Abstract: Method and apparatus for encoding moving pictures in which a bitstream of encoded moving pictures has a bit rate contained within a pre-set range. The bit rate of a unit domain, such as a GOP, of an encoded bitstream is compared to a reference value. If the bit rate exceeds the reference value, the unit domain is converted, typically by re-quantization, so that its bit rate will no longer exceed the reference value.

Abstract: Information on ambient light (viewing environment information) input from ambient light input section 101 is fed to viewing environment converting section 100a, which determines measured color values of monitor 103, and then fed to profile updating section 100b and contrast correcting section 100d. The contrast correcting section 100d corrects the contrast according to the measured color values. Information on the setting of the monitor 103 fed from monitor control section 102 is supplied to monitor setting values converting section 100c, where TRCs and a matrix are generated according to the modified setting information and supplied to the profile updating section 100b. The profile updating section 100b updates the profiles stored in memory 104a by means of newly generated profiles.

Abstract: Data receiving device and method in which data is received through a broadcast network, the data is reconstructed into packets usable on a computer, and the packets are output to the computer, directly or through a local area network. The reconstructed packets are preferably in the format of Internet Protocol (IP) packets. A destination address allocated to the data receiving device on the broadcast network is converted, via the data receiving device, to an IP address allocated to a personal computer on the Internet.

Abstract: A signal processing system in which a differentially quantized digital signal is used, the digital signal having two bits which represent only three values, of which one value (10 or 01) is zero and the other two (11 and 00) values represent a positive value and a negative value respectively.

Abstract: The invention provides a technique of making color adjustment for a great number of colors among different imaging apparatus. In the process of making color adjustment among a plurality of cameras, a color correction processing unit disposed in a CCU of each camera detects data associated with lightness, hue, and saturation for a plurality of specified colors. The detected data is transmitted as color data to a CPU. According to the color data supplied from each CCU, the CPU divides the color space into a plurality of areas, and calculates setting data which is required by the color correction processing unit to correct the lightness, hue, and saturation. The resultant setting data is transmitted to the color correction processing unit. In actual use in a normal operation mode, the color correction processing unit corrects the lightness, hue, and saturation according to the procedure determined for each area in accordance with the setting data.

Abstract: An image recording apparatus having a small size and which is highly portable reproduces an image contained within a hologram or holographic stereogram. In one embodiment, when a movable section movably attached to an apparatus body is moved from a first position, in which the mavable sections abuts the apparatus body, to a second position in which the movable section and apparatus body are separated, illumination light from a light source is irradiated at a perdetermined incidence angle onto a hologram or holographic stereogram attached to a hologram attach section. In other embodiments, light from a light source is reflected from an edge portion of a light transmitting member, or from a separately provided mirror, to be irradiated at a perdetermined angle onto the hologram or holographic stereogram.

Abstract: A driving device for performing a recording and/or reproducing operation for a recording medium, such as a flexible disc, and a fixed speed movement servo method carried out on such driving device. A head for recording and/or reproducing the information for a recording medium is run at a fixed speed using initial servo parameters as certain fixed values to calculate optimum servo parameters. Using the calculated servo parameters, constant speed servo is executed to realize the head running at a fixed speed. This achieves constant speed movement at a certain speed within a pre-set speed range regardless of individual characteristics or occasional posture of the recording/reproducing apparatus.

Abstract: A picture signal processing method and apparatus in which the block distortion as well as the mosquito noise produced on encoding/decoding a picture is to be suppressed. The picture signal processing apparatus includes a filter for filtering a picture, an encoder 5 for block-encoding the picture, a decoder 13 for decoding an encoded picture from the encoder 5 and a noise reducing unit 14 for reducing at least the block distortion of a picture decoded by the decoding unit 13 to reduce the noise otherwise produced on encoding/decoding the picture.

Abstract: A signal processing circuit which enables an error bit to be set simply without causing an increase in the size of the circuit even if the packet size is changed and which enables realization of stable operation without the system stopping even if the value of the time stamp is impossible. A pre-reception processing circuit decides if a received packet is normally continuous or discontinuous from data in the DBC region of the CIP header. When deciding it is discontinuous, it sets an error bit ERM allocated to one bit of the upper significant 7 bits of the source packet header to “1”, and writes this in an FIFO. A post-reception processing circuit, when reading from the FIFO, outputs the data stored in the FIFO to the application side when the error bit ERM is “0” and resets the error bit and outputs a dummy error packet when the error bit EMR is “1”.

Abstract: An input is ciphered in at least one of a sector forming circuit 13, a scrambling circuit 14, a header appendage circuit 15, an error correction encoding circuit 16, a modulation circuit 18 and a synchronization appendage circuit 18, used for processing input data for forming a recording signal. Not only the key for ciphering itself in the circuits but also the information as to which of the circuits has been used for ciphering becomes the key for ciphering. This realizes ciphering difficult to decode by a simplified structure.

Abstract: A video signal processing device includes an address generator to calculate a transformation matrix for three-dimensionally transforming an image to a “blue board” area. The transformation is based on corner positions of the blue board area of a video signal and those of an image area of a source video signal to be inserted. Address information is calculated for reading the source video signal from a memory based on an inverse matrix of the transformation matrix. In this way, the image area to be inserted can be three-dimensionally transformed and automatically inserted into the blue board area, without requiring an operator to input parameters indicative of a post-transformation state.

