Sony Corporation

Sony Electronics Inc

Masao Mizutani

Hajime Inoue

Tatsuya Wakahara

Ichiro Hamada

Naoki Murayama

Yukihiko Aoki

Naofumi Yanagihara

Hiroshi Okada

Takehiko Nakano

Hiraku Inoue

Junji Kato

Koji Iijima

Yasuhiro Takada

Tomonari Sagane

Satoko Senuma

Mingning Gu

Yasuaki Ohta

In a system in which an IEEE 1394 interface is provided for an IRD, connected equipment can be easily selected and the operability is improved. Data can be transmitted among the equipment by providing the IEEE 1394 interface for the IRD. For example, five equipment units are selected from the equipment connected to the IEEE 1394 interface and node ID numbers are allocated to the five equipment units and registered. Thus, even if the equipment is removed from the interface and connected again, the IRD can recognize the equipment. The registration may easily be changed by user input. When the registration is changed, the change of the registration is inhibited among equipment units in which a program reservation has been set or the connected equipment. Thus, even if the registration is changed, an erroneous operation does not occur.

Receiving system for digital broadcasting and receiving apparatus for digital broadcasting

When an analog-recorded tape cassette is loaded into an apparatus which can perform an analog recording/reproduction and a digital recording/reproduction by a same video tape and is reproduced, an alarm is displayed. When a tape cassette in which a transport stream of different specifications or a digital video signal of a system other than the MPEG2 system has been recorded is loaded into the apparatus and reproduced, an alarm is displayed. The user watches a smart file picture plane and recognizes recording system information of a program to be monitored from now on. If the program to be reproduced has been digitally recorded, the user switches the input to a digital video input. If the program to be reproduced has been analog-recorded, the user switches the input to an analog video input.

Receiving apparatus of digital broadcasting and display method of recording program associated information

A receiving system and a receiving device are provided for receiving and processing broadcast digital and analog signals such as video and audio programs. The system and device are capable of determining whether a received program is subject to copy prohibition. If the program is subject to copy prohibition, the system prevents copying of the program. The system and device are capable of performing timed recording of received programs, including checking the status of the device and/or the recording medium to determine whether timed recording is permitted. Timed recording may be permitted if a selected broadcast receiving device is a registered device.

Broadcast receiver and system for performing copy prohibition and timed recording

To lessen the burden of a controller having an IEEE 1394 method or the like in a network requiring the controller. A transmitting system for transmitting data from a transmitting device () connected to a predetermined network to a receiving device () connected to the network, comprises a first devicehaving a control section for requesting connection management on the network for a data transmission to another device when an instruction for the data transmission is received from the transmitting device () or the receiving device (), and a second device () having a control section for executing the connection management for the data transmission based on the request sent from the first device ().

Transmitting method, transmitting system and transmission control device

A broadcast receiving system and a broadcast receiving device are provided for receiving and processing broadcast digital and analog signals such as video and audio programs. The system and device are capable of determining whether a received program is subject to copy prohibition. If the program is subject to copy prohibition, the system prevents copying of the program. The system and device are capable of performing timed recording of received programs, including checking the status of the device and/or the recording medium to determine whether timed recording is permitted. Timed recording may be permitted if a selected broadcast receiving device is a registered device.

When data is transmitted by using a broadcasting channel of an IEEE1394 interface, it is enabled to cope with a case where undefined equipment is connected to an IEEE1394 bus. The IEEE1394 interface is provided for an IRD, thereby enabling the IRD and equipment such as digital VCR, MD player/recorder, or the like to be connected. A node No. '63' of IEEE1394 is set to the broadcasting channel. Data is transmitted to all equipment connected to the IEEE1394 bus by the broadcasting channel. In the broadcasting channel, a picture plane for selecting a transport stream of MPEG and PCM audio data is displayed, and the data which is transmitted by the broadcasting channel can be selected in accordance with the transport stream of MPEG and the PCM audio data. Thus, when undefined equipment is connected to the IEEE1394 bus, it is possible to cope with any equipment.

Receiving system for digital broadcasting, data transmitting method in digital broadcasting receiving system, and receiving apparatus for digital broadcasting

An information receiving apparatus instructs a storage device to be ready to perform a downloading operation. For example, the information receiving apparatus instructs the storage device to perform a setup for a recording wait status when the information receiving apparatus has the storage device start the downloading mode, and instructs to start and stop recording on a recording device by detecting the start and stop timing of recording data which a data transmitting section transmits. The information receiving apparatus also requests the storage device to report an operation condition at the storage device during the downloading mode. The information receiving apparatus determines a downloading-operation condition according to the operation-condition report sent from the storage device and appropriately controls the downloading operation.

Apparatus and method for downloading desired data signal to user-selectable storage unit

The using circumstances of a control object device are detected, and controlling of the control object device is carried out on the basis of the detected result. Thereby, where control equipment in conformity to a fixed standard, control equipment not in conformity to a fixed standard, and a control object device are mixed in a network, there can be avoided inconvenience in which the respective control equipment control the control object devices simultaneously.

Control device, control method and medium

An information processing apparatus in a bus system consisting of electronic devices and one or more information processing apparatus to control the electronic devices. The apparatus includes a storage means for storing management information of control software elements for controlling the electronic devices; an acquisition means for acquiring a change of the connection state of each electronic device to a bus constituting the bus system; and an execution means for executing assignment of the control software element, which is used for controlling the electronic device relevant to the acquired change of the connection state, on the basis of the connection state change acquired by the acquisition means. The acquisition means further serves to acquire device attribute information relative to the electronic devices, and the execution means makes a decision, on the basis of such device attribute information, as to whether the electronic device is the one controllable by the information processing apparatus and executes the assignment in accordance with the result of such a decision as well. In this apparatus, the routine of assigning the control software elements can be completed fast.

Information processing apparatus and method, and recording medium

An apparatus and method to record digital audio/video data originating from different sources in different data formats in a single format for recording on a digital cassette. The apparatus utilizes common circuitry to receive, record and playback the audio/video data while keeping the overall architecture simple. The apparatus is able to accommodate advanced formatting features such as trick play, without significant overhead.

Method and apparatus storing multiple protocol, compressed audio video

In control using a patch correctable microcomputer, the patch correction can have no effect on the timing of the control operation of the micro computer. Call instructions CALL 1, CALL 2 . . . for shifting, in synchronism with the operation of the microcomputer, over to a patch correction program in a RAM, are intermittently inserted into a control program stored in a ROM. A reciprocal number of invalid instructions NOP are put after this patch correction program in accordance with the length of the patch correction program. After a patch correction program has been carried out, the program in the ROM is returned to after a passage of time set according to the number of invalid instructions, so that the time for execution of the program in the RAM which is based on the microcomputer call instruction can be made constant irrespective of the length of time of the patch correction program, and will therefore have no effect on the timing for carrying out the program in the ROM.

Electronic apparatus

A video camera which is able to reverse the direction of the moving focus lens if appropriate evaluation data is not obtained within a certain period of time after an intermediate point is detected during the focus lens movement in one direction. This eliminates the redundant operation of the focus lens moving away from the just-focus point all the way to the extreme of the current direction before heading back to the just-focus point during an auto focus operation. An efficient auto focus operation is thus achieved. In addition, control is provided for not using a decrease in accumulated data as auto focus control information if that decrease is judged to be an abrupt drop from the accumulated data obtained in the immediately preceding focus lens position. This makes it possible to prevent the focus lens from being erroneously focused in cases of panning and other focus-disrupting operations. In this manner, the photographing of high quality is always made available.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Masao Mizutani