WO2001015443A1 - Device, system and method for usb television and television integration with advertising and with internet browsing - Google Patents

Device, system and method for usb television and television integration with advertising and with internet browsing Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2001015443A1
WO2001015443A1 PCT/US2000/020387 US0020387W WO0115443A1 WO 2001015443 A1 WO2001015443 A1 WO 2001015443A1 US 0020387 W US0020387 W US 0020387W WO 0115443 A1 WO0115443 A1 WO 0115443A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
television program
video signal
signal
computer
usb
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2000/020387
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Arie Heiman
Ehud Spiegel
Original Assignee
Nogatech Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Nogatech Inc. filed Critical Nogatech Inc.
Priority to AU63803/00A priority Critical patent/AU6380300A/en
Publication of WO2001015443A1 publication Critical patent/WO2001015443A1/en

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
    • H04N21/81—Monomedia components thereof
    • H04N21/812—Monomedia components thereof involving advertisement data
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/4104—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices
    • H04N21/4113—PC
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/422—Input-only peripherals, i.e. input devices connected to specially adapted client devices, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
    • H04N21/4227—Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/436—Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
    • H04N21/4363—Adapting the video or multiplex stream to a specific local network, e.g. a IEEE 1394 or Bluetooth® network
    • H04N21/43632—Adapting the video or multiplex stream to a specific local network, e.g. a IEEE 1394 or Bluetooth® network involving a wired protocol, e.g. IEEE 1394
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/44—Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing a video clip retrieved from local storage with an incoming video stream, rendering scenes according to MPEG-4 scene graphs
    • H04N21/4402—Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing a video clip retrieved from local storage with an incoming video stream, rendering scenes according to MPEG-4 scene graphs involving reformatting operations of video signals for household redistribution, storage or real-time display
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
    • H04N21/4508—Management of client data or end-user data
    • H04N21/4532—Management of client data or end-user data involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
    • H04N21/454—Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
    • H04N21/462—Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
    • H04N21/4622—Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/472—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content
    • H04N21/47214—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/478—Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
    • H04N21/4782—Web browsing, e.g. WebTV
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/482—End-user interface for program selection
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/433—Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
    • H04N21/4334—Recording operations
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/472—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content
    • H04N21/47217—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a device, a system and method for providing USB (universal serial bus) television programs, and in particular, for enabling television programs to be displayed on a computer display screen in combination with advertisements or other selected content.
  • Television programs have traditionally only been viewed through a television set, which is a device dedicated to the display of such programs.
  • various hybrids of computers or Internet with television sets have been proposed, such as "Web TV" of Microsoft Corp., (Redmond, WA, USA) for example, no such hybrid has become particularly popular and/or widely available. At least one reason for this lack of popularity has been the requirement for hybrid devices, and/or cumbersome additions to television sets.
  • Such a combination could enable advertising revenues to be obtained from the combination of viewing television programs and accessing data resources through the Internet, such as E-commerce Web sites for example.
  • Such a combination would not rely upon any particular implementation of a hardware device for providing the television program content, as long as the device supports the display of a high quality image which is large, smooth and clear, and would enable advertisers to benefit from the combination of two popular, entertaining activities. Again, unfortunately such a combination is not available.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a USB-TV hardware according to the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a system for combining a
  • USB-TV hardware with a computer according to the present invention
  • FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for presenting television program data through USB-TV hardware and the computer according to the present invention
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for enabling the user to select television programs according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary GUI according to the present invention.
  • the present invention is of a device, a method and a system for enabling television program content to be displayed through a computer. Furthermore, the present invention enables the user to select, record, display and manipulate television program content through the computer. In addition, the present invention enables the user to view television programs while examining data resources through the Internet, such as Web sites for example.
  • a GUI GUI
  • a device for enabling television program data to be displayed by a computer the computer featuring a USB (universal serial bus), the device comprising: (a) a video signal input for receiving a television program video signal; (b) a tuner for receiving the television program video signal from the video signal input and for adjusting the video signal; (c) a video decoder for receiving the television program video signal from the tuner and for decoding the video signal; (d) a USB interface for converting the decoded video signal to form a USB signal; and (e) a USB plug for connecting to the USB of the computer, such that the computer receives the USB signal.
  • a USB universal serial bus
  • a system for displaying a television program comprising: (a) a computer for displaying the television program, the computer comprising: (i) a USB (universal serial bus) for receiving television program data; and (ii) a display connected to the USB for displaying the television program; and (b) a television device for receiving a television program signal and for converting the television program signal to the television program data, the television device comprising: (i) a video signal input for receiving the television program signal; (ii) a USB interface for converting the television program signal to form a USB signal; and (iii) a USB plug for connecting to the USB of the computer, such the computer receives the USB signal.
  • a method for displaying television program data by a computer comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a television program video signal; (b) tuning the television program video signal to form a tuned signal; (c) decoding the tuned signal to form a decoded signal; (d) converting the decoded signal to form a USB signal; (e) transmitting the USB signal to the USB of the computer; and (f) displaying the USB signal by the computer to display the television program data.
  • a method for recording a television program video signal received by a computer the television program video signal corresponding to a television program selected by a user
  • the method comprising the steps of: (a) selecting the television program by the user to form a selected television program; (b) entering the selected television program into the computer by the user; (c) determining a time period for recording the selected television program by the computer; (d) receiving the television program video signal by the computer at the time period; and (e) storing the television program video signal in a memory storage of the computer such that the television program video signal is recorded.
  • a method for displaying a television program in a first portion of a Web browser while displaying a second data resource in a second portion of the Web browser, the Web browser being displayed by a computer comprising the steps of: (a) providing a Web browser with a plurality of display areas, each display area being substantially independent of other display areas; (b) receiving a television program video signal by the computer corresponding to the television; (c) displaying the television program video signal display area such that the first display area is the first portion of the Web browser; and (d) displaying the second data resource in a second display area, such that the second display area is the second portion of the Web browser.
  • Web browser refers to any software program which can display text, graphics, or both, from Web pages on World Wide Web sites.
  • Web page refers to any document written in a mark-up language including, but not limited to, HTML (hypertext mark-up language) or VRML (virtual reality modeling language), dynamic HTML, XML (extended mark-up language) or related computer languages thereof, as well as to any collection of such documents reachable through one specific Internet address or at one specific World Wide Web site, or any document obtainable through a particular URL (Uniform Resource Locator).
  • Web site refers to at least one Web page, and preferably a plurality of Web pages, virtually connected to form a coherent group.
  • Web server refers to a computer or other electronic device which is capable of serving at least one Web page to a Web browser.
  • applet refers to a self-contained software module written in an applet language such as Java or constructed as an ActiveXTM control.
  • network refers to a connection between any two computers which permits the transmission of data.
  • the phrase “display a Web page” includes all actions necessary to render at least a portion of the information on the Web page available to the computer user.
  • the phrase includes, but is not limited to, the static visual display of static graphical information, the audible production of audio information, the animated visual display of animation and the visual display of video stream data.
  • computer user and “user” both refer to the person who operates the Web browser or other GUI interface and navigates through the system of the present invention by operating a computer.
  • computer refers to a combination of a particular computer hardware system and a particular software operating system. Examples of such hardware systems include those with any type of suitable data processor.
  • computer includes, but is not limited to, personal computers (PC) having an operating system such as DOS,
  • WindowsTM WindowsTM, OS/2TM or Linux
  • MacintoshTM computers computers having JAVATM-OS as the operating system
  • graphical workstations such as the computers of Sun MicrosystemsTM and Silicon GraphicsTM, and other computers having some version of the UNIX operating system such as AIXTM or SOLARISTM of Sun MicrosystemsTM; a PalmPilotTM, a PilotPCTM, or any other handheld device; or any other known and available operating system.
  • WindowsTM includes but is not limited to Windows95TM, Windows 3.xTM in which "x” is an integer such as "1”, Windows NTTM, Windows98TM, Windows CETM and any upgraded versions of these operating systems by Microsoft Inc. (Seattle, Washington, USA).
  • a software application could be written in substantially any suitable programming language, which could easily be selected by one of ordinary skill in the art.
  • the programming language chosen should be compatible with the computer by which the software application is executed, and in particularly with the operating system of that computer. Examples of suitable programming languages include, but are not limited to, C, C++ and Java.
  • suitable programming languages include, but are not limited to, C, C++ and Java.
  • the functions of the present invention when described as a series of steps for a method, could be implemented as a series of software instructions for being operated by a data processor, such that the present invention could be implemented as software, firmware or hardware, or a combination thereof.
  • the present invention is of a device, a method and a system for enabling television program content to be displayed through a computer. Furthermore, the present invention enables the user to select, record, display and manipulate television program content through the computer. In addition, the present invention enables the user to view television programs while examining data resources through the Internet and interacting with these resources, such as Web sites for example. A GUI (graphical user interface) is preferably presented to the user through a Web browser. Thus, the present invention enables two popular, entertaining activities, watching television programs and interacting with Web sites, to be combined.
  • the present invention features a method for enabling additional advertising revenues to be obtained, as well as for providing more focused, targeted advertising.
  • the television program data is displayed to the user through a Web browser as the GUI, such that the user is also able to examine Web pages substantially simultaneously.
  • the attention and presence of the user while examining a particular Web page may therefore be maintained, possibly even with an increase of interest by the user in particular advertising information.
  • Such maintained and even increased attention and interest is valuable for transmitting advertising information to the user, such that additional advertising revenues may be charged for enabling such a transmission.
  • the method of the present invention also enables the effectiveness of the advertising to be increased, and hence enables additional advertising revenues to be charged.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative, exemplary USB-TV (USB television) hardware according to the present invention.
  • a USB-TV hardware 100 is able to connect to a computer (not shown) through the USB (Universal Serial Bus; not shown) of the computer (see Figure 2 below).
  • This connection enables the computer to be transformed into a television-like device, capable of displaying television programs received from a cable or antenna connection.
  • the video data is displayed on the monitor or other display device of the computer, while the audio data is played through the speakers, sound card or other audio device of the computer (not shown).
  • USB-TV hardware 100 transforms a computer into a device capable of displaying video and audio television signals, substantially without any additional modifications or changes to the computer hardware itself.
  • USB-TV hardware 100 receives a video signal 112 as an input.
  • Video signal 112 may be obtained as an RF video signal, for example from a television antenna, or alternatively may be obtained as a cable video signal, or alternatively by converting other signals such as television program signals which are received from a satellite, for example.
  • USB-TV hardware 100 also receives a radio signal 114 as an RF signal input.
  • USB-TV hardware 100 then outputs decoded and compressed video, and optionally audio, data into a USB plug 170.
  • USB plug 170 is defined according to the standards described in the USB interface and bus standard (Universal Serial Bus standard version 1.0 or 1.1, by Compaq, IBM, Intel, Microsoft and others
  • the USB standard defines a serial bus capable of connecting to multiple devices.
  • the USB bus has 4 lines, including two ground and power lines for supplying electrical power to the attached devices, and two lines for transmitting differential signals carrying the USB protocol and information. Because the USB bus has a limitation for the rate of data transmission which is significantly lower than the data rate of the video signal, the video signal is preferably be compressed before being transferred through the USB bus.
