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 user can also request to view an image which is not currently
being transmitted by the video delivery system. In this instance, the system provides
user requested still images "on demand" on a dedicated "search" channel. The user
can thus selectively navigate between the video content and stills in a web-like
hyperlinked fashion.