U.S. Philips Corporation

Polygram Gmbh

Polygram International Holding B.v.

Philips & Du Pont Optical Company

Du Pont Optical Company

Philips Electronics N.v.

Bjorn Bluthgen

Erik C Schylander

A system for transferring audio and/or video information via an information carrier, e.g., DAT, CD or CDV. In the R-W subcode channels of a CD-signal, textual or visual information about the audio and/or video signal is recorded. This information is divided into packets. Packets containing information of different categories are interleaved. After reading the information from information carrier, the packets of a selected category are separated from information read. This system of transferring additional information (in packets) allows the use of a separate packet category for each of a number of different languages, so that a user can select a language with which he or she is most familiar. In addition, menu information, including coded menu text lines and command codes, can be recorded in the R-W subcode channels as packets for interactive control of the read-out of the audio and/or video information or the control of other connected devices.

Information carrier having information packets containing coded text or

A record carrier having addressable information included thereon, including at least one track having audio information and additional non-audio information (e.g., CD-I information), and apparatus for reading and/or reproducing certain of the information included in such a track. That track includes (a) a prepart having (i) the additional non-audio information and (ii) pause information (which results in reproduction of silence) and (b) an audio part having the audio information. The additional non-audio information is located before the pause information, and the prepart is located before the audio part. The apparatus can determine whether a track of a record carrier having audio information included therein also includes additional non-audio information and/or can prohibit reproduction of the additional non-audio information.

Record carrier having a track including audio information and additional

An information signal representing audio and/or video information is read together with a series of first data packets representing textual subinformation relating thereto from a record carrier on which such signal and data packets have been recorded together. A series of second subinformation data packets having the same format as the first subinformation packets are interleaved therewith so as to form a subinformation signal, such signal being combined with the main information signal to form a transmission signal for transmission to a receiver, the second subinformation packets representing textual subinformation unrelated to the main information signal. A receiver for such transmitted signal reproduces the information in the main information signal together with selected portions of the textual subinformation represented by the data packets, such selection being effected by a user in accordance with menus represented by the data packets and displayed on a video display unit of the receiver.

Method and apparatus for transmitting an information signal together

The invention relates to a method of transmitting audio information in digital form, in which for the transmission of additional information in digital form data bits of said additional information replace one or a plurality of least significant bits in every n.sup.th code word of the audio information. For this purpose one or a plurality of least significant bits of the audio information in every n.sup.th code word is/are replaced in predetermined manner by additional information bits, the number of bits being replaced depending on the value of the instantaneous code word of the audio information. This dependence is such that for larger values of the audio information more bits are replaced than for smaller values.

Method of transmitting audio information and additional information in

A method is proposed for eliminating or suppressing unwanted acoustic signals in audio programs to be edited for reproduction in studios, in which the perceived disrupted segments in the signal are determined with respect to their time positions, and the signal ends having signal flow/polarity changes adjacent to the disrupted signal location are bridged by a transfer function, preferably in the shape of a semi-sine. The semi-sine is stored in the form of sampling values in an addressable read-only memory and can be read therefrom. In order to generate the desired transfer function, the signals read from the read only memory are uniformly distributed over the transfer function in accordance with the plurality of sampling values to be replaced across the width of the disrupted segment, the read signals being weighted in accordance with the margin conditions of the signal ends adjacent to the disrupted segment and being inserted in the proper sequence into the signal in the area of the original disrupted segment upon consideration of the direction of signal change.

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Celle, Germany

Bjorn Bluthgen