Pulse or digital communications – Bandwidth reduction or expansion – Television or motion video signal
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-13
2001-02-20
Kostak, Victor R. (Department: 2711)
Pulse or digital communications
Bandwidth reduction or expansion
Television or motion video signal
C348S425300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06192082
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital television data reception by computer systems, and more particularly to digital television data format conversion with automatic parity detection.
2. Description of the Related Art
The advent of digital television technology has presented significant opportunities for the computer industry. Computer systems are expected by many to join traditional consumer television products as mainstream devices for receiving digital television (DTV) signals. A DTV-enabled computer system will likely include a DTV receiver for receiving DTV signals.
While analog television signals have generally been homogeneous in data format, digital television has permitted various data formats of DTV signals. In industry today, for example, some equipment transmits a DTV data stream in a serial data format. Certain other equipment though has expected to receive a DTV data stream in a parallel data format. Also, serial DTV data streams outputted by equipment may or may not include parity data for error correction.
DTV data broadcasters will soon provide DTV data streams to DTV decoders within computer systems. A DTV data broadcaster may directly provide a serial DTV data stream to the DTV decoder. Alternatively, the DTV data broadcaster may provide a serial DTV data stream to a television tuner which then provides the serial DTV data stream to the DTV decoder. If the DTV data broadcaster intended a serial DTV data stream to be delivered directly to the DTV decoder, then the serial DTV data stream has not included parity data. If the DTV data broadcaster intended a serial DTV data stream to be transmitted over the air to a television tuner, then the serial DTV data stream has included parity data. The television tuner has used the parity data to perform the necessary error correction. The tuner typically provided an 8-bit parallel DTV data stream to the DTV decoder. While the DTV decoder has not utilized the parity data, the DTV decoder has expected the size of the DTV data stream to reflect inclusion of parity data. A DTV data stream without parity data has typically occupied 188 bytes, and a DTV data stream with parity data has typically occupied 204 bytes. If a DTV data stream including no parity data has been provided directly to the DTV decoder, the DTV decoder has not operated properly.
When a DTV data stream has been provided to a DTV decoder of a computer system, it has not been known beforehand whether the DTV data stream contained parity data.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, a digital television (DTV) data format converter of a system automatically detects whether a serial DTV data stream includes parity data and converts the serial DTV data stream to a parallel DTV data stream. The DTV data format converter provides one transmission protocol if the serial DTV data stream includes parity data and provides a different transmission protocol if the serial DTV data stream does not include parity data. In this way, the system accommodates a serial DTV data stream with or without parity data. The DTV data format converter may be implemented in the form of a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) card, permitting compatibility with computer systems and other PCI-based systems.
A disclosed embodiment of the DTV data format converter includes a DTV data format converter receiver block for receiving a serial DTV data stream and detecting whether the serial DTV data stream includes parity. The converter also includes a DTV data format converter buffer for loading the serial DTV data stream from the receiver block. The converter further includes a DTV data format converter transmitter block for reading the serial DTV data stream out of the buffer and transmitting a parallel DTV data stream corresponding to the serial DTV data stream. If the serial DTV data stream includes parity data, the transmitter block transmits the parallel DTV data stream converted from the serial DTV data stream in accordance with a first conversion protocol. If the serial DTV data stream does not include parity data, the transmitter block transmits the parallel DTV data stream converted from the serial DTV data stream in accordance with a second conversion protocol.
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Video, Audio, and Data Recording Formats, Adaptec Inc., Aug. 3, 1998, pp. 1-10, http://www.adaptec.com/technology/standards/1394formats1.html.
SAA7111 Video Input Processor (VIP) Data Sheet, Philips Semiconductors, May 15, 1998.
Moriarty Michael P.
Tran Thanh T.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld & LLP
Compaq Computer Corporation
Kostak Victor R.
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