MXPA01012671A

MXPA01012671A - Real-time signal strength display of terrestrial digital television signals.

Info

Publication number: MXPA01012671A
Application number: MXPA01012671A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Daniel Richard Schneidewend
Original assignee: Thomson Licensing Sa
Priority date: 1999-06-16
Filing date: 2000-06-08
Publication date: 2002-06-04
Also published as: JP2012109980A; CN1355988A; EP1195055A1; JP2003502919A; KR100749407B1; AU5329900A; WO2000078039A1; CN1178483C; KR20020022667A; JP6684014B2; JP4951178B2; JP5785232B2; JP2015084596A; JP5542785B2; JP2013240118A

Abstract

An HDTV receiver coupled to a terrestrial antenna displays real-time signal strength of terrestrial digital television signals. A graphical user interface preferably displays various data relating to all terrestrial television signals in a scrollable grid format. The grid is displayed within an active video display of a selected television signal from the grid. Audio for the selected channel is also active. A list of all channels tuned or selected is maintained to aid in searching. Channel lists are updated during certain channel searches.

Description

PRESENTATION OF REAL-TIME SIGNAL STRENGTH OF DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL TELEVISION SIGNALS CROSS REFERENCE WITH RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a non-provisional patent application based on the provisional patent application serial number 60 / 139,467, filed on June 16, 1999, and the co-pending provisional patent application with serial number 60 / 143,341, filed on July 12, 1999.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to digital television signals, and more particularly to the reception and measurement of off-air digital television signals. 2. Description of Related Art High Definition Televisions (HDTV) and other digital TV boxes must have the ability to receive digital signals, for example, terrestrial television signals. Terrestrial digital television signals will typically be received by the television in addition to digital television signals from other sources. These other cable or satellite sources (ie, DBS) generally provide television signals with a standard signal strength that is sufficient to allow the television receiver to process and use the incoming digital television signal. • With both analog and digital out-of-air TV signals, it is necessary to connect an antenna to the TV. If several channels are available, the user would have to manually adjust the antenna in order to receive the best possible reception of all available channels. It is known that a channel search routine can be provided which can obtain a discrete or "instantaneous" sample of all the channels currently available at various antenna inputs. The channel search routine then stores the detected channels during the memory search (e.g., EEPROM), erasing any previously stored channels that are not currently available. When the unit is started, the channels in EEPROM become the channel list. If the user wants to adjust or move the antenna, the signal strength of some digital signals (channels) may be too low to tune (or receive). Therefore, when providing power or if the user runs a channel search, several channels can be deleted. In addition, weak channels are removed, to allow the case where a user moves to another broadcast position (out of the air, or DBS). It could be the case where several digital television signals are available to the user but only if the antenna is manually adjusted to achieve the best possible reception for several channels. To efficiently achieve the best antenna placement, the user would need to know the signal strengths of the different digital television channels. Also, with the use of a rotor and control electronics, the best positioning of the antenna in relation to each digital television channel could be obtained, stored and used, if the strength of each digital television channel were known.

COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION Currently, a screen orientation screen (an on-screen display or OSD) is used in the Digital Broadcast Satellite (DBS) products which indicates the orientation of the dish without concurrently presenting and / or reproducing the audio signal. / video or present the strength of the signal of the television channels out of the air. In an aspect of the present invention, the currently tuned channel may be presented at the bottom, and its respective input would be illuminated. If a valid channel is not presented, then the first channel of the list can be illuminated. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method and apparatus for displaying the real-time signal strength of the digital television signals out of the air. An Antenna Information program / routine (Info) preferably using a graphical user interface is adapted to compile a list of received channels, to display a signal strength related to any or all of the digital channels received in real time, and to reproduce the audio and video of any particular channel for any antenna input. Since audio and video are active during real-time presentation of signal strength, it allows the user to find the lowest signal strength that can provide an acceptable level of audio and video quality, that is, a cut threshold. Finding the cutoff threshold is particularly useful when digital broadcasts come from different directions to the terrestrial antenna can not be oriented in both directions. According to another aspect of the present invention, a user can change to different antenna inputs while the Antenna Information routine is active. By doing this, the channel list will be refreshed to represent the channels available in Ta new antenna input. All channels obtained by a channel search over a period of time are retained in the Antenna Information List for use by the Antenna Information routine. The Antenna Information can thus be a listing of each channel that has been added to the channel list by means of the channel search. For each channel in the channel list, the Antenna Information routine will try to make the tuner (or selector) connect to a signal on several channel frequencies. If the tuner is successful in receiving a usable television signal, the channel is retained in that list. If the television signal is digital, the strength of the signal is at least measured, and possibly presented. The value of the Antenna Info is to check the signal strength of the digital channels while changing the position of the antenna. The Antenna Info will usually only include the current antenna instead of both antennas simultaneously. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the user has the ability to scroll through a list of channels * currently in the channel list. When any specific channel is selected, the tuner will play the audio and video for that channel, as the real-time signal strength is updated on the screen (digital channels only). The list of channels that are currently available includes both analog and digital channels in order to provide the user with an integrated channel screen where the effects of the antenna settings of both digital and analog channels can easily be viewed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DIAMETERS The invention will be better understood by referring to the following drawings, wherein: Figure 1 represents a multimedia system adapted to receive and use digital television signals; Figure 2 is a program flow diagram of a search routine invoked during a Channel Search according to an aspect of the present invention; Figure 3 is a program flow diagram of a search routine that adds a channel to the Channel List and the Antenna Info List as a result of a discrete digital input, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention; Figure 4 is a program flow diagram of a start routine according to an aspect of the present invention; Figure 5 is a program flow diagram of a search routine invoked during an Antenna Info search according to an aspect of the present invention; and Figure 6 is a representation of the program screen as presented in a display unit particularly showing the Antenna Information Results according to an aspect of the present invention. The corresponding reference characters indicate the corresponding parts in all views.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to Figure 1, a simplified functional block diagram of a multimedia system 10 is shown. The multimedia system 10 may include a television or a monitor 12 and a television box receiver and / or DBS 14, which is in communication with the TV 12 via the communication line 16 as is known in the art. The receiver DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite) 14 is in communication with the dish (or antenna) 18 via the communication line 20 as is known in the art. The dish 18 receives digital data and / or multimedia signals, for example, television, music and / or Internet signals (hereinafter collectively referred to as "television signals"), which are focused on and received by the power horn unit / LNA (Low Noise Amplifier) 22. The power horn / LNA unit 22 typically receives and slightly amplifies the television signals and transmits the amplified television signals to the DBS receiver 14 for processing. The DBS unit 14 can also be coupled to a cable or CATV system (not shown) via a cable entry line 24. The TV 12 can be coupled to the antenna or aerial antenna 26 via a communication line 28. The antenna 26 is designed to receive digital and analog television signals from non-satellite or off-air broadcast. As such, the antenna 26 can generally be adjusted either manually or automatically. The off-air television signals are fed to a tuner 30 to discriminate or tune the different channels and receive any data signal as is known in the art. The tuner 30 is in communication with the microcontroller unit ("μC") 32 so that the digital television signals received from the antenna 26 are received and processed by the microcontroller unit 32 as is known in the art. In addition to other functions as are known in the art, the microcontroller unit 32 provides control and / or implementation of the different software programs / routines and is in communication with various components according to the different aspects of the present invention. The microcontroller unit 32 is in communication with the additional memory 34, for example, EEPROM, RAM, ROM, and the display 36. The TV 12 may also include left and right speakers 38a and 38b, respectively, coupled to the microcontroller unit 32 via the audio communication lines 40a and 40b, respectively, to provide the audio output to the user. Additionally, the controller unit 32 includes the ability to generate, process and display the OSD information / data in the display 36. The OSD information / data may be a part of the received television signal or may be generated internally. Such OSD information may include channel number, time, signal strength, electronic program guides on screen (EPGs), Internet, instant appearance windows, on-screen electronic programming menus, and the like. The microcontroller unit 32 also runs different software programs necessary to process and / or use the incoming digital signals as is known in the art and additionally as provided herein. It should be understood that the microcontroller unit 32 itself or together with the tuner 30 and the memory 34 form a module capable of implementing the present invention. This module can be completely separate (discrete module) or can incorporate existing constituents of the different components (virtual module). In this way, the module can be incorporated in the TV 12, DBS Receiving Unit / TV Box 14, or in any other component capable of receiving and / or using digital television signals. Referring to Figure 6, a display 36 is shown showing program screen 44. Program screen 44 is an exemplary screen indicating a typical program / menu / information screen ("program") in which it can incorporate the present invention. Included in the program screen 44 is a plurality of options / programs / menu functions 50 available for a possible selection by the user and their implementation by the unit. According to one aspect of the present invention, one of said menu options 5o is "Antenna Info" (Antenna Information) 52.

