Abstract: A media editing apparatus for editing media items together to form a media product comprises means for displaying at least two representations of the media items, each representation relating to media items lying within a respective time period with respect to the media product; a user control for adjusting the time period of any one of the at least two representations; and means, responsive to a user adjustment of the time period for a current representation, for adjusting the respective time periods of the other representations so that the time periods for the other representations at least encompass the user-adjusted time period for the current representation.

Abstract: Signal processing apparatus is described in which at least two sets of automated signal processing functions are controlled by stored automation commands, at times dependent upon at least two respective timecode signals which may each be associated with a respective source signal supplied to the signal processing apparatus.

Abstract: A receiver is operable to detect a synchronisation position for recovering data from a set of received signal samples. The receiver comprises a filter having an impulse response matched to a predetermined characteristic of the received signal and is operable to produce an output signal which is representative of the convolution of the impulse response and the received signal samples. The receiver includes a synchronisation detector operable to detect the synchronisation position from the filter output signal, and a data detector operable to detect and recover data from the set of received signal samples from the synchronisation position provided by the synchronisation detector.

Abstract: Data indicative of a transfer mode of a transmission packet may be inserted into a payload portion contained in a serial digital transfer interface (SDTI) transmission packet. Also, data indicative of a timing mode of the transmission packet may be inserted into this payload portion. As the transfer mode, there may be provided a synchronous transfer mode and an isochronous transfer mode in addition to an asynchronous transfer mode. A timing mode may prescribe a timing mode in which a transmission packet may be transferred in synchronism with a field of a transmission frame. There may be provided a normal mode using a first field, an advanced mode using a second field and a dual mode using both fields. Depending upon the manner in which the timing mode is set, a system delay between the transmission and the reception can be minimized.

Abstract: An audio signal processor which modifies audio signal components outside the conventional audio frequency band. The processor includes a Delta Sigma Modulator (DSM) that receives a non-interpolated digital audio signal sampled at a frequency of at least 198 kHz.

Abstract: A data processing apparatus is operable to determine non-linear distortion applied to an image in which template signals have been introduced into at least first and second frequency bands of the image respectively, the template signals having a predetermined relationship with each other. The apparatus comprises an image dividing processor operable to generate data representative of selected parts of the image, a transform detection processor operable to generate at least one parameter representative of a linear transformation applied to each of the parts of the image, and a non-linear transform processor operable to estimate parameters of a non-linear transformation representative of the non-linear distortion applied to the image from the linear transform parameters of at least two parts of the image. The data processing apparatus provides a facility for determining parameters of a non-linear transform representative of the distortion applied to the image as a whole.

Abstract: An antenna switch including a transmit connection for inputting a radio frequency signal, an antenna connection for connection to an antenna for transmitting the radio frequency signal, and a signal path between transmit connection and the antenna connection including at least one transmit transistor controllable to connect selectively the transmit connection to the antenna connection so as to transfer the radio frequency signal from the transmit connection to the antenna connection wherein the transmit transistor is arranged so as to provide a stage of amplification to the radio frequency signal.

Abstract: A decoder 2 decodes a first compressed digital video bitstream whilst preserving the compression parameters thereof, the compression parameters including a first buffer occupancy value VBV—1 representing the occupancy by the said first bitstream of a buffer of the decoder. A signal processor 40 processes the decompressed bitstream. An encoder 6 compresses the processed bitstream to produce a second compressed bitstream having a target bit rate, optionally with reuse of the said compression parameters of the first bitstream, the second bitstream having a second occupancy value VBV—2 representing the occupancy of a downstream decoder buffer by the said second bitstream.

Abstract: Decoders A and B decode MPEG-2 bitstreams A and B. A switch (S1) switches from decoded stream A to decoded stream B to achieve a splice. The resulting bitstream is re-encoded in an encoder 4. A new transitional GOP is defined beginning at the splice. The new GOP is defined by picture type decision rules which may have the effect of changing the GOP compared to the GOPs of streams A and B. The new GOP provides an initial prediction of the position in stream B where the occupancy value of stream C should coincide with that of B. A target for the new number of bits in the new GOP is calculated as the sum of the normal allocation of bits for the new GOP plus the difference between the occupancy value of stream C at the splice and a prediction of the occupancy of stream B at the predicted position. The occupancy value of stream C is controlled in accordance with the target so that it tends towards the occupancy value of stream B at the predicted position.

Abstract: This invention relates to a data transmission method or the like suitable for transmitting video data, audio data or the like. There is transmitted a serial digital transfer interface transmission packet in which an interval of each line of a video frame comprises an end synchronizing code area into which an end synchronizing code is inserted, an ancillary data area into which ancillary data is inserted, a start synchronizing code area into which a start synchronizing code is inserted and a payload area. The payload area has inserted thereto first data containing extension data having editing point information at the picture unit of video data and second data containing main data comprising video data and/or audio data. The reception side is able to effect a necessary processing such as muting of sounds on the editing point by effectively utilizing editing point information.

