The present invention relates generally to video conversion systems and more particularly, but not exclusively, to video distribution systems suitable for use with vehicle information systems installed aboard passenger vehicles.
Passenger vehicles, such as automobiles and aircraft, often provide vehicle information systems, such as passenger entertainment systems, to satisfy passenger demand for entertainment and other information content during travel.
Conventional vehicle information systems include content presentation systems for presenting viewing content to the passengers. These vehicle information systems typically include video presentation systems, such as overhead cabin display systems and/or seatback display systems, and audio presentation systems, such as overhead speaker systems and/or individual headphones, for presenting the viewing content. The viewing content can include audio and video content that are derived from a variety of sources. Prerecorded viewing content, such as motion pictures and music, can be provided by internal content sources, such as audio and video players, that are installed aboard the vehicle. The conventional vehicle information systems likewise can include an antenna system for receiving viewing content, such as live television programming, transmitted from one or more external content providers (or sources) remote from the vehicle.
Such conventional vehicle information systems, however, suffer from many disadvantages. For example, these vehicle information systems typically include video presentation systems that are limited for use with composite video signals in an analog format. The video presentation systems therefore present the video content with low resolution and low image quality. The low resolution and low image quality associated with the use of composite video signals have proven to be a frequent source of passenger complaints. Further, once installed in the vehicle, the video presentation systems are difficult to remove and replace with higher-resolution video systems, complicating efforts to upgrade the vehicle information systems for improved image quality.
In view of the foregoing, a need exists for an improved video presentation system that overcomes the aforementioned obstacles and deficiencies of video presentation systems currently provided for use with vehicle information systems.
It should be noted tat the figures are not drawn to scale and that elements of similar structures or functions are generally represented by like reference numerals for illustrative purposes throughout the figures. It also should be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. The figures do not describe every aspect of the present invention and do not limit the scope of the invention.
Since currently-used video presentation systems are limited to presenting composite video content with low resolution and low image quality, a video distribution system that includes a video conversion system for enhancing a video portion of selected information content can prove desirable and provide a basis for a wide range of video presentation applications, such as in vehicle information systems suitable for installation and use aboard automobiles, aircraft, and other types of passenger vehicles. This result can be achieved, according to one embodiment disclosed herein, by employing a video conversion system 100 as shown in
Turning to
The video conversion system 100 likewise can receive the incoming communication signal 210 and provide the video portion of the information content without enhancement as a standard video signal 230 as illustrated in
It will be appreciated that the communication signals 200 each can be provided with any conventional signaling type, format, and/or protocol suitable for transmission of video information. For example, the video conversion system 100 can be configured to receive the incoming communication signal 210 as an analog communication signal and/or a digital communication signal of any appropriate kind. Preferably being suitable for supporting high data transfer rates, the incoming communication signal 210 can comprise a high-speed Ethernet communication signal, such as any type of Fast Ethernet (such as 100Base-X and/or 100Base-T) communication signal and/or Gigabit (such as 1000Base-X and/or 1000Base-T) Ethernet communication signal, with a typical data transfer rate of at least approximately one hundred megabits per second (100 Mbps). Stated somewhat differently, the incoming communication signal 210 can be provided to the video conversion system 100 as a digital feed of Ethernet-supported video.
The video conversion system 100 likewise can provide the standard video signal 230 and/or the enhanced video signal 220 each with any conventional signaling type, format, and/or protocol. The standard video signal 230 and/or the enhanced video signal 220 can be provided as analog signals and/or digital signals, as desired. For example, the standard video signal 230 can comprise a traditional analog video signals, such as composite video signals; whereas, the enhanced video signal 220 can comprise video signals with high resolution and high image quality, such as video signals in any conventional high-definition video signal format. Exemplary enhanced video signals 220 that can be provided by the video conversion system 100 include analog component video signals and digital video input (DVI) signals, without limitation. The type, format, and/or protocol of the enhanced video signals 220 can be selected, for instance, based at least in part upon the capabilities of the relevant video display system 342.
