Multimedia television receiver and method of booting the same

• US 5,838,383 A
• Filed: 08/31/1995
• Issued: 11/17/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Tashiro, Shigeru, Yasuki, Seijiro, Chimoto, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Powell, Mark R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Srivastava, Vivek
• Application Number:
  US08/522,486
• Time in Patent Office: 1,174 Days
• Field of Search: 348/7, 348/10, 348/12, 348/553, 348/13, 348/11, 348/6, 455/6.2, 455/6.3
• US Class Current: 348/553
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/00 Modulated-carrier systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4113 PC
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4432 Powering on the client, e.g. bootstrap loading using setup parameters being stored locally or received from the server resetting in general G06F1/14; program loading or initiating in general G06F9/445; bootstrapping in general G06F9/4401; secure boots of computer platforms G06F21/57
• 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 5/455 Demodulation-circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/007 Systems with supplementary picture signal insertion during a portion of the active part of a television signal, e.g. during top and bottom lines in a HDTV letter-box system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/10 Adaptations for transmission by electrical cable H04N7/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

An NTSC tuner, an ISDB tuner, a CATV tuner, and a CATV modulator are connected to an analog switch box. Demodulation sections, an A/D, clock-reproducing section, and a modulation section are connected between the analog switch box a bus. MPEG2 video decoder sections, an MPEG2 audio decoder sections, an NTSC/EDTV horizontal decoder section, an EDTV vertical decoder section, an MPEG2 video encoder section, and an MPEG2 audio encoder section are connected between the bus and a bus. An audio amplifier, a graphics controller, and A/D conversion sections are connected the bus. The switch box and the buses are connected to a bus controller, which is connected to a CPU, a memory, and a remote-control I/F. These modules are selectively used to receive and process digital broadcasting signals, digital CATV signals or NTSC broadcasting signals. Even while the CPU is performing bootstrap processing immediately after the power switch of the television receiver is turned on, a DMA device is initialized, causing a monitor to display an image being received, no matter whether an operating system has been activated or not.

Claims

1. A television receiver comprising:

a receiving module for receiving broadcast signals;

an analog switch box for receiving signals from the receiving module;

a demodulation module for demodulating a signal selected by the analog switch box and generating demodulated data therefrom;

a first bus for carrying the demodulated data;

a converting module for receiving the demodulated data via the first bus and converting the demodulated data to a data stream;

a second bus for carrying the data stream;

a decoding module for receiving the data stream via the second bus and decoding the data stream, thereby to generate decoded data;

a third bus for carrying the decoded data;

an image-outputting module for receiving the decoded data via the third bus and outputting an image represented by the decoded data;

a speech-outputting module for receiving the decoded data via the third bus and outputting a speech represented by the decoded data;

a bus controller connected to the analog switch box and the first, second and third buses;

control means for controlling the receiving module, the converting module, the decoding module, the image-outputting module, and the speech-outputting module, by using the analog switch box, the first to third buses and the bus controller, thereby to change an operating mode of each module in accordance with the broadcast signals;

a video encoder section and an audio encoder section connected between the second bus and the third bus;

a packet section connected between the first bus and the second bus, for generating a packet from an output of the video encoder section and the output of said! the audio encoder section;

a modulating module connected between said! the analog switch box and the first bus, for modulating the packet generated by the packet generated by the packet section; and

a transmission module connected to the analog switch box, for transmitting an output of the modulating module in the form of the broadcast signals.

2. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein externally input data is supplied to the third bus.

3. The television receiver according to claim 1, further comprising:

memory means for storing a digital video signal output by the demodulating module;

display means for reading the digital video signal stored in the memory means and displaying an image represented by the digital video signal;

data-transfer control means for controlling transfer of data through the first to third buses;

a ROM storing a bootstrap program for activating an operating system;

an analog bus for supplying an analog video signal output from the demodulating module, to a display control section incorporated in the demodulating module; and

control-shift control means for supplying the analog video signal to the display means through the analog bus and the display control section, for initializing the data-transfer control means in accordance with the bootstrap program stored in the ROM, thereby to transfer data through the first to third buses, and for activating the operating system, thereby to set the other components of the television receiver under the control of the operating system.

4. The television receiver according to claim 3, wherein the control-shift control means sets the components the television receiver under the control of the operating system while a scene is changing to another on a screen of the display means.

5. The television receiver according to claim 3, wherein the display means displays a message of "BOOTING" while the control-shift control means is executing the bootstrap program.

6. The television receiver according to claim 3, further comprising a RAM for storing a command generated by a device operated by a user, while the control-shift control means is executing the bootstrap program, and control means for reading and executing the command stored in the RAM after the components of the television receiver are set under the control of the operating system.

7. The television receiver comprising:

a receiving module for receiving signals that have been broadcast;

an analog switch box for receiving signals from the receiving module;

a demodulating module for demodulating a signal selected by the analog switch box and generating demodulated data therefrom;

a first bus for carrying the demodulated data;

a converting module for receiving the demodulated data via the first bus and converting the demodulated data to a data stream;

a second bus for carrying the data stream;

a decoding module for receiving the data stream via the second bus and decoding the data stream, thereby to generate decoded data;

a third bus for carrying the decoded data;

an image-outputting module for receiving the decoded data via the third bus and outputting an image represented by the decoded data;

a speech-outputting module for receiving the decoded data via the third bus and outputting a speech represented by the decoded data;

a bus controller connected to the analog switch box and the first, second and third buses; and

control means for controlling the receiving module, the converting module, the decoding module, the image-outputting module, and the speech-outputting module, by using the analog switch box, the first to third buses and the bus controller, thereby to change an operating mode of each module in accordance with the broadcast signals, wherein the receiving module includes an NTSC tuner, and ISDB tuner, and a CATV tuner;

the demodulating module includes a OPSK-demodulating section, a 640AM-demodulating section, an A/D converting section, and a clock-generating section; and

the converting module includes a depacket/descramble section for depacketizing and/or descrambling a demodulated signal generated by the demodulating module, and a descramble/through section for descrambling and/or passing the demodulated signal generated by the demodulating module.

8. The television receiver according to claim 7, wherein the demodulating module includes two MPEG2 video decoder sections, an MPEG2 audio decoder section, an NTSC/EDTV horizontal decoder section, and an EDTV vertical decoder section.

9. A television receiver comprising:

a receiving module for receiving broadcast signals;

an analog switch box for receiving signals from the receiving module;

a demodulating module for demodulating a signal selected by the analog switch box, thereby to generate demodulated data;

a first bus for carrying the demodulated data;

a converting module for receiving the demodulated data via the first bus and converting the demodulated data to a data stream;

a second bus for carrying the data stream;

a decoding module for receiving the data stream via the second bus and decoding the data stream, thereby to generate decoded data;

a third bus for carrying the decoded data;

an image-outputting module for receiving the decoded data from the decoding module through a third bus and outputting an image represented by the decoded data;

a speech-outputting module for receiving the decoded data via the third bus and outputting a speech represented by the decoded data;

a bus controller connected to the analog switch box and the first, second and third buses; and

control means for controlling the receiving module, the converting module, and the decoding module, the image-outputting module, and the speech-outputting module, by using the analog switch box, the first to third buses and the bus controller, thereby to change an operating mode of each module in accordance with the broadcast signals;

memory means for storing a digital video signal output by the demodulating module;

display means for reading the digital video signal stored in the memory means and displaying an image represented by the digital video signal;

data-transfer control mans for controlling transfer of data through the first to third buses;

a ROM storing a bootstrap program for activating an operating system; and

control-shift control means for initializing the data-transfer control means in accordance with the bootstrap program stored in the ROM, thereby to transfer data through the first to third buses, and for activating the operating system, thereby to set the other components of the television receiver under the control of the operating system, wherein the control-shift control means sets the components of the television receiver under the control of the operating system during a blanking period when no data is transferred through the third bus.

10. The television receiver according to claim 9, wherein the bootstrap program consists of an initializing command for initializing the data-transfer control means, a test program for testing the components of the television receiver, and an initial-program loader for loading the operating system, and the control-shift control means executes the initializing command, thereby initializing the data-transfer control means and then executes the test program and the initial-program loader.

11. The television receiver according to claim 9, wherein the ROM stores the initializing command at an address designated by the control-shift control means when the power switch is closed.

12. The television receiver according to claim 9, wherein the data-transfer control means has an internal register, and the initializing command includes a set command for setting addresses in the internal registers, to which the video and audio data is to be transferred through the first to third buses.

13. The television receiver according to claim 12, wherein the set command is transferred from the ROM.

14. The television receiver according to claim 12, wherein the set command is stored in a boot ROM incorporated in the data-transfer control means and activated by the set command supplied from the ROM.

15. The television receiver according to claim 9, wherein the display means displays a message of "BOOTING" while the control-shift control means is executing the bootstrap program.

16. The television receiver according to claim 15, wherein further comprising a RAM for storing a command generated by a device operated by a user, while the control-shift control means is executing the bootstrap program, and control means for reading and executing the command stored in the RAM after the components of the television receiver are set under the control of the operating system.

17. A television receiver comprising:

a receiving module for receiving broadcast signals;

an analog switch box for receiving signals from the receiving module;

a demodulating module for demodulating a signal selected by the analog switch box, thereby to generate demodulated data;

a first bus for carrying the demodulated data;

a converting module for receiving the demodulated data via the first bus and converting the demodulated data to a data stream;

a second bus for carrying the data stream;

a decoding module for receiving the data stream via the second bus and decoding the data stream, thereby to generate decoded data;

a third bus for carrying the decoded data;

an image-outputting module for receiving the decoded data via the third bus and outputting an image represented by the decoded data;

a speech-outputting module for receiving the decoded data via the third bus and outputting a speech represented by the decoded data;

a bus controller connected to the analog switch box and the first, second and third buses;

control means for controlling the receiving module, the converting module, the decoding module, the image-outputting module, and the speech-outputting module, by using the analog switch box, the first to third buses and the bus controller, thereby to change an operating mode of each module in accordance with the broadcast signals;

a video encoder section and an audio encoder section connected to the bus means;

a packet section for packetizing and output of the video encoder section and the output of the audio encoder section;

a modulating module connected between the analog switch box and the first bus, for modulating the packet generated by the packet section; and

a transmission module connected to the analog switch box, for transmitting an output of the modulating module in the form of the broadcast signals.