US 5,570,126 AGranted

System for composing multimedia signals for interactive television services

AssigneeLucent Technologies Inc.

InventorsDonald E. Blahut, Walter Hollenberg, Edward S. Szurkowski

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Abstract

A system for composing multimedia signals from various source signals, such as still-frame video signals, full motion video signals and audio signals includes a plurality of composing units, each of which is capable of composing a multimedia signal from selected source signals. One of such composing units is assigned for each multimedia signal to be composed. Each composing unit accepts parameters specifying various properties for each element of the multimedia signal, such as size, position and precedence for each video element and gain for each audio element. The composing units can include decompressors for decompressing source signals furnished in compressed form and a compressor to compress the multimedia signal to be transmitted to a user. The source signals can be received from a packet network and the resulting multimedia signals transmitted to the respective users via the same packet network.

Claims18

Dependent claims

An interactive multiuser system for composing at least two multimedia signals from a set of source signals, the system comprising:

a plurality of composing unit means for communicating with a plurality of users, each of said plurality of composing unit means composing a plurality of user requested multimedia signals from said set of source signals in response to a user request from any one of the plurality users, each of said sets of source signals comprising a visual signal, an audio signal, and a third set of signals, the third set of signals representing at least one additional video or audio signal;
means for assigning:
(i) a first composing unit means of the plurality of composing unit means in response to a first user requested multimedia signal of the plurality of user requested multimedia signals from a first user of the plurality of users, and
(ii) a second composing unit means of the plurality of composing unit means in response to a second user requested multimedia signal of the plurality of user requested multimedia signals from a second user of the plurality of users,;
means for configuring:
(i) the first composing unit means to compose said first user requested multimedia signal, and
(ii) the second composing unit means to compose said second user requested multimedia signal;
means for applying:
(i) a first source signal of the set of source signals to said first composing unit means in response to said first user requested multimedia signal, and
(ii) a second source signal of the set of source signals to said second composing unit means in response to said second user requested multimedia signal;
and
means for transmitting said first and second user requested multimedia signals to the first user and the second user, respectively.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/558,462Filed 16 Nov 1995 · continuation
Priority: 3 May 1993
Granted: 29 Oct 1996
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

H04Q 11/0478
Integrated services digital network, i.e. systems for transmission of different types of digitised signals, e.g. speech, data, telecentral,…:…
H04N 7/17318
Transmission or handling of upstream communications: direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
H04N 7/17336
Transmission or handling of upstream communications: handling of requests in head-ends
H04N 21/2365
Assembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. transport stream, by combining a video stream with other content or additional data, e.g. inserting a URL…:…