10379results about "Pulse modulation television signal transmission" patented technology

A network adapter for a synchronous logical ring network operates on existing physical twisted-pair telephone topologies. Information propagates around the logical ring, reaching every device on each revolution around the network. Network devices are full-duplex, transmitting and receiving information on every clock cycle. Network devices arbitrate to be elected the network clock device. By synchronizing all network devices to a single reference clock, and providing fixed frames of information propagating around the network at consistent time intervals, the logical ring network ensures that information propagates from one device to another at consistent time intervals. The fixed-length frames are divided into two independent streams: a data stream for the distribution of real-time continuous digital media streams; and a system command stream for the distribution of system commands.

Documents and other items can be delivered electronically from sender to recipient with a level of trustedness approaching or exceeding that provided by a personal document courier. A trusted electronic go-between can validate, witness and / or archive transactions while, in some cases, actively participating in or directing the transaction. Printed or imaged documents can be marked using handwritten signature images, seal images, electronic fingerprinting, watermarking, and / or steganography. Electronic commercial transactions and transmissions take place in a reliable, "trusted" virtual distribution environment that provides significant efficiency and cost savings benefits to users in addition to providing an extremely high degree of confidence and trustedness. The systems and techniques have many uses including but not limited to secure document delivery, execution of legal documents, and electronic data interchange (EDI).

A method of generating an object oriented interactive multimedia file, including encoding data comprising at least one of video, text, audio, music and / or graphics elements as a video packet stream, text packet stream, audio packet stream, music packet stream and / or graphics packet stream respectively, combining the packet streams into a single self-contained object, said object containing its own control information, placing a plurality of the objects in a data stream, and grouping one or more of the data streams in a single contiguous self-contained scene, the scene including format definition as the initial packet in a sequence of packets. An encoder for executing the method is provided together with a player or decoder for parsing and decoding the file, which can be wirelessly streamed to a portable computer device, such as a mobile phone or a PDA. The object controls provide rendering and interactive controls for objects allowing users to control dynamic media composition, such as dictating the shape and content of interleaved video objects, and control the objects received.

Streaming compressed digital hypervideo received upon a digital communications network is decoded (decompressed) and played in a client-computer-based "video on web VCR" software system. Scene changes, if not previously marked upstream, are automatically detected, and typically twenty-one past scenes are displayed as thumbnail images. Hyperlinks within the main video scene, and / or any thumbnail image, show as hotspots, with text annotations typically appearing upon a cursor "mouse over". All hyperlinks-as are provided and inserted by, inter alia, the upstream network service provider (the "ISP")-may be, and preferably are, full-custom dynamically-resolved to each subscriber / user / viewer ("SUV") upon volitional "click throughs" by the SUV, including retrospectively on past hypervideo scenes as appear within the thumbnail images. Hyperlinking permits (i) retrieving information and commercials, including streaming video / hypervideo, from any of local storage, a network (or Internet) service provider ("ISP"), a network content provider, and / or an advertiser network site, (ii) entering a contest of skill or a lottery of chance, (iii) gambling, (iv) buying (and less often, selling), (v) responding to a survey, and expressing an opinion, and / or (vi) sounding an alert.

A novel network manager for use with a cable television system headend capable of monitoring and managing headend components and set top terminals in a television delivery system is described. The invention relates to methods and apparatus that manage and coordinate the reception of various programming and control signals at a headend. The invention manages and coordinates the storage of such signals for intelligent selection and distribution to set top terminals. The invention makes use of a receiver or set of receivers, a work station, a program control information processing component, a network management CPU, databases, control software and an instruction memory. The invention uses these components to manage and monitor certain headend components, such as signal reception equipment, an authorization component, a file server, MPEG decoders, a digital buffer with frame repeat and channel modulators. The invention is particularly useful in processing and responding to upstream information and subscriber communications received from set top terminals. In so doing, the invention accommodates various system services, including (1) near video on demand (NVOD), (2) virtual video on demand (VVOD), (3) video on demand (VOD), (4) interactive program services, (5) program suggestion features, (6) advertisement targeting, (7) generation of standard and custom menus, and (8) data spooling and text overlaying.