  • Video signal 112 and optionally radio signal 114 are passed to a tuner block 110.
  • RF Video In signal 112 is also referred to as a "TV In" signal, and optionally and preferably is compliant with standards for such signals as the NTSC, PAL, or Secam standards.
  • RF Radio In signal 114 is preferably an FM radiowave signal.
  • the signal source may be obtained from a cable connection or alternatively, through an airwave connection to an antenna.
  • USB-TV hardware 100 includes a suitable satellite signal converter (not shown), the signal source may also be obtained from a satellite feed.
  • the signal source may also be obtained from a satellite feed.
  • USB-TV hardware 100 includes another, different type of converter, other types of signal sources may optionally be used, such as a cable modem connection to an IP (Internet protocol) or other type of packet-switched network.
  • IP Internet protocol
  • tuner 110 selects a channel and band for decoding RF Radio In signal 114, as described in greater detail below. Tuner 110 then decodes the selected channel of the selected band of RF Radio In signal 114, which is optionally and preferably in the format of a FM mono or stereo signal, or alternatively may be in any other standard audio signal format which is supported by tuner 110 to create an audio signal 116.
  • tuner 110 selects a channel and band for decoding RF Video In signal 112, as described in greater detail below. Tuner 110 then decodes the selected channel of the selected band of RF Video In signal 112 to create a video composite signal 118, which is an analog video signal of the selected channel. The sound signal from the selected video channel is also output as audio signal 116 from tuner 110.
  • suitable tuning devices include, but are not limited to, the FM1236/F tuner (in case of NTSC video), or the FM 1216/1 tuner (in case of PAL video), both made by Philips Ltd. (Netherlands).
  • Tuner 110 receives control information for adjusting the decoding and compressing processes for RF Video In signal 112 and optionally RF Radio In signal 114, and in particular for selecting the channel and the band for decoding RF Video In signal 112 and optionally for RF Radio In signal 114 by decoding the I 2 C bus signals
  • the I 2 C bus signals are generated by I 2 C Controller block 180, and are used by tuner 110 to separately select the band and channel for decoding RF Video In signal 112 and optionally RF Radio In signal 114.
  • I C Controller 180 also controls a video decoder 120, as described in greater detail below.
  • Video decoder 120 decodes video composite signal 118 and produces a digital video YUV signal 122, which is a standard format for a digital video signal.
  • Video YUV signal 122 features three separate components, including one Luminance component and two separate Chrominance components, rather than a composite signal which features the Red, Green and Blue color signals of the video image .
  • Video YUV signal 122 preferably complies with CCIR standards 601 and 605 for digital representation of a video signal.
  • the I C bus signal is decoded by video decoder 120 to control the levels of brightness, contrast and saturation of video YUV signal 122.
  • An example of a suitable video decoder may be implemented by using the S A71 1 1 integrated circuit (Philips, Netherlands).
  • Video YUV signal 122 and audio signal 116 are input to a compressor block 130.
  • Compressor 130 first scales the image resolution of video YUV signal 122 to a predetermined value controlled by a USB Interface 150, which serves as an interface between the functionality of USB-TV hardware 100 and the output to the USB itself, USB plug 170.
  • Compressor 130 then preferably compresses video YUV signal 122 and audio signal 116, and combines these two separate signals into a single signal.
  • audio signal 116 may be output to an audio plug (not shown), which is then directly connected to the sound input plug of the host computer by using an external wires (not shown).
  • Compressor 130 uses memory block 140 as a buffer for holding the frames of video YUV signal 122 for the compression process.
  • the compression algorithm of compressor 130 is based upon the well-known spatial decorrelation methods with a temporal domain compression method.
  • the latter compression method operates as follows.
  • a video signal is composed of a sequence of images, called frames.
  • a keyframe is a frame defined per predetermined number of frames, such as one frame per 15 frames.
  • a keyframe is also called Intra-frame, while the intermediate frames of consecutive Intra-frames are called Inter-frames.
  • the Intra-frames are not compressed by the spatial compression method.
  • the Inter-frames are compressed according to such a compression method. Error propagation within Inter-frames is eliminated by usage of separate horizontal strips, wherein each strip is composed of a predetermined number of consecutive lines of the frame.
  • USB Interface 150 receives the compressed video YUV signal 122 and audio signal 116 data, and converts this compressed data to the standard differential signals D+ and D-. In doing so, USB Interface 150 uses an additional memory 160 for buffering. Memory block 140 and additional memory 160 may optionally be implemented using the same physical memory device such as a memory chip, or as a memory device which is attached to compressor 130 and USB Interface 150. USB Interface 150 preferably uses another memory block 165 to store and retrieved particular information for customizing the configuration of USB-TV hardware 100, such as information concerning the host computer and so forth. Memory block 165 should preferably be of a non-volatile type, such as a flash memory or an EEPROM for example. Data signals D+ and D- from USB Plug 170 are connected to USB
  • USB Plug 170 The GND and +5V lines from USB Plug 170 are connected to power supply 190. Power supply 190 generates the appropriate voltages for all other blocks, except for USB Plug 170.
  • USB Interface 150 preferably decodes the signals D+ and D- received from USB Plug 170, into control signals which are output to I C Controller
  • I 2 C Controller 180 encodes the control signals received from USB Interface 150 into I 2 C bus signals and outputs the encoded control signals to tuner 110 and video decoder 120.
  • Compressor 130, USB Interface 150 and I 2 C Controller 180 may optionally be implemented by using the NT1003 integrated circuit (with no audio support) or the NT1004 integrated circuit, both made by Nogatech Inc., of Cupertino, California, USA, for example.
  • Figure 2 describes the host computer, shown here as a computer 200, and the operation of the host computer with USB-TV hardware 100.
  • Computer 200 as shown is only intended as an optional, exemplary embodiment of a computer for operation with USB-TV hardware 100 according to the present invention, and is not intended to be limiting in any way.
  • the components of computer 200 as shown in Figure 2 as functional features of computer 200, which could be implemented in many different ways.
  • the architecture of computer 200 as shown is based upon the PC (personal computer) architecture, which again is only for the purposes of description and is not intended to be limiting in any way.
  • Computer 200 features a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 210.
  • CPU 210 is shown as a schematic, functional component computer 200.
  • a typical but optional implementation of CPU 210 would include both the CPU itself and an attached memory, known as a "cache" (not shown), for rapid access and processing of software program commands and data.
  • CPU 210 executes software programs which reside in the cache, loaded into a memory 215, or at a hard disk 220.
  • hard disk 220 could optionally be implemented as any type of permanent memory storage device, preferably a magnetic storage medium device of some type, more preferably featuring a disk controller unit, which provides data buffering and disk control.
  • Memory 215 is also shown as a schematic block, and in a typical but optional implementation, features both volatile and non-volatile memory devices.
  • CPU 210 typically runs an operating system as previously described.
  • Computer 200 receives the compressed output signal, including both video and audio data, from USB-TV hardware 100 of Figure 1.
  • Computer 200 then decompresses the compressed output signal, and causes the video portion of the decompressed signal to be displayed through a display 205.
  • Display 205 is optionally but preferably implemented as a computer monitor or other display screen device which is operable by computer 200.
  • computer 200 controls the functions of USB-TV hardware 100 as the host computer for USB-TV hardware 100.
  • the image and image layout of display 205 are controlled by a display driver 225.
  • CPU 210 typically writes the display driver image data and the commands for the representation of the image data by connecting to display driver 225 through a computer bus 212.
  • a sound driver 230 drives a speaker system 235.
  • Speaker system 235 may optionally and preferably feature a left speaker and right speaker, and may also optionally feature additional speakers, such as a central sub-woofer speaker.
  • CPU 210 typically writes the data to sound driver 230, again through computer bus 212.
  • Sound driver 230 has also an external sound input (not shown). This external sound input may be used to receive audio data from tuner 110 of USB-TV hardware 100 (not shown, see Figure 1), into computer 200, if audio input is not received by compressor 130 of USB-TV hardware 100 (not shown, see Figure 1).
  • CPU 210 is also in communication with a device I/F (Interface) 240 through computer bus 212, which optionally and preferably connects to, and controls the actions of, peripherals such as a keyboard 245 and a mouse 250. Other peripherals, such as a joystick (not shown), may optionally be implemented as well.
  • CPU 210 is also preferably in communication with a USB I/F 260 through computer bus 212.
  • USB I/F 260 controls, transmits and receives data to and from USB devices which are connected through USB Plug 270.
  • USB I/F 260 also supplies power to such USB devices.
  • USB-TV hardware 100 is specifically shown as being connected to USB Plug 270, it is well understood that also other devices having a USB interface, such as an appropriate peripheral device such as a keyboard or mouse, for example, could optionally be connected to USB Plug 270.
  • a network I/F 280 provides a connection to a network, more preferably the Internet, for computer 200.
  • the specific implementation of network I/F 280 depends upon the particular type of network connection.
  • network I/F 280 could optionally and preferably be a 56K Modem, ISDN card, DSL Modem, Ethernet card, or other suitable communication device, appropriate for providing a connection to a network such as the Internet.
  • computer 200 may be connected to the computer network through an intermediary network connection, for example by connecting to an ISP (Internet Service Provider) through the PSTN (public switched telephone network) with a suitable telephony modem. The connection to the Internet would then be provided through the ISP.
  • ISP Internet Service Provider
  • PSTN public switched telephone network
  • CPU 210 reside on computer bus 212.
  • CPU 210 frequently controls and manages data transfers over computer bus 212, although some other devices, such as hard disk 220 may optionally control computer bus 212 for managing the data transfers.
  • Power is supplied to the above-described components by a power supply (not shown), which preferably is located within computer 200 and supplies power to all components, including power supplied to USB Plug 270 for transfer to the USB devices.
  • FIG 3 is a flowchart of an optional but preferred embodiment of the operation of USB-TV hardware 100 in conjunction with computer 200.
  • USB-TV hardware 100 receives power from USB Plug 270.
  • CPU 210 preferably operates a software program which is stored in a non-volatile memory device connected to computer 200, such as hard disk 220 or memory 215, for example.
  • This software program which may also optionally be implemented as firmware or hardware for example, controls the operation of USB-TV hardware 100.
  • step 1 the user is presented with an interface, preferably a GUI (graphical user interface), which preferably includes a plurality of menus and controls such as buttons and sliders, by display 205.
  • GUI graphical user interface
  • step 2 the user interacts with the elements of the GUI by using keyboard 245 and mouse 250, and/or optionally some other type of pointing device and/or a touch-sensitive screen.
  • step 3 CPU 210 monitors the interaction and issues the relevant command to USB-TV hardware 100, through USB I/F 260 and USB Plug 270 to which USB-TV hardware 100 is attached. For example, if the user specifically selects a band and channel in step 2, the band and channel selection are directed by I 2 C Controller 180 of USB-TV hardware 100 in communication with tuner 110. Another example of a band and channel selection step which could be performed in step 2 is operating a scan through all the channels supported by USB-TV hardware 100, then selecting an active channel. In addition, the On/Off commands are also controlled and implemented through I C Controller 180 of USB-TV hardware 100 in communication with tuner 110.
