Audio Patents (Class 348/462)
  • Patent number: 6005633
    Abstract: A signal transmitting-receiving system which has a signal transmitting side system constructed by signal transmitter T1, voice processor T2 and signal receiver T3 and also has a signal receiving side system constructed by signal receiver R1, synthesis circuit R4, signal transmitter R5 and delay circuit R3. The signal transmitting-receiving system is constructed such that no processing for making a video signal coincide with a voice used in communication using voices in position on a time axis is performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 21, 1999
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Hiroshi Kosugi
  • Patent number: 5946050
    Abstract: A method and arrangement for monitoring the audio portion of a broadcast signal includes a keyword listening device. A relatively limited set of keywords are stored in a memory and the keyword listening device monitors the broadcast signal for any of these keywords. Upon recognition of any one or more of the keywords, the broadcast audio signal is recorded for a period of time and then fully analyzed. After analysis, and in dependence upon the recorded and analyzed broadcast audio signal, a number of different functions, such as connection to an external network at a specified address, or control of a video cassette recorder, may be performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 31, 1999
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Robert M. Wolff
  • Patent number: 5894328
    Abstract: A digital signal multiplexing method in which plural bitstreams can be multiplexed without buffer rupture at the time of decoding. At a step S1, the time of extracting each accessing unit AU, which is a processing unit prescribed from one bitstream to another, from a buffer to an associated decoder, from input plural bitstreams, is computed. At the next step S2, the constraint time concerning the delivery start time to the buffer of each accessing unit, is back-computed by processing proceeding in a temporally retrogressive direction, using the data of the extraction time of the accessing units AU, and by reading charging of the accessing units to the decoder buffers for the extraction of the accessing units from the decoder buffers. At the next step S3, the schedule of packetizing the accessing units is determined on the basis of the constraint time as found at step S2, by way of performing the scheduling. The plural bitstreams are multiplexed in accordance with the schedule.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 13, 1999
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Shinji Negishi
  • Patent number: 5845242
    Abstract: A computer system having a control unit, a rounding circuit, and an ADPCM decoder. The control unit generates ADPCM sound data. The rounding circuits rounds a calculating value of the ADPCM sound data so that the ADPCM decoder reproduces original sound from the rounding value of the ADPCM sound data provided by the rounding circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 1, 1998
    Assignee: Hudson Soft Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsunori Takahashi, Masahide Tomita
  • Patent number: 5808689
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed for encoding secondary signals, such as audio signals, within a television signal in a manner such that the signal may be either recorded on a video cassette or broadcast. The audio samples are encoded only on selected lines of each video frame which do not interfere with dedicated broadcast and cable lines and are not affected by head switching of a video cassette recorder. The audio samples are encoded only within an overscan portion of the selected lines such that the encoded samples do not interfere with other portions of the video signal. However, by encoding the samples within the overscan portion, the samples do not affect the displayed image. The secondary audio signal is sampled during equally spaced intervals throughout the video frame, then compressed and encoded only within selected horizontal lines. During decoding, the audio samples are decompressed and played back at the original sampling rate to provide audio playback.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 15, 1998
    Assignee: Shoot The Moon Products, Inc.
    Inventor: David Small
  • Patent number: 5784277
    Abstract: A packet encoder includes various sources of data, a state machine and additional circuitry. The state machine provides an S-bit output signal. N of the output bits of the state machine, (N<S), are coupled to directly control a multiplexer without an intervening state decoder. The multiplexer combines data from the various sources into a packet signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 21, 1998
    Assignee: RCA Thomson Licensing Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas John Meyer
  • Patent number: 5734432
    Abstract: A method of incorporating an auxiliary signal with an input video signal includes the step of encoding the input video signal to generate a variable bit rate encoded signal having a selected level of distortion. The video signal is applied to a buffer. The level of distortion is selected as a function of the fullness of the buffer. The video signal is read from the buffer and applied to a transmission channel at a predetermined video output rate. Portions of an auxiliary signal are applied to the channel at times when the buffer is in an underflow condition. The selected level of distortion has a flow which corresponds to a predetermined, non-zero level of perceptual distortion in the video signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1998
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Arun Narayan Netravali, Eric David Petajan
  • Patent number: 5703877
    Abstract: Audio data is processed from a packetized data stream carrying digital television information in a succession of fixed length transport packets. Some of the packets contain a presentation time stamp (PTS) indicative of a time for commencing the output of associated audio data. After the audio data stream has been acquired, the detected audio packets are monitored to locate subsequent PTS's for adjusting the timing at which audio data is output, thereby providing proper lip synchronization with associated video. Errors in the audio data are processed in a manner which attempts to maintain synchronization of the audio data stream while masking the errors. In the event that the synchronization condition cannot be maintained, for example in the presence of errors over more than one audio frame, the audio data stream is reacquired while the audio output is concealed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 30, 1997
    Assignee: General Instrument Corporation of Delaware
    Inventors: Ray Nuber, Paul Moroney, G. Kent Walker
  • Patent number: 5686965
    Abstract: A novel synchronization scheme for use in connection with digital signal video decoder comprises a pre-parser, a channel buffer, and a post-parser. The pre-parser synchronizes to a multiplexed system bitstream received from a fixed rate channel. The video bitstream component of a multiplexed system bitstream is then extracted and synchronized prior to being transferred bit-serially from the pre-parser to a channel buffer. The post-parser is coupled to the channel buffer and to a video decoder in a series configuration. The post-parser separates the various layers of video data from the video bitstream component. The post-parser performs a translation operation on the video bitstream component and converts the bitstream data into symbol data. The symbol data is subsequently processed by the video decoder so as to reconstruct an originally encoded picture or frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 11, 1997