A multimedia bookmark (VMark) bulletin board service (BBS) system comprises: a web host comprising storage for messages, a web server, and a VMark BBS server; a media host comprising storage for audiovisual (AV) files, and a streaming server; a client comprising storage for VMark, a web browser, a media player and a VMark client; and a VMark server located at the media host or at the client; a communication network connecting the web host, the media host and the client. A method of performing a multimedia bookmark bulletin board service (BBS) comprises: creating a message including a multimedia bookmark for an AV file; and posting the message into the multimedia bookmark BBS. A method of sending multimedia bookmark (VMark) between clients comprises: at a first client, making a VMark indicative of a bookmarked position in an AV program; sending the VMark from the first client to a second client; and playing the program at the second client from the bookmarked position. A system for sharing multimedia content comprises: a multimedia bookmark bulletin board system (BBS); and means for posting a multimedia bookmark to the BBS.

A viewer interface for a television program delivery system is described. The innovation relates to methods and devices for viewer pathways to television programs. Specifically, the interface involves hardware and software used in conjunction with a television at the viewer home to create a user friendly menu based approach to television program access. The device is particularly useful in a program delivery system with hundreds of programs and a data signal carrying program information. The disclosure describes menu generation and menu selection of television programs.

A method for providing configurable access to media in a media-on-demand system also can include delivering the media to a first client device in a format compatible with the first client device; interrupting the delivery of the media; recording a bookmark specifying a position in the media where the interruption occurred; and resuming delivery of the media to a second client device, the resumed delivery beginning at a position in the media specified by the recorded bookmark. The method further can include identifying device properties for each of the first and second client devices; delivering the media to the first client device in a format compatible with the identified device properties for the first client device; and, delivering the media to the second client device in a format compatible with the identified device properties for the second client device.

A media system that centrally manages and stores media contents and also controls the delivery of media content to subscribers is disclosed. According to one aspect, an administrator can control program scheduling, rates, service packages and system configuration for a media delivery system. Additionally, the administrator may also control billing, transaction monitoring, and customer relations. According to another aspect, the media delivery system provides subscribers with centrally managed storage for paused or recorded media. Still another aspect is that the media delivery system can restrict various administrators to different modules of the media delivery system.

An apparatus for upgrading a viewer interface for a television program delivery system (200) is described. The invention relates to methods and devices for viewer pathways to television programs and services. Specifically, the apparatus involves hardware and software used in conjunction with the interface and a television at the viewer home to create a user friendly menu based approach to accessing programs and services. The apparatus is particularly useful in a program delivery system (200) with hundreds of programs and a data signal carrying program information. The disclosure describes menu generation and menu selection of television programs.

A broadcast system and method for identification and insertion of advertising in broadcast programs includes receiving a broadcast data stream, identifying an advertisement in the broadcast data stream, and updating an advertisement schedule including information identifying the advertisement and a location of the advertisement within a program in the broadcast data stream. On playback, the advertisement or a replacement advertisement is inserted into the program at the location or at another location within the program.

A system and method for seamlessly combining client-only rendering techniques with server-only rendering techniques. The approach uses a composite stream containing three distinct streams. Two of the streams are synchronized and transmit camera definition, video of server-rendered objects, and a time dependent depth map for the server-rendered object. The third stream is available to send geometry from the server to the client, for local rendering if appropriate. The invention can satisfy a number of viewing applications. For example, initially the most relevant geometry can stream to the client for high quality local rendering while the server delivers renderings of less relevant geometry at lower resolutions. After the most relevant geometry has been delivered to the client, the less important geometry can be optionally streamed to the client to increase the fidelity of the entire scene. In the limit, all of the geometry is transferred to the client and the situation corresponds to client-only rendering system where local graphics hardware is used to improve fidelity and reduce bandwidth. Alternatively, if a client does not have local three-dimensional graphics capability then the server can transmit only the video of the server-rendered object and drop the other two streams. In either case, the approach also permits for a progressive improvement in the server-rendered image whenever the scene becomes static. Bandwidth that was previously used to represent changing images is allocated to improving the fidelity of the server-rendered image whenever the scene becomes static.

