SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR TELEVISION INTEGRATED SURROUND SOUND SYSTEMS
Systems and methods for audio-video entertainment systems comprising a television and surround sound system integrating the television in the audio broadcast and/or the control of the surround sound system. More particularly, in one embodiment, an audio-video entertainment system includes a television and surround sound system incorporating the television speaker as the center channel speaker of the surround sound system. In another embodiment, the audio-video entertainment system includes a television driven surround sound system with the option of incorporating the television speaker as the center channel speaker of the surround sound system.
1 . A process comprising the steps of
receiving instructions to proceed with a viewing activity selected by a user, wherein the selected viewing activity includes a sound mode setting of surround sound, and
outputting an audio signal from an audio center channel input connection to the television speakers.
2 . The process of claim 1 further comprising the steps of prompting the user to select a viewing activity.
3 . The process of claim 2 wherein the step of prompting the user to select a viewing activity includes presenting a list of viewing activities in a navigatable user interface on a display screen of the television.
4 . The process of claim 3 wherein the list is in the form of graphical icons.
5 . The process of claim 3 wherein the list of viewing activities include one or more of “watch movie”, “watch TV”, “watch news”, “watch sports”, and “play games”.
6 . The process of claim 1 further comprising the steps of retrieving the sound mode settings corresponding to the viewing activity stored in memory in the television.
7 . The process of claim 1 further comprising the steps of receiving the identity of the viewer that selected the viewing activity.
8 . The process of claim 7 further comprising the step switching the sound mode setting to the sound mode setting corresponding to the viewer's preference for the selected viewing activity.
9 . The process of claim 8 further comprising the steps of identifying the viewer that selected the viewing activities.
10 . The process of claim 9 wherein the step of identifying the viewer includes comparing a viewer specific characteristic to viewer specific characteristics stored in memory.
11 . The process of claim 10 wherein the viewer specific characteristic is a finger print.
12 . A process comprising the steps of
receiving instructions to proceed with a viewing activity selected by a user, wherein the selected viewing activity includes a sound mode setting of surround sound, and
outputting the audio channels of an audio signal from the current selected audio input source to the appropriate audio output connections of a television to drive the speakers linked thereto.
13 . The process of claim 1 further comprising the steps of prompting the user to select a viewing activity.
14 . The process of claim 2 wherein the step of prompting the user to select a viewing activity includes presenting a list of viewing activities in a navigatable user interface on a display screen of the television.
15 . The process of claim 3 wherein the list is in the form of graphical icons.
16 . The process of claim 3 wherein the list of viewing activities include one or more of “watch movie”, “watch TV”, “watch news”, “watch sports”, and “play games”.
17 . The process of claim 1 further comprising the steps of retrieving the sound mode settings corresponding to the viewing activity stored in memory in the television.
18 . The process of claim 1 further comprising the steps of receiving the identity of the viewer that selected the viewing activity.
19 . The process of claim 7 further comprising the step switching the sound mode setting to the sound mode setting corresponding to the viewer's preference for the selected viewing activity.
20 . The process of claim 8 further comprising the steps of identifying the viewer that selected the viewing activity by comparing a viewer specific characteristic to viewer specific characteristics stored in memory.