Abstract: A tone display method is provided that can prevent image quality deterioration of the dynamic image and can avoid a cost increase. When an image with 256 tones is displayed, one field is divided into 37 subfields for one color. Among the 8 bits corresponding to the 256 tones, the six high-order bits from the third bit are displayed by means of time width modulation using 35 subfields SF3-SF37 having weights of ““4” and “8”. The two low-order bits are displayed on a binary base using two subfields SF1 and SF2 whose weights are “'1” and “2”, respectively.

Abstract: An apparatus and method useful in a test and measurement instrument for selecting a particular television field for display, determines the television system standard from the input signal, uses the standard selection to determine the time for one field, and multiplies the field rate by an operator-supplied number of fields to calculate the required holdoff time. The subject invention relieves the operator from turning the holdoff control multiple times, and also relieves the operator from having to calculate the time delays for any of one to seven fields of holdoff (in the case of a PAL signal).

Abstract: An apparatus for performing a generator locking for a video signal including a first video processing circuit for processing an input video signal, an expansion module having a second video processing circuit and a delay circuit having a delay time introduced by said second video processing circuit, a synchronizing signal separating circuit for separating a synchronizing signal from an external reference signal, and a phase-lock loop circuit for generating a reference control signal for said first video processing circuit as well as a phase comparison signal. Said phase comparison signal is fed-back to the phase-lock loop circuit by means of said delay circuit. Although the expansion module is connected to the expansion slot, a phase of a finally obtained video signal is remained in a same fixed relationship as a phase relationship when a connection board is connected to the expansion slot.

Abstract: The contents authoring unit classifies a program information into any one of the “information effective only in viewing”, the information effective only in recording/reproducing, and the “information effective in viewing and recording/reproducing”, and describes it on the basis of the classification. The contents controller of the receiving unit processes to classify the program information contained in the service information. The VCR control unit controls a VCR. Thereby, the invention utilizes the program information.

Abstract: A method for obtaining line synchronization information items from a video signal is proposed. To that end, the following improvement measures are proposed: a) an accurate determination of the position of a line synchronization pulse is effected by carrying out a convolution operation between the video signal for the video line and a pattern function. The exact position is then established by analysis of the result function (&phgr;sv(k)) of the convolution operation. B) time-domain filtering of the established positions of the line synchronization pulses is carried out, in which a linear or non-linear estimation for the purpose of determining the corrected positions of the line synchronization pulses is carried out in each case. The invention also relates to an apparatus for carrying out the method.

Abstract: A synchronization pulse detector for detecting a synchronization pulse within an input signal. The input signal has “level” portions (i.e., substantially non-time varying portions) and “transition” portions (i.e., substantially time varying portions). The pulse detector includes a pulse shape detector for determining each time the input signal has a sequence of a first “level” portion, followed by a first “transition” portion, followed by a second “level” portion, followed by a second “transition” portion followed by a third “level” portion, one of the first and second “transition” portions being positive and the other one of the first and second “transition” portions being negative. Each time such sequence is determined a pulse_shape detected pulse is produced. An evaluator is provided to reject invalid pulse_shape detected pulses.

Abstract: A digital television transmitter transmits a transport stream (hereinafter referred to as “TS”) comprising content data for a plurality of channels to receivers. In the transmitter, program information is periodically inserted in the TS; and an expected time of program alteration is included in said TS. A television receiver comprises a first portion always supplied with an electric power, a second portion which, if supplied with a second electric power, becomes capable of collecting program information included in said TS in corporation with said first portion, and a third portion which. if supplied with a third electric power, becomes capable of displaying said program. At an expected time of program alteration previously received, the second power is supplied to the second portion to collect program information, which is preferably stored in nonvolatile memory.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for controlling and detecting the alignment of a color frame phase from a composite analog video signal decodes the composite analog video signal to produce a component digital video signal and to generate a color frame signal that represents the start of each color frame for the composite analog video signal. Based upon the color frame signal a flag signal is inserted into the component digital video signal. The component digital video signal is captured by an analyzer based upon the flag signal so that the captured component digital video signal is in color frame phase with a stored reference component digital video signal. Preferably the stored reference component digital video signal represents a test sequence having an integer number of color frames plus or minus one video frame.

Abstract: When a video signal is double-speed processed by the first device, a slight vertical deflection process is performed for redundant similar scan lines by the second device, and any slight deflection in the second device is controlled by the first device to thereby enable setting so as to always display images with excellent resolution. More particularly, a discrimination signal is generated by the first device to designate interlaced scanning and flag a need for vertical scan-line deflection, and such discrimination signal is provided to the second device such that the second device can always appropriately determine the need for vertical scan-line deflection. Through monitoring for the discrimination signal, an image display apparatus is capable of preventing vertical resolution from being deteriorated when video signals possibly requiring vertical line-shifting are inputted from an external source.

Abstract: A system and method of controlling a memory of an HDTV video decoder is disclosed which has a video bit stream write buffer, a bit stream read buffer, a motion compensate buffer, a store buffer and a display buffer and outputs request signals to read/write a data from/into an external memory every time it is needed in order to decode an input video bit stream. The method includes the steps of prioritizing the request signals output and sending an authorization signal in response to each of the request signals.

