U.S. patent application number 12/058900 was filed with the patent office on 2008-07-31 for method and apparatus for time-shifting video and text in a text-enhanced television program.
This patent application is currently assigned to GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Roy J. Mankovitz.
Application Number | 20080184319 12/058900 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46321560 |
Filed Date | 2008-07-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080184319 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Mankovitz; Roy J. |
July 31, 2008 |
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TIME-SHIFTING VIDEO AND TEXT IN A
TEXT-ENHANCED TELEVISION PROGRAM
Abstract
A television system allows a viewer of a text-enhanced
television program to pause the program at a particular frame,
browse the enhancements at his or her leisure, and then resume
viewing the program from that frame, without losing continuity of
the video and enhancement portions of the program, or program
content. This is accomplished by time-shifting the television
program for later playback. Time-shifting is accomplished through
the use of mass storage devices such as semiconductor memory,
optical disks, magnetic storage and other FIFO data storage
structures. Markers are available that allow the viewer to return
to the program at the point that he stopped watching, replaying the
program from that point. Text enhancements are provided through the
VBI present in a conventional television broadcast signal, through
an Internet connection, or by a wireless means such as a pager or
cordless telephone. Additionally a back link may be utilized to
allow the viewer to summon the text enhancements or interact with
the enhancements already present.
Inventors: |
Mankovitz; Roy J.;
(Montecito, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROPES & GRAY LLP
PATENT DOCKETING 39/361, 1211 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS
NEW YORK
NY
10036-8704
US
|
Assignee: |
GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION
Los Angeles
CA
|
Family ID: |
46321560 |
Appl. No.: |
12/058900 |
Filed: |
March 31, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11405092 |
Aug 13, 2002 |
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12058900 |
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09297151 |
Jun 21, 1999 |
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PCT/US98/08305 |
Apr 20, 1998 |
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11405092 |
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10047940 |
Oct 25, 2001 |
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11405092 |
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09369755 |
Aug 6, 1999 |
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10047940 |
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60044161 |
Apr 21, 1997 |
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60052248 |
Jul 11, 1997 |
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60095740 |
Aug 7, 1998 |
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60052248 |
Jul 11, 1997 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
725/90 ;
348/E7.054; 375/E7.024; 386/E5.002 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/2355 20130101;
H04N 21/80 20130101; H04N 21/47 20130101; H04N 21/4333 20130101;
H04N 5/765 20130101; H04N 21/4722 20130101; H04N 21/8586 20130101;
H04N 21/858 20130101; H04N 21/235 20130101; H04N 21/435 20130101;
H04N 21/8133 20130101; H04N 7/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
725/90 |
International
Class: |
H04N 7/025 20060101
H04N007/025; H04N 7/173 20060101 H04N007/173 |
Claims
1-31. (canceled)
32. A method comprising: displaying a video received over a video
signal on a user device; receiving a trigger over the video signal;
and launching an application related to the video on the user
device in response to receiving the trigger.
33. The method of claim 32 wherein the video signal is a television
signal, and wherein the trigger is received in the VBI of the
television signal.
34. The method of claim 32 further comprising pausing the video in
response to receiving the trigger.
35. The method of claim 34 wherein the video is a real-time
program.
36. The method of claim 35 wherein pausing the video comprises:
receiving a first plurality of portions of the real-time program
that are later in time relative to the paused real-time program
location; and storing the first plurality of portions as they are
received.
37. The method of claim 36 further comprising: receiving an unpause
command; retrieving the first plurality of stored portions of the
real-time program that are later in time relative to the paused
real-time program location; and displaying the first plurality of
retrieved stored portions.
38. The method of claim 37 further comprising: storing a second
plurality of portions of the real-time program that are later in
time relative to the first plurality of retrieved portions, wherein
the first plurality of stored portions is retrieved simultaneously
with the storing of the second plurality of portions.
39. The method of claim 34 further comprising: receiving another
trigger in the video signal; resuming playback of the paused video
in response to receiving the other trigger, wherein playback is
resumed from a point in time at which the video was paused; and
terminating the launched application in response to receiving the
other trigger.
40. The method of claim 32, further comprising accessing a webpage
that includes information about the video in a web browser, wherein
launching the application comprises launching the web browser on
the device.
41. The method of claim 40 wherein the video is a television
program and the webpage information comprises at least one of cast
members' biographies, trivia about the program, information
relating to a particular episode or scene of the program, and
close-ups of information that are hidden in the displayed
program.
42. The method of claim 32 wherein launching the application
comprises providing access to the application simultaneously while
displaying the video.
43. The method of claim 42 wherein information associated with the
application and the video are displayed in separate screens on the
user device.
44. The method of claim 43 wherein the video is a real-time
program, further comprising: pausing the real-time program in
response to receiving the trigger, wherein access to the
application is provided simultaneously while displaying a single
frame of the real-time program.
45. The method of claim 32 wherein launching the application
comprises: establishing an Internet connection with a remote host;
receiving information related to the real-time video from the
remote host over the Internet connection; and displaying the
information received from the remote host.
