Picture in Picture (PiP) is a now commonplace technology that was once a highly advanced, almost luxurious feature in television sets. PiP works by providing a smaller picture inside the main picture on a television set. Often, the sound for the main picture is still played through the television's speakers, while the in-picture display is silent. This can be switched up, however, and headphones have been used to achieve sound from the in-picture display while sound from the main picture continues to play through the main television screen.
The technology now works by using two signal sources, or independent tuners, to provide for both the main display and the smaller, in-picture display. Each tuner accounts for one of the displays. Some televisions have two built-in PiP tuners, but others only have one and instead rely on an external tuner or other source that can provide for the second picture.
PiP was first seen by the public during the 1976 Montreal Olympics. During the Olympics, to provide coverage of two different angles of an event that was happening at the same time, a Quantel digital framestore unit was used to focus in on the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony. The picture in picture, created via the digital framestore, provided a close up of the Olympic flame as the rest of the opening Olympic ceremonies were displayed in typical form through the main picture.
It took only 4 years for the technology--or at least, a related version of it--to appear and become available in a consumer electronics device. 1980 brought NEC's attempt to successfully introduce the Popvision television, which was the first consumer television to feature PiP. However, this PiP was not the PiP of modern days. The main 20-inch set was complemented by a 6-inch set and tuner, to provide for the two separate sources. The television didn't really catch on, owing to the pricey technology involved and the two separate screens, which ran for about $1,200.
These days, PiP technology continues to be relevant and continues to evolve. High-definition video player technologies (HD-DVD and Blu-Ray) make use of PiP technology in high-definition on most of the HD video discs. These can be used to play actor or other commentaries in a separate window during the actual film itself, or for a variety of other purposes.
Tags: main picture, in-picture display, digital framestore, Olympic flame, sound from, through main