Context based secure sharing and voice and video communication on a television

• US 20080109866A1
• Filed: 11/03/2006
• Published: 05/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Borden, George Rome, Thomas, Renjit Tom
• Application Number:
  US11/592,892
• Publication Number:
  US 20080109866A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/139
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system is disclosed for providing context-based sharing of TV input data over a secure communications link via the Internet. Data, such as image, music and video files and metadata, related directly to the media currently displayed on the television set by way of a broadcast medium may be captured and shared with peer users. This feature may be integral to the television set and it may be controlled by the television set'"'"'s remote control.

Claims

1. A television system for context-based sharing comprising:

(a) a monitor of displaying image data in multiple windows;

(b) a digital data processing module having bidirectional connection to an Internet service provider, mobile phone network and/or computer network;

(c) a television receiver for receiving multimedia inputs including television, radio, data, and/or subscription music;

(d) a context-recognition module for sensing an input medium on one of said multimedia inputs and for determining the type of media provided by said input medium;

(e) a user interface generator for displaying a user interface on said monitor in one of said multiple windows, said user interface having control functions customized to the input medium sensed by the context-recognition module; and

(f) a control device interacting with said user interface to implement said control functions.

2. The television system of claim 1 wherein said user interface provides control functions permitting the capture of media displayed on said television monitor as media data saved to a memory device.

3. The television system of claim 2 wherein said user interface provides control functions permitting the capture of media displayed on said television monitor as media data saved to a network accessible storage location.

4. The television system of claim 1 wherein said control functions include the sending of said media data to peer users.

5. The television system of claim 4 further including a voice input which can be saved to said memory device as media data by one of said control functions.

6. The television system of claim 4 further including an audio input wherein audio data can be saved to said memory device as media data by one of said control functions.

7. The television system of claim 1 wherein said user interface provides control functions permitting the capture of audio and/or voice on said television monitor as media data saved to a network accessible storage location.

8. The television system of claim 4 further including an image-input device wherein images can be saved to said memory device as media data by one of said control functions.

9. The television system of claim 8 wherein said user interface provides control functions permitting the capture of media displayed on said television monitor as media data saved to a network accessible storage location.

10. The television system of claim 4 further including a security-encoding module for encoding said media data prior to transmission to peer users.

11. The television system of claim 1 further including a sharing-service provider and means for converting said media data into a format recognized by said sharing-service provider.

12. The television system of claim 11 further including means for encrypting said media data within said format prior to transmission of said media data to peer users.

13. The television system of claim 11 wherein said context-recognition module receives said input medium and determines the type of said media by meta-data.