Abstract: The present invention provides an editing system and method for editing source content such as video and/or audio material to produce an edited content sequence, source metadata being associated with portions of the source content. The system comprises storage for storing a template defining a desired style for content, template metadata being provided within the template to define the desired style, and a processing unit configured to apply the template to the source content by comparing the source metadata with the template metadata and to arrange the portions of source content in accordance with the comparison to produce the edited content sequence. This provides an efficient technique for providing an editor with a first cut in which the content has been arranged into a desired style, thereby avoiding the need for the user to spend time familiarizing himself/herself with the content prior to performing editing of the source content.

Abstract: Apparatus for storing or transmitting a one-bit digital signal comprises an input inverter for inverting a subset of the data bits of an input one-bit digital signal, to generate a bit-inverted signal; a storage or transmission medium for storing or transmitting the bit-inverted signal; and an output inverter for inverting the subset of the data bits of the bit-inverted signal, to regenerate the input one-bit digital signal.

Abstract: When a serial digital transfer interface transmission packet in which an interval of each line of a video frame comprises an area into which an end synchronizing code EAV is inserted, an area into which header data is inserted, an area into which a start synchronizing code SAV is inserted and a payload area into which data containing video data and/or audio data is inserted is transmitted, a transmission packet is generated by inserting frame sequence data for managing the phase of the audio data into the payload area at its audio item portion of a header area corresponding to an audio data block area into which the audio data is inserted and transmitted in the form of serial data. Also, a transmission packet is generated by inserting not only the frame sequence data but also data indicative of the number of audio samples contained in a frame indicated by the frame sequence data into an audio sample count area corresponding to the audio data block area and transmitted.

Abstract: A system for facilitating copyright protection of material includes an apparatus for detecting the presence or absence of a block of data, which may have been embedded repeatedly a predetermined number of times in the material. The presence or absence of the data block is detected from data representative of versions of the data block recovered from the material. The apparatus comprises an accumulator operable to combine the value of the bit at each corresponding position within each recovered version of the data block to generate for each bit an accumulated score. A detection processor is operable to compare the value of the accumulated scores for the bits of the block with at least one threshold, and from the comparison determine a total number of detected bits of the data block. The detection processor declares the data block as being present or absent in dependence upon the total number of detected bits.

Abstract: A video information retrieval system comprising a client system having a request issuer for issuing a search request in respect of desired video material; and a video accessor for accessing video material on the basis of a uniform resource locator (URL) and a SMPTE unique material identifier (UMID). The retrieval system also comprising a server system having access to one or more databases containing metadata information relating to a plurality of video material items, a UMID associated with each video material item and at least one URL associated with each UMID. A receiver is provided for receiving a search request from the client system and detecting one or more video material items for which metadata information stored in at least one of the database(s) substantially corresponds to the search request. An information supplier supplies the metadata information, the URL and the UMID relating to the one or more detected video material items to the client system.

Abstract: An editing system has a video store for storing a video sequence and a text store for storing a sequence of text associated with the video sequence. Displays and are provided for displaying the video and the text on the text display. The current text position is indicated by a cursor 10 or by another marker. The frames of the video sequence have time codes associated therewith. Corresponding time codes are associated with the text using the time codes and the rate n of reading words:— The current position in the text is controllable in dependence on the time code of the video frames; and the video frame currently displayed is controllable in dependence upon the current position in the text.

Abstract: A digital signal comprises data blocks. Each data block includes a header containing data relating to the block and a plurality of slots. Each slot has a slot header relating to the slot and a data packet. A plurality of data packets contains at least a first part and subsequent parts of the digital signal. A first slot includes the first part of the digital signal and a reference time defining a time of production of the first part. Each subsequent slot contains a subsequent part of the digital signal and timing information defining a time of production of the subsequent part relative to the reference time.

Abstract: A data processor comprises a data compression encoder which operates to compression encode source data into compression encoded data having a variable compressed data rate, a multiplexer coupled to the data compression encoder and arranged in operation to concatenate the compressed data and ancillary data into a concatenated data stream, and a control processor coupled to the multiplexer and arranged in operation to control the multiplexer whereby a combined data rate of the concatenated data stream is less than or equal to a pre-determined maximum. The data processor finds application with a compression encoder which operates in accordance with an MPEG-type encoding algorithm. The source data may be representative of video signals or audio signals, and the ancillary data may be descriptive metadata.

Abstract: A data processing system comprises a data compression decoder arranged in operation to decode first and second encoded data to produce first and second uncompressed data representative of first and second source data from which the first and second encoded data were produced in accordance with a compression encoding algorithm respectively. The data compression decoder also produces first and second compression parameter data representative of encoding decisions made by the compression encoding algorithm when the first and second source data was compression encoded.

Abstract: A motion predictive inter frame compression system comprising a wavelet transform unit (80) for transforming space domain image data to the frequency domain. A motion estimator (30) operates in the space domain to produce motion vectors. The motion vectors are converted in a converter (31) to the frequency domain.