent provided by HTML, Java, Scala, Flash, or other browser-supported programming tools. For instance, VOD (video on

demand) viewing can be accomplished with Microsoft Windows Media Player and forced to

display itself full-screen by including appropriate parameters in the URL (the HTML "Universal

Resource Locator" address ofthe file which is associated or "tagged" to the button used to invoke

it). While the VOD plays, on-screen control buttons can be summoned by the user which could overlay the video. Such overlay button panel can be created in Java or Scala. Alternatively, the

buttons could remain on-screen at all times, in which case the programming to display the

buttons and make them functional could be done as a customized skin ofthe Windows Media Player as provided for in the Windows Media Player (WMP) software development kit, or as active-X controls in a separate HTML frame.

Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of a main screen ofthe GUI of a preferred

embodiment ofthe present invention for choosing services. The main screen provides buttons

identifying the service available to user 102 for selection. For example, main screen 302 allows

user 102 to select from the following services: video-in-demand (VOD), Internet access and web browsing, games, cable television viewing and email. User 102 chooses VOD service by

selecting VOD button 304. User 102 chooses Internet access an web browsing by selecting

WEB button 306. User 102 selects games by choosing GAMES button 308. User 102 chooses cable television viewing by selecting CABLE button 310. User 102 chooses email service by selecting EMAIL button 312. To exit the system, user 102 selects EXIT button 314. Upon selecting a particular service, user 102 is presented one or more additional screens to traverse to tailor the selected service to user 102's desires, such as selecting a particular movie to view from a menu or catalog of movie titles.

Figure 4A illustrates a VOD screen 402 that can be shown to user 102 when user 102 selects the VOD service according to the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention. Screen

402 lists videos that can be selected by user 102 to view. Thus, in exemplary VOD screen 402, user 102 can select one of videos 1-6 to view. Scroll bars (not shown), search engines, or other HTML navigational methods can be added to assist user 102 in going through the list of videos

to select from.

Figure 4B illustrates a VOD screen 410 that can be shown to user 102 when user 102

selects the VOD service according to the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention. VOD

screen 410 contains inset screen 412A-E. Inset screens 412A-E contain previews of videos 1-6 that user 102 can choose from. User 102 selects from the inset screen 412A-E a particular video

to view.

Figure 4C illustrates a VOD screen 4C 420 for controlling VOD functionality. User 102 selects the PLAY button to view the video. User 102 selects the PAUSE button to pause the video. User 102 selects the STOP button to stop the video. User 102 selects the REWIND button to reverse the video. User 102 selects the FAST FORWARD button to fast forward the

video. User 102 selects the FULL SCREEN button to expand the viewing area ofthe video to

fill the entire display area ofthe television set. User 102 selects the WATCH LATER button to

pause the video and close the VOD viewing window so the user may watch the video at a time

that the user selects. User 102 selects the EXIT button to exit the video and VOD service. VOD software is invoked when the user selects the VOD service to display the video to the user and to control the VOD service.

Figure 5 illustrates a WEB screen 502 that can be shown to user 102 when user 102

selects the Internet access and web browsing service according to the preferred embodiment of

the present invention. Web screen 502 provides a portion 504 for user 102 to enter a uniform

resource locator (URL), which contains the web address ofthe web page user 102 desires to access. The web page is shown in a portion 506 of web screen 502. In the preferred embodiment

ofthe present invention, web screen 502 is divided into frames. For example, portion 502 is frame 1 and potion 504 is frame 2. Figure 6 illustrates a CABLE screen 602 that can be shown to user 102 when user 102 selects the cable television viewing service according to the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention. CABLE screen 602 lists the cable television channels that can be selected by user 102

to view. Thus, in exemplary CABLE screen 602, user 102 can select one of cable channels 1-4 to view. Scroll bars (not shown) or other HTML navigation aids can be added to assist user 102

in going through the list of cable channels to select from. In an alternative embodiment ofthe present invention, user 102 can be shown electronic program guide (EPG) data. EPG data is

well-known data that provides a schedule and description of television programs. Cable

television tuner software is invoked to operate cable tuner 220 and provide cable television programming to the user. Figure 7 illustrates a GAMES screen 702 that can be shown to user 102 when user 102 selects the games service 308 according to the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

GAMES screen 702 lists the games that can be selected by user 102 to play. Thus, in exemplary GAMES screen 702, user 102 can select one of games 1-4 to view. Scroll bars (not shown) or

other HTML navigation aids can be added to assist user 102 in going through the list of games to select from. Game software corresponding to the selected games is invoked to provide the

selected game to the user. Figure 8A illustrates an EMAIL screen 802 that can be shown to user 102 when user 102 selects the email service according to the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention. User 102 selects the SEND button to compose and send email. User 102 selects the READ button to

read received emails. Email software to control the email functions including sending and

reading email is invoked when user 102 selects the email service.

Figure 8B illustrates an EMAIL send screen 804 for sending emails. User 102 completes

To: portion 806 with the email address ofthe recipient ofthe email. User 102 can complete cc: portion 808 with addresses of recipients to receive copies ofthe emails. User 102 can complete a

Subject: portion 810 with a subject ofthe email. User 102 enters the email message in message field 812 ofthe EMAIL send screen 804. User 102 can attach any attachments to the email by selecting the ATTACH button.

The foregoing disclosure of embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the

invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations and modifications ofthe embodiments

described herein will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. The scope ofthe invention is to be defined only by the claims appended hereto, and

by their equivalents.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A system for providing services to a user, comprising:

a set-top box executing a Microsoft Embedded NT operating system and third party

software to perform the services and to execute a graphical user interface;

a television set connected to the set-top box to display the graphical user interface;

a service provider coupled to the set-top box to provide the services.

2. The system recited claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface is menu-driven

presuming no pre-existing user knowledge of PC operation.

3. The system recited in claim 1 ,wherien the services include one or more of cable

television, Internet access, video-on-demand, email and games.

4. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the service provider is located on premises.

5. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the service provider is located remotely.

6. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising a remote control to control the set-top

box by assisting the user to select and tailor a particular service.

7. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising a wireless keyboard to control the set-

top box by assisting the user to select and tailor a particular service.

8. A set-top box for providing services to a user, comprising:

a standard motherboard containing standard components;

a standard microprocessor on the motherboard to execute Embedded NT and a process to

run a graphical user interface;

a connection to a service provider;

a connector to a television set; and readily available third party software executed by the microprocessor to provide the

services.

9. The set-top box recited in claim 8, wherein the graphical user interface is menu-driven.

10. The set-top box recited in claim 8, wherein the motherboard substantially conforms to a standard ATX 7.5 by 9 inch form factor.

11. The set-top box recited in claim 8, further comprising an infrared detector to detect control commands.

12. The set-top box recited in claim 8, wherein the third party software provides one or more

ofthe following services: email, cable television, Internet access, games and video-on-demand.

13. The set-top box recited in claim 8, further comprising a connection to a disk drive;

14. The set-top box recited in claim 8, further comprising a connection to a smart card

device.