Rca Inc.

Thomson Licensing

Thomson Licensing S.a.

Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc.

John Joseph Nigborowicz

Bradley Alan Sparks

Harold Blatter

James Edwin Hailey

Michael Joseph McLane

Karl L Friedline

A digital apparatus for reproducing a digital video representative signal stored on a recorded medium is connected to a receiving device including a decoder. The apparatus comprises a processing means for the digital video representative signal stored on the recorded medium to produce an output compressed digital video signal bit stream for decoding by the decoder. A status message generator generates a message data signal indicative of an operating mode of the apparatus. A display message combiner has a first input coupled to the message data signal and a second input coupled to receive a decoded digital video signal from the decoder, for combining the message data signal with the decoded digital video signal for display on a video monitor.

On-screen display insertion

The absence of MPEG processing in a consumer digital recorder player may preclude on-screen message display of recorder status. Various methods are disclosed which facilitate the on-screen display of recorder player status messages. A first embodiment returns a reproduced decoded, analog video signal ( ) to the digital recorder player ( ) for insertion of status messages. In a further embodiment recorder messages data ( ) is coupled to the digital signal decoder ( ) for inclusion with the decoded analog video signal ( ). In a another embodiment a recorder message command (TAG/CMD) is coupled to the decoder ( ) to access recorder specific graphical messages. In yet a further embodiment, recorder message data ( ) is tagged and coupled to the decoder ( ) to select recorder messaged data. In yet another embodiment, digital or analog operating mode determines recorder ( ) message display timing with respect to a reproduced decoded video signal.

Interface for digital recorder and display

In a videocassette recorder including VCR PLUS.TM. capability and autoprogramming capability, the channel-mapping procedure may be greatly simplified by using the autoprogramming feature to locate and program all active channels, and then by mapping only those channels which are active, instead of requiring the user to select all 125 possible channel-programming positions. It is herein recognized that it is desirable that the autoprogramming scan list and the channel guide list be independently modifiable. In one embodiment, the performance of an autoprogramming function resets the lists to a state in which both lists contain identical data.

Deletion of entries from the channel mapping list of a videocassette

A switching arrangement for selecting one of a number of video signals. The circuit includes a switch unit preferably in integrated circuit form of pairs of synchronously operated switches for selecting video signal from a particular one of the video sources. A first switch of each pair is coupled to a respective video source for selectively providing a video signal to a common output when conductive. To provide sufficient isolation at video frequencies, the second switch of each switch pair is coupled between a reference potential and a respective one of a plurality of signal inhibiting stages for providing a control signal to the signal inhibiting stage dependent upon its conductive state. The inhibiting stages are coupled between the video sources and their respective first switches and are responsive to the control signals provided by respective ones of the second switches for selectively attenuating video signal from non-selected video sources and for passing the video signal from the selected video source.

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Carmel, IN, United States of America

John Joseph Nigborowicz