Real estate abstract
A network system provides video information on demand concerning
real estate properties, and in principle includes a large number
of real estate information server locations as viewing sites. The
servers are interconnected by a dedicated hard wire network so that
video information may be shared. The video information is recorded,
stored, transferred, and displayed using high speed digital data
handling techniques. The video information is accompanied by digitized
audio sound tracks.
Real estate claims
What is claimed is:
1. A system for providing distributive access, by local real estate
information servers, to real estate information, the system comprising:
a plurality of inventories of real estate property data files,
each of the property files providing video motion picture, and audio
information describing at least one real estate property;
a plurality of random access memory devices, each one of the memory
devices storing at least one of the inventories;
a plurality of local locator data files, each of the locator files
corresponding to at least one of the inventories, and providing
identification of the property files therein;
means for identifying at least one of the property files as conforming
to a property profile of interest to a buyer;
means for accessing the at least one of the property files in one
of the local locator files on one of the random access memory devices;
means for displaying the at least one of the property files as
a multi-media presentation to the buyer.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the memory devices, inventories,
local locator files, identifying means, accessing means and displaying
means are distributed over the local servers such that each office
has access to that portion of the property files comprising a logical
local real estate market.
3. The system of claim 2 further including a high speed dedicated
data communication network interconnecting the local offices in
a manner such that each local server may search for, access, and
download any of the property files at each other local server.
4. A system for providing distributive access, by local and regional
real estate information servers, to real estate information, the
system comprising:
a plurality of inventories of real estate property data files,
each of the property files providing video motion picture, and audio
information describing at least one real estate property;
a plurality of random access memory devices, each one of the memory
devices storing at least one of the inventories;
a plurality of local locator data files, each of the local locator
files corresponding to at least one of the inventories, and providing
identification of the property files therein;
means for identifying at least one of the property files as conforming
to a property profile of interest to a buyer;
means for accessing the at least one of the property files in one
of the local locator files on one of the random access memory devices;
means for displaying the at least one of the property files as
a multi-media presentation to the buyer.
5. The system of claim 4 wherein the memory devices, inventories,
local locator files, identifying means, accessing means and displaying
means are distributed over the information servers such that each
said local server has access to that portion of the property files
comprising a logical local real estate market and each regional
server provides a national locator file for locating all property
files in a logical regional real estate market.
6. The system of claim 5 further including a high speed dedicated
data communication network interconnecting the offices in a manner
such that each server may search for, access, and download any of
the property files at each other server.
7. A method of providing distributive access to real estate information,
the method comprising the steps of:
a) providing a plurality of inventories of real estate property
data files, each of the property files providing video motion picture,
and audio, information describing at least one real estate property;
b) storing each of the inventories on a random access memory device
at one of a plurality of local real estate information servers;
c) storing a locator data file corresponding to the one of the
inventories at each one of the local servers;
d) identifying at least one of the property files as conforming
to a property profile of interest to a buyer;
e) displaying the at least one of the property files as a multi-media
presentation to the buyer.
8. The method of claim 7 further including the steps, taken after
step (d), of:
f) interconnecting the local servers with a high speed data communication
network in a manner such that each of the local offices may communicate
directly with each of the other local servers;
g) searching the locator file in at least one of the local offices
for at least one of the property data files, said searching being
conducted over the communication network from another of the local
servers.
h) transferring the at least one of the property files from one
of the local servers to the another of the local servers for use
therein.
9. The method of claim 7 further including the steps:
j) establishing, a regional real estate sales information server
for each of at least two of the local real estate information servers;
k) interconnecting the local and regional real estate information
servers with a high speed data communication network in a manner
such that each one of the servers may communicate directly with
each other of the servers;
l) storing a national locator data file at each one of the regional
information servers, each of the national locator files corresponding
to the inventories of the at least two of the local servers;
m) searching the national locator file in at least one of the regional
servers for at least one of the property files, said searching being
conducted over the communication network from another of the local
servers;
n) transferring the at least one of the property files from one
of the information servers to the another of the local servers for
use therein.
Real estate description
This application claims the filing date priority of Provisional
application Ser. No. 60/013,531 filed on Mar. 18 1996 with the same
title and inventor.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to methods for producing video
presentations on demand, and more particularly to a method for making
video programs available quickly and economically over a large geographic
area.
2. Description of Prior Art
A primary objective in the real estate sales industry is to place
high quality and appropriate real estate property information in
the hands of buyers, quickly, inexpensively and locally. The so-called
Multiple Listing Service (MLS) has been in use in the real estate
sales industry for a number of years. The MLS publishes a printed
magazine containing written descriptions and still photographs of
real estate properties that are available for sale. The MLS also
provides an on-line video presentation service the enables buyers
to view still photographs of properties and to access details of
these properties in written form on a video monitor. When a buyer
appears in the marketplace he/she has the opportunity to consult
the MLS as a preliminary step in making a match between the buyer's
needs and those properties that are currently available for sale.
