Multi-channel electronic programming guide and soft picture-in-picture acquisition for use with digital television

• US 6,212,680 B1
• Filed: 03/04/1998
• Issued: 04/03/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Tsinberg, Mikhail, Sakai, Manabu, Shah, Bhavan, Gupta, Bob
• Primary Examiner(s): Faile, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROWN, RUEBEN M
• Application Number:
  US09/034,265
• Time in Patent Office: 1,126 Days
• Field of Search: 348/473, 348/465, 348/487, 348/563, 348/565, 348/731, 348/732
• US Class Current: 725/39
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42638 involving a hybrid front-end, e.g. analog and digital tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42653 for processing graphics
• 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 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 5/46 for receiving on more than one standard at will deflecting circuits of multi-standard receivers H04N3/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control

Abstract

Multi-channel Electronic Program Guide acquisition and soft picture-in-picture system for use with digital television receiver. The digital television receiver uses its central processing unit (CPU) to perform a software decode of packets received from a main tuner and/or a picture-in-picture. This allows the CPU to display video from pictures within the same RF channel or within another channel simultaneously with video information decoded in real-time by a hardware decoder. Also, in the case of a digital television with two tuners, the CPU can acquire and accumulate EPG data from multiple channels.

Claims

1. A method of acquiring electronic program guide information for a plurality of channels using a digital television receiver having a first tuner and a second tuner comprising the steps of:

a) receiving a command from a user to tune the second tuner to a first channel;

b) tuning the second tuner to the first channel;

c) receiving and decoding video signals from the second tuner;

d) automatically tuning the second tuner to at least one of said plurality of channels other than said first channel;

e) receiving and decoding signals representing electronic program guide information from the at least one of said plurality of channels; and

f) repeating steps b) through e).

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the displaying step includes a step of:

displaying the decoded video signals in a picture-in-picture format.