Managing letterbox signals with logos

Claim 2

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox processor for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal has a letterbox format, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, means for controlling operation of said letterbox processor to ignore a certain type of said auxiliary information when present.

Claim 3

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox processor for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal has a letterbox format, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area, a first type of said auxiliary information disposed in a first horizontal range of said border area and a second type of said auxiliary information disposed in a second horizontal range of said border area, at least partly exclusive of said first range; and, means for controlling operation of said letterbox processor being controlled to ignore said first type of said auxiliary information when present.

Claim 4

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox processor for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal has a letterbox format, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area, a first type of said auxiliary information disposed in a first horizontal range of said border area and a second type of said auxiliary information disposed in a second horizontal range of said border area, at least partly exclusive of said first range; and, means for controlling operation of said letterbox processor being controlled to ignore said first type of said auxiliary information when present.

Claim 5

The system of claim 2, wherein said controlling means inhibits a determination of whether said input video signal has said letterbox format responsive to said first type of said auxiliary information.

Claim 6

The system of claim 2, wherein said controlling means enables a determination of whether said input video signal has said letterbox format only during horizontal scanning in that part of said second range at least partly exclusive of said first range.

Claim 7

The system of claim 2, wherein said means for controlling operation of said letterbox processor comprises pixel counting means for initiating a letterbox detection enable signal at a first pixel count and terminating said enable signal at a second pixel count defining a sampling range exclusive of said first horizontal range.

Claim 8

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox processor for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal has a letterbox format, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, means for controlling operation of said letterbox processor to inhibit a determination of whether said input video signal has said letterbox format responsive to a type of said auxiliary information which is likely to be positioned, when present, in a first horizontal range not coincident with a substantial portion of a second and larger horizontal range in which another type of said auxiliary information is likely to appear, when present.

Claim 9

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox processor for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal has a letterbox format, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, means for controlling operation of said letterbox processor to inhibit a determination of whether said input video signal has said letterbox format responsive to a type of said auxiliary information which is likely to be positioned, when present, in a first horizontal range not coincident with a substantial portion of a second and larger horizontal range in which another type of said auxiliary information is likely to appear, when present.

Claim 10

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox processor for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal has a letterbox format, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, means for controlling operation of said letterbox processor to enable a determination of whether said input video signal has said letterbox formats responsive to a type of said auxiliary information which is likely to be positioned, when present, in a first horizontal range, only a small part of which may be coincident when coincident at all, with a second and smaller horizontal range, in which another type of said auxiliary information is likely to appear, when present.

Claim 11

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox processor for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal has a letterbox format, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, means for controlling operation of said letterbox processor to enable a determination of whether said input video signal has said letterbox formats responsive to a type of said auxiliary information which is likely to be positioned, when present, in a first horizontal range, only a small part of which may be coincident when coincident at all, with a second and smaller horizontal range, in which another type of said auxiliary information is likely to appear, when present.

Claim 12

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox processor for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal has a letterbox format, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, pixel counting means for controlling operation of said letterbox processor to ignore a certain type of said auxiliary information, when present, by initiating a letterbox detection enable signal at a first pixel count and terminating said enable signal at a second pixel count.

Claim 13

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox processor for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal has a letterbox format, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, pixel counting means for controlling operation of said letterbox processor to ignore a certain type of said auxiliary information, when present, by initiating a letterbox detection enable signal at a first pixel count and terminating said enable signal at a second pixel count.

Claim 14

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox processor for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal has a letterbox format, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, means for controlling operation of said letterbox processor to ignore a certain type of said auxiliary information when present, said controlling means comprising: means for generating a running pixel count; means for comparing first and second predetermined counts to said running pixel count; and, means responsive to said comparing means for generating a letterbox detection enable signal when said running pixel count is between said first and second predetermined counts.

Claim 15

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox processor for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal has a letterbox format, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, means for controlling operation of said letterbox processor to ignore a certain type of said auxiliary information when present, said controlling means comprising: means for generating a running pixel count; means for comparing first and second predetermined counts to said running pixel count; and, means responsive to said comparing means for generating a letterbox detection enable signal when said running pixel count is between said first and second predetermined counts.

Claim 16

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; means for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal is indicative of said picture having a letterbox format in which an active video portion of said picture is positioned between upper and lower border areas, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information positioned in different portions of said border areas; means responsive to said letterbox determining means for enlarging said picture in size to substantially fill said video display means with said active video portion when said input video signal is determined to have said letterbox format; and, means for inhibiting said determining means from responding to one type of said auxiliary information by restricting operation of said determining means to a predetermined portion of said border areas likely to exclude said one type of said auxiliary information, when present.

Claim 17

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; means for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal is indicative of said picture having a letterbox format in which an active video portion of said picture is positioned between upper and lower border areas, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information positioned in different portions of said border areas; means responsive to said letterbox determining means for enlarging said picture in size to substantially fill said video display means with said active video portion when said input video signal is determined to have said letterbox format; and, means for inhibiting said determining means from responding to one type of said auxiliary information by restricting operation of said determining means to a predetermined portion of said border areas likely to exclude said one type of said auxiliary information, when present.

Claim 18

A video display system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; means for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal is indicative of said picture having a letterbox format in which an active video portion of said picture is positioned between upper and lower border areas, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information positioned in different portions of said border areas; means responsive to said letterbox determining means for enlarging said picture in size to substantially fill said video display means with said active video portion when said input video signal is determined to have said letterbox format; and, means for inhibiting said determining means from responding to one type of said auxiliary information by enabling operation of said determining means in a predetermined horizontal range of each horizontal line of said input signal likely to exclude said one type of said auxiliary information, when present.

