Device for receiving displaying and simultaneously recording television images via buffer

• US 6,535,252 B1
• Filed: 10/27/1998
• Issued: 03/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Brüls, Wilhelmus H. A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Natnael, Paulos M.
• Application Number:
  US09/179,283
• Time in Patent Office: 1,603 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.701, H04/N.700, H04/N.979, H04/N.5781, H04/N.591, 348/441, 348/458, 348/459, 348/497, 348/907, 348/554-556, 348/558, 725/22, 345/154, 345/155, 375/372, 386/45, 386/131, 386/125, 386/126
• US Class Current: 348/459
• 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 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• 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 21/47217 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 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• 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 5/76 Television signal recording

Abstract

A device for receiving, storing and displaying television images. The device comprises a buffer (2) for storing television images. Television images having a first frame frequency are received at an input (4). Television images having a second frame frequency are supplied at an output (6). The buffer is adapted to store and read television images. A number of X consecutive television images stored in the buffer lie between a television image read at a given instant from the buffer and a television image stored at substantially the same instant. In a first state, X increases with time. In a second state, X decreases with time. The device further comprises a control device (12) for generating a first control signal (14) for bringing the device from the first to the second state, and a second control signal (16) for bringing the device from the second to the first state. This device makes it possible to start to watch television images simultaneously at the instant of their reception, while television images received at a later instant and not yet displayed, for example, a block of commercials, can be watched in an accelerated manner.

Claims

1. A device for receiving and displaying television images, comprising:

buffer means for storing television images, characterized in that the buffer means are adapted to receive television images at a first frame frequency and to supply television images at a second frame frequency, a quantity X equal to the number of consecutive television images being stored in the buffer means between an image read from the buffer means at a given instant and an image written at substantially the same instant, in that X increases with time in a first state of the device and decreases with time in a second state thereof, and the device comprises control means for generating a first control signal for bringing the device from the first to the second state, and a second control signal for bringing the device from the second to the first state, and further comprising conversion means having an input and an output and adapted to convert television images at a third frame frequency applied to its input into television images at a fourth frame frequency for supply to the output, the fourth frame frequency in the first state being substantially equal to the first frame frequency, and the second frame frequency being substantially equal to the third frame frequency.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the buffer means are adapted to store television images received at an input of the buffer means at the first frame frequency and to read television images stored in the buffer means at the second frame frequency and supply said images at an output of the buffer means, wherein the first frame frequency is larger than the second frame frequency, the buffer means, in the first state, being adapted as a FIFO type and, in the second state, being adapted to supply each time N television images of successive groups of M consecutive television images stored in the buffer means at the output of said buffer means, N and M being positive integers and chosen such that X decreases with time.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, which further comprises conversion means having an input and an output and adapted to convert television images at a third frame frequency applied to its input into television images at a fourth frame frequency for supply to the output, the fourth frame frequency in the first state being substantially equal to the first frame frequency, and the second frame frequency being substantially equal to the third frame frequency.

4. A device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the first frame frequency at the input of the buffer means is the same in the first state and second state of the device, and

the second frame frequency at the output of the buffer means is the same in the first state and second state of the device.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the buffer means are of the FIFO type and are adapted to store television images received at an input of the buffer means at the first frame frequency and to read television images stored in the buffer means at the second frame frequency and supply said images at an output, the second frame frequency in the first state being smaller than the first frame frequency, and the second frame frequency in the second state being larger than the first frame frequency.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5, which further comprises conversion means having an input and an output and adapted to convert television images at a third frame frequency applied to its input into television images at a fourth frame frequency for supply to the output, the fourth frame frequency in the first state being substantially equal to the first frame frequency, and the second frame frequency being substantially equal to the third frame frequency.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the buffer means are adapted to receive and supply television images at the first frame frequency at its input and output, respectively, said buffer means, in the first state, being adapted to supply each received television image at least once and a part of the received television images more than once at the output of said buffer means.

8. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein an output of the buffer means is coupled to the input of the conversion means.

9. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the output of the conversion means is coupled to an input of the buffer means.

10. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the buffer means comprise one of a magnetic disc memory and a semiconductor memory.

11. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the control means are adapted to be operated manually by a user.

12. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the device comprises detection means for detecting a class of the received television images, and has an output coupled to an input of the control means, said control means being adapted to generate the first or the second control signal dependent upon the class of the received television images.

13. A device as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that the class of the received television images corresponds to commercials, and in that the control means are adapted to generate the first and the second control signal under the influence of the detection of said class.

14. A device as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that the device comprises comparison means for comparing the value of X with a predetermined threshold value, in that the detection means are further adapted to determine the value of X, in that the control means are also adapted to generate a third control signal for bringing the device from the second state to a third state as soon as X is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, and in that the control means are further adapted to generate a fourth control signal for bringing the device from the third to the first state dependent upon the class of the received television images, the buffer means in the third state being adapted to write and supply television images such that X remains equal with respect to time.

15. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the device comprises detection means for determining the value of X and comparison means for comparing the value of X with a predetermined threshold value, and in that the control means are adapted to generate the second control signal as soon as the value of X is smaller than the predetermined threshold value.

16. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the device comprises detection means for determining the value of X and comparison means for comparing the value of X with a predetermined threshold value, in that the control means are also adapted to generate a third control signal for bringing the device from the first state to a third state as soon as X is larger than the predetermined threshold value, and a fourth control signal for bringing the device from the third state to the second state, the buffer means in the third state being adapted to write and supply television images, such that X remains equal with respect to time.

17. A device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising means for receiving and displaying television images coupled to an output of the buffer means.

18. A device for receiving and displaying television images comprising:

a storage device for television images and having an input to receive television images at a first frame frequency and an output to supply television images at a second frame frequency,

address means coupled to the storage device so that a quantity X of consecutive TV images is stored in the storage device between an image read from the storage device at a given instant and an image written at substantially the same instant, and X increases with time in a first state of the device and decreases with time in a second state thereof, and

control means for generating a first control signal for bringing the device from the first state to the second state, and a second control signal for bringing the device from the second to the first state;

wherein the address means comprises first and second address generators which generate first and second address signals for the storage device, wherein the first address signal defines the storage locations of the television images received at its input and the second address generator defines storage locations based upon the quantity X, and

means for applying to the storage device first and second clock signals corresponding to the first and second frame frequencies, respectively.

19. A device as claimed in claim 18 wherein the first frame frequency is higher than the second frame frequency in the first state of the device and in the second state of the device the second frame frequency is higher than the first frame frequency.

20. A device as claimed in claim 18 wherein the first frame frequency at the input of the storage device is the same in the first state and second state of the device, and

the second frame frequency at the output of the storage device is the same in the first state and second state of the device.

21. A device as claimed in claim 18 wherein the first frame frequency is greater than the second frame frequency.

22. A device as claimed in claim 18 wherein the second frame frequency in the first state is lower than the first frame frequency and the second frame frequency in the second state is higher than the first frame frequency.