The MLS system, although a great improvement over its predecessor
systems has many faults and problems. Although the MLS fulfills
the need for providing information relatively quickly, inexpensively
and locally, it does not provide appropriate and high quality information.
The buyer still must travel to the site of prospective properties
in order to obtain an understating of the most important architectural
factors accounting for most purchase decisions.
In the prior art describing high data rate distributive information
systems, although nothing seems to exist in either common practice
or in the literature relative to the real estate industry, the following
references are of interest:
Ballantyne et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,079, shows a new and useful
method and apparatus for distribution of movies for viewing on a
customer's television set. Digitized compressed signals containing
audio and visual components of the movie selected by the customer
are sent to the customer's receiver. The digital signals are converted
to corresponding electronic signals; which are decompressed and
converted to audio and video signals. These converted signals are
passed to a conventional television set for viewing by the customer.
Litteral et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,347, shows a public switched
telephone network (PSTN) which provides a digital video signals
from a video information provider to one or more of a plurality
of subscriber premises. A subscriber uses either a standard telephone
instrument over the PSTN or a dedicated control device over an ISDN
packet network to order video programming. The request is transmitted
to a designated video information provider and digital transmission
connectivity is established between the video information provider
and the central office serving the subscriber. Connectivity between
the central office and subscriber is provided by asymmetrical digital
subscriber line interface units over a local loop. The interface
units frequency multiplex digital video information with voice information
to the subscriber and support transmission of a reverse control
channel form the subscriber to the central office for transmission
on the ISDN packet data network back the video information provider.
The interfaces also allow base band signaling and audio between
the central office and the subscriber for conventional telephone
instrument connectivity.
Gelman et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,532, shows a store-and-forward
architecture which stores and distributes information programs to
subscribers on demand including: information warehouses which archive
information programs from multiple service vendors and dispense
information programs in segments to central offices in high speed
bursts; central offices which manages subscriber's request for service
and buffers segments of information programs for delivery to subscribers
in real-time under the subscriber's interactive control; and customer
premises equipment where a subscriber's requests and control signals
for interactive play-out of information program are generated and
information programs are received for the subscriber's use.
De Bey, U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,031, shows a system and method of optimizing
transmission of a program to multiple users over a distribution
system, with particular application to video-on-demand for a CATV
network. The system includes, at a head end of the CATV network
a scheduling and routing computer for dividing the video program
stored in long term fast storage or short term fast storage into
a plurality of program segments, and a subscriber distribution node
for transmitting the program segments in a redundant sequence in
accordance with a scheduling algorithm. At a receiver of the CATV
network there is provided a buffer memory for storing the transmitted
video program segments for subsequent playback whereby, in use,
the scheduling algorithm can ensure that a user's receiver will
receive al of the programs segments in a manner that will enable
continuous playback in real time of the program. Under the control
of controller the receiver distinguishes received program segments
by a segment identifier so that redundant segments captured in capture
memory are then stored in buffer memory from which the segments
can be retrieved and decompressed in data compressor for immediate
or subsequent viewing.
Walters et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,334, shows an apparatus and
method for broadcast burst transmission of compressed audio/video
programs from a stored library to a multiplicity of subscribers.
The stored programs are burst transmitted repeatedly in a predetermined
sequence of entire programs or segments thereof to a receiver at
each subscriber's location. Each receiver is operative for accessing
the predetermined broadcast schedule, inputting a subscriber's order
for one or more programs, monitoring the broadcast burst transmissions
for the one or more ordered programs, receiving the one or more
ordered programs in a burst time period corresponding to the time
period of the burst transmission, and storing the one or more ordered
programs. The subscriber then enjoys full VCR-like control over
playback at his convenience of the ordered, stored programs, that
are then decompressed by the receiver for viewing in real time.
Hooper et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,390, shows in a system for interactively
viewing videos, a selected video is transmitted as a plurality of
frames of digitized video data for playback on a viewing device.
The system received the transmitted video data and includes a memory
buffer for storing a segment of a selected one of the videos. The
segment includes a predetermined number of frames representing a
predetermined time interval of the selected video. In addition,
the memory buffer including a write pointer and a read pointer.
Software controlled servers are provided for writing and reading
video data of the selected video to and from the memory buffer,
independently, at locations indicated by the write and read pointers
to transfer the selected video to the viewing device. By using a
remote controller the viewer can position the read and write pointers
to view any portion of the selected video interactively.
