Rca Inc.

General Electric Company

Rca Licensing Corporation

Robert E Flory

Robert A Dischert

Michael Anthony Isnardi

Joshua Lawrence Koslov

James M Walter

Krishnamurthy Jonnalagadda

Edward R Campbell, Iii

Liston Abbott

Charles B Oakley

Charles R Thompson

Mark R Nelson

Guy Ward Beakley

A widescreen enhanced definition television system compatible with an existing television standard (e.g., NTSC) has provisions for utilizing a conventional television camera. The conventional camera is modified by replacing the conventional lens with an anamorphic lens or by modifying the scanning control signals to produce a widescreen television signal corresponding images with a widescreen aspect ratio (e.g., 5:3) greater than the conventional aspect ratio (e.g., 4:3). The widescreen television signal produced by the modified camera is coupled to an encoder without restriction of horizontal bandwidth required to conform to the existing television standard. The encoder produces a television signal encoded with components for producing widescreen images with enhanced horizontal resolution when processed by a widescreen receiver but suitable for transmission within a single transmission channel of the existing television standard. When processed by a conventional receiver, due to the nature of the encoding, an image with the conventional aspect ratio but, without significant artifacts is produced.

Widescreen television transmission system utilizing conventional

Extended definition television (EDTV) signals including a compatible composite wideband signal and a separate helper or extended definition signal are combined, for example, for recording purposes, using frequency multiplexing techniques. The helper signal is applied to a modulator, which produces a suppressed carrier modulated signal, to frequency shift the helper signal to a spectral band above the frequency band occupied by the compatible composite wideband signal. The frequency shifted and wideband signal are then added to form the combined signal.

EDTV recording apparatus

A system is disclosed for partially decoding an encoded widescreen, extended definition television signal into a signal that is compatible with existing consumer video cassette recorders (VCRs) and video monitors. The encoded signal is compatible with existing television standards to produce a video image having a conventional 4:3 aspect ratio. Signals representing side panel information, to be appended onto either side of the 4:3 center panel, are encoded in the signal and are not visible in the image produced by a conventional receiver. The disclosed system includes decoding circuitry which recovers the side panel signals, appends them to the center panel signal and changes the time correspondence of the total signal so that it represents an image having a 5:3 aspect ratio. Luminance and chrominance components of the decoded video signal are provided as output signals of the decoder and to input ports of a conventional video cassette recorder (VCR) such as an S-VHS or ED-Beta machine. The signal recorded on the VCR may be replayed on a widescreen monitor. The decoder includes an optional vertical interpolator to compress the widescreen picture vertically to generate a signal which produces a properly proportioned widescreen image when displayed on a conventional display device.

Widescreen television reception and recording system utilizing

An improved transmission arrangement for a color television signal includes a time-division multiplexing apparatus for alternately presenting for transmission through a single channel baseband signals defining the chrominance information of the television signal. In order to provide improved resolution, a store is coupled to the signal source for storing at a writing rate a first of the baseband components during the time at which it is generated. A read generator is coupled to the store for reading the stored baseband component at a higher data rate than that at which it was generated. The baseband component is transmitted through the single channel at the higher data rate.

Transmission system with sequential time-compressed baseband color

When PAL chroma signals U and V are respectively recorded in channels with bandwidths intended for NTSC chroma signals I and Q, distortion will result to one of the U or V signals due to the narrow bandwidth Q channel. To equalize this distortion between the U and V signals, they line to line alternate between the two channels. To avoid a line crawl, signals above the Q channel cut-off frequency are averaged.

Chrominance channel bandwidth modification system

A clamp for television signals, the sources of which alternate on a line recurrent basis includes a plurality of capacitors having a common terminal coupled to the sources of signal and a multiplexing switch for sequentially connecting one of the capacitors between its source and a clamp.

Clamp for line-alternate signals

Two signals are generated simultaneously. In order to pass them through a single signal channel, the two signals are time-compressed and rearranged into a time-sequential form by means of pairs of controllable delay lines. The delay lines are controlled from a single drive circuit so that the delay of both is long when clocking is at a low rate. In the long-delay mode, the two delay lines are coupled to the two signal sources to be loaded with signal in parallel. The mode of both delay lines is then switched to a short-delay mode. In order to achieve sequential operation, the mode switching is accompanied by a coupling of the signal output terminal of one of the delay lines to the signal input of the other. In the second mode, the first delay lines clocks out to a system output terminal, while the other clocks to the output terminal through the first, thereby achieving a sequential output signal.

Simplified transmission system for sequential time-compression of two

An automatic television camera setup system includes a memory for storing the measured data detected from the camera viewing a setup chart. Addresses for and control of the data to be stored in the memory is provided by left, center, and right column counters where the left counter increments in response to features detected at the left side of the television raster, the center column counter increments in response to features detected at the horizontal center of the television raster and the right column counter increments in response to features detected at the right side of the television raster. A 2-bit address is also associated with which of the left, center or right side of the raster is being scanned.

Memory addressing system for automatic setup TV camera system

A video signal amplitude registration system for a television camera is provided in which the video amplitude of two or more related video signals derived from scanning a common reference are compared with a rising ramp voltage so as to generate a control voltage proportional to the misregistration of the video signal amplitudes at both the black and white signal levels.

Video signal amplitude registration system

A raster registration system for a television camera is provided in which the positions of the peak amplitude of two or more raster related video signals derived from scanning a common reference are detected and compared so as to generate a control signal proportional to any misregistration of the rasters. The control signal is utilized to develop raster correction signals for reducing the misregistration of the rasters.

Raster registration system for a television camera

When two color television signals are transmitted over a common non-linear path, such as a transponder in a communications satellite, the two color subcarriers at slightly different frequencies intermodulate each other and produce a disturbing flickering of color on the screens of monitors and receivers. The crosstalk is made invisible in the present system by translating the flicker to fluctuations occurring at too high a frequency to be seen. At the transmitting terminal, alternate lines of one of the television video signals are delayed by half the period of the color subcarrier, and at the receiving terminal, intermediate lines of the same television video signal are delayed by half the period of the subcarrier. The fluctuations may be made invisible to signal-monitoring instruments by passing both the delayed and undelayed television video signals through chroma averaging circuits at the receiving terminal.

Growing community of inventors

Princeton, NJ, United States of America

Robert E Flory