Streaming content associated with a portion of a TV screen to a companion device

• US 20030107677A1
• Filed: 12/06/2001
• Published: 06/12/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Lu, Jin, Freeman, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 6,940,558 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/588
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4183 providing its own processing capabilities, e.g. external module for video decoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42209 for displaying non-command information, e.g. electronic program guide [EPG], e-mail, messages or a second television channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42226 Reprogrammable remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4363 Adapting the video stream to a specific local network, e.g. a Bluetooth® network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4728 for selecting a Region Of Interest [ROI], e.g. for requesting a higher resolution version of a selected region

Abstract

A television system allows extraction of a sub-image and streaming of the sub-image contents to an external device during a sequence of successive screen refresh intervals.

Claims

1. A television system comprising:

an image memory, comprising addressable pixel storage locations;

a display for displaying pixels from the pixel storage locations;

an input for receiving positional signals related to the display;

a processing unit adapted to perform the following operations;

defining a sub image section of the image memory, responsive to the positional signals; and

reading a multiplicity of successive contents from the sub image section, during a respective multiplicity of successive screen refresh intervals; and

an output device for streaming the multiplicity of successive contents to an external device.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the defining operation comprises

interpreting the positional signals to specify first and second points within the image memory;

and

identifying a portion of the image memory corresponding to the first and second points.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the output comprises a network card.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising

a remote control device for supplying the positional signals;

and

a second display device adapted to receive and display the streamed multiplicity of successive contents.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising

a remote control device for supplying the positional signals;

and

an external memory device adapted to receive and store the streamed multiplicity of successive contents.

6. A method of image processing comprising, executing the following operations in a television set:

displaying at least one displayed image;

receiving image location specification signals related to the displayed image;

recognizing a sub-image of the displayed image;

streaming contents of the sub-image to an external device during a multiplicity of successive screen refresh intervals.