Abstract: In a digital cinema network of NTP-timekeeping devices in which one of the devices decodes video information, the scheduling of future instructions takes into account the differences between the nominal and actual frame rates of the video decoding device and the network's NTP latency.

Abstract: The time needed to encode an input audio stream is reduced by dividing the stream into two or more overlapping segments of audio information blocks, applying an encoding process to each segment to generate encoded segments in parallel, and appending the encoded segments to form an encoded output signal. The encoding process is responsive to one or more control parameters. Some of the control parameters, which apply to a given block, are calculated from audio information in one or more previous blocks. The length of the overlap between adjacent segments is chosen such that the differences between control parameter values and corresponding reference values at the end of the overlap interval are small enough to avoid producing audible artifacts in a signal that is obtained by decoding the encoded output signal.

Abstract: A process that allocates bits for quantizing spectral components in a perceptual coding system is performed more efficiently by obtaining an accurate estimate of the optimal value for one or more coding parameters that are used in the bit allocation process. In one implementation for a perceptual audio coding system, an accurate estimate of an offset from a calculated psychoacoustic masking curve is derived by selecting an initial value for the offset, calculating the number of bits that would be allocated if the initial offset were used for coding, and estimating the optimum value of the offset from a difference between this calculated number and the number of bits that are actually available for allocation.

Abstract: There is provided a controller that prevents any external power source from supplying its power if a host device and a monitoring device are not connected exactly through optical extension cables based on DVI standard, and that prevents a sequence for digital transmission of a video signal from being started if the external power source remains off. Only when the proper (DDC+5V) signal is generated from the host device and the external power source has been turned on, the (DDC+5V) signal is transmitted to the monitoring device, and when it is detected in the monitoring device that the transmitted signal is the proper (DDC+5V) signal, the (DDC+5V) signal is transmitted to the monitoring device.

Abstract: A playback system in a digital cinema network synchronizes the presentation of visual and aural content by deriving timing information for packets of information that are conveyed in video and audio data streams, examining the timing information to determine if any misalignment between the two data streams is likely to be perceptible and, if the misalignment is deemed to be perceptible, introducing delays into one or both data streams to correct the misalignment. If the audio data stream precedes the video data stream, the audio data stream is delayed by an integer number of audio sample periods. If the video data stream precedes the audio data stream, the video data stream is delayed by an integer number of video frames and the audio data stream is delayed by an integer number of audio sample periods.