The present invention relates to displaying and controlling a personal computer (PC) screen, and in particular to displaying and controlling the PC screen by user interaction through a network-connected remote television.
PC remote control is a well known function, dating back to teletype terminals used to remotely interact with various computers. Other known methodologies include PC-to-PC access using dedicated software such as “PC Anywhere,” available from Symantec Corporation, Cupertino, Calif. A more recent trend is to provide remote internet access to a PC using software such as “GoToMyPC,” available from Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc., Santa Barbara, Calif.
To control the functions of the remote PC, these programs and their ilk require a PC which includes at least a keyboard and usually also a mouse. Furthermore, these programs are limited to operate in environments where the host, or viewing computer, is similar in capabilities and processing power to the target, or remotely controlled, computer. Additionally, these types of remote control programs are designed to operate over low bandwidth internet or telephone connection. Thus, requiring a complex bidirectional communication interface that provides mouse and keyboard commands in one direction, while providing screen change data in the other direction.
With the advent of home networking several methods for accessing the Internet and providing other PC type functions from a television have evolved. These involve providing programs that function like a personal computer on a television set top box. Known examples of interactive set top television boxes include Microsoft's WebTV, American Online's AOLTV, Philips Electronics' iPronto, and Sony's TV Anywhere.
These devices provide Internet access, in some cases e-mail capability, and even some rudimentary computing functions packaged in a set top box for use with a TV. Oftentimes the functionality provided by these set top boxes are incompatible with many Internet content pages which rely on full featured Internet browsers. These inexpensive set top devices are generally limited in their performance and capabilities due to the limited nature of the processors used as their controller.
A PC-to-TV converter is a third class of device that has evolved which provides on-TV access to PCs. This class of device converts the PC's video output to a format suitable for connection to a TV input. Some of these devices require a local hard-wired connection, while others operate wirelessly by transmitting the PC video output to a remote location. Examples of this type of device are various PC Video cards such as the ATI TV Wonder which include a TV S-Video or composite output; along with devices known as “Scan Converters” such as are available from Audio Authority, Lexington, Ky. A scan converter converts PC format output to TV format output for direct cable connection. There are also similar wireless devices such as the Terk Leapfrog line of transmitters and receivers available from TERK Technologies, Commack, N.Y.
PC-to-TV devices have several problems. First, they are of limited range. Wired versions provide local access within about 20 or 30 feet due to cable losses, the wireless versions have greater range, but are prone to interference. They are designed for only point to point video transmission, and additional hardware is required split the video to feed multiple locations. Control in the reverse direction is limited, transmitting only standard IR signals back to the source. These IR signals are generally insufficient to control the PC. Finally, the technology only supports a single resolution or zoom ratio. If the TV resolution is of a lower resolution than the PC, the PC must be set to the resolution of the TV, or the signal must be scaled down providing limited readability of the PC screen on the TV.
Missing from the art is a PC-to-TV interface that is wideband, provides dual directional transmission of control and data, and supports multi-resolution display with zoom function on the TV. The present invention can satisfy one or more of these and other needs.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a system controls a PC from an interactive TV display. The system includes a network which interconnects at least one set-top-box (STB), that is in communication with the TV, to at least one PC. The STB includes a network interface for communicating with the network, a remote control receiver, a display controller, and a CPU. The PC includes a client software application which is in communication with the STB CPU, across the network. In response to a user's entry, a remote control unit transmits commands to the remote control receiver in the STB, and the STB communicates these commands across the network to the client software application resident in the PC. Images of the PC screen display are sent across the network to the STB from the PC by the client software application, where the display controller displays these images on the TV.
In another aspect of the invention, the client software interprets the commands sent from the STB and causes the PC to perform various programmatic steps.
In yet another aspect of the invention, an interactive virtual mouse, controllable by commands transmitted from the remote control, is superimposed on the TV's displayed images.
In still another aspect of the invention, the client software application creates a virtual desktop environment on the PC, where the virtual desktop environment has a resolution which matches the resolution of the TV, and the PC executes programs within the virtual desktop.
In still further aspects of the present invention, a method controls a PC by sending a user's commands entered in a remote control unit to a client software application. The commands are interpreted by the software application to cause the PC to execute various programmatic steps.
