Digital broadcast receiver and broadcast data display method for simultaneous display of multi-channel visual images

• US 7,870,583 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2007
• Issued: 01/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Hyun Sool, Lee, Ki Tae, Seo, Kwang Min, Yoon, Sang Hyeon
• Primary Examiner(s): Pendleton; Brian T
• Assistant Examiner(s): STRONCZER, RYAN S
• Application Number:
  US11/710,682
• Publication Number:
  US 20070277214A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,418 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/43
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• 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 21/4344 Remultiplexing of multiplex streams, e.g. by modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4384 involving operations to reduce the access time, e.g. fast-tuning for reducing channel switching latency
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440263 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for displaying on a connected PDA
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/45457 applied to a time segment
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4854 for modifying image parameters, e.g. image brightness, contrast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image
• 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 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A digital broadcast receiver and broadcast data display method enabling simultaneous display of multi-channel visual images are disclosed. The broadcast data display method includes receiving digital broadcast data on a plurality of channels; simultaneously outputting on a single screen real-time broadcast data of a selected channel and still images of the remaining channels; and periodically updating the still images of the remaining channels. Thereby, up-to-date multi-channel visual images are simultaneously output. Hence, the user can easily perform channel selection and channel switching.

Claims

1. A digital broadcast receiver comprising:

a broadcast receiving unit for simultaneously receiving digital broadcast data on a plurality of channels;

a broadcast output unit for simultaneously outputting real-time broadcast data of a particular one of the channels and still images of the remaining channels on a single screen; and

a still image updater for periodically updating the still images of the remaining channels, while continuing the outputting of the real-time broadcast data of the particular one of the channels,

wherein the still image updater comprises an I-frame detector for repeatedly detecting an I-frame in broadcast data of a current minor channel on an I-frame period basis and an I-frame storage for storing detected I-frames of minor channels and updating a stored I-frame of the current minor channel with a newly detected I-frame,

wherein the I-frame detector compares sizes of received image frames and detects a relatively large image frame as an I-frame, and

wherein the broadcast output unit comprises a major channel buffer for storing real-time broadcast data of a major channel and an image synthesizer for generating a screen output image using the real-time broadcast data stored in the major channel buffer and I-frames stored in the I-frame storage.

2. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 1, wherein the broadcast receiving unit simultaneously receives digital broadcast data on one major channel and at least one minor channel.

3. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 2, further comprising a channel setting unit for setting channels to be received by the broadcast receiving unit.

4. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 3, wherein the channel setting unit resets the current minor channel on the basis of a channel switch condition set in advance.

5. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 4, wherein the channel setting unit stores a channel list having a plurality of channel identifiers, selects in sequence one of the channel identifiers in the channel list on the basis of the condition to switch the channel, and resets the current minor channel to a channel of the selected channel identifier.

6. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 5, wherein the channel identifiers on the channel list have to be greater than or equal to the preset quantity of minor channels to be simultaneously output to the single screen.

7. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 6, wherein the channel list has channel identifiers selected by a user.

8. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 6, wherein the channel list has identifiers of favorite channels automatically collected from a channel reception history.

9. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 6, wherein the channel list has identifiers of available channels scanned by the digital broadcast receiver.

10. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 6, wherein the channel list has channel identifiers generated using information from an electronic program guide.

11. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 4, wherein the condition to switch the channel is one of a channel change request input by a user, a preset channel change period, and detection of an I-frame on the current minor channel.

12. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 3, wherein in response to a channel change request from a user the channel setting unit sets the channels to be received using channel identifiers accompanied by the channel change request.

13. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 5, wherein the I-frame detector pre-stores I-frame periods of the minor channels, and detects an image frame received on the current minor channel at each I-frame period thereof as an I-frame.

14. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 5, wherein the I-frame storage stores and updates I-frames corresponding to the current minor channel.

15. The digital broadcast receiver of claim 14, wherein the image synthesizer sequentially selects from the I-frame storage a quantity of I-frames equal to the preset quantity of minor channels to be simultaneously output to the single screen, and combines the selected I-frames with a video signal of the major channel to generate a screen output image.

16. A broadcast data display method for a digital broadcast receiver, comprising:

receiving digital broadcast data on a plurality of channels;

outputting simultaneously real-time broadcast data of a selected one of the channels and still images of the remaining channels on a single screen; and

periodically updating the still images of the remaining channels while continuing the outputting of the real-time broadcast data of the selected one of the channels,

wherein updating the still images comprises repeatedly detecting an I-frame in broadcast data of a current minor channel on an I-frame period basis, storing detected I-frames of minor channels, and updating a stored I-frame of the current minor channel with a newly detected I-frame,

wherein detecting the I-frame comprises comparing sizes of received image frames and detecting a relatively large image frame as an I-frame,

wherein the simultaneously outputting step comprises outputting real-time broadcast data of individual minor channels in sequence together with the real-time broadcast data to the single screen, and wherein the sequence includes one I-frame from each of preset minor channels.

17. The broadcast data display method of claim 16, wherein the receiving step comprises simultaneously receiving digital broadcast data on one major channel and at least one minor channel.

18. The broadcast data display method of claim 16, further comprising setting, using a channel list having a plurality of channel identifiers, one channel as a major channel and at least one channel as a minor channel.

19. The broadcast data display method of claim 18, wherein the channel identifiers on the channel list have to be greater than or equal to the preset quantity of major and minor channels to be simultaneously output to the single screen.

20. The broadcast data display method of claim 18, wherein the channel list has identifiers of channels selected by a user.

21. The broadcast data display method of claim 18, wherein the channel list has identifiers of favorite channels automatically collected from a channel reception history.

22. The broadcast data display method of claim 18, wherein the channel list has identifiers of channels scanned by the digital broadcast receiver.

23. The broadcast data display method of claim 18, wherein the channel list has channel identifiers generated using information from an electronic program guide.

24. The broadcast data display method of claim 18, wherein the simultaneously outputting step further comprises:

outputting real-time broadcast data of the major channel; and

outputting I-frames detected in broadcast data of the individual minor channels in sequence together with the real-time broadcast data to the single screen, wherein the sequence includes one I-frame from each of the preset minor channels.