Antenna Info 52 is a menu option to invoke the Antenna Info program, function or routine from a main or auxiliary screen or through a separate button on a remote control. By selecting the Antenna Info either by button or by menu option, textual context sensitive help can be displayed in a portion of the program screen 44 to assist the user. The Antenna Information process provides a real-time signal strength of the received digital signal (e.g., terrestrial or satellite television signals) and assists the user in adjusting his terrestrial antenna (e.g. antenna 26 of Figure 1). ) to receive the largest number of digital television channels that satisfy a minimum signal strength threshold. Therefore, the current addition of analogue and digital channels to the current tuning capacity of the television or television box and the construction of a Channel List representative thereof, is performed by the function / routine of Channel Search . The search performed by the Antenna Info can be separated from the Channel Search function and can be invoked from another program screen. When the Channel Search routine does a signal or channel scan, only those analog or digital channels that have a signal strength above a certain criterion threshold are added to the Channel List, which is stored in memory (for example, example, EEPROM). The Channel List, in this way, is a stored list of analogue and digital television channels currently available, which will be displayed during the channel scan / search by the user. The actions performed by the Channel Search can be summarized in the following table, which identifies what happens to the Channel List and to the Antenna Info List that is stored separately in the Channel List and which was used for different purposes during a Channel Search.

Referring further to Figure 2, in this s represents a program flow diagram 70 for the Channel Search routine. When making a selection, the Cana Search starts at 72 and the next frequency that starts from a chosen frequency 74 is scanned. If there is no next frequency, the routine has ended 76. When a next frequency is found, it is determined if there is a signal usable in frequency / channel 78. Usable can be determined by applying a signal strength threshold to be overcome by the signal or other parameter or parameter set. For each incoming frequency / channel that does not meet the signal strength threshold requirements or for any other reason, the channel is removed from the Channel 75 List and then a frequency 74 is determined. A non-continuous reception of usable channels gives as a result a circuit until there are no more next frequencies available. For each frequency / incoming channel that meets the signal strength threshold requirements or for other reasons, the channel is added to the Channel List and the Antenna Info List in step 80. The process is repeated until there is another following frequency as determined in step 74. Referring to FIG. 3, this shows a program flow diagram 82 for automatically adding the channels to the Channel List. When a user enters discrete digits for a particular channel 84 generally from the numeric keypad of a remote control (not shown), the program begins. Upon receiving the channel number, it is determined if there is a usable signal on the frequency / channel 86. If there is a usable signal, that channel is added to the Channel List and to the Antenna 90 List. Referring to the Figure 4, this shows a flow diagram of schedule. §2 to add channels to the Antenna Info List, generally unknown by the user. When power is supplied to the unit in step 94, the next step that is in the EEPROM is scanned to determine if there is an available signal 96. If not, the program ends 98. If a usable signal exists (it is available), it is added to the Antenna Info List 100. After this, the program determines if another channel is available to be viewed. These routines of this mod add usable channels to the Channel List as well as the Antenna Info List. The actions performed by a Anten Info search can be summarized in the following table, which identifies what happens during a search of Antenna Info when a signal with good strength (usable) or a signal with bad strength is received ( low or without strength).

