Patent Publication Number: US-2003223736-A1

Title: DVD player with enhanced connectivity

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0002] The present invention relates to a DVD (digital versatile disk) player, and more particularly, to a DVD player that is operable to connect to a USB (universal serial bus) device, a network, or both.  
       [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art  
       [0004] With advancements in electronics and growing consumer savvy, the number and variety of consumer electronic devices continue to grow. Many of these devices serve as components in a user&#39;s home entertainment system. Because it is important to provide the user with an integrated multimedia experience, the utility of each new device may be defined, in part, by its ability to interact with other devices. Otherwise, the user risks having a collection of devices that are isolated rather than part of a cohesive multi-media system. Accordingly, there is a need for a device that can provide a hub for a user&#39;s home entertainment system by interacting with a variety of devices. Conventional computer systems and DVD players are inadequate for providing a hub for a home entertainment system.  
       [0005] Conventional DVD players may play a wide variety of disks including DVD (digital versatile disk), CD, VCD and many other formats. The DVD is a popular format for movies because of its ability to store an entire movie on a single disk with high definition and without a loss in quality from repeated viewings. A conventional DVD player is designed for the sole purpose of playing an optical disk. As a result, DVD players are relatively inexpensive and easy to operate. Because of these qualities, DVD players are commonplace in home entertainment systems. As part of a home entertainment system, conventional DVD players are generally found in the user&#39;s family room or den. Family rooms and dens are well suited to a home entertainment system that includes a DVD player, because these rooms are central, comfortable environments that are designed for entertaining groups of people. Therefore, the conventional DVD player allows for several viewers to enjoy a movie when the DVD player is connected to the home entertainment system&#39;s television set.  
       [0006] Although DVD players are suitable for providing multi-viewer entertainment, DVD players cannot be considered the hub of a home entertainment system. Conventional DVD players are able to interact with only a limited number of devices. Conventional DVD players generally connect with only televisions and, occasionally, audio devices. Furthermore, conventional DVD players typically only connect with devices that serve as a destination for an audio/visual signal, rather than devices that may serve as a source for a signal. The only input source for a conventional DVD player is generally the DVD disk itself. As a result, conventional DVD players are not capable of interacting with other consumer electronics devices.  
       [0007] Personal computer systems are designed to perform multiple functions and handle a wide variety of software applications. For example, the typical computer system provides e-mail, internet access, spreadsheets, word processors, electronic publishing, graphics and design applications and videogames, among other examples. Accordingly, conventional computer systems require sophisticated hardware and a complex operating system. As a result, in comparison to specialized consumer electronics devices, computer systems are relatively more expensive and complex, suffer more compatibility conflicts with respect to both hardware and software, are generally slower and require a long boot-time, among other disadvantages. For these reasons, it would be impractical to incorporate a computer system into a home entertainment system.  
       [0008] Furthermore, computer systems are not suitable for home entertainment systems, because a computer is typically designed for use by an individual, rather than a group. Conventional computer systems are generally used in home offices. Unlike a den or family room, home offices are typically designed to allow an individual to work rather than provide a space for a group to be entertained. Furthermore, computer systems usually employ monitors that are much smaller than conventional televisions and may be comfortably viewed by only an individual rather than a group of people. In addition, users generally connect stereo systems and speakers to television sets rather than computer systems. As a result, a computer system typically provides an unsatisfactory viewing experience, especially for groups, in comparison with a television. Thus, while computer systems may be suitable for interfacing with a variety of devices, computer systems are not suited for serving as a hub for a home entertainment system.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009] The present disclosure provides a DVD player that contains a connection adapter that allows the DVD player to support a high speed data transfer port. In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the connection adapter provides a USB adapter that provides the DVD player with a USB port. The USB port allows the DVD player to connect with a USB device such as a digital camera and a printer, among other examples.  
       [0010] In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the connection adapter provides an Ethernet adapter that allows the DVD player to have an Ethernet port. The DVD player may be connected to a network via the Ethernet port. Accordingly, the DVD player may receive or transfer audio and video data, e.g., movies and digital images, through the network. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0011] The present disclosure and its numerous objects, features, and advantages may be better understood by reference to the following description of an illustrative embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
     [0012]FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of the DVD player of the present disclosure;  
     [0013]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the DVD player; and  
     [0014]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the software structure for an exemplary embodiment of the DVD player. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
     [0015] The following disclosure is directed towards a DVD (digital versatile disk) player that includes a connection adapter to allow the DVD player to be connected to other multimedia devices, a network, or both. More particularly, in one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the DVD player may accept inputs from external electronic devices using a USB (universal serial bus) connection. In addition the DVD player is capable of communicating with external devices via the USB connection. In another exemplary embodiment, the DVD player contains a network port, such as an Ethernet port for example, to allow the DVD player to send and receive video and audio data, such as movies or images, over a network.  
