BACKGROUND TV

• US 20090262257A1
• Filed: 04/18/2008
• Published: 10/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: BAURMANN, TRAVIS CHARLES, HO, TRACY, YEH, SABRINA TAI-CHEN, SUBHERWAL, MONISH, FRIEDLANDER, STEVEN, NISHIKAWA, YUKO, SALISBURY, JOHN
• Application Number:
  US12/106,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20090262257A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• 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 21/44012 involving rendering scenes according to scene graphs, e.g. MPEG-4 scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2624 for obtaining an image which is composed of whole input images, e.g. splitscreen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2628 Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation

Abstract

An ambient, beautiful, entertaining visual experience that can be displayed on a TV requiring little or no user interaction beyond initiation. One theme is a mosaic of panes of; e.g., video from the last-watched channel, with the mosaic covering the screen. Another theme is a clock image with a single moving, fade-in fade-out pane that does not cover the entire screen.

Claims

1. A TV system, comprising:

a TV display; and

a processor receiving a user signal to enter a special mode, the special mode entailing the presentation of at least one pane on the display, the pane not filling the display, content in the pane being derived at least in part based on a content source mode of the TV when the user signal is received, content in the pane being shuffled automatically without user input.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein plural panes are presented simultaneously on the display in a first theme, each pane presenting visual content derived from a first source of content.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein at least one pane is graphically altered to produce a reflection effect.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein upon starting the special mode, panes displaying respective freeze frames of visual content pop into existence on the display sequentially until the display is full of panes.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein a first freeze frame is characterized by a first tint of a color and a second freeze frame is characterized by a second tint of the color.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein a last frame of a sequence of frames to pop in to the display presents video.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the last frame is larger than other frames.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the last frame displays moving video for a period and then freezes the video display, changing to another tint color.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein during the period the last frame displays moving video, another pane fades, after which another pane displaying moving video appears, such that a period of overlap in time exists when at least two panes display moving video.

10. The system of claim 2, wherein after displaying visual content derived from the first source of content in accordance with the first theme, the processor causes the panes to display visual content derived from a second source of content in accordance with the first theme.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the panes are presented in accordance with a second theme in which only a single or a few panes appear at one time on the display without filling the display, along with an image of a clock showing current time.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein a portion of the display that does not show panes changes colors over time.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein at least one pane moves across the display.

14. A TV system, comprising:

a TV display; and

a processor receiving a user signal to enter a special mode, the special mode presenting plural panes simultaneously on the display, each pane presenting visual content derived from a first source of content, wherein upon starting the special mode, panes displaying respective freeze frames of visual content pop into existence on the display sequentially until the display is full of panes.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein at least one pane is graphically altered to produce a reflection effect.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein a first freeze frame is characterized by a first tint of a color and a second freeze frame is characterized by a second tint of the color.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein a last frame of a sequence of frames to pop in to the display presents video.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein after displaying visual content derived from the first source of content in accordance with a first theme, the processor causes the panes to display visual content derived from a second source of content in accordance with the first theme.

19. A TV system, comprising:

a TV display; and

a processor receiving a user signal to enter a special mode, the special mode presenting only a single or a few panes at one time on the display without filling the display, each pane presenting visual content, along with an image of a clock showing current time.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein at least one pane moves across the display.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein after displaying visual content derived from the first source of content, the processor causes the panes to display visual content derived from a second source of content.