Method for transmitting a television signal, an accompanying signal and a control signal for displaying as a large or small image

The invention relates to a method for transmitting a television signal, an accompaniment signal and a control signal to a large-screen / small image display.

It is already known to transmit teletext signals in the blanking intervals of a television signal. This teletext signals may be, for example, subtitles for a live broadcast. A user has the ability to trigger a fade of teletext subtitles on the screen using the remote control. In this screen display, the TV signal displayed on the screen is overlaid by the teletext signal.

Starting from this prior art, the invention has the object of providing a method for transmitting a television signal and an accompanying signal in such a way that the receiving side display options are improved.

This object is achieved by a method having the features specified in Claim first Advantageous refinements and developments emerge from the dependent claims.

The advantages of the invention are, in particular, that the recipient is present a transmitter side control signal generated by means of which a plurality of display options are at the receiving end feasible.

Thus, in a first embodiment, the transmitted control signal containing information about the size of the images to display, be used directly for the reception side control of the memory read-out operation, so that the television signal and the auxiliary signal are displayed in a non überiagerten large screen / small screen display on the Bildchirm, wherein the size of the images displayed is determined solely by the generated in the transmitter control signal.

In a second embodiment, the user has the possibility to additionally control the memory read-out operation by entering a control instruction. With this additional control, the user has, for example, the option to either hide the TV picture or the accompanying signal and to cause the non-hidden signal is full frame displayed on the screen. Furthermore, can be changed in the same direction or in opposite directions by means of this additional control the size of the images displayed on the screen. Furthermore, a large screen / small screen switching can be carried out by this additional control, ie the small picture is displayed as a large image, and vice versa.

Further advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description of an embodiment with reference to the figure showing the features necessary for understanding the invention, components of a television transmitter and a television receiver.

The TV station includes a circuit 1 for generating a television signal, a circuit 2 for generating a monitoring signal, wherein it is a text signal, a circuit 3 for generating a reception-side screen display controlling control signal containing information about the size of the to alternate the images, a circuit 4, 5 for generating a high-frequency transmission signal from the television signal, the accompanying signal and the control signal, a control circuit 6 and a transmit antenna 7. The circuits 1, 2 and 3 are controlled by the control circuit 6 via control lines S1, S2 and S3. The control signal generated in the circuit 3, the circuit 2 is supplied and there pasted in the text signal. In the circuit 4, which is controlled by the control circuit 6 via the control line S4, the text signal, which is in the form of a digital teletext signal inserted in the vertical blanking interval of the television signal.

Alternatively to the illustrated embodiment, the control signal can also elsewhere in the vertical blanking interval are transmitted, that is, not in the teletext signal.

Furthermore, it may be in which to transmit television signal and to a digital television signal, in which in the circuit 4, a digital auxiliary signal, wherein it can be a visual or text signal, and a digital control signal are inserted in time division multiplex form.

Means of the circuit 5 is converted, the signal in a high-frequency transmission signal and supplied to the transmitting antenna. 7

The television receiver shown in the figure, which is connected to a receiving Sans antenna 8, a receiving portion 9 with a tuner and an intermediate frequency block, an image signal processing circuit 10, an image memory 11, an RGB switch 12, a screen 13, a teletext decoder 14, which includes a contains memory, to a remote control receiver 15, and a microcomputer sixteenth

The present at the output of the receiving section composite signals are the image signal processing circuit 10 and the teletext decoder 14 supplied. The available at the output of the image signal processing circuit 10 RGB signals are written into the image memory 11th By means of the teletext decoder 14 is separated, the control signal from the teletext signal and supplied via the connection S5 the microcomputer sixteenth Furthermore, the transmitted text signals are stored in the memory of the teletext decoder 14th

The microcomputer 16 generates in response to the control signal memory read-out signals for the image memory 11 and the memory of the teletext decoder 14. This memory read-out signals to the image memory supplied to 11 via the connection S7 and the Vidoetextdecoder via connection S6, control the memory read-out operation such that the image signal and the text signal are displayed in a predetermined position by the control signal screen in not superimposed large screen / small screen display. For this purpose the present at the output of the image memory 11 and the Vidoetextdecoders 14 RGB signals from the RGB switch 12 which is controlled by the microcomputer 16 via the connection S8 is supplied to the screen thirteenth

In a further embodiment of the invention the user has the possibility to additionally control the memory read-out operation by the input of a control command. The input by the user by means of non-illustrated remote control transmitter operation command is the microcomputer 16 supplied via the remote control receiver 15th

For example, the user who does not want to see the text signal, the ability to hide the text signal and a full format display of the image signal has reached. The required memory read-out signals are generated by the microcomputer 16 and the image memory 11 and arranged in the teletext decoder 14 stores across the compounds S6 and S7 supplied. Furthermore, the user has the option of full frame display the text signal on the screen and hide the image signal or perform a large screen / small screen switching.

The invention described above has the ability to show on the screen Additional information of any kind to a television program, without the image is superimposed by the additional information. Such a function can be used in future applications such as interactive television or TV guide.

So images of a popular vacation area can, for example, shown as part of a travel journal and a list of hotels of this resort area are displayed simultaneously in the form of a small picture. The user may then select via the remote control one of the hotels. This choice will be registered by the microcomputer 16 and transmitted via a formed on the E-PLUS network or telephone network backchannel to the transmitter so that the user desired reservation can be made directly. The to continue necessary user identification can be performed using an inserted into a slot of the television receiver smartcard done, read the data from the microcomputer 16 and - if necessary - are also transmitted via the return channel to the transmitter.

Alternatively to the above described possibility of transmitting the control signal in a video text signal, it is also possible for the control signal in a different digital data channel, for example a NICAM data channel to transmit.

The realization of the invention can be effected using a suitably modified television receiver and in the form of an independent, the television receiver upstream external equipment.