     [0016]FIG. 1 shows examples of external electronic devices that may be connected to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. DVD player  10  may play an optical disk  50  via disk drive  465 . For example, DVD player  10  is operable to play a DVD and may be operable to play or view iDVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-Audio, DVD-Video, CVD, SVCD (super video CD), VCD (video CD), DVCD, CD, CD-R, CD-ROM, Picture CD and other types of optical disks. In another exemplary embodiment, DVD player  10  is capable of writing data to a recordable disk, e.g., DVD-R. The DVD player contains one or more video output ports and may also contain one or more audio output ports. The video and audio data read from the disk may be transmitted through the DVD player&#39;s audio and video output ports as video and audio signals, respectively.  
     [0017] DVD player  10  may be connected to display  15 . Display  15  may be a television, monitor, video screen or any other similar display device. Display  15  is operable to display the video output from DVD player  10 . Accordingly, DVD player  10  may output video or images from a disk to display  15  for viewing. If display  15  has a speaker, display  15  may also play the audio output from DVD player  10 . If display  15  does not have a speaker or if the user requires better audio performance, then the user may connect the audio output ports of DVD player  10  to a separate audio system to hear the audio output from DVD player  10 . As discussed above, a conventional DVD player may be connected to only display  15  and, perhaps, an audio system. Thus, the user of a conventional DVD player would be limited to playing or viewing movies from optical disk  50 . However, the DVD player of the present invention is able to connect with a wide variety of additional devices and is therefore able to provide the user with additional functionality.  
     [0018] In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, DVD player  10  also contains one or more USB ports  30 . USB is a serial bus standard. Generally, USB connections attach personal computers to several types of devices, such as mice, modems, printers, digital cameras, keyboards and other peripherals. A USB connection delivers power to devices on the bus and thereby eliminates the need for separate power cords. USB, e.g., USB 1.0, for example, may provide a data rate of 12 megabits per second and support up to 127 devices. USB devices may support a hi-speed data transfer rate of up to 480 Mb/s but with a wide variation in edge rates, e.g., USB 2.0, for example. With typical line loads, full speed devices usually fall in the 12-25 ns range, and low-speed devices typically range 110-225 ns. USB is typically slower than FireWire, e.g., IEEE 1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.), but it is less expensive to implement. USB also supports plug-and-play installation and hot plugging. The small size of a USB connection allows it to be used on smaller devices such as notebooks and handheld devices, for example. Accordingly, the addition of USB port  30  allows the user to connect DVD player  10  to a wider variety of devices than a conventional DVD player.  
     [0019] For instance, digital camera  20  may also be connected to DVD player  10 . Digital camera  20  may be any camera device that stores pictures or video imagery on a digital memory location. Digital camera  20  is a USB device and may be connected to DVD player  10  via USB port  30 . This connection allows digital camera  20  to send data to DVD player  10 . A user may use digital camera  20  to capture images or video onto a memory location associated with the camera. The user may connect the digital camera  20  to DVD player  10  via USB port  30  to view the images or video from digital camera  20 . As a result, the images and video captured by digital camera  20  may be viewed without the use of a computer system. The images or video from digital camera  20  may be stored on a memory location associated with DVD player  10 . If the DVD player is able to write to a disk, then the images or video from digital camera  10  may be written to a recordable disk. Therefore, the images and video captured by digital camera  20  may be stored to a recordable disk without the use of a computer system.  
     [0020] Printer  25  may be connected to DVD player  10 . Printer  25  may be a laser printer, ink-jet printer, photo printer or any other similar output device that can print graphics onto paper. Printer  25  is a USB device and may be connected to DVD player  10  via USB port  30 . DVD player  10  may transmit video imagery to printer  25  for printing on paper. The images that DVD player  10  transmits to printer  25  may be from a disk or a memory location associated with the DVD player  10 . If DVD player  10  contains two or more USB ports then DVD player  10  may output images from digital camera  20  to printer  25  while both devices are connected to DVD player  10 . Thus, the images stored on the memory of digital camera  20  may be both viewed and printed via DVD player  10 .  