A method for effectively implementing a multi-room television system includes a digital base station that processes and combines various program sources to produce a processed stream. A communications processor then responsively transmits the processed stream as a local composite output stream to various wired and wireless display devices for flexible viewing at variable remote locations. The transmission path performance is used to determine the video encoding process, and special attention is taken to assure that all users have low-latency interactive capabilities.

A personal media broadcasting system enables video distribution over a computer network and allows a user to view and control media sources over a computer network from a remote location. A personal broadcaster receives an input from one or more types of media sources, digitizes and compresses the content, and streams the compressed media over a computer network to a media player running on any of a wide range of client devices for viewing the media. The system may allow the user to issue control commands (e.g., “channel up”) from the media player to the broadcaster, causing the source device to execute the commands. The broadcaster and the media player may employ several techniques for buffering, transmitting, and viewing the content to improve the user's experience.

A personal media broadcasting system enables video distribution over a computer network and allows a user to view and control media sources over a computer network from a remote location. A personal broadcaster receives an input from one or more types of media sources, digitizes and compresses the content, and streams the compressed media over a computer network to a media player running on any of a wide range of client devices for viewing the media. The system may allow the user to issue control commands (e.g., “channel up”) from the media player to the broadcaster, causing the source device to execute the commands. The broadcaster and the media player may employ several techniques for buffering, transmitting, and viewing the content to improve the user's experience.

In a broadband communications system, e.g., a cable system, programming content can be readily reserved and accessed for viewing using an interactive program guide, a network home graphic user interface (GUI), Quick View Guide, etc., in accordance with the invention. Such programming content may include in-progress programs, future programs and previously broadcast programs which are recorded at a headend in the cable system, and which may or may not have overlapping broadcast times. In addition, the user may reserve programs at a set-top terminal, and may also do so remotely from the terminal through a communications network such as, the Internet, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a wireless telephone network, etc.

An improved audio-visual circuit is provided that includes a transport packet parsing circuit for receiving a transport data packet stream, a CPU circuit for initializing said integrated circuit and for processing portions of said data packet stream, a ROM circuit for storing data, a RAM circuit for storing data, an audio decoder circuit for decoding audio portions of said data packet stream, a video decoder circuit for decoding video portions of said data packet stream, an NTSC / PAL encoding circuit for encoding video portions of said data packet stream, an OSD coprocessor circuit for processing OSD portions of said data packets, a traffic controller circuit moving portions of said data packet stream between portions of said integrated circuit, an extension bus interface circuit, a P1394 interface circuit, a communication coprocessors circuit, an address bus connected to said circuits, and a data bus connected to said circuits.

An audio distribution network system (20) allowing an audio distribution system to be created that is integrated with the home automation system into a home network that permits vocal feedback, status and even control with the audio through network speakers (100).

Activity-based or experienced-based operations are created and defined during an initialization or setup session for one or more system component, with minimum or no user interaction. The system components include legacy and / or non-legacy devices, which are configured and managed within a controlled environment, such as a home or business peer-to-peer or client-server network. During an initialization or setup session, relevant device information and device metadata are collected via a conventional or discovery protocol interface. For a legacy device that is not automatically discoverable, a user adds the legacy device to the controlled environment by inputting the device information. The device information can also be automatically collected from an accessible database. Once the device information has been collected, the system components are configured to support one or more activity-based or experienced-based operations.

A digital television (DTV) transmitter and a method of processing data in the DTV transmitter / receiver are disclosed. In the DTV transmitter, a pre-processor pre-processes the enhanced data by coding the enhanced data for forward error correction (FEC) and expanding the FEC-coded data. A packet formatter generates one or more groups of enhanced data packets, each enhanced data packet including the pre-processed enhanced data and known data, wherein the data formatter adds burst time information into each group of enhanced data packets. And, a packet multiplexer generates at least one burst of enhanced data by multiplexing the one or more groups of enhanced data packets with at least one main data packet including the main data, each burst of enhanced data including at least one group of enhanced data packets.

