Television receiver with memory recall of television broadcast channel

Abstract

Television receiving apparatus for receiving television signals broadcasted over preselected broadcast channels by different television broadcast systems. Plural demodulators demodulate and concurrently display television programs broadcasted by different television broadcast systems. A processor selects a broadcast channel to be demodulated by at least one of the demodulators; and a detector detects if television signals are broadcasted over the selected channel. If so, the sound carrier frequency derived from the broadcasted television signal is determined and the television broadcast system is identified as a function of that carrier frequency. A memory stores an indication of the selected broadcast channel and the identify of the television broadcast system which uses that channel; whereafter the processor is advanced to select yet another channel and to identify the television broadcast system by which television signals are broadcasted over that other channel. As this process continues, the memory stores indications of channels which can be received and identities of the television broadcast systems which use those channels. Subsequently, desired broadcast channels together with the identities of the television broadcast systems which use those channels may be retrieved from the memory to configure the respective demodulators in a manner compatible with those television broadcast systems to enable the television programs which are broadcasted over the retrieved channels to be demodulated and concurrently displayed, such as in a picture-in-picture format.