As desired, one or more of the video display systems 342 likewise can include enhanced features to further increase the quality of the presentation of the information content with the standard image quality and/or the information content wit the enhanced image quality. The video display system 342, for instance, can include an advanced display system with a larger viewable area and/or higher image resolutions and advanced image processing functionality. The additional enhance features can include multi-screen format capability, as desired, for simultaneously presenting information content associated with two or more of the standard video signals 230 and/or the enhanced video signals 220. For example, the viewable area of the video display system 342 can be divided in any conventional manner, such as picture-in-picture (PiP) and/or picture-outside-picture (PoP), for simultaneously presenting two or more channels of the information content.
A preferred embodiment of the video conversion system 100 is illustrated in
As shown in
Operating under the control of the signal processing system 120, the switching system 130 can be provided as any conventional type of switching (or routing) system and preferably comprises a high-speed switching system suitable for supporting high-bandwidth communications. If configured to support communications in accordance with the Gigabit (such as 1000Base-X and/or 1000Base-T) Ethernet standard, for example, the switching system 130 can negotiate appropriate communication data rates, including ten, one hundred, or one thousand megabits per second (10/100/1000 Mbps), and/or a duplex mode, such as a half duplex mode and/or a full duplex mode, with each system resource 680 (shown in
Preferably supporting wired communications with each system resource 680 within its physical range, the switching system 130 can be configured to support wired and/or wireless communications with the system resources 680. For example, the switching system 130 can support wired communication via one or more copper connections and/or fiber optic connections. The fiber optic connections can be trunked, as desired. Illustrative switching systems 130 are set forth in the co-pending U.S. patent applications, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING CONTENT ON MOBILE PLATFORMS,” Ser. No. 11/123,327, filed on May 6, 2005; and entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ROUTING COMMUNICATION SIGNALS VIA A DATA DISTRIBUTION NETWORK,” Ser. No. 11/277,896, filed on Mar. 29, 2006, which are assigned to the assignee of the present application and the respective disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Although shown and described as being coupled with, and being configured to communicate with, two input communication ports 112A, 112B with reference to
For example, the input communication port 112A can be configured to receive an incoming communication signal 210A from content source 310A (shown in FIGS. 4A-B); whereas, the input communication port 112B can be configured to receive an incoming communication signal 210B from content source 310B (shown in FIGS. 4A-B). The incoming communication signals 210A, 210B likewise may provide different channels of information content, each being provided by a common content source 310A (shown in FIGS. 4A-B). As desired, the incoming communication signal 210A received via the input communication port 112A can be provided to the communication port 112B via the switching system 130 as the communication signal 210B. In other words, if the input communication port 112A receives the incoming communication signal 210A from content source 310A as set forth above, the switching system 130 can route the incoming communication signal 210A to the communication port 112B. The switching system 130 thereby can enable the video conversion system 100 to distribute the incoming communication signal 210A to one or more other video conversion systems 100.
The switching system 130 likewise can provide the incoming communication signal 210A, 210B to a switch port 122 of the signal processing system 120 as illustrated in
As shown in
A plurality of the video encoder systems 140, in turn, is illustrated as being coupled with, and configured to communicate with, a video multiplexer system 150 for multiplexing the associated encoded intermediate video signals 234. The video multiplexer system 150 can receive the encoded intermediate video signal 234 from each relevant video encoder system 140 and multiplex the received encoded intermediate video signals 234 to provide the standard video signal 230. The video multiplexer system 150 can comprise a conventional video multiplexer system and can multiplex the plurality of received encoded intermediate video signals 234 to provide the standard video signal 230 in any conventional manner. As discussed above, the standard video signal 230 can be provided as a composite video signal and is provided to a relevant output communication port 116 for distribution among one or more of the video display systems 342 (shown in
The video multiplexer system 150 can receive encoded intermediate video signal 234 from any predetermined number of video encoder systems 140; whereas, each video encoder system 140 likewise can provide its associated encoded intermediate video signal 234 to any suitable number of video multiplexer systems 150. Further, one or more video encoder system 140 can provide its associated encoded intermediate video signal 234 to a selected output communication port 114 as the enhanced video signal 220. The encoded intermediate video signal 234, for example, can be provided to the selected output communication port 114 as a component video signal. The selected output communication port 114 thereby can provide the enhanced video signal 220 for distribution among one or more video display system 342 as set forth above.
