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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING A VIDEOTAPE RECORDER IN REAL-TIME TO AUTOMATICALLY IDENTIFY AND SELECTIVELY SKIP SEGMENTS OF A TELEVISION BROADCAST SIGNAL DURING RECORDING OF THE TELEVISION SIGNAL

  • US 6,404,977 B1
  • Filed: 11/30/1999
  • Issued: 06/11/2002
  • Est. Priority Date: 11/01/1996
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A method of controlling a television signal recording unit comprising:

  • (a) recording a television signal in a television signal recording unit;

    (b) detecting a first segment of the television signal;

    (c) capturing a signature pattern associated with the first segment of the television signal;

    (d) comparing the captured signature pattern to stored signature patterns;

    (e) if the captured signature pattern matches one of the stored signature patterns, controlling the television recording unit to suspend recording of the television signal for a predetermined period of time;

    (f) if the captured signature pattern does not match any of the stored signature patterns, storing the captured signature pattern in a temporary storage location;

    (g) adding the captured signature pattern to the stored signature patterns if a second segment of the television signal is detected within a predetermined window of time following detection of the first segment.

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