  • step 4 the user enters information for automatic programming of one or more selected, active channels in a channel list.
  • the GUI display is in communication with a standard Web browser software such as Internet ExplorerTM (Microsoft Corp., USA), for entering information to computer 200 from a Web page and/or Web site, as described in greater detail with regard to Figure 4.
  • step 5 the user set the size of the television display window to be shown on display 205 of computer 200.
  • USB-TV hardware 100 begins to receive the television signal feed of the selected channel, including at least video data, in step 6.
  • Controller 180 also directs the levels of brightness, contrast and saturation to video decoder 120. Controller 180 prepares a scaling figure according to software instructions which are implemented by CPU 210, and sent to USB-TV hardware 100, where USB Interface 150 directly transfers this scaling figure as the scaling level of compressor 130.
  • the data is decompressed and rebuilt into a sequence of video frames. If available, the data optionally includes audio data. These steps are performed as follows.
  • step 8 the compressed data from USB-TV hardware 100 is input through USB plug 270 to USB I/F 260.
  • the compressed data is then loaded to memory 215 in step 9.
  • CPU 210 then decompress the data into an image sequence, using memory 215 as a temporary buffer, and transfers the image sequence into display driver 225 in step 10.
  • the audio data is transferred to sound driver 230 in step 11.
  • Sound driver 230 optionally and preferably amplifies the audio data and outputs the signal to speaker system 235 in step 12.
  • the audio data may be input to sound driver 230 through the external sound input in step 12.
  • the next step causes the frame sequence to be displayed on display 205, by using display driver 225 in step 13.
  • information received from the user through the GUI is used by display driver 225 to determine the placing of the frame sequence on display 205.
  • predetermined settings are used to determine the placing of the frame sequence.
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for receiving information and controlling the functionality of USB-TV hardware 10 through a GUI, which is preferably implemented within the environment of a Web browser.
  • Figure 5 is an exemplary block diagram of an illustrative GUI according to the present invention.
  • the user can download Web pages which have a listing of television programs being transmitted through each channel into the Web browser.
  • This listing is optionally and preferably selected to match the geographic location of the user by specifying the zip code or other address information for identifying the geographic location.
  • the listing includes information which is received from the TV-content supplier of the user, which is typically a cable or a satellite company. It should be understood that the listing may be a part of a more comprehensive page also featuring data other than the listing.
  • An example would be a personal start page of a distinct customer of a portal such as Yahoo (the major web address is http://www.yahoo.com), which provides personalized data such as the local weather, local news, and local TV listings.
  • step 2 the user examines the listing to determine the channel and time to watch.
  • step 3 the user enters one or more commands through the GUI in order to record the time of the chosen television show and the appropriate band and channel information.
  • the user could select a particular television program, and the relevant time and channel could then optionally be automatically determined.
  • the information is recorded in some memory and/or data storage component of computer 200, for example in memory 215 or alternatively in hard disk 220.
  • USB-TV hardware 100 is automatically activated according to the television show times which have been optionally and preferably recorded by the user in advance.
  • the television program could be specified according to a special code for automatically and accurately activating USB-TV hardware 100, even if the television program itself does not begin transmission at exactly the specified time.
  • the user could specifically select a television show as it begins transmission.
  • the compressed data is optionally loaded into hard disk 220 rather than memory 215.
  • CPU 210 decompresses the data into an image sequence according to software instructions, by using memory 215 as a temporary buffer.
  • CPU 210 then transfers the image sequence into display driver 225.
  • Such a combined process enables time delays to be optionally and preferably inserted between the step of loading of the compressed data, which is actually the original show time of the television program, and the step of showing of the television program on computer display 205 in step 9.
  • the configuration with the direct link from USB-TV hardware 100 to sound driver 230 is not allowed.
  • the sound data has to be carried through USB-TV plug 270 in step 10, and is processed in a separate process as previously described for the image data with the same or substantially similar time delays.
  • Such a process for enabling time delays is most preferably implemented with compressed data from USB-TV hardware 100 as input data to computer 200. Otherwise, if the data is not compressed, computer 200 may not be able to handle the much larger data rates, and the amount of available memory as a temporary buffer will only be sufficient for much shorter and/or fewer time delays. Such a preferred implementation of a time delay enables many optional but preferred features to be offered.
  • the user may optionally and preferably operate a "pause procedure", in which the television program image sequence continues to be loaded onto hard disk 220, while the displayed image sequence is held frozen, as shown in step 1 1.
  • a "pause procedure” in which the television program image sequence continues to be loaded onto hard disk 220, while the displayed image sequence is held frozen, as shown in step 1 1.
  • the program image sequence is decompressed and shown on display 205 in step 12, as described above.
  • the user may then either continue watching the television program images in sequence, or alternatively may "fast- forward" through portions of the television program, for example during the display of advertisements, to minimize the time lag, in step 13.
  • the "fast-forward” is preferably performed by moving past a pre-determined amount of data related a portion of the image sequence.
  • the "fast- forward" feature may be performed by moving beyond specific features of the television program, such as the display of an advertisement, selected according to content analysis, for example.
  • the timing and length of certain features such as commercials are known in advance, for example from information distributed by the broadcaster of the television program, the "fast- forward" may be automatically determined.
  • a combination of the automatic activation of USB-TV hardware 100 with the introduction of time delays into the display of the image sequence data may be performed.
  • the user could optionally and most preferably determine a sequence of television programs to record and store on computer 200, for viewing at a later time.
  • the user can optionally and most preferably activate automatic selection and recording of television programs, according to the interests of the user.
  • These television programs may be selected according to descriptions which are given for example in the above listings found at the Internet sites.
  • the user may optionally decide to record all shows related to basketball for later viewing, thereby practically creating a dedicated "basketball channel”.
  • the user can remotely activate recording of a television program and/or enter specific television program recording times, through the Internet using Internet I/F 280.
  • An example application would be to activate the recording of a favorite television program, on the home computer from a computer at the workplace of the user.
  • the frame sequence of the video data may be displayed in a particular portion of the Web browser, thereby enabling the user to watch television programs while browsing through other Web pages and other available information through the Internet, without interruption.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary GUI according to the present invention, incorporated within a Web browser 300, for display on display 205 of computer 200, in which the images from the video image sequence resides in a dedicated frame or sub-window of Web browser 300.
  • Web browser 300 features a menu bar 310 carrying the folding command menus, a button bar 315 featuring buttons for selected operations related to browsing through Web pages, and an address bar 320 for input and/or display of the current Web page presented in a browsing frame 325 of Web browser 300.
  • Browsing frame 325 is a portion of the display window, and/or a sub-window, of Web browser 300.
  • scrolling bar 325 is a scrolling bar 328, with a tab (not shown) for scrolling through the Web page if its length is larger then the available length of browsing frame 325. If the length of the Web page is less then the available length of browsing frame 325, scrolling bar 328 is optionally and preferably not presented. Similarly, if the width of the Web page is larger then the width of browsing frame 325, a horizontal scrolling bar is used (not shown), attached to the bottom of browsing frame 325. These scrolling bars enable the entire content of the Web page to be sequentially viewed, even while the available area for the display of the Web page in Web browser 300 on display 205 is too small.
  • Web browser 300 optionally and more preferably features a status bar 330 for showing the loading status of the loaded Web page and the status of the Internet connection.
  • the user may separately chose whether to display or hide button bar 315, address bar 320, and status bar 330, through the folding View menu in menu bar 300.
  • An illustrative Web-page displayed in browsing frame 325 optionally features a Web page header 332 for describing the Web page, Web page content 334 for carrying the actual content of the Web page, and optionally at least one banner, of which two are shown for the sake of illustration, banners 336 and 338 for displaying advertisements and/or information.
  • a banner may simply feature textual and/or graphical data, but typically upon clicking or otherwise indicating a banner, for example with mouse 250 (not shown), a hyper-text link or URL is activated.
  • another Web browser 300, and/or another browsing frame 325 is invoked for displaying additional information related to the banner subject.
  • the address in address bar 320 is changed and the relevant Web page is loaded into browser frame 325.
  • Banner advertisements are important for receiving revenues from Internet advertising.
  • the Web page provider may optionally receive a pre-determined amount of money for each "click" or user indication.
  • a pre-determined part of the money charged for a purchase performed after a "click" for example from an e-commerce Web site, may be paid to the Web page provider.
  • the left frame of Web browser 300 is an explorer bar 340, featuring a USB-TV image window 350 for displaying the image sequence of the video data from the television program.
  • Explorer bar 340 may be alternatively located in the bottom of Web browser 300.
  • Explorer bar 340 may be minimized to a thin bar at the bottom of the display screen.
  • the Explorer bar is a standard feature of the Internet ExplorerTM Web browser (Microsoft Corp., USA), available for customization by using a supplied SDK (System Development Kit).
  • the content of Explorer bar 340 may optionally include anything which can be presented by Web browser 300.
  • USB-TV (television programs obtained through USB TV hardware 100) is an option presented through menu bar 310.
  • the user for example by using mouse 250, may manipulate the border between browsing frame 325 and Explorer bar 340 to view the image data in a USB-TV image window 350.
  • USB-TV hardware 100 for the purposes of description, it is understood that these methods could easily be applied to television signal data from substantially any source by one of ordinary skill in the art.
  • the television signal data could be input into the computer from sources which include, but are not limited to, cable, air (antenna) and satellite signals.
  • USB-TV controls 355 is provided to manage and control the content of USB-TV image window 350, optionally and more preferably composed of GUI elements such as various menus and controls.
  • GUI elements such as various menus and controls.
  • the controls or part of them may be located elsewhere in Explorer bar 340, or in another portion of Web browser 300, in browsing frame 325, and/or represented by an icon for example.
  • the On/Off control button for USB-TV hardware 100 may be located at buttons bar 315, and the levels of brightness and contrast may be controlled from menu bar 310.
  • the On/Off button can be as part of the Web page displayed by browsing frame 325.
  • the On/Off control button may be part of a personalized home page or other specialized Web page, as previously described.
  • USB-TV banner 360 is displayed by Web browser 300.
  • USB-TV banner 360 has content which is preferably related to the content of the television program currently on display in USB-TV image 350. More preferably, USB-TV banner 360 are input to the browser as part of USB-TV image 350, by combining the content of USB-TV banner 360 with the lower portion of the image sequence. Similar to other banners, upon a mouse-click or other user indication, the appropriate link (if present) from USB-TV banner 360 is activated.
  • the content of USB-TV banner 360 is optionally and most preferably controlled along with the content of the television program image data.
  • Such content may even be restricted, such that the television program broadcaster must enter a password or a code in order to write USB-TV banner 360 onto USB-TV image 350, such that ownership of a portion of the screen-space is granted in terms of advertising.
  • USB-TV banner 360 may optionally fill all of the space available in Explorer bar 340 around USB-TV image 350 and controls 355.