    Assignee: LSI Logic Corporation
    Inventor: David R. Auld
  • Patent number: 5684542
    Abstract: A video subtitle processing system encoding unit which allows display of high quality subtitle in accordance to a preference of an user, to switch the display of the subtitle quickly without degrading the background video image and to transmit and display the colored subtitle with less data amount are provided. The subtitle data encoding unit comprises a color lookup table as memory means for storing color data and a color quantization circuit as detecting means for detecting an address in memory for storing the color data which corresponds to a color of the subtitle, and is characterized in that the address in the memory means detected by the color quantization circuit is coded and transmitted as color information concerning on the color of the subtitle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1997
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Ikuo Tsukagoshi
  • Patent number: 5646931
    Abstract: A separation circuit for separating input unit data into individual sound streams; a separation circuit for separating each sound frame of the separated sound streams into a sound frame of main audio and a sound frame of multi-lingual audio; a main selection circuit for selecting one frame from a plurality of the separated main audio sound frames; a multi-lingual selection circuit for selecting one frame from a plurality of the separated multi-lingual sound frames; and a sound frame synthesis circuit for packing each sound frame selected in each of the selection circuit into a frame structure of MPEG2 audio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 8, 1997
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Setsuo Terasaki
  • Patent number: 5629740
    Abstract: In a video transmitter including a first data processing system wherein compressed and encoded video-audio data are read out of a first store under control of a CPU, and then decoded to be reproduced, there is provided a second data processing system for after-recording, data processing operation of which is controlled by a CPU. The second processing system comprises a audio data compressor, a first buffer memory, a second store, a second buffer memory, and a audio data decoder. Reproducing operations of the first and second data processing systems are performed in synchronism with each other. Thus, with a video transmitter equipped with a codec apparatus, it is possible to achieve after-recording.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 13, 1997
    Assignee: Toko, Inc.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Tanaka, Toru Kawanobe, Masaru Kawazoe
  • Patent number: 5627936
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and storage medium for temporal indexing of at least two audio, video, and data (AVD) streams, each AVD stream comprising a plurality of AVD stream chunks. A stream information data stream (SIDS) having a plurality of SIDS chunks is stored, each SIDS chunk corresponding to a corresponding AVD stream chunk for each of the at least two AVD streams. A temporal index stream (TIS) having a plurality of TIS chunks is also stored, each TIS chunk corresponding to a corresponding SIDS chunk. Each TIS chunk comprises a time stamp for indicating the current time and an offset for locating the corresponding SIDS chunk. Each SIDS chunk comprises an SIDS chunk entry for each of the at least two AVD streams that is currently active, each SIDS chunk entry comprising an offset for locating the corresponding AVD stream chunk of each active AVD stream of the at least two AVD streams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 6, 1997
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Rama R. Prasad, Ram V. Chary
  • Patent number: 5570134
    Abstract: A multilingual display device is provided with a plurality of video signal processors for processing a video signal according to a broadcasting system, and a plurality of sound multiplex processors for processing an audio signal according to a sound multiplex mode. A microcomputer automatically generates OSD signals in a language of a broadcast receiving area by means of broadcasting system information and sound multiplex mode information provided from the plurality of video signal processors and the plurality of sound multiplex processors, thereby providing the advantage of interchangeability with respect to output of OSD signals in a television. This can be used in a television having an OSD function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 29, 1996
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Young-pyo Hong
  • Patent number: 5548346
    Abstract: A real time visual communication system capable of improving a correspondence between a received video signal and a received audio signal in real time and improving reality. An AV signal is separated into a video signal and an audio signal, and the output state of the video or audio signal is controlled by the characteristics of the audio or video signal. For example, the sound field, reverberation, and the like are controlled in accordance with the characteristics of the video signal. A suitable image pickup unit is selected in accordance with the characteristics of the audio signal to make the sights of conversation participants coincide with each other. It is possible to reproduce sounds of audio signals well matching video signals and to provide visual communication having good reality because of the combination of matched audio and video signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 20, 1996
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Itaru Mimura, Hirotada Ueda, Shigeo Sumino, Mitsuru Ikezawa, Toshiaki Suzuki, Taizo Kinoshita, Katsumi Tada
  • Patent number: 5523525
    Abstract: A performance recording and playback apparatus is provided between a performance apparatus and a video apparatus in an audio/video recording and playback system. The performance apparatus is capable of producing and reproducing performance data, while the video apparatus is capable of recording and playing back performance data and video data on a single recording medium. Herein, the performance data produced from the performance apparatus is supplied to and recorded by the video apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 1993
    Date of Patent: June 4, 1996
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuo Murakami, Akira Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 5502496
    Abstract: A digital television system receives transmitted television information in the form of a stream digital packets representing video and audio information in compressed form. A packet transport unit routes the digital packets to respective digital video and audio signal processing sections according to header information contained in the packets. The digital processing sections decode and decompress the respective packets to form sequences of digital words which are subsequently converted to analog form. Apparatus for providing audible messages, such as operating instructions and status information, in tone or voice form includes a memory for storing digital representations of the audible messages in the same compressed form which the transmitted audio packets have, and a controller for selectively directing the digital representations to the packet transport unit when it is desired to provide the audible messages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 26, 1996
    Assignee: Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc.
