Abstract: In a reproduction apparatus, for reproducing an original signal conveyed as main data by a data medium such as a recording disk or broadcasting system, with medium protection data which are specific to the data medium being conveyed together with the main data, the apparatus includes a section for generating apparatus protection data which are specific to the reproduction apparatus, a section for combining the apparatus protection data with the medium protection data to define a protection level, and a section for applying the protection level to restrict reproduction of the original signal, with stepwise variations in restriction occurring in accordance with changes in protection level. The medium protection data may include information for specifying restricted reproduction of portions of the original signal, such as by producing degraded resolution within specified regions of specified frames of a video signal.

Abstract: In a reproduction apparatus, for reproducing an original signal conveyed as main data by a data medium such as a recording disk or broadcasting system, with medium protection data which are specific to the data medium being conveyed together with the main data, the apparatus includes a section for generating apparatus protection data which are specific to the reproduction apparatus, a section for combining the apparatus protection data with the medium protection data to define a protection level, and a section for applying the protection level to restrict reproduction of the original signal, with stepwise variations in restriction occurring in accordance with changes in protection level. The medium protection data may include information for specifying restricted reproduction of portions of the original signal, such as by producing degraded resolution within specified regions of specified frames of a video signal.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for altering the picture updating frequency within an MPEG compressed video data stream replaces the data of each of successive predictively encoded pictures of that data stream, such as all of the B-picture or all of the B-pictures and all of the P-pictures, with copy data which have been stored beforehand in a memory and which designate all of the macroblocks of each such replaced picture as being skipped macroblocks with respect to a corresponding reference picture, thereby ensuring that each such replaced picture will be decoded as a copy of the corresponding reference picture by a MPEG decoder apparatus. Alteration of the picture updating frequency of the stream of pictures expressed by the MPEG data stream can thereby be achieved very simply, while in addition the overall amount of MPEG data can be substantially reduced.

Abstract: A code amount of each block of primary-coded bit streams and a degree of complexity of image using quantization coefficients, i.e., a degree of difficulty in coding are calculated. Then, recoding is performed by setting a target code amount every block based on the degree of difficulty in coding, and thus secondary-coded bit streams with uniform picture quality can be generated while suppressing the influence of code amount control of the primary-coded bit streams.

Abstract: In a reproduction apparatus, for reproducing an original signal conveyed as main data by a data medium such as a recording disk or broadcasting system, with medium protection data which are specific to the data medium being conveyed together with the main data, the apparatus includes a section for generating apparatus protection data which are specific to the reproduction apparatus, a section for combining the apparatus protection data with the medium protection data to define a protection level, and a section for applying the protection level to restrict reproduction of the original signal, with stepwise variations in restriction occurring in accordance with changes in protection level. The medium protection data may include information for specifying restricted reproduction of portions of the original signal, such as by producing degraded resolution within specified regions of specified frames of a video signal.

Abstract: Input moving pictures are encoded with motion-compensated prediction. Detected first is an mount of codes generated for each encoded picture of the input moving pictures. Detected next is an average quantization scale factor of quantization scale factors used for quantizing the pictures of the input moving pictures when encoded. Also detected is picture characteristics of at least the input moving pictures. Complexity of each picture is calculated in response to the mount of codes generated for each picture, the average quantization scale factor and the picture characteristics. An amount of codes to be allocated to a present picture to be encoded is decided in response to the mount of codes generated for each picture, picture characteristics and the complexity of each picture, for obtaining a quantization scale factor for the present picture.

Abstract: In a method of inserting watermark information into digital data, a specified data value is determined in response to the watermark information. A data-value occurrence-frequency distribution of a predetermined number of samples of the digital data is changed into a modified occurrence-frequency distribution in which the specified data value occurs at a frequency extremely different from frequencies of occurrence of data values other than the specified data value.

Abstract: A method for variable bit rate encoding is composed of a step of obtaining first encoded data by encoding a video signal in a predetermined bit rate, a step of recording the first encoded data, a step of observing encoded information of the recorded first encoded data, a step of decoding the recorded first encoded data at a predetermined time interval, a step of obtaining second encoded data by encoding the decoded first encoded data in variable bit rate at the predetermined time interval on the basis of either one of a combination of the encoded information and an average variable bit rate to be targeted and another combination of the encoded information and information related to a target code rate, and a step of recording the second encoded data encoded in the variable bit rate. The method for variable bit rate encoding records the first and second encoded data in a recording medium while buffering the first and second encoded data respectively in the steps of recording the first and second encoded data.

Abstract: A picture target amount-of-code calculating unit calculates a target amount of codes for each picture type that corresponds to an encoding rate that has been determined by an audio/video encoding rate determining unit. An amount-of-code controlling unit controls the quantizing scale of a quantizing unit so as to make the target amount of codes for each picture type match with a total amount of codes of a unit as a whole. A unit address calculating unit calculates the addresses used when a search is made, as navigation data, on the basis of the target amount of codes for each picture type and the encoding rate. A unifying unit makes a construction of the unit while, on the other hand, a navigation data producing unit depicts navigation data at a foremost position of the unit.

Abstract: In a reproduction apparatus, for reproducing an original signal conveyed as main data by a data medium such as a recording disk or broadcasting system, with medium protection data which are specific to the data medium being conveyed together with the main data, the apparatus includes a section for generating apparatus protection data which are specific to the reproduction apparatus, a section for combining the apparatus protection data with the medium protection data to define a protection level, and a section for applying the protection level to restrict reproduction of the original signal, with stepwise variations in restriction occurring in accordance with changes in protection level. The medium protection data may include information for specifying restricted reproduction of portions of the original signal, such as by producing degraded resolution within specified regions of specified frames of a video signal.