In the manner discussed above, the signal processing system 120 can enhance the video portion of the information content to provide any conventional type of enhanced video signal. As shown in
The digital output communication port 114′ preferably comprises a conventional digital communication (or interface) bus, such as an MS-232 communication bus and/or an IEEE-488 communication bus, including serial communication busses and/or parallel communication busses. Thereby, the digital output communication port 114′ can support unidirectional communication and/or bi-directional communications between the signal processing system 120 and each associated video display system 342. By supporting bi-directional communications, the digital output communication port 114′ can not only provide the digital enhanced video signal 220′ for distribution among one or more video display system 342, but also exchange a control signal 240 between the signal processing system 120 and each associated video display systems 342. The digital output communication port 114′ thereby can provide a digital control interface for controlling each of the video display systems 342. The video conversion system 100 can control the video display systems 342 in any conventional manner, including by exchanging a control signal 240 with an individual video display system 342 and/or by exchanging a control signal 240 with an group of video display systems 342.
As desired, the video conversion system 100 likewise can enhance an audio portion of the selected information content. As illustrated in
Although the audio port 128 and the audio output communication port 118 can be configured to communicate directly, the video conversion system 100 preferably includes an audio processing system 160 for converting the intermediate audio signal 238 into the enhanced audio signal 260. The audio port 128 is coupled with, and configured to communicate with the audio processing system 160. The audio processing system 160, in turn, can receive the intermediate audio signal 238 from the audio port 128 and provide the enhanced audio signal 260. Comprising a conventional audio processing system, such as an amplifier system and/or an audio filtering system, the audio processing system 160 can process the received intermediate audio signal 238 and provide the enhanced audio signal 260 in any conventional manner. In the manner discussed above with reference to the video output communication ports 114, 116, the audio output communication port 118 can provide the enhanced audio signal 260 for distribution among one or more audio presentation system 344 (shown in
Turning to
The bypass system 170 can operate under the control of the signal processing system 120 in the manner discussed in more detail above with reference to
Turning to
The power system 180 can process the input power signals 252A, 252A′ in any suitable manner to provide at least one output power signal 256 via the power output port 194. Each output power signal 256 can be provided with any voltage levels and/or current levels, including direct current (DC) voltages and/or alternating current (AC) voltages, that are suitable for any system resource 680 that receives the output power signal 256 from the power system 180. The power output port 194 of the power system 180 can provide the output power signal 256 to one or more system resources 680. As desired, the power system 180 likewise can be configured to provide one or more internal voltages, such as conversion system power 254, for the various conversion system component, including the signal processing system 120, the switching system 130, and/or the bypass system 170 (shown in
As illustrated in
The power conversion system 182 can comprise a conventional power conversion system, such as a voltage regulation system and/or a DC-to-DC conversion system, of any kind. Preferably, the power conversion system 182 is provided as a plurality of redundant power conversion sub-systems (not shown) such that the power conversion system 182 can reliably provide the conversion system power 254 and/or a display system power signal 258′ even if one of the power conversion sub-systems fails. Likewise, since the power system 180 receives the input power signals 252 from the plurality of selected system resources 680, the reliability of the power system 180 is further ensured because the power system 180 can continue to provide the conversion system power 254 and/or the display system power signal 258′ even if one of the selected system resources 680 fails.
The power conversion system 182 can be directly coupled and/or indirectly with the input power ports 192, 192′ and/or the display power ports 196′ as desired. As illustrated in
Similarly, the power output system 186 can receive individual output voltages provided by each redundant power conversion sub-system of the power conversion system 182 and can combine the individual output voltages to form the display system power signals 256′, which are suitable for providing to other system resources 680, such as selected video display systems 342 and/or selected audio presentation systems 344. In the manner set forth above with reference to the power input system 184, the power output system 186 can provide conventional output voltage protection, such as overvoltage protection and electromagnetic interference (EMI) protection. The power output system 186 can include feedback protection circuitry, such as a diode array, for inhibiting an individual output voltage from one of the redundant power conversion sub-systems from being fed back to the other redundant power conversion sub-systems of the power conversion system 182. The power output system 186 likewise can protect the power conversion system 182 from being adversely affected by any failures experienced by the system resources 680 to which the display system power signals 256′ are supplied.
