Video signal parocessing apparatus with memory and crossfader

• US 5,168,363 A
• Filed: 10/15/1990
• Issued: 12/01/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kori, Teruhiko, Yoshino, Kazuo, Iijima, Koji, Kojima, Masaