Abstract: A video recording and reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by a hard disk device and a DVD-RAM drive which records a video signal and management information for the video signal in a recording medium and an MPU which senses that a vertical blanking interval of an inputted video signal contains a WSS signal that may be outputted to an effective video area and in that if the MPU detects the containment of the WSS signal, the MPU records intrinsic information indicative of the containment of the WSS signal in a management information recording area of the recording medium.

Abstract: A television audiovisual apparatus using a personal computer comprises an audio/video I/O interface including a television tuner, disposed in the personal computer, and an information compression/decompression unit for compressing audio/video signals input through the audio/video I/O interface in accordance with the MPEG2 specifications to store the compressed audio/video signals in a large capacity storage disposed in the personal computer, and for decompressing compressed audio/video signals in accordance with the MPEG2 specifications.

Abstract: A video on demand system includes one or more hybrid fiber coax access networks connecting set top units to corresponding head end units. The head end unit for an access network is connected to an asynchronous transfer mode wide area network (ATM WAN). A hierarchical system of video servers, including at least one center server and at least one local server, or cache node, are also connected to the ATM WAN. When a user wishes to select a video, a service control unit coupled to the ATM WAN generates a selection list of proposed videos for which server and network resources are available to immediately serve the user-selected video. The service control unit determines whether server and network resources are available by sending separate queries to server and network resources management control units. Alternatively, the service control unit may generate the selection list based on whether the probability of a particular video being immediately served is greater than a threshold.

Abstract: After recording of video data is programmed, it is determined, during the activation of a task of executing the programmed recording, whether or not a recording-destination drive included in a plurality of recording drives is being accessed by another task of transferring or copying recorded data. If the recording-destination drive is being accessed by the another task, the another task accessing the recording-destination drive is interrupted, and the programmed recording is executed.

Abstract: In a method of detecting motion vector data indicative of motion of a partial area in an input picture from any area on a reference picture, a first distortion between a partial area constructed by fields of the input picture and a partial area constructed by fields of the reference picture is calculated as a first evaluation value; a position of the partial area constructed by the fields of the reference picture at which the first evaluation value becomes the minimum value is detected; a search window on a frame of the reference picture is set on the basis of a detected position of the partial area constructed by the fields of the reference picture previously detected; and a second distortion between a partial area constructed by a frame in the set search window and a partial area constructed by a frame of the input picture is calculated as a second evaluation value, and a position of the partial area constructed by the frame of the reference picture at which the second evaluation value becomes the minimum v

Abstract: A video coding apparatus comprising a memory for storing a coded picture signal used as a reference picture signal, a vector detecting circuit for detecting, from plural field picture signals or plural frame picture signals which are read out from the memory and the reference picture signals, an optimum motion regarding a picture to be coded, a prediction signal producing circuit for subjecting a spatial-temporal filtering to a reference picture designated by the optimum motion vector to produce a prediction signal, and a coding circuit for coding the to-be coded picture signal on the basis of the prediction signal.

Abstract: A video coding apparatus comprising a memory for storing a coded picture signal used as a reference picture signal, a vector detecting circuit for detecting, from plural field picture signals or plural frame picture signals which are read out from the memory and the reference picture signals, an optimum motion regarding a picture to be coded, a prediction signal producing circuit for subjecting a spatial-temporal filtering to a reference picture designated by the optimum motion vector to produce a prediction signal, and a coding circuit for coding the to-be coded picture signal on the basis of the prediction signal.

Abstract: An information transmit system includes a first communication element having a guaranteed quality required to transmit real-time information, and a second communication element different from the first communication element. The system also includes a transmission element for transmitting stored real-time information using the first communication element and for transmitting real-time data using the second communication element, where the real-time data using the second communication element has corresponding time stamps later in time than the real-time data transmitted by the first communication element. For example, a time stamp of the real-time data may be used to transmit the data in either a normal direction (using the first communication element), or in a retrospective direction (using the second communication element).

Abstract: A video coding apparatus comprising a memory for storing a coded picture signal used as a reference picture signal, a vector detecting circuit for detecting, from plural field picture signals or plural frame picture signals which are read out from the memory and the reference picture signals, an optimum motion regarding a picture to be coded, a prediction signal producing circuit for subjecting a spatial-temporal filtering to a reference picture designated by the optimum motion vector to produce a prediction signal, and a coding circuit for coding the to-be coded picture signal on the basis of the prediction signal.

Abstract: A method for allocating bits to be used to compression code digital data signals representing a group of pictures in a motion video sequence. The pictures within each group of pictures to be coded are identified as being one of a plurality of different picture types. The total number of bits to be used in compression coding the group of pictures is determined based on a fixed target bit-rate. The number of bits for use in compression coding a picture in said group of pictures is allocated from said total number of bits using a number of pictures in each of the plurality of picture types in order to produce an allocation of bits which meet the fixed target bit-rate.

Abstract: A video coding apparatus comprising a memory for storing a coded picture signal used as a reference picture signal, a vector detecting circuit for detecting, from plural field picture signals or plural frame picture signals which are read out from the memory and the reference picture signals, an optimum motion regarding a picture to be coded, a prediction signal producing circuit for subjecting a spatial-temporal filtering to a reference picture designated by the optimum motion vector to produce a prediction signal, and a coding circuit for coding the to-be coded picture signal on the basis of the prediction signal.

