A system for integrating video programming with the vast information
resources of the Internet. A computer-based system receives a video
program with embedded uniform resource locators (URLs). The URLs, the
effective addresses of locations or Web sites on the Internet, are
interpreted by the system and direct the system to the Web site locations
to retrieve related Web pages. Upon receipt of the Web pages by the
system, the Web pages are synchronized to the video content for display.
The video program signal can be displayed in a video window on a
conventional personal computer screen. The actual retrieved Web pages are
time stamped to also be displayed, on another portion of the display
screen, when predetermined related video content is displayed in the
video window. As an alternative, the computer-based system receives the
URLs directly through an Internet connection, at times specified by TV
broadcasters in advance. The system interprets the URLs and retrieves the
appropriate Web pages. The Web pages are synchronized to the video
content for display in conjunction with a television program being
broadcast to the user at that time. This alternative system allows the
URLs to be entered for live transmission to the user.