Abstract: Enhancements to a video anticopying process that causes an abnormally low amplitude video signal to be recorded on an illegal copy. The enhancements in one version introduce into the overscan portion of the television picture, just prior to the horizontal or vertical sync signals but in active video, a negative going waveform that appears to the television receiver or videotape recorder to be a sync signal, thereby causing an early horizontal or vertical retrace. One version provides (in the right overscan portion of the picture), a checker pattern of alternating gray and black areas which causes the TV set on which the illegal copy is played to horizontally retrace earlier than normal in selected lines with a consequential horizontal shift of the picture information on those lines. This substantially degrades picture viewability. In another version a gray pattern at the bottom overscan portion of the picture causes vertical picture instability.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for inserting source identification data into a video signal prior to its transmission, recording or display. The source identification data (Finger Print) is injected into the active picture area of a video signal without disturbing the viewing of the video signal and the data is retrieved by a data reader, called a Fingerprint Reader. The data injection or "fingerprinting" process consists of dynamically offsetting the video pedestal to carry information which can then be read back from any videotape made from the output of the data-injecting unit. In particular, the fingerprint carries the ID number of the unit used and the current date. The offset lasts for one entire field and has an amplitude of approximately 0.5 IRE-- that is, a given field either has the nominal setup or a setup value differing from nominal by 0.5 IRE. The data is repeated every 128 fields in order to provide ample samples for the reader to detect and display the source identification data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for inserting source identification data into a video signal prior to its transmission, recording or display. The source identification data (Finger Print) is injected into the active picture area of a video signal without disturbing the viewing of the video signal and the data is retrieved by a data reader, called a Fingerprint Reader. The data injection or "fingerprinting" process consists of dynamically offsetting the video pedestal to carry information which can then be read back from any videotape made from the output of the data-injecting unit. In particular, the fingerprint carries the ID number of the unit used and the current date. The offset lasts for one entire field and has an amplitude of approximately 0.5 IRE--that is, a given field either has the nominal setup or a setup value differing from nominal by 0.5 IRE. The data is repeated every 128 fields in order to provide ample samples for the reader to detect and display the source identification data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for copyright protection for various recording media such as Digital Video Discs (DVDs) uses a combination of a Video Finger Print Signal and an Authenticating Signature to permit the player to handle either copy-protected or non-copy-protected media, in a manner that is difficult to compromise. Both a Video Finger Print Signal and an Authenticating Signature are recorded on the media only when copy-protection is required. The nature of this Authenticating Signature is such that it will not be transferred to illicit copies made on CD recorders. When either an original protected or an original non-protected disk is played, the presence or absence of the Authenticating Signature causes the player to correctly play the program video. All original DVDs therefore play normally. When a copy of a non-protected CD is played, the absence of the Video Print Signal also causes the player to correctly playback the video signal data.

Abstract: Enhancements to a video anticopying process that causes an abnormally low amplitude video signal to be recorded on an illegal copy. The enhancements in one version introduce into the overscan portion of the television picture, just prior to the horizontal or vertical sync signals but in active video, a negative going waveform that appears to the television receiver or videotape recorder to be a sync signal, thereby causing an early horizontal or vertical retrace. One version provides (in the right overscan portion of the picture), a checker pattern of alternating gray and black areas which causes the TV set on which the illegal copy is played to horizontally retrace earlier than normal in selected lines with a consequential horizontal shift of the picture information on those lines. This substantially degrades picture viewability. In another version a gray pattern at the bottom overscan portion of the picture causes vertical picture instability.

Abstract: Enhancements to a video anticopying process that causes an abnormally low amplitude video signal to be recorded on an illegal copy. The enhancements in one version introduce into the overscan portion of the television picture, just prior to the horizontal or vertical sync signals but in active video, a negative going waveform that appears to the television receiver or videotape recorder to be a sync signal, thereby causing an early horizontal or vertical retrace. One version provides (in the right overscan portion of the picture), a checker pattern of alternating gray and black areas which causes the TV set on which the illegal copy is played to horizontally retrace earlier than normal in selected lines with a consequential horizontal shift of the picture information on those lines. This substantially degrades picture viewability. In another version a gray pattern at the bottom overscan portion of the picture causes vertical picture instability.

Abstract: A video-scrambling system induces a random wobble i.e., time shifting, in the location of active portion of the video frame, without affecting the horizontal sync signal and colorburst in each video line, thus providing both security and concealment. The security is enhanced by filling in the gap between the nominal beginning of active video and the actual beginning of active video with a synthesized video signal which replicates the adjacent active video using a digitally generated filling pattern. Also, a random noise overlay further conceals the location of the gap. Additional concealment is provided by wiggling in time the location of the horizontal sync signal using one or two frequencies and also by randomly altering the location of the vertical sync signal. The NTSC digital encoding in accordance with the invention is simplified by using only two channels, chrominance and luminance, and by a heterodyne circuit for chrominance stability.

Abstract: A video scrambling and descrambling system that produces color video that is difficult or annoying to watch by randomly switching the color components of a component or composite video. In the scrambling portion, component or composite video is decoded into a luminance component and its two color components. A random switching signal is generated to randomly switch the relationship of the color component signals. The randomly switched color component signals may be encoded together with the luminance signal to produce a component or composite video signal that is scrambled. The random switching signal may be transmitted as part of the encoded signal or through a separate data channel medium. A descrambling portion first separates the scrambled component or composite video signal into a luminance component and two scrambled color components.

Abstract: Enhancements to a video anticopying process that causes an abnormally low amplitude video signal to be recorded on an illegal copy. The enhancements in one version introduce into the overscan portion of the television picture, just prior to the horizontal or vertical sync signals but in active video, a negative going waveform that appears to the television receiver or videotape recorder to be a sync signal, thereby causing an early horizontal or vertical retrace. One version provides (in the right overscan portion of the picture), a checker pattern of alternating gray and black areas which causes the TV set on which the illegal copy is played to horizontally retrace earlier than normal in selected lines with a consequential horizontal shift of the picture information on those lines. This substantially degrades picture viewability. In another version a gray pattern at the bottom overscan portion of the picture causes vertical picture instability.

Abstract: A video-scrambling system induces a random wobble i.e., time shifting, in the location of active portion of the video frame, without affecting the horizontal sync signal and colorburst in each video line, thus providing both security and concealment. The security is enhanced by filling in the gap between the nominal beginning of active video and the actual beginning of active video with a synthesized video signal which replicates the adjacent active video using a digitally generated filling pattern. Also, a random noise overlay further conceals the location of the gap. Additional concealment is provided by wiggling in time the location of the horizontal sync signal using one or two frequencies and also by randomly altering the location of the vertical sync signal. The NTSC digital encoding in accordance with the invention is simplified by using only two channels, chrominance and luminance, and by a heterodyne circuit for chrominance stability.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for copyright protection for various recording media such as compact discs (CDs) uses a combination of symmetrical and asymmetrical data encryption to permit the player to handle either copy-protected or non-copy-protected media, in a manner that is extremely difficult to compromise. Coupled with the combination of encrypting methods, an Authenticating Signature is recorded on the media only when copy-protection is required. The nature of this Authenticating Signature is such that it will not be transferred to illicit copies made on CD recorders. When either an original protected or an original non-protected disk is played, the presence or absence of the Authenticating Signature causes the player to correctly decrypt the program data. All original CDs therefore play normally. When a copy of a non-protected CD is played, the absence of the Authenticating Signature also causes the player to correctly decrypt the program data.

Abstract: A video-scrambling system induces a random wobble i.e., time shifting, in the location of active portion of the video frame, without affecting the horizontal sync signal and colorburst in each video line, thus providing both security and concealment. The security is enhanced by filling in the gap between the nominal beginning of active video and the actual beginning of active video with a synthesized video signal which replicates the adjacent active video using a digitally generated filling pattern. Also, a random noise overlay further conceals the location of the gap. Additional concealment is provided by wiggling in time the location of the horizontal sync signal using one or two frequencies and also by randomly altering the location of the vertical sync signal. The NTSC digital encoding in accordance with the invention is simplified by using only two channels, chrominance and luminance, and by a heterodyne circuit for chrominance stability.

Abstract: Audio signals are descrambled by double sideband modulating the scrambled audio signal with a modulation carrier having a carrier frequency slightly above the highest audio signal present in the scrambled audio. This produces a double sideband signal that is passed through a low pass filter which in turn is modulated by a second carrier frequency lower than the first carrier signal by an amount equal to the offset spectrum of the original scrambled signal. The first low pass filter nulls out any residual carrier from the first modulator that results from the of intermodulation of the two modulation frequencies that would be audible at its descrambler output. The modulators used are low noise switch type modulators that improve the signal to noise ratio in the descrambled signal over the previously used linear modulators. The use of switch type modulators provides a lower cost device with improved performance.

