Patents Examined by James Reed, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5894334
    Abstract: A television signal receiver for processing an HDTV signal transmitted in a vestigial sideband (VSB) format includes input complex filters shared by a timing recovery network (30) and a carrier recovery network (50). The filter network includes a pair of upper and lower band edge filters (20, 22) mirror imaged around the upper and lower band edges of the VSB signal for producing suppressed subcarrier AM output signals. The timing recovery network includes a phase detector (28, 38, 62) and responds to an AM signal derived from the two filters (via 26) for synchronizing a system clock (CLK). The carrier recovery network (50) also includes a phase detector (54, 60, 62, 64), and responds to outputs from one or both of the filters for producing an output error signal (.DELTA.) representing a phase/frequency offset of the VSB signal. The error signal is used to reduce or eliminate the offset to produce a recovered baseband or near baseband signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 13, 1999
    Assignee: RCA Thomson Licensing Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher Hugh Strolle, Steven Todd Jaffe
  • Patent number: 5847772
    Abstract: The invention provides methods and apparatus for filtering an input video frame sequence to be encoded. An odd-tap filter is used to generate a first interpolated pixel from a group of pixels in an even field of the video sequence. An even-tap filter is used to generate a second interpolated pixel from a group of pixels in an odd field of the video sequence. The use of the even-tap filter for the group of pixels in the odd field ensures that the interpolated pixels generated for both the odd and even fields are located at substantially the same vertical location. This significantly reduces an undesirable vertical signal component which would otherwise be generated when the first and second interpolated pixels are subtracted as part of a field comparison operation. The resulting improvement in field comparison accuracy provides advantages in a variety of video preprocessing applications such as deinterlacing, inverse telecine processing, adaptive field/frame filtering and PAL video framing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 8, 1998
    Inventor: Aaron Wells
  • Patent number: 5828416
    Abstract: A transport decoder 110, for receiving and processing a transport data stream using MPEG-2 formats, includes connections to a physical layer channel interface (channel interface) 112, a buffer memory 114, a host microprocessor 116, audio and video decoders 118/120, and clock signal circuitry 122.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1998
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Corporation of America
    Inventor: Robert T. Ryan
  • Patent number: 5815220
    Abstract: A digital sampling and separation unit (12) for a television receiver (10) of a composite video signal, such as an NTSC signal, which has a color subcarrier. The video signal is sampled at a frequency selected in accordance with the invention. This frequency provides samples having a definite and repeating phase relationship with the subcarrier signal. (FIG. 4). As a result, phase reference values can be used to convert the samples into correct color difference values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 29, 1998
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Stephen W. Marshall