Digital cable TV receiver, diagnosis method for the same, and data structure of HDMI status report

• US 7,900,237 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2005
• Issued: 03/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kwon, Kwang Hun, Cha, Sang Hoon
• Primary Examiner(s): Pendleton; Brian T
• Assistant Examiner(s): OKEKE, ONYEDIKA C
• Application Number:
  US11/178,949
• Publication Number:
  US 20060031895A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,058 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/139
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/04 Changes in size, position or resolution of an image
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/02 Graphics controller able to handle multiple formats, e.g. input or output formats
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/047 using display data channel standard [DDC] communication
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/12 Use of DVI or HDMI protocol in interfaces along the display data pipeline
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/006 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a display terminal using a CRT G09G1/167; using a flat panel G09G3/2096; circuits for interfacing with colour displays G09G5/04
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/02 characterised by the way in which colour is displayed details of colour display specific for CRTs G09G1/28; specific for flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/12 Synchronisation between the display unit and other units, e.g. other display units, video-disc players
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/418 External card to be used in combination with the client device, e.g. for conditional access
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/436 Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43632 involving a wired protocol, e.g. IEEE 1394 high-speed IEEE 1394 serial bus H04L12/40052
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44227 Monitoring of local network, e.g. connection or bandwidth variations; Detecting new devices in the local network configuring of peripheral devices in general G06F9/4411; monitoring connectivity in data switched networks H04L43/0811
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver

Abstract

A digital cable TV receiver includes a POD module and a host device. The host device includes a controller and a HDMI port linked to a first peripheral device. When the controller receives a diagnostic request for HDMI status from the POD module, it generates a HDMI status report and transmits the DVI status report to the POD module. The HDMI status report includes HDMI status information associated with the first peripheral device. If the host device further includes a DVI port linked to a second peripheral device and receives a diagnostic request for HDMI/DVI status from the PDO module, it generates a HDMI/DVI status report and transmits the HDMI/DVI status report to the POD module. The HDMI/DVI status report includes HDMI status information associated with the first peripheral device and DVI status information associated with the second peripheral device.

Claims

1. A digital cable TV receiver in an open cable system, the digital cable TV receiver comprising:

a POD module; and

a host device comprising a controller and a plurality of HDMI ports linked to a plurality of peripheral devices respectively,

wherein the controller generates HDMI status information and transmits the HDMI status information to the POD module when a diagnostic request for HDMI status is received from the POD module,

wherein the host device transmits the HDMI status information to the POD module in response to the received diagnostic request through a CPU interface, the CPU interface including a generic diagnostic resource assigning diagnostic identifiers to corresponding diagnostic items, respectively, and wherein a single diagnostic identifier of the diagnostic identifiers is assigned to the HDMI status information,

wherein the generic diagnostic resource enables the POD module to request that the host device generates the HDMI status information,

wherein the HDMI status information includes audio coding format, audio sampling frequency and audio sample size associated with audio utilized on each of the HDMI ports, and

wherein the HDMI status information further includes information indicating whether each of the peripheral devices linked to the each of HDMI ports uses HDMI or DVI,

wherein when the HDMI status information includes multiple diagnostics corresponding to the plurality of HDMI ports, the multiple diagnostics are identified by the same diagnostic identifier, and

wherein the HDMI status information comprises a host HDCP status field indicating whether HDCP is enabled on each of the HDMI ports and a device HDCP status field indicating a HDCP status of each of the peripheral devices connected to each of the HDMI ports.

2. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 1, wherein the HDMI status information comprises a connection type field identifying each of the HDMI ports as any one of an input port, an output port, and an input/output port.

3. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 1, wherein the HDMI status information comprises video format information indicating a current video format utilized on each of the HDMI ports.

4. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 3, wherein the video format information comprises at least one of a number of horizontal lines, a number of vertical lines, a scan rate, an aspect ratio, and a scanning type associated with the current video format.

5. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 1, wherein the HDMI status information comprises at least one of AVI information indicating a current Auxiliary Video Information InfoFrame utilized on each of the HDMI ports, audio information indicating a current Audio InfoFrame utilized on each of the HDMI ports, SPD information indicating a current Source Product Description InfoFrame utilized on each of the HDMI ports, and MPEG information indicating a current MPEG source InfoFrame utilized on each of the HDMI ports.

6. A diagnostic method in an open cable system including a host device, the method comprising:

receiving, by the host device, a diagnostic request for HDMI status through a CPU interface from a POD module; and

performing, by the host device, a diagnostic function in response to the diagnostic request, generating an HDMI status information associated with a plurality of HDMI ports which are linked to a plurality of peripheral devices respectively, and transmitting the HDMI status information to the POD module through the CPU interface,

wherein the CPU interface includes a generic diagnostic resource assigning diagnostic identifiers to corresponding diagnostic items, respectively, and wherein a single diagnostic identifier of the diagnostic identifiers is assigned to the HDMI status information,

wherein the generic diagnostic resource enables the POD module to request that the host device performs the diagnostic function,

wherein the HDMI status information includes audio coding format, audio sampling frequency and audio sample size associated with audio utilized on each of the HDMI ports, and

wherein the HDMI status information includes information indicating whether each of the peripheral devices linked to each of the ports uses HDMI or DVI,

wherein when the HDMI status information includes multiple diagnostics corresponding to the plurality of HDMI ports, the multiple diagnostics are identified by the same diagnostic identifier, and

wherein the HDMI status information comprises a host HDCP status field indicating whether HDCP is enabled on each of the HDMI ports and a device HDCP status field indicating a HDCP status of each of the peripheral devices connected to each of the HDMI ports.

7. The diagnostic method of claim 6, wherein the HDMI status information comprises a connection type field identifying each of the HDMI ports as any one of an input port, an output port, and an input/output port.

8. The diagnostic method of claim 6, wherein the HDMI status information comprises video format information indicating a current video format utilized on each of the HDMI ports.

9. The diagnostic method of claim 8, wherein the video format information comprises at least one of a number of horizontal lines, a number of vertical lines, a scan rate, an aspect ratio, and a scanning type associated with the current video format.

10. The diagnostic method of claim 6, wherein the HDMI status information comprises at least one of AVI information indicating a current Auxiliary Video Information InfoFrame utilized on the HDMI port, audio information indicating a current Audio InfoFrame utilized on each of the HDMI ports, SPD information indicating a current Source Product Description InfoFrame utilized on each of the HDMI ports, and MPEG information indicating a current MPEG source InfoFrame utilized on each of the HDMI ports.