CA2573345A1

CA2573345A1 - Improvements in receivers for television signals

Info

Publication number: CA2573345A1
Application number: CA002573345A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Nigel Bodkin; Xavier Willame; Robin Crossley; Nick James
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Sky CP Ltd
Priority date: 1999-08-09
Filing date: 2000-08-09
Publication date: 2001-02-15
Anticipated expiration: 2020-08-09
Also published as: CA2573300A1; CA2573345C

Abstract

A Hard Disk Recorder (HDR) (3) is arranged to receive signals signals defining television programmes and television programme schedule data. The HDR receives updated programme schedule data substantially constantly in a dedicated programme schedule data channel. The HDR is arranged to output the programme schedule data for display on a television screen (2). The HDR comprises a hard disk (16) for recording received television programmes. A remote control (28) is provided to select television programmes to be recorded from the displayed programme schedule. Furthermore, the HDR is arranged to receive additional programme schedule information included in each of the received television channels which information is used to control the hard disk to record pre-programmed television programmes according to schedule. The hard disk is operable to record simultaneously two different television programmes received in different channels. Also, the HDR is operable to replay a currently broadcast programme offset in time. The time offset can be overcome by playing back the part of the programme inside the time offset at an increased frame rate. Furthermore, the HDR is arranged to receive transition signals indicating transitions between parts of programmes, such as transitions between advertisements and the "actual" programmes. The HDR is operable to use these transition signals, for example, to skip between transitions; in previously recorded programmes replayed from the hard disk.

Claims

1. A receiver for receiving television signals representative of a television programme, and information signals indicative of the start and/or the end of a predetermined portion of the television programme, the receiver further comprising:
a recorder for recording programme data representative of received television signals and indicator data pointing to the start and/or end of said predetermined portion, and for playing back recorded data for display on a screen of the television programme represented thereby; and user operable control means operable to cause the recorder to skip to the start and/or end of the predetermined portion of the television programme, as indicated by the corresponding indicator data, during playback of the recorded data.

2. The receiver of claim 1, wherein the indicator data comprises a time code of the start and/or end of said predetermined portions.

3. The receiver of claim 2, wherein the time code is included in said information signals.

4. The receiver of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information signals are received with the television signals.

5. The receiver of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the indicator data is stored as metadata separate from the programme data.

6. The receiver of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the television programme includes a plurality of said predetermined portions separated by one or more advertising breaks, and the user operable control means is operable to cause the recorder to skip said one or more advertising breaks, as indicated by the indicator data, during playback of the recorded data.

7. The receiver of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the recorder comprises a hard disk.

8. The receiver of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the recorder comprises an optical storage medium.