Patent ID: 6778226
Filing Date: 2004-08-17
Classification: H04N,H05B,Y02B

Abstract:
A television set comprising:a cabinet; a television display device having a viewing screen, said television display device being affixed to said cabinet so that said viewing screen is visible to a user; video circuitry that, responsively to a program signal, controls said television display device so that a video portion of a program is displayed on said viewing screen; a display panel affixed to said cabinet at a visible location, said display panel having a controllable appearance that depends on a control input; an input device that accepts at least one input; a controller programmed to detect a characteristic of an environment responsively to said input accepted by said input device, selects an appearance for said display panel and generates an output signal corresponding to said selected appearance, wherein said output signal is provided to said control input of said display panel and said selection of said appearance of said display panel is also responsive to a characteristic of said video portion of said program.