Patent Document

RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to “DISPLAY DEVICE WITH CONVERSION CAPABILITY FOR PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYER”, Provisional Application for U.S. Patent Ser. No. 60/952,727, filed Jul. 30, 2007 by MacInnis, and the foregoing application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. This application is also related to “INTEGRATED CIRCUIT WITH CONVERSION CAPABILITY FOR PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYER”, Provisional Application for U.S. Patent Ser. No. 60/952,731, filed Jul. 30, 2007 by MacInnis, and the foregoing application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     [Not Applicable] 
     MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE 
     [Not Applicable] 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Typical current TVs have the ability to receive, process and display audio-video (A/V) signals received from a variety of sources. Received signals may be analog, such as NTSC, or digital such as ATSC with MPEG-2 digital video and Dolby Digital audio. Some TVs can receive uncompressed digital or analog A/V input, e.g., via component analog or HDMI inputs. 
     Portable media players are becoming popular. Some portable media players (PMP) can display video. Video content for PMPs is typically downloaded via the Internet. Users may wish to record content received at their home TV and copy to their PMPs, using the content of their choice, at very high speeds, and without having to pay to buy an extra copy of content to which they already have the rights to watch. 
     Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to system(s), method(s), and apparatus for monitor(s) with conversion capabilities for personal media players, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims. 
     These and other advantages and novel features of the present invention, as well as illustrated embodiments thereof will be more fully understood from the following description and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an exemplary system for providing media in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an exemplary monitor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an exemplary monitor receiving compressed data in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram of an exemplary monitor operable to transfer data over a wireless connection; 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram of an exemplary monitor operable to transfer video and audio data; 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram of another exemplary monitor operable to transfer video and audio data; and 
         FIG. 7  is a flow diagram for transferring data in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is illustrated a block diagram of an exemplary system  100  for providing media  105  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The system  100  comprises a monitor  105 , and a portable media player  110 . The monitor  105  receives and presents media on a screen and speakers. Additionally, the monitor  105  encodes the media  130  to a particular format that is suitable for storage in the portable media player  110 . 
     The media  130  can be video and/or audio data and can be received as analog media  130   a  received over radio waves. Alternatively, the media  130   b  can comprise media received over a network  125 , such as analog signals  130   b  over an analog cable network. Additionally, the media can be compressed to reduce bandwidth. The compressed data  130   c  can be received by a set top box  115 . The set top box  115  can include circuitry for decompressing the data, thereby resulting in decompressed data  130   d . Additional circuitry can be included to prepare the decompressed data for display by scaling and rasterizing. Alternatively, the compressed data  130   c  can be decompressed by circuitry integrated into the monitor  105 . Additionally, the monitor  105  can receive media as either analog signals or decompressed data  130 d from a DVD/VCR player  120 . In certain embodiments of the present invention, the monitor may receive uncompressed video and audio via a digital interface, such as DVI or HDMI, or a wireless interface. 
     The monitor  105  receives the analog signals  130   a  or the decompressed data  130   d  and encodes the analog signals  130   a  or the decompressed data  130   d . Where the monitor  105  receives compressed data  130   c , internal circuitry transcodes the compressed data  130   c , thereby resulting in compressed data in a format suitable for a different device. This transcode may involve decompressing compressed data  130   c . Additionally, the monitor  105  may include circuitry for preparing the decompressed data for display by scaling and rasterizing the decompressed data. Accordingly, the term “decompressed data” will now be understood to include, for example, reconstructed data from compressed data, uncompressed data, analog signals, uncompressed digital signals, scaled data, rasterized data, and data that is not compressed using lossy compression. The term “decompressed video data” will now be understood to include, for example, reconstructed video data from compressed video data, uncompressed video data, analog video signals, digital video signals, scaled video data, rasterized video data, and video data that is not compressed using lossy compression. The term “video data” shall be understood to cover any video in any form. 
     The monitor  105  presents the decompressed data. Where the decompressed data is decompressed video data, the monitor  105  presents the decompressed video data on a screen. Where the decompressed data is audio data, the monitor  105  presents the audio data using speakers. Additionally, the monitor  105  includes circuitry integrated therein to encode the decompressed data into a format, encoded data  140 , suitable for use by a personal media player  110 , or to transcode compressed data  130   c  into a format suitable for use by a personal media player  100 . 
     The portable media player  110  presents media on an integrated screen and/or via speakers and is generally designed to be routinely transported or carried on the person. The portable media player  115  can comprise, for example, an iPOD™, a cell phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a Palm Top. 
     Since the portable media player  115  is generally designed to be routinely transported or carried on the person, the portable media player  115  can use a particular compression format for storing the media played by the portable media player to reduce the amount of memory needed to store the media. Additionally, portable media players  115  often have specific requirements for compressed formats in order to simplify the processes of decoding and presenting video. Their small size, low cost and battery power may motivate this requirement. 
