Sony Corporation

Ichiro Ninomiya

Sojiro Kizu

Yutaka Saito

Jun Takayama

Katsuichi Tachi

Hidehiko Sasho

Kiyoshi Inoue

Hitoshi Sakamoto

Akira Kikuchi

Tsutomu Takamori

Masafumi Matsui

Soujiro Kizu

Katsuhiko Nagakura

Hidehiko Sashoh

Hideaki Goto

An editing apparatus has a storage unit in which a plurality of recorded media, such as, tape cassettes, are stored at respective storage positions, a first memory for storing data identifying the recorded media in the storage unit and data representing the respective storage positions thereof, a playback device for reproducing information signals from recorded media at a loaded position therein, a recording device for recording on a recording medium, such as, another tape cassette, the information signals reproduced by the playback device, a second memory for storing the data identifying the recorded media loaded in the playback device, a transport device for carrying the recorded media between the respective storage positions in the storage unit and the loaded position in the playback device with the data stored in the first and second memories being updated in response to operations of the transport device, and a control system by which operations of the transport device are controlled in accordance with input editing data and the data stored in the first and second memories.

Editing apparatus for sequentially reproducing information signals from

Video program information is edited from plural prerecorded source media onto an edited record medium. Each source medium includes video program information of a common scene which may be recorded at a location on the medium relative to a beginning location thereof that differs from the location relative to the beginning location on another source medium on which the same common scene is recorded. Each source medium includes address data representing discrete positions thereon and when the program information of the common scene is played back concurrently from the plural source media, the address data associated with the respective media also are played back. The played program information is monitored, and when a scene location in the common scene is played back substantially simultaneously from plural source media, the address data from each source medium representing the actual position at which the scene location is recorded on that source medium is stored as synchronized address data. Edit points on individual ones of the source media are selected; and the selected edit points are referenced to the synchronized address data. Hence, and as an example, although the starting point of a common scene may differ from medium to medium, the respective edit points on each medium relative to the starting point of that scene are in phase with each other. Playback of selected segments of video program information from repective source media for recording onto the edited record medium is controlled in accordance with the referenced edit points.

Editing system and method of editing wherein a common scene is recorded

A special effect generating system processes first, second, and third video signals supplied respectively from first, second, and third video signal sources to produce an output video signal with special effects. At a plurality of points of time along a first time base, first control data indicative of positions of edges of a first image represented by the first video signal are generated and stored in a first memory. At a plurality of points of time along a second time base, second control data indicative of positions of a boundary between second and third images represented by the second and third video signals are generated and stored in a second memory. The first, second, and third video signals are combined into the output video signal based on the first and second control data stored in the first and second memories.

Apparatus and method for generating special effects by processing video

An editing apparatus controls a plurality of video tape recorders so that a slow motion picture, a quick motion picture or a combination of the slow motion picture and the quick motion picture reproduced by the video tape recorder can be edited on a video tape. The editing apparatus includes an input keyboard to input data of a desired tape speed at first and second tape positions, a calculating circuit for calculating a tape speed at any position between said first and second positions on the basis of the input data, and a control circuit for controlling a tape speed of said video tape recorders in response to an output signal of said calculating circuit.

Apparatus for controlling a tape speed

Editing data producing apparatus produces first data for editing a cinema film based on second editing data obtained by editing a television video signal reproduced from a record medium on which a cinema signal is recorded in a manner of the television video signal. The video signal is obtained from the cinema signal by an m:n ratio (m and n are both integers) pull-down conversion. An editing video frame address representative of an editing location of the video signal and a reference video frame address representative of the video frame address corresponding to a predetermined cinema frame address of the cinema signal are supplied to a circuit which then produces a relative address between the editing video frame address and the reference video frame address. A circuit is provided for dividing a number representative of the relative address by a number bearing a predetermined relation to m and n, so that a remainder is detected. In response to the remainder and field data representative of a field status of the editing video frame address, the video frame address is converted to the cinema frame address.