Abstract: A motion picture coding apparatus for performing predictive coding on a high-resolution picture signal and coding a low-resolution picture signal obtained by converting the high-resolution picture signal. One field is thinned out from one frame of a picture by a field skip circuit 102, the other field is down-sampled by a down-sampling circuit 29, thereby forming a low-resolution picture. A low-resolution predictive signal, obtained by up-sampling the low-resolution picture by an up-sampling circuit 35, and a high-resolution predictive signal, which is produced from a high-resolution picture and corresponds to the thinned-out one field, are alternately combined by a predictor 104 to form a predictive signal.

Abstract: A video recording/reproducing apparatus having an encoder for encoding a video signal, and a recording unit for recording encoded information from the encoder on a digital recording medium, the encoder comprising a memory for storing at least first and second reference pictures, a prediction circuit for forming a prediction signal for an input signal, using a first reference signal from the first reference picture designated by a first motion vector, and a second reference signal from the second reference picture designated by a second motion vector, a first motion vector detector for determining a third motion vector from a point of intersection of the first motion vector and the second motion vector to a point in the second reference picture where the first motion vector intersects the second reference picture, a second motion vector detector for determining a differential motion vector by subtracting the third motion vector from the second motion vector, and an encoding circuit for encoding the first motio

Abstract: A video coding apparatus includes a memory for storing a coded picture signal used as a reference picture signal, a vector detecting circuit for detecting, from plural field picture signals or plural frame picture signals which are read out from the memory and the reference picture signals, an optimum motion vector regarding a picture to be coded, a prediction signal producing circuit for subjecting a spatial-temporal filtering to a reference picture designated by the optimum motion vector to produce a prediction signal, and a coding circuit for coding the to-be-coded picture signal on the basis of the prediction signal.

Abstract: A video decoding apparatus including a memory for storing at least first and second reference pictures, a prediction signal forming circuit for forming a prediction signal to produce an output signal, using a first reference signal designated by a first motion vector for the first reference picture and a second reference signal designated by a second motion vector for the second reference picture read out of the memory. Also included is a decoding circuit for decoding the transmitted first motion vector and a transmitted motion vector difference, and for further decoding the second motion vector by adding a scaled motion vector and the motion vector difference. The scaled motion vector is derived by scaling the first motion vector to a motion vector for the second reference picture. Further included is a decoding circuit for decoding a transmitted difference signal and for obtaining the output signal by adding the difference signal and the prediction signal.

Abstract: A motion picture coding apparatus for performing predictive coding on a high-resolution picture signal and coding a low-resolution picture signal obtained by converting the high-resolution picture signal. One field is thinned out from one frame of a picture by a field skip circuit, the other field is down-sampled by a down-sampling circuit 29, thereby forming a low-resolution picture. A low-resolution predictive signal, obtained by up-sampling the low-resolution picture by an up-sampling circuit, and a high-resolution predictive signal, which is produced from a high-resolution picture and corresponds to the thinned-out one field, are alternately combined by a predictor to form a predictive signal.

Abstract: A video coding apparatus comprises a memory for storing a coded picture signal used as a reference picture signal, a vector detecting circuit for detecting, from plural field picture signals or plural frame picture signals which are read out from the memory and the reference picture signals, an optimum motion vector regarding a picture to be coded, a prediction signal producing circuit for subjecting a spatial-temporal filtering to a reference picture designated by the optimum motion vector to produce a prediction signal, and a coding circuit for coding the to-be-coded picture signal on the basis of the prediction signal.

Abstract: A motion picture coding apparatus for performing predictive coding on a high-resolution picture signal and coding a low-resolution picture signal obtained by converting the high-resolution picture signal. One field is thinned out from one frame of a picture by a field skip circuit 102, the other field is down-sampled by a down-sampling circuit 29, thereby forming a low-resolution picture. A low-resolution predictive signal, obtained by up-sampling the low-resolution picture by an up-sampling circuit 35, and a high-resolution predictive signal, which is produced from a high-resolution picture and corresponds to the thinned-out one field, are alternately combined by a predictor 104 to form a predictive signal.

Abstract: A method of detecting a motion vector in an image coding apparatus, including blocking an input image block to be coded into a plurality of input blocks each consisting of a plurality of pixels; sub-sampling a coded image signal to obtain a coded and sub-sampled image signal; sub-sampling the input image block at a predetermined pixel interval to obtain a sub-sampled input block; searching a primary block most correlated with the sub-sampled input block from the coded and sub-sampled image signal in a predetermined range, to output a primary motion vector which indicates the primary block most correlated with the sub-sampled input blocks; and controlling at least one of a central position of a searching area and a searching pel accuracy in accordance with a type of the primary motion vector, to search a secondary block most correlated with one of the input blocks from a coded image signal, to obtain a secondary motion vector.

Abstract: A video coding apparatus comprises a memory for storing a coded picture signal used as a reference picture signal, a vector detecting circuit for detecting, from plural field picture signals or plural frame picture signals which are read out from the memory and the reference picture signals, an optimum motion vector regarding a picture to be coded, a prediction signal producing circuit for subjecting a spatial-temporal filtering to a reference picture designated by the optimum motion vector to produce a prediction signal, and a coding circuit for coding the to-be-coded picture signal on the basis of the prediction signal.