APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUS MULTIPLE VIDEO CHANNEL VIEWING

• US 20070153122A1
• Filed: 12/30/2005
• Published: 07/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: VuShare, LLC
• Original Assignee: VuShare, LLC
• Inventors: Girma, Zereyacob, Naing, Aung, Ayite, Nii
• Application Number:
  US11/306,511
• Publication Number:
  US 20070153122A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/385.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/161 Encoding, multiplexing or demultiplexing different image signal components for multi-view video sequence encoding H04N19/597
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/337 using polarisation multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/354 for displaying sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0806 the signals being two or more video signals H04N7/0803, H04N7/081 take precedence

Abstract

A multiplexer interlaces first and second video signals to form a third video signal comprising fields from the first and second video signals in alternating sequence. A filter system enables a first person, when viewing the third video signal, to see the first video signal but not the second video signal and a second person, when viewing the third video signal simultaneously with the first person, to see the second video signal but not the first video signal.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a multiplexer that interlaces a first video signal and a second video signal to generate a third video signal, the first video signal comprising a first series of fields, the second video signal comprising a second series of fields; and

a filter system that is adapted to enable a first person, when viewing a display surface displaying the third video signal, to see the first series of fields but not the second series of fields and a second person, when viewing the display surface simultaneously with the first person, to see the second series of fields but not the first series of fields.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the third video signal is generated by field-interlacing the first video signal and the second video signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the third video signal is generated by frame-interlacing the first video signal and second video signal.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the filter system includes first and second eyewear, each of the first and second eyewear including at least one lens having a substantially opaque state and a substantially transparent state, wherein the at least one lens of the first eyewear is adapted to be in the substantially opaque state when any field of the second series of fields is being displayed on the display surface and in the substantially transparent state when any field of the first series of fields is being displayed on the display surface, and the at least one lens of the second eyewear is adapted to be in the substantially opaque state when any field of the first series of fields is being displayed on the display surface and in the substantially transparent state when any field of the second series of fields is being displayed on the display surface.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an audio unit that enables the first person to hear only a first audio signal and enables the second person to hear only a second audio signal, the first and second audio signals comprising corresponding audio signals to the first and second video signals, respectively.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a synchronizing unit that synchronizes the first and second video signals prior to interlacing of the first and second video signals by the multiplexer.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a synch extractor that extracts timing information from at least one of the first and second video signals.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a control unit that uses the timing information from the synch extractor to generate a control signal that indicates the beginning of a new field of the first and second series of fields, wherein the control signal is passed to the multiplexer and used by the multiplexer to interlace first and second video signals.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the control signal is also passed to the filter system.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a first tuner that extracts the first video signal from a multi-channel video source and a second tuner that extracts the second video signal from a multi-channel video source, the first and second video signals each being single-channel video signals.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first tuner separates a first audio signal from the multi-channel video source and the second tuner separates a second audio signal from the multi-channel video source, the first audio signal corresponding to the first video signal and the second audio signal corresponding to the second video signal.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the multiplexer comprises either an analog or a digital circuit.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the analog or digital circuit comprises a video multiplexer and an amplifier.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the multiplexer comprises software that controls the interlacing of the first and second video signals.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the multiplexer further comprises a graphics card.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the multiplexer comprises double-buffered RAM.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second video signals have a first field-refresh rate and the third video signal has a third field-refresh rate, the third field-refresh rate being twice the first field-refresh rate.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one processor, the at least one processor being responsive to a first set of controller signals generated by a first game controller operated by the first person and a second set of controller signals generated by a second game controller operated by the at least one processor being adapted to receive instructions from a game program and being adapted to generate game graphics, wherein the first and second video signals are generated at least in part from the game graphics.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor comprises a main processor and a graphics co-processor, the main processor being responsive to the first and second sets of controller signals, the main processor being adapted to receive instructions from the game program, the graphics co-processor generates the game graphics.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising a video signal generating unit that converts the game graphics to the first and second video signals.

21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the filter system that is adapted to enable a first person, when viewing a display surface displaying the third video signal full-screen, to see the first series of fields but not the second series of fields and a second person, when viewing the display surface simultaneously with the first person, to see the second series of fields but not the first series of fields.

22. An apparatus comprising:

means for displaying first and second video signals full screen on a display surface, the first video signal comprising a first series of fields and the second video signal comprising a second series of fields, said means displaying fields from the first series of fields either simultaneously or in alternating sequence with fields from the second series of fields on a display surface; and

a filter system that is adapted to enable a first person, when viewing the display surface, to see the first series of fields but not the second series of fields and adapted to enable a second person, when viewing the display surface simultaneously with the first person, to see the second series of fields but not the first series of fields.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the filter system comprises first and second polarizers, each having an orientation, and first and second polarized eyewear, each having a viewing orientation, the orientation of the first polarizer being different than the orientation of the second polarizer, the viewing orientation of the first polarized eyewear being substantially the same as the orientation of the first polarizer, and the viewing orientation of the second polarized eyewear being substantially the same as the orientation of the second polarizer wherein the first video signal is passed through the first polarizer before being displayed on the display surface and the second video signal is passed through the second polarizer before being displayed on the display surface.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the filter system further comprises a first projector that projects the first video signal through the first polarizer and onto the display surface and a second projector that projects the second video signal through the second polarizer and onto the display surface.

25. An apparatus comprising:

a synch separator that obtains timing information from at least one of a first and second video signals, the first video signal comprising a first series of fields, the second video signal comprising a second series of fields, the first video signal having a corresponding first audio signal and the second video signal having a corresponding second audio signal;

a control unit that uses the timing information obtained by the synch separator to generate a control signal;

a multiplexer that utilizes the control signal to interlace the first video signal and the second video signal to generate a third video signal; and

a filter system that is adapted to enable a first person, when viewing a display surface displaying the third video signal, to see the first series of fields but not the second series of fields and to hear the first audio signal and not the second audio signal and a second person, when viewing the display surface simultaneously with the first person, to see the second series of fields but not the first series of fields and to hear the second audio signal and not the first audio signal.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the filter system comprises first and second eyewear, each of the first and second eyewear including at least one lens having a substantially opaque state and a substantially transparent state, wherein the at least one lens of the first eyewear is adapted to be in the substantially opaque state when any field of the second series of fields is being displayed on the display surface and in the substantially transparent state when any field of the first series of fields is being displayed on the display surface, and the at least one lens of the second eyewear is adapted to be in the substantially opaque state when any field of the first series of fields is being displayed on the display surface and in the substantially transparent state when any field of the second series of fields is being displayed on the display surface.

27. A method of displaying a first video signal having a first set of fields and a second video signal having a second set of fields, the method comprising:

interlacing the first and second video signals to form a third video signal that comprises a third series of fields, the third series of fields consisting of the first and second series of fields in alternating sequence;

filtering the third signal so that a first person, when viewing a display surface displaying the third video signal, to able to see the first series of fields but not the second series of fields and a second person, when viewing the display surface simultaneously with the first person is able to see the second series of fields but not the first series of fields.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

providing an audio unit that enables the first person to hear only a first audio signal and enables the second person to hear only a second audio signal, the first and second audio signals comprising corresponding audio signals to the first and second video signals, respectively.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising extracting the first and second video signals from a multi-channel signal source.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising extracting first and second audio signals from the multi-channel signal source.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising synchronizing the first and second video signals.

32. The method of claim 27, further comprising extracting timing information from the first and second video signals.