Abstract: The invention relates to an audio/visual system for providing network connectivity to a common embedded interface by simulating the embedded interface. The audio/visual system is coupled to a computer that has at least one memory, and comprises a rendering circuit having a memory and an emulation circuit that is coupled to the rendering circuit. The emulation circuit comprises a memory for storing instruction sequences and a processor coupled to the memory, that executes the stored instruction sequences. The audio/visual system further comprises an audio/visual apparatus coupled to the rendering circuit and the emulation circuit, and a display coupled to the rendering circuit. The stored instruction sequences cause the processor to (a) retrieve information stored in one of the memory of the audio/visual apparatus or the memory of the computer; (b) forward the information to the rendering circuit for processing; (c) forward the processed information to the display; and (d) display the processed information.

Abstract: A system and method is disclosed for a personal radio recorder. The personal radio recorder allows for random access of communication signals by identifying a channel and time. The personal radio recorder is capable of concurrent reception, storage and playback of a complete spectrum of individual communication signals. A wide-band signal is received, and concurrently demodulated into a plurality of individual communication signals. These audio signals are identified by channel and time. Individual signals may be simultaneously played, paused, or stored for later playback. Compression may be used to make efficient use of storage. Storage may be fixed, removable, or a combination of both. The system is also capable of storing signals that are digitally formatted, and is compatible with existing analog or digital playback devices. The personal radio recorder may playback multiple channels of communications data, either previously recorded or currently broadcast, to multiple output stages at the same time.

Abstract: Aspects of the invention include a method and apparatus to manage the cache memory of a disc drive. In one aspect the data rates of different file read and write threads are used to determine the minimum seek time to allow the cache to be used more efficiently. In another aspect, the read/write cache segments are adjusted by determining the summation of the ratio between read/write cache segment sizes and the respective data rates and then adjusting the segment sizes to minimize the seek times for the data streams.

Abstract: A data shuttle and storage device comprises a hard disk drive and a plurality of analog and digital interfaces for providing inputs from various sources in different formats and providing selectively data outputs to various destinations in different formats. All the data is stored through a disk processor which provides bus arbitration, file management and the like under the control of a shuttle borne microprocessor and shuttle borne power supply, so that the shuttle provides media-independent plug-and-play mobility for data from a plurality of sources and provided to a plurality of destinations.

Abstract: A system and method for tracking objects between multiple frames of a video is described. One method for tracking objects begins with a viewer initially identifying an object in a frame of video. If the viewer requires zooming, he can also select a scale factor for the identified object. Once the user has identified an object for tracking, the computer system identifies a reference point on the object and identifies the motion vectors for that reference point. Using the motion vectors, the computer system can track the identified object as it moves across the screen and can reposition an image acquisition area to track the location of the identified object in subsequent video frames.

Abstract: A system and method is disclosed for a personal radio recorder. The personal radio recorder allows for random access of communication signals by identifying a channel and time. The personal radio recorder is capable of concurrent reception, storage and playback of a complete spectrum of individual communication signals. A wide-band signal is received, and concurrently demodulated into a plurality of individual communication signals. These audio signals are identified by channel and time. Individual signals may be simultaneously played, paused, or stored for later playback. Compression may be used to make efficient use of storage. Storage may be fixed, removable, or a combination of both. The system is also capable of storing signals that are digitally formatted, and is compatible with existing analog or digital playback devices. The personal radio recorder may playback multiple channels of communications data, either previously recorded or currently broadcast, to multiple output stages at the same time.

Abstract: The invention relates to an audio/visual system for providing network connectivity to a common embedded interface by simulating the embedded interface. The audio/visual system is coupled to a computer that has at least one memory, and comprises a rendering circuit having a memory and an emulation circuit that is coupled to the rendering circuit. The emulation circuit comprises a memory for storing instruction sequences and a processor coupled to the memory, that executes the stored instruction sequences. The audio/visual system further comprises an audio/visual apparatus coupled to the rendering circuit and the emulation circuit, and a display coupled to the rendering circuit. The stored instruction sequences cause the processor to (a) retrieve information stored in one of the memory of the audio/visual apparatus or the memory of the computer; (b) forward the information to the rendering circuit for processing; (c) forward the processed information to the display; and (d) display the processed information.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and system of indexing a media element. The media element to be indexed is first identified and a characterization process to be applied to the media element is selected. The characterization process is applied to the media element. The characterization process includes generating a data string for the media element, where the data string includes trait information for the media element. The media element is indexed using the data string. Various embodiments are described.

Abstract: Aspects of the invention include a method and apparatus to manage the cache memory of a disc drive. In one aspect the data rates of different file read and write threads are used to determine the minimum seek time to allow the cache to be used more efficiently. In another aspect, the read/write cache segments are adjusted by determining the summation of the ratio between read/write cache segment sizes and the respective data rates and then adjusting the segment sizes to minimize the seek times for the data streams.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a novel universal remote control system. Specifically, the remote control system according to the present invention provides the following features: bidirectional communications between the remote control and at least one of the audio/video devices; dual communication mode; automatic communication mode selection; loading and processing electronic program guide in the remote control; soft graphical user interface in the remote control; expanding the television set functions by the remote control; calibration handshake between the remote control and the audio/video device; updating the remote control; lost beacon signal in the remote control; handwriting recognition mechanism, and voice recognition mechanism in the remote control.

