Arrangement for storing an information signal in a memory and for retrieving the information signal from said memory

• US 6,018,612 A
• Filed: 12/17/1996
• Issued: 01/25/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Thomason, Graham G., Van Loon, Paul M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Huy
• Application Number:
  US08/768,740
• Time in Patent Office: 1,134 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/125, 386/82, 386/77, 386/68, 386/124, 386/109, 386/112, 386/91, 386/92, 386/126
• US Class Current: 386/314
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2205/064 Linked list, i.e. structure using pointers, e.g. allowing non-contiguous address segments in one logical buffer or dynamic buffer space allocation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2205/066 User-programmable number or size of buffers, i.e. number of separate buffers or their size can be allocated freely
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2205/067 Bidirectional FIFO, i.e. system allowing data transfer in two directions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0656 Data buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0674 Disk device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 5/065 Partitioned buffers, e.g. allowing multiple independent queues, bidirectional FIFO's
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/785 having a sequence of storage locations each being individually accessible for both enqueue and dequeue operations, e.g. using a RAM
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42661 for reading from or writing on a magnetic storage medium, e.g. hard disk drive
• 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 21/433 Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440281 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. by frame skipping television signal recording using magnetic recording on tape for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44 Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/4448 for frame-grabbing
• 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 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence

Abstract

An arrangement for storing an information signal in a main memory (36) and retrieving the information signal from said main memory includes the memory (36), an input buffer memory (35a) and an output buffer memory (35b). The input buffer memory and the output buffer memory are combined into one single buffer memory (35).

Claims

1. An arrangement for intermediate storage of a video signal, said arrangement comprising:

input means for receiving sequential video signal elements at a first average speed;

first-in-first-out input bridging buffer memory means having an input fed by said input means, said input bridging buffer memory means having random access functionality for receiving said video signal elements and having an output interface;

mass memory disc means having cross-track random access functionality for effecting said intermediate storage, and having write head means fed by said output interface of said input bridging buffer memory means and furthermore read head means;

first-in-first-out output bridging buffer memory means having random access functionality and having an input interface fed by said read head means; and

output means having an input fed by said read head means for outputting said sequential video signal elements at a second average speed, wherein said input bridging buffer memory means and said output bridging buffer memory means are exchangeably and coexistingly mapped on a single bridging buffer, for, through said random access functionality and said cross-track random access functionality, effecting an arbitrarily selectable intermediate storage delay with a maximum value corresponding to a storage capacity of said mass memory disc means and a granularity of the delay that is orders of magnitude lower than said maximum value, the storage capacity of said single bridging buffer corresponding to a fraction of the storage capacity of said mass memory disc means, wherein the storage capacity of said mass memory disc means allows a delay of the sequential video signal elements in said mass memory disc means in the order of several minutes or more, a granularity of the delay in said mass memory disc means being less than the storage capacity of the single bridging buffer, while the storage capacity of said single bridging buffer allows a delay of the sequential video signal elements in said single bridging buffer of, at most, a few seconds, whereby the arrangement allows simultaneous inputting and outputting of the sequential video signal elements, each at an average speed that corresponds to a standard receiving or displaying speed, respectively.

2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, as used in a television receiver apparatus that has a video output for connection to a video recorder apparatus.

3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said write head means and said read head means are located in a single head.

4. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mass memory disc means are magnetic or optical storage hard disc means.

5. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said input means are arranged for operating at a first average speed and said output means are arranged for then operating at a second average speed that is fractionally higher than said first average speed.

6. An arrangement as claimed in claim 5, wherein said second average speed corresponds to an appropriate human user viewing speed.

7. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said input means are arranged for operating at a first average speed and said output means are arranged for selectably operating at a second average speed that is either controllably fractionally higher or controllably fractionally lower than said first average speed.

8. An arrangement as claimed in claim 7, wherein said second average speed corresponds to an appropriate human user viewing speed.

9. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mass memory disc means allow current storage of at least a five minute long stream of video signal elements.

10. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said input means, said output means and said mass memory disc means are arranged for accepting at least two independent streams of video signal elements in parallel.

11. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said input means and said mass memory disc means are arranged for accepting at least two independent streams of video signal elements in parallel.

12. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, for use with a supplementary video recording apparatus, wherein said output means are arranged for retrospectively presenting a video signal to said video recording apparatus after said intermediate storage having commenced at an earlier instant.

13. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, for use with a video receiver apparatus and a video display apparatus, and being arranged for broadcaster-independent replay and/or slow-motion replay.

14. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, for use with a multi-channel video-receiver apparatus and a supplementary single-channel video-recording apparatus, wherein said input means and said mass memory disc means are arranged for accepting at least two independent streams of video signal elements in parallel and said output means are arranged for retrospectively presenting a video signal to said supplementary single-channel video-recording apparatus with respect to a second channel after said intermediate storage having commenced at an earlier instant during overlap of said second channel with a first channel during the latter'"'"'s being stored on said supplementary single-channel video-recording apparatus.

15. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, for use with a video-receiver apparatus and a video display apparatus, wherein said input means and said mass memory disc means are arranged for accepting a first stream of video signal elements in parallel to receiving at least a second independent stream of video signal elements next to said first stream of video signal elements by said video receiver apparatus, and said output means are arranged for retrospectively presenting a video signal to said video display apparatus with respect to said first stream after said intermediate storage having commenced at an earlier instant during overlap of said first and second streams, and said second stream'"'"'s being displayed on said video display apparatus.

16. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, for use with a video-receiver apparatus and a video display apparatus, and for receiving a stream of video signal elements, and comprising inputting means for receiving an intermission control signal at a first particular time instant, and second inputting means for subsequently receiving a continue control signal at a second particular time instant, and said output means are arranged for retrospectively presenting a video signal to said video display apparatus as from said second particular time instant on for displaying said stream of video signal elements as having been stored since said first particular time instant.