Abstract: A video signal processing system including a scaler and a VBI decoder is provided. The video signal processing system includes a control signal generator for generating a mode select signal for selecting one of a normal mode for reading or writing the active video data from or to the memory, and a VBI mode for reading or writing the VBI data from or to the memory. A control signal is also generated for enabling data to be read or written from or to the memory in each of the modes. A multiplexer multiplexes active video data and VBI data in accordance with the mode select signal.

Abstract: A method for generating interlaced video signals representative of color images of a scene includes the following steps: deriving a progressively scanned luminance signal representative of the scene at a first frame rate; deriving interlaced scanned color component signals and a color-derived luminance component representative of the scene; high pass filtering and scan converting the luminance signal to obtain an interlaced detail luminance component; low pass filtering the interlaced color component signals and color-derived luminance component to obtain interlaced chrominance output signals and an interlaced low pass luminance component; and combining the detail luminance component and the low pass luminance component to obtain an interlaced luminance output signal.

Abstract: A method of de-interlacing used to convert an interlaced video signal to a progressively scanned format utilizing vertical temporal filtering to generate the missing lines, utilizing appropriate filter coefficients to give a desired vertical frequency response, and filter utilizing coefficients such that the total combined contribution from all fields is unity while the total contribution from each individual field is chosen so as to boost higher temporal frequencies which has the perceived effect of increasing the sharpness of moving edges. Furthermore, in order to avoid certain unwanted artifacts, the lines of the current field are modified using a vertical temporal filter with similar temporal boosting properties to that which was used to generate the missing lines.

Abstract: A method for compiling and searching the word content of multiple television news programs uses closed captioning text encoded in the television signal. A remotely located server, using a closed captioning decoder, extracts a closed captioned text stream from a television signal and writes the text stream to a file according to parameters pre-programmed by the system administrator. A completed text file moves, via the Internet, from the remote central server to a central server. At the central server, the text file encounters a series of pre-index processes designed to impose consistency across all sources. Text files are parsed into smaller files by story or segment. The resulting multiple files are indexed by content and origination information. An interface for submitting search parameters is provided through a World Wide Web site. The site provides web pages to allow search parameters to be specified by a user.

Abstract: In a color signal generating circuit, color signals are generated based on an image signal of an odd field of an interlace scanning and the color signals are stored. A luminance signal generating circuit generates a luminance signal based on the image signal of an odd field. An arithmetic circuit generates an interpolation luminance signal based on the color signals previously stored in the color signal generating circuit. A color difference generating circuit generates a color difference signal based on the color signals previously stored in the color generating circuit. Arranged as such, the color signal generating circuit avoids reduced vertical resolution and deviations in the displayed image when progressively scanning image information is generated from interlace scanning image information.

Abstract: An image display method displays an image by different gradation conversion in every pixel, on the basis of gradation frequency distribution of luminance of pixels near an edge of the image, and counting of gradation frequency of luminance of pixels near the edge is weighted depending on the coordinate values of each pixel so as to eliminate relative contrast drop in the image central part from the image peripheral parts.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods and apparatuses for stitching a first and second audiovisual segment together. By way of example, each audiovisual segment has a multiplicity of audio frames including a first audio frame, a second audio frame that sequentially follows the first audio frame and a last audio frame. The audiovisual segment further includes a multiplicity of video frames having a first video frame and a last video frame. The method includes the step of aligning an initial audio frame in the first audiovisual segment with the first video frame in the first audiovisual segment. The first audio frame from the first audiovisual segment is designated as the initial audio frame when a tab error associated with the first audio frame from the first audiovisual segment is less than about half a frame.

Abstract: When viewing a 4:3 aspect ratio image on a widescreen display, disturbing black bands appear to the left and right of the displayed image. Similarly, when viewing a letterbox image on a 4:3 aspect ratio display, disturbing black bands appear above and below the displayed image. These black bands result in uneven ageing of the phosphors in the display screen. An apparatus is provided which detects these black bands and automatically expands the image in the appropriate direction such that these black bands are automatically eliminated.

Abstract: An image processing system 11 is arranged to produce data representing a combined image from foreground data F representing a foreground subject in front of a chroma backing and background data B representing a background image. The foreground data is processed and color corrected to produce first and second processed foreground data which is combined in a combiner 25 under the control of a first key K1. The background data is processed using a second key K2 to “cut” a “hole” in the background image. The processed background data and the combined foreground data are added together in an adder 44. A third key K3 is used to remove unwanted data from the added foreground and background data and to combine the resulting data with the processed background data in a combiner 45.

Abstract: A remote control unit for efficiently selecting programming/channels is disclosed. The remote control unit is particularly applicable to receiver stations that receive transmitted signals from more than one source on more than one frequency. Movement back and forth between the different signal sources typically calls for the viewer to perform more than one selection operation. In the disclosed embodiment, a single selection operation (e.g., entry of a desired channel number or operation of one of the arrow keys or the up/down channel keys) initiates the several actions that are needed to move from one source to another and select a channel associated therewith. The different sources may be identified automatically based on channel assignments. In the disclosed embodiments, the channel number assignments for one signal source are in the range from “0” to “99,” and the channel number assignments for another signal source are in the range from “100” to “999.