Abstract: A billing system for use in a chargeable program broadcasting is capable of reliably billing a subscriber for program reception while preventing unauthorized reception thereof. A receiving terminal includes a primary terminal 100 and a secondary terminal 150. The primary terminal 100 receives a compressed video signal and confirms by an error checker 113 thereof whether there is a transmission error and bills, by a billing device 114 thereof, the receiving subscriber on the basis of an error information and a program information, etc., separated from the video signal by a separation circuit 112. The compressed video data is time-axis multiplexed with a terminal identifying code and a key signal and transmitted to the secondary terminal 150. In the secondary terminal 150, a bill for the subscriber is confirmed by the terminal identifying code and the compressed data is decoded by a decoder circuit 166 thereof.

Abstract: A billing system for use in a chargeable program broadcasting is capable of reliably billing a subscriber for program reception while preventing unauthorized reception thereof. A receiving terminal includes a primary terminal 100 and a secondary terminal 150. The primary terminal 100 receives a compressed video signal and confirms by an error checker 113 thereof whether there is a transmission error and bills, by means of a billing device 114 thereof, the receiving subscriber on the basis of an error information and a program information, etc., separated from the video signal by a separation circuit 112. The compressed video data is time-axis multiplexed with a terminal identifying code and a key signal and transmitted to the secondary terminal 150. In the secondary terminal 150, a bill for the subscriber is confirmed by the terminal identifying code and the compressed data is decoded by a decoder circuit 166 thereof.

Abstract: A video tape recorder/player capable of selectively recording a wide-band video signal including information for forming a picture of an aspect ratio a.sub.1, and a normal video signal for forming a picture of an aspect ratio a.sub.2. The video tape recorder/player comprises video signal discriminating means for discriminating between the reproduced wide video signal and the reproduced normal video signal reproduced from a magnetic recording medium, and time expansion means for expanding the time base of the reproduced video signal by a factor approximately equal to the ratio a.sub.1 /a.sub.2. Either the reproduced video signal or the output signal of the time expansion means obtained by expanding the time base of the reproduced signal by the time expansion means can be selected as an output signal when the video signal discriminating means detects the wide video signal.

Abstract: In a magnetic video recording/reproducing apparatus having a recording circuit for recording two kinds of video signals for different aspect ratios a.sub.1 and a.sub.2, where a.sub.1 >a.sub.2, a reproduced signal for aspect ratio a.sub.1 is subjected to a time-axis processing and then delivered to a monitor television having the aspect ratio a.sub.2 in order to avoid a picture on the monitor television from being so distorted as to be elongated vertically. During the time-axis processing, a Y/C interleave set-up processing and a time-axis variation correcting processing are also carried out as necessary. A reproduced signal for aspect ratio a.sub.2 is subjected to a time-axis processing and then delivered to a monitor television having the aspect ratio a.sub.1 in order to avoid a picture on the monitor television from being so distorted as to be elongated horizontally.