Abstract: In a reproduction apparatus, for reproducing an original signal conveyed as main data by a data medium such as a recording disk or broadcasting system, with medium protection data which are specific to the data medium being conveyed together with the main data, the apparatus includes a section for generating apparatus protection data which are specific to the reproduction apparatus, a section for combining the apparatus protection data with the medium protection data to define a protection level, and a section for applying the protection level to restrict reproduction of the original signal, with stepwise variations in restriction occurring in accordance with changes in protection level. The medium protection data may include information for specifying restricted reproduction of portions of the original signal, such as by producing degraded resolution within specified regions of specified frames of a video signal.

Abstract: Input moving pictures are encoded with motion-compensated prediction. Detected first is an mount of codes generated for each encoded picture of the input moving pictures. Detected next is an average quantization scale factor of quantization scale factors used for quantizing the pictures of the input moving pictures when encoded. Also detected is picture characteristics of at least the input moving pictures. Complexity of each picture is calculated in response to the mount of codes generated for each picture, the average quantization scale factor and the picture characteristics. An amount of codes to be allocated to a present picture to be encoded is decided in response to the mount of codes generated for each picture, picture characteristics and the complexity of each picture, for obtaining a quantization scale factor for the present picture.

Abstract: In a reproduction apparatus, for reproducing an original signal conveyed as main data by a data medium such as a recording disk or broadcasting system, with medium protection data which are specific to the data medium being conveyed together with the main data, the apparatus includes a section for generating apparatus protection data which are specific to the reproduction apparatus, a section for combining the apparatus protection data with the medium protection data to define a protection level, and a section for applying the protection level to restrict reproduction of the original signal, with stepwise variations in restriction occurring in accordance with charges in production level. The medium protection data may include information for specifying restricted reproduction of portions of the original signal, such as by producing a degraded resolution within specified regions of specified frames of a video signal.

Abstract: A compressively-encoding-resultant video signal resulting from compressively encoding a video signal, a first compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal resulting from compressively encoding a first audio signal having a synchronized relation with the video signal, a reference clock information signal relating to synchronization between the compressively-encoding-resultant video signal and the first compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal, and an indication timing information signal designating an indication timing of the video signal are multiplexed to get an AV multiplexing-resultant signal. A second audio signal is compressively encoded to get a second compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal. A sound-production-timing information signal is added to the second compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal to get a substitution playback audio signal.

Abstract: An audio signal is compressively encoded into encoding-resultant audio data. A video signal is compressively encoded into encoding-resultant video data. An audio time stamp for audio-vide synchronous reproduction is added to every unit of the encoding-resultant audio data. A video time stamp for audio-video synchronous reproduction is added to every unit of the encoding-resultant video data. The time-stamp-added audio data and the time-stamp-added video data are multiplexed into main data. To a plurality of first after-recording-purpose data for at least one of (1) the encoding-resultant audio data and (2) the encoding-resultant video data which form the main data, time stamps for reproduction synchronous with a portion of the main data and identification information for identifying the plurality of first after-recording-purpose data are added to convert the first after-recording-purpose data into second after-recording-purpose data.

Abstract: In a recording apparatus, data received as an MPEG-2 transport stream, for example from a digital broadcast or by playback of data in the D-VHS recording format, are converted to respective MPEG-2 program streams of one or more programs conveyed by the transport stream, with the program stream data being recorded, while in addition the program specific information and service information (PSI/SI information) which are received multiplexed within the transport stream are demultiplexed and also recorded.

Abstract: In a reproduction apparatus, for reproducing an original signal conveyed as main data by a data medium such as a recording disk or broadcasting system, with medium protection data which are specific to the data medium being conveyed together with the main data, the apparatus includes a section for generating apparatus protection data which are specific to the reproduction apparatus, a section for combining the apparatus protection data with the medium protection data to define a protection level, and a section for applying the protection level to restrict reproduction of the original signal, with stepwise variations in restriction occurring in accordance with changes in protection level. The medium protection data may include information for specifying restricted reproduction of portions of the original signal, such as by producing degraded resolution within specified regions of specified frames of a video signal.

Abstract: A picture target amount-of-code calculating unit calculates a target amount of codes for each picture type that corresponds to an encoding rate that has been determined by an audio/video encoding rate determining unit. An amount-of-code controlling unit controls the quantizing scale of a quantizing unit so as to make the target amount of codes for each picture type match with a total amount of codes of a unit as a whole. A unit address calculating unit calculates the addresses used when a search is made, as navigation data, on the basis of the target amount of codes for each picture type and the encoding rate. A unifying unit makes a construction of the unit while, on the other hand, a navigation data producing unit depicts navigation data at a foremost position of the unit.

Abstract: An encryption key is generated in response to a plurality of information pieces being bases for the encryption key. Original information is encrypted into encryption-resultant information in response to the generated encryption key. The encryption-resultant information is divided into units. Each of the units is loaded with encryption control information for identifying the plurality of information pieces being the bases for the encryption key.

Abstract: In a reproduction apparatus, for reproducing an original signal conveyed as main data by a data medium such as a recording disk or broadcasting system, with medium protection data which are specific to the data medium being conveyed together with the main data, the apparatus includes a section for generating apparatus protection data which are specific to the reproduction apparatus, a section for combining the apparatus protection data with the medium protection data to define a protection level, and a section for applying the protection level to restrict reproduction of the original signal, with stepwise variations in restriction occurring in accordance with changes in protection level. The medium protection data may include information for specifying restricted reproduction of portions of the original signal, such as by producing degraded resolution within specified regions of specified frames of a video signal.