This invention involves a virtual environment created through the combination of technologies. The invention employs the knowledge and experience of a Personal Assistant or Host, created through Artificial Intelligence applications, which assists and guides the user of the environment to products and/or services that they will most likely be interested in purchasing or requiring. The intelligent assistant's choices are based on its experiences with the specific user. The intelligent assistant communicates with the user by means of a speech recognition and speech synthesis device. This invention is an easy to use virtual reality environment that takes advantage of existing technologies and global communications networks such as the Internet without requiring any given degree of computer literacy. This invention includes a virtual intelligent assistant for each user which adapts to its user as it provides individualized guidance. The intelligent assistant or avatar projects human-like features and behaviors appropriate to the preferences of its user and appears as a virtual person to the user.

Method and apparatus for delivering a virtual reality environment

Teletext data stored in a video RAM is developed in a work RAM. A CPU selectively deletes picture elements from the developed teletext data, to thereby compress the teletext data into data adapted for display in an auxiliary screen which is e.g., 1/4 of the display screen of a CRT. The compressed teletext data is written into the video RAM. A display controller supplies the compressed teletext data stored in the video RAM to a synthesizing circuit, together with an appropriate display switching signal representing a timing for switching between the compressed teletext data and a TV broadcast video signal. In accordance with the display switching signal, the synthesizing circuit selectively supplies the TV broadcast video signal and the compressed teletext data to a video output circuit. Accordingly, the teletext picture compressed to a 1/4 size is displayed on the display screen of the CRT as an auxiliary screen image, while being superimposed on the TV picture.

Television receiver with teletext receiving function and a method for superimposing a teletext picture on a television picture

A method for processing a field of image data samples to provide for one or more of the functions of decimation, interpolation, and sharpening is accomplished by use of an array transform processor such as that employed in a JPEG compression system. Blocks of data samples are transformed by the discrete even cosine transform (DECT) in both the decimation and interpolation processes, after which the number of frequency terms is altered. In the case of decimation, the number of frequency terms is reduced, this being followed by inverse transformation to produce a reduced-size matrix of sample points representing the original block of data. In the case of interpolation, additional frequency components of zero value are inserted into the array of frequency components after which inverse transformation produces an enlarged data sampling set without an increase in spectral bandwidth. In the case of sharpening, accomplished by a convolution or filtering operation involving multiplication of transforms of data and filter kernel in the frequency domain, there is provided an inverse transformation resulting in a set of blocks of processed data samples. The blocks are overlapped followed by a savings of designated samples, and a discarding of excess samples from regions of overlap. The spatial representation of the kernel is modified by reduction of the number of components, for a linear-phase filter, and zero-padded to equal the number of samples of a data block, this being followed by forming the discrete odd cosine transform (DOCT) of the padded kernel matrix.

Image reconstruction by use of discrete cosine and related transforms

A system includes a transceiver configured to receive a composite signal. The composite signal is a composite of a transmit signal and a receive signal. A replica transmitter is configured to generate a replica transmit signal based on the transmit signal. A transmit canceller is configured to recover the receive signal at least in part by resistively summing the composite signal and the replica transmit signal.

Active resistive summer for a transformer hybrid

Strategies are described for processing image information in a linear form to reduce the amount of artifacts (compared to processing the data in nonlinear form). Exemplary types of processing operations can include, scaling, compositing, alpha-blending, edge detection, and so forth. In a more specific implementation, strategies are described for processing image information that is: a) linear; b) in the RGB color space; c) high precision (e.g., provided by floating point representation); d) progressive; and e) full channel. Other improvements provide strategies for: a) processing image information in a pseudo-linear space to improve processing speed; b) implementing an improved error dispersion technique; c) dynamically calculating and applying filter kernels; d) producing pipeline code in an optimal manner; and e) implementing various processing tasks using novel pixel shader techniques.

Image processing using linear light values and other image processing improvements

A digital-to-analog converter system includes two DAC's operated in ping pong fashion with their analog output signals linearly summed. To preclude bandwidth limiting inherent in the summing operation the applied digital input signal is preconditioned in accordance with the transfer function 1/(1+Z-1).

Digital-to-analog conversion system as for use in a digital TV receiver

A motion adaptive recursive filter is modified to separate luminance or chrominance signal from composite video. The filter proportions and sums current and frame delayed signal recursively to provide signal-to-noise enhanced luminance signal with the chrominance component reduced to a steady state residual value the first frame after motion ceases. Current composite video signal is appropriately scaled and combined with the signal-to-noise enhanced signal to cancel the residual chrominance component therein.

Video signal recursive filter with luma/chroma separation

A speed-up memory (22,24,26), converts interlaced RGB input signals to double line-rate - (progressive scan) form. A vertical detail signal (S3) is derived from the RGB input signals before or after speed-up and a vertical peaking signal (S4) is derived from the detail signal. During the first read . operation of the speed-up memory both signals (S3,S4) are added (84,86 with 32,42,52) to the speeded-up signals to effect a preshoot of the resultant signal, and during the second speed-up memory read operation only the peaking signal (S4) is added (32,42,52) to affect an overshoot of the resultant signals whereby alternate lines of the converted RGB signals exhibit enhanced vertical detail.

Interlace to non-interlace scan converter for RGB format video input signals

of the Disclosure A digital hue correction circuit for correcting the color of digital TV chrominance signals includes means for dividing the smaller of the magnitudes of first and second color mixture signals by the larger of the magnitudes of the first and second signals to produce quotients representing tangents over the range of zero to 45 degrees. The polarity of the first and second signals are applied to means for transposing the zero to 45 degree angle tangent values over the range of at least zero to 90 degree angles. The transposed tangent values are applied to means for generating hue correction coefficients representing the sines and cosines of angles by which the chrominance vector is to be rotated to effect hue correction. The first and second signals and the hue correction coefficients are applied to a multiplier and combiner to produce corrected color mixture signals I' and Q' according to the equations I' = I cos .DELTA..PHI. ? Q sin .DELTA..PHI.Q' = Q cos .DELTA..PHI. ? I sin .DELTA..PHI.. where: I is the first color mixture signed, and Q is the second color mixture signed.

Hue correction circuit for a digital TV receiver

A narrow bandwidth analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) system is described in the context of the color burst processing and burst phase detecting circuitry of a digital color television receiver. The ADC includes a dither generator which adds a dither signal to either the analog input signal or to the reference signal used by the ADC. This dither signal increases in magnitude by 1/16 of an LSB value at a rate one-quarter of the burst frequency and changes in sign at one-half of the burst frequency. This signal passes through a low-pass filter in the chrominance channel providing an increase in sample resolution by averaging the samples in a chroma band-pass filter and in the phase detecting circuitry.

Donald H. Willis

Papers

Digital-to-analog conversion system as for use in a digital TV receiver

Video signal recursive filter with luma/chroma separation

Interlace to non-interlace scan converter for RGB format video input signals

Hue correction circuit for a digital TV receiver

Analog-to-digital conversion system as for a narrow bandwidth signal processor