Abstract: A color television receiver with luminance and chrominance signal channels includes an automatic kinescope beam current limiter, an automatic white level drive control network, and an automatic black level bias control network. A switching network is timed to operate such that a control signal developed by the beam current limiter is coupled to the luminance channel during normal picture intervals, but is decoupled from the luminance channel during both white level drive control intervals and black level bias control intervals. The beam limiter control signal is continuously coupled to the chrominance channel, independent of the operation of the switching network, to permit chrominance output bias offset errors produced by beam limiter action to be sensed and compensated for by the automatic bias control network.

Abstract: Excessive peak beam currents conducted by a kinescope in a color television receiver are limited by apparatus which compares the combined instantaneous magnitudes of plural color signals with a fixed threshold and, if exceeding the threshold, the combined signal is detected. The detected signal is used to limit the magnitudes of the color signals, thereby limiting excessive kinescope beam currents otherwise developed in response to the color signals. The apparatus is used in the receiver together with a more conventional automatic kinescope beam current limiter of the type which operates in conjunction with a kinescope resupply current source.

Abstract: A television apparatus for displaying the picture information of an interlaced signal, such as a baseband NTSC signal, in a non-interlaced scanning format is described. When no picture change occurs, the picture information of the first and the second fields of the NTSC signal are displayed in alternate scan lines of the display of the apparatus, respectively, to form a picture frame during one vertical scanning interval. A signal, indicative that a picture change occurs in a section of the picture frame, is generated when a picture change occurs. The picture change indicative signal is obtained by using a frame comb filter to detect interframe picture variations. The picture change indicative signal causes the displayed picture information in that section of the picture frame to be derived from one field of the NTSC signal.

Abstract: Brightness control apparatus for a video signal processing system wherein the video signal is pre-conditioned to establish a prescribed reference level during image blanking intervals. The prescribed reference level is afterwards further modified by adding a black-going pulse component to the video signal during the blanking intervals. The magnitude of the added pulse component is adjusted in accordance with the setting of an adjustable brightness control to control the brightness of images displayed by an image display device included in the system. Controlled video signals are AC coupled to an intensity control electrode of the display device by a DC restoration circuit which responds to the magnitude of the added blanking interval pulse component, for establishing the DC bias of intensity control electrode and thereby image brightness.

Abstract: A television receiver includes a character generator for producing alphanumeric data or graphic symbols to be displayed along with a received video signal. An oscillator, locked to a multiple of the color subcarrier frequency of the video signal, supplies a clock signal to the character generator for controlling the timing of displayed character elements. A delay circuit coupled to the character generator and controlled by a measuring circuit imparts an effective delay to the character elements in proportion to the time difference between a transition of the clock signal and the horizontal synchronizing component of the video signal. The delay compensates for temporal and spacial distortions of displayed characters which otherwise would tend to occur when the ratio of the color subcarrier frequency with respect to the horizontal line rate of the video signal is "non-standard" (e.g., other than 910:1 for NTSC or 1135:1 for PAL).

Abstract: Plural phase detectors in a progressively scanned television receiver measure the phase of the receiver video speed-up memory read and write clocks with respect to the double line-rate horizontal sweep signal of the display. Delay means are provided for delaying the video signal recovered from the memory as a function of the difference between the read and write clock phase measurements each time the memory is read. The delay is effective for minimizing visible artifacts which otherwise may tend to occur when displaying "non-standard" video signals wherein the ratio of the color-subcarrier frequency to the line-frequency of the incoming video signal differs from a given broadcasting standard.

Abstract: A kinescope driver stage in a television receiver includes an input pre-driver transistor and an output driver transistor arranged in a cascode amplifier configuration. To enhance the high frequency response of the driver stage, a capacitor is coupled from the signal input of the driver transistor to a point of reference potential.

Abstract: In a video signal processing system such as a video monitor including an automatic kinescope bias (AKB) control system, the time required for the AKB system to initially achieve correct kinescope biasing is reduced with respect to a given interval of time beginning when the video processing system is initially energized. This is accomplished by reducing a storage time constant of the AKB system during the given interval, and by pre-charging a storage element of the AKB system during the given interval.

Abstract: A video disc record system having a stylus for recovering information effects kicks which induce limited stylus translations across a disc record surface. Control circuitry responsive to a desired stylus translation are coupled to kicker means for inducing the stylus translation. Actual stylus translations are used to calibrate the kicker activation signals to minimize the kick used to induce stylus translations thereby reducing damage to the disc surface incurred during a stylus translation.

Abstract: In a television receiver, the bias of the G2 screen grid of an image displaying kinescope is adjusted to produce a black level condition for the kinescope. Prior to adjusting the screen grid bias, the normal bias voltage of both the cathode and G1 grid electrodes of the kinescope are modified to produce a predetermined cathode-to-G1 grid voltage.

