Sony Corporation

Katsuji Igarashi

Jun Yonemitsu

Yoichi Yagasaki

Motoki Kato

Yasushi Fujinami

Tomoyuki Sato

Teruhiko Suzuki

Keiichi Tsutsui

Mark Veltman

Ryuichi Iwamura

Mitsuharu Ohki

Yoshiyuki Akiyama

An encoder considers a frame representing a picture as comprised of areas. For each area, the encoder decides which of frame-based or field-based orthogonal transformation will be most efficient at reducing spatial redundancy in that area. For each area, the encoder decides which of frame-based or field-based predictive encoding will be most efficient at reducing temporal redundancy in that area. The encoder encodes each area of the picture frame using the most efficient orthogonal transformation technique and using the most efficient predictive encoding technique to produce an encoded signal. A decoder decodes the encoded signal. The encoded signal is recorded on a recording medium, transmitted over a transmission channel, or broadcast.

Video coding selectable between intra-frame prediction/field-based orthogonal transformation and inter-frame prediction/frame-based orthogonal transformation

Video signal transmitting system in which digital video signal are divided into groups of predetermined frames. Digital video signals of at least one frame are intraframe coded and then transmitted. Remaining digital video signals are interframe coded with reference to the intraframe coded digital video signals, and intraframe coded digital video signals of a subsequent group of frames and are then transmitted. A motion vector from a predetermined reference frame is detected. Video signals are interframe coded by the motion vector to transmit the video signals. A motion vector from a first frame which is a plurality of frames away from the reference frame is converted to a motion vector for a one frame interval between the reference frame and the first frame. The motion vector is optimized, and is then transmitted.

Video signal transmitting system

Video coding method and apparatus which select between frame-based and field-based predictive modes

Selectable field and frame based predictive video coding

A system for initializing an optical disc player when reproduction of data from a side of a multilayer disc is desired. The initialization procedure involves determining one or more initialization values for a first layer of data on the side, storing the initialization values determined for the first layer, and repeating the determining and storing steps for the other layers on the side.

Method and apparatus for calibrating optical disc systems

The invention provides a recording and/or reproduction apparatus for a record medium in the form of a disk by which the necessity for adjustment of an inclination of a head with respect to a disk upon production of the apparatus is eliminated and correct reproduction of data can be assured irrespective of a variation with respect to time. A control circuit controls an offset generation circuit to generate a predetermined offset signal. A skew servo circuit drives a skew motor in response to the offset signal to adjust the relative angle of an optical head with respect to an optical disk to a predetermined angle. A level detection circuit detects the amplitude of the tracking error signal then and outputs it to the control circuit. The control circuit adjusts the offset signal to be outputted from the offset generation circuit so that the amplitude of the tracking error signal may be maximum.

Method and apparatus for determining and adjusting an inclination angle

High efficiency encoding and decoding of picture signals and recording

The invention provides a recording and/or reproduction apparatus and a recording and/or reproduction method by which information can be recorded or reproduced accurately onto or from any of a plurality of record layers of an optical disk. In the recording and/or reproduction method, after an optical disk is started, an optimum focus offset position for a predetermined record layer of the optical disk is searched for. This searching is performed by varying an offset value stepwise and searching for an offset value with which the amplitude of a tracking error signal exhibits a maximum value. After an optimum focus offset position is searched out, the value of it is stored. Similar processing is performed also for any other record layer. When an instruction to reproduce a predetermined record layer is developed in step, focus jumping to the record layer is performed. Then, an optimum focus offset value searched out and stored in advance is read out and added to a focus error signal.

System for performing focusing operation when recording and/or

Recording/reproducing apparatus and method for determining and

Recording and/or reproduction apparatus and method for optical record

Digital signal encoding method and apparatus, digital signal recording

A motion detecting apparatus in which when pixels within a search range formed of a predetermined number of pixels and pixels within a reference data block the number of which is smaller than the predetermined number of pixels in the search range, are compared on the basis of the arrangement state thereof, a processing circuit processes sums of difference absolute values of respective pixels within the reference data block and corresponding pixels within the search range formed at every search range, to thereby detect a motion state on the basis of the sums. Respective pixels within the search range are input to the processing circuit at a set time and pixels within the search range are input to the processing circuit at the set time, thereby being sequentially processed with corresponding pixels within the data block.

Motion detecting apparatus

An apparatus for coding a moving picture in which one frame is comprised of two fields, includes a coder such that, with respect to all blocks in a frame, the odd field (the first field) and the even field (second field) are divided into blocks, thus permitting motion prediction of the second field from the first field, a coder means adapted for switching, every macro block, whether or not a frame is divided into the first field and the second field to generate block data to adaptively switch these coders every frame, thereby making it possible to obtain a picture of a high picture quality with a lesser quantity of information, to reduce the scale of hardware, and to reduce the capacity of a decoder.

Efficient coding apparatus for picture signal and decoding apparatus

A motion vector detecting apparatus using the minimum residual difference between corresponding picture elements from two consecutive frames and an interpolation circuit to develop a moving vector with half-picture-element pitch accuracy. A residual difference is obtained by comparing each frame of an image signal fed into the apparatus with each previous frame. A solution vector is obtained by taking the minimum value of the absolute values of the residual differences. The solution vector is adjusted by a correction value, which is determined by interpolating extreme values in the vicinity of this solution vector and taking a minimum therefrom, to obtain the half-picture-element pitch solution vector.

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Tokyo, Japan

Katsuji Igarashi