Editing data converting apparatus

Tape running control apparatus for audio tape recorder

An editing system employing a video tape recorder (VTR) of this type in which a rotary magnetic video head is attached to a bi-morph leaf or the like so that the VTR can perform in any one of a plurality of special reproducing modes such as a slow motion mode, fast motion mode or the like without the generation of any guard band noise includes a helical scan VTR, which is adapted to carry out the special reproduction modes and is used for reproducing video signals from an original tape, the helical scan video tape recorder including a time code reader for reading out time code signals recorded on the original tape, a reference time generator, which may be another VTR, for generating a reference time code, a memory for storing certain of the time code signals corresponding to an in-point of the original tape (that is, a starting point for playing information signals recorded on the video tape), a VTR controller for setting the direction and speed of travel of the video tape at the in-point, and a central processing unit for stopping the video tape at a pre-roll point with the distance between the in-point and pre-roll point being determined as a function of the set direction and speed of travel of the video tape at the in-point so that during an editing operation, the pore-roll point is changed in accordance with the reproduction mode requested in the editing range, and the reproduction mode used, namely, the tape speed used, after the editing range, is changed based upon data previously stored in the memory during a trial run editing operation.

Tape synchronizing apparatus

An apparatus for generating a recording time code signal having a time code data signal generator and a time code signal forming circuit which is supplied with a time code data signal from the time code data signal generator and produces a recording time code signal consisting of bi-phase coded signals, in which the above recording time code signal is corresponded to an information signal and then recorded on a recording medium continuously at word unit. In this case, the polarity of a specific bit signal of a fixed binary bit or value in the above recording time code signal of word unit is discriminated, and a changing circuit is provided in the time code signal forming circuit which changing circuit changes the above fixed binary bit in accordance with the polarity of the specific bit signal. Thus, a recording time code signal of word unit, which has a constant polarity of bit signals after the above specific bit signal, is derived from the time code signal forming circuit.

Apparatus for generating time code signals

A video signal reproducing apparatus capable of reproducing parallel record tracks formed on a tape which are scanned by a rotary head and wherein track address signals are recorded on respective vertical blanking interval sections of the record tracks which can be read out and displayed even though the tape moves at various speeds comprising a detecting means for detecting when said track address signals are not being read out and including shifting means for shifting the relative position of the rotary heads relative to the tape when the output of the detecting means continues longer than a predetermined time so as to assure that the address signals will be read at varying speeds of the tape.

Apparatus for reproducing a video signal including an address signal

A method and system are provided for synchronizing the movement of a first recording medium by a first transport mechanism including a capstan with the movement of a second recording medium by a second transport mechanism also including a capstan, each of the first and second recording media having addressable recording frames identified by frame signals and addresses recorded thereon. The first and second recording media are rewound from respective predetermined addressable frames identified as T.sub.AO and T.sub.BO, respectively. The first recording medium is advanced from its rewound position toward frame T.sub.AO at a fixed speed, e.g., a normal tape advance speed, in a capstan servo-locked condition, and the second recording medium is advanced from its rewound position toward frame T.sub.BO at a selective speed greater than, equal to or less than the fixed speed. Addresses T.sub.A and T.sub.B of the first and second recording media, respectively, are played back as the recording media are advanced. The address differential T.sub.A -T.sub.B is compared with the fixed address differential T.sub.AO -T.sub.BO, or the address differential T.sub.A - T.sub.AO is compared to the address differential T.sub.B -T.sub.BO, so as to advance the second recording medium at a speed corresponding to this comparison. When the respective address differentials are equal, that is, when T.sub.A -T.sub.B =T.sub.AO -T.sub.BO, or when T.sub.A -T.sub.AO =T.sub.B -T.sub.BO, the second recording medium is advanced at a servo-controlled fixed speed, provided that this address differential remains equal for a predetermined number of successive address playback operations.

Method and system for synchronizing the movement of plural recording

Apparatus for generating bi-phase coded characters formed of a predetermined number of bi-phase signals representing binary bits '1' and 'O' having a constant relation between the phases at the beginning and end of each coded character regardless of the number of '1's and '0's included in the coded character. A source of binary bits supplies trains of serial bits corresponding to the coded characters, these serial bits being supplied to a bi-phase signal generator which is responsive to each bit for generating a respective bi-phase signal. A binary bit of predetermined sense is supplied in time coincidence with a selected one of the bits in each coded character; and this bit of predetermined sense is selectively inserted into the train of binary bits which is supplied to the bi-phase generator, thereby maintaining the constant relation between the phases at the beginning and end of the bi-phase coded character generated by the bi-phase signal generator. In a preferred embodiment, the coded characters are SMPTE time code characters, wherein a binary '1' bit is represented by a level transition at the beginning of the bit period and another level transition during that bit period, while the binary 'O' bit is represented by a level transition only at the beginning of the bit period. The bi-phase SMPTE time code character which is generated by the apparatus of this invention has a level transition at the beginning of the character which is of the same sense, or polarity, as the level transition which is provided at the end of that character.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Ichiro Ninomiya