Abstract: Film scratches that produce errors in video signals produced by a film scanner generally run vertically over one or more moving picture frames and are particularly troublesome where they are intersected by picture contours, i.e. oblique boundaries between light and dark picture content. For concealing the disturbance produced by film scratch in such a case the course of a picture contour across the scratch is determined. First the pixel values before and after a television line crosses the scratch are compared line by line, with simple interpolation inbetween if the difference found is slight. In other cases the direction of rise of an oblique picture contour crossing the scratch is determined and the pixel coordinates of the entrance and exit of the contrast edge into and out of the scratch are generated and stored, while at the same time the pixel values at the edge opposite the entry and exit are also stored.

Abstract: A defect location signal such as has been used on television film scanners to show that presence of scratches or dust specks on the scanned film is utilized to show the horizontal extent as well as the position of a defect affecting successive pixels on a television line. Beginning at some point preceding the defects and ending at some time following the defect, the succession of undisturbed pixel values is time expanded with interpolation of pixel values to the extent necessary to bridge the entire defect region. The spacing between detected defects is measured to control the number of undisturbed pixels at each side of the defect that will be spread apart by interpolated values and likewise the ratio of interpolated values to undisturbed pixels in the expanded signal.

Abstract: A method is described for the determination and automatic correction of horizontal and vertical errors in image steadiness for continuous raster scanning of film, using an image memory. By means of the vertical image steadiness error signals the beginning of scanning of the first line of a new film frame and the start of writing of video signals for the first line of this film frame are determined. Output of the video signals for at least one stored image is synchronous with the studio timing signals so that it can be read out using standard studio horizontal image steadiness and vertical timing signals. By means of the horizontal error signals the start of the scanning of a new line is displaced for a stored image in relation to the start of the reading of a new line.

Abstract: Wide screen film frames are scanned in full width and in a first intermediate store a horizontal section of the frame is defined by a read-out start address and expanded by reading out at a lower speed. Only a part of the desired expansion is produced before the picture is stored for interlaced read-out in pairs of television fields. Thereafter the rest of the desired expansion is produced, with a further selection of the portion of each line to be viewed. Varying the read-out start address to shift the section of the picture to be reproduced in television form is done frame by frame in the first store and field by field in the second store and the two shift adjustments can be programmed in combination for smooth transitions.

Abstract: Horizontally compressed video signals sensed in film scanning are transmitted at a slower rate for time expansion while the beginning of the transmission of each line is electronically delayed by an amount, constant at least for each picture field, which determines the centering of the narrower picture to be transmitted by television. This processing can be done before digitalization of the picture for storage, in the read-out of semiconductor sensors or it can be done after digitalization either before or after picture storing or partly before or partly after. In a preferred form a complete Cinemascope frame is stored in the picture store and both the time expansion and the picture shift are provided in the read-out of the picture store.

Abstract: To prevent cutting lines and overlap of frames upon reproduction of standard motion-picture film, in which the motion-picture film is scanned and the scanned signals are recorded in a store (16), the store is divided into storage blocks, each capable of storing 36 lines, addressing of the respective storage blocks such that two times seven or two times five storage blocks are utilized for storing of the frames, the sequence of the blocks with respect to the scanned lines changing from film frame to film frame, with the sequence repeating every four frames.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is proposed for the H and V-contour correction of a digitized video signal wherein after deriving a digital correction signal, both the main video signal and the correction signal are D/A converted. The H and V-detail signals are then derived from the analogue correction signal, are combined with a contour correction signal and are added in a suitable manner to the main video signal.

Abstract: To prevent cut edges with studio asynchronous film speeds below 50 frames per second, during the reading in of one film frame into one field store, the other field store is simultaneously completely and frequently read out until the reading in of the one film frame has finished. To prevent cut edges during the scanning of 35 mm Cinemascope films, the frame store is divided into six storage regions each 2 of which belong to one field store are driven alternately from film frame to film frame whereas the 3rd storage region of each field store is driven during each film frame.