46. A system comprising: a display screen for displaying a video
received over a video signal on a user device; and control
circuitry configured to: receive a trigger over the video signal;
and launch an application related to the video on the user device
in response to receiving the trigger.
47. The system of claim 46 wherein the video signal is a television
signal, and wherein the trigger is received in the VBI of the
television signal.
48. The system of claim 46 wherein the control circuitry is further
configured to pause the video in response to receiving the
trigger.
49. The system of claim 48 wherein the video is a real-time
program.
50. The system of claim 49 wherein the control circuitry is further
configured to: receive a first plurality of portions of the
real-time program that are later in time relative to the paused
real-time program location; and store the first plurality of
portions as they are received.
51. The system of claim 50 wherein the control circuitry is further
configured to: receive an unpause command; retrieve the first
plurality of stored portions of the real-time program that are
later in time relative to the paused real-time program location;
and display on the display screen the first plurality of retrieved
stored portions.
52. The system of claim 51 wherein the control circuitry is further
configured to: store a second plurality of portions of the
real-time program that are later in time relative to the first
plurality of retrieved portions, wherein the first plurality of
stored portions is retrieved simultaneously with the storing of the
second plurality of portions.
53. The system of claim 48 wherein the control circuitry is further
configured to: receive another trigger in the video signal; resume
playback of the paused video in response to receiving the other
trigger, wherein playback is resumed from a point in time at which
the video was paused; and terminate the launched application in
response to receiving the other trigger.
54. The system of claim 46, wherein the control circuitry is
further configured to: access a webpage that includes information
about the video in a web browser; and launch the web browser on the
device.
55. The system of claim 54 wherein the video is a television
program and the webpage information comprises at least one of cast
members' biographies, trivia about the program, information
relating to a particular episode or scene of the program, and
close-ups of information that are hidden in the displayed
program.
56. The system of claim 46 wherein the control circuitry is further
configured to provide access to the application simultaneously
while displaying the video.
57. The system of claim 56 wherein information associated with the
application and the video are displayed in separate screens on the
display screen.
58. The system of claim 57 wherein the video is a real-time
program, and wherein the control circuitry is further configured
to: pause the real-time program in response to receiving the
trigger; and provide access to the application simultaneously while
displaying a single frame of the real-time program.
59. The system of claim 46 wherein the control circuitry is further
configured to: establish an Internet connection with a remote host;
receive information related to the real-time video from the remote
host over the Internet connection; and display on the display
screen the information received from the remote host.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S.
application Ser. No. 09/297,151, filed Apr. 26, 1999, which is a
.sctn.371 application of PCT/US98/08305; U.S. Provisional
Application Ser. No. 60/044,161, filed Apr. 21, 1997; and U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/052,248, filed Jul. 11, 1997,
the disclosures of which are all hereby fully incorporated by
reference.
[0002] This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S.
application Ser. No. 10/047,940, filed Oct. 25, 2001, which is a
continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/369,755, which claims
the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/095,740,
filed Aug. 7, 1998; PCT Application No. PCT/US98/08305, filed Apr.
20, 1998; and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/052,248,
filed Jul. 11, 1997, the disclosures of which are all incorporated
herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The present invention is a system wherein television
program-related information (PRI) is embedded in the vertical
blanking interval (VBI) of a television signal for display on a
viewer's television screen at the same time as the television
program. The PRI is typically contained in an Internet site, the
addresses for which are embedded in the television signal. The
Internet site addresses may also be transmitted synchronously with,
but separate from the video portion, e.g., via an interface device
such as a telephone or cable modem. Typically such an "enhanced"
television program consists of a display with the video portion of
the program in a picture-in-picture (PIP) window and the PRI in the
remaining portion of the display area of the television screen.
[0004] This PRI may be any textual or graphic information
associated with the current television program. The PRI may consist
of a textual display of a World Wide Web (WWW) or other Internet
site address to which the viewer can choose to link to through a
connection with an Internet Service Provider. Alternatively, the
PRI may be contained in one or more Web pages, the addresses of
which are inserted into the vertical blanking interval (VBI) and
are automatically retrieved by the user's terminal and displayed on
the display screen. Some examples of PRI are cast members'
biographies, trivia about the show, information relating to the
particular episode or scene, and closeups of information that
cannot be readily seen or is hidden in the video portion of the
program. Some of the PRI may be time dependent on the program. For
example, the PRI may change to correspond to a particular scene or
frame of the television program.
[0005] With so much information on the screen, some of which may be
changing at a fairly rapid pace, it is desirable to provide the
viewer the option of pausing a particular frame of a text-enhanced
program display and then resume viewing the program without losing
continuity of the video and PRI portions of the program or program
content.
[0006] In the past fixed delays have been generated to allow
broadcast editing. This has been accomplished with video recording.
With the increasing availability of low cost semiconductor memory
it is desirable to utilize this as a method of variability
time-shifting a program. Concurrently other erasable storage means
such as magnetic bubble semiconductor memory, erasable optical
disks economically provide FIFO storage of large quantities of data
that are advantageously utilized in the embodiments of the
invention.
