Abstract: A method and apparatus for high efficiency encoding of digital data whereby input digital data may be encoded by so-called high efficiency encoding. The high efficiency device includes a signal component encoding circuit including in turn a bandwidth storage circuit 62 for holding the information on the playback band of a previous block, that is the information on the bandwidth of bit allocation performed in the previous block, or the value of the number of the playback encoding units, and a control circuit 63 for deciding the number of playback encoding units of the current block based upon the playback band information, that is the value of the number of the playback encoding units, in the previous block, held by the bandwidth storage circuit 62.

Abstract: A signal encoding method for real-time encoding an acoustic signal using a small hardware. The spectral signal components of an input signal are split into encoding units as the units for encoding. At step ST102, an estimated value of the required number of bits is computed from one encoding unit to another. The total number of bits required in encoding the spectral signal components of the input signal is adjusted in steps ST103 and in the following steps based on the estimated value of the number of bits computed from one encoding unit to another.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for high efficiency encoding audio signals. The high-efficiency encoding apparatus includes a transform circuit for transforming an input signal into frequency components and a signal component separating circuit for separating the frequency components into tonal components and noisy components. The high-efficiency encoding apparatus also includes a tonal component encoding circuit for encoding tonal components and a noisy component encoding circuit for encoding noisy components. The tonal components are made up only of signal components of a specified band and encoded along with the information specifying the band. The noisy components are normalized and quantized every pre-set encoding unit and encoded along with the quantization precision information. The information on the numbers of quantization steps of the noisy components is encoded with a smaller number of bits for the high-range side than for the low-range side.

Abstract: In the signal encoding apparatus and the signal encoding method of this invention, normalization coefficients for normalizing a first signal are set to an interval finer than that of normalization coefficients for normalizing a second signal. Namely, accuracy of normalization coefficients at the time of normalizing tone characteristic components is caused to be higher than accuracy of normalization coefficients at the time of normalizing noise characteristic components. Thus, this invention can carry out efficient encoding. In other words, this invention can improve accuracy of encoding of tone characteristic components while suppressing the number of bits necessary for encoding of noise components. As a whole, more efficient encoding can be carried out. Moreover, in the recording medium of this invention, since signals efficiently encoded by the signal encoding apparatus or the signal encoding method of this invention are recorded, recording capacity is effectively utilized.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for transmitting and receiving the information for smooth distribution of the information, such as the news or music, to a number of recipients with sufficient quality. The information to be transmitted, that is the transmission information, is repetitively transmitted at a rate higher than the rate of information reproduction at a receiver. The transmission to be received, that is the reception information, can be recorded in a shorter time by the receiver. Also, the information repetitively transmitted at a rate higher than the rate of information reproduction is received and the reception information is recorded from the repeatedly transmitted received information, so that the required information can be received in a shorter time.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for encoding an input signal in which the input signal is transformed into frequency components which are encoded by quantization from one encoding unit to another. The information specifying zero encoding units among the encoding units in which encoding is done on the assumption that all frequency components contained in them are deemed to be zero are encoded, is encoded, while the quantization step information of the zero encoding units is outputted without encoding. With the encoding method and apparatus, the number of the encoding bits may be decreased while deterioration in the input signal is prohibited for improving the encoding efficiency.

Abstract: In this invention, an approach is employed to carry out blocking of an input signal to transform the blocked signals into spectrum signals to divide the spectrum signals into a plurality of units to normalize them thereafter to implement variable length encoding to all or a portion of the spectrum signals to output the variable-length encoded signals along with normalization coefficient and the number of re-quantization bits of each unit, wherein an upper limit is provided with respect to the number of bits per each block of a signal to be encoded and outputted to compulsorily change, in a block for which the number of bits above the upper limit is required, normalization coefficient of at least one unit thereafter to re-quantize and entropy-encode a corresponding signal to output the encoded spectrum signal, thereby permitting hardware scale to be smaller as compared to the conventional apparatus without depending upon unevenness of the number of bits by variable length encoding.

Abstract: A signal encoding apparatus for encoding an acoustic signal. This signal encoding apparatus includes a transform circuit for transforming an inputted acoustic signal into frequency components, a signal component separating circuit for separating an output of the transform circuit into tone characteristic components and noise characteristic components, a tone characteristic encoding circuit for encoding a signal of tone characteristic components, and a noise characteristic component encoding circuit for encoding a signal of noise characteristic components, wherein the tone characteristic component encoding circuit encodes respective signal components of the signal of tone characteristic components so that they respectively have different code lengths to thereby improve efficiency of encoding without degrading sound quality with respect to acoustic signal of tone characteristic.

Abstract: A method for encoding the information has a forward inverse transform step of forward orthogonal transforming an input signal using a pre-set windowing function to form an output spectral signal, and an encoding step of encoding the resulting output spectral signal from the forward orthogonal transform. The preset windowing function having a smaller slope of a characteristic curve at both skirt ends is employed. This allows efficient encoding when employing a transform constituting a waveform signal by overlapping waveform elements with both neighboring waveform elements for generating a waveform signal during inverse orthogonal transform, such as MDCT.

