Methods and apparatus for simultaneously viewing multiple television programs

• US 20020138851A1
• Filed: 10/02/2001
• Published: 09/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Bellers, Erwin Ben, van Zon, Kees, Lord, William P., Janssen, Johan G.
• Application Number:
  US09/969,003
• Publication Number:
  US 20020138851A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/133
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/368 displaying animated or moving pictures synchronized with the music or audio part
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/011 Lyrics displays, e.g. for karaoke applications
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/135 Autocorrelation
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/235 Fourier transform; Discrete Fourier Transform [DFT]; Fast Fourier Transform [FFT]
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/48 specially adapted for particular use
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43079 of additional data with content streams on multiple devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4394 involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44 Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing a video clip retrieved from local storage with an incoming video stream or rendering scenes according to encoded video stream scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for viewing a secondary television program simultaneously with a primary program. The apparatus includes a receiver for receiving a primary program and one or more secondary programs transmitted by a transmission source; a monitor adapted to display at least one of the primary program and the secondary programs; and a handheld device adapted to display at least a portion of one of the primary program and the secondary programs, wherein the program displayed on the handheld device is that which is not displayed on the monitor.

Claims

1. An apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program, at least a selected one of the secondary and primary programs being displayable on a monitor associated with the apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a handheld device having a processor coupled to a memory, the device being adapted to receive and display at least a portion of at least one of a primary program and one or more secondary programs, wherein the program displayed on the handheld device is that which is not displayed on the monitor.

2. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 1 wherein the handheld device comprises a personal digital assistant.

3. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 1 further comprising a receiver for receiving a signal from a transmission source.

4. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 3 wherein the transmission source comprises a broadcast source.

5. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 3 wherein communication protocol between the handheld device and the receiver is at least one of Bluetooth and 802.11b.

6. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 3 wherein the transmission source is a bit pump.

7. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 6 wherein the bit pump transmits a digital signal.

8. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 3 wherein the receiver is a digital television receiver board.

9. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 8 wherein the digital television receiver board includes a software decoder for monitoring the secondary programs and a hardware decoder for decoding the primary signal.

10. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 1 wherein the monitor is a television.

11. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 1 wherein the handheld device includes a display window for displaying one of the primary program and the secondary programs.

12. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 1 wherein the handheld device includes remote control capability of the monitor.

13. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 1 further comprising a personal computer for processing a signal from the handheld device.

14. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 1 wherein the handheld device is a handheld computer.

15. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 1 further comprising a wireless hub for communicating a signal from the web pad.

16. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 1 wherein the portion displayed on the handheld device comprises a sequence of one or more selected frames.

17. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 16 wherein the selected frames are periodically updated.

18. The apparatus for simultaneously viewing one or more secondary programs along with a primary program as recited in claim 1 wherein the portion displayed on the handheld device has a lower resolution than the resolution of the program which is displayed on the monitor.

19. A method of simultaneously viewing a primary program and one or more secondary programs comprising the steps of:

receiving a primary program and one or more secondary programs transmitted by a transmission source;

displaying at least one of the primary program and the secondary programs on a monitor; and

displaying one of the primary program and the secondary programs on a handheld device, wherein the program displayed on the handheld device is that which is not displayed on the monitor.

20. An apparatus for simultaneously viewing a primary program and one or more secondary programs, the apparatus comprising:

a receiver for receiving a primary program and one or more secondary programs transmitted by a transmission source;

a monitor adapted to display at least one of the primary program and the secondary programs; and

a handheld device adapted to display at least a portion of one of the primary program and the secondary programs, wherein the program displayed on the handheld device is that which is not displayed on the monitor.