These and other aspects, features, steps and advantages can be further appreciated from the accompanying drawing Figures and description of certain illustrative embodiments.
By way of overview and introduction, presented and described are embodiments of a PC-to-TV interface that is dual directional and supports full PC function access at the TV through a set-top box. The set-top box has a low cost design and can be achieved with a limited processor. Available features include multiple zoom options for improved readability of the PC screen at the TV, enhanced PC control through the use of IR technology, and expanded operating range implemented by standard networking technology.
In one embodiment, the low-cost set top box (STB) renders bitmap images of a PC screen in TV form by incorporating a CPU with an On-Screen-Display controller. The STB also contains a network connection which uses standard wired or wireless networking protocols, and a remote control receiver with IR and/or RF capability to receive signals from a remote control.
With reference to
The client software 200 can optionally scale the image prior to transmitting it, or optionally transmit only portions of the screen for “zoomed in” display. Displaying portions or zooming the PC screen image is done in response to user commands received over the RF/IR ling to the STB.
As is known in the art, with sufficient processing power at the client software end, the screen image can be sent as a series of “deltas”—i.e., transmitting only those portions of the screen that have changed since the last transmission. Screen images can be optionally compressed before transmission to the STB to reduce transmission time. The delta comparison and/or compression depends on the speed at which the image can be compared/compressed versus. the speed of the network. Compressed screen images can be transmitted faster with less bandwidth, thus, increased network throughput is also a consideration. In many home-network environments compression is unnecessary because of the available high bandwidth (11 Mbps or more) of the typical home network.
With reference to
The STB then displays the screen image as a still image on the television using its on-screen display capability.
The system on the TV displays a virtual “mouse” pointer 310 which is controlled by left/right/up/down navigation keys on the remote allowing the user to perform point-and-click functions. The system also provides a “pop-up” keyboard 320 to ease entry of text. The pop up keyboard display appears on the TV screen and allows the user to pick keys by selecting from a virtual keyboard using a highlight cursor.
In one embodiment, the keys on the remote control 130 are customizable to provide computer specific functions. This permits even a simple remote with a limited number of keys, for one-hand operation, to allow for extensive control of the PC. As shown in Table I, below, special computer functions are mapped to particular keys on the remote control. Some remote keys simulate single keyboard key presses such as “Enter;” other keys simulate mouse functions such as left and right mouse clicks; while still other keys perform specific programmatic functions such as “Launch Browser,” “show keyboard,” or “Zoom screen.”
Full and convenient control of the computer can be achieved with as few as 20 keys. The addition of a numeric keypad and/or a joystick to the remote 130 results in an even more user friendly embodiment.
The zoom function in the current implementation zooms the PC screen image as follows: the “Zoom out” key zooms the PC screen so that the entire PC screen is visible on the TV screen. The “Zoom in” key pressed once zooms the screen so that the Portion of the PC screen which can be mapped pixel to pixel (i.e. no zoom one to one resolution) onto the TV display is shown, and successive presses of the zoom key switch between successive regions of the screen at a one-to-one no zoom, starting with the upper left of the PC screen. In an embodiment, an image processing algorithm processes one-to-one chunks of the PC screen image which are in the native screen size of the TV. For example, if the PC screen is 1024×768 pixels and the TV is 640×420 pixels (the current resolution under the NTSC TV standard), the algorithm would take the 640×420 matrix of pixels surrounding the cursor and convert it to the format used by the display controller (e.g., a simple RGBA format with 32 bits per pixel).
A further aspect of the invention allows the PC Client Software 200 to create a “virtual desktop” in which the client software creates a simulated graphical environment in the PC which is not necessarily shown on the PC screen. In this mode, the PC's simulated “virtual desktop” can be sized to match the TV screen size. This eliminates the need to provide a zoom function, but also limits the amount of information that is readily available to the user, since the zoom function allows the user to quickly hop between sections of the screen.
Thus, while there have been shown, described, and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to several embodiments, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form and details of the illustrated embodiments, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Substitutions of elements from one described embodiment to another are also fully intended and contemplated. The invention is defined solely with regard to the claims appended hereto, and equivalents of the recitations therein.