Picture receiving apparatus

• US 5,751,371 A
• Filed: 12/11/1995
• Issued: 05/12/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Shintani, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Kostak, Victor R.
• Application Number:
  US08/570,515
• Time in Patent Office: 883 Days
• Field of Search: 348/468, 348/465, 348/553, 348/564, 348/565, 348/563, 348/568, 348/585, 348/589, 348/600
• US Class Current: 348/564
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2512 Floppy disks
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2525 Magneto-optical [MO] discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2529 Mini-discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/61 wherein solid state memory is used for storing A/V content
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/90 Tape-like record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/913 Digital audio tape [DAT] format
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/107 of operating tapes
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/3027 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42646 for reading from or writing on a non-volatile solid state storage medium, e.g. DVD, CD-ROM
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4884 for displaying subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver

Abstract

A picture receiving apparatus wherein a received video signal is converted into digital video data which is further compressed before being recorded on a minidisk set in a disk mounting unit along with caption information superimposed on the video signal and index information is recorded. A remote commander is used to select a desired item from index information displayed on a display screen. Pictures of the selected item are displayed on a child screen and caption information associated with the pictures is displayed in a caption display area.

Claims

1. A picture receiving apparatus for receiving a signal comprising a video signal and text information corresponding to pictures conveyed in said video signal and for displaying said pictures along with said text information, wherein said text information is superimposed on said video signal, comprising:

extraction means for extracting text data corresponding to said text information superimposed on said video signal;

conversion means for converting said video signal into a digital video signal;

compression means for compressing said digital video signal into compressed video data;

storage means for storing said text data extracted by said extraction means and said compressed video data resulting from compression carried out by said compression means;

text reading means for reading out said text data stored in said storage means at a first predetermined speed and converting said text data into a corresponding video text signal;

picture reading means for reading out said compressed video data stored in said storage means at a second predetermined speed and converting said compressed video data into a corresponding video picture signal; and

display means for displaying said video text signal from said text reading means and said video picture signal from said picture reading means.

2. A picture receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said compression means compresses said digital video signal by at least one of thinning out predetermined picture elements of said digital video signal, and by eliminating predetermined frames of said digital video signal.

3. A picture receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising speed specifying means for specifying said first and second predetermined speeds of said text reading means and said picture reading means, respectively.

4. A picture receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising text display control means for adjusting a number of characters in said video text signal to be displayed on said display means and adjusting the number of display lines on said display means according to said first and second predetermined speeds of said text reading means and said picture reading means, respectively.

5. A picture receiving apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising text display control means for adjusting a number of characters in said video text signal to be displayed on said display means and adjusting a number of display lines on said display means according to said first and second predetermined speeds of said text reading means and said picture reading means, respectively.

6. A picture receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said compressed video data stored in said storage means correspond to one or more programs identified by different respective index information generated by said storage means, further comprising:

index-information display means for displaying said index information of said compressed video data stored in said storage means on said display means; and

selection means for selecting one of said programs in accordance with said index information displayed on said display means by said index-information display means,

wherein;

said text reading means reads out a portion of said text data corresponding to said program selected by said selection means and said display means displays a portion of said video text signal corresponding to said portion of said text data; and

said picture reading means reads out a portion of said compressed video data corresponding to said program selected by said selection means and said display means displays a portion of said video picture signal corresponding to said portion of said compressed video data on said display means.

7. A picture receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first child screen on said display means, wherein said display means displays said video picture signal on said first child screen.

8. A picture receiving apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a second child screen on said display means, wherein said display means displays said video text signal on said second child screen.

9. A text-information displaying method for receiving a signal comprising a video signal and text information corresponding to pictures conveyed in said video signal and for displaying said pictures along with said text information, wherein said text information is superimposed on said video signal, comprising steps of:

extracting text data corresponding to said text information superimposed on said video signal;

converting said video signal into a digital video signal;

compressing said digital video signal into compressed video data;

storing said text data extracted in the step of extracting text data and said compressed video data into recording means;

reading out said text data stored in said recording means at a first predetermined speed and converting said text data into a corresponding video text signal;

reading out said compressed video data stored in said recording means at a second predetermined speed and converting said compressed video data into a corresponding video picture signal; and

displaying said video text signal and said video picture signal on display means.

10. A text-information displaying method according to claim 9, wherein, at the step of compressing, said digital video signal is compressed by at least one of thinning out predetermined picture elements of said digital video signal, and by eliminating predetermined frames of said digital video signal.

11. A text-information displaying method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of specifying said first and second predetermined speeds of the steps of reading out said text data and reading out said compressed video data, respectively.

12. A text-information displaying method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of adjusting the number of characters in said video text signal to be displayed on said display means and adjusting the number of display lines on said display means according to said first and second predetermined speeds of the steps of reading out said text data and reading out said compressed video data, respectively.

13. A text-information displaying method according to claim 11, further comprising a step of adjusting the number of characters in said video text signal to be displayed on said display means and adjusting the number of display lines on said display means according to said first and second predetermined speeds of the steps of reading out said text data and reading out said compressed video data, respectively.

14. A text-information displaying method according to claim 9, wherein said compressed video data stored in said recording means correspond to one or more programs identified by different respective index information predetermined and generated by said recording mean, and further comprising steps of:

displaying said index information of said compressed video data stored in said recording means on said display means; and

selecting one of said programs in accordance with said index information displayed on said display means at the step of displaying said index information,

wherein;

at the step of reading out said text data, only a portion of said text data corresponding to said program selected at the step of selecting one of said programs is read out and converted into a corresponding portion of said video text signal;

at the step of displaying said video text signal and said video picture signal, said corresponding portion of said video text signal is displayed on said display means; and

at the step of reading out said compressed video data, only a portion of said compressed video data corresponding to said program selected at the step of selecting one of said programs is read out and converted into a corresponding portion of said video picture signal;

at the step of displaying said video text signal and said video picture signal, said corresponding portion of said video picture signal is displayed on said display means.

15. A text-information displaying method according to claim 9, wherein said video picture signal is displayed on a given first child screen.

16. A text-information displaying method according to claim 15, wherein said video text signal is displayed on a given second child screen other than said first child screen.