Method and apparatus for permitting a viewer to scan through a plurality of video signals provided by a transmitter

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United States of America Patent

PATENT NO 5557318
SERIAL NO

08499571

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ATTORNEY / AGENT: (SPONSORED)

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Abstract

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Method and apparatus for providing a receiver a high quality video signal and a plurality of lower quality video signals which can be zapped, i.e., searched through at any given time, via a channel having a limited data capacity. A first set of high quality video signals is present at a transmitter, e.g., fifty programs having a 10 Mbit/s data rate. A second set of video signals which is a subset of the first set of video signals is sent to the receiver in response to a control signal which indicates the programs a viewer has selected to be viewed at high quality, e.g., using the full 10 Mbit/s of data. A third set of video signals is also sent from the transmitter to the receiver. This third set of video signals represents low quality programs, e.g., signals having a 1 Mbit/s data rate, which can be searched. The video signals in the third set of video signals correspond to signals in the first set of video signals but have a video data content that is only a fraction of that of the corresponding video signals. When all programs present at the transmitter are supplied to the receiver as lower quality, e.g., 1 Mbit/s, video signals, it is possible to search through all the programs without having to send the transmitter a control signal to implement the search and without overloading the data capacity of the channel used to provide the video signals.

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Patent Owner(s)

Patent OwnerAddress
KONINKLIJKE PTT NEDERLAND N VSTATIONSWEG 10 9726 AC GRONINGEN 9726

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Inventor(s)

Inventor Name Address # of filed Patents Total Citations
Gabri, el Christiaan M W Leiden, NL 1 48

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