Methods and systems for rapid channel change within a digital system
First Claim
1. A method for displaying digital content comprising:
- using a first tuner to access a first transport stream associated with a first frequency;
displaying in a main picture area of a display screen, a program associated with said first transport stream;
using a second tuner during spare periods to access a second transport stream associated with a second frequency;
decoding digital content from said second transport stream and caching said digital content into a memory buffer; and
upon said first tuner being switched to a new channel associated with said program information stored in said memory buffer, recalling said digital content for use in providing a fast channel change operation to said new channel.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods for providing fast channel change in a digital display system. Spare tuners can be provided for predicting a next channel that may be viewed. These spare tuners may be used to capture information that is used to provide a fast channel change to an accurately predicted next channel. A spare tuner may be a PIP tuner. A three tuner system can be used where multiple tuners are applied to multiple predicted channels. Also, a spare tuner can be used to scan available channels and cache information on a set of channels to provide a fast channel change to a cached channel. The information cached can include program information, e.g., table information. Spare decoders (e.g., virtual decoder) can also be used to predict a next channel and provide fast channel change thereto.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for displaying digital content comprising:
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using a first tuner to access a first transport stream associated with a first frequency;
displaying in a main picture area of a display screen, a program associated with said first transport stream;
using a second tuner during spare periods to access a second transport stream associated with a second frequency;
decoding digital content from said second transport stream and caching said digital content into a memory buffer; and
upon said first tuner being switched to a new channel associated with said program information stored in said memory buffer, recalling said digital content for use in providing a fast channel change operation to said new channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for displaying digital content comprising:
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using a first tuner to access a first transport stream associated with a first frequency;
displaying in a main picture area of a display screen, a program associated with said first transport stream;
using a second tuner to access a second transport stream associated with a second frequency;
decoding first digital content from said second transport stream and caching said first digital content into a memory buffer;
using a third tuner to access a third transport stream associated with a third frequency;
decoding second digital content from said third transport stream and caching said second digital content into said memory buffer; and
upon a channel change to a new channel associated with said second or third tuner, recalling digital content from said memory buffer for use in providing a fast channel change operation to said new channel. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for displaying digital content comprising:
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using a first tuner to access a first transport stream associated with a first frequency;
displaying in a main picture area of a display screen, a program associated with said first transport stream;
using a second tuner to access a second transport stream associated with a second frequency;
decoding table information from said second transport stream and caching said table information into a memory buffer, said table information comprising program identifications for programs of said second transport stream; and
upon a channel change to a new channel associated with said second transport stream, recalling said table information for use in providing a fast channel change operation to said new channel. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for displaying digital content comprising:
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using a first tuner and a first decoder to access and decode a first transport stream associated with a first frequency;
displaying in a main picture area of a display screen, a program associated with said first transport stream;
using a second decoder to decode a second program;
upon a channel change to a new channel associated with said second program, using said second decoder to display in said main picture area of said display screen said second program to provide a fast channel operation to said new channel. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification