A
system and method for displaying still video images related to video content in an interactive broadcast
television system. The
system and method of the present invention may also be used for simulating an Internet
home page on an
interactive television system. The present invention thus supports hyperlinked web-like navigational capabilities in an
interactive television system. According to the method of the present invention, the
video delivery system provides or broadcasts one or more audio / video channels each comprising video content and also provides or broadcasts at least one still image channel comprising a plurality of still video images, preferably MPEG-2 compressed still images. The user or viewer can select options displayed on the
television screen to view desired information. When the
set top box receives
user input selecting an option to view one of the linked still images, the
set top box captures the requested image from the still image broadcast channel, stores the image in memory, and displays the captured still
video image corresponding to the selection. The still image being displayed may have associated interactive program content for displaying further selections, wherein these selections may be for viewing other images or content, for ordering information, or
purchasing products. The user can thus selectively navigate between the video content and stills in a web-like hyperlinked fashion. In one embodiment, when a user is navigating through still images, the television program or video content which was being viewed is displayed in a
small window overlaid on the still image being displayed. Also, when the
set top box captures a requested image from the still image broadcast channel, the set top box preferably also pre-caches or pre-loads other related still images based on the probabilty that these related images will be subsequently requested by the user. The invention also includes an embodiment which provides user requested still images "
on demand" on a dedicated "search" channel.