Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Masahiro Honjo

Masaaki Kobayashi

Masao Tomita

Hideki Fukuda

Tokikazu Matsumoto

Hideaki Shibata

Yukio Nakagawa

Akio Hashima

Shinichi Kawakami

Satoshi Kondo

Ryusuke Horibe

Hiroshi Taniguchi

Akihiro Takeuchi

Toshiyuki Shimada

Atsuo Ochi

Kazuhiro Yamanishi

Kunihiko Hontani

Hiroki Takamori

Eiji Iwasaki

Masao Kitagawa

Masayuki Matsumoto

Shinichi Aki

Ren Egawa

The present invention provides a recording/reproduction apparatus which can record AV data at a variable rate as well as so as to enable trick plays. This recording/reproduction apparatus reads data from an HDDand carries out a recording/reproduction process for the read data, and it comprises a reproduction meansfor reading first MPEG data from the HDD, an analysis meansfor obtaining positional information indicating positions of previous and subsequent GOPs of a GOP in the first MPEG data on the basis of the read first MPEG data, a navigation information addition meansfor adding the positional information in a determined position of the first MPEG data to generate second MPEG data, and a recording meansfor recording the second MPEG data on an optical disk

Method and apparatus for recording/reproduction

The present invention provides a recording/reproduction apparatus which can record AV data at a variable rate as well as so as to enable trick plays. This recording/reproduction apparatus reads data from an HDDand carries out a recording/reproduction process for the read data, and it comprises a reproduction meansfor reading first MPEG data from the HDDan analysis meansfor obtaining positional information indicating positions of previous and subsequent GOPs of a GOP in the first MPEG data on the basis of the read first MPEG data, a navigation information addition meansfor adding the positional information in a determined position of the first MPEG data to generate second MPEG data, and a recording meansfor recording the second MPEG data on an optical disk

The present invention enables part of coded video data and coded audio data which are recorded as an MPEG stream to be dubbed, with changing the coding method into an optimum coding method. A signal processing apparatus of this invention includes a reading part for reading an MPEG stream recorded on an optical disk; a video decoding part for decoding MPEG2-coded video data included in the read MPEG stream; and an audio decoding part for decoding AAC-coded audio data included in the read MPEG stream. This signal processing apparatus re-codes decoded video data corresponding to the image of a frame which is designated by user's operation, and decoded audio data corresponding to the video data, by JPEG method and MP3 method, respectively, and records re-coded data on a memory card.

Signal processing method and signal processing apparatus

A signal processing apparatus monitors the dubbing state at a higher-speed dubbing of digital video data or audio data. The signal processing apparatus includes a first storage device containing an MPEG system stream as digital data, a second storage device containing an MPEG system stream as the digital data, and a decoder unit for carrying out a decoding process for the digital data read from the first storage device. The decoder unit is constructed to carry out a discrete decoding process for decoding the system stream as digital data transferred from the first storage device to the second storage device at a higher rate than the normal playback transfer rate.

Signal processing method and apparatus

An image processing apparatus comprises a noise detection means for performing noise detection on an input image; a noise removal means for removing noise from a predetermined region of the input image, on the basis of the result of the noise detection; a counting means for obtaining the ratio of an area targeted for noise removal to the predetermined region of the input image; a statistics calculation means for obtaining the statistics on the ratios obtained by the counting means over a predetermined period of time; an image generation means for generating an image indicating the statistics; and an image composition means for superimposing the image generated by the image generation means on the image outputted from the noise removal means to generate a composite image for display. Therefore, the viewer can easily know how much noise is removed from the predetermined region of the input image, for every predetermined period of time.

Image processing method and image processing apparatus

A reproduction method and a reproduction apparatus store past coded data streams previous to a frame displayed at present, or past decoded image data, to use the stored data in displaying past images, thereby considerably reducing a time for displaying the past images. The reproduction apparatus has a reproduction circuit for reproducing a coded data stream which is obtained by reading out a video signal by a reproduction head, a first memory for temporarily storing the coded data stream, a decoder circuits for decoding the coded data stream read out from the first memory, a second memory for temporarily storing decoded image data from the decoder circuits, an output circuits for outputting the decoded image data from the second memory or the decoder circuits as a video signal, and a third memory for storing past data, the third memory being provided at an output of the first memory.

Reproduction method and reproduction apparatus

In the skip reproduction from a frame X in a first access unit (XGOP) to a frame Y in a second access unit (YGOP), a reproduction method stores a front data and the data onward YGOP while display of frame X is maintained. Then, a front frame (I-picture) and onward is decoded and displayed in YGOP. Another reproduction method decodes the front frame (I-picture) to the frame Y in YGOP, and keeps on displaying the frame X instead of displaying the decoded frames until the frame Y is decoded. At the time when the frame Y is decoded, display of the coded frames starts. A further reproduction method does not decode the bi-directionally predictive coded frames between the front frame and the frame Y in YGOP. These respective methods can improve accuracy of a reproduced motion in the skip reproduction and reduce a freezing time of displaying a picture from which the skip starts.

Method and apparatus for reproduction of video information

When a recording instruction is absent, a recording medium drive is not driven. Encoding of a video signal and driving of the drive are both started simultaneously when recording instruction is given. The coded data is sequentially recorded and stored in a memory. When the drive reaches a desirable rotational speed for recording, the stored data are sequentially read and recorded.