[0007] According to one embodiment of the invention, a television
system is provided which allows a viewer of a PRI-enhanced
television program to pause the program at a particular frame,
examine the PRI at his or her leisure, perhaps browse through
other, linked Web pages, and then resume viewing the program from
that frame, without losing continuity of the video and PRI portions
of the program or program content.
SUMMARY
[0008] According to one embodiment of the invention, an apparatus
for time-shifting video and program related information (PRI) in an
enhanced television program is provided which includes a display
screen, a tuner for receiving a television signal with embedded
data representative of an address for an Internet site including
PRI, means for extracting the embedded data from the television
signal, a memory for storing the embedded data, input means for
inputting viewer commands, a time-shifting apparatus capable of
simultaneously storing the television signal as it is received and
outputting the stored television signal for display, means for
communicating with an Internet service provider to retrieve
information from the Internet site including the PRI, and a
microcontroller.
[0009] The microcontroller is configured to retrieve the Internet
site address from memory and retrieve the PRI from the Internet
site in response to a first viewer command, generate a composite
display including a television program contained in the television
signal in a first portion of the display and the PRI in a second
portion of the display in response to the first viewer command,
control the time-shifting apparatus to store the television signal
as it is received and display a still frame from the stored
television signal in a first portion of the display screen in
response to a second viewer command, and control the time-shifting
apparatus to output the portion of the stored television signal
subsequent to the still frame for display in the first portion of
the display in response to a third viewer command.
[0010] According to another embodiment, a method for time-shifting
video and program related information (PRI) in an enhanced
television program is provided which includes the steps of
receiving a television signal with embedded data representative of
an address for an Internet site including PRI, extracting the
embedded data from the television signal, storing the embedded data
in a memory, selecting an Internet mode in response to a first
viewer command, communicating with an Internet service provider to
retrieve information from the Internet site including the PRI,
displaying a television program contained in the television signal
in a first portion of a display screen and the PRI in a second
portion of the display screen, storing the television signal in a
time-shifting apparatus and continuously displaying a still frame
from the stored television signal in response to a second viewer
command, and simultaneously displaying the television program
subsequent to the still frame from the stored television signal and
continuing to store the television signal as it is received in
response to a third viewer command.
[0011] According to an alternate embodiment, one or more suspend
flags are embedded in the television signal, and the "pause"
operation wherein the television signal is stored in the
time-shifting apparatus and the still frame displayed in response
to detection of such a suspend flag. This feature may be
deactivated such that the "pause" operation is only performed in
response to a viewer command.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The foregoing features and advantages of the invention will
be better understood by referring to the following drawings:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a time-shifting
apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a display screen in an Internet mode of the
time-shifting apparatus;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a display screen accessed by the viewer from the
display screen of FIG. 2;
[0016] FIG. 4 is an alternate layout of the display screens of
FIGS. 2 and 3;
[0017] FIG. 5 is an exemplary screen of an enhanced television
program;
[0018] FIG. 6 is the exemplary screen of FIG. 5, but at a later
time;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an apparatus that implements
the time shifting of a television program and PRI;
[0020] FIG. 8 is a time plot illustrating an exemplary pause
operation;
[0021] FIG. 9 is a time plot illustrating systems operation at a
later time; and
[0022] FIG. 10 is a time plot illustrating all enhancement
information being extracted from the VBI and stored in RAM
regardless of time-shifting apparatus operation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] In FIG. 1, the reference numerals refer to the same elements
described in application Ser. No. 08/475,395 filed on Jun. 6, 1995,
the disclosure of which is incorporated fully herein by reference.
In addition, the system includes 1) an Internet service provider 33
connected to microprocessor 24 by a transmission link 34 such as a
telephone network or a television cable, 2) a VBI decoder 35, 3) a
website data memory 36 (memory 36 could be part of the RAM of
microprocessor 24 or in terms of the disclosure of the '395
application, memory 22), and 4)a digital Storage Device 52 with
associate analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters 50,
54. An interface device such as a telephone or cable modem (not
shown) couples transmission link 34 to microprocessor 24, if
necessary. Internet service provider 33 is connected to an Internet
backbone in well known fashion to access data at any site on the
WWW.
[0024] Storage device 52 is a television signal time-shifting
apparatus. One such time-shifting apparatus is disclosed in U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 08/388,345 to Russo, et al. filed Feb.
14, 1995, which is fully incorporated herein. Such a time-shifting
apparatus includes an optical disc for storage of video programs
and separate READ and WRITE heads which operate simultaneously such
that real time program information can be stored on the disc while
previously stored information on the disc can be read and output to
the television signal for display. Other storage media which are
capable of rapidly storing extremely large amounts of information
may also be used, including magnetic tape, optical disk,
magneto-optical disk, or solid state memory (i.e., a high capacity
charge coupled device), video RAM, etc.
