Receivers for television signals

• US 20070077028A1
• Filed: 11/30/2006
• Published: 04/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: British Sky Broadcasting Limited (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: British Sky Broadcasting Limited (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Crossley, Robin, Willame, Xavier, James, Nick, Bodkin, Nigel
• Application Number:
  US11/606,203
• Publication Number:
  US 20070077028A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/251
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• 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 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4333 Processing operations in response to a pause request
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440281 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. by frame skipping television signal recording using magnetic recording on tape for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4508 Management of client data or end-user data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 : Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 : Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 : between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7755 : the recorder being connected to, or coupled with, the antenna of the television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 : on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 : Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 : on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 : involving data reduction

Abstract

A Hard Disk Recorder (HDR) receives signals defining television programmes and programme schedule data. The HDR receives updated programme schedule data substantially constantly in a dedicated programme schedule data channel and outputs this data for display on a television screen. The HDR comprises a hard disk for recording programmes. A remote control selects programmes for recording from the displayed schedule. The HDR also receives schedule information included in each of the received television channels which information is used to control the hard disk to record pre-programmed programmes. The hard disk can simultaneously record two different television programmes received in different channels and to replay a currently broadcast programme offset in time. The HDR also receives transition signals indicating transitions between parts of programmes, such as advertisements and the “actual” programmes, which can be used to skip between transitions in recorded programmes replayed from the hard disk.

Claims

1. A receiver for receiving signals in a plurality of channels, the signals comprising television signals representative of a television programme, and information signals indicative of a predetermined portion of the television programme, the receiver comprising:

a decoder circuit for generating control signals responsive to receipt of the information signals; and

a hard disk recorder for receiving the control signals, and for recording data representative of the received television signals, the recorder being responsive to the control signals to interrupt recording of data representative of the received television signals during reception of television signals representative of the predetermined portion of the television programme.

2. The receiver of claim 1, wherein the information signal comprises a first information signal representative of the start of the predetermined portion of the television programme, and a second information signal representative of the end of the predetermined portion, wherein the decoder is arranged to generate a first control signal responsive to receipt of the first information signal, and a second control signal responsive to receipt of the second information signal, and the recorder is arranged to interrupt the recording of data representative of received television signals responsive to receipt of the first control signal, and to resume the recording of data representative of received television signals responsive to receipt of the second control signal.

3. The receiver of claim 1, wherein the information signals and the control signals are indicative of the duration of the predetermined portion of the television programme, wherein the recorder is arranged to respond to receipt of one of the control signals by interrupting the recording of data representative of received television signals for the duration indicated by the one control signal.

4. The receiver of claim 1, wherein the information signals and the control signals are indicative of the duration of the predetermined portion of the television programme, wherein the recorder is arranged to respond to receipt of one of the control signals by interrupting the recording of data representative of received television signals, and to resume the recording at the end of the duration indicated by the one control signal.

5. A receiver for receiving television signals representative of a television programme, and information signals indicative of the start and/or the end of a predetermined portion of the television programme, the receiver further comprising:

a recorder for recording programme data representative of received television signals and indicator data pointing to the start and/or end of said predetermined portion, and for playing back recorded data for display on a screen of the television programme represented thereby; and

user operable control means operable to cause the recorder to skip to the start and/or end of the predetermined portion of the television programme, as indicated by the corresponding indicator data, during playback of the recorded data.

6. The receiver of claim 5, wherein the indicator data comprises a time code of the start and/or end of said predetermined portions.

7. The receiver of claim 6, wherein the time code is included in said information signals.

8. The receiver of claim 5, wherein the information signals are received with the television signals.

9. The receiver of claim 5, wherein the indicator data is stored as metadata separate from the programme data.

10. The receiver of claim 5, wherein the television programme includes a plurality of said predetermined portions separated by one or more advertising breaks, and the user operable control means is operable to cause the recorder to skip said one or more advertising breaks, as indicated by the indicator data, during playback of the recorded data.

11. The receiver of claim 5, wherein the recorder comprises a hard disk.

12. The receiver of claim 5, wherein the recorder comprises an optical storage medium.