  • USB-TV banner 360 may also be optionally implemented as a simple display of text and/or graphics, with no hyper-text link for example.
  • any of banners 370, 375, 380 and/or 385 could be used to carry the content of banners 336 and/or 338, for example if the user is examining a Web page which does not feature either or both of banners 336 and/or 338, thereby maintaining the presence and attention of the user at the content of banners 336 and/or 338.
  • This embodiment of the present invention permits the user to combine surfing through Web sites with viewing television programs.
  • the user can still browse while the presence of the ISP (Internet Service Provider) and/or another Web site and/or commercial service provider is maintained in Explorer bar 340.
  • ISP Internet Service Provider
  • advertisements which may previously have been presented in the Web page of a commercial service provider, are now optionally and preferably presented in Explorer bar 340, thereby maintaining the presence of the advertisements even though the user is browsing through other Web sites.
  • the presence of these advertisements may be even maintained when minimizing Explorer bar 340 to a thin bar in the bottom of the display screen.
  • USB-TV banner 360 which provides reserved advertising space, and banners 370, 375, 380 and 385
  • a business method may be used to provide advertising and thereby to obtain advertising revenues, regardless of the particular implementation for delivering the television program content to computer 200 (not shown).
  • the method is not restricted to such an implementation.
  • television program content from substantially any source can be substantially seamlessly integrated with advertisements and displayed by computer 200, while optionally still enabling the user to view content related to Web pages or other Internet data resource, for example.
  • such a combination enables users to perform both interesting activities simultaneously, such that the computer becomes a complete entertainment environment.
  • the display of the television program does not interfere with the display of the Web page, since preferably two or more separate windows and/or sub-windows are displayed through the Web browser, including at least one separate window and/or sub-window for the television program content, and at least one separate window and/or sub-window for the Web page.
  • Such combined viewing also enables the attention of the user toward advertising content to be maintained, even as the user switches through different television programs and/or Web pages, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the advertising and in turn, potentially increasing the advertising revenues which can be obtained from such advertising.
  • advertisements of longer duration and/or serial advertisements may be shown in any banner space in Explorer bar 330. Since the attention of the user is maintained toward such banner space, given the proximity of the banner space to the display of the television program content, the displayed advertisement may advantageously increase the total amount of transmitted advertising information.
  • Such advertisements may be optionally and preferably targeted to each user through the combination of viewing Web pages while watching television programming content.
  • the preferences of the user are most preferably analyzed by monitoring the viewing choices of television programming, and by monitoring the browsing habits of the user, in order to provide targeted advertising.
  • USB-TV banner 360 could be implemented such that the displayed advertising content matches these preferences.
  • browsing frame 325 may be optionally and more preferably used to automatically present the Web pages activated by the links from USB-TV banner 360 in Explorer bar 340.
  • an advertisement could optionally and preferably be inserted directly into
  • USB-TV image 350 by driving the advertisement data, such as text, graphics, video or any combination thereof, to the display driver directly, rather than using Web browser 300. According to this embodiment, a connection to the Internet would not even be necessary in order to display the advertisement with the television program data.
  • USB-TV hardware 100 is controlled according to authorization information stored in computer 200.
  • USB-TV hardware 100 may be optionally activated only when installed on a specified computer.
  • This arrangement is suitable, for example, for configurations in which the user would receive a bundled computer with USB-TV hardware 100 and a connection to an ISP.
  • a connection factor would be stored in a non- volatile memory 165 of USB-TV hardware 100, such that the connection factor would be used to determine if USB-TV hardware 100 is connected to the particular computer.
  • a comparison connection factor would be stored in the particular computer. The connection factor could then be compared to the comparison connection factor to form a comparison, such that USB-TV hardware 100 would determine whether to receive a television program according to the comparison.
  • a parent or guardian of a minor could restrict access to television programs, such as those with violence or other harmful features.
  • the parent or guardian could define restrictions to permitted viewing through USB-TV hardware 100 with the help of program listings, and those restrictions would then be stored, preferably in non-volatile memory 165 and/or other permanent storage device, such that even if the minor attempts to install USB-TV hardware 100 on another computer, the programmed restrictions would still block the undesirable television programming.
  • the content of the television program could be controlled with a controlling factor, such that for example the parent or guardian could block and/or permit certain television programs by name, by an independent rating of the television program, or even according to a scan of the content of the television program as the content is received.

Abstract

A device, a method and a system for enabling television program content to be displayed through a computer. Furthermore, the present invention enables the user to select, record, display and manipulate television program content through the computer. In addition, the present invention enables the user to view television programs while examining data resources through the Internet, such as Web sites for example. A GUI (graphical user interface) is preferably presented to the user through a Web browser (300). Thus, the present invention enables two popular, entertaining activities, watching television programs and examining Web sites, to be combined, while maintaining targeted advertising.

Description

DEVICE, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USB TELEVISION AND TELEVISION INTEGRATION WITH ADVERTISING AND WITH
INTERNET BROWSING
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device, a system and method for providing USB (universal serial bus) television programs, and in particular, for enabling television programs to be displayed on a computer display screen in combination with advertisements or other selected content. Television programs have traditionally only been viewed through a television set, which is a device dedicated to the display of such programs. Although various hybrids of computers or Internet with television sets have been proposed, such as "Web TV" of Microsoft Corp., (Redmond, WA, USA) for example, no such hybrid has become particularly popular and/or widely available. At least one reason for this lack of popularity has been the requirement for hybrid devices, and/or cumbersome additions to television sets.
Recently, the Internet has become a very popular source of data for accessing with a computer, particularly with a Web browser. Millions of users worldwide are connected to the Internet through computers, both at work and at home. Similarly, watching television programs is also a very popular source of entertainment. Clearly, in spite of the lack of popularity of currently available combinations of computers and television sets, such a combination has great commercial and entertainment potential. A more useful combination could be easily added to a computer as an easily installed hardware device, since the computer offers extensive features and flexible for providing a user interface. Unfortunately, such a simple high-quality device, which is also easy to install and operate, is not readily available.
Furthermore, such a combination could enable advertising revenues to be obtained from the combination of viewing television programs and accessing data resources through the Internet, such as E-commerce Web sites for example. Such a combination would not rely upon any particular implementation of a hardware device for providing the television program content, as long as the device supports the display of a high quality image which is large, smooth and clear, and would enable advertisers to benefit from the combination of two popular, entertaining activities. Again, unfortunately such a combination is not available.
There is thus an unmet need for, and it would be useful to have, a hardware device which could be used to enable a computer to display television program content, as well as a combination of software GUI (graphical user interface) elements which would enable a user to both view television programs and surf through Web sites substantially simultaneously, while generating advertising revenues for the Internet service providers and other service providers on the World Wide Web.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will be better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a USB-TV hardware according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a system for combining a
USB-TV hardware with a computer according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for presenting television program data through USB-TV hardware and the computer according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for enabling the user to select television programs according to the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary GUI according to the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is of a device, a method and a system for enabling television program content to be displayed through a computer. Furthermore, the present invention enables the user to select, record, display and manipulate television program content through the computer. In addition, the present invention enables the user to view television programs while examining data resources through the Internet, such as Web sites for example. A GUI
(graphical user interface) is preferably presented to the user through a Web browser. Thus, the present invention enables two popular, entertaining activities, watching television programs and interacting with Web sites, to be combined. According to the present invention, there is provided a device for enabling television program data to be displayed by a computer, the computer featuring a USB (universal serial bus), the device comprising: (a) a video signal input for receiving a television program video signal; (b) a tuner for receiving the television program video signal from the video signal input and for adjusting the video signal; (c) a video decoder for receiving the television program video signal from the tuner and for decoding the video signal; (d) a USB interface for converting the decoded video signal to form a USB signal; and (e) a USB plug for connecting to the USB of the computer, such that the computer receives the USB signal. According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a system for displaying a television program, the system comprising: (a) a computer for displaying the television program, the computer comprising: (i) a USB (universal serial bus) for receiving television program data; and (ii) a display connected to the USB for displaying the television program; and (b) a television device for receiving a television program signal and for converting the television program signal to the television program data, the television device comprising: (i) a video signal input for receiving the television program signal; (ii) a USB interface for converting the television program signal to form a USB signal; and (iii) a USB plug for connecting to the USB of the computer, such the computer receives the USB signal.
According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for displaying television program data by a computer, the computer featuring a USB (universal serial bus), the method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a television program video signal; (b) tuning the television program video signal to form a tuned signal; (c) decoding the tuned signal to form a decoded signal; (d) converting the decoded signal to form a USB signal; (e) transmitting the USB signal to the USB of the computer; and (f) displaying the USB signal by the computer to display the television program data.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for recording a television program video signal received by a computer, the television program video signal corresponding to a television program selected by a user, the method comprising the steps of: (a) selecting the television program by the user to form a selected television program; (b) entering the selected television program into the computer by the user; (c) determining a time period for recording the selected television program by the computer; (d) receiving the television program video signal by the computer at the time period; and (e) storing the television program video signal in a memory storage of the computer such that the television program video signal is recorded. According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for displaying a television program in a first portion of a Web browser while displaying a second data resource in a second portion of the Web browser, the Web browser being displayed by a computer, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a Web browser with a plurality of display areas, each display area being substantially independent of other display areas; (b) receiving a television program video signal by the computer corresponding to the television; (c) displaying the television program video signal display area such that the first display area is the first portion of the Web browser; and (d) displaying the second data resource in a second display area, such that the second display area is the second portion of the Web browser.
Hereinafter, the term "Web browser" refers to any software program which can display text, graphics, or both, from Web pages on World Wide Web sites. Hereinafter, the term "Web page" refers to any document written in a mark-up language including, but not limited to, HTML (hypertext mark-up language) or VRML (virtual reality modeling language), dynamic HTML, XML (extended mark-up language) or related computer languages thereof, as well as to any collection of such documents reachable through one specific Internet address or at one specific World Wide Web site, or any document obtainable through a particular URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Hereinafter, the term "Web site" refers to at least one Web page, and preferably a plurality of Web pages, virtually connected to form a coherent group. Hereinafter, the term "Web server" refers to a computer or other electronic device which is capable of serving at least one Web page to a Web browser.
Hereinafter, the term "applet" refers to a self-contained software module written in an applet language such as Java or constructed as an ActiveX™ control. Hereinafter, the term "network" refers to a connection between any two computers which permits the transmission of data.
Hereinafter, the phrase "display a Web page" includes all actions necessary to render at least a portion of the information on the Web page available to the computer user. As such, the phrase includes, but is not limited to, the static visual display of static graphical information, the audible production of audio information, the animated visual display of animation and the visual display of video stream data.
Hereinafter, the terms "computer user" and "user" both refer to the person who operates the Web browser or other GUI interface and navigates through the system of the present invention by operating a computer.