[0025] The Storage Device 52 holds a large video data buffer (not
shown) for storing the television program in digital form.
Preferably, the Storage Device is a random access storage medium
allowing concurrent reading and writing operations, so that the
incoming television signal data may be written to the Storage
Device while earlier stored television signal data is being read
out for display on TV 20 (that is, time-shifting of the television
signal data is performed). The Storage Device 52 has two heads that
are separately positionable. When display of the television program
is to be suspended, the read head is kept in the same position
until a resume command is received. The write head, however, keeps
moving to record the incoming television signal data.
[0026] To enable a television viewer to access information about a
television program that the viewer is watching, PRI is embedded in
the VBI of the television signal carrying the television program.
For example, the PRI may be textual information regarding actors
and actresses in the show, advertisements of program-related
merchandise, brief descriptions of the plot of future episodes of
the television program, or any other text regarding the television
program, or the PRI may be text representing web pages containing
such information.
[0027] According to a preferred embodiment, the PRI is contained on
a web page, the address for which is embedded in the VBI of the
television signal. When the television signal carrying the program
being watched is captured by tuner 11, the website data embedded in
its VBI is stripped out by VBI decoder 35 and sent to
microprocessor 24 for storage in website data memory 36. The memory
addresses of the website names are linked to the website addresses
in memory 36. An icon appears on the screen of television 20 when
the television program is displayed full screen, i.e., in the TV
mode, to inform the viewer that website data accompanies the
television signal and is stored in memory 22. If the viewer wishes
to access a website in connection with the television program, the
viewer presses a button on a viewer input device 28 such as a
remote controller, which introduces the Internet mode of operation
shown in FIG. 2 and described below. Microprocessor 24 is
programmed to carry out this operation. By repeatedly pressing a
button on the viewer input device, the viewer can toggle back and
forth between the TV mode and the Internet mode. Although viewer
inputs are discussed herein as initiated by buttons on a remote
controller, other input devices can also be used. For example, a
cursor could be displayed on the television screen which is movable
around the screen and a selection can be made (i.e., "clicked")
when the cursor is in a desired location of the screen.
[0028] In the Internet mode, the video portion of the television
program last viewed in the TV mode is displayed in area 42. As an
option, a textual description of the program is displayed in an
area 44 and information about the television program, i.e., program
title, station name, and channel number are displayed in a banner
49 underneath areas 42 and 44. A message is displayed at the top of
an area 46 to prompt the viewer to select from a number of website
names displayed in area 46 by moving a cursor 48 with arrow keys on
the viewer input device. For example, if the television program is
a serial television show, for example, "Married With Children," the
website names could be information related to the show. After a
website name is selected, the viewer presses a button on the viewer
input device. As a result, the website address to which the
selected website name is linked is retrieved from memory 36 by
microprocessor 24 and sent through the telephone or cable interface
to Internet service provider 33. (If desired, this function of
microprocessor 24 could be carried out by commercial equipment sold
under the trademark WEB TV.) The information at the addressed
website is downloaded from Internet service provider 33 over link
34 to microprocessor 24 and then displayed on the screen
simultaneously with the television program to which the information
relates, as illustrated in FIG. 3, after being composed by video
processor 30. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the name of the website can
be displayed above the text of the information from the website. If
the television program is a serial television show, as previously
stated, the displayed information could include information about
the episode, cast biographies, and trivia related to the show. The
viewer then navigates about the website in the manner dictated by
the viewer's software to find the desired information.
[0029] An alternative layout of the television screen for the
present invention is shown in FIG. 4. In this layout, the
television program is displayed in a majority portion 60 of the
screen while the PRI is displayed along two border regions 62. The
Web page including the PRI can be specifically configured to
display the PRI in the border regions and an area designated for
the real time image in the PIP. The PIP circuitry 19 is specially
configured to a smaller reduction ratio, for example 1.5:1 rather
than 3:1 for a standard PIP, in order to produce the larger PIP
display.
[0030] The screen portion 60 displays a television program
consisting of moving images. Referring back to FIG. 1, when the
viewer interacts with the website data or other PRI displayed on
the television screen, the viewer's attention is diverted from the
television program being shown to the website data. The viewer is
then missing what is happening in the television program until the
viewer's interaction with the PRI is concluded. To overcome this
situation, an additional component, Storage Device 52, described
above, is added to the system to "time-shift" the display of the
television program. As the television signal is being received by
Tuner 11, the signal is forwarded through IF Amp 12 and Picture DET
13 to VCR 17. The VCR sends the signal through an analog to digital
converter (A/D) 50 to Storage Device 52. The Storage Device is
under the control of the Microprocessor 24 and is capable of
storing the incoming television signal in real-time as digital
information for future use.