     [0021] Other types of USB devices that are not shown in FIG. 1 may be connected to DVD player  10 . For example, digital camcorders, scanners or any other imaging or video device may be connected to DVD player  10 . If the digital camera stores images and video to a recordable disk, such as DVD-R or CDR, then the disk may be directly viewed from DVD player  10 . Furthermore, images and video may be viewed from a memory location associated with the digital camcorder by connecting the digital camcorder to DVD player  10 . Images may then be stored in a memory location associated with DVD player  10  or printed to printer  25 . Similarly, if a scanner is connected to DVD player  10 , then a scanned image may be viewed or written to disk from DVD player  10 . In addition, hard drives, zip drives, or any other USB storage device may be connected to DVD player  10 . DVD player  10  will be able to store and receive audio and video data, e.g., movies and images, from an attached USB storage device. In another exemplary embodiment, a device and DVD player  10  may share a common housing. For example, in one exemplary embodiment, DVD player  10  and printer  25  may be located within the same housing.  
     [0022] Devices that are not necessarily USB devices may also be attached to DVD player  10 . In one exemplary embodiment, DVD player  10  may include a smart card slot  430  for interfacing with smart cards or memory sticks  455 . In another exemplary embodiment, DVD player  10  may also incorporate a microphone port  440  to allow a microphone  460  to be connected to DVD player  10 .  
     [0023] In another exemplary embodiment, DVD player  10  contains a network port  420  that allows DVD player  10  to connect to network  365 . Network port  420  utilizes a network protocol, such as, for example, an Ethernet protocol, to transmit and receive data. DVD player  10  can receive audio and video data, e.g., movies and digital images, from other devices  450  attached to network  365  via network port  420 . DVD player  10  may also send data to another network device  450 . Network device  450  may be another DVD player  10 , a database, a computer system, a digital camera or other digital audio/visual device, among other examples. Network  365  may be a LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area network), or any other type of network. As a result, DVD player  10  may receive audio/visual data from remotely located devices and is not limited to directly attached devices. Similarly, DVD player may also send audio/visual data to physically distant devices. For example, a user may connect digital camera  20  to DVD player  10  and send digital photographs to a network device  450  located in a distant location without the use of a computer system.  
     [0024] The DVD player of the present disclosure presents a number of advantages over conventional DVD players and computer systems. Because the presently disclosed DVD player  10  may incorporate a USB port, an Ethernet port or both, the functionality and connectivity of DVD player  10  are dramatically increased over conventional DVD players. DVD player  10  may be connected to a wide variety of USB devices such as printers, digital cameras and other multimedia devices. One advantage of this connectivity is that the user may view images and video from a wide variety of USB devices. For example, DVD player  10  may be connected to a digital camera and allow for images stored on the digital camera to be viewed on an external display unit such as a television. Another advantage is that DVD player  10  may transmit the images to an external device. For example, DVD player  10  may transmit a digital photograph to an external printer for printing. If DVD player  10  incorporates an Ethernet port, the user may view video or images over a network from remotely located devices attached to the network. As a result of the increased connectivity, the DVD player of the present invention, may become a hub for a home entertainment center, unlike conventional DVD players or computer systems.  
     [0025] Because DVD player  10  may be connected to television sets, the DVD player of the present invention allows a user to view digital photographs on a large-screen display rather than a smaller computer monitor. The use of a large-screen display allows several people to easily view the digital photographs at the same time. Furthermore, the DVD player of the present invention allows users to view and print digital photographs without the cost and complexity of a computer system. For example, the user avoids compatibility issues with conflicting software, waiting for the computer system to boot up, and other common disadvantages associated with a computer system. In addition, because television sets are typically located in living rooms or dens, several viewers may view the digital photographs in a more comfortable environment than that of a home office, where a computer system is generally located.  
     [0026]FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of DVD player  10 . DVD player  10  reads may read information from disk  50 . As discussed above, in one alternative embodiment, DVD player  10  may also write to disk  50  if disk  50  is a recordable disk. Generally, the components of DVD player are either front end components  40  or back end components  45 . Front end components  40  are involved in reading information from disk  50 . Back end components are involved in processing and outputting the data read from disk  50 .  
     [0027] Disk  50  rotates at a predetermined speed by the rotation of a disk motor. A pickup  55  projects a laser light beam on the disk  50  to read data from the disk  50 , receives the reflected light beam, and converts the reflected light beam into an analog RF (radio frequency) signal. Data reading device  60  contains signal reproducing device  70  and servo controller  65 . Signal reproducing device  70  executes signal reproducing operations such as amplification of the RF signal output from pickup  55 , noise elimination, conversion of the analog RF signal into a digital signal and synchronous detection. Servo controller  65  controls the rotation of disk  50  and the focusing and tracking of pickup  55  for an accurate readout of the data recorded on disk  50 . A system controller or microcontroller  80  controls overall operations for reproduction of the data recorded on disk  50 . A memory  75  is used as a track buffer. Memory  75  is connected to data processor or DSP (digital signal processor)  470  and stores the data processed therein. DSP  470  demodulates a signal input from the signal reproducing device  70 , executes a phase control operation by a PLL (phase locked loop) device, and performs de-scrambling, error detection and correction, and memory control functions.  