Hereinafter, the term "computer" refers to a combination of a particular computer hardware system and a particular software operating system. Examples of such hardware systems include those with any type of suitable data processor. Hereinafter, the term "computer" includes, but is not limited to, personal computers (PC) having an operating system such as DOS,
Windows™, OS/2™ or Linux; Macintosh™ computers; computers having JAVA™-OS as the operating system; and graphical workstations such as the computers of Sun Microsystems™ and Silicon Graphics™, and other computers having some version of the UNIX operating system such as AIX™ or SOLARIS™ of Sun Microsystems™; a PalmPilot™, a PilotPC™, or any other handheld device; or any other known and available operating system. Hereinafter, the term "Windows™" includes but is not limited to Windows95™, Windows 3.x™ in which "x" is an integer such as "1", Windows NT™, Windows98™, Windows CE™ and any upgraded versions of these operating systems by Microsoft Inc. (Seattle, Washington, USA). For the present invention, a software application could be written in substantially any suitable programming language, which could easily be selected by one of ordinary skill in the art. The programming language chosen should be compatible with the computer by which the software application is executed, and in particularly with the operating system of that computer. Examples of suitable programming languages include, but are not limited to, C, C++ and Java. Furthermore, the functions of the present invention, when described as a series of steps for a method, could be implemented as a series of software instructions for being operated by a data processor, such that the present invention could be implemented as software, firmware or hardware, or a combination thereof.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is of a device, a method and a system for enabling television program content to be displayed through a computer. Furthermore, the present invention enables the user to select, record, display and manipulate television program content through the computer. In addition, the present invention enables the user to view television programs while examining data resources through the Internet and interacting with these resources, such as Web sites for example. A GUI (graphical user interface) is preferably presented to the user through a Web browser. Thus, the present invention enables two popular, entertaining activities, watching television programs and interacting with Web sites, to be combined.
In addition, the present invention features a method for enabling additional advertising revenues to be obtained, as well as for providing more focused, targeted advertising. In this method of the present invention, the television program data is displayed to the user through a Web browser as the GUI, such that the user is also able to examine Web pages substantially simultaneously. The attention and presence of the user while examining a particular Web page may therefore be maintained, possibly even with an increase of interest by the user in particular advertising information. Such maintained and even increased attention and interest is valuable for transmitting advertising information to the user, such that additional advertising revenues may be charged for enabling such a transmission. Thus, the method of the present invention also enables the effectiveness of the advertising to be increased, and hence enables additional advertising revenues to be charged. The principles and operation of a device, a system and a method according to the present invention may be better understood with reference to the drawings and the accompanying description, it being understood that these drawings are given for illustrative purposes only and are not meant to be limiting.
Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative, exemplary USB-TV (USB television) hardware according to the present invention. A USB-TV hardware 100 is able to connect to a computer (not shown) through the USB (Universal Serial Bus; not shown) of the computer (see Figure 2 below). This connection enables the computer to be transformed into a television-like device, capable of displaying television programs received from a cable or antenna connection. The video data is displayed on the monitor or other display device of the computer, while the audio data is played through the speakers, sound card or other audio device of the computer (not shown). Thus, USB-TV hardware 100 transforms a computer into a device capable of displaying video and audio television signals, substantially without any additional modifications or changes to the computer hardware itself.
As shown in this exemplary configuration, USB-TV hardware 100 receives a video signal 112 as an input. Video signal 112 may be obtained as an RF video signal, for example from a television antenna, or alternatively may be obtained as a cable video signal, or alternatively by converting other signals such as television program signals which are received from a satellite, for example. Preferably, USB-TV hardware 100 also receives a radio signal 114 as an RF signal input. As shown, USB-TV hardware 100 then outputs decoded and compressed video, and optionally audio, data into a USB plug 170. USB plug 170 is defined according to the standards described in the USB interface and bus standard (Universal Serial Bus standard version 1.0 or 1.1, by Compaq, IBM, Intel, Microsoft and others
The USB standard defines a serial bus capable of connecting to multiple devices. The USB bus has 4 lines, including two ground and power lines for supplying electrical power to the attached devices, and two lines for transmitting differential signals carrying the USB protocol and information. Because the USB bus has a limitation for the rate of data transmission which is significantly lower than the data rate of the video signal, the video signal is preferably be compressed before being transferred through the USB bus.
Within the e and illustrative configuration of USB-TV hardware 100 which is shown in Figure 1 , the process of decoding and compressing the video, and optionally audio signals, is preferably performed as follows. Video signal 112 and optionally radio signal 114 are passed to a tuner block 110. RF Video In signal 112 is also referred to as a "TV In" signal, and optionally and preferably is compliant with standards for such signals as the NTSC, PAL, or Secam standards. RF Radio In signal 114 is preferably an FM radiowave signal. For each separately of RF Video In signal 112 and RF Radio In signal 114, the signal source may be obtained from a cable connection or alternatively, through an airwave connection to an antenna. Optionally and preferably, if USB-TV hardware 100 includes a suitable satellite signal converter (not shown), the signal source may also be obtained from a satellite feed. Similarly, if USB-TV hardware 100 includes another, different type of converter, other types of signal sources may optionally be used, such as a cable modem connection to an IP (Internet protocol) or other type of packet-switched network.
Once tuner 110 has received RF Video In signal 112 and optionally RF Radio In signal 114, tuner 110 selects a channel and band for decoding RF Radio In signal 114, as described in greater detail below. Tuner 110 then decodes the selected channel of the selected band of RF Radio In signal 114, which is optionally and preferably in the format of a FM mono or stereo signal, or alternatively may be in any other standard audio signal format which is supported by tuner 110 to create an audio signal 116.
Similarly, tuner 110 selects a channel and band for decoding RF Video In signal 112, as described in greater detail below. Tuner 110 then decodes the selected channel of the selected band of RF Video In signal 112 to create a video composite signal 118, which is an analog video signal of the selected channel. The sound signal from the selected video channel is also output as audio signal 116 from tuner 110. Examples of suitable tuning devices include, but are not limited to, the FM1236/F tuner (in case of NTSC video), or the FM 1216/1 tuner (in case of PAL video), both made by Philips Ltd. (Netherlands).
Tuner 110 receives control information for adjusting the decoding and compressing processes for RF Video In signal 112 and optionally RF Radio In signal 114, and in particular for selecting the channel and the band for decoding RF Video In signal 112 and optionally for RF Radio In signal 114 by decoding the I2C bus signals The I2C bus signals are generated by I2C Controller block 180, and are used by tuner 110 to separately select the band and channel for decoding RF Video In signal 112 and optionally RF Radio In signal 114. I C Controller 180 also controls a video decoder 120, as described in greater detail below.
Video decoder 120 decodes video composite signal 118 and produces a digital video YUV signal 122, which is a standard format for a digital video signal. Video YUV signal 122 features three separate components, including one Luminance component and two separate Chrominance components, rather than a composite signal which features the Red, Green and Blue color signals of the video image . Video YUV signal 122 preferably complies with CCIR standards 601 and 605 for digital representation of a video signal. The I C bus signal is decoded by video decoder 120 to control the levels of brightness, contrast and saturation of video YUV signal 122. An example of a suitable video decoder may be implemented by using the S A71 1 1 integrated circuit (Philips, Netherlands).
Video YUV signal 122 and audio signal 116 are input to a compressor block 130. Compressor 130 first scales the image resolution of video YUV signal 122 to a predetermined value controlled by a USB Interface 150, which serves as an interface between the functionality of USB-TV hardware 100 and the output to the USB itself, USB plug 170. Compressor 130 then preferably compresses video YUV signal 122 and audio signal 116, and combines these two separate signals into a single signal. Alternatively but optionally, audio signal 116 may be output to an audio plug (not shown), which is then directly connected to the sound input plug of the host computer by using an external wires (not shown). Regardless of the implementation for inputting audio signal 116, the compression of the signal or signals is required because the data rate for receiving data by USB plug 170 is lower than the full data rate of video YUV signal 122 and audio signal 116 after decoding. Compressor 130 uses memory block 140 as a buffer for holding the frames of video YUV signal 122 for the compression process.
The compression algorithm of compressor 130 is based upon the well-known spatial decorrelation methods with a temporal domain compression method. The latter compression method operates as follows. A video signal is composed of a sequence of images, called frames. A keyframe is a frame defined per predetermined number of frames, such as one frame per 15 frames. A keyframe is also called Intra-frame, while the intermediate frames of consecutive Intra-frames are called Inter-frames. In order to eliminate error propagation, the Intra-frames are not compressed by the spatial compression method. However, the Inter-frames are compressed according to such a compression method. Error propagation within Inter-frames is eliminated by usage of separate horizontal strips, wherein each strip is composed of a predetermined number of consecutive lines of the frame.
After compressor 130 has finished compressing video YUV signal 122 and audio signal 116, USB Interface 150 receives the compressed video YUV signal 122 and audio signal 116 data, and converts this compressed data to the standard differential signals D+ and D-. In doing so, USB Interface 150 uses an additional memory 160 for buffering. Memory block 140 and additional memory 160 may optionally be implemented using the same physical memory device such as a memory chip, or as a memory device which is attached to compressor 130 and USB Interface 150. USB Interface 150 preferably uses another memory block 165 to store and retrieved particular information for customizing the configuration of USB-TV hardware 100, such as information concerning the host computer and so forth. Memory block 165 should preferably be of a non-volatile type, such as a flash memory or an EEPROM for example. Data signals D+ and D- from USB Plug 170 are connected to USB
Interface 150. The GND and +5V lines from USB Plug 170 are connected to power supply 190. Power supply 190 generates the appropriate voltages for all other blocks, except for USB Plug 170.
USB Interface 150 preferably decodes the signals D+ and D- received from USB Plug 170, into control signals which are output to I C Controller
180, and which are also used to control the scaling of the compression of video YUV signal 122 and audio signal 116 inside compressor 130.
I2C Controller 180 encodes the control signals received from USB Interface 150 into I2C bus signals and outputs the encoded control signals to tuner 110 and video decoder 120. Compressor 130, USB Interface 150 and I2C Controller 180 may optionally be implemented by using the NT1003 integrated circuit (with no audio support) or the NT1004 integrated circuit, both made by Nogatech Inc., of Cupertino, California, USA, for example.
Figure 2 describes the host computer, shown here as a computer 200, and the operation of the host computer with USB-TV hardware 100. Computer 200 as shown is only intended as an optional, exemplary embodiment of a computer for operation with USB-TV hardware 100 according to the present invention, and is not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, the components of computer 200 as shown in Figure 2 as functional features of computer 200, which could be implemented in many different ways. The architecture of computer 200 as shown is based upon the PC (personal computer) architecture, which again is only for the purposes of description and is not intended to be limiting in any way.
Computer 200 features a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 210. CPU 210 is shown as a schematic, functional component computer 200. A typical but optional implementation of CPU 210 would include both the CPU itself and an attached memory, known as a "cache" (not shown), for rapid access and processing of software program commands and data. CPU 210 executes software programs which reside in the cache, loaded into a memory 215, or at a hard disk 220. It is understood that hard disk 220 could optionally be implemented as any type of permanent memory storage device, preferably a magnetic storage medium device of some type, more preferably featuring a disk controller unit, which provides data buffering and disk control. Memory 215 is also shown as a schematic block, and in a typical but optional implementation, features both volatile and non-volatile memory devices. CPU 210 typically runs an operating system as previously described.