Techniques and tools for encoding and decoding motion vector information for video images are described. For example, a video encoder yields an extended motion vector code by jointly coding, for a set of pixels, a switch code, motion vector information, and a terminal symbol indicating whether subsequent data is encoded for the set of pixels. In another aspect, an encoder / decoder selects motion vector predictors for macroblocks. In another aspect, a video encoder / decoder uses hybrid motion vector prediction. In another aspect, a video encoder / decoder signals a motion vector mode for a predicted image. In another aspect, a video decoder decodes a set of pixels by receiving an extended motion vector code, which reflects joint encoding of motion information together with intra / inter-coding information and a terminal symbol. The decoder determines whether subsequent data exists for the set of pixels based on e.g., the terminal symbol.

Wireless routers having an ADSL or cable connection to content data available via the Internet, a wired connection for connecting local clients in a LAN and a wireless controller for connecting to other wireless routers and clients in a wireless local area networks (WLANs). The WLANs often intersect and therefore it is possible to communicate between wireless routers in order to exchange content data via the wireless LAN in addition to the ADSL or cable connection. Further, each wireless routers has a cache data store to cache content data requested by the user, or any other information sent to the wireless router from another wireless router. A central server can schedule transfer of content data between wireless routers by considering information packets stored on the server

Video and audio signals are streamed to remote viewers that are connected to a communication network. A host server receives an originating video and audio signal that may arrive from a single source or from a plurality of independent sources. The host server provides any combination of the originating video and audio signals to viewers connected to a communication network. A viewer requests the host server provide a combination of video and audio signals from the host server. The host server transmits an instruction set to be executed by the viewer. The instruction set causes the viewer to transmit parameters to the host user, including parameters relating to the processing capabilities of the viewer. The host server then transmits multimedia data to the viewer according to the received parameters. A plurality of viewers may be simultaneously connected to the host server. Each of the plurality of viewers may configure the received video and audio signals independent of any other viewer and may generate alerts based on the video and audio content.

A method for providing user interfaces in a first network to a remote access device, the first network including first devices and at least one interface device for communication with the remote access device, the user interfaces for controlling the devices currently connected to the first network. The remote access device establishes communication with the first network via the interface device; the remote access device sends a request to the interface device for accessing the first network; at least one of the first devices in the first network obtains information from one or more of the first devices, the information including device information, and generating a user interface description including at least one reference associated with the device information of each of the one or more first devices; the interface device sends the user interface description to the remote access device; and the remote access device displays a user interface based on the user interface description.

A video server adaptively selects an appropriate video encoding standard and an appropriate video encoding rate for encoding video content to be downloaded to one or more video client devices over a communication network. The video server adaptively selects the video encoding standard and the video encoding rate based upon factors such as the data transmission rate of the communication network, the processing speed of the video client device, or the type of the video content to be downloaded. Once the video encoding standard and the video encoding rate are selected, video content can be transcoded prior to downloading to one or more video client devices. During the download, the video content may be adaptively transrated, such as in response to a change in the data transmission rate of the communication network.

A client-side multimedia content targeting system schedules the recording, storing, and deleting of multimedia content on a client system storage device. The invention accepts as input a prioritized list of program viewing preferences which is compared with a database of program guide objects that indicate when programs of interest are actually broadcast. The viewer may request that certain content be captured, which results in the highest possible priority for those content. The viewer may also explicitly express preferences using appurtenances provided through the viewer interface. Preferences may additionally be inferred from viewing patterns. The viewer's client system locally retains the viewer's preferences and other personal information that the viewer has entered and is sent targeting information relating to program guide objects by a server. Using the viewer's preferences and personal information, the client system creates a viewer profile, which is used with the targeting information by the client system to record content that is within the viewer profile. The invention's client-based form of targeting can be applied to almost any multimedia situation, including, but not limited to: TV shows, movies, advertisements, product and service offerings, music, radio, audio, etc.