     [0028] The back end components include a decoder device  85 . Because data on disk  50  is compressed in an encoded format, decoder device  85  is used to convert the compressed and encoded data into video and audio signals. Accordingly, decoder device is connected to data reading device  60  to receive the data read from disk  50 . Decoder device  85  serves as a video decoder to decode compressed video data from disk  50 . For example, decoder device  85  may contain a MPEG (Motion Pictures Experts Group) video decoder for decoding video data compressed in an MPEG format, e.g., MPEG-1, MPEG-2, etc. Similarly, decoder device  85  serves as an audio decoder to decode compressed audio data from disk  50 . For instance, decoder device  85  may include functionality for decoding compressed audio information stored in Dolby DTS, Dolby Digital or other type of audio format. One exemplary embodiment of decoder device  85  is the Vaddis V DVD decoder produced by Zoran Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif.  
     [0029] Decoder device  85  may be connected to memory  405 . Memory  405  may contain one or more memory devices. For example, decoder device  85  may be connected to a flash memory  90 . Software and firmware associated with DVD player  10  may be compiled and stored in flash memory  90 . Decoder device  85  may also be connected to SDRAM (synchronous DRAM)  95 . Software engines and applications may be placed in SDRAM  95 .  
     [0030] Decoder device  85  is connected to the front panel  400  of DVD player  10 . Front panel  400  includes front panel display  100  and IR (infrared) sensor  110 . Front panel display  100  may be a VFD (vacuum fluorescent display) or any other suitable type of display. IR sensor  110  is used to receive IR remote control commands. These commands may then be sent to decoder device  85  to be decoded.  
     [0031] Decoder device  85  may transmit the decoded digital signal directly to an external device through digital video out  115 . The decoded digital signal may be sent to video DAC (digital to analog converter)  120  to convert the decoded digital signal to an analog video signal. Decoder device  85  may transmit the decoded digital audio signal directly to an external device through digital audio out  130 . Alternatively, audio DAC  135  converts the digital signal to an analog audio signal that may be sent to an external device via analog audio out  140 .  
     [0032] Decoder device  85  includes or is connected to a VMI (video module interface) component  155 . Generally, VMI  155  provides an interface between video modules and graphics modules. Examples of video modules include MPEG devices, video phones, and video decoders. Examples of graphics modules include GUI (graphical user interface) accelerators and ‘video ready’ graphics chips. Thus, VMI  155  is able to provide an interface between the decoder device and one or more external devices. VMI  155  generally provides a bidirectional high bandwidth connection for passing DVD data and video to and from the external devices. VMI  155  allows decoder device  85  to be connected to connection adapter device  410 .  
     [0033] In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, connection adapter device  410  may contain a USB adapter  145 . USB adapter  145  allows DVD player  10  to contain one or more USB ports  150 . USB adapter  145  provides an interface between a USB device and VMI  155 . For example, a USB device may be connected to DVD player  10  via the USB port  30  provided by USB adapter  145 . USB adapter is in turn connected to VMI  155 . VMI  155  then passes the data to decoder  85  to be processed and sent to the audio and video outs  115 - 140 . Accordingly, DVD player  10  may be connected to one or more USB devices, such as a digital camera and a printer, among other examples. As discussed above, the ability to connect to USB devices increases the functionality of DVD player  10  over conventional DVD players.  
     [0034] Connection adapter  410  may contain adapters directed to connection standards other than USB. For instance, connection adapter  410  may use connection standards such as the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394 standard, including FireWire, Lynx and i.link, for example. Other connection standards include SCSI (small computer system interface) and other bus or connection standards. Connection adapter  410  may also contain an adapter directed to a wireless connection or communications standard such as Bluetooth or the IEEE 802.11 wireless networking standard, among other examples. In this particular exemplary embodiment, connection adapter  410  provides a port that supports a wireless connection rather than a cable or similar physical interconnection. As a result, DVD player  10  may send data to and receive data from a wireless device, for example. In one exemplary embodiment, connection adapter  410  supports modular connectivity such that several different types of devices may be connected to a port  30 .  