Abstract: A signal encoding method and apparatus by which a high encoding efficiency may be achieved by encoding tonal components of plural channels by exploiting channel-to-channel characteristics. The encoding of separately encoding first signals of plural channels is selectively changed over to the encoding of encoding the first signals of plural channels in common or vice versa depending on the results of detection of characteristics of the first signals of plural channels. The compression ratio may be improved if the first signals are encoded in common, while ill effects due to encoding in common may be avoided by separately encoding the first signals of plural channels.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for transmitting and receiving the information for smooth distribution of the information, such as the news or music, to a number of recipients with sufficient quality. The information to be transmitted, that is the transmission information, is repetitively transmitted at a rate higher than the rate of information reproduction at a receiver. The transmission to be received, that is the reception information, can be recorded in a shorter time by the receiver. Also, the information repetitively transmitted at a rate higher than the rate of information reproduction is received and the reception information is recorded from the repeatedly transmitted received information, so that the required information can be received in a shorter time.

Abstract: In this invention, in the case of transforming an input waveform signal into frequency components at a frequency component decomposing circuit 701 to allow the frequency components from the frequency component decomposing circuit 701 to undergo normalization and quantization, and encoding at a normalizing/quantizing circuit 702 and a code train generating circuit 703, operation of QMF is omitted with respect to bands of the unnecessary side by a processing band control circuit 704, whereby the number of operations necessary for filter operation is reduced so that high speed operation can be carried out and work area necessary for filter operation can be reduced. Namely, this invention can simplify filter operation in accordance with, e.g., required quality of reproduction signal, and can reduce circuit scale of encoding unit/decoding unit.

Abstract: An information encoding method and apparatus, an information decoding method and apparatus and an information transmission method in which encoding and decoding with higher efficiency and higher sound quality may be achieved by gain control in meeting with the degree of amplitude changes in the attack portion and the pre-echo may be prevented from occurring. Gain control and gain control compensation operations are performed by applying a gain control function with a smaller gain control quantity and by applying a gain control function with a larger gain control quantity to a signal waveform portion having a level just ahead of an attack portion higher than a pre-set level and to a signal waveform portion having an extremely low level just ahead of the attack portion, respectively.

Abstract: A method for encoding the information is provided which realizes a high encoding efficiency especially for tonal acoustic signals without lowering the sound quality. An acoustic signal from a terminal is transformed by a transform circuit into spectral signals which are then normalized and quantized by a signal component encoding circuit for encoding from one encoding unit to another. The encoding unit configuration is selected by an encoding unit configuration decision circuit from plural encoding unit configurations depending upon the shape of distribution of the spectral components. An encoding unit of narrow low bandwidth is selected for a tonal signal.

Abstract: The present invention includes an encoding and decoding apparatus and method where there is used a transform processing to allow a waveform element of a corresponding block to interfere with waveform elements of blocks adjoining in both directions at the time of inverse transform processing as in the case of, e.g., MDCT, to compose a waveform signal, amplifying processing in encoding and corresponding correction processing in decoding can be carried out without inconsistency between blocks. Thus, occurrence of pre-echo can be prevented by simple configuration by using spectrum transform processing of high encoding efficiency.

Abstract: An apparatus for recording the transfer information transferred to it includes a plurality of recording media for recording the transfer information transferred from an information transfer apparatus, a writing control unit for controlling the writing of the transfer information in the recording media, and a transfer control unit for transmitting the transfer control information and an information transfer request signal to the information transfer apparatus. The transfer control information is the information for determining the transfer sequence of information blocks when the information transfer apparatus transmits the transfer information as the information blocks. The information recording apparatus transmits an information transfer request signal after transmitting the transfer control information to the information transfer apparatus.

Abstract: An information recording/reproducing device (portable recorder) of an information providing and collecting apparatus, which comprises an information recording unit for recording information into a primary recording medium, e.g., a semiconductor memory; an information reproducing unit for reproducing information recorded in the primary recording medium; and an information selector and a reproduction selector for selecting a specific portion of information recorded in the primary recording medium. The information recording unit is controlled by a control unit so that it records select information indicating a specific portion of information from the information selector. In addition, the information reproducing unit is controlled by the control unit so that it reproduces, from the primary recording medium, information of the specific portion specified by select information to transfer the reproduced information to a secondary recording medium, e.g., a magneto-optical disk.

Abstract: A method, and the apparatus for its implementation, for encoding an input signal includes the steps of transforming an input signal into frequency components, as for example by spectrum transform processing, separating the frequency components into a first signal consisting of tone characteristic components and a second signal consisting of other components, encoding the first signal, and encoding a signal based on the second signal.

Abstract: An information transfer system comprises a random accessible recording medium, a request information input section connected to a detachable information recording device, and an information output section connected to the detachable information recording device, thus to output, through the information output section, information read out at random from the recording medium on the basis of request information input through the request information input section. The information recording device stores information input through an information input section into a temporary recording section thereafter to record a recording medium comprised of a plurality of recording medium pieces, thereby making it possible to correctly record information at a high speed even in the case where a recording medium having relatively low write speed is employed.

Abstract: According to the present invention, for encoding input signals, the input signals are transformed into frequency components, and the frequency components are separated into a first signal composed of tonal components and a second signal composed of other components. The first and second signals are encoded respectively, and code strings for transmission or recording are generated on the basis of encoded signals resulting from first and second encoding. For example, only the first signal is encoded and the code string is caused to include partial information strings grouped so as to have common values on the basis of at least one of reference parameters pertaining to the signal separation and parameters pertaining to the first encoding. Thus, more efficient encoding than in the conventional technique can be realized.