[0031] As the television signal is being stored, if a viewer wants
to interact with the PRI such as website data or other textual
information being displayed on the television screen, the viewer
sends a command to the microprocessor 24 via the viewer input
device 28. The viewer action to send the command could, for
example, consist of pushing a button on the viewer input device. In
response, the microprocessor 24 controls VCR 17 to output the
television signal to the Storage Device 52 which begins storing the
television signal, including the PRI information embedded in the
VBI. The Storage Device 52 simultaneously outputs the first stored
frame of the video signal to the signal processing unit for
extended display on television 32. The television 32 continues to
display this frame until controlled by the viewer to continue
without effect on any viewer activity with the PRI shown in the
remainder of the display screen. The viewer then interacts with the
PRI as described above.
[0032] When the viewer is done interacting with the PRI, the viewer
sends a command to the microprocessor 24 to resume display of the
television program. However, instead of displaying the incoming
television signal from Tuner 11, the VCR directs the delivery of
the stored television signal data output from the READ head of
Storage Device 52 through Digital-to-Analog Converter (D/A) 54 and
SW 18 to PIP 19 for display on TV 20. The data displayed is that
part of the television program immediately subsequent to the point
of suspension. That is, it has been time-shifted. The incoming
television signal data continues to be stored by the WRITE head of
the Storage Device 52 in a time-ordered manner regardless of the
functioning of the READ head. In other words, when display of the
television program is to be suspended, the READ head is kept in the
same position until a resume command is received. The WRITE head,
however, keeps moving to record the incoming television signal
data. Hence, at this time the data being stored is not the same
data that is being displayed; there is a time lag between the two
sets of data. In this manner, the viewer may continue watching the
program without losing continuity of the program or PRI content.
The viewer can position a cursor and enter input to freeze the
display of the television program image on command.
[0033] In another embodiment, the PRI is contained on several web
pages, each corresponding to a particular portion of the program
and transmitted chronologically throughout the duration of the
program. The television signal including the embedded website
addresses is stored on the Storage Device 52 and hence the
corresponding Web pages remain linked to the appropriate portion of
the television program as the signal is read out from the Storage
Device 52 after a "pause" operation. In this manner, the viewer may
continue watching the program without losing continuity of the
program or PRI content.
[0034] The audio portion of the television signal is also stored in
the Storage Device along with the video portion. When the live
television program is put into a "freeze" frame state, the audio
portion of the television program is also suspended and not
transmitted to the viewer. Instead, the audio portion is stored.
When display of the suspended television program is resumed, the
audio data is obtained from the Storage Device along with the video
portion and forwarded by VCR 17 through Sound Amp 15 and
loudspeaker 16 to the viewer.
[0035] In another embodiment, the television signal is already in
digital form, such as for high-definition digital television
(HDTV). Therefore, an analog to digital conversion is unnecessary.
The Storage Device continuously stores the television signal in a
wraparound fashion whenever the system is operational, overwriting
the oldest previously stored television signal data when the
Storage Device becomes full. The Storage Device should be large
enough to hold two to three hours of television programming before
overwriting earlier broadcast television signal data.
[0036] The present invention allows a viewer to interrupt his or
her viewing of a television program to interact with PRI carried in
the VBI of the television signal and displayed on the television
screen, and yet rejoin the television program at a later point in
time without missing any of the program.
[0037] In another embodiment, the display of the incoming
television signal may be suspended automatically by inserting a
suspend flag into the VBI, rather than by an explicit action by the
viewer. When the suspend flag is detected by the microprocessor 24
after decoding by VBI decoder 35, the microprocessor instructs the
VCR via a control link (not shown) to suspend the current display
of the television signal. Resumption of display of the television
program is commenced by viewer input. The viewer could also
override the automatic suspension feature provided by the suspend
flag by setting a predetermined control value to override all
automatic suspend flags, or by entering viewer input when the
suspension activity occurs in order to rapidly rejoin the
television program in progress. Alternatively, a resume flag is
inserted into the VBI at a predetermined time after the suspend
flag. When the resume flag is received, the microprocessor
automatically controls the VCR to resume display of the television
program.
[0038] According to yet another embodiment, the viewer may access
the information as any other storage media, such as a video tape,
and pause, rewind, or fast forward to different portions of the
program stored on the disc after the initially "pause" command. It
may be desirable to continuously record the program on the
time-shifting apparatus 46 regardless of a viewer "pause" command
to allow for these functions over a period of time, limited only by
the storage capacity of the time-shifting device.
[0039] Text-enhanced television programs incorporate
program-related information (PRI) consisting of text and graphics
which may be displayed simultaneously with the regular video
portion of the television program in an enhancement mode. For
example, the enhancement mode of one type of text-enhanced
television program consists of a display with the video portion of
the program in a picture-in-picture (PIP) window and textual
information and/or graphics, also referred to as the
"enhancements," in the remaining portion of the display area of the
television screen.
[0040] Typically, the enhancements are inserted into the vertical
blanking interval (VBI) of the television signal and transmitted
simultaneously with the video signal. The enhancements may also be
transmitted synchronously with, but separate from the video
portion, e.g., via an interface device such as a telephone or cable
modem. The enhancements may include cast members' biographies,
trivia about the show, information relating to the particular
episode or scene, and closeups of information that cannot be
readily seen or is hidden in the video portion of the program.
