Method and device for displaying widescreen images on conventional aspect ratio display monitors
AssigneeHughes Electronics Corporation
InventorJohn P. Godwin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and device is described herein for displaying a television picture comprised of several standard aspect ratio images on widescreen and standard aspect ratio video monitors. A widescreen image including several smaller aspect ratio images are assembled and broadcast. A receiver with a widescreen monitor display can display the entire widescreen image. A receiver with a conventional aspect ratio monitor display can display a combination of the smaller aspect ratio images. The device includes a frame store for storing image information, image configuration logic for determining a configuration of image information, and frame address logic to write image information to frame store with a configuration according to image configuration logic.
Claims15
A system for receiving video programming comprising:
- a receiver station that receives a wide-screen multi-image signal that was transmitted from a remote location;
- the received wide-screen multi-image signal comprising at least first and second images each located in either a non-wide-screen primary image area or at least one non-wide-screen secondary image area, respectively;
- said non-wide-screen primary image area and said non-wide-screen secondary image area received in a picture-out-of-picture (POP) configuration;
- said receiver station comprising a tuner for receiving said wide-screen multi-image signal at a single frequency;
- said receiver station further comprising a decoder in communication with said tuner and programmed to receive said wide-screen multi-image signal in said POP configuration and provide the image in said non-wide-screen primary image area and the image in said non-wide-screen secondary image area to a display in a picture-in-picture (PIP) configuration.
A system for transmitting video programming to a plurality of receiver stations, the system comprising:
- a video encoder that receives video images from a plurality of sources and assembles said video images into a wide-screen multi-image signal having a 16:9 aspect ratio;
- said wide-screen multi-image signal comprising first and second images located in a non-wide-screen primary image area and at least one non-wide-screen secondary image area, respectively;
- said non-wide-screen secondary image area and said non-wide-screen primary image area of said multi-image signal arranged in a picture-out-of-picture configuration;
- said non-wide-screen primary image area having a 4:3 aspect ratio;
- a transmitter that receives said wide-screen multi-image signal from said video encoder and transmits it over a single frequency to said plurality of receiver stations.
A method of receiving video programming comprising the steps of:
- receiving at a single frequency a wide-screen multi-image signal that was transmitted from a remote location;
- said wide-screen multi-image signal comprising at least first and second images each located in either a non-wide-screen primary image area or at least one non-wide-screen secondary image area, respectively;
- said non-wide-screen primary image area and said at least one non-wide-screen secondary image area of said multi-image signal received in a picture-out-of-picture (POP) configuration;
- programming a decoder to receive said wide-screen multi-image signal in said POP configuration and provide the image in said non-wide-screen primary image area and the image in said at least one non-wide-screen secondary image area to a display in a picture-in-picture (PIP) configuration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.