Sony Electronics Inc

Macrovision Corporation

Other

Sony Corporation

Sony Corporation of America

David C Collier

Patrice J Capitant

John B Carlucci

Gerard J Boetje

Kathlynn K Uenaka

Robert J Fenney

John O Ryan

Johan Cornelis Talstra

Antonius Adrianus Cornelis Maria Kalker

Peter M Harris

James R Holzgrafe

Vinson R Perry

Mark A Hollar

Kordian Jacek Kurowski

Douglas D Kuper

Jon Earl Graham

William J Wrobleski

Derek T Nelson

Clint Guillot

A computer network having a requesting node and a providing node permits data transfer therebetween when permitted by an authorizing node. Reports generated in response to authorizations and reports generated in response to data transfers are reconciled at a reconciliation node to improve the accuracy of payments collected and paid for use of the data. Such payments include copyright royalties for audio, video, and other works recorded in digital format.

System and methods providing secure delivery of licenses and content

A method, apparatus and system for securely providing material to a licensee of the material are described. In each, at least one license key is provided, preferably along with a license including usage rights for requested content or material to the licensee. The material requested and licensed by the licensee is provided to the licensee encrypted with at least one content key. To achieve a second-level of security, the at least one content key is provided to the licensee encrypted with the at least one license key so that both the at least one content key and the at least one license key are necessary for the licensee to decrypt and use the encrypted material.

Method, apparatus and system for securely providing material to a licensee of the material

Method and apparatus for providing generational copy control of a video signal. A digital video signal contains content information, first supplemental information and second supplemental information. The first supplemental information is represented by a watermark pattern, the second by a control pattern. Copying of the content information is only permitted if a predetermined combination of the first and second supplemental information is present. Pseudo-sync pulses are added to a blanking interval of an analog video signal converted from a digital video signal, the pulses representing the second supplemental information.

Generational copy control of a video signal

Methods and devices for detecting a watermark in a watermarked video stream, the watermark having been scaled by an unknown scale among a predetermined finite number of scales and shifted by an unknown number of pixels. For each of the predetermined number of scales, the video stream is divided into a plurality of equally sized scaled watermark blocks; and the plurality of scaled watermark blocks are read into a plurality of read blocks. Each of the read blocks are accumulated into one of a predetermined number of read block bins. The accumulated read blocks are then re-scaled and combined into a single video accumulated block. A predetermined quantity, such as the power of a DCT, is then evaluated within the video accumulated block. This evaluation yields information relative to presence of the watermark in the video stream, the scale applied to the watermarked video and the shift of the watermark, if any, within the watermark blocks. A fractional remainder operation is used to determine the number of read block bins for each scale under consideration as well to determine the bin into which each read block is to be accumulated.

Method and apparatus for watermark detection for specific scales and arbitrary shifts

A method and apparatus for performing broadcast operations that enables a programmer to schedule broadcast constituents, such as programs, schedules, commercials, etc. according to relative sequential orderings indicative of the sequence the constituents are played. The corresponding material which manifests select of the constituents and the media which manifests the material are also identified such that to play the broadcast, the structure is accessed to identify the sequence of play and the media to be played.

Method and apparatus for performing broadcast operations

The method and apparatus of the present invention enables scheduled broadcast elements to be represented by a material indicative of the signal and media indicative of where the signal is coming from. For each element, at least one corresponding material that represents the broadcast element and at least one corresponding media that represents the material are specified. Thus, for a particular broadcast element, the media that manifests the broadcast element based upon the material and media specified is easily determined.

Method and apparatus for manifesting representations of scheduled

The system and method creates a broadcast tree comprising a hierarchy of broadcast constituents, each constituent represented as a node in the tree. The tree includes at least two nodes representing at least two of the following constituents arranged in accordance with the following hierarchical order; channel, schedule, program, pod and element, wherein the channel is the highest order constituent and the element is the lowest order constituent and wherein each higher order constituent can be composed of one or more constituents of the same or lower order. Associations are provided between constituents to be used to identify the sequence the constituents are played in order to generate a broadcast. These associations identify the paths to be taken from a higher order node to a lower order node. Thus, to generate a broadcast, the tree is traversed beginning at the highest order constituent, and for each higher order constituent, the associations among lower order constituents of the same order are evaluated to determine the sequence the lower order constituents are to be played.

Method and apparatus for the scheduling and ordering of elements in a

A cushion having multiple pneumatic cells extending upward from a common impermeable base is directly attached to a flat rigid base which is fixedly attached to each of three subframes of a convalescent recliner. Male and female snap fasteners are suggested. The direct attachment of the cushion to the flat rigid base disposes the bottom of the common impermeable base flush with the top of the flat rigid base. Upper attachment elements are located upon the bottom of the common impermeable base which mate with lower attachment elements located upon the top of the flat rigid base. Both upper and lower attachment elements are located in a single fixed configuration. An absorbent elastic cover fits over the cushion, is readily removable, and has a hem which fits about the periphery of the bottom of the cushion, outside of the fixed configuration of upper fastening elements. An ischemic preventive support cushion which will not shift as a result of inclination is provided. It is suggested that the flat rigid base be constructed of wood and fixedly attached to a subframe with screws.

