Sony Corporation

Sony United Kingdom Limited

Sony Broadcast & Communications Limited

Other

James Hedley Wilkinson

Jonathan James Stone

Terence R Hurley

Clive Henry Gillard

Michael John Ludgate

Katsumi Tahara

John G Ive

Jonathan M Soloff

Peter C Boreland

Yoshihiro Murakami

Hiroshi Nakano

Yasuo Iwasaki

Morgan William Amos David

Tetsuya Iwamoto

Nicholas Ian Saunders

Michael John Williams

Hitoshi Sakamoto

Andrew Collins

Alan Hogg Turner

Mark C Collins

Rajan Bhandari

Stephen Charles Olday

Gavin A Walker

David A Dougall

Vince Harradine

David M Creed

Ueda Mamoru

Robert J Lawlor

Martin Rex Dorricot

Vince Carl Harradine

A signal format that can be accessed, as a file, by the computer on which it is stored is provided with a plurality of concatenated content packages. The content package comprises System, Picture, Audio and Auxiliary Items. The System, Picture, Audio and Auxiliary Items have a common format including a 16 byte SMPTE Universal Label, a Word Count, and Data. The Item Label has a predetermined length which is set to fixed value except for the byte identifying the Item to which the label belongs. The data of the System Item includes a set of Metadata blocks, which has an initial Metadata Count byte defining the number of blocks in the set. A metadata block may include a metadata Link which links the metadata of that block to the essence of the element of the Auxiliary Item with which element it is associated.

Data format and data transfer

A method of generating a file at a header metadata creator apparatus, the method including: generating, at the header metadata creator apparatus, a file, the file including: a file header, a file body, and a file footer, wherein the file header includes at least KLV encoded header metadata, the KLV encoded header metadata including at least a universal label, length data and variable length data, the variable length data including a plurality of KLV encoded metadata sets, each one of the KLV encoded metadata sets includes a predetermined universal label, essence length data and a plurality of KLV encoded metadata items, and each KLV encoded metadata item includes at least an item universal label, variable item length data and item value data.

Combining material and data

A method of combining data with other material comprises the step of repetitively distributing the data in the other material. The data is for example metadata associated with the other material. The other material may be one or more of video, audio and data material preferably in a defined file format e.g. MXF. The material and data from the file are preferably mapped to one of several signal interfaces such as SDI, SDTI and AES3, where the file metadata is repetitively distributed through the stream signal interface by one of several multiplexing methods.

Combining video material and data

A signal processing system comprises a recorder () for recording information signals representing video audio and/or data material on a tape (). The recorder () generates () first material identifiers for identifying respective pieces of material on the medium such that each piece is differentiated from other pieces on the medium, and generates second, universally unique, identifiers for pieces of material, the second identifiers being associated with the first identifiers. The recorder (FIG.) records the material on successive slant tracks. A slant track stores a video timecode. At least one linear track stores a linear track timecode. The timecodes each have a plurality of user-definable bits. The material identifiers () are stored in the user-definable bits of the slant track timecode and in the user-definable bits of the linear track timecode. The identifiers associate the material with metadata objects. The metadata objects are repeatedly recorded (FIG.)on the tape. The metadata objects are recorded a number of times corresponding to the relative importance of the metadata objects. [FIGS.and]

Identifying, recording and reproducing information

A processor () is provided for processing identifiers of video and/or audio material. The processor is for use with a video and/or audio material processing device. The device has a plurality of inputs (IN) for receiving respective pieces of material to be processed, the pieces having respective identifiers, and an output (OUT) at which is output processed material, which is a combination of the input material, and a state output at which data defining the state of the device is output. The processor is arranged to: detect () the identifiers of the input material; determine () from the state data the combination of the input material forming the output material; generate () an identifier for the output material; and associate the identifier of the output material with the identifiers of the input material used to form the output material. Identifiers preferably indicate whether the material emanates from a recorder or from a live source.

Identifying and processing of audio and/or video material

Data indicative of a transfer mode of a transmission packet may be inserted into a payload portion contained in a serial digital transfer interface (SDTI) transmission packet. Also, data indicative of a timing mode of the transmission packet may be inserted into this payload portion. As the transfer mode, there may be provided a synchronous transfer mode and an isochronous transfer mode in addition to an asynchronous transfer mode. A timing mode may prescribe a timing mode in which a transmission packet may be transferred in synchronism with a field of a transmission frame. There may be provided a normal mode using a first field, an advanced mode using a second field and a dual mode using both fields. Depending upon the manner in which the timing mode is set, a system delay between the transmission and the reception can be minimized.

