IMAGE DISPLAY APPARATUS AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF

• US 20100306800A1
• Filed: 12/03/2009
• Published: 12/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Bae, Hae Jin, JUNG, Dae Young, Lee, Jae Kyung, Kim, Gyu Seung, Lee, Kun Sik
• Granted Patent: US 9,237,296 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/41
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00448 horizontally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00453 arranged in a two dimensional array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00461 marking or otherwise tagging one or more displayed image, e.g. for selective reproduction
• 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 21/4263 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 21/4316 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 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• 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 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control

Abstract

A method for operating an image display apparatus includes providing input signals to the image display apparatus, displaying at least one image on a display based on the input signals, generating a plurality thumbnail images based on the input signals, and displaying a thumbnail-image list which includes a plurality of generated thumbnail images.

Claims

1. An operating method of an image display apparatus, comprising:

providing input signals to the image display apparatus;

displaying at least one image on a display based on the input signals;

generating a plurality thumbnail images based on the input signals; and

displaying a thumbnail-image list which includes a plurality of generated thumbnail images.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of thumbnail images are generated by:

(1) forming a first image based on the input signal;

(2) forming a thumbnail image based on the first image; and

(3) repeating (1) and (2) one or more times to generate a corresponding number of additional thumbnail images.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of thumbnail images are generated by:

(1) decoding a first image from the input signals;

(2) converting a format of the first image signal;

(3) encoding the formatted first image signals to generate a thumbnail image; and

(4) Repeating (1) to (3) one or more times to generate a corresponding number of additional thumbnail images.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the input signals include at least one of broadcast signals received through one or more channels or external input signals provided by an external input device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the broadcast signals correspond to signals for a previously-stored channel.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

updating at least one of the thumbnail images, and

displaying the updated thumbnail image on the thumbnail-image list.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

if one of the thumbnail images is selected, displaying an input image signal corresponding to the selected thumbnail image on the display.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to a command to focus one of the thumbnail-images or a command to display program information of the focused thumbnail-image, displaying program information of an input image signal corresponding to the focused thumbnail image.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

bringing one of the thumbnail images into focus in response to user input.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to a command to edit one of the thumbnail-images, editing one of the thumbnail images.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein a screen including the thumbnail-images includes one or more thumbnail images corresponding to a number of previously-deleted input image signals, and wherein the thumbnail-image list is displayed by changing at least one of brightness, contrast, fade, or transparency of the thumbnail images corresponding to previously-deleted image signals so that the corresponding thumbnail images can be easily distinguishable.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to a command to display a next or previous thumbnail-image screen, navigating to a next or previous thumbnail-image screen to a current thumbnail-image screen through a drag, scroll or rotation of the current thumbnail-image screen.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein a screen including the thumbnail-images is displayed at a predetermined part of the display.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the thumbnail images include at least one of still images and moving images.

15. The method of claim 4, wherein the broadcast image signals include at least one of broadcast image signals received via an antenna, broadcast image signals received via a cable, or Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) broadcast image signals.

23. The method of claim 3, wherein the plurality of thumbnail images are still images or moving images, a first number of the thumbnail images corresponding to signals derived from an external device and a second number of the thumbnail images corresponding to signals derived from one or more cable or broadcast channels.

16. An image display apparatus comprising:

a display to display at least one image;

an input configured to receive signals; and

a controller to control a thumbnail-image list for display on the display, the thumbnail-image list including a plurality of thumbnail images based on signals received on the input.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a tuner receiving a plurality of broadcast image signals,

wherein the controller controls a thumbnail-image screen including the plurality of thumbnail images respectively corresponding to the plurality of external input image signals and a plurality of thumbnail images respectively corresponding to the plurality of broadcast image signals received by the tuner on the display in response to the command to display the external input image list.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the external input device is connected to the image display apparatus via at least one of an Ethernet port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, a composite video banking sync (CUBS) port, a component port, a super-video (S-video) port, a digital visual interface (DVI) port, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port, a red-green-blue (RGB) port, a D-sub port, an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)-1394 port, a Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format (S/PDIF) port, or a liquidHD port.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a channel-browsing processor extracting the thumbnail images from an external input device.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising:

a channel-browsing processor to extract the thumbnail images.

21. An image display apparatus comprising:

a display to display a program on a selected channel;

a storage unit to store a plurality of channels;

a first tuner configured to tune to the selected channel;

a second tuner configured to tune to one of the plurality of stored channels; and

a controller to provide the program on the selected channel of the first tuner or to control a thumbnail-image list for display on the display, the thumbnail-image list including a plurality of thumbnail images, each thumbnail image being based on a tuned channel of the second tuner.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising:

a channel browser processor configured to generate a thumbnail image from a signal tuned by the second tuner for a stored channel.