Thomson Licensing

Deutsche Thomson-brandt Gmbh

Thomas Licensing

Tixel Gmbh

Carsten Herpel

Ralf Ostermann

Dirk Gandolph

Hartmut Peters

Jobst Hoerentrup

Marco Winter

Andrej Schewzow

Uwe Janssen

Jobst Hörentrup

Dirk Adolph

Heinz-Werner Keesen

Axel Kochale

Jobst Höerentrup

Harald Schiller

Meinolf Blawat

Markus Schlosser

Dietmar Hepper

Michael Drexler

Ralf Koehler

Jobst Horentrup

Jobst Hoerentrop

Ingo Hutter

Dietrich Westerkamp

Ingo Huetter

Uwe Jannsen

Lars Eric Fuerst

Ralf Einhom

Edgar Peters

Jobst HÖRENTRUP

Hartmunt Peters

Ralf Einhorn

A method for generating an on-screen menu comprising menu buttons and other menu items, e.g. help text, is characterized in that one or more groups of menu buttons or menu items are defined, wherein a group comprises one or more menu buttons or menu items and has associated a defined area on the screen. A state is assigned to a button, the state being 'enabled' or 'disabled', wherein only an enabled button or item may be displayed, and wherein within a group not more than one button or item may be enabled. The state of a button can be changed by commands associated with other buttons.

Method for generating an on-screen menu

Consumer electronic devices, such as e.g. high-definition movie players for removable storage media such as optical discs, may provide possibilities for advanced interactivity for the user, implemented as software applications. A question arising generally with such software applications is what the life cycle of such an application is, and who may control it. The invention provides a method for executing software applications within a playback device for audio-video data, wherein data from a first removable storage medium are read for a software application to be executed within said playback device, and the data comprise an indication defining a termination condition for the application. Based on said termination code and depending on how the medium holding the application is ejected, the application is terminated or may survive.

Method and apparatus for executing software applications

Multimedia content of exchangeable storage media, such as optical discs, may be extended by bonus content that is downloaded via Internet connection and stored on a local storage device. An improved method for integration of different menu items relating to on-disc content and downloaded content provides flexibility and a simple, low cost solution. The method for integration of downloaded bonus content into a menu comprises defining one or more placeholders within a menu, determining a storage location or naming convention for bonus content, declaring for each placeholder an attribute providing a unique association to a specific type of bonus content, providing a button image, detecting presence of bonus content data, replacing the associated placeholder by the associated button image and enabling an associated action to be taken when said button is selected.

Method and device for composing a menu

Local storage on player instruments provides the ability for adding further amendments and most recent supplements to the optical disc content. A problem arising with this technically applicable possibility is the protection of copyrights bound to disc and supplement data. The present invention describes a technique to ensure a security framework that is able to handle this, by creating a virtual file system (VFS) by merging optical disc data and local storage data based upon a common identifier.

Bonding contents on separate storage media

A method for generating multi-language menus comprises grouping language-dependent menu resource files on a storage medium, and selecting only those menu resource files from a group that are labeled with an indication that matches the preferred menu language of the respective player.

Method for generating multi-language menus

Growing community of inventors

Wennigsen, Germany

Carsten Herpel