Bilateral anti-copying device for video systems

• US 5,134,496 A
• Filed: 05/26/1989
• Issued: 07/28/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Technicolor Videocassette of Michigan Incorporated (Vantiva SA)
• Original Assignee: Technicolor Videocassette of Michigan Incorporated (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Schwab, Barry H., Hussey, James W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Richardson, Robert L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, THAI Q
• Application Number:
  US07/358,576
• Time in Patent Office: 1,159 Days
• Field of Search: 358/310, 358/319, 358/335, 360/60, 360/24, 360/33.1, 380/5, 380/20
• US Class Current: 386/257
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91321 the copy protection signal being a copy protection control signal, e.g. a record inhibit signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91335 the copy protection signal being a watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 for scrambling ; for copy protection

Abstract

A video system anti-copying device in which leading and trailing code sequences are inserted into the luminance portion of a video signal. These code sequences are visually manifested as dropouts on a video monitor. When the sequences match, operation of record circuitry in a video recorder is inhibited.

Claims

1. A method of preventing incoming video information from being recorded by a video tape recorder, comprising the following steps:

monitoring the luminance portion of said incoming video information for presence of a leading code sequence which is in a predetermined format;

upon detection of such a leading code sequence, monitoring the luminance portion of said incoming video information for a trailing code sequence which is in a predetermined format;

upon detection of such a trailing code sequence, comparing said leading code sequence with said trailing code sequence; and

inhibiting recording circuitry in said video tape recorder when said leading and trailing code sequences bear a predetermined relationship to each other.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein there is a predetermined relationship between the lines of video information in which said leading and trailing code sequences are contained, wherein the method further comprises the step of identifying lines of video information in which said trailing code sequence must be contained, and wherein said step of monitoring the luminance portion of said incoming video information for said trailing code sequence is carried out during transmission of the luminance portion of said identified lines.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the leading and trailing code sequences are digital signals.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said predetermined relationship is that of inversion.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said inhibiting step is carried out only for a predetermined time.

6. A method for processing a video signal to embed therein information which, when detected by a video recorder, will inhibit recordation of such video signal by such recorder, comprising the following steps:

establishing first and second lines of video information which are spaced one field apart from each other;

recording, in the luminance portion of said first line of video information, a leading code sequence; and

recording, in the luminance portion of said second line of video information, a trailing code sequence which bears a predetermined relationship with said leading code sequence.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said establishing step comprises the following steps:

defining an active region comprising a group of lines in a first field of video information;

monitoring the luminance signal of lines in said active region for the existence of a luminance signal which meets predetermined criteria of luminance for a predetermined period of time; and

upon detection of the existence of such a signal, establishing an immediately succeeding line of video information identified as said first line and a corresponding line of video information identified as said second line which is one field later than said first line.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein a first portion of said active region begins with line 35 and ends with line 81.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein a second portion of said active region begins with line 181 and ends with line 227.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein said recording steps are carried out asynchronously with respect to the video synchronization of the video signal.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the leading and trailing code sequences are digital signals.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the leading and trailing code sequences are inversions of each other.

13. A circuit for use with a video recorder to inhibit recording operation thereof when recording a video signal which contains corresponding leading and trailing code sequences which are one field apart from each other, comprising:

means for monitoring the luminance portion of said video signal for digital code sequences;

first means for storing a digital code sequence which is detected by said monitoring means;

second means for storing another digital code sequence which is detected by said monitoring means;

means for comparing said digital code sequences which have been stored in said first and second storing means; and

means for inhibiting recording operation of the video tape recorder when said comparing means indicates that said digital code sequences have a predetermined relationship with each other.

14. The circuit of claim 13, further comprising means for DC-restoring said video signal, and wherein said monitoring means operates on said video signal after it has been DC-restored.

15. The circuit of claim 13, wherein said monitoring means includes a serial-to-parallel shift register.

16. The circuit of claim 13, wherein said inhibiting means operates to inhibit recording operation of the video recorder only for a predetermined time.

17. A circuit for inserting leading and trailing digital code sequences into a video signal, said sequences being spaced one field apart from each other, comprising:

means for DC-restoring said video signal;

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means for monitoring the luminance portion of said video signal after it has been DC-restored;

means for determining when said luminance portion satisfies predetermined luminance criteria for a predetermined time;

first means for inserting into said DC-restored video signal at the line immediately following a line in which said luminance portion satisfies said criteria for said time, a digital leading code sequence inserted at a level between a predetermined IRE level and the luminance level of said DC-restored video signal;

means for identifying, in said DC-restored video signal, a line which is one field later than said line in which said digital leading code sequence has been inserted; and

second means for inserting into said DC-restored video signal at said later line a digital trailing code sequence between said predetermined IRE level and the luminance level of said DC-restored video signal.

18. The circuit of claim 17, wherein said monitoring means monitors a version of said video signal from which all chroma information has been removed.

19. A method of preventing a video signal from being recorded by a video recorder, comprising the following steps:

encoding the luminance portion of said video signal in such a manner that, after said encoding, said video signal appears visually acceptable to a user who displays said video signal on a video monitor;

monitoring said video signal to detect said encoding; and

inhibiting recording of said video signal by said recorder upon detection of said encoding.

20. A method of transmitting digital information within an analog signal comprising the steps of

generating leading and trailing digital code sequences containing digital information and inserting said code sequences in said analog signal to thereby produce a combined signal,

transmitting the combined signal,

detecting the leading and trailing code sequences in the transmitted combined signal and comparing the leading and trailing code sequences,

extracting said digital information when the leading and trailing code sequences bear a predetermined relationship, and

repeating the foregoing steps.

21. A method as in claim 20 wherein the analog signal is the luminance portion of a video signal, said leading and trailing code sequences have a predetermined time relationship, the combined signal is recorded on a video recording medium, the leading and trailing code sequences are detected upon playback of the recorded video signal, and the digital information transmitted is information to prevent video information from being recorded by a video tape recorder.