    Inventors: James E. Hailey, Sr., David E. Virag
  • Patent number: 5500672
    Abstract: In a multi-media communication apparatus, a frame control is provided for detecting the quantity of a compressed video signal stored in a video data buffer on the basis of information supplied from a buffer control and for changing over the compression scheme in an audio codec part and the channel allocation scheme in a multiplexing/demultiplexing part according to the detected quantity of the video signal. When the buffer control informs that the quantity of the compressed video signal stored in the video data buffer exceeds a predetermined threshold, the frame control instructs the multiplexing/demultiplexing part to decrease the audio channels and informs the audio codec part to use the corresponding audio encoding scheme.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 19, 1996
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Fujii
  • Patent number: 5477542
    Abstract: A system in which multimedia information communication is performed between two terminal stations connected to each other through a packet switching network, each of the terminal stations having a control device for performing send control for sending a video packet including coded video data and a voice packet including coded voice data to the packet switching network and supply control for supplying the video packet and voice packet received from the packe switching network to a video codec and a voice codec respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 19, 1995
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Keiko Takahara, Naoko Iwami, Susumu Matsui
  • Patent number: 5442452
    Abstract: A sound mode switching method for multichannel selection a video tape recorder uses a first step of making judgements on the selections of a multi-voice mode setting key and a main picture switching key, a second step for deciding the sound mode and for storing the sound mode data into a memory, a third step for making a judgement on the selection of a channel for the main picture and for outputting the selected multi-voice mode signals, and a fourth step for replacing the sub-picture. A device for multichannel selection comprises a microcomputer, a multi-voice mode selecting circuit, and a multi-voice module. According to the present invention, during a multichannel selection, independent sound signals can be outputted for the respective channels under a multi-voice mode and therefore, different sound signals can be displayed and enjoyed in a unique manner depending on the contents of the pictures for the respective channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 15, 1995
    Assignee: SamSung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Jae-chun Ryu
  • Patent number: 5369440
    Abstract: A system and method for automatically controlling the audio output from a television so as to avoid listening to undesired material includes a microphone for converting the audio output from the television into audio signals, an audio amplifier for amplifying the audio signals from the microphone, a waveform pattern comparator, a waveform digitizer and recorder, a speech recognition unit, an external device controller, a computer and an input/output device. In setting up the system for subsequent use, waveform patterns of audio signals corresponding to material being outputted from the television which the listener considers undesirable are digitized by the waveform digitizer and recorder and then stored in the waveform pattern comparator. In addition, digital signals corresponding to key words in undesired material are entered into the computer through the input/output device and then transferred from the computer to the speech recognition unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 29, 1994
    Inventor: Barry Sussman
  • Patent number: 5289272
    Abstract: A passenger aircraft video distribution system distributes modulated RF carrier signals from a central signal source (10) to be used at each passenger seat (S1, S2, S3). The carriers are modulated to contain both audio and video data (12,14) and also other digital data, such as graphics, slide shows and the like. Analog video signals (14) from the video source are modulated (100) on individually discrete carriers in the range of 54 to 300 megahertz. Audio information, including audio sound channels and the video audio, are digitized (80,84) and combined with digital data in a combined serial bit stream that is multiplexed (82), and then modulated (96) on an RF carrier having a frequency sufficiently above the frequency band of the video signals so that the resulting spectrum of the modulated audio RF carrier does not interfere with the modulated video carriers. The RF carrier signals are combined (104) and distributed to individual seats.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 22, 1994
    Assignee: Hughes Aircraft Company
    Inventors: Irving Rabowsky, Richard E. Sklar