Abstract: Left and right video cameras 18L and 18R are disposed on both sides of a front video camera 18M. Solid-pictorial video signals used upon signal transmission are generated by using video signals outputted from the left and right video cameras with respect to a video signal outputted from the front video camera. The left and right video cameras make use of simplified video cameras and are cameras with no zoom functions or the like. The video signals obtained from the left and right video cameras are used as signals for forming a solid picture. In the present example, only solid information with respect to a main picture is transmitted as a video signal to reduce the amount of transmission. A motion-compensated DCT encode process using the front video signal as a reference picture is performed to extract only the video signal having the solid information from the left and right video signals. Since the simplified video cameras can be utilized, solid-pictorial video signals can be generated at low cost.

Abstract: A color imaging method for adjusting color balance of an imaged picture of an object, which object is imaged by a camera head 3 for generating color imaging signals composed of plural color signals. Based on the relative relation between signal levels of the color signals, level balance control data are generated by an information processing device 5. The level balance control data, generated by the information processing device 5, is stored in LUTs 45R, 45G and 45B, in association with the signal level of plural color signals in each of plural light exposure volumes adjusted by the light stop of an imaging lens 2 adapted for adjusting the light exposure volume of the camera head 3 or the signal charge accumulating time of a CCD image sensor 21. Based on the signal levels of the color signals, the level balance control data associated with the color signals are read out from the LUTs 45R, 45G and 45B for controlling the signal levels of the color signals.

Abstract: A signal reproducing apparatus is disclosed with which time is not required from a moment at which a user has started a reproducing operation to a moment at which the user is able to actually confirm required information. An audio-and-video-signal reproducing apparatus incorporates a head for recording an audio and video signal recorded on a recording medium; a RAM on which the audio and video signal read by the head is temporarily stored; and a control circuit having a control function for controlling the head to read the audio and video signal recorded on the recording medium and controlling writing of the audio and video signal temporarily stored in the RAM.

Abstract: A laser light power controlling method is provided which comprises the steps of irradiating onto an optical disc a laser light generated by a laser source driven under a data write signal; detecting a reflected portion of the laser light irradiated onto the optical disc; and detecting an undershoot of a detection signal of the reflected laser light and controlling the power of the laser light in accordance with the amount of the detected undershoot. Also, a method for writing data into an optical disc is provided which comprises the steps of irradiating onto an optical disc a laser light generated by a laser source driven under a data write signal; detecting a reflected portion of the laser light irradiated onto the optical disc; and detecting an undershoot of a detection signal of the reflected laser light and discriminating the level of the undershoot with reference to a predetermined threshold.

Abstract: According to the SIMD control parallel processing method for performing common operation in parallel in a plurality of elements, comprising first retaining means for retaining operation data specified by n-bit for each of said plurality of elements; second retaining means for previously retaining operated result with all possible combinations comprising said data according to a predetermined operation; and selecting means for selecting said operated data retained in said first retaining means from among said operated results retained by said second retaining means, from among retained data obtained through operation, data corresponding to that resultant from the operation is selected for each element, thereby enabling a configuration to be simplified, smaller and less costly.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus and method performs processing for finding a first image by using a second image having a smaller number of pixels than the first image and a third image having a smaller number of pixels than the second image. The image processing apparatus and method receives the first image, and classifies reference pixels, which are pixels of the first image being referred to, into predetermined classes in accordance with properties of pixels of the second or third image corresponding to the reference pixels.

Abstract: This invention relates to a recording apparatus for recording a plurality of pieces of data into a recording medium is characterized in that the recording apparatus including a specifying means for specifying that a write operation over a combination of the pieces of data is prohibited, a judgment means for forming a judgment on what is specified for a predetermined piece of data by the specifying means in response to a command to perform a recording operation over the piece of data, and a control means for controlling an operation to record the pieces of data into the recording medium in accordance with a result of a judgment formed by the judgment means; and relates to a recording method adopted in a recording apparatus for recording a plurality of pieces of data into a recording medium is characterized in that the recording method including a specifying step of specifying that a write operation over a combination of the pieces of data is prohibited, a judgment step of forming a judgment on what is specifie

Abstract: A remote control signal for indicating reproduction of DVD 24 which is transmitted from a bi-directional remote commander, is deciphered by a digital TV 21 and then converted to the data format of an IEEE-1394 serial bus 26, and then transmitted to DVD 24. DVD 24 transmits the response to the received remote control signal to the digital TV 21, and also starts the reproduction operation. The reproduced signal is supplied to the digital TV 21 through the IEEE-1394 serial bus 26. The digital TV 21 transmits the signal corresponding to the response from DVD 24 to the bi-directional remote commander 27, and also displays the pictures corresponding to the reproduced signal and output the voices.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for transmitting data among devices connected to a serial data bus at maximum speeds are disclosed. Each device may be capable of transmitting data at several speeds. A transmitting device first transmits a data packet to a target recipient device at a maximum transmission speed of the transmitting device. If an acknowledgement signal confirming receipt of the initial data transmission is received from the target recipient, then the transmission speed for subsequent data packet transmissions's set to the speed of the just-transmitted data. Otherwise, the transmission speed is reduced and the process is repeated. Once an acknowledgement is received and the speed is set, the speed may be stored in a memory of the transmitting device for use in future communications with the recipient device. The process is repeated to establish maximum suitable transmission speeds to other target devices connected to the bus.