Abstract: A client-server architecture synchronizes streaming content with enhancing content via pre-announced triggers. The architecture includes server-based components to generate announcements containing information specifying how and when to receive upcoming triggers that will be transmitted at a later time. The server transmits the announcements to a general broadcast or multicast IP address. Client-based components monitor the IP address to receive and filter the announcements. Selected announcements are stored in a guide database in correlation with the streaming content programs to indicate that the programs are interactive. When a user tunes to an interactive program, the client opens a container HTML page that contains controls to receive the streaming content program and to extract the announcements from the guide database. The latter control monitors the IP address at the times specified in the selected announcements to receive the triggers corresponding to the interactive program.

Abstract: A display device includes a signal receiving unit, an image display unit, a communicating unit, a position designating unit, and an information transmitting unit. The signal receiving unit receives a video signal by a differential signal through a plurality of channels from an external apparatus via a transmission path. The image display unit processes the vide signal received in the signal receiving unit to display an image. The communicating unit performs a bi-directional communication by using a predetermined line which constitutes the transmission path. The position designating unit designates a position on a display screen of the image display unit. The information transmitting unit transmits, by the communicating unit, coordinate information on the position designated by the position designating unit to the external apparatus.

Abstract: The invention discloses a display control device and method thereof. The display control device and method thereof utilize the phase deviation and the frequency deviation between the output signal and the input signal caused during channel switching to provide converting time acceptable by a display device and to achieve the objective of balancing the data stream transmission.

Abstract: In a case of changing the resolution of the synthesized image signal obtained by synthesizing the first image signal and a second image signal, identification information for identifying whether or not the character signal is contained is added to the synthesized image signal based on presence/absence of the character signal, by a character signal creating unit and a character signal synthesizing unit. Then, based on the identification information, a resolution changing unit separates the synthesized image signal into a third image signal containing a component of the character signal and a fourth image signal containing no component of the character signal, changes the resolutions of the third image signal and the fourth image signal, and synthesizes the third image signal and the fourth image signal with the resolutions changed, based on the identification information.

Abstract: Described are methods and apparatus for enhancing an information resource, such as a Web page, simultaneously residing in memory on a number of remote receivers. A content creator, (e.g., a program producer, broadcaster, affiliate, cable company or satellite provider), embeds a trigger in a data service channel of a broadcast signal. The trigger includes a resource identifier unique to the information resource and a script capable of modifying the information resource. The script might be a script or a segment of a script written in a conventional scripting language. Each receiver that includes the targeted information resource monitors the data service channel of the broadcast video signal for script-bearing triggers directed to that resource. If a receiver receives a script-bearing trigger directed to the resident resource, the receiver executes the script contained within the trigger to alter the resource and/or the displayed video defined by the resource.

Abstract: A method to provide a signal using a communication link. The method disposes a passive transponder on the communication link, where that passive transponder includes a memory. The method reads information relating to the communication link from the memory, and then, based upon that information, adjusts certain characteristics of a signal provided using the communication link.

Abstract: An interpolation processing section determines a pixel value of an interpolation-target pixel by a diagonal interpolation process. An interpolation value limiting section compensates the pixel value determined by the interpolation processing section such that it becomes a value between pixel values of two adjacent pixels above and below the interpolation-target pixel. An intersection area detecting section judges whether or not the interpolation-target pixel is located in, when the horizontal axis represents a horizontal position and the vertical axis represents a pixel value, an area in proximity of a horizontal position where a curve line, representing pixel values of pixels on the scanning line above the interpolation-target pixel, and a curve line, representing pixel values of pixels on the scanning line below the interpolation-target pixel, intersects.

Abstract: A signal separator for separating luminance and color signals from a composite video signal includes: a first band pass element for passing a part of the composite video signal within a color signal band and within a predetermined frequency band; a second band pass element for passing a part of the first filtered signal within the color signal band and without the predetermined frequency band; and a first subtraction element for subtracting the first filtered signal from the composite video signal, wherein the predetermined frequency band is a frequency range in which the separation of the composite video signal into the color and the luminance signals is difficult.

Abstract: A signal separator for separating luminance and color signals from a composite video signal includes: a first line delay element for delaying the composite video signal by one line period; a second line delay element for delaying the composite video signal by two line periods; an adder element for adding the first and second delay signals; a subtraction element for subtracting the second delay signal from the first delay signal; a control signal generator for passing a part of the addition signal within a predetermined frequency band therethrough; and a gain control element for reducing a level of the subtraction signal based on the control signal.

Abstract: In estimating subjective video quality corresponding to main parameters which are input as an input frame rate representing the number of frames per unit time, an input coding bit rate representing the number of coding bits per unit time, and an input packet loss rate representing a packet loss occurrence probability of an audiovisual medium, a degradation model specifying unit specifies a degradation model representing the relationship between the packet loss rate and the degradation in reference subjective video quality on the basis of the input frame rate and input coding bit rate. A desired subjective video quality estimation value is calculated by correcting the reference subjective video quality on the basis of a video quality degradation ratio corresponding to the input packet loss rate calculated by using the degradation model.