     [0035] In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, connection adapter device  410  may contain an Ethernet adapter  415 . Ethernet adapter  415  allows DVD player  10  to contain one or more Ethernet ports  420 . As a result, DVD player  10  may be connected to network  365 . With the Ethernet port, DVD player  10  may transmit to and receive data from other devices  450  that are connected to network  365 . For example, DVD player  10  may receive images or video and audio signals from devices  450  connected to network  365 . Similarly, DVD player  10  will be able to transmit images or video and audio signals to these network devices  450 . Connection adapter device  410  may contain a network adapter directed to a network protocol other than an Ethernet protocol. Accordingly, connection adapter device  410  may contain a network adapter directed to other protocols that allow DVD player  10  to connect to network  365 . In an exemplary embodiment, the network adapter may be directed to a wireless communications standard. For instance, as discussed above, connection adapter  410  may contain adapters for connection standards such as IEEE 802.11 or Bluetooth. In this exemplary embodiment, DVD player  10  may connect to network  365  via a wireless connection.  
     [0036]FIG. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment of the software structure  160  for DVD player  10 . Software system  160  includes photo manager application  165 . Photo manager application  165  allows the user to view, manipulate, edit, save and print selected digital photos or images from selected sources via DVD player  10 . Photo manager application  165  provides a GUI based on HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) or other type of graphics format. The user may navigate through the GUI using hardware controls such as an IR remote control or the controls available on front panel  400 . Photo manager application  165  or hardware controls will allow the user to select the source of the digital photographs or images that the user wishes to view. As discussed above, a user may view digital photographs and images on display  15  from a number of sources via DVD player  10 . For example, the digital photographs may be located on disk  50 , a memory location associated with DVD player  10 , an attached USB device, such as digital camera  20 , a smart card  455  via smart card slot  430 , or downloaded from network  365  via Ethernet port  420  to DVD player  10 . Because DVD player  10  contains photo manager application  165 , disk  50  does not need any software, such as an interface application, to allow a user to view digital images from disk  50 . If a microphone  460  has been connected to DVD player  10  via microphone port  440 , then the user may record an audio track, such as commentary for example, to accompany selected photos. The audio track may be stored in SDRAM  95 , disk  50 , or another storage or memory device. In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, photo manager application  165  is the Planetweb Digital Photo Manager produced by Planetweb, Inc. of Redwood Shores, Calif.  
     [0037] Photo manager application engine  170  is a program that performs the core or essential function necessary to run photo manager application  165 . Photo manager application engine  170  contain the code for the embedded processing of HTML, JS, user controls, graphic manipulation, display management, file management and peripheral interfaces. Photo manager application engine  170  may contain printer driver  175  to provide an interface between engine  170  and a printer device.  
     [0038] Software system  160  may also contain photo manager application engine API (application program interface)  180  and  154  API  185 . The photo manager software components and the embedded processing and control engine  200  communicate through these API components. USB driver  190  exists in the common area between the APIs and allows the software structure to transmit print commands via a USB port to printer  25 . Ethernet driver  425  also may exist in the common area between the API&#39;s and allows the software structure to support Ethernet protocol communications between DVD player  10  and network  365 .  
     [0039] The control engine  200  software component allows for embedded processing and control of the DVD system hardware. For example, control engine  200  would be responsible for controlling the DVD chipset, flash and SDRAM memory components, peripheral interfaces, and other hardware. Control engine  200  utilizes a number of drivers to provide an interface between the hardware components and the software structure  160 . Display driver  205  provides an interface between the software structure  160  and display  15 . IR driver  210  allows for IR remote control commands received by IR sensor  110  to be processed by control engine  200 . CD/DVD driver  220  allows control engine  200  to control the operation of the CD/DVD drive. Front panel driver  230  allows control engine  200  to control the display of information on front panel  400 . Software system  160  is multi-threaded with the photo manager components as one processing thread and the control engine components as several processing threads to support independent hardware control. Software system  160  also contains real-time operating system  240  to manage and provide interfaces between the applications or programs in software system  160 .  
     [0040] The components of software system  160  are generally stored in memory  405  and may be stored on flash memory  90  or SDRAM  95  depending on the nature of the software component. For example, the USB stack, which contains the USB connection protocols, may be compiled along with photo manager application  165  and the firmware for control engine  200  and placed in flash memory  90 . A portion of photo manager application  165  may be placed in SDRAM  95 .  
     [0041] Having thus described a preferred embodiment of the presently disclosed DVD player, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain advantages of the described method and system have been achieved. It should also be appreciated that various modifications, adaptations, and alternative embodiments thereof may be made within the scope and spirit of the present invention. For example, DVD players with ports for handling communications in USB or Ethernet protocols have been illustrated, but it should be apparent that the inventive concepts described above would be equally applicable to other communications standards or protocols. The invention is further defined by the following claims.