Thomson Licensing

Janghwan Lee

Charles William Worrell

Carlton Jethro Simmons

A system and/or method that reduces the blanking time between changing from one video channel to another video channel, particularly from a digital video channel. The system provides as much video of the old video channel as possible for display until video from the new channel is acquired. Particularly, video output signal from the old channel which is stored in a video packet buffer is provided until the video packet buffer is underflowed (underflow condition or event). This is accomplished while the system is acquiring the new video channel (i.e. the selector in the case of an analog or different frequency digital video channel, or a PID filter of an MPEG transport stream decoder thereof in the case of a digital video subchannel of the old digital video channel). Blanking of the video output may or may not be accomplished if the new video is acquired before an video packet buffer underflow condition or event, else blanking may occur for only a short period of time. This can save about 400-500 ms.

System and method for changing television channels in a video signal processor

The invention provides a video recording and playback system comprising a video storing and retrieving device coupled to a video display device so as to provide the video display device with frames of video data for display. The video storing and retrieving device includes at least one memory capable of storing frames of video data, comprising packets according to a format. The format provides a trick mode indicator. A controller is coupled to the memory and controls operations of the memory. A user control device is operable with the controller to allow a user to communicate stop and pause commands to the controller. A processor cooperates with the controller so as to clear the trick mode indicator of at least one retrieved packet in response to the stop command. The processor cooperates with the controller to set the trick mode indicator of at least one retrieved packet in response to the pause command.

Apparatus and method for communicating stop and pause commands in a video recording and playback system

A system and a method for modifying a stream of multimedia content to implement trick mode playback functions in MPEG receivers that do not follow general MPEG trick mode implementation recommendations. The system can include a processor that sets a discontinuity indicator in an adaptation field associated with a video frame. A substitute program clock reference (PCR) value also can be set in the adaptation field. The substitute PCR value can be set to a value approximately equal to a presentation time stamp (PTS) of the video frame with which the adaptation field is associated. The processor also can insert an adaptation field with at least one video frame with which an adaptation field was not already associated. The processor also can remove at least one video frame from the stream of multimedia content. Adaptation fields associated with the removed video frame also can be removed.

Exploitation of discontinuity indicator for trick mode operation

There is provided a method for detecting signal conditions for Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) streams. Alternate-mode flags and valid frames within the MPEG streams are detected within a pre-defined search window. An indication that a valid signal is detected is output, when an alternate-mode flag and at least one valid frame are both detected within a same one of the predefined search window.

Method and system for detecting weak or invalid signals in data streams

The disclosed embodiments relate to a system and method for modifying video signals. The system may comprise at least one decoder that decodes a video signal that comprises embedded picture setting data, and a video processor that is adapted to detect whether the system is operating in an on-screen display ('OSD') mode, apply the embedded picture setting data if the system is not in the OSD mode, and withhold the embedded picture setting data if the system is in the OSD mode. The method may comprise the acts of decoding a video signal that comprises embedded picture setting data, detecting whether a system is operating in the OSD mode, applying the embedded picture setting data if the system is not in the OSD mode, and withholding the embedded picture setting data if the system is in the OSD mode.

System and a method to avoid on-screen fluctuations due to input signal changes while in an OSD or graphic centric mode

A system, apparatus and/or method included in or embodied as a television signal receiver synchronizes auxiliary data with an auxiliary video output signal for appropriately inserting closed captioning into the auxiliary video signal. In one form, the television signal receiver correlates a main video signal with the auxiliary video signal in order to ascertain when and/or where to insert the auxiliary data in to the auxiliary video signal. In an exemplary manner, the field information between a video portion of a main television signal and a video portion of an auxiliary output television signal is tracked for determining field inversion between the two. Through the determination of field inversion between the video portion of the main television signal and the video portion of the auxiliary output television signal, auxiliary data such as closed caption, extended data service and the like, is provided to (inserted in) an auxiliary television signal output in a sequence proper for the sequence of video data being provided thereto. Proper sequencing of the auxiliary data allows the auxiliary data to be provided appropriately with the auxiliary video portion of the television signal to the auxiliary television signal output. Additionally, the system, method and/or apparatus provides a field delay if a deinterlacer is used (i.e. to produce a signal suitable for progressive scan images).

Auxiliary signal synchronization for closed captioning insertion

A video data stream containing picture video and a vertical synchronization signal is processed in a microprocess that performs statistical evaluation of the frequency of the vertical synchronization signal of the video data stream. The statistical evaluation includes producing the statistical mean value and variance of the frequency of the vertical synchronization signal.

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Westfield, IN, United States of America

Janghwan Lee