Computer 200 receives the compressed output signal, including both video and audio data, from USB-TV hardware 100 of Figure 1. Computer 200 then decompresses the compressed output signal, and causes the video portion of the decompressed signal to be displayed through a display 205. Display 205 is optionally but preferably implemented as a computer monitor or other display screen device which is operable by computer 200. In addition, computer 200 controls the functions of USB-TV hardware 100 as the host computer for USB-TV hardware 100.
The image and image layout of display 205 are controlled by a display driver 225. CPU 210 typically writes the display driver image data and the commands for the representation of the image data by connecting to display driver 225 through a computer bus 212.
A sound driver 230 drives a speaker system 235. Speaker system 235 may optionally and preferably feature a left speaker and right speaker, and may also optionally feature additional speakers, such as a central sub-woofer speaker. CPU 210 typically writes the data to sound driver 230, again through computer bus 212. Sound driver 230 has also an external sound input (not shown). This external sound input may be used to receive audio data from tuner 110 of USB-TV hardware 100 (not shown, see Figure 1), into computer 200, if audio input is not received by compressor 130 of USB-TV hardware 100 (not shown, see Figure 1).
CPU 210 is also in communication with a device I/F (Interface) 240 through computer bus 212, which optionally and preferably connects to, and controls the actions of, peripherals such as a keyboard 245 and a mouse 250. Other peripherals, such as a joystick (not shown), may optionally be implemented as well. In addition, CPU 210 is also preferably in communication with a USB I/F 260 through computer bus 212. USB I/F 260 controls, transmits and receives data to and from USB devices which are connected through USB Plug 270. USB I/F 260 also supplies power to such USB devices. Although USB-TV hardware 100 is specifically shown as being connected to USB Plug 270, it is well understood that also other devices having a USB interface, such as an appropriate peripheral device such as a keyboard or mouse, for example, could optionally be connected to USB Plug 270.
A network I/F 280 provides a connection to a network, more preferably the Internet, for computer 200. The specific implementation of network I/F 280 depends upon the particular type of network connection. For example, network I/F 280 could optionally and preferably be a 56K Modem, ISDN card, DSL Modem, Ethernet card, or other suitable communication device, appropriate for providing a connection to a network such as the Internet. It should be noted that computer 200 may be connected to the computer network through an intermediary network connection, for example by connecting to an ISP (Internet Service Provider) through the PSTN (public switched telephone network) with a suitable telephony modem. The connection to the Internet would then be provided through the ISP.
The above-described components such as CPU 210 reside on computer bus 212. CPU 210 frequently controls and manages data transfers over computer bus 212, although some other devices, such as hard disk 220 may optionally control computer bus 212 for managing the data transfers. Power is supplied to the above-described components by a power supply (not shown), which preferably is located within computer 200 and supplies power to all components, including power supplied to USB Plug 270 for transfer to the USB devices.
Figure 3 is a flowchart of an optional but preferred embodiment of the operation of USB-TV hardware 100 in conjunction with computer 200. USB-TV hardware 100 receives power from USB Plug 270. CPU 210 preferably operates a software program which is stored in a non-volatile memory device connected to computer 200, such as hard disk 220 or memory 215, for example. This software program, which may also optionally be implemented as firmware or hardware for example, controls the operation of USB-TV hardware 100.
In step 1, the user is presented with an interface, preferably a GUI (graphical user interface), which preferably includes a plurality of menus and controls such as buttons and sliders, by display 205. In step 2, the user interacts with the elements of the GUI by using keyboard 245 and mouse 250, and/or optionally some other type of pointing device and/or a touch-sensitive screen.
In step 3, CPU 210 monitors the interaction and issues the relevant command to USB-TV hardware 100, through USB I/F 260 and USB Plug 270 to which USB-TV hardware 100 is attached. For example, if the user specifically selects a band and channel in step 2, the band and channel selection are directed by I2C Controller 180 of USB-TV hardware 100 in communication with tuner 110. Another example of a band and channel selection step which could be performed in step 2 is operating a scan through all the channels supported by USB-TV hardware 100, then selecting an active channel. In addition, the On/Off commands are also controlled and implemented through I C Controller 180 of USB-TV hardware 100 in communication with tuner 110.
Optionally and preferably, in step 4, the user enters information for automatic programming of one or more selected, active channels in a channel list. Optionally and more preferably, the GUI display is in communication with a standard Web browser software such as Internet Explorer™ (Microsoft Corp., USA), for entering information to computer 200 from a Web page and/or Web site, as described in greater detail with regard to Figure 4. In step 5, the user set the size of the television display window to be shown on display 205 of computer 200.
Returning again to the functions of USB-TV hardware 100 in conjunction with computer 200, USB-TV hardware 100 begins to receive the television signal feed of the selected channel, including at least video data, in step 6. In step 7, 12C Controller 180 also directs the levels of brightness, contrast and saturation to video decoder 120. Controller 180 prepares a scaling figure according to software instructions which are implemented by CPU 210, and sent to USB-TV hardware 100, where USB Interface 150 directly transfers this scaling figure as the scaling level of compressor 130. In subsequent steps, the data is decompressed and rebuilt into a sequence of video frames. If available, the data optionally includes audio data. These steps are performed as follows. In step 8, the compressed data from USB-TV hardware 100 is input through USB plug 270 to USB I/F 260. The compressed data is then loaded to memory 215 in step 9. According to software instructions, CPU 210 then decompress the data into an image sequence, using memory 215 as a temporary buffer, and transfers the image sequence into display driver 225 in step 10. If available, optionally and preferably the audio data is transferred to sound driver 230 in step 11. Sound driver 230 optionally and preferably amplifies the audio data and outputs the signal to speaker system 235 in step 12. Alternatively, the audio data may be input to sound driver 230 through the external sound input in step 12. The next step causes the frame sequence to be displayed on display 205, by using display driver 225 in step 13. Optionally and preferably, in step 13, information received from the user through the GUI is used by display driver 225 to determine the placing of the frame sequence on display 205. Alternatively and preferably, predetermined settings are used to determine the placing of the frame sequence.
The control and interaction of the user with the GUI is described in greater detail with regard to Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for receiving information and controlling the functionality of USB-TV hardware 10 through a GUI, which is preferably implemented within the environment of a Web browser. Figure 5 is an exemplary block diagram of an illustrative GUI according to the present invention.
As shown in Figure 4, in step 1, the user can download Web pages which have a listing of television programs being transmitted through each channel into the Web browser. This listing is optionally and preferably selected to match the geographic location of the user by specifying the zip code or other address information for identifying the geographic location. In addition, preferably the listing includes information which is received from the TV-content supplier of the user, which is typically a cable or a satellite company. It should be understood that the listing may be a part of a more comprehensive page also featuring data other than the listing. An example would be a personal start page of a distinct customer of a portal such as Yahoo (the major web address is http://www.yahoo.com), which provides personalized data such as the local weather, local news, and local TV listings. In step 2, the user examines the listing to determine the channel and time to watch. In step 3, the user enters one or more commands through the GUI in order to record the time of the chosen television show and the appropriate band and channel information. For example, in a more automated method, the user could select a particular television program, and the relevant time and channel could then optionally be automatically determined. Optionally, in step 4 the information is recorded in some memory and/or data storage component of computer 200, for example in memory 215 or alternatively in hard disk 220. In step 5, USB-TV hardware 100 is automatically activated according to the television show times which have been optionally and preferably recorded by the user in advance. Optionally and more preferably, the television program could be specified according to a special code for automatically and accurately activating USB-TV hardware 100, even if the television program itself does not begin transmission at exactly the specified time. Alternatively and preferably, the user could specifically select a television show as it begins transmission. In step 6, the compressed data is optionally loaded into hard disk 220 rather than memory 215. In a separate process, in step 7, CPU 210 decompresses the data into an image sequence according to software instructions, by using memory 215 as a temporary buffer. In step 8, CPU 210 then transfers the image sequence into display driver 225. Such a combined process enables time delays to be optionally and preferably inserted between the step of loading of the compressed data, which is actually the original show time of the television program, and the step of showing of the television program on computer display 205 in step 9. In that case, in order for the process to have synchronized image and sound data, the configuration with the direct link from USB-TV hardware 100 to sound driver 230 is not allowed. The sound data has to be carried through USB-TV plug 270 in step 10, and is processed in a separate process as previously described for the image data with the same or substantially similar time delays.
Such a process for enabling time delays is most preferably implemented with compressed data from USB-TV hardware 100 as input data to computer 200. Otherwise, if the data is not compressed, computer 200 may not be able to handle the much larger data rates, and the amount of available memory as a temporary buffer will only be sufficient for much shorter and/or fewer time delays. Such a preferred implementation of a time delay enables many optional but preferred features to be offered.
For example, the user may optionally and preferably operate a "pause procedure", in which the television program image sequence continues to be loaded onto hard disk 220, while the displayed image sequence is held frozen, as shown in step 1 1. When the user wishes to terminate the "pause", the program image sequence is decompressed and shown on display 205 in step 12, as described above. The user may then either continue watching the television program images in sequence, or alternatively may "fast- forward" through portions of the television program, for example during the display of advertisements, to minimize the time lag, in step 13. The "fast-forward" is preferably performed by moving past a pre-determined amount of data related a portion of the image sequence. Alternatively, the "fast- forward" feature may be performed by moving beyond specific features of the television program, such as the display of an advertisement, selected according to content analysis, for example. Alternatively, if the timing and length of certain features such as commercials are known in advance, for example from information distributed by the broadcaster of the television program, the "fast- forward" may be automatically determined. Optionally and more preferably, a combination of the automatic activation of USB-TV hardware 100 with the introduction of time delays into the display of the image sequence data may be performed. For example, the user could optionally and most preferably determine a sequence of television programs to record and store on computer 200, for viewing at a later time. In a further optional and exemplary enhancement of the method of the present invention, the user can optionally and most preferably activate automatic selection and recording of television programs, according to the interests of the user. These television programs may be selected according to descriptions which are given for example in the above listings found at the Internet sites. For example, the user may optionally decide to record all shows related to basketball for later viewing, thereby practically creating a dedicated "basketball channel". In a further enhancement, the user can remotely activate recording of a television program and/or enter specific television program recording times, through the Internet using Internet I/F 280. An example application would be to activate the recording of a favorite television program, on the home computer from a computer at the workplace of the user.
As another preferred embodiment of the present invention, described with regard to Figure 5 below, the frame sequence of the video data may be displayed in a particular portion of the Web browser, thereby enabling the user to watch television programs while browsing through other Web pages and other available information through the Internet, without interruption.
Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary GUI according to the present invention, incorporated within a Web browser 300, for display on display 205 of computer 200, in which the images from the video image sequence resides in a dedicated frame or sub-window of Web browser 300. Although the following description centers upon the operation of Web browser 300 as an Internet Explorer™ software program(Microsoft Corp., USA), one of ordinary skill in the art could easily implement the present invention with any conventional Web browser software program as Web browser 300. Web browser 300 features a menu bar 310 carrying the folding command menus, a button bar 315 featuring buttons for selected operations related to browsing through Web pages, and an address bar 320 for input and/or display of the current Web page presented in a browsing frame 325 of Web browser 300. Browsing frame 325 is a portion of the display window, and/or a sub-window, of Web browser 300. Optionally and preferably, attached at the right side of browsing frame
325 is a scrolling bar 328, with a tab (not shown) for scrolling through the Web page if its length is larger then the available length of browsing frame 325. If the length of the Web page is less then the available length of browsing frame 325, scrolling bar 328 is optionally and preferably not presented. Similarly, if the width of the Web page is larger then the width of browsing frame 325, a horizontal scrolling bar is used (not shown), attached to the bottom of browsing frame 325. These scrolling bars enable the entire content of the Web page to be sequentially viewed, even while the available area for the display of the Web page in Web browser 300 on display 205 is too small.
Web browser 300 optionally and more preferably features a status bar 330 for showing the loading status of the loaded Web page and the status of the Internet connection. The user may separately chose whether to display or hide button bar 315, address bar 320, and status bar 330, through the folding View menu in menu bar 300.
An illustrative Web-page displayed in browsing frame 325 optionally features a Web page header 332 for describing the Web page, Web page content 334 for carrying the actual content of the Web page, and optionally at least one banner, of which two are shown for the sake of illustration, banners 336 and 338 for displaying advertisements and/or information. A banner may simply feature textual and/or graphical data, but typically upon clicking or otherwise indicating a banner, for example with mouse 250 (not shown), a hyper-text link or URL is activated. Next, another Web browser 300, and/or another browsing frame 325 is invoked for displaying additional information related to the banner subject. Alternatively, the address in address bar 320 is changed and the relevant Web page is loaded into browser frame 325. Banner advertisements, such as banners 336 and 338, are important for receiving revenues from Internet advertising. The Web page provider may optionally receive a pre-determined amount of money for each "click" or user indication. As another option, a pre-determined part of the money charged for a purchase performed after a "click", for example from an e-commerce Web site, may be paid to the Web page provider.
The left frame of Web browser 300 is an explorer bar 340, featuring a USB-TV image window 350 for displaying the image sequence of the video data from the television program. Explorer bar 340 may be alternatively located in the bottom of Web browser 300. Explorer bar 340 may be minimized to a thin bar at the bottom of the display screen. The Explorer bar is a standard feature of the Internet Explorer™ Web browser (Microsoft Corp., USA), available for customization by using a supplied SDK (System Development Kit).
The content of Explorer bar 340 may optionally include anything which can be presented by Web browser 300. Preferably, in the system and method of the present invention, USB-TV (television programs obtained through USB TV hardware 100) is an option presented through menu bar 310. The user, for example by using mouse 250, may manipulate the border between browsing frame 325 and Explorer bar 340 to view the image data in a USB-TV image window 350. Although reference is made to USB-TV hardware 100 for the purposes of description, it is understood that these methods could easily be applied to television signal data from substantially any source by one of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the television signal data could be input into the computer from sources which include, but are not limited to, cable, air (antenna) and satellite signals.
Preferably, a plurality of USB-TV controls 355 is provided to manage and control the content of USB-TV image window 350, optionally and more preferably composed of GUI elements such as various menus and controls. Alternatively or additionally, the controls or part of them, may be located elsewhere in Explorer bar 340, or in another portion of Web browser 300, in browsing frame 325, and/or represented by an icon for example.
For example, the On/Off control button for USB-TV hardware 100 (not shown) may be located at buttons bar 315, and the levels of brightness and contrast may be controlled from menu bar 310. In another example, the On/Off button can be as part of the Web page displayed by browsing frame 325. In yet another example, the On/Off control button may be part of a personalized home page or other specialized Web page, as previously described.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, a USB-TV banner 360 is displayed by Web browser 300. USB-TV banner 360 has content which is preferably related to the content of the television program currently on display in USB-TV image 350. More preferably, USB-TV banner 360 are input to the browser as part of USB-TV image 350, by combining the content of USB-TV banner 360 with the lower portion of the image sequence. Similar to other banners, upon a mouse-click or other user indication, the appropriate link (if present) from USB-TV banner 360 is activated. Thus, the content of USB-TV banner 360 is optionally and most preferably controlled along with the content of the television program image data.
Such content may even be restricted, such that the television program broadcaster must enter a password or a code in order to write USB-TV banner 360 onto USB-TV image 350, such that ownership of a portion of the screen-space is granted in terms of advertising.
Other combinations and/or configurations, in any meaningful physical arrangement, of the various elements shown in Figure 5 may be optionally performed. For example, USB-TV banner 360 may optionally fill all of the space available in Explorer bar 340 around USB-TV image 350 and controls 355. Furthermore, USB-TV banner 360 may also be optionally implemented as a simple display of text and/or graphics, with no hyper-text link for example. In addition, optionally and preferably, any of banners 370, 375, 380 and/or 385 could be used to carry the content of banners 336 and/or 338, for example if the user is examining a Web page which does not feature either or both of banners 336 and/or 338, thereby maintaining the presence and attention of the user at the content of banners 336 and/or 338.
This embodiment of the present invention permits the user to combine surfing through Web sites with viewing television programs. By supplying USB-TV image 350 in a separate Explorer bar 340, the user can still browse while the presence of the ISP (Internet Service Provider) and/or another Web site and/or commercial service provider is maintained in Explorer bar 340. For example, advertisements, which may previously have been presented in the Web page of a commercial service provider, are now optionally and preferably presented in Explorer bar 340, thereby maintaining the presence of the advertisements even though the user is browsing through other Web sites. The presence of these advertisements may be even maintained when minimizing Explorer bar 340 to a thin bar in the bottom of the display screen.
In combination with USB-TV banner 360, which provides reserved advertising space, and banners 370, 375, 380 and 385, a business method may be used to provide advertising and thereby to obtain advertising revenues, regardless of the particular implementation for delivering the television program content to computer 200 (not shown). Although clearly such a business method could be implemented with USB-TV hardware 100, the method is not restricted to such an implementation. Instead, television program content from substantially any source can be substantially seamlessly integrated with advertisements and displayed by computer 200, while optionally still enabling the user to view content related to Web pages or other Internet data resource, for example. Furthermore, such a combination enables users to perform both interesting activities simultaneously, such that the computer becomes a complete entertainment environment. According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the display of the television program does not interfere with the display of the Web page, since preferably two or more separate windows and/or sub-windows are displayed through the Web browser, including at least one separate window and/or sub-window for the television program content, and at least one separate window and/or sub-window for the Web page. Such combined viewing also enables the attention of the user toward advertising content to be maintained, even as the user switches through different television programs and/or Web pages, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the advertising and in turn, potentially increasing the advertising revenues which can be obtained from such advertising.
As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, since the user is known to be watching a television program, rather then quickly examining a plurality of different Web pages, as in the browsing frame 325, advertisements of longer duration and/or serial advertisements may be shown in any banner space in Explorer bar 330. Since the attention of the user is maintained toward such banner space, given the proximity of the banner space to the display of the television program content, the displayed advertisement may advantageously increase the total amount of transmitted advertising information. Such advertisements may be optionally and preferably targeted to each user through the combination of viewing Web pages while watching television programming content. The preferences of the user are most preferably analyzed by monitoring the viewing choices of television programming, and by monitoring the browsing habits of the user, in order to provide targeted advertising. USB-TV banner 360 could be implemented such that the displayed advertising content matches these preferences. In a further enhancement, browsing frame 325 may be optionally and more preferably used to automatically present the Web pages activated by the links from USB-TV banner 360 in Explorer bar 340.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, an advertisement could optionally and preferably be inserted directly into
USB-TV image 350, by driving the advertisement data, such as text, graphics, video or any combination thereof, to the display driver directly, rather than using Web browser 300. According to this embodiment, a connection to the Internet would not even be necessary in order to display the advertisement with the television program data.
According to yet another preferred aspect of the present invention, the operation of USB-TV hardware 100 is controlled according to authorization information stored in computer 200. For example, by using a specific coding mechanism, USB-TV hardware 100 may be optionally activated only when installed on a specified computer. This arrangement is suitable, for example, for configurations in which the user would receive a bundled computer with USB-TV hardware 100 and a connection to an ISP. Such a configuration may enable the combination to be offered at a reduced price, since the manufacturer or other provider could then obtain revenues from advertisements. Preferably, a connection factor would be stored in a non- volatile memory 165 of USB-TV hardware 100, such that the connection factor would be used to determine if USB-TV hardware 100 is connected to the particular computer. In addition, a comparison connection factor would be stored in the particular computer. The connection factor could then be compared to the comparison connection factor to form a comparison, such that USB-TV hardware 100 would determine whether to receive a television program according to the comparison.
Similarly, a parent or guardian of a minor could restrict access to television programs, such as those with violence or other harmful features. The parent or guardian could define restrictions to permitted viewing through USB-TV hardware 100 with the help of program listings, and those restrictions would then be stored, preferably in non-volatile memory 165 and/or other permanent storage device, such that even if the minor attempts to install USB-TV hardware 100 on another computer, the programmed restrictions would still block the undesirable television programming. The content of the television program could be controlled with a controlling factor, such that for example the parent or guardian could block and/or permit certain television programs by name, by an independent rating of the television program, or even according to a scan of the content of the television program as the content is received.
It will be appreciated that the above descriptions are intended only to serve as examples, and that many other embodiments are possible within the spirit and the scope of the present invention.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A device for enabling television program data to be displayed by a computer, the computer featuring a USB (universal serial bus), the device comprising:
(a) a video signal input for receiving a television program video signal;
(b) a tuner for receiving said television program video signal from said video signal input and for adjusting said video signal;
(c) a video decoder for receiving said television program video signal from said tuner and for decoding said video signal to form a decoded video signal;
(d) a USB interface for converting said decoded video signal to form a USB signal; and
(e) a USB plug for connecting to the USB of the computer, such that the computer receives said USB signal.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein said television program video signal is an RF video signal.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein said television program video signal is a cable video signal.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein said television program video signal is a video signal.
5. The device of claim 1, further comprising:
(f) an audio signal output for outputting the audio signal of the input television program video signal.
6. The device of claim 1,2,3, wherein said tuner adjusts said television program video signal by selecting a channel and a band for decoding said television program video signal.
7. The device of claim 6, further comprising:
(g) a controller for determining said channel and said band for decoding said television program video signal, and for sending control information to said tuner for selecting said channel and said band.
8. The device of claim 7, wherein said video decoder decodes said television.program video signal according to said channel and said band to form said decoded video signal, and wherein said device further comprises:
(h) a compressor for compressing said decoded video signal to produce a compressed video signal, said compressed video signal being passed to said USB interface.
9. The device of claim 8, wherein said compressor scales said decoded video signal according to a predetermined resolution factor substantially before compressing said decoded video signal.