     In certain embodiments of the present invention, the portable media player  115  can be connected to the monitor  105 . The monitor  105 , upon detecting the connection between the monitor  105  and portable media player  115 , can transfer the encoded data  140  to the portable media player  115 . Alternatively the monitor may create an encoded or transcoded stream for the PMP after the PMP is connected, and transfer the stream without first storing it in a memory. Alternatively, the monitor  105  and the portable media player  115  can be equipped to detect a condition wherein the portable media player  115  is within local radio proximity of the monitor  105 , and transfer the encoded data  140  to the portable media player  115  over a radio interface. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , there is illustrated a block diagram of an exemplary monitor  200  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The monitor  200  comprises input(s)  205 , a screen  210 , a encoder  215 , and an interface  225 . The input(s)  205  receives decompressed video data. The screen  210  displays the decompressed video data. The encoder  215  encodes the decompressed video data. The interface  225  is operable to transfer the encoded video data to another portable media player. 
     It is noted that the input(s)  205  can either be externally accessible or internally integrated. For example, in certain embodiments of the present invention, the monitor  200  receives compressed data. Additional circuitry in the monitor  200  can decompress the compressed data, thereby resulting in the decompressed data. 
     In certain embodiments of the present invention, the monitor  200  can include circuitry for further preparing the decompressed video data for display by scaling and rasterizing the decompressed data. 
     The encoder  215  encodes the decompressed data into a format that is suitable for the portable media player  115 . The encoder  215  can encode the decompressed data either before or after scaling and rasterizing. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the encoder  215  can compress the decompressed data using a variety of compression techniques, including but not limited to, motion compensation, and entropy coding. 
     The interface  225  is operable to transfer the data to the personal media player  110 . In certain embodiments of the present invention, the interface  225  can be connectable to the personal media player  110 , and upon detecting the connection to the personal media player  110 , the interface can transfer the data to the personal media player  110 . In certain embodiments of the present invention the interface  225  can comprise a Universal Serial Bus Port. 
     In certain embodiments of the present invention, the interface  225  can transfer the data to the personal media player  110  over a wireless interface. When the interface  225  detects that the personal media player  110  is in proximity to the monitor  105 , the interface  225  can transmit the data to the personal media player  110  using radio signals. 
     In certain embodiments of the present invention, memory between the encoder  215  and the interface  225  can store or buffer the data prior to transfer to the personal media player  110 . After the encoder  215  encodes the data, the encoder data can be written to the memory. The memory holds the stored data for transfer to the personal media player  110 . The memory may be solid state memory or memory with moving parts, such as a hard disk drive. 
     In certain embodiments of the present invention, the data can be transcoded from a first compression format to a second format, with or without decompressing the data. Accordingly, the term “encoding” shall be understood to include both coding uncompressed data, as well as transcoding compressed data, with or without first decoding. Accordingly, the term “encoder” shall be understood to mean a circuit that performs transcoding of compressed data and/or a circuit that performs coding of uncompressed data. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , there is illustrated a block diagram of an exemplary monitor  300  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The monitor  300  comprises input(s)  305 , a decompression engine  307 , a display engine  309 , a screen  310 , an encoder  315 , and an interface  325 . The input(s)  305  receives compressed video data. The decompression engine  307  decompresses the compressed video data, thereby resulting in decompressed video data. The display engine  309  prepares the decompressed video data for display on the screen  310  by scaling and rasterizing the decompressed data. The screen  310  displays the decompressed video data. 
     The encoder  315  encodes the decompressed video data. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the encoder  315  can encode the video data after the display engine  309  scales and rasterizes the data. Alternatively, the encoder  315  can encode the decompressed video data prior to scaling and rasterization. Alternatively, the encoder transcodes the compressed video data from a first compression format to a second compression format, resulting in compressed data in a format that is suitable for a separate device such as a portable media player. 
     In certain embodiments of the present invention, the encoder  315  can comprise a compression engine  330  for compressing the decompressed video data. The compression engine  330  can compress the data using a variety of compression standards such as MPEG-2, H.264 or VC-1. The interface  325  is operable to transfer the encoded decompressed video data to the portable media player. 
     In certain embodiments of the present invention, memory between the encoder  315  and the interface  325  can store or buffer the data prior to transfer to the personal media player  110 . After the encoder  315  encodes the data, the encoded data can be written to the memory. The memory holds the stored data for transfer to the personal media player  110 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , there is illustrated a block diagram of an exemplary monitor  105  operable to transfer video data over a wireless interface in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The monitor  400  comprises input(s)  405 , a screen  410 , a encoder  415 , and an interface  425 . The input(s)  405  receives decompressed video data. The screen  410  displays the decompressed video data. The encoder  415  encodes the decompressed video data. The interface  425  is operable to transfer the encoded video data to a portable media player over a wireless connection. 