Video signal recorder and method of recording video signals

A recording and reproducing system for digitizing the image signal and compression coding the signal by in-field and inter-field, or in-frame and inter-frame coding, wherein the inter-field or inter-frame coding is used as the primary coding method, in field or in-frame coding is applied at a regular interval, and when scene changes are detected, in-field or in-frame coding is mandatorily applied to the field or frame immediately after the scene change. Furthermore, a new in-field or in-frame coding cycle is started at the field or frame immediately after the scene change to absorb the increased information resulting from in-field or in-frame coding by increasing the compression ratio of the inter-field or inter-frame coding means within the period to the next in-field or in-frame coded field or frame. The generation of additional information is further reduced and the increase in information produced by the field or frame immediately after the scene change is absorbed by a data substitution, specifically by absorbing the increase in information generated by the field or frame immediately after the scene change by using the same data as that of the immediately preceding field or frame for the field or frame immediately before or after the scene change.

Image signal recording and reproducing system with use of bandwidth compression coding

A video signal compression-encoding apparatus for receiving a plurality of successive video signals and subjecting the video signals to intra-frame encoding, forward predictive inter-frame encoding, and bidirectional predictive inter-frame encoding, thereby generating I-pictures, P-pictures, and B-pictures, respectively, is provided. The apparatus includes: an assigned data generator allowing a user to assign a picture to be subjected to the intra-picture encoding among the input pictures and generating assigned data representing the picture assigned by the user; and a group structure generator generating a group structure in such a manner that, in a case where the encoding is performed using a first group structure satisfying N=N1 and M=M1 (N1 and M1: natural numbers), when the picture assigned by the user is not identical with a second I-picture, a picture group having a second group structure different from the first group structure is positioned before the picture assigned by the user, wherein N is a period of each of the I-pictures, M is a period of each of the P-pictures, and the picture group includes a first I-picture among the I-pictures to a picture immediately before a second I-picture, which is the I-picture next to the first I-picture. A recording medium recorded by the apparatus and a video signal reproducing apparatus for reproducing the recording medium are also provided.

Video signal compression-encoding apparatus, recording medium and video

During optical disk recording of a digital coded video signal, the numbers of infield or inframe encoded data frames or their address information are stored in an innermost or outermost region of an optical disk, and during playback, they are first retrieved for use as control data. Since the numbers or address information of the infield or inframe encoded data frames are acquired, a specific playback mode, e.g. high-speed playback or still picture reproduction, can readily be executed with advantageous effects through searching the address information.

Optical disk apparatus for recording and reproducing compression encoded

In this invention, the duplicate field included in a telecine signal that is produced from a movie film or the like by 2-3 pull down system is detected without failure, and completely removed before being encoded or transmitted. The result of the accumulation of the duplicate field in the telecine signal is regarded as an amount of noise resulting from the conversion of a film into the telecine signal. Then, a threshold is used as a reference for detecting the duplicate field and changed in accordance with the noise. In addition, a memory is provided to store the location of the duplicate field in the telecine signal, thus making it possible to surely eliminate the duplicate field at the same location even when the same video signal is received again.

Television signal conversion system and image encoding and decoding

An optical disk apparatus includes: a signal processor for reading video data and audio data from an optical disk and for generating a video data signal and an audio data signal in accordance with the read-out video data and audio data; a video decoder for receiving the video data signal from the signal processor and for generating a reproduced video signal based on the received video data signal; and a controller for generating a high-speed reproduction control signal for switching from a normal reproduction to a high-speed reproduction, wherein the video decoder includes: video data decoder for decoding the video data signal; and a circuit for, when the high-speed reproduction control signal is received from the controller, outputting signals only corresponding to intra-coded video data and forward predictive coded video data among the decoded video data signals as the reproduced video signals, and for, otherwise, outputting the decoded video data signals as the reproduced video signals.

Optical disk apparatus for the reproduction of compressed data

An optical disk drive for reproducing digitally compressed image data is configured such that during high-speed fast forwarding or fast reversing of an optical disk, only the field or frame compressed by the in-field or in-frame coding is reproduced. At the same time, the decoded same field or same frame is repeatedly displayed every plural number of times. Alternatively, the rotating speed of the optical disk is increased relative to that of normal reproduction to raise the transfer rate of the reproduced data, whereby the same field or same frame is displayed a reduced number of times, such as once.

Optical disk device having high-speed reproduction capability

A video recorder for recording a video signal having one frame period and having a high resolution such as a high definition television signal. The video signal in a frame period is divided into two groups for corresponding to a respective field period of the video signal. The two groups are encoded efficiently and independently of each other. After encoding the respective data as respective variable length data signals, pseudo data is added to either one of the variable length data signals having a smaller amount of variable length data than the other variable length data signal so that the amount of variable length data in the divided signals is substantially equal for a designated period. The encoded data is then recorded on an optical disk by a recording mechanism using two respective channels. When reproducing a video signal having lower resolution, such as is used for a standard television system, the video signal is reproduced by decoding the encoded data for one channel. When reproducing video signal having a higher resolution, such as a high definition television signal, the video signal is reproduced by decoding the encoded data from both channels.

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Sakai, Japan

Masahiro Honjo