Interactive video system having frame recall dependent upon user input and current displayed image

• US 5,636,036 A
• Filed: 09/18/1989
• Issued: 06/03/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: James A. Ashbey
• Original Assignee: James A. Ashbey
• Inventors: Ashbey, James A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Young, W. R.
• Application Number:
  US07/399,471
• Time in Patent Office: 2,815 Days
• Field of Search: 358/104, 358/22, 358/310, 358/335, 358/337, 358/339, 358/342, 395/126, 395/129, 273/DIG. 28, 348/578, 348/603
• US Class Current: 386/200
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/065 Combinations of audio and video presentations, e.g. videotapes, videodiscs, television systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/05 the view from a vehicle being simulated G09B9/052, G09B9/058 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/302 the image being transformed by computer processing, e.g. updating the image to correspond to the changing point of view

Abstract

An interactive video system has a videodisc player, a joystick, a framestore, a display, and a control device for controlling functions such as reading of frames from the framestore to the display. The videodisc player stores several sequences of moving pictures with the frames of the sequences interleaved so that changes can quickly be made from one sequence to another. To mask the reduced frame rate of any one sequence, repeated frames from the framestore are given a alternate blue and red color casts. To give the effect of changing perspectives with motion, the portion of the framestore read to the display changes in dependence upon (ii) the joystick output and (ii) the existing location of the displayed portion in the framestore.

Claims

1. A video system comprising:

a video playback device for sequentially reproducing a plurality of images stored on a record medium which form a moving picture sequence, said device comprising;

a display device for reproducing a video picture from the video playback device;

an input device for enabling the user to indicate desired movement;

a framestore coupled between said video playback device and said display device, said framestore being capable of storing an image substantially larger than that currently displayed on said display device;

control means for controlling reading of video information from the framestore, said control means being operable to select a desired image from said plurality of images and a desired portion of said selected image in dependence on;

(i) the output of said input device, and

(ii) the image and image portion currently being displayed on the display device,

wherein at least some of the image portions are repeated for display; and

,

means coupled between said framestore and said display device for giving some of the repeated images color casts to help mask the effect of the repetition of the frames.

2. A method of reproducing on a display a plurality of images which form a moving picture sequence stored on a record medium, said plurality of images forming said moving picture sequence having a larger format than that of said display, said method comprising the steps of:

reading said plurality of images forming said picture sequence from said record medium;

storing successive images of said picture sequence from said record medium in a framestore in the form of video data;

reading said video data from said framestore and displaying a portion of said video data representing an image selected from said plurality of images in said framestore on a video display device;

providing a signal from a user input device to indicate desired movement and monitoring said signal from said user input device;

monitoring the portion of the selected image currently being displayed;

the reading of said video data from said framestore being controlled such that the image selected from said plurality of images and the portion of the selected image displayed on said video display device are chosen in dependence upon;

(i) the signal supplied by the user input device; and

,

(ii) the image and image portion currently being displayed;

supplying image portions at a rate lower than that required by the video display device;

storing selected image portions in a framestore; and

supplying selected image portions of video data from said framestore to said video display device and repeating at least some of the image portions for display, at least some of the repeated image portions being given color casts to help mask the effect of the repetition of said image portions.