Figure 5 is a flowchart of the Antenna 1 04 Info Search routine. When starting the Antenna 1 06 Info search the next frequency / channel in the Antenna Profile List is scanned to find a good signal 1 08. If there are no more frequencies / channels and / or it is the end of a predetermined list, the program ends 1 10. If a usable signal exists, it is determined whether it is a analog or digital signal 1 12. An analog signal is Add in Channel List 1 14. After this, the unit is ready to scan the next frequency 108. If the signal is digital, the signal strength is measured in real time, and updated in the Antenna info list. , and the channel is added to the Channel List 116. After this, the unit is ready to scan the next frequency 108. At the same time that the different Antenna Info screens are prompting the user, the channel data grid 54 will be filled with information about the channels is, one per row 64, that are being received or have been received from all terrestrial antennas, mainly the channel number, column 58; the name of the station (for example, NBC (if possible) in column 60); if the channel is digital or analog, column 58; which antenna is picking up the channel, column 60, and for the digital channels only, its current signal strength, column 62. Other types of information can also be shown with respect to the different channels. The Channel 54 data grid includes screen name 56 (Antenna Info) and shows a number of rows, here five rows 64a-e, at a time. Rows 67 and 68 indicate that there are more channels that can be seen moving up or down the grid. The Antena Info screen will retain those channels that were previously measured in a past Antenna Info measurement process but that have enough force to pass the "criterion / signal strength level" that will be added to a channel list of a Channel Search. This is desirable because users may not know what local channels are available, but once they know it, it is at the discretion of the user if they try to adjust their antennae to make certain channels strong enough to be added to the list.

Search for Channel. «Once the signal strength measurement has been completed, the Antenna Info Results Screen in the program screen 44 will be shown in the presentation 36. The user can navigate through the grid defined by the channel number and its different attributes or characteristics 64 and columns 58, 60, 62) moving up and down the loop / envelope type list to see what channels are available using the current antenna position. Those digital channels with, for example, a "-" instead of a number, indicate that the signal strength is not sufficient to see the channel or to add the channel to the Channel List of a Channel Search (see 64d). All analog channels will appear with "N / A" as their strength to indicate that signal strength measurement is not available for those channels (see 64c). Those channels that are currently available through a Channel Search may appear in the list from previous signal strength measurements or appear in the list from information obtained from a guide or as otherwise indicated here. . If the user selects the "Antenna Info" function, then the signal strength for that channel will be measured and / or updated. As the user moves through the different channels, the tuner tries to connect to the channel that is lit. If the channel is detected, the channel force measurement is taken and / or updated. At no time are the channels discarded automatically due to insufficient signal strength, it helps the user to know what channels are available and tries to adjust the antenna to make the channels have a sufficient signal strength so they can be added to the channel. channel list The list can be stored from a lower channel number on the top, up to the highest channel number in the lower part. For channels where one analog channel and another digit share the same virtual channel number, the analog channel appears adjacent to the digital channel in the list. The user can update the information for each channel simply by moving the illuminator to that channel on the Antenna Info screen (see 64b). In addition, the video behind the Antena Info presentation will show the current channel, including the audio, to help the user adjust the antenna. To change the input of the antenna (s), the user presses ANTENA on the remote control or by choice of menu. Each time a complete Antenna Info Search is performed, the signal strengths for all digital channels will be measured. Each channel illuminated in the grid has its signal strength updated in real time as the audio and video for that channel are being played behind the program screen 44 in presentation 36. In an alternative mode, the signal strength of each available channel is not automatically displayed. The signal strength will be displayed when selecting the channel. When the signal strength measurement process has been completed, a dialog box will appear in the presentation 36 typically superimposed or within the current screen. When the user selects "Continue", the illuminator in the Antenna Inf screen will move to the first channel row (64a) in the channel 54 data grid. If the user leaves the signal measurement process, it is shown a dialogue box giving information to the user and the forces shown in the channel 5 data grid are those determined until the moment when the process was abandoned. When the channel in the list is illuminated (64b), the information about the channel is continuously updated. This is particularly useful in the case where a digital channel that is transmitting a Program and Protocol Information System (PSI P) guide (ATSC document A / 65) changes the order of the channels to include an analogous channel with the same number of .cana principal (briefly define main channel) as the digital channel In this case, the Antenna Info list will be expanded to include this new analog channel as a separate input (row 64) on the channel 54 data grid. new analog channel will have the same channel number as the Sigital channel, but it will be marked as an analog channel in column 58, as opposed to being marked as a digital channel. This update and expansion of the list is fully automatic and in real time. In order to be able to align the terrestrial antenna to obtain the best signal strength for a given set of digital channels, it would most likely be necessary to perform an Antenna Info Search several times for each terrestrial antenna that receives digital television signals. The signal strengths for the different digital television channels will need to be verified in relation to the orientation of the antenna while the antenna is being placed in position. When performing the Antenna Info Search many times, you can find the optimal antenna position. After the antenna has been placed in position, it is necessary to perform a Channel Search to add the channels to the Channel List. An example will illustrate the principles above. A new terrestrial antenna (antenna reference 26, Figure 1) adapted to receive digital television signals out of the air, is coupled to a receiver unit (TV ref 12, Figure 1). Suppose that after startup, the initial state of both the Channel List and the Antenna Information List are empty. A Channel Search is carried out by the user during the start of the unit because several new channels have been added after a previous Channel Search. Channel Search locates channels having signals above a certain threshold level for minimum reception, mainly channels "10" and "20" At this time, the Channel List contains channels "10" and "20" and the Antenna Info List contains channels "10" and "20". The user then adjusts antenna 26 and performs another Channel Search. This search locates two additional channels having signals above a given threshold level for a minimum reception, mainly the channels "30" and "40", but does not detect the previous channels "10" and "20" due to the new orientation of the antenna. Now, the Channel List contains the channels "30" and "40" while the Antenna Info List contains the channels "10" "20", "30", and "40". Since the user knows that four channels are available, an Antenna Info Search is run every time the position of the antenna is slightly altered to try to determine an optimal position of the antenna. The "10" channel will be revised according to the program flow diagram. Figure Suppose that channel "10" now has a signal strength greater than a predetermined threshold. Therefore, the channel "10" s adds to the Channel List by making the contents of the Channel List, channels "10", "30" and "40", while the List of Antenna Info does not change. Another adjustment to the antenna and another Antenna Inf Lookup will be carried out. Suppose that now channel "2" now has a signal strength greater than the default umbr. Channel "20" is added to the Can List. making the content of both the Channel List and the List d, lnfo of Antena, the channels "10", "20", "30" and "40." Since this invention has been described having a preferred design, the present This invention can also be modified within the scope of the description, therefore, this application intends to cover any variation or uses of adaptations of the invention using its general principles, In addition, this application intends to cover said variations of the present invention as they enter. in the known or customary practice of the technique.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A video processing apparatus, for receiving television signals and for generating a suitable output signal for coupling to a display device for producing a presentable image, the apparatus comprises: means for selecting a television signal from a plurality of television signals; television received; control means for controlling the video processing apparatus; and means for determining the strength of the signal of the selected television signal, wherein the control means causes the video processing apparatus to operate in one of a first mode of operation during which a selected television signal is included in the output signal to show it in the presentable image; and a second mode of operation during which the strength of the signal in the display device is shown concurrently with the selected television signal. The video processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for determining the strength of the signal include means for updating the strength of the signal of the selected television signal and the second mode of operation includes displaying the update of the strength of the signal. 3. The video processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the means for updating include means for determining whether the television signal is digital or analog, and the second mode of operation includes means for showing whether the television signal is digital or analogous. 4. A video processing apparatus comprising: means for receiving a plurality of television signals having audio and video information components; means for displaying the video information component of a selected television signal in a presentation device coupled to the video processing apparatus; means for determining the strength of the signal of each of the plurality of television signals; and means for selectively displaying the strength of the signal of the selected television signals while the audio and video of the selected channel are active. The video processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the means for selectively displaying include means for selectively displaying the signal strengths of a plurality of television signals in a grid format while the audio and video of the selected television signal are active. The video processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the means for selectively displaying include means for selectively displaying whether a television signal is analogue or digital 7. The video processing apparatus according to claim 5 , which further comprises: means for updating, in real time, the strength of the signal of the selected television signal. The video processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: means for storing in memory, a channel number associated with television signals when the strength of the signal exceeds a predetermined threshold level. 9. A method for positioning an antenna to receive digital television signals comprising: a. select an initial position for the antenna; b. show the strength of the signal of each received digital signal; and c. selecting a final reception position for the antenna based on the measured signal strength of at least one channel. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of selecting an initial position and the displaying step are repeated until the strength of the signal of each digital signal received is optimized. eleven . The method according to claim 9, wherein the digital signals can be concurrently heard and viewed during a real-time presentation of the signal strength for a selected channel.