Abstract: A flat-field television image having reduced visibility of horizontal scan lines is generated by receiving first and second fields of interlaced video and progressively generating a scanned image within a time for one incoming field. The progressively scanned image includes interpolation and double-rate translation in the luminance channel and double-rate translation only in the chrominance channel. In one embodiment the two-times translation (each line repeated) is applied to the chrominance channel after separation from the luminance but prior to demodulation. In another embodiment the chrominance signal is two-times translated prior to demodulation thus requiring demodulation after double-rate translation.

Abstract: A processor, for providing a double line-rate video signal comprising alternating received lines and interpolated lines, comprises a triad of memories. As each incoming video signal is stored in one of the three memories, the remaining two are read at double the write clock rate. An output circuit interleaves a non-interpolated time compressed line of video obtained from one of the two memories being read with a time-compressed line of video obtained by interpolation from both of the two memories being read to provide a processed video output signal. The write-one read-two memory organization enables concurrent interpolation and speed-up of the video signal thereby minimizing potential clock timing problems inherent in progressive scan systems of the type where interpolation is provided separately either before or after video speed-up.

Abstract: A kinescope driver amplifier includes a signal gain determining feedback network coupled from the output to the input of the amplifier. A normally non-conductive switching network coupled to the feedback network is rendered conductive in response to large amplitude video signals for modifying the impedance of the feedback network so as to reduce the signal gain of the amplifier during the occurence of such large video signals.

Abstract: The stator of a pancake motor comprises porcelianized steel with stator coils secured thereto by means of raised tabs which "entrap" a few turns of the coil between the tab and the surface of the stator. Thermoplastic insulation on the wire, when heated, rigidly bonds the coil turns together thereby gripping the tabs and securing the coils to the stator surface. Coil connections are provided by printed wire patterns on the stator surface. Since the stator coils may be wound insitu, bobbins, fasteners and printed wiring boards are eliminated, assembly steps are reduced, and both convective and conductive heat dissipation are improved thereby reducing the motor cost, improving its reliability and allowing the motor to run cooler or to provide more power output for a given temperature increase.

Abstract: A signal voltage from a signal processing path is coupled via an interfacing terminal to an input port of a filter, the output port of which is connected to the base input of a current source transistor to supply thereto a signal voltage which exhibits the filter transfer function. The collector output of the current source transistor is also coupled to the interfacing terminal and conducts a current exhibiting the filter transfer function to the signal path via the interfacing terminal. The base input of the current source transistor is driven with filter output sigals via a low output impedance voltage source (e.g., an emitter follower stage). The impedance presented to the base of the transistor is primarily determined by the low output impedance of the voltage source.

Abstract: A video signal is scrambled by partitioning the signal into blocks of segments, reversing the sequence of segments in each block, randomly delaying the reversed segments and reversing the sequence of the randomly delayed segments. The double reversal of the block segment sequence results in a scrambled signal of high security but which may be unscrambled by a decoder having a complementary random delay characteristic and a total segment storage capacity which is less than that of the scrambler and also less than the maximum line-to-line interchange of the segments within each block. Selection of segment lengths provides inter-line or intra-line block scrambling.

Abstract: In a video disc mastering system, player control data is conveyed by a block code having framing and field number bits and data for use by a computer external to the player is conveyed by a convolutional code having no framing bits, having error check bits related to a subset of the field number bits conveyed by the player control data and having vertical parity selected to spread data required for predictive and reconstructive error correction over a number of video fields greater than that recorded on one convolution of the disc information track.

Abstract: A transmitter applies luminance and chroma components of a color television signal to a transmission path, such as a VTR or satellite, in amplitude compressed form. To obtain optimum improvement in S/N ratio, different compression laws for the luminance and chroma components are used. The signals can also be time compressed and sent in TDM form.

Abstract: DAXI information, recorded in the vertical interval of a video disc signal, is augmented by program data encoded in the DAXI format but inverted prior to recording and interleaved between a blank video line and a line containing a masking signal to form a triad of lines. In a video disc player the data is recovered by comb filtering the video signal. A decoder processes the DAXI signal normally for controlling operation of the player but decodes the triad of lines as a data error when the DAXI signal is anticipated or most likely to occur. Program data in each triad is recovered when the DAXI data is not anticipated or least likely to occur by inverting the program data applied to the decoder thereby eliminating the need for a separate decoder in the player for decoding the program data and providing output data for use by an external computer in an interactive application of the video disc player.

Abstract: In a video signal processor for a progressive scanning system, an interlaced composite video signal, repeating at an f.sub.H line rate of approximately 16 KHz, is coupled to a comb filter. Separated luminance and chrominance signals are developed at respective output terminals of the comb filter. The chrominance signal is demodulated to develop color mixture signals. The luminance and color mixture signals are applied to a color matrix for generating a first set of R, G, B color signals, with each signal repeating at the f.sub.H line rate. A time compression circuit is coupled to the output of the color matrix for time compressing the R, G, B color signals to generate a comparable set of three time compressed and processed color signals, with each time compressed signal repeating at a double line rate of 2f.sub.H. The video signal processor is also capable of converting f.sub.H line rate, interlaced R, G, B signals, obtained from an external video source, into double line rate, non-interlaced signals.