Beriont, U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,202, shows a network interface module
operably connected to a subscriber's television receiver and to
a switched broadband digital network includes a fiber-compatible
digital transceiver. A downlink receiver in the transceiver detects
video/audio/data information that is time-multiplexed within a serially
transmitted digital signal optically transmitted by the switched
digital network as a broadband digital downlink channel. The detected
information is decoded into a parallel format of video/data samples,
audio samples, and recovered sample clock that are applied to a
digital switch in the television receiver.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a system for providing video presentations
of available real estate properties and associated information on
demand and includes a large inventory of pre-recorded video presentation
files stored in associated local market locations. These local market
locations are interconnected by a dedicated wide area data transfer
and communications network. Local real estate information servers
are interconnected as nodes in the network. The servers each provide
an inventory of full-motion video files representing the available
properties in its local market. The full-motion video information
is recorded, stored, transferred, and displayed using high speed
digital data handling techniques. The full-motion video information
is accompanied by digitized audio sound tracks. In the preferred
embodiment, the video programs are records of homes, businesses,
or other property which is for sale. Each of the programs presents
the property for sale in such a manner that a prospective buyer
has the opportunity to preview the property, both exterior and interior,
prior to deciding whether to visit the property or not. Such a full-motion
video viewing provides the advantage, over still photographs, of
enhancing the viewers understanding of the architectural features
of the property with respect to human movement through and around
the structure. This is important in that the charm of a building
structure is strongly related to how the various spaces interact
with one another. Thus it is an object of the invention to enable
full-motion video display of properties available for sale in a
local market. It is a further object of the invention to provide
such a system as to enable a buyer anywhere within the geographic
area served by the network to view any property within the geographic
area served by the network with such presentation occurring on demand.
Further objectives include the minimizing of massive centralized
data storage devices and the delays in data transfer durations which
result when large scale data transfers are forced over communication
channels having limited bandwidth.
Still further objectives include the improvements in security,
availability and reliability of data transfer by employing information
redundancy within the system.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by
way of example, the principles of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The accompanying drawing illustrates the present invention, a systems
network and method for providing full-motion video on demand over
standard telephone wires. In such drawings:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the a preferred embodiment showing
a plurality of the local servers of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a diagram similar to that of FIG. 1 wherein the local
servers are interconnected over a communications network; and
FIG. 3 is a diagram similar to that of FIG. 2 wherein the local
servers are interconnected through regional servers in the network.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The invention is a system wherein conventional local real estate
sales offices are able to provide information concerning for-sale
properties to potential buyers. The system enables a buyer who is
physically located anywhere within a large geographical area, such
as the continental United States, to view properties for sale which
are located anywhere else within the operating area. The information
provided includes full-motion video and sound recordings of the
key features of each of the properties as well as information about
the region where the properties are located. The individual, original
full-motion video programs, are preferably of a relatively short
viewing length, i.e., between one and five minutes each, with an
average of two minutes each. Such a two minute video program comprises
approximately 20 megabytes (million bytes) of digital signal information,
using current compression technology.
The system employs an information data base and data distribution
network. Major network components include nodes identified here
as Regional Real Estate Information Servers, abbreviated as "RS"
and Local Real Estate Information Servers abbreviated as "LS",
as well as a conventional wide area switching network with tie lines
and switching stations placed appropriately for handling communications
traffic, i.e., calls and data transfers, as required within the
network. The RS and LS are represented by high-speed general purpose
computer systems as will be described below. Each LS maintains property
data files as an inventory residing in its random access storage
device(s). As stated, each of these property files preferably corresponds
to a single unique real estate property within an assigned local
geographical area or market. In the preferred embodiment, the geographical
areas are assigned by postal ZIP code. Each LS is assigned a designated
RS, and each RS is designated for a plurality of LS. The function
of each of the RS is to maintain a national locator file for identifying
which geographical area is assigned to each LS within the system.
When a buyer wishes to view for-sale properties in a local market,
property files are retrieved from the random access storage device
of a local LS. Let us designate this LS as LS'. When a buyer wishes
to view for-sale properties which are located outside of the local
market or which are not presently available at LS', these files
are retrieved from LS", where LS" may be any one, or more
of the other LS in the system. In order to identify which LS"
may have specific property files, or files generally, of the types
and locations desired, LS' contacts RS', its designated regional
server, and identifies its need. RS' responds to LS' by looking-up,
in its national locator file, the one or more LS" which potentially
have the files of interest. RS' downloads the addresses of the relevant
LS" to LS'. LS' then uses these addresses to contact the relevant
LS" directly until it finds an LS" that has the relevant
files, and these files then are downloaded (copied) to LS' for its
use locally.
The RS hardware configuration generally comprises a video monitor,
high speed computer processor and its peripheral support circuits,
an, at least, forty gigabyte magnetic storage device, preferably
a fast access "hard Drive" storage medium, at least 128
megabytes of solid state random access memory, at least one 31/2
inch floppy drive, an SVGA video driver card with at least two megabytes
of memory, at least one high speed modem device, a CD-Rom device
including reading and writing capability, input/output ports appropriate
to the system, a digital sound reproduction circuit, an Ethernet
network interface circuit, and input devices including a keyboard
and a screen pointing device generally known as a "mouse".
