Method and system for subscription television billing and access

Abstract From the Canadian patent

A system and method for accessing remote locations and transferring data to and from the accessed location par-, ticularly where the data is control data and billing information regarding programs actually viewed by a subscriber of a subscription television system, where access is over non-dedicated telephone lines. In the disclosed system a scrambled tele-, vision program signal containing a block of television program material and a program identification code unique to the block of program material is transmitted in the vertical retrace interval at a predetermined carrier frequency. The transmitted program signal is selectively received at a subscriber station and selectively unscrambled …