Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc.

Timothy W Saeger

Nathaniel H Ersoz

Karl Francis Horlander

Donald Henry Willis

Greg A Kranawetter

David J Duffield

Todd J Christopher

Eric Douglas Romesburg

Paul Dean Filliman

Thomas Patrick Newberry

James H Doty, Ii

Enrique Rodriguez-Cavazos

Analog and digital video signals are each representative of a picture and each may carry program guide information. A demultiplexer has the digital video signal as an input and the program guide information as an output. A demodulator has at least a luminance component of the analog video signal as an input and the program guide information as an output. A microprocessor, a video graphics adapter, the demultiplexer and the demodulator are interconnected by a data bus. Either of the program guide outputs is transferable to the video graphics adapter, which formats a graphics video signal representative of the program guide information. The graphics video signal and a selected one of the video signals are inputs to a multiplexer, which outputs a combined video signal representative of both the program guide information and the picture represented by the selected video signal.

Unified program guide interface

A subtractor (106) forms a difference signal (D) from a video input signal (C) and a further signal (M) supplied thereto. The difference signal is limited (108) and attenuated (110) and the resultant signal (F) is combined (112) with the video input signal for providing a noise reduced video output signal (H). A delay circuit (202), responsive to the video output signal, provides field (A) and frame (B) delayed video signals. A selection circuit (220) selects a median value (M) of the field delayed video signal, the frame delayed video signal and the video input signal as the further signal for application to the subtractor. Advantageously, the further signal provides the dual functions of (1) facilitating the noise reduction of the output signal and (2) concurrently reducing the occurrence of potential motion artifacts to a very substantial degree.

Motion adaptive video noise reduction system

In a synchronizing circuit, an oscillator provides an output signal at a frequency that is a higher integral multiple than that of a synchronizing input signal. A control circuit, responsive to the input signal and a feedback signal representative of the output signal, generates a control signal that is indicative of a difference in phase or frequency between the input and output signals. The oscillator is responsive to the control signal for synchronized tracking of the output signal to the input signal. The control signal exhibits a periodic variation which tends to result in a deviation of the oscillator output signal from its synchronized tracking condition in accordance with the periodic variation. The phase of the output signal is offset relative to a corresponding phase of the periodic variation of the control signal for counteracting this deviation.

Circuit for generating a scan at a multiple of a synchronizing signal

Automatic letterbox detection

A video display for a television apparatus has a wide format display ratio and is synchronized with a first video signal representative of first picture. A PIP processor is responsive to a second video signal representative of a second picture to define an auxiliary picture smaller in size than the video display. A FIFO line memory stores successive lines of video information representative of the auxiliary picture, which are combined with certain successive lines of video information representative of the first picture. A counter initialized at a time corresponding to the start of each horizontal line of the first video signal generates a variable time delay. A FIFO control circuit successively initiates a transfer of the lines of video information representative of the auxiliary picture from the line memory for combination with the video information representative of the main picture after the variable time delay. The variable time delay determines one of a plurality of horizontal panning positions of the auxiliary picture across all of the video display. A manually operable remote control can be used for adjusting the variable time delay.

Horizontal panning for PIP display in wide screen television

Picture overlay system for television

A video display system comprises: a video display; first and second signal processors for cropping first and second video signals representative of first and second pictures; a circuit for generating a side-by-side display format of the pictures on the video display; and, a panning control circuit, responsive to panning command signals, for positioning said pictures in the side-by-side display format and for independently panning the pictures, as positioned. The panning control circuit generates independent fixed and variable delays for controlling line memories in the signal processors. Fixed delays control picture positions and variable delays control panning.

Independent horizontal panning for side-by-side pictures

A circuit for compressing and expanding video color component data comprises a FIFO line memory and a delay circuit. A timing circuit generates control signals for writing data into the line memory and for reading data from the line memory to compress and expand the data. The delay circuit matches the data compressed or expanded in the FIFO line memory to luminance data which is similarly compressed or expanded. A switching network selectively establishes a first signal path in which the line memory precedes the delay circuit for implementing the data expansion and a second signal path in which the delay circuit precedes the line memory for implementing the data compression. The switching network is controlled according to selected display formats requiring compression or expansion, for example by a microprocessor.

Chrominance processing system for compressing and expanding video data

A video display control system comprises: a video display having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox detector for sampling video information in pictures represented by input video signals having a letterbox format and generating a control signal for enlarging the pictures for substantially filling the video display means with active video, the letterbox format pictures sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, a circuit for preventing the letterbox detector from sampling the video information in any portion of the border area in which the auxiliary information can be expected to be disposed, when present. In the case of logos, which are generally disposed near or at the right side of the lower border, a horizontal sampling range will exclude the right side of each horizontal line.

Managing letterbox signals with logos

Two stage interpolation system

Delay matching for video data during expansion and compression

A video display control system comprises: a video display having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox detector for sampling video information in pictures represented by input video signals having a letterbox format and generating a control signal for enlarging the pictures for substantially filling the video display means with active video; and, a first control circuit for restricting operation of the letterbox detector to a vertical range of horizontal lines in each field of the video signal; and, a second control circuit for restricting operation of the letterbox detector to a horizontal range of video data in each of the horizontal lines.

Managing letterbox signals with logos and closed captions

Aspect ratio control for picture overlays

Luminance processing system for compressing and expanding video data

A video display control system automatically controls a video display responsive to detection of letterbox format input video signals having varying format display ratios. A detection circuit continuously detects the first and last lines of active video in a video signal. A memory stores scan line numbers corresponding to the first and last lines of active video. The height of the picture is determined from the scan line numbers of the first and last lines of active video. The picture height is indicative of the format display ratio of the letterbox input. A comparator circuit compares the picture height to a threshold corresponding to the widest expected format display ratio of a letterbox input signal. A control circuit, for example a microprocessor, is operable in a first mode of operation for enabling the memory to continuously update the stored scan line numbers unless the picture height exceeds the threshold, and operable in a second mode of operation for enabling the memory to update the stored scan line numbers when active video is detected in a video line corresponding to a scan line number less than the stored first line or greater than the stored last line. At least one of picture size and picture cropping on the display means is controlled responsive to the picture height. A circuit for initiating the first mode of operation after the second mode of operation can operate automatically or manually.

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Indianapolis, IN, United States of America

Timothy W Saeger