Sony Corporation

Koji Hirosawa

Tadashi Kurita

Video decoder decodes pictures B, B, I, Bof GOP-3 which have been read out from a recording medium along with recording of new compressed picture data onto the recording medium thereafter to further decode pictures B, P, B. . . to restore them. Namely, it is impossible to restore, only by the compressed picture data of pictures B, P, B. . . , these pictures corresponding thereto. For this reason, picture data of pictures B, P, B. . . which have not been caused to be missing by recording of new compressed picture data are re-encoded to generate new GOP. Thus, the video decoder decodes and restores those non-missing pictures on the basis of the pictures B, B, I, Bwithin the new GOP.

Device and method for compressing images

Video decoder decodes pictures B , B , I , B of GOP- which have been read out from a recording medium along with recording of new compressed picture data onto the recording medium thereafter to further decode pictures B , P , B . . . to restore them. Namely, it is impossible to restore, only by the compressed picture data of pictures B , P , B . . . , these pictures corresponding thereto. For this reason, picture data of pictures B , P , B . . . which have not been caused to be missing by recording of new compressed picture data are re-encoded to generate new GOP. Thus, the video decoder decodes and restores those non-missing pictures on the basis of the pictures B , B , I , B within the new GOP.

An optical pickup reads a video signal and fade information on &ldquo;start time&rdquo; and &ldquo;speed&rdquo;, recorded in an optical disc or the like and supplies them to a demultiplexer through a data reproduction circuit. The fade information is supplied to a controller via a fade information extraction circuit. The controller controls cross-fade processing in a cross-fader based on the fade information. An existing video signal or audio signal in the recording medium can be used to repeatedly process the signal for fade-in, fade-out or cross-fade.

Reproducing apparatus, recording apparatus and recording medium adapted to process fade-in, fade-out and cross-fade

A satellite broadcasting tuner by use of which high-definition television broadcasting of a satellite broadcasting channel can be received in a high quality. The satellite broadcasting tuner receives a satellite broadcasting channel selected by a channel selecting microcomputer, and when frame synchronizing data of the high-definition television system are detected from within audio data of the received channel, the reception frequency for the channel is fixed to receive the high-definition television broadcasting, but when no such frame synchronizing data are detected, an ordinary automatic fine tuning function operates to receive the satellite broadcasting channel. Changing over circuit is provided to take, when such frame synchronizing data are detected, a keyed automatic frequency control pulse signal into the channel selecting microcomputer from an external MUSE decoder to which video data of the received channel are transmitted so that the channel selecting microcomputer may perform a keyed automatic fine tuning operation.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Koji Hirosawa