Although the video conversion system 100 may be used in conjunction with information systems that are disposed in fixed locations, such as buildings, the video conversion system 100 likewise can advantageously be applied in portable system applications. Turning to FIGS. 4A-B, for example, the video conversion system 100 can be applied in a vehicle information system 300 that can be configured for installation aboard a wide variety of vehicles 400. Exemplary types of vehicles can include an automobile 410 (shown in
As shown in FIGS. 4A-B, the vehicle information system 300 can present information content from one or more conventional content sources 310, including internal content sources, such as server system 310A, that are installed aboard the vehicle 400 and/or remote content sources 310B, that can be external from the vehicle 400. For example, the content source 310 can be provided in the manner set forth in the co-pending U.S. patent applications, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DOWNLOADING FILES,” Ser. No. 10/772,565, filed on Feb. 4, 2004; entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING CONTENT ON MOBILE PLATFORMS,” Ser. No. 11/123,327, filed on May 6, 2005; entitled “PORTABLE MEDIA DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PRESENTING INFORMATION CONTENT DURING TRAVEL,” Ser. No. 11/154,749, filed on Jun. 15, 2005; and entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR RECEIVING BROADCAST CONTENT ON A MOBILE PLATFORM DURING INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL,” Ser. No. 11/269,378, filed on Nov. 7, 2005, which are assigned to the assignee of the present application and the respective disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
The information content can comprise any suitable type of information content, such as stored (or time-delayed) information content and/or live (or real-time) information content, in the manner set forth in the above-referenced co-pending U.S. patent applications, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DOWNLOADING FILES,” Ser. No. 10/772,565, filed on Feb. 4, 2004; entitled “PORTABLE MEDIA DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PRESENTING INFORMATION CONTENT DURING TRAVEL,” Ser. No. 11/154,749, filed on Jun. 15, 2005; and entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR RECEIVING BROADCAST CONTENT ON A MOBILE PLATFORM DURING INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL,” Ser. No. 11/269,378, filed on Nov. 7, 2005. As desired, the information content can include geographical information in the manner set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,661,353, entitled “METHOD FOR DISPLAYING INTERACTIVE FLIGHT MAP INFORMATION,” which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In addition to entertainment content, such as live satellite television programming and/or live satellite radio programming, the information content preferably can include two-way communications such as real-time Internet access and/or telecommunications in the manner set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,484, entitled “TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USE ON COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT AND OTHER VEHICLES,” which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Being configured to receive the information content from the content sources 310, the vehicle information system 300 can communicate with the content sources 310 in any conventional manner, preferably via wireless communications. As shown in FIGS. 4A-B, for example, the vehicle information system 300 can include an antenna system 320 and a transceiver system 330 for receiving the information content from the remote content sources 310B. The antenna system 320 preferably is disposed outside the vehicle 400, such as an exterior surface 440 of a fuselage 430 of the aircraft 420. The vehicle information system 300 likewise can include at least one conventional server system 310A, such as an information system controller 312 for providing overall system control functions for the vehicle information systems 300 and/or at least one media (or file) server system for storing preprogrammed content and/or the received information content, as desired. The server system 310A can include, and/or communicate with, one or more conventional peripheral media storage systems (not shown), including optical media devices, such as a digital video disk (DVD) system and/or a compact disk (CD) system, and or magnetic media systems, such as a video cassette recorder (VCR) system and/or a hard disk drive (HDD) system, of any suitable kind, for storing preprogrammed content and/or the received information content.
One or more passenger interface systems 340 are provided for selecting preprogrammed content and/or the received information content and for presenting the selected preprogrammed content and/or information content. As desired, the passenger interface systems 340 can comprise conventional passenger interfaces and can be provided in the manner set forth in the above-referenced co-pending U.S. patent application, entitled “PORTABLE MEDIA DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PRESENTING INFORMATION CONTENT DURING TRAVEL,” Ser. No. 11/154,749, filed on Jun. 15, 2005, as well as in the manner set forth in the co-pending U.S. patent application, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRESENTING HIGH-QUALITY VIDEO TO PASSENGERS ON A MOBILE PLATFORM,” Ser. No. 60/673,171, filed on Apr. 19, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The passenger interface systems 340 can be divided into two or more interface groups in accordance with any predetermined criteria. If the vehicle information system 300 is installed aboard the aircraft 420, for example, a first interface group can be associated with a first class section of the aircraft 420; whereas, a second interface group can be associated with a coach class section of the aircraft 420. Similarly, the first and second interface groups may be respectively associated with the crew and passengers of the aircraft 420. The functionality of the passenger interface systems 340 in the first interface group can differ from the functionality of the passenger interface systems 340 in the second interface group. For example, the passenger interface systems 340 associated the first class section of the aircraft 420 can access premium content that is not available to the passenger interface systems 340 associated the coach class section. The passenger interface systems 340 associated the coach class section likewise might require payment of a fee prior to permitting access to selected (or premium) information content; whereas, the passenger interface systems 340 associated the first class section may not require payment of the fee to access the information content.