[0041] To provide maximum flexibility in the use of the invention
with various hardware configurations various embodiments of the
invention incorporate menu selection. Enhanced information
displayed with a video signal that utilizes picture in picture
technology requires a more sophisticated and flexible programming
interface than is typically available on the front panel of the
television or through the remote control device. Such a enhanced
display is particularly amenable to the use of an interface such as
an electronic program guide (EPG). EPGs are used to view program
listings, supplemental information and to facilitate the recording
of television broadcasts as well as any other function that may be
programmed into the guide. These guides provide a flexible means of
implementing the features of the present invention in addition to
the other functions enumerated. Such a guide is described in PCT
Publication No. WO 99/04561, published Jan. 28, 1999, the
disclosure of which is incorporated fully herein by reference.
[0042] Enhancements that convey information may be taken directly
from the Internet, such as in WebTV. WebTV allows the enhancements
to be displayed on the screen as previously described. However, the
enhancements are web pages that are taken from the Internet and
displayed on the television screen in coordination with the
televised programming. These enhancements may be automatically
displayed when triggered by the television program, or they may
remain hidden until the viewer initiates their display. The web
pages displayed may remain in place till the viewer makes a new
selection, or the web pages displayed may change when triggered by
a new web page address sent along with the video signal.
[0043] Some enhancements may be time dependent on the program. For
example, the enhancements may change to correspond to a particular
scene or frame of the television program, such as in the exemplary
screen of an enhanced television program shown in FIG. 5. The
display includes a video portion 510 in a PIP window 514, depicting
a scene in which two characters are playing poker, and an
enhancement portion 516. The enhancement portion includes a query
518 about the rules of poker and a closeup 520 showing each
player's hand at that particular time, which is shown on a clock
522 to be 8:40 pm.
[0044] FIG. 6 shows a later frame of the same scene, 8:43 pm
according to clock 522. The players have exchanged cards and their
new card hands are shown in closeup area 520. The enhancement
portion 516 also includes an answer 524 to query 518 of FIG. 5.
[0045] With so much information on the screen, some of which is
changing at a fairly rapid pace, it is desirable to provide the
viewer the option of pausing a particular frame of a text-enhanced
program display and then resume viewing the program without losing
continuity of the video and enhancement portions of the program or
program content.
[0046] For example, if the viewer desires to spend some time
viewing the web page information displayed it is desirable to
freeze the television program being viewed in the PIP window, while
the viewer peruses the web information on the main screen. However,
in the current state of the art if the viewer freezes the frame, or
closes the PIP window, of the television program he will miss
programming broadcast during the time he spent viewing the web
pages. Thus, it is desirable to provide a buffer circuit that will
store the received broadcast from the time the frame was frozen.
The result is that the viewer will resume viewing a time shifted
program from the point where he became distracted.
[0047] FIG. 7 shows an apparatus that will implement time-shifting
of the television program and PRI. If the PRI automatically
triggers the display of a web page it is desirable to delay the
triggering of this data's display so as not to disturb the viewers
perusal of the web page currently displayed. In FIG. 7 the
time-shifting apparatus 746 receives the composite video signal
containing supplemental data or web page locations to control
sequencing and accessing web data through the Internet access
provider 760. In the normal viewing mode the time-shifting
apparatus is either bypassed with a switch 740 or, alternatively by
passing the data through the time-shifting device without delay
being introduced.
[0048] The time-shifting apparatus is typically configured as a
first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer. FIFO buffers are readily
available as semiconductor devices. The state of the art in FIFO
design has advanced to such a point where large quantities of data
may be stored economically in the semiconductor devices. Up to
seven hours of video data may be stored in this manner.
[0049] A FIFO memory chip stores data in binary form. A digital
television signal is easily and directly stored in a FIFO memory
buffer without additional signal processing. The FIFO of the
time-shifting apparatus is configured such that each picture frame
is stored at an address location in the buffering chip. When the
readout of the memory is commanded this occurs frame-by-frame.
[0050] In the case of the television signal being a conventional
analog or NTSC signal the time-shifting apparatus must first
digitize the received channel so that it may be stored in digital
form. Digitization is accomplished with A/D converters that convert
an analog signal to a series of samples whose magnitudes are
quantified as a number, typically binary. However, the
quantification may be done in any convenient base, as will be
appreciated by those skilled in the art
[0051] In alternative embodiments of the invention multiple tuners
and time-shifting apparatus may be provided so that a user may
program several alternatives for an evening's viewing of different
channels, and view them in an uninterrupted manner when switching
among channels. In this manner if the next show to be viewed that
has been time shifted proves uninteresting, one or more time
shifted alternative programs is available. If multiple time shift
devices are available for each programed channel the viewer can
back up to the beginning of the tine slot and switch to an
alternate program without missing the beginning. Alternatively, a
signal tuner may be preprogrammed to tune to various channels at
various times thus providing a continuous signal to a single
time-shifting apparatus for time shifted viewing of a preprogrammed
series of programs.
