Thomson Licensing

Thomson Licensing S.a.

Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc.

Steven Anthony Barron

Mark Alan Schultz

Donald Henry Willis

Jianlei James Xie

John Alan Hague

Barth Alan Canfield

Frank Dumont

David Emery Virag

Chee Lam Tan

Richard Earl Jones, Jr

James Alan Strothmann

Valerie Sacrez Liebhold

A method and apparatus for using DVD subpicture formatted information within a MPEG data stream to provide data channel information to a television receiver. More particularly, the television receiver comprises a MPEG decoder and a DVD subpicture processor. The MPEG decoder decodes the MPEG stream and extracts the DVD subpicture formatted signal and the DVD subpicture decoder processes one or more DVD subpicture bitstreams to produce DVD graphics. The DVD subpicture bitstream is used to carry and display data channel information such as stock quotes, electronic program guide information, advertisement information, and the like as well as provide interactive menuing functions.

Method and apparatus for using DVD subpicture information in a television receiver

The invention refers to a method for a time shift display of a video signal wherein upon a pause command a received video signal is recorded on a recording medium, and upon a resume command the recorded video signal is provided to a display device while the received video signal is continued to be recorded. It is desired to improve such method. According to the invention successive pause start indicators are stored upon further pause commands, and upon further successive resume commands recorded video signal starting from the latest or a successively previous pause start indicator is provided to a display device.

Method for a time shift display of a video signal and apparatus therefore

The invention concerns a method and digital recording device for faster than normal playback of a 24 fps presentation without any loss of program information. A 24 fps playback signal is produced from a storage medium. Subsequently, a pull-down process can be performed to reformat the 24 fps playback signal for a video display, for example at 30 fps. Finally, redundant field pictures produced by the pull-down process can be selectively dropped to increase a playback speed of the presentation. The method can further include the step of selectively controlling a number of the redundant field pictures that are dropped responsive to a user input. This step can be performed automatically by calculating the rate at which the redundant field pictures must be dropped responsive to a user input.

Pause time recovery and playback speed-up without loss of picture information

A video apparatus, for instance a video player, comprises a first digital source (e.g. a media player) of a first video digital stream and a video encoder (for generating analogue video signals based on said first video digital stream. The video apparatus also has an input for receiving first analogue video signals comprising synchronization signals. A second digital source generates a second video digital stream based on which the video encoder can generate second analogue video signals synchronized by the synchronization signals of the first analogue video signals for superimposition on the first analogue video signals.

Video apparatus with picture-in-picture ability

A method for controlling recording in a digital recording apparatus enables users to create improved video recordings and also conserves memory space of the recording apparatus. According to an exemplary embodiment, the method includes steps of detecting a first user input during recording representing a command to stop recording, enabling display of a first predetermined message responsive to the first user input, receiving a second user input representing a response to the first predetermined message, and controlling the digital video recording apparatus to generate a single program recording and a single program listing for the single program recording in response to the second user input.

Method and apparatus for controlling digital recording and associated user interfaces

An apparatus for reproducing a digitally encoded signal from a disk medium, comprises a transducerwhich transduces the digitally encoded signal. A memory is coupled to the transducer for storing the digitally encoded signal. A decoder is responsive to the digitally encoded signal for decoding a picture therefrom. A controller for the memory, wherein a first operational mode the controller controls the memory to read the stored digitally encoded signal from the memory responsive to a first sequence and in a second operational mode the controller controls the memory to read the stored digitally encoded signal from the memory in a second sequence.

Random picture decoding

An apparatus for reproducing a digitally encoded signal from a medium, comprises a transducer for transducing the digitally encoded signal and generating a bit stream therefrom. A processor is coupled to receive the bit stream for controllably processing the bit stream. A memory is coupled to the processor for storing the processed bit stream information. A controller is coupled to control the memory and the processor for controlling identification of information within the bit stream, wherein the controller controls the processor to identify a specific sector type in the bit stream and responsive to the specific sector identification the controller controls the memory for storing the identified specific sector.

Replay bit stream searching

Video processing image manipulation and trick play modes provide seamless normal play and trick play functioning. Specifically, a system processes video data including encoded digital packetized data representative of a sequence of individual images and ancillary data identifying characteristics of the individual images. The system involves a pre-processor for parsing the ancillary data to determine characteristics of the individual images prior to storing the encoded digital packetized data. The system also includes a multiplexer for filtering the encoded digital packetized data based on the determined characteristics to identify particular images of the image sequence for storage in a memory and for excluding other images of the sequence from storage.

Digital video picture and ancillary data processing and storage

An apparatus for reproducing a digitally encoded signal from a disk medium, comprises a source of a bitstream representative of the digitally encoded signal. A processor is coupled to the bitstream for processing the bitstream to extract at least a first and a second data type represented therein. A memory is controllably coupled to the processor for storing one of the first and a second data types. A controller is coupled to control allocation of the memory, wherein a first reproducing mode the controller allocates the memory for storing the first data type, and in a second reproducing mode the controller allocates the memory for storing the second data type.

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Fishers, IN, United States of America

Steven Anthony Barron