The audio presentation system 344 illustrated in
Presentation of the information content can be controlled in any conventional manner. The vehicle information system 300, for instance, can include at least one crew control panel (not shown) for providing centralized control of the presentation of the information content. The passenger interface systems 340 likewise provide individualized controls at the passenger seats 450. For example, the passenger controls can be disposed on the armrests 458 of the passenger seats 450, and/or the seatback display systems 342B can comprise touch screen display systems as desired. Passengers (not shown) who are traveling aboard the vehicle 400 thereby can selected and enjoy the preprogrammed content and/or the received information content during travel.
Returning to briefly FIGS. 4A-B, the antenna system 320 and the transceiver system 330 of the vehicle information system 300 is illustrated as communicating with the server system 310A and the passenger interface systems 340 via a distribution system 500. The distribution system 500 can be provided in any conventional maimer and is configured to support any conventional type of communications, including wired communications and/or wireless communications, as set forth in the above-referenced co-pending U.S. patent application, entitled “PORTABLE MEDIA DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PRESENTING INFORMATION CONTENT DURING TRAVEL,” Ser. No. 11/154,749, filed on Jun. 15, 2005.
The distribution system 500 likewise can be provided with any appropriate topology, protocol, and/or architecture. Comprising a geometric arrangement of the system resources 680, common network topologies include mesh, star, bus, ring, and daisy-chain network topologies. As desired, the topology of the distribution system 500 can comprise a hybrid of the common network topologies, such as a network tree topology. Network protocols define a common set of rules and signals by which the system resources 680 can communicate via the distribution system 500. Illustrative types of network protocols include Ethernet and Token-Ring network protocols; whereas, peer-to-peer and client/server network architectures are examples of typical network architectures. It will be appreciated that the network system types, topologies, protocols, and architectures identified above are merely exemplary and not exhaustive.
Preferably being distributed via high-speed data communications, the preprogrammed content and/or the received information content can be distributed throughout the vehicle information system 300 in any suitable manner, including in the manner set forth in the above-referenced co-pending U.S. patent application, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ROUTING COMMUNICATION SIGNALS VIA A DATA DISTRIBUTION NETWORK,” Ser. No. 11/277,896, filed on Mar. 29, 2006, and/or in the manner set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,596,647, 5,617,331, and 5,953,429, each entitled “INTEGRATED VIDEO AND AUDIO SIGNAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USE ON COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT AND OTHER VEHICLES,” the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
An exemplary vehicle information system 300 is illustrated in
As illustrated in
As desired, the switching system 610 can be provided as a plurality of interconnected switching sub-systems (not shown). If the switching system 610 is provided as a plurality of interconnected switching sub-systems, each of the switching sub-systems likewise can be configured to communicate with each of the area distribution boxes 620 via a communication connection 650. Each of the area distribution boxes 620, in turn, is coupled with a plurality of floor disconnect boxes 630 via a plurality of communication connections 650. Although the area distribution boxes 620 and the associated floor disconnect boxes 630 can be coupled in any conventional configuration, the associated floor disconnect boxes 630 preferably are disposed in a star network topology about a central area distribution box 620 as illustrated in
Each floor disconnect box 630 is coupled with, and services, a plurality of daisy-chains of seat electronics boxes 640. Although it will be noted that the number and specific configuration of the seat electronics boxes 640 may be varied from system to system, the floor disconnect box 630 are shown and described with reference to
The floor disconnect boxes 630 advantageously can be provided as routing systems and/or interconnected in the manner set forth in the above-referenced co-pending U.S. patent application, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ROUTING COMMUNICATION SIGNALS VIA A DATA DISTRIBUTION NETWORK,” Ser. No. 11/277,896, filed on Mar. 29, 2006. As desired, the distribution system 600 can include at least one FDB internal port bypass connection 660 and/or at least one SUB loopback connection 670. Each FDB internal port bypass connection 660 is a communication connection that permits floor disconnect boxes 630 associated with different area distribution boxes 620 to directly communicate. Each SEB loopback connection 670 is a communication connection 650 that directly couples the last seat electronics box 640 in each daisy-chain of seat electronics boxes 640 for a selected floor disconnect box 630 as shown in
The vehicle information system 300 of
The communication port 112B of the video conversion system 100B, in turn, provides the incoming communication signal 210AB to the input communication port 112A of the video conversion system 100A. Each of the video conversion systems 100A, 100B thereby can provide a plurality of standard video signals 230 to each of a plurality of video display systems 342. The information content associated with each standard video signal 230 may be uniform and/or different among the standard video signal 230. In other words, the plurality of video display systems 342 may present the same video images (not shown) and/or different video images (not shown).
