Abstract: In a signal transmission and/or storage system including a transmission stage and, after transmission and/or storage of the signals transmitted on a passband-limited information carrier which implies a processing operation for reducing the quantity of information components to be transmitted and/or stored, a receiving and/or read stage for the transmitted and/or stored signals, which arrangement for processing signals at the transmission end includes a temporal sub-sampling sub-assembly, a motion estimation sub-assembly, a recovery sub-assembly with motion compensation, a decision-taking sub-assembly, and a fall-back processing sub-assembly, with or without spatial sub-sampling. Respective signal processing arrangements provided at the receiving end correspond to these arrangements with or without the said spatial sub-sampling.

Abstract: A motion estimator for high definition television transmission comprises a device which operates after motions have been estimated for an image (51), when the motions in a following image (53) are to be estimated. This device associates with a part (R) examined in an image (53) a group (5) of a plurality of parts of the preceding image (51) which group contains the part occupying, in the image, the same position as the examined part and likewise the adjacent parts, and investigates whether one of the nine motions determined for the nine parts of the said group (5) can be applied to the part R. If this is the case, the operation of the estimator is terminated for the part (R) examined and, moreover, the transmission of the motion for this part is then effected not by transmitting the value of the motion, but by designating that one of the parts of the group (5), the motion of which is appropriate.

Abstract: In high definition or ordinary television transmission/reception systems, and picture recording systems, for example those utilizing a laser readable disk, and in general in digital picture processing systems a picture is divided into several parts and each picture part is examined for determining thereof--in the presence of a series of pictures (20, 21, 22) succeeding each other in time--a movement vector (V). If it is desired to create intermediate pictures (23, 24) should be created between the pictures initially available, it is possible that several different vectors exist, which all yield equivalent results for certain picture parts.

Abstract: A motion estimator for high definition television transmission comprises a device which operates after motions have been estimated for an image (51), when the motions in a following image (53) are to be estimated. This device associates with a part (R) examined in an image (53) a group (5) of a plurality of parts of the preceding image (51) which group contains the part occupying, in the image, the same position as the examined part and likewise the adjacent parts, and investigates whether one of the nine motions determined for the nine parts of the said group (5) can be applied to the part R. If this is the case, the operation of the estimator is terminated for the part (R) examined and, moreover, the transmission of the motion for this part is then effected not by transmitting the value of the motion, but by designating that one of the parts of the group (5), the motion of which is appropriate.

Abstract: In a device for spatio-temporal sub-sampling of digital video signals representing a succession of interlaced or sequential images divided into blocks of m.times.n points (m and n being positive integers), the device comprising, in series, a circuit for the spatial prefiltering of the said sequence of fields, which circuit is intended to deliver a succession of sequential images which are limited with respect to the bandwidth, a spatial sub-sampling circuit, and a temporal sub-sampling circuit: a motion estimator which on the basis of, on the one hand, signals corresponding to the even fields and on the other hand, signals corresponding to the odd fields, delivers one or more information items on the motion in an odd field with respect to the which surround it.