System and methods for the simultaneous display of multiple video signals in high definition format

• US 8,350,961 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2007
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Geno Valente, Mary Beth Valente
• Original Assignee: Geno Valente, Mary Beth Valente
• Inventors: Valente, Geno, Valente, Mary Beth
• Primary Examiner(s): Harold, Jefferey
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAIEM, SEAN N
• Application Number:
  US11/789,577
• Publication Number:
  US 20070252912A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,086 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 348/441
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25 Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00
• 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 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43635 HDMI
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440263 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for displaying on a connected PDA
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4781 Games
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• 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 7/0125 one of the standards being a high definition standard
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0806 the signals being two or more video signals H04N7/0803, H04N7/081 take precedence

Abstract

A scaling engine, blending mechanism, memory controller, frame buffer and video driver are included within a semiconductor, such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), to provide broadcasting of signals at a high resolution format by combining two or more low resolution video signals to create a high resolution signal in real-time High Definition format, such as 1080p. The high resolution signals can be concurrently displayed as one or more image areas on a display device in any contemplated size, number and arrangement.

Claims

1. A method for downloading and customizing Internet content to one or more display image areas of a display device, while simultaneously displaying television content comprising a customized computer program that performs the steps of:

enabling access to one or more content servers, wherein the one or more content servers includes a plurality of Internet content, the plurality of Internet content comprising Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds, documents in formats including HyperText Markup Language (HTML), images in formats including Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), JPEG2000, Joint Bi-level Image Experts Group (JBIG), and videos in formats including Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG);

validating information of a user to permit a request to access the plurality of Internet content;

receiving a selection of one or more Internet content chosen from the plurality of the Internet content to obtain selected Internet content;

downloading the selected Internet content from the one or more content servers over an Internet connection;

customizing the selected Internet content by recreating the selected Internet content specific to the user to obtain customized Internet content, the customized Internet content including text, files, movies, graphics, clip art, photos, videos, sounds, advertisements, pictures, images, podcasts, way files, hyperlinks, code, animations, instant messaging, real-time informational ticker, and gaming;

blending the selected Internet content with television content into a video signal;

assembling the video signal into a frame buffer;

reading the frame buffer;

formatting the video signal into a high resolution video signal;

sending the high resolution video signal over an interface; and

illustrating the high resolution video signal on a display device, wherein the high resolution video signal includes the simultaneous display of the customized Internet content and the television content each presented on the display device in image areas separate and apart from one another.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said blending step further comprises the step of changing the transparency of the video signal.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the video signal is in a 720p format.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the high resolution video signal is in a 1080p format.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information of the user is credit card information of the user.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information of the user is a login and a password.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the display device is one selected from the group comprising of:

a personal computer, a digital television, a high definition television, a camcorder, a projector, and a home theater personal computer.

8. A system for harmonizing television content and Internet content for a user, comprising:

a television display device;

a customized computer program that enables access to one or more content servers, wherein the one or more content servers includes a plurality of Internet content, the plurality of Internet content comprising Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds, documents in formats including HyperText Markup Language (HTML), images in formats including Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), JPEG2000, Joint Bi-level Image Experts Group (JBIG), and videos in formats including Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG);

a plurality of input devices, wherein each input device downloads the Internet content selected by the user from the plurality of Internet content to obtain selected Internet content upon validation of a request by the user to access the Internet content and each input device downloads the selected Internet content from one or more content servers through an Internet connection to obtain downloaded Internet content;

a computing system configured to receive the downloaded Internet content, the computing system further comprising;

a scaling engine, wherein the scaling engine receives the downloaded Internet content and recreates the downloaded Internet content specific to the user to obtain customized Internet content, the customized Internet content including text, files, movies, graphics, clip art, photos, videos, sounds, advertisements, pictures, images, podcasts, way files, hyperlinks, code, animations, instant messaging, real-time informational ticker, and gaming, the scaling engine further manipulates the customized Internet content and television content to obtain a scaled Internet content and a scaled television content;

a blending mechanism, wherein the blending mechanism blends the scaled Internet content and the scaled television content to obtain one or more video signals;

a memory controller, wherein the memory controller receives the one or more video signals;

a frame buffer, wherein the frame buffer receives the one or more video signals from the memory controller and assembles the one or more video signals to determine placement of the one or more video signals within the frame buffer;

a video driver, wherein the video driver read the one or more video signals from the frame buffer and formats the one or more video signals into one or more high resolution video signals;

a display device, wherein the display device receives the one or more high resolution video signals from the video driver and concurrently illustrates the downloaded Internet content in a first image area and the television content in a second image area, the first image area being separate and apart from the second image area.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein said blending mechanism utilizes alpha blending.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the computing system is implemented in hardware including a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

11. The system according to claim 8, wherein the computing system is implemented in semiconductor hardware.

12. The system according to claim 8, wherein the computing system is implemented in software.