[0052] In an embodiment of the time-shifting apparatus the FIFO may
consist of EEPROMS. These are memory chips that are electrically
erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMS). These memory
devices have an internal switch on the chip that permits the user
to electrically rewrite new contents into the memory when desired.
These circuits provide nonvolatile and re-programmable random word
access memory.
[0053] In alternative embodiments of the invention the
time-shifting apparatus may also supplement its memory capacity by
using secondary memory. High capacity memory that has a slower
access speed has been traditionally provided by disk drives and
tape drives as secondary memory. These secondary memory options may
be used alone to provide time-shifting of programming or may be
used in conjunction with semiconductor buffers. The semiconductor
buffers may be used to provide a small time period of storage with
the secondary memory being used to augment the capacity of the
semiconductor memory. The amount to which secondary memory use is
desirable in a system is dependent upon the cost and performance
trade offs required in the design, and will be readily appreciated
by those skilled in the art of electronic design.
[0054] Recently optical recording has been replacing magnetic
storage media. They may be used as a disposable media. Once the
disk is full it is discarded. A laser beam is used to burn pits in
the recording media that represent bits of information. A lower
power laser beam is used to sense the presence or absence of pits
in reading the disk. However, this media is not inherently erasable
and discarding the disk is undesirable, unless one is provided with
large capacity.
[0055] Alternative embodiments utilize erasable optical disks.
These disks utilize magneto optic technology. In this technology a
magnetic domain of approximately 1 .mu.m in diameter is switched up
or down by an external magnetic field after application of a laser
beam that heats the domain reducing its coercivity, thus allowing
the domain to flip state. The disk is read by a low power polarized
laser beam that is rotated slightly depending upon whether the
domain is magnetized up or down.
[0056] FIFOs may be alternatively provided by semiconductor bubble
memory devices. These are chips but differ from other semiconductor
memories by utilizing magnetic devices. In these devices the
presence of absence of a magnetic domain is the basis for reading a
binary 1 or 0. These memories are compact and extremely fast.
[0057] According to one embodiment of the invention, a television
system is provided which allows a viewer of a text-enhanced
television program to pause the program at a particular frame,
browse the enhancements at his or her leisure, and then resume
viewing the program from that frame, without losing continuity of
the video and enhancement portions of the program or program
content.
[0058] When viewing a time shifted program that is being played
back through the buffer a subscriber may wish to fast forward
through the time shifted program so that its ending time will
roughly correspond to the end time that was originally scheduled.
This may be achieved in several ways. To do this an embodiment
allows the frames to be played back at a faster rate than is normal
is utilized, with or without audio. In a further alternate
embodiment the rate of frame playback is kept the same. However one
or more frames are skipped during the playback. When skipping
frames the supplemental data or web addresses that correspond to a
skipped frame are either assigned to the previous or preceding
frame, so that the web address is not lost. In a further alternate
embodiment play back is sped up by eliminating commercials and
station breaks that are provided with markers that indicate when
skipping should occur.
[0059] The viewer may also introduce markers in alternative
embodiments of the invention. By pushing a button on the remote a
marker is introduced where the viewer desires, such as where he
desires to begin perusing web information. A marker may also be
introduced when he finishes to mark where the viewer's attention
returned to the television program. Rapid frame advance may be used
between these markers to determine if anything good has been
missed, or to go back to where the viewer lost the plot and begin
watching from that point.
[0060] In an embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, the enhancements are
inserted into the VBI of the television signal and are synchronized
with the video portion of the signal. A microprocessor 730 controls
a signal processing unit for extracting the enhancement information
from the VBI and processing both the video signal and enhancement
information for display on a television 732. The signal processing
unit includes a VBI decoder/slicer 734, an IF amp 736, and a PIP
generator 738.
[0061] The microprocessor also controls a switch 740. The
television signal is input to the switch directly from a tuner 744.
The microprocessor controls the switch to route the television
signal directly to the signal processing unit, or to a
time-shifting apparatus 746.
[0062] An exemplary time-shifting apparatus is described in
application Ser. No. 08/475,395 filed on Jun. 6, 1995, and PCT
Publication No. WO 98/48566 published Oct. 20, 1998, the
disclosures of which are incorporated fully herein by
reference.
[0063] One such exemplary time-shifting apparatus is disclosed in
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/388,345 to Russo, et al. filed
Feb. 14, 1995, which is fully incorporated herein. Such a
time-shifting apparatus includes an optical disc for storage of
video programs and separate READ and WRITE heads which operate
simultaneously such that real time program information can be
stored on the disc while previously stored information on the disc
can be read and output to the television signal for display.
[0064] Another type of time-shifting apparatus is disclosed in U.S.
Pat. No. 5,241,428 to Goldwasser, which is also fully incorporate
herein. Any time-shifting apparatus capable of simultaneously
storing new information and outputting previously stored
information for display is acceptable for use with the various
embodiments of the invention.
[0065] When the viewer presses a "PAUSE" button (not shown) on a
remote controller 748, the remote controller 748 sends a command
signal via an IR transmitter 750 to the IR receiver 752 of
microprocessor 730.
