Simultaneous video input display and selection system and method

• US 20060064719A1
• Filed: 09/17/2004
• Published: 03/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Youden, John J.
• Application Number:
  US10/943,580
• Publication Number:
  US 20060064719A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4221 Dedicated function buttons, e.g. for the control of an EPG, subtitles, aspect ratio, picture-in-picture or teletext
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440263 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for displaying on a connected PDA
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72

Abstract

A method of selecting video content to be displayed from among a plurality of video inputs includes initiating a video input selection mode of operation, simultaneously displaying video content currently being presented on all video inputs, and selecting the video content to be displayed from among the displayed video content for all the video inputs.

Claims

1. A method of selecting video content to be displayed from among a plurality of video inputs, the method comprising:

initiating a video input selection mode of operation;

simultaneously displaying video content currently being presented on all video inputs; and

selecting the video content to be displayed from among the displayed video content for all the video inputs.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein simultaneously displaying video content currently being presented on each video input comprises simultaneously displaying a plurality of video input thumbnails, each video input thumbnail displaying the video content of the corresponding video input.

3. The method claim 2 wherein the video content displayed in each video input thumbnail corresponds to a captured frame of the video content currently being presented on the corresponding video input.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising occasionally capturing frames of the video content being presented to update the video content displayed in each video input thumbnail.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein each video input thumbnail further comprises text data indicating the video input corresponding to the thumbnail.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein at least one of the video input thumbnails further comprises data indicating additional information related to the corresponding video input.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the additional information comprises data indicating that additional channels of video information are available from the corresponding video input.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting the video content to be displayed from among the displayed video content for all the video inputs comprises:

generating navigation control signals;

highlighting the desired video content responsive to the navigation control signals;

generating video input selection signals;

selecting the video input corresponding to the highlighted video content responsive to the video input selection signals; and

displaying the video content for the selected video input.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein initiating the video input selection mode of operation comprises activating a find picture button.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein each video input comprises one of a standard analog, a digital, or an RF video input.

11. A video display generating device comprising a plurality of video inputs, each video input adapted to receive video content and the device being adapted to receive video input display and selection control signals, the device operable in a video input source selection mode responsive to the control signals to simultaneously display video content currently being presented on all video inputs and operable responsive to the control signals to select the video content from one of the video inputs and to display the selected video content.

12. The video display generating device of claim 11 wherein the control signals comprise wireless signals communicated to the device over a wireless communications link.

13. The video display generating device of claim 11 wherein the device comprises one of a television and a personal video recorder, and wherein when the device comprises a personal video recorder the device is further operable to record video content.

14. The video display generating device of claim 11 wherein the device is operable to simultaneously display a plurality of video input thumbnails, each video input thumbnail showing the video content of the corresponding video input.

15. The video display generating device of claim 14 wherein the device is further operable to a capture a frame of the video content currently being presented on each of the video inputs and is operable to resize each frame and display each resized frame as a corresponding video input thumbnail.

16. The video display generating device of claim 15 wherein the device occasionally captures additional frames for each video input to update the content displayed in the corresponding thumbnail.

17. The video display generating device of claim 11 wherein the control signals include navigation control signals and selection signals, wherein the device is operable to highlight the video content for a respective video input responsive to the navigation control signals, and wherein the device is operable to display only the highlighted video content responsive to the selection signals.

18. The video display generating device of claim 11 further comprising:

video input channel selection circuitry coupled to the video inputs, the circuitry operable to provide a video signal from a selected one of the video inputs on an output;

video digitizing circuitry coupled to the output of the video input channel selection circuitry to receive the video signal and operable to generate digital video data corresponding to the video signal;

a controller coupled to the digitizing circuitry to receive the digital video data, the controller operable to resize the digital video data to generate resized digital video data;

a frame buffer coupled to the controller and operable to store the resized digital video data; and

a display coupled to the frame buffer and operable to generate a video image using the resized digital video data stored in the frame buffer.

19. A remote control including an activation button, a selection button, and at least one navigation control button, the remote control operable responsive to the activation button being activated to generate a video input display signal containing information that is adapted to cause video content for all video inputs available to a user to be displayed, the remote control operable to responsive to the navigation control button to generate a navigation control signal that is adapted to cause video content associated with one of the video inputs to be highlighted, and the remote control further operable responsive to the selection button to generate a selection control signal that is adapted to cause only the highlighted video content to be displayed.

20. The remote control of claim 19 wherein the activation, selection, and navigation control buttons are all the same button.

21. The remote control of claim 19 wherein the activation button comprises a find picture button, the navigation control buttons comprise up, down, right, and left arrow buttons, and the selection button comprise a separate button on the remote control.

22. An audio-video system, comprising:

a video display generating device comprising a plurality of video inputs, each video input adapted to receive video content and the device being adapted to receive video input display and selection control signals, the device operable in a video input source selection mode responsive to the control signals to simultaneously display video content currently being presented on all video inputs and operable responsive to the control signals to select the video content from one of the video inputs and to display the selected video content; and

a remote control including at least one user input component, the remote control operable to generate the video input display and selection control signals responsive to each user input component being activated.

23. The audio-video system of claim 22 wherein the wherein the video display generating device comprises a television.

24. The audio-video system of claim 22 wherein the video display generating device is operable to simultaneously display a plurality of video input thumbnails, each video input thumbnail showing the video content of the corresponding video input.

25. The audio-video system of claim 24 wherein the video display generating device is further operable to a capture a frame of the video content currently being presented on each of the video inputs and is operable resize each frame and display each resized frame as a corresponding video input thumbnail.

26. The audio-video system of claim 25 wherein video display generating device occasionally captures additional frames for each video input to update the content displayed in the corresponding thumbnail.

27. The audio-video system of claim 22 wherein the control signals from the remote control include navigation control signals and selection signals, wherein the video display generating device is operable to highlight the video content for a respective video input responsive to the navigation control signals, and wherein the video display generating device is operable to display only the highlighted video content responsive to the selection signals.