Abstract: Aperture correction or edge detection circuitry filters input data for high-frequency components, and then selects areas most likely to be text based on the contrast of the signal and applying an amount of aperture correction responsive to the signal characteristics. A high pass filter (116) is employed to filter out low frequency components and separate the signal into positive and negative going transitions. Then, the positive-going signal is coupled to a contrast detector (124), which produces a control signal that controls the amount of aperture correction added to the signal by an aperture correction circuit 112. The contrast detector (124) is designed to generate an amount of aperture correction that is responsive to the high frequency content of the positive-going signal. In one embodiment, a global threshold is used that allows aperture correction to be applied to the input signal only if the amplitude of the high frequency component of the signal is greater than the threshold.

Abstract: A device performs both 2-tap and 3-tap flicker filtering of non-interlaced lines of computer graphics data to form interlaced lines. The device includes a data packer, a data unpacker, and a filter circuit. The filter circuit combines lines that it receives to form filtered lines. The data packer writes the filtered lines to line buffers while the data unpacker reads the lines stored in the line buffers. The read lines are either sent to the filter circuit for further filtering or are outputted to be displayed as interlaced lines. Both 2-tap and 3-tap flicker filtering can be accomplished by varying the order and/or number of read, write, and filter operations.

Abstract: An apparatus simultaneously flicker filters and vertically contracts a plurality of original lines to form compensated lines. The device uses a coefficient calculator and a line processor, both controlled by a controller. The coefficient calculator provides compensation coefficients to the line processor. The line processor forms weighted sums of the original lines, with the weightings determined by the compensation coefficients. The compensation coefficients are chosen to simultaneously implement flicker filtering and vertical contraction. Thus, the weighted sums are the compensated lines.

Abstract: A graphics display system processes text data in a video signal, preferably in the vertical blanking interval, and allows a user to selectively display the text data in real time, search the text data, or obtain a transcript of the data. A digitizer and decoder circuit extracts the text data from a video signal and adds an identifier to the text data. A graphics user interface accelerator stores the text data. Concurrent with adding the identifier and the storage of the text data, the digitizer and decoder circuit adds an identifier to the video and audio data, and the graphics user interface accelerator stores the video and audio data. The identifier added to the video and audio data links such data to the associated text data. In response to a user search request, a host processor scans the stored text data for text data that matches a user selected input, and retrieves the text data matching the user selected input.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for correcting the flicker artifact associated with noninterlaced to interlaced video conversion includes a Set-Interpolative-Threshold comparator function whereby weighted line averaging is used only if the difference in luminance, or other color component, of vertically adjacent pixels in the noninterlaced video exceeds a user set threshold value. When the differential value in luminance, or other color component, is greater than the threshold value, and such line averaging is used, the negative effects of the line averaging, such as blurring and darkening of the resulting video frame, are at least partially corrected by aperture/inverse aperture correction.

Abstract: A graphics display system processes a video signal that includes closed caption text. A digitizer and decoder circuit retrieves the closed caption data and formats the data to avoid loss by decimation, to be scalable, and to include an indicator of capture or display. The digitizer and decoder circuit includes ping pong buffers for storing the data. During a first odd field, the closed caption data is stored in the ping buffer and the closed caption data from a previous field is read from the pong buffer. During the even field, the closed caption data is again read from the pong buffer. During the next odd field, the operation is repeated with the functions of the ping and pong buffers reversed. Alternatively the even field may contain the closed caption data. The digitizer and decoder circuit includes a capture or display valid bit in the closed caption data to indicate that the caption data is from the current field.

Abstract: A method for high speed playback of digital video data (e.g. D1 or D2 data) in which, at lower speeds, the frames of data to be played back are made of a mixture of consecutive frames of data. The frames of data are mixed by averaging the pixel values over consecutive frames to make up the output frames. For high speed shuttle operation, non-consecutive frames are averaged on a pixel by pixel basis to create shuttle frames. In order to improve the appearance of the output, consecutive shuttle frames contain a common original frame so that a component of the original data spans two output frames.

Abstract: A video and graphics display system compensates for video tearing caused by reading graphics data from a shared buffer faster than video data is stored into the shared buffer. The video data is arranged in video fields comprising scan lines of pixel data. A processor determines the scan line of overtake of reading graphics data from the buffer at a rate faster than storing video data of a current video field into the buffer. A generator provides at least one video scan line as an interpolation of at least one scan line of the current video field stored in the shared buffer and of at least one scan line of a previous video field stored in the shared buffer. A multiplexer receives video scan lines from the shared buffer and from the generator and provides the video scan lines from the shared buffer to a display if there is no scan line of overtake and provides the interpolated video scan lines from the generator to the display if there is a scan line of overtake.

Abstract: A method for high speed playback of digital video data (e.g. D1 or D2 data) in which, at lower speeds, the frames of data to be played back are made of a mixture of consecutive frames of data. The frames of data are mixed by averaging the pixel values over consecutive frames to make up the output frames. For high speed shuttle operation, non-consecutive frames are averaged on a pixel by pixel basis to create shuttle frames. In order to improve the appearance of the output, consecutive shuttle frames contain a common original frame so that a component of the original data spans two output frames.

Abstract: A method for high speed playback of digital video data (e.g. D1 or D2 data) in which, at lower speeds, the frames of data to be played back are made of a mixture of consecutive frames of data. The frames of data are mixed by averaging the pixel values over consecutive frames to make up the output frames. For high speed shuttle operation, non-consecutive frames are averaged on a pixel by pixel basis to create shuttle frames. In order to improve the appearance of the output, consecutive shuttle frames contain a common original frame so that a component of the original data spans two output frames.