Nec Corporation

Nippon Electric Co., Ltd.

Tokyo Broadcasting System, Inc.

Masashi Onosato

Masao Inaba

Toshitake Kouyama

Hiroshi Takahashi

Yutaka Tanaka

Takeshi Nakajima

Ryosuke Takahashi

Kazuo Kashigi

Mikio Shimizu

Atsumi Sugimoto

Masakazu Tsuji

Masatoshi Yorozu

Shigeru Miyahara

Hiroo Inoue

Takeo Tsutsui

Chokei Shikina

Masahiro Kashiwa

In a television signal frame number converter for converting an input television signal having a first frame number per second into an output television signal having a second frame number per second in accordance with an interpolation coefficient, a processing unit processes two successive frames of the input television signal by a frame interpolation process to produce a processed signal. A memory unit memorizes the processed signal in synchronism with a write-in address signal given by a first frame synchronizing signal of the input television signal and is read out by a read-out address signal given by a second frame synchronizing signal of a reference television signal having the second frame number per second. The converter determines the interpolation coefficient in accordance with a time interval between a write-in start timing of the memory unit and a read-out start timing of the memory unit.

Television signal frame number converter capable of determining an

This image pickup apparatus is capable of picking up very low level images, such as a star or a comet in a night sky, and is capable of obtaining a video signal having a desired S/N ratio without using a conventional noise reducer. The apparatus comprises a television camera including an image pickup tube, a field memory for storing a video signal delivered from the television camera, and a write-inhibiting control circuit, wherein a period of beam scanning for generating the video signal in the image pickup tube is extended to n-times the standard field period for increasing the sensitivity of the image pickup tube. Writing to the field memory is inhibited in other periods except for the beam scanning period, while a normal television signal is continuously obtained from the field memory. A key signal corresponding to dark portions of the image that are not to be enhanced may be generated and stored in an area memory, and then read out from the area memory during every standard field period. An imaging control circuit responsive to the imaging control signal and the key signal then controls the image pickup device, such that it extracts a videeo signal from the whole of an imaging area during the period of one field designated by the imaging control signal, and extracts a video signal from a partial area apecified by the key signal during other field periods.

Highly sensitive image pickup apparatus

A television video signal synchronizing apparatus, which synchronizes an input television video signal to a reference timing mark. The input video signal is digitized and stored in a memory at locations which are provided by a writing address generator. The writing operation is performed in synchronism with the input video signal. A reading address generator produces reading addresses for reading out the stored video signal to deliver an output television signal which is synchronized to the reference timing mark. The reading address generator is controlled to read out an active video portion of the stored video signal after a delay of about one horizontal scanning period (63.5 microseconds in the NTSC system) immediately after the writing operation of the same active video portion. Thereby 'lip lag' i.e. a mismatch between the audio and video signals, is avoided.

Television video signal synchronizing apparatus

A chroma-key tracking apparatus capable of automatically eliminating an unwanted partial spot noise from a chroma-key signal, to enable the generation of a correct frame around a desired portion of a television picture. The apparatus includes a noise eliminating circuit which by use of counters and comparators is capable of eliminating partial spot noises whose size in the horizontal and vertical directions is smaller than a predetermined value.

Chroma-key tracking apparatus

A television special effects system which stores a video signal, divides the stored video signal into portions and displays the portions of the video signal, shifted apart from each other, on the television screen.

Television picture special effects system using digital memory techniques

A phase locking system locks at least one incoming composite video signal to the synchronizing signals of a second, reference wave. The incoming signal is strobed at a rate dependent upon the incoming color subcarrier into a memory, essentially on a field-by-field basis. Circuitry is provided by grouping the fields on a repeating field-tagged basis (groups of four for the NTSC signal format) to maintain signal integrity.

Phase locking system for television signals using a digital memory

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Tokyo, Japan

Masashi Onosato