[0066] In response, the microprocessor 730 controls switch 740 to
output the television signal to time-shifting apparatus 740 which
begins storing the television signal, including the enhancement
information embedded in the VBI. The time-shifting apparatus
simultaneously outputs the first stored frame of the video signal
to the signal processing unit for extended display on television
732. The television 732 continues to display this frame until
controlled by the viewer to continue. When the viewer wishes to
resume viewing the program, the viewer presses a "PLAY" button (not
shown) on the remote controller which in turn commands the
micro-controller to control the time-shifting apparatus to begin
reading the stored program from the point of the paused frame,
while simultaneously continuing to record the real time broadcast
television signal. In this manner, the viewer may continue watching
the program without losing continuity of the program or program
content.
[0067] FIG. 8 is a time plot illustrating an exemplary "pause"
operation. FIG. 8 represents system operations from 8:30 pm to 8:45
pm. From 8:30 pm to 8:40 pm, the viewer watches a text-enhanced
television program in real time. At 8:40 pm, the viewer pauses the
program, at which time the time-shifting apparatus begins recording
the real time broadcast signal and outputs the first stored frame
for display on the television 32. At 8:45 pm, the viewer controls
the system to resume the program at which time the first frame is
played back at the desired rate. As shown in FIG. 9, which depicts
systems operations from 8:30 pm to 8:50 pm. between 8:40 pm and
8:50 pm, the television has displayed the portion of the program
broadcast between 8:40 and 8:45 and the time-shifting apparatus has
stored the portion of the program broadcast between 8:40 pm and
8:50 pm.
[0068] In another embodiment, the microprocessor is connected to an
Internet access provider 760 (FIG. 7). According to this
embodiment, the enhancement portion of the television signal
includes an Internet site and/or world wide web site addresses
which may be displayed on the screen and accessed in an interactive
manner by the viewer. The actual Internet site address may be
displayed on the screen or a representative icon or name for the
site. In this manner, the enhancement information transmitted with
the video portion of the program may be linked to related Internet
sites. The viewer may access such Internet links from the
enhancement portion of the television display at any time the link
is shown, even while paused. The Internet sites accessed from the
enhancements may be themselves linked to other Internet or web
sites.
[0069] In a further embodiment, the enhancement information
includes internal links. For example, in FIG. 6, answer 524 may be
linked to query 518 such that when the viewer selects answer 524
with a cursor (not shown), query 518 would reappear, e.g., in order
to remind the viewer what the question was. In this embodiment, the
microprocessor 730 is connected to a RAM 762 (FIG. 7). The real
time broadcast signal is continuously routed to the microprocessor
and all enhancement information extracted from the VBI is stored in
the RAM, regardless of whether or not the time-shifting apparatus
746 is operating, as illustrated in FIG. 10. Thus, while watching a
time shifted text-enhanced program, the viewer is able to link to
enhancement information broadcast prior or subsequent to the
particular frame currently displayed.
[0070] Alternatively, all enhancement information may be
transmitted en masse at the beginning of the program and stored in
the RAM for future reference.
[0071] According to yet another embodiment, the viewer may access
the information as any other storage media, such as a video tape,
and pause, rewind, or fast forward to different portions of the
program stored on the disc after the initially "pause" command. It
may be desirable to continuously record the program on the
time-shifting apparatus 46 regardless of a viewer "pause" command
to allow for these functions over a period of time, limited only by
the storage capacity of the time-shifting device.
[0072] In alternative embodiments the enhancements to the
television signal may be transmitted by other means than the
vertical blanking interval (VBI). The television signal would
contain a trigger signal to initiate the transmission of
information. Such a signal typically consists of pilot tones in the
case of analog transmission, or a digital preamble in the case of a
HDTV signal being digitally modulated. This information thus
triggered may be transmitted over a modem connected to the
microprocessor or via a wireless communications link, such as by a
pager, cellular telephone, or cordless telephone. Additionally the
supplemental information may be stored in the memory 762 for use at
a later time.
[0073] In alternative embodiments the television signal may be
provided by an Internet access provider. Such an Internet service
provider (ISP) may also include supplemental information in the
form of web addresses. In this case a back-link may be provided
through a modem, cordless telephone, pager, or cellular telephone
to control time shifted playback of the television signal.
[0074] When an ISP is part of the system configuration the ISP's
server may be utilized as a primary or secondary storage location
of time shifted programming. Received programming that has been
digitized may be sent over a back link to the ISP for storage and
subsequent retrieval by the viewer from the server.
[0075] In an alternative embodiment, if streaming video is being
broadcast over the Internet then the bit stream may be routed
through the time-shifting buffer to realize the same benefits as
previously described. In this embodiment the shifting of the buffer
is used to augment the time-shifting capabilities of the streaming
technology.
[0076] Although the present invention has been described with
respect to particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will
appreciate that the present invention may be modified without
departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, all such
modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the
invention as defined by the following claims.
* * * * *