Other

David A Couts

Richard B McMurray

Xiang Mao

The system controls one or more VCRs to perform various operations including rapid and accurate tape repositioning from any point to any other point utilizing time codes and VCR performance data. They system includes the ability to encode, record, and reproduce a video signal with time codes and other information such as text commentary, directories to the tape content and VCR commands. Tapes prepared on any implementation of the system can be positioned on any other implementation except that the copying process must translate as appropriate between different signal formats (NTSC, PAL, SECAM), tape formats (VHS, Video 8, etc.) and encoding systems. The system includes a method for characterizing the tape transport performance of individual VCRs in the various tape transport modes including fast forward and rewind and during transitions between transport modes. It includes a method for utilizing the resulting data to determine an optimum sequence of VCR commands for repositioning from any tape location to any other. The system can be used to simultaneously timecode and annotate or transcribe an audio-video signal as it is being recorded. The resulting text record can then be used as an index to position the videotape. A closed captioned television transmission can be timecoded as it is being received and recorded, and the captions simultaneously read, indexed and stored for use in positioning the videotape. The system can be used to play a sequence of video segments from separate tapes through simultaneous control of multiple VCRs.

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Great Falls, VA, United States of America

David A Couts