Patent ID: 7061543

Claim:
A method for picture-in-picture insertion, wherein a sequence of insertion pictures decimated by vertical decimation are read into a memory device and subsequently read out, wherein the insertion pictures read out are inserted into a sequence of main pictures, wherein the memory device has a storage capacity of greater than one insertion picture but less than two insertion pictures and is subdivided into memory segments which are continuously overwritten by the insertion pictures, wherein a decision is made as to whether the currently written insertion picture or the immediately preceding insertion picture is read out, wherein more than one memory segment of the memory device is required for storing an insertion picture, and in that the memory segments of the memory device are cyclically overwritten by the insertion pictures in a predetermined order, and wherein in a manner dependent on the ratio of a reading speed of a read pointer to a writing speed of a write pointer and a relative position of the write pointer in a writing area holding the currently written insertion picture, a decision is made as to whether the currently written insertion picture or the immediately preceding insertion picture is read out.