Sony United Kingdom Limited

Sony Corporation

Arthur Simon Waller

Lothar Stadelmeier

Dietmar Schill

Antonio Alarcon Gonzalez

Daniel Alexander Temple

Jurgen Geerlings

Anthony David Shaw

Antony David Shaw

Terrence Ralph Hurley

Antonio Gonzalez

A digital signal transmitter in which multiple data streams are each transmitted by modulation of a respective frequency band within one of a group of frequency channels, the frequency bands each occupying no more than a predetermined maximum bandwidth less than or equal to the channel width; comprises means for transmitting at respective frequency positions within each frequency channel, one or more instances of band information defining the frequency bands corresponding to all of the data streams carried within that frequency channel, the one or more instances being arranged so that any portion of the frequency channel equal in extent to the predetermined maximum bandwidth includes at least one instance of the band information.

Digital signal transmission and reception

A digital broadcast media recording apparatus has means for determining if a program which is scheduled to be broadcast has already been recorded, and, if it has been, for deciding if the program which is scheduled to be broadcast should be recorded based on a comparison of the attributes of the digital signal representing the scheduled program and corresponding attributes of the digital signal representing the recorded program. If it is determined that the scheduled program should be recorded, a control means gives an instruction which causes a recording unit to record the broadcast digital system representing the scheduled program when it is broadcast. Optionally, the digital signal representing the recorded program can be deleted once the digital signal representing the scheduled program is recorded. An identifier is used to determine whether the scheduled program is the same as a recorded program. This means that if the attributes of the digital signal representing the scheduled program are considered to be more desirable than the attributes of the digital signal representing the recorded program, the scheduled program can be stored on a storage media instead of, or as well as, the recorded version of the program.

Recording apparatus

A television receiver device including first and second tuners for receiving first and second multiplexes of channels, each multiplex including at least one channel carrying a succession of programs, actual event information providing information relating to channels in the respective multiplex and other event information providing information relating to channels of other multiplexes. A program is scheduled to be broadcast at the same time in different first and second formats respectively in the first and second multiplexes. The device further includes a user interface configured to allow selection of a channel of said first multiplex; a controller configured to tune said first tuner to said first multiplex and to select said channel of said first multiplex; wherein the controller is configured to be responsive to the channel selected by the user interface carrying said program to tune said second tuner to said second multiplex. The device further includes an event unit configured to acquire from said second multiplex actual event information for said program.

Television receiver device

A network terminator for connection to a digital broadcast system, the network terminator including a front end for receiving downstream data packets and having a Medium Access Control unit for transmitting upstream data, a processor having at least one data interface, the processor distinguishing data protocols so as to route appropriate received data packets to said data interface and having an ATM segmentation unit for preparing ATM cells for transmission by the front end, and a telephony unit for connection to at least one analog telephone line and for converting analogue speech signals to/from digital packets, wherein the processor routes appropriate received data packets to the telephony unit and prepares ATM cells from digital packets from the telephony unit for transmission by the front end.

Network terminator

A method and device for counting the number of consecutive data symbols in a stream of data bytes, the device comprising a main counter for maintaining a count which is incremented/decremented for each respective consecutive data byte of said stream and adjustment means for incrementing/decrementing the count of the main counter, after every occurrence of a predetermined number of consecutive data bytes, by an adjustment value determined according to the ratio of the number of bits in the bytes to the number of bits in the symbols, such that the count represents a count of data symbols and a method and device for generating a synchronization signal from a received MPEG data stream with a MAC message containing an Upstream Slot Marker Pointer, the device including the above counting device, a controller for starting main counter according to a received MPEG synchronization signal and synchronization means for generating the synchronization signal once the main counter has counted the number of symbols indicated by the Upstream Slot Marker Pointer.

Data symbol counting device, synchronizing device and method

A demultiplexer for selectively demultiplexing ATM signals and MPEG signals received at an input of the demultiplexer, the demultiplexer comprising an MPEG demultiplexer for demultiplexing an MPEG transport stream, an ATM section for identifying MPEG transport stream data in an ATM signal, and a selection unit for selectively connecting the input to the MPEG demultiplexer or the ATM section according to whether the received signal is an MPEG signal or an ATM signal, wherein the demultiplexer comprises a memory shared between the demultiplexer and the ATM section and the ATM section processes ATM signals by storing the received signals in the memory and providing the MPEG demultiplexer with addresses appropriate for the MPEG demultiplexer to retrieve demultiplexed data from the memory.

Demultiplexer

An ATM circuit for use in re-assembly of ATM cells containing ATM payloads comprising an input unit for receiving interleaved ATM cells derived from ATM packets relating to respective virtual channels and a checker for checking the ATM cells of an ATM packet of a selected virtual channel with respect to ATM packet trailer information contained in the ATM cells of the ATM packet, the ATM circuit being configured to output the ATM cell payloads in the original interleaved state, a main processor being configured to receive the ATM payloads output by the ATM circuit and to deinterleave the ATM cell payloads by storing the ATM cell payloads in a memory, the checker producing check data representing the results of the checking and the ATM circuit being configured to output the check data together with corresponding ATM cell payloads.

ATM re-assembly circuit and method

An integrated circuit for use in a digital set top box including at least one control unit, a plurality of data processing units and common data bus for connecting at least two of the processing units to a common external memory wherein two or more common data buses may be provided for the plurality of data processing units and, where there are a plurality of control units, a separate control bus may be provided connecting the control units.

Growing community of inventors

Basingstoke, United Kingdom

Arthur Simon Waller