Method and device for data transmission

This invention relates to a data transmission method or the like suitable for transmitting video data, audio data or the like. There is transmitted a serial digital transfer interface transmission packet in which an interval of each line of a video frame comprises an end synchronizing code area into which an end synchronizing code is inserted, an ancillary data area into which ancillary data is inserted, a start synchronizing code area into which a start synchronizing code is inserted and a payload area. The payload area has inserted thereto first data containing extension data having editing point information at the picture unit of video data and second data containing main data comprising video data and/or audio data. The reception side is able to effect a necessary processing such as muting of sounds on the editing point by effectively utilizing editing point information.

Data transmitting method and data transmitter

When a serial digital transfer interface transmission packet in which an interval of each line of a video frame comprises an area into which an end synchronizing code EAV is inserted, an area into which header data is inserted, an area into which a start synchronizing code SAV is inserted and a payload area into which data containing video data and/or audio data is inserted is transmitted, a transmission packet is generated by inserting frame sequence data for managing the phase of the audio data into the payload area at its audio item portion of a header area corresponding to an audio data block area into which the audio data is inserted and transmitted in the form of serial data. Also, a transmission packet is generated by inserting not only the frame sequence data but also data indicative of the number of audio samples contained in a frame indicated by the frame sequence data into an audio sample count area corresponding to the audio data block area and transmitted.

A digital signal comprises data blocks. Each data block includes a header containing data relating to the block and a plurality of slots. Each slot has a slot header relating to the slot and a data packet. A plurality of data packets contains at least a first part and subsequent parts of the digital signal. A first slot includes the first part of the digital signal and a reference time defining a time of production of the first part. Each subsequent slot contains a subsequent part of the digital signal and timing information defining a time of production of the subsequent part relative to the reference time.

Digital signal processing and signal format

A data processing system comprises a data compression decoder arranged in operation to decode first and second encoded data to produce first and second uncompressed data representative of first and second source data from which the first and second encoded data were produced in accordance with a compression encoding algorithm respectively. The data compression decoder also produces first and second compression parameter data representative of encoding decisions made by the compression encoding algorithm when the first and second source data was compression encoded. The data processing system also comprises a data compression encoder which is arranged in operation to compression encode the uncompressed data in accordance with the compression encoding algorithm using the first and/or the second compression parameter data, and a data communications apparatus coupled to the data compression decoder and the data compression encoder and arranged in operation to communicate the first and/or the second uncompressed data and the first and/or the second parameter data, wherein the first and second uncompressed data and the first and/or the second parameter data are separately communicated via a common communications channel provided by the data communications apparatus. The compression encoding algorithm may be an MPEG-type algorithm, such as MPEG-2. The data processing system provides an advantageous alternative to the MOLE (TM).

Data processing system and method of data processing

This invention relates to a data transmission method or the like for use in transmitting video data, audio data or the like. There is transmitted a serial digital transfer interface transmission packet in which an interval of each line of a video frame comprises an end synchronizing code area into which an end synchronizing code is inserted, an ancillary data area into which ancillary data is inserted, a start synchronizing code area into which a start synchronizing code is inserted and a payload area. Into the payload area, there are inserted first data containing extension data having stream information and second data containing main data comprising video data and/or audio data at the picture unit of video data. The stream information is information which indicates whether or not the picture unit belongs to a pre-roll interval located ahead of an editing interval, whether or not the picture unit belongs to an editing interval and whether or not the picture unit belongs to a post-roll interval located behind an editing interval. A reception side becomes able to positively edit data on a VTR, for example, by effectively utilizing the stream information.

A soft windowing technique involves the use of a window for vector assisted frame differing, the window being larger than a macroblock of the structure defined over the video picture. The edges of each window taper so that overlapping windows provide the correct pixel weighting at the edges. For a scheme having 16*16 luminance macroblocks and 8*8 chrominance macroblocks, the luminance window is 24*24 and the chrominance window is 12*12.

Motion vector compensation using overlapping weighted windows

For compressing M-bit data words where M is a plural positive integer, groups of N data words are defined, where N is a plural positive integer, and then the bits of the group of N data words are output as a bit stream including a sequence of sub-streams, each sub-stream relating to a respective bit position in the N data words and being formed from a sequence of N data bits from that bit position of respective data words. The bit sequences are run length encoded and the run length codes thus generated are further encoded using a commaless code such as a Huffman code.

Data compression

An MPEG2 encoded signal comprising intra-encoded pictures I and inter-encoded pictures B is decoded (70-74) to baseband and re-encoded (76) to I-pictures. The quantisation levels Q.sub.v and the motion vectors M.sub.v of the B pictures are retained unchanged and maintained in association with the corresponding pictures re-encoded as I-pictures. The I-pictures can be decoded to baseband, processed, and re-encoded as I-pictures without degradation. The I-pictures can then be re-encoded back to e.g. I, B pictures with minimal degradation. Alternatively, some of the I-pictures are decoded and converted to B pictures retaining unchanged the quantisation levels thereof.

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Tadley, United Kingdom

James Hedley Wilkinson