Claim 19

A video display system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; means for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal is indicative of said picture having a letterbox format in which an active video portion of said picture is positioned between upper and lower border areas, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information positioned in different portions of said border areas; means responsive to said letterbox determining means for enlarging said picture in size to substantially fill said video display means with said active video portion when said input video signal is determined to have said letterbox format; and, means for inhibiting said determining means from responding to one type of said auxiliary information by enabling operation of said determining means in a predetermined horizontal range of each horizontal line of said input signal likely to exclude said one type of said auxiliary information, when present.

Claim 20

The system of claim 11, wherein said predetermined horizontal range is substantially horizontally centered with respect to said tested horizontal lines.

Claim 21

The system of claim 12, wherein said range extends over approximately 70% of each of said tested horizontal lines.

Claim 22

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; means for determining when a picture represented, by an input video signal is indicative of said picture having a letterbox format in which an active video portion of said picture is positioned between upper and lower border areas, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information positioned in different portions of said border areas; means responsive to said letterbox determining means for enlarging said picture in size to substantially fill said video display means with said active video portion when said input video signal is determined to have said letterbox format; and, pixel counting means for inhibiting said determining means from responding to one type of said auxiliary information by initiating a letterbox detection enable signal at a first pixel count and terminating said enable signal at a second pixel count to restrict operation of said determining means to a predetermined portion of said border areas likely to exclude said one type of said auxiliary information, when present.

Claim 23

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; means for determining when a picture represented, by an input video signal is indicative of said picture having a letterbox format in which an active video portion of said picture is positioned between upper and lower border areas, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information positioned in different portions of said border areas; means responsive to said letterbox determining means for enlarging said picture in size to substantially fill said video display means with said active video portion when said input video signal is determined to have said letterbox format; and, pixel counting means for inhibiting said determining means from responding to one type of said auxiliary information by initiating a letterbox detection enable signal at a first pixel count and terminating said enable signal at a second pixel count to restrict operation of said determining means to a predetermined portion of said border areas likely to exclude said one type of said auxiliary information, when present.

Claim 24

The system of claim 14, wherein said first and second pixel counts are predetermined.

Claim 25

A video display control system comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; means for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal is indicative of said picture having a letterbox format in which an active video portion of said picture is positioned between upper and lower border areas, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information positioned in different portions of said border areas; means responsive to said letterbox determining means for enlarging said picture in size to substantially fill said video display means with said active video portion when said input video signal is determined to have said letterbox format; and, means for inhibiting said determining means from one type of said auxiliary information by restricting operation of said determining means to a predetermined portion of said border areas likely to exclude said one type of said auxiliary information, when present, said inhibiting means comprising: means for generating a running pixel count; means for comparing first and second predetermined counts to said running pixel count; and, means responsive to said comparing means for generating a letterbox detection enable signal when said running pixel count is between said first and second predetermined counts.

Claim 26

A video display control system comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; means for determining when a picture represented by an input video signal is indicative of said picture having a letterbox format in which an active video portion of said picture is positioned between upper and lower border areas, said letterbox format picture sometimes having auxiliary information positioned in different portions of said border areas; means responsive to said letterbox determining means for enlarging said picture in size to substantially fill said video display means with said active video portion when said input video signal is determined to have said letterbox format; and, means for inhibiting said determining means from one type of said auxiliary information by restricting operation of said determining means to a predetermined portion of said border areas likely to exclude said one type of said auxiliary information, when present, said inhibiting means comprising: means for generating a running pixel count; means for comparing first and second predetermined counts to said running pixel count; and, means responsive to said comparing means for generating a letterbox detection enable signal when said running pixel count is between said first and second predetermined counts.

Claim 27

The system of claim 16, wherein: said comparing means comprises first and second comparators, responsive to said first and second predetermined pixel counts respectively, and both responsive to said running pixel count; and, said means responsive to said comparing means comprises a flip/flop responsive to each of said comparators, for initiating said letterbox detection enable signal when said running pixel count reaches said first predetermined pixel count and terminating said enable signal when said running pixel count reaches said second predetermined pixel count.

Claim 28

The system of claim 17, wherein each of said first and second pixel counts and said running pixel count represent a fraction of an actual pixel count.

Claim 29

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox detector for sampling video information in pictures represented by input video signals having a letterbox format and generating a control signal for enlarging said pictures for substantially filling said video display means with active video, said letterbox format pictures sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, means for preventing said letterbox detector from sampling said video information in any portion of said border area in which said auxiliary information can be expected to be disposed, when present.

Claim 30

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox detector for sampling video information in pictures represented by input video signals having a letterbox format and generating a control signal for enlarging said pictures for substantially filling said video display means with active video, said letterbox format pictures sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, means for preventing said letterbox detector from sampling said video information in any portion of said border area in which said auxiliary information can be expected to be disposed, when present.

Claim 31

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox detector for sampling video information in pictures represented by input video signals having a letterbox format and generating a control signal for enlarging said pictures for substantially filling said video display means with active video, said letterbox format pictures sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, means for preventing said letterbox detector from sampling said video information in any portion of said border area in which said auxiliary information can be expected to be disposed, when present, by initiating a letterbox detection enable signal at a first pixel count and terminating said enable signal at a second pixel count.

Claim 32

A video display control system, comprising: a video display means having a wide format display ratio; a letterbox detector for sampling video information in pictures represented by input video signals having a letterbox format and generating a control signal for enlarging said pictures for substantially filling said video display means with active video, said letterbox format pictures sometimes having auxiliary information disposed in a border area; and, means for preventing said letterbox detector from sampling said video information in any portion of said border area in which said auxiliary information can be expected to be disposed, when present, by initiating a letterbox detection enable signal at a first pixel count and terminating said enable signal at a second pixel count.