Internet access through TVs is typically provided by essentially programming the TV as though it were a computer executing a browser. Such Internet access is thus uncontrolled except as a firewall or filtering program might block certain sites.
As understood herein, uncontrolled Internet access may not be desirable in the context of a TV. A firewall or filtering program may not always be installed on the TV and even when one is installed, access remains much more uncontrolled than conventional TV programming traditionally has expected. Also, a locally installed filter can be unloaded or defeated by a user.
Accordingly, uncontrolled Internet access has several drawbacks. From a viewer's standpoint, exposure to inappropriate subject matter particularly when young viewers are watching is one concern; a much lower threshold of quality screening is another. That is, while many TV shows might not be widely considered as “quality” shows, nonetheless a TV program is usually much more selectively screened than, say, an Internet video. The expectations of TV viewers for such higher level quality screening as a consequence cannot be met by simply providing unfettered Internet access through the TV. Furthermore, TV-related entities, from content providers, manufacturers, and carriers, in most cases derive no benefit from the extension of TV to the Internet.
Present principles recognize that a closed, controlled Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) program may be established for Internet-enabled TVs to access selected Internet sites which in turn agree to provide only appropriate, quality content to TVs in the program. However, such a program may be restricted to TVs if they are based on an participating TVs providing a TV identification (TVID) that has been burned into the hardware of the TV. Without a TVID, access to the TV-Internet infrastructure may not be permitted. As recognized herein, it may be desirable to provide non-TV consumer electronic (CE) devices access to the closed, controlled TV-Internet program but such devices will not possess the requisite TVID (an ID formatted to indicate that the device is a TV), complicating opening the infrastructure to such devices.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds