Network-Based Channel Thumbnail Acquisition for TV Interfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing TV systems face challenges in rapidly acquiring and displaying real-time channel thumbnails for multiple channels due to limited tuners, leading to long processing times and inconsistent user environments, especially when trying to display channels in content groups or random orders.
Innovation Solution
A channel display apparatus and method that utilizes a network to share and manage real-time channel thumbnails among devices with the same unique ID, allowing for efficient acquisition, transmission, and prioritization of thumbnails using a processor and communicator, enabling rapid thumbnail acquisition and UI configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single channel tuner is used to acquire real-time channel thumbnails, then device complexity is reduced, but the time required to acquire and display multiple thumbnails increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
A server acts as an intermediary between multiple channel display apparatuses and the broadcast channels. The server receives thumbnail requests from multiple apparatuses, manages the actual thumbnail acquisition using its own tuners, and distributes the acquired thumbnails to the requesting apparatuses. This mediator approach allows multiple apparatuses to access channel thumbnails simultaneously without each needing multiple tuners, resolving the contradiction between device complexity and acquisition time.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple real-time channel thumbnails are acquired simultaneously, then the quantity of thumbnails available for display increases, but the time required to acquire them all increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The server pre-loads and stores real-time channel thumbnails in its memory before receiving display requests from channel display apparatuses. When multiple apparatuses simultaneously request thumbnails, the server can quickly retrieve pre-acquired thumbnails from its memory buffer rather than acquiring them in real-time from broadcast channels. This preliminary action significantly reduces the time required to provide multiple thumbnails to multiple apparatuses.
Solution Approach 2:
The server serves as a central intermediary that consolidates thumbnail acquisition and distribution functions. By centralizing the acquisition process at the server level with multiple tuners, the system can efficiently manage and distribute thumbnails to multiple apparatuses without each apparatus needing to independently acquire thumbnails, thereby reducing overall acquisition time while maintaining high quantity availability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If channel thumbnails are displayed in content groups or random orders, then adaptability to different user preferences improves, but securing effective real-time thumbnails becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as a reliable intermediary that ensures thumbnail availability regardless of the display ordering method used at client apparatuses. The server maintains a pool of real-time thumbnails and can supply them to different apparatuses in various orders (content-based grouping, random ordering, or channel-based ordering). This mediator approach decouples the thumbnail acquisition reliability from the display flexibility, allowing the server to guarantee thumbnail availability while client apparatuses implement diverse display strategies.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are channel display apparatuses and methods of operating the channel display apparatuses. The channel display apparatus includes a communicator that communicates with a network for sharing a plurality of real-time channel thumbnails; and a processor that controls the communicator to acquire at least one real-time channel thumbnail from among the plurality of real-time channel thumbnails and controls the communicator to transmit the acquired at least one real-time channel thumbnail to the network.