Apparatus and method for generating high speed dubbing signal

Abstract

An apparatus for generating a high speed dubbing signal to be recorded by an external recording apparatus. The high speed dubbing signal, whose pitch is N times that of a digital input signal, is generated as follows. An encoding circuit subsamples the digital input signal consisting of frame signals each of which consists of N field signals, so that each frame signal is compressed by a factor of N to be contained in one field interval. A digital signal recording and reproducing circuit including a recording and reproduction system, records on a tape, at a normal tape speed and at a normal head drum rotational frequency, the compressed signal in such a manner that each field including the compressed signal appears once per frame interval, and then selectively reproduces from the tape the field including the compressed signal at a tape speed N times the normal speed and at the normal drum speed. A decoding circuit interpolates the output signal of the recording and reproducing portion to recover the lost information by the subsampling. An output portion produces the high speed dubbing signal based on the output of the decoding circuit. Since the drum rotational frequency is maintained at the normal value throughout the recording and reproduction procedure by the recording and reproduction system, the contact between the tape and head of the system is stabilized, thereby enabling reliable high speed dubbing.