Abstract: A video-scrambling system induces a random wobble i.e., time shifting, in the location of active portion of the video frame, without affecting the horizontal sync signal and colorburst in each video line, thus providing both security and concealment. The security is enhanced by filling in the gap between the nominal beginning of active video and the actual beginning of active video with a synthesized video signal which replicates the adjacent active video using a digitally generated filling pattern. Also, a random noise overlay further conceals the location of the gap. Additional concealment is provided by wiggling in time the location of the horizontal sync signal using one or two frequencies and also by randomly altering the location of the vertical sync signal. The NTSC digital encoding in accordance with the invention is simplified by using only two channels, chrominance and luminance, and by a heterodyne circuit for chrominance stability.

Abstract: A radio receiver receives FM subcarrier transmissions, and stores the transmitted textual information in a random access memory. The information is typically news, weather, sports, entertainment or other information of interest. A user interface allows selection from the memory of the stored information via a set of menus controlling a hierarchical database, so as to access particular items of information. A speech synthesizer accepts the accessed textual information items and transforms them into spoken speech. The user interface is either by voice or a single or multi-position switch allowing scanning through and selection from the menu items.

Abstract: A hybrid digital/analog video recorder prevents both analog and digital copying. The recorder (including a digital tape deck) inputs and outputs both analog and digital video signals. At the analog input, a detector detects conventional copy protection in the analog input video, and in response disables recording thereof. At the digital input, a first detector detects anti-copy bits present in the input material and in response prevents recording. A second bit detector detects serial copy prevention scheme bits, and in response adds an anti-copy bit to the input digital stream, preventing later copying of such material. When another bit detector detects anti-copy bits present in the playback digital data stream prior to conversion to analog, an analog copy protection signal modifies the output analog signal, inhibiting copying of the output signal. In another version, a specially adapted video recorder or playback device copy protects video source material which for technical reasons is not copy protectable.

Abstract: Copy protected video signals employing field-length-modulation (FLM) are effectively recorded by a VCR by stripping the rate-varying vertical sync pulses from the FLM video and reinserting constant rate vertical sync pulses having a rate equal to the mean frequency or half the mean frequency of the FLM sync pulses. Display of the recorded video on a conventional television monitor or set is achieved by removing the constant rate vertical sync pulses and reinstating the rate-varying FLM sync pulses. Timing marks placed at locations of stripped FLM sync pulses are used to position reinserted FLM sync pulses during playback of recorded video. Video gaps created by removed constant rate sync pulses are filled either with video information from a contiguous scan line or a filler signal to improve the appearance of the picture.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating a ramp at cutpoints in a cut and rotate video line scrambling system. The undesirable shortening of the active portion of the video line which typically occurs in cut and rotate scrambling to overcome the problem of abrupt transitions at the cutpoints is eliminated by providing a synthesized ramp between the video amplitude level at the cutpoint and the blanking level at each of the cutpoints. This synthesized ramp is calculated by digital logic in conjunction with a delay line for inserting the ramp at its proper temporal position in the video signal. The ramp approximates a sine.sup.2 function and is formed of three consecutive pixels, each pixel having an associated calculated video amplitude.

Abstract: A wide frequency deviation voltage controlled crystal oscillator includes a multiple section bandpass filter containing a plurality of crystal or ceramic elements. One embodiment includes a plurality of crystals which are connected into parallel conduction paths. The crystals have resonant frequencies which are separated by small, selected intervals so that the oscillator may be adjusted to a wider range of frequencies than prior art oscillators. Alternatively, the same result may be achieved by using crystals with the same resonant frequency and connecting each crystal to a capacitor having a selected value. In another embodiment a multiple section crystal or ceramic bandpass filter is substituted for the parallel conduction paths. The principles of the invention are applicable to a number of different devices, including the ringing circuits used in color televisions to perpetuate the color bursts which appear in the blanking intervals of the incoming TV signals.

Abstract: A technique for encrypting and decrypting information signals normally arranged as a succession of lines of active information, with each line having a line timing reference, such as color video information signals. The active video portion is time shifted with respect to the horizontal sync portion of the corresponding line using a predetermined slowly varying time shifting function. The time shifting information is conveyed to the decryption site by encoding the instantaneous value of the time shifting wave form for the beginning of each field in the vertical blanking portion of that field. To provide a reasonable maximum time shifting range, portions of the trailing edge of the active video in the preceding line and portions of the leading edge of the active video in the current line are discarded. During decryption, the original line timing and color burst signals are discarded and new signals are generated which are time displaced from the active video portion by the original amount before encryption.