Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc.

Rca Inc.

Thomson Licensing

Thomson Licensing S.a.

Gregory George Tamer

Michael Scott Deiss

James Edwin Hailey

John William Chaney

Max Ward Muterspaugh

William A Lagoni

Thomas Edward Horlander

Kevin Elliott Bridgewater

Terry Wayne Lockridge

Abraham E Rindal

Kevin Lloyd Grimes

David E Hollinden

Todd Goosman

Kevin Elliot Bridgewater

Peter M Murphy

An adaptive transport protocol decoder includes a source of a stream of packets, each including a payload, and having a first transport protocol, and a source of a stream of packets, each including a payload, and having a second transport protocol. A protocol decoder, coupled to the first and second packet stream sources, extracts the respective payloads from the packets from a selected one of the first and second packet stream sources.

Adaptive transport protocol

A method and an apparatus for processing a packetized transport stream that determines whether a sequence of transport packets are received in a proper sequence and whether an error is present in a particular transport packet. The method includes the steps of determining a packet identifier for identifying transport packets associated with a selected program and parsing a packetized transport stream to identify and capture the desired sequence of transport packets in response to the packet identifier. The method further includes the steps of detecting a counter portion, determining whether a desired sequence of transport packets has been received in response to the counter portion, detecting a one bit toggle portion, and determining whether an error exits in the associated transport packet in response to the one bit toggle portion. An apparatus for implementing the method is also disclosed.

Conditional access filter as for a packet video signal inverse transport system

Apparatus in a receiver, for processing transmitted entitlement control information, includes a packet transport processor for selecting signal packets having payloads containing a conditional access payload header and a remaining payload of entitlement data. Respective payload headers include groups of bytes which are coded in a manner to allow or disallow the respective receiver from processing the entitlement data. A conditional access filter preprogrammed with a subscriber specific conditional access codeword examines respective byte groupings of the conditional access header for a match with the subscriber specific conditional access codeword. Only if a match occurs is the processor permitted to process the entitlement data. The entitlement data is thereafter utilized to generate decryption keys for descrambling portions of the transmitted signal.

Apparatus for selecting predetermined ones of packets of signal components, from a signal stream of packets includes a control device, responsive to user selection and a transmitted program guide, for determining packet identifier codes, SCID's, for respective program signal components. SCID's, from respective packets in the signal stream, are successively compared with selected, stored SCID's. Transmitted signal components associated with appropriately detected SCID's are coupled to decryption apparatus. The decryption apparatus selects from a plurality of decryption keys in accordance with decryption flags include in transmitted signal packets. Decryption keys per se are provided by a smart card.

Packet TV program component detector

Conditional access filter as for a packet video signal inverse transport

In an inverse transport processor of the type which directs video payloads of a packet signal to buffer memory space, apparatus is included for writing a media error codes at sequential first memory address locations in the memory ahead of each packet payload. Concurrently a processor examines the current packet to determine if it occurs in proper sequence. If a packet is lost, the payload is written to memory in subsequent sequential address locations. If there is no packet loss, the sequential first memory address locations are simply overwritten by the packet payload to excise the undesired media error code. Media error codes can thus be inserted in the packet payload stream without creating timing obstacles, for a system designer.

Media error code generation as for a video inverse transport processor

Apparatus for selecting predetermined ones of packets of signal components, from a signal stream of packets includes a control device, responsive to user selection and a transmitted program guide, for determining packet identifier codes, SCID's, for respective program signal components. The respective component SCID's are stored in progrommable registers. SCID's, from respective packets in the signal stream, are successively loaded into a further register. Comparators which are associated with the programmable registers, compare the stored SCID's with the SCID's from packets in the signal stream. Output signals from the respective comparators control the utilization of the respective signal component packets in the signal stream. Programming of SCID's in the respective programmable registers is performed according to a schedule to preclude undesired data inadvertently being accepted by the system.

A data arbitration apparatus for combining data from a plurality of data paths, wherein data from the respective data paths are clocked by respective clock signals asynchronously and at different rates includes a multiplexer to which the respective data paths are coupled. The output of the multiplexer is applied to a 'D'-type register having a dock input terminal coupled to one of the respective clock signals. The D-type register provides the combined data signal. A logic arrangement is coupled to the respective clock signals for providing control signals according to a hierarchy of importance of the signals occurring on the respective data paths. The control signals are coupled to condition the multiplexer to provide data samples from the respective data paths according to the established hierarchy. The logic arrangement is constructed such that the multiplexer switches to a different data path on a predetermined transition of the clock signal for that data path and switches back to the prior connected data path on the next predetermined transition of the clock signal associated with such prior connected data path.

Digital data arbitration apparatus

A multiplier for multiplying the modulated sound and picture carriers to produce an intercarrier sound signal in a quasi-parallel sound channel of an IF section has a pair of anti-parallel connected diodes in a limiter for generating an amplitude limited version of the picture carrier. It has been discovered that the varying capacitance of the diodes with picture amplitude can cause phase shifts and hence phase modulation interference in the intercarrier signal. The latter is especially troublesome for stereo sound reproduction. To reduce such interference, a low value resistor is shunt coupled to the diodes to inhibit the capacitance variations of the diodes and resulting undesired phase modulation in the intercarrier sound signal.

Quasi-parallel television if suitable for stereo sound reception

An IF signal filter in the IF sound channel of a television receiver exhibits peak amplitude responses which are unsymmetrical and slightly offset from the nominal picture and sound carrier frequencies by an amount dictated by the amount of tilt introduced by the tuner and the IF signal processing section. As a result, a filtered IF signal applied to a sound demodulating system exhibits a substantially symmetrical characteristic with respect to both the sound and picture carrier frequencies, yielding reduced audio buzz and harmonic distortion.

Television sound signal processor

An arrangement for a television receiver is disclosed which facilitates the coupling of synchronization signals to an on-screen display integrated circuit of the receiver. The receiver includes sources of periodic vertical and horizontal rate pulses. A composite timing signal generator combines the vertical and horizontal rate pulses so as to form a composite timing signal in which the horizontal rate pulses are absent during the duration of each vertical rate pulse. The composite timing signal is coupled via a single conductor path to an input terminal of the on-screen display circuit. The composite timing signal can be readily decoded by a simple digital counter to provide separate horizontal and vertical rate pulses for the on-screen display circuit.

Synchronization input for television receiver on-screen alphanumeric

A television receiver which can display an on-screen indication of the number of the selected TV channel includes apparatus for providing such display automatically at times when the normal TV picture becomes blanked or black. In addition, the channel number display can be provided in small characters when the picture is normal and in enlarged characters when the picture is substantially black.

Growing community of inventors

Indianapolis, IN, United States of America

Gregory George Tamer