The LS hardware configuration generally comprises a similar list
of components but with storage devices of lesser capacity. The network
uses MPEG hardware and techniques so as to streamline video data
transfer streams making it practical to share lengthy video files
over long-line digital networks on demand.
All components of the network preferably utilize standard transmission
control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) technology for information
transfer so that each node in the network is assigned a unique IP
address. All network entities may communicate freely with all other
network entities without the involvement of an intermediary, i.e.,
any IP is programmed to be able to dial-up any other IP directly
using the network. The network employs all forms of standard data
transfer links including hard wire, microwave, and satellite links
as needed and as available for meeting the needs of the objectives
of the inventions.
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) lines are in accordance
with an international communications standard for sending voice,
video, and data over digital telephone lines. ISDN lines are used
to achieve data rates of 128 bps, for or five times the data transfer
rates achieved today over analog lines using fast modems. All interconnections
between RS and LS in the network use ISDN data links.
The system is more specifically described as comprising a plurality
of inventories of real estate property data files, each of the property
files providing video motion picture, and audio information describing
at least one real estate property. Such files may also include sales
agent promotional information, sales office promotional information,
real estate market local area information and descriptions, and
possibly advertisements for real estate or real estate sales products
or services. The system further includes a plurality of random access
memory devices, each one of the memory devices storing at least
one of the inventories, a plurality of local locator data files,
each of the local locator files corresponding to at least one of
the inventories, and providing identification of the property files
therein, a means for identifying at least one of the property files
as conforming to a property profile of interest to a buyer, a means
for accessing the at least one of the property files in one of the
local locator files on one of the random access memory devices and
a means for displaying the at least one of the property files as
a multi-media presentation to the buyer.
The identifying means comprises any of the well known and currently
used data base management methods used to query the files in a data
base. For instance, in the present invention, each of the property
files includes fields identifying the number of bedrooms, number
of bathrooms, and the price of the property, as examples of several
typical fields. The identifying means is a program instruction set
that enables the searching of these fields for matches between selections
expressed by a buyer with the values in these fields. Such a program
set is defmed in software packages such as Excel.RTM. by Microsoft
Corporation. The Accessing means, again, is defined generally in
programs such as Excel.RTM. wherein once a file match is made, a
copy of the file is written to random access memory or virtual memory
on a hard drive storage device so as to be available for viewing.
The displaying means is preferably the video monitor and speaker
system defined above.
The memory devices, inventories, local locator files, identifying
means, accessing means and displaying means are preferably distributed
over a plurality of local servers such that each server has access
to that portion of the property files comprising a logical local
real estate market.
The invention further includes a high speed dedicated data communication
network interconnecting the local servers in a manner such that
each local server may search for, access, and download any of the
property files at each other local server. In order to identify
the local servers whose inventory includes specific property files
and potential files for specific property types and locations, a
plurality of regional servers is preferably established. Each of
these RS incorporates a national locator file containing such information.
The method of use of the present invention comprises the steps
of: providing a plurality of inventories of real estate property
data files, each of the property files providing video motion picture
and audio, information describing at least one real estate property,
storing each of the inventories on a random access memory device
at one of a plurality of local information servers, storing a local
locator data file corresponding to the one of the inventories at
each one of the local servers, identifying at least one of the property
files as conforming to a property profile of interest to a buyer,
and displaying the at least one of the property files as a multi-media
presentation to the buyer.
In the case where information must be obtained from a remote server,
the method further includes the steps of: interconnecting the local
servers with a high speed data communication network in a manner
such that each of the local servers may communicate directly with
each of the other local servers, searching the local locator file
in at least one of the remote servers for at least one of the property
data files, said searching being conducted over the communication
network, and transferring the at least one of the property files
from the remote server to the local server.
In order to establish a means for efficiently identifying remote
servers potentially having property files of interest, the method
advantageously includes the further steps of: establishing a regional
server for each of at least tow of the local servers, interconnecting
the local and regional servers with a high speed data communication
network in a manner such that each one of the servers may communicate
directly with each other of the servers, storing a national locator
file at each one of the regional servers, searching the national
locator file in at least one the regional servers for at least one
of the property files, said searching being conducted over the communication
network, and transferring the at least one of the property files
from one of the local servers to the another of the local servers
for use therein.
While the invention has been described with reference to at least
one preferred embodiment, it is to be clearly understood by those
skilled in the art that the invention is not limited thereto. Rather,
the scope of the invention is to be interpreted only in conjunction
with the appended claims. |