10. The device of claim 9, wherein said tuner selects a channel and a band for decoding said audio signal and wherein said video decoder further decodes said audio signal according to said channel and said band to form a decoded audio signal and wherein said compressor combines said decoded video signal and said decoded audio signal to form a single signal for passing to said USB interface.
11. The device of claim 9, wherein said compressor compresses said decoded video signal at least partially according to a spatial decorrelation method featuring temporal domain compression.
12. A system for displaying a television pro, the system comprising:
(a) a computer for displaying the television program, said computer comprising:
(i) a USB (universal serial bus) for receiving television program data; and (ii) a display for receiving said television program data from said USB and for displaying the television program; and
(b) a television device for receiving a television program signal and for converting said television program signal to said television program data, said television device comprising:
(i) a video signal input for receiving said television program signal; (ii) a USB interface for converting said program signal to form a signal; and (iii) a USB plug for connecting to said USB of said computer, such said computer receives said USB signal.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein said television device further comprises:
(iv) a tuner for receiving said television program video signal from said video signal input and for adjusting said video signal; and
(v) a video decoder for receiving said television program video signal from said tuner and for decoding said video signal to form a decoded video signal, such that said decoded video signal is passed to said USB interface.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein said television program video signal is an RF video signal.
15. The system of claim 12, wherein said television program video signal is a cable video signal.
16. The system of claim 12, wherein said television program video signal is a satellite video signal.
17. The system of claim 13, wherein said tuner adjusts said television program video signal by selecting a channel and a band for decoding said television program video signal.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein said television device further comprises:
(vii) a controller for determining said channel and said band for decoding said television program video signal, and for sending control information to said tuner for selecting said channel and said band.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein said video decoder decodes said television program video signal according to said channel and said band to form said decoded video signal, and wherein said device further comprises:
(h) a compressor for compressing said decoded video signal to produce a compressed video signal, said compressed video signal being passed to said USB interface.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein said compressor scales said decoded video signal according to a predetermined resolution factor substantially before compressing said decoded video signal.
21. The system of claim 20, wherein said television device further comprises:
(viii) a compressor for compressing said decoded video signal to produce a compressed video signal, said compressed video signal being passed to said USB interface.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein said television device further comprises:
(vi) an audio signal input for receiving an audio signal; and wherein said tuner selects a channel and a band for decoding said audio signal and wherein said video decoder further decodes said audio signal according to said channel and said band to form a decoded audio signal and wherein said compressor combines said decoded video signal and said decoded audio signal to form a single signal for passing to said USB interface.
23. The system of claim 21 , wherein said compressor compresses said decoded video signal at least partially according to a spatial decorrelation method featuring a temporal domain method for compression.
24. The system of claim 23, wherein said computer further comprises:
(iii) a display driver for receiving said converted video signal and for causing said display to display the television program
25. A method for displaying television program data by a computer to a user, the computer featuring a USB (universal serial bus), the method comprising the steps of:
(a) receiving a television program video signal;
(b) tuning said television program video signal to form a tuned signal;
(c) decoding said tuned signal to form a decoded signal;
(d) converting said decoded signal to form a USB signal;
(e) transmitting said USB signal to the USB of the computer; and
(f) displaying said USB signal by the computer to display the television program data.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein step (c) further comprises the step of:
(i) compressing said decoded signal to form a compressed signal, said compressed signal being converted to form said USB signal.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein step (e) further comprises the step of recording said USB signal by the computer to form a recorded USB signal; and wherein step (f) further comprises the step of:
(i) reading said recorded USB signal to display said USB signal.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein step (i) further comprises the steps of:
(1) starting a process of displaying said recorded USB signal;
(2) stopping said process for a period of time; and
(3) resuming said process after said period of time has elapsed.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein step (2) further comprises the steps of:
(A) continuing to read said recorded USB signal while not displaying said recorded USB signal; and
(B) displaying said recorded USB signal.
30. The method of claim 27, wherein recording said USB signal further comprises the steps of:
(1) receiving a description of at least one television program, said description including an indicator for a time period for receiving said television program video signal; (2) selecting at least one television program according to said description; and
(3) recording said USB signal at said time period indicated by said indicator.
31. The method of claim 30, wherein step ( 1 ) is performed when the user is located at a remote location from the computer.
32. A method for recording a television program video signal received by a computer, the television program video signal corresponding to a television program selected by a user, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) selecting the television program by the user to form a selected television program when the user is located at a remote location from the computer;
(b) entering said selected television program into the computer by the user;
(c) determining a time period for recording said selected television program by the computer;
(d) receiving the television program video signal by the computer at said time period; and
(e) storing the television program video signal in a memory storage of the computer such that the television program video signal is recorded.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein step (a) further comprises the steps of:
(i) providing a computer connection of the computer to a network; (ii) providing a user computer and a user connection of said user computer to said network; (iii) downloading a listing of a plurality of television programs to said user computer through said network; (iv) selecting the television program by the user from said listing of said plurality of television programs to form a selected television program; and (v) transmitting information about said selected television program to the computer for recording said selected television program.
34. The method of claim 32, wherein step (a) comprises the steps of: (i) providing a connection of the computer to a network;
(ii) downloading a listing of a plurality of television programs to the computer through said network; and (iii) selecting the television program by the user from said listing of said plurality of television programs.
35. The method of claim 34, wherein step (b) is automatically performed upon selection of the television program by the user.
36. The method of claim 35, wherein step (c) further comprises the step of:
(i) determining said time period according to said listing of said plurality of television programs, such that the computer automatically receives information about said time period.
37. The method of claim 36, wherein said time period is determined according to a specific time for starting to broadcast the television program.
38. The method of claim 36, wherein said time period is determined according to a signal received by the computer to begin recording.
39. The method of claim 36, further comprising the steps of:
(f) requesting the stored television program video signal by the user; and
(g) displaying the stored television program video signal to the user from said memory storage of the computer.
40. The method of claim 39, wherein step (g) further comprises the step of requesting by the user that a portion of the stored television program video signal is not displayed for a "fast forward" procedure.
41. The method of claim 32, further comprising the steps of:
(f) starting a process of displaying the stored television program video signal;
(g) stopping said process for a period of time; and
(h) resuming said process after said period of time has elapsed.
42. The method of claim 41, wherein step (g) further comprises the steps of:
(A) continuing to read the stored television program video signal while not displaying the stored television program video signal.
43. The method of claim 42, wherein the computer features a USB (universal serial bus), such that the television program video signal is received through said USB in step (d).
44. The method of claim 43, wherein step (d) further comprises the steps of:
(i) tuning the television program video signal to form a tuned signal;
(ii) decoding said tuned signal to form a decoded signal;
(iii) converting said decoded signal to form a USB signal; and
(iv) transmitting said USB signal to said USB of the computer.
45. The method of claim 42, wherein the television video program signal is received by the computer from television signal source selected from the group consisting of airwaves, cable and satellite.
46. A method for recording a television program video signal received by a computer, the television program video signal corresponding to a television program selected by a user, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) selecting the television program by the user to form a selected television program;
(b) entering said selected television program into the computer by the user;
(c) determining a time period for recording said selected television program by the computer;
(d) receiving the television program video signal by the computer at said time period;
(e) storing the television program video signal in a memory storage of the computer such that the television program video signal is recorded;
(f) starting a process of displaying the stored television program video signal;
(g) stopping said process for a period of time; and
(h) resuming said process after said period of time has elapsed.
47. The method of claim 46, wherein step (g) further comprises the steps of:
(A) continuing to read the stored television program video signal while not displaying the stored television program video signal.
48. The method of claim 47, wherein the computer features a USB (universal serial bus), such that the television program video signal is received through said USB in step (d).
49. The method of claim 48, wherein step (d) further comprises the steps of:
(i) tuning the television program video signal to form a tuned signal;
(ii) decoding said tuned signal to form a decoded signal;
(iii) converting said decoded signal to form a USB signal; and
(iv) transmitting said USB signal to said USB of the computer.
50. The method of claim 46, wherein the television video program signal is received by the computer from television signal source selected from the group consisting of airwaves, cable and satellite.
51. A method for displaying a television program to a user in a first portion of a Web browser while displaying a second data resource in a second portion of the Web browser, the Web browser being displayed by a computer, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing a Web browser with a plurality of display areas, each display area being substantially independent of other display areas;
(b) receiving a television program video signal by the computer corresponding to the television program;
(c) displaying said television program video signal in a first display area such that said first display area is the first portion of the Web browser; and
(d) displaying the second data resource in a second display area, such that said second display area is the second portion of the Web browser.
56. The method of claim 54, wherein the second data resource is a Web page.
52. The method of claim 51 , further comprising the step of: (e) changing said second data resource while maintaining a display of said television program video signal in said first display area.
53. The method of claim 52, wherein said first display area further comprises a banner display area, wherein said banner display area displays at least one of text and graphics.
54. The method of claim 53, further comprising the step of:
(f) displaying an advertisement in said banner display area.
55. The method of claim 54, wherein a content of said advertisement is at least partially selected according to a content of said television program video signal.
57. The method of claim 56, wherein said content of said advertisement is also at least partially selected according to a content of said Web page.
58. The method of claim 56, wherein said advertisement is first displayed on said Web page and is only displayed on said banner display area if the user changes said display of said Web page.
59. The method of claim 54 wherein said advertisement features a plurality of content segments, each of said content segments including at least one of text and graphics, and each of said content segments being sequentially displayed in said banner display area.
60. The method of claim 59, wherein the user is viewing the television program and a period of time for displaying said plurality of content segments is proportional to a period of time for viewing the television program by the user.
61. The method of claim 54, further comprising the step of:
(f) displaying an advertisement in said first display area with said television program video signal.
62. A method for controlling a television program video signal received by a computer, the television program video signal corresponding to a television program selected by a user, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) selecting at least one controlling factor for determining a content of the television program video signal;
(b) receiving the television program video signal by the computer;
(c) comparing the television program video signal to said at least one controlling factor to form a comparison; and
(d) determining whether to permit the television program video signal to be displayed by the user.
63. The method of claim 62, wherein step (b) is performed with a television reception device connected to the computer, said television reception device comprising:
(i) a video signal input for receiving said television program signal; (ii) a USB interface for converting said television program signal to form a USB signal; and (iii) a USB plug for connecting to said USB of said computer, such said computer receives said USB signal.
64. The method of claim 63, wherein step (a) further comprises the step of storing said at least one controlling factor in said television reception device.
65. A method for controlling a television device connected to a particular computer, the television device receiving a television program video signal corresponding to a television program selected by a user, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) storing a connection factor in a non-volatile memory of the television device, said connection device for determining if the television device is connected to the particular computer;
(b) storing a comparison connection factor in the particular computer;
(c) receiving said comparison connection factor from the particular computer;
(d) comparing said comparison connection factor to said connection factor to form a comparison; and
(e) determining whether to permit the television program video signal to be displayed by the user according to said comparison.
PCT/US2000/020387 1999-08-20 2000-07-27 Device, system and method for usb television and television integration with advertising and with internet browsing WO2001015443A1 (en)

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