     The interface  425  comprises a transceiver  440 . The receiver  445  can be operable to detect the presence of the portable media player  125  in the proximity of the monitor  105 . In certain embodiments, when the portable media player  125  is brought into the proximity of the monitor  105 , the transceiver  445  receives a signal indicating that the portable media player  125  is in proximity. 
     In certain embodiments of the present invention, the monitor  105  can be a node in a wireless local area network. When the portable media player  125  comes into the coverage area of the wireless local area network, the wireless local area network can send a signal to the monitor  105  indicating that the portable media player  125  is in the network. 
     Alternatively, the portable media player  125  can send a signal directly to the monitor  105 . The signal is received by the transceiver  445 . Responsive thereto, the transceiver  445  transmits the data from the memory  420  to the portable media player  125 . 
     In certain embodiments of the present invention, memory between the encoder  415  and the interface  425  can store or buffer the data prior to transfer to the personal media player  110 . After the encoder  415  encodes the data, the encoded data can be written to the memory. The memory holds the stored data for transfer to the personal media player  110 . In certain embodiments of the present invention, decompression engine(s) decompress compressed audio and video data. Transcoding can include compression and the encoder(s) can comprise an audio encoder for compressing the audio data and a video encoder for compressing the video data. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , there is illustrated a block diagram of an exemplary monitor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The monitor  500  comprises input(s)  505 , an audio decoder  506 , a video decompression engine  507 , a display engine  509 , a screen  510 , a video encoder  515 , an audio encoder  518 , a memory  520 , and an interface  525 . The input(s)  505  receives compressed video and audio data. The video decompression engine  507  decompresses the compressed video data, thereby resulting in decompressed video data. The display engine  509  prepares the decompressed video data for display on the screen  510  by scaling and rasterizing the decompressed data. The screen  510  displays the decompressed video data. 
     The audio decoder  506  decompresses the compressed audio data and provides the decompressed audio data for output. The audio encoder  518  compresses the decompressed audio data and writes the compressed audio data to the memory  520 . 
     The video encoder  515  encodes the decompressed video data. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the video encoder  515  can encode the video data after the display engine  509  scales and rasterizes the data. Alternatively, the encoder  515  can encode the decompressed video data prior to scaling and rasterization. 
     It is noted that the audio encoder  506  and the video encoder  515  do not necessarily compress according to the same standard utilized for the data at the input. 
     A multiplexer  530  multiplexes the audio and video data during transfer. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the multiplexer  530  can comprise a transport processor. 
     In certain embodiments of the present invention, video and audio encoders encode (i.e. transcode) compressed audio and video data that are compressed in accordance with a standard suitable for the monitor into another compression standard that is suitable for the portable media player. For example, the video encoder could transcode video data compressed in accordance with Advanced Video Coding (also known as MPEG-4, Part 10, and H.264) to MPEG-2. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , there is illustrated a block diagram of an exemplary monitor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The monitor comprises input(s)  605 , an audio decoder  606 , a video decompression engine  607 , a display engine  609 , a screen  610 , a video transcoder  615 , an audio transcoder  618 , a memory  620 , and an interface  625 . The input(s)  605  receives compressed video and audio data. The video decompression engine  607  decompresses the compressed video data, thereby resulting in decompressed video data. The display engine  609  prepares the decompressed video data for display on the screen  610  by scaling and rasterizing the decompressed data. The screen  610  displays the decompressed video data. 
     The audio decompression engine  606  decompresses the compressed audio data and provides the decompressed audio data for output. The audio transcoder  518  transcodes the compressed audio data into a format suitable for the portable media player and writes the transcoded audio data to the memory  520 . The video encoder  515  transcodes the compressed video data to a format suitable for the portable media player. 
     A multiplexer  630  multiplexes the audio and video data during transfer. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the multiplexer  630  can comprise a transport processor. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , there is illustrated a flow diagram for transferring data to a portable media player in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. At  705 , the monitor  105  receives decompressed video and audio data. At  710  and  712 , the decompressed video and audio data are presented and encoded. The decompression and presentation of the video and audio data generally can be contemporaneous with respect to each other. At  715 , the memory stores the encoded data. At  720 , the monitor detects that the portable media player  110  is connected, either electrically, or wirelessly, to the monitor  105 . Upon detection, the monitor  625  transfers the data to the portable media player. 
     The systems as described herein may be implemented as a board level product, as a single chip, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or with varying levels of the systems integrated with other portions of the system as separate components. The degree of integration of the decoder and encoder system will primarily be determined by the speed and cost considerations. 
     Because of the sophisticated nature of modern processors, it is possible to utilize a commercially available processor, which may be implemented external to an ASIC implementation. Alternatively, if the processor is available as an ASIC core or logic block, then the commercially available processor can be implemented as part of an ASIC device wherein various operations are implemented in firmware. 
     While the invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the invention. 
     In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Technology Category: 5