Abstract: The invention relates to an improved interactive television having a timer. The timer alerts a television viewer of the expiration of preset timers. For example, the preset timers may be associated with events not traditionally related to television content, such as a kitchen timer. The exemplary kitchen timer can alert a television viewer that a baking time has expired. Thus, the timer can manage alerts in a non-intrusive manner to enhance the viewer's experience.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for creating a trick play video display from an MPEG-2 digital video transport stream are described. A trick play transport stream frame sequence template for each transport stream frame sequence and trick play video display mode supported by a video recorder is stored in the recorder. When the recorder receives an input transport stream frame sequence, the sequence is identified and template corresponding to that sequence and the selected trick play display mode is selected. The template is used to identify frames of the input transport stream to be appended to the trick play display transport stream frame sequence. When the trick play transport stream frame sequence is constructed the program clock reference, presentation time stamps and decoding time stamps associated with the frames are updated from information in the template.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for storing an MPEG-2 transport data stream with a conventional digital video (DV) recorder is described. The packetized MPEG-2 transport stream data is inserted into a data block of a digital video (DV) frame. The digital video frame is stored on the storage medium of the DV recorder. The DV frame may be inserted into an isochronous data transfer packet for transfer to the recorder over an IEEE 1394 serial bus. On the other hand, the MPEG transport stream data may be transferred to the recorder over the IEEE 1394 serial bus before the data is inserted into the DV frame for storage. For playback, the stored DV frame can be copied into an IEEE 1394 packet for transfer to the television receiver where the MPEG data is extracted from the frame, decoded and presented. On the other hand, the MPEG data may be extracted from the stored DV frame before transfer to the receiver over the IEEE 1394 bus.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for storing an MPEG-2 transport data stream with a conventional digital video (DV) recorder is described. The packetized MPEG-2 transport stream data is inserted into a data block of a digital video (DV) frame. The digital video frame is stored on the storage medium of the DV recorder. The DV frame may be inserted into an isochronous data transfer packet for transfer to the recorder over an IEEE 1394 serial bus. On the other hand, the MPEG transport stream data may be transferred to the recorder over the IEEE 1394 serial bus before the data is inserted into the DV frame for storage. For playback, the stored DV frame can be copied into an IEEE 1394 packet for transfer to the television receiver where the MPEG data is extracted from the frame, decoded and presented. On the other hand, the MPEG data may be extracted from the stored DV frame before transfer to the receiver over the IEEE 1394 bus.

Abstract: The predictive coding and temporally forward nature of MPEG compressed digital video make operation of a digital video recorder in a trick play mode problematic. A method is disclosed for creating an MPEG compliant trick play transport data stream having an optimum number of displayed frames from a standard MPEG digital video transport data stream. Frames are selected from the standard transport stream to be displayed as the trick play display. The frames required to decode the display frames are accumulated in a trick play video display. The transmission time required and the number of frames included in trick play video display are tested to determine if the trick play video display can be decoded and displayed within the time limits of the selected trick play mode and the design limits of the communication channel, decoder, and display of the MPEG digital video system.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for cyclic code codeword creation, error detection, and error correction are disclosed. The methods and apparatus utilize a set of permuted generator polynomials, each representing shifted and exclusive-ored (XORed) versions of the cyclic code generator polynomial according to a specific input bit pattern. The permuted generator polynomial may be provided by look-up table, hardware, or a software equivalent of this hardware. Use of the permuted generator polynomial greatly reduces the number of calculations required to calculate syndromes and trap errors in codewords. The permuted generator polynomial can be used to replace m iterations of a polynomial division operation with a single XOR operation. The bit pattern used to select a permuted generator polynomial is derived from the m high-order bits of the dividend at each step.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for digital image downsampling are disclosed with particular application to computer-graphics imagery. The digital image is downsampled non-uniformly in a manner that attempts to minimize aliasing of high-spatial-frequency image information by concentrating deletion paths in lower-spatial-frequency image regions. A spatial frequency estimator compares groups of pixels in order to produce a classification of the image. A path generator and path scorer trace and score potential deletion paths through the image, and the path with the greatest score (i.e., one that provides minimal distortion and aliasing) is selected for pixel removal. A recursor repeats this process until a desired number of image rows and/or columns have been removed.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for representing a digital image on a display having a lower resolution than the image are disclosed. In one embodiment, a display driver maps an original bitmap onto display coordinates using two regions. The first region is a viewer's current area of interest on the display (e.g., determined by active cursor or pointer position, or by an eye tracker). This region of the original bitmap is mapped onto the display at full resolution. The remainder of the bitmap is downsampled to fit the display, and displayed on the remainder of the display. The first region is registered to the second region, such that as the viewer focuses on a new area of the display, the first region “moves” to align with the underlying downsampled image. The invention thus provides an intuitive and easy-to-use interface for viewing images on a limited-resolution display.

Abstract: A system and method of information correction using the independently derived parity of a received (n,k) cyclic digital codeword as a means for error checking so that error bursts of up to ?(n-k)-.left brkt-top.log.sub.2 n.right brkt-top.! bit positions are corrected, where n is the number of bits in the codeword and k is the number of information bits in the codeword. The method incorporates prior art techniques of burst error correction using a generating polynomial and the generation of n syndromes, in which the bit positions of potential error bits in the received codeword are identified and replaced to generate potential replacement codewords for the received codeword. The method of correcting burst errors comprises the step of classifying replacement codewords with respect to their calculated parity. The method also comprises the step of using prior art error trapping techniques to supply a replacement codeword, as the corrected received codeword, when a single replacement codeword is generated.

Abstract: A battery power supply transposition circuit has been provided to control the use of batteries in a power source supplying multiple voltages from multiple batteries that share a least one common battery. The transposition circuit includes switches to provide selective interconnections between the battery terminals which allow the order of the series connected batteries to be changed. A battery interconnection controller is also included to control interconnections between batteries, and so allow alternate batteries to be used as the at least one common battery. Changing the selection of the at least one common battery provides a means for minimizing differences in the rate at which the batteries are depleted.