Similarly, area distribution box 620B is illustrated as being coupled with a daisy-chain arrangement of video conversion systems 100C, 100D. In the manner discussed above with reference to the area distribution box 620A, the area distribution box 620B can provide the incoming communication signal 210CD to the input communication port 112A of the video conversion system 100C. The communication port 112B of the video conversion system 100C, in turn, provides the incoming communication signal 210CD to the input communication port 112A of the video conversion system 100D. Thereby, each of the video conversion systems 100C, 100D is shown as providing a digital enhanced video signal 220 to a video display system 342 in the manner set forth above.
To illustrate that the video conversion systems 100 can be associated with any suitable system resource 680, a daisy-chain arrangement of video conversion systems 100E, 100F is shown as being coupled with, and configured to communicate with, seat electronics box 640A. As discussed above with reference to the area distribution box 620A, the seat electronics box 640A can provide the incoming communication signal 210EF to the input communication port 112A of the video conversion system 100E, and the communication port 112B of the video conversion system 100E can provide the incoming communication signal 210EF to the input communication port 112A of the video conversion system 100F. Each of the video conversion systems 100E, 100F thereby can provide a plurality of standard video signals 230 to each of a plurality of video display systems 342 as shown in
Exemplary operations of the video conversion system 100 within the vehicle information system 300 is illustrated in FIGS. 7A-D. The exemplary operations are shown and described are not exhaustive and are provided for purposes of illustration only, and not for purposes of limitation. Turning to
As discussed in more detail above with reference to
The video conversion system 100 shown in
Each video display systems 342X-Z is associated with a predetermined address ADDRX-Z, and the common control signal 240XYZ can be encoded with the address information to associate the common control signal 240XYZ with one or more relevant video display systems 342X-Z. If the video conversion system 100 transmits the common control signal 240XYZ for the video display system 342Y, for example, the video conversion system 100 can encode the common control signal 240XYZ with the address ADDRY of the video display system 342Y. Therefore, upon receiving the common control signal 240XYZ, the video display system 342X can ignore the common control signal 240XYZ because the address ADDRY does not match the address ADDRX of the video display system 342X.
The video display system 342X, in turn, provides the common control signal 240XYZ to the video display system 342Y. Since the address ADDRY encoded with the common control signal 240XYZ matches the address ADDRY of the video display system 342Y, the video display system 342Y can process the common control signal 240XYZ. The video display system 342Y likewise will provide the common control signal 240XYZ to the video display system 342Z, which can ignore the common control signal 240XYZ because the address ADDRY does not match the address ADDRZ of the video display system 342Z. The video display systems 342X-Z likewise can encode address information in the common control signal 240XYZ transmitted to the video conversion system 100.
Turning to
The video conversion system 100 of
The invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, and specific examples thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the particular forms or methods disclosed, but to the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives.
This application claims priority to a U.S. Provisional patent application, Ser. No. 60/673,171, filed on Apr. 19, 2005. Priority to the provisional application is expressly claimed, and the disclosure of the provisional application is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60673171 | Apr 2005 | US |