Rigid backed pneumatic cushion for convalescent recliners

A method and system for compressing video in a manner characteristic of photographic film compression. One embodiment of the invention is a video camera including circuitry for compressing the raw video signals generated thereby to introduce film-like compression characteristics thereto. Such video camera preferably includes controls allowing smooth, gradual, film-like compression of video image data recorded thereby, in response to user variation of no more than a small number of compression parameters. In other embodiments, the invention is a video post-production editing system which performs film-like compression on an analog or digital video signal. Such compression can be performed to match the dynamic range of a first, film-derived video segment to that of a second, non-film-derived video segment. Preferably, the invention implements film-like compression digitally, by employing digital circuitry. Typically, such digital circuitry digitizes an analog video signal to be compressed, then transforms the digitized pixels using a look-up table, and finally converts the transformed pixels to an analog compressed video signal. Each color component of a color video signal can be separately digitized, and digital compression can be separately performed on each stream of digitized color component data in accordance with the invention. Other embodiments (for processing a stream of digital video data) need not perform analog-to-digital or digital-to-analog conversion. The invention can alternatively be implemented as an analog circuit for processing an analog video signal.

Method and apparatus for compressing video in a manner characteristic of

An operator input subsystem and an image signal processing subsystem are provided to a digital image processing system. The operator input subsystem comprises a CPU, a display device and an input device, whereas the image signal processing subsystem comprises a digital signal processor having a number of digitized signal correctors. For cases where the output results are expressible as smoothly differentiable continuous functions of the digitized input signal values and the processing parameters, the CPU receives the specified output results from the input device and the digitized input signal values and the current processing parameters from the digitized signal correctors. In response, the CPU determines the most optimal processing parameters for the digitized signal correctors to achieve the specified output results. The CPU provides the determined optimal processing parameters to the digitized signal correctors, which in turn use the parameters to correct the digitized signals. The CPU makes the determination by performing a standard non-linear optimization of the smoothly differentiable continuous function. As a result, the increasingly difficult task of providing processing parameters to the image signal correctors is done automatically for the operator, thereby making the image processing system more efficient and user friendly.

Correcting digitized signals to achieve specified output results for an

A digital color correction system and method for correcting a color video signal representing a portion of a colored optical image by modifying the entire color space of each of the complementary colors which make up the color signal so that all objects which contain each color are modified at once. A correction means produces an output video signal having a plurality of complementary color components, each of which is related to a corresponding color component of the color video signal by a transfer function, and a modification means for independently modifying each of the transfer functions is provided. The entire color space for each color may be modified, or only selected portions of it. Thus, only objects falling within a desired range of the color space may be selectively modified.

Digital color correction system having gross and fine adjustment modes

A computerized interactive menu-driven video signal processing apparatus and method for selectively converting and processing color video signals from a color film scanner includes and provides a method for using a film scanner, a video color signal processor, a video signal storage device (e.g. high definition video tape recorder) and a computer with an interactive menu-driven operator control interface. The operator interface includes an alphanumeric keypad, a computer 'mouse,' a graphics display and a video monitor. While viewing analytical data (e.g. film masking coefficients, model film dye characteristic curves) on the graphics display and video images on the video monitor, the operator enters data and commands into the computer via the alphanumeric keypad or mouse to control the film scanner, the video color signal processor and the video signal storage device. Thus, the operator can precisely and interactively control every aspect of the video conversion and signal processing, including the scanning of the film, the actual video signal processing, and the storage and retrieval of the selectively processed video.

Computerized interactive menu-driven video signal processing apparatus

A subject image being electronically transferred from a first medium to a second medium is accomplished through tone scale tracking. Three monochromatic channels representing the subject image are generated from the first medium. In a preferred embodiment, an image processing system provides color correction for each channel by compensating for film and video characteristics that cause a degradation of color from the original subject image. Calibration of the system is provided by means for an operator to specify tone densities for the second medium that correlate to signal levels derived from the first medium for each channel. The image processing system tracks the tone densities calibrated to provide enhanced film masking. The image processing system also performs characteristic curve processing in accordance with a Hurter-Driffield (HD) curve. A characteristic curve interface is provided allowing an operator to place the subject image on the characteristic curve so that the image processing system tracks the location of the subject image on the curve.

Method and apparatus for subject image tracking in high definition

A digital color correction system and method provide for color correction in a film-to-video signal conversion system. Film color correction is done by correcting incoming digitized film color signals (e.g. red, green and blue) according to film color correction parameters which represent film characteristics, such as film speed, gamma, and minimum and maximum film dye density. The film color correction parameters are used to sensitometrically convert the film color signals to video color signals according to a sensitometric film model, such as the Hurter-Driffield ('HD') characteristic curve. Video color correction is then performed upon the corrected film color signals according to video color correction parameters which represent video signal characteristics, such as hue and saturation, as well as a video color standard model, such as SMPTE 240M. Alternatively, separate signals representing the film or video color correction parameters can be encoded as separate data into the corrected or uncorrected color signals. This color correction or color correction parameter encoding can be done on a field-by-field, frame-by-frame or scene-by-scene basis, so that each resulting video field, frame or scene, respectively, is appropriately color corrected or contains its own specific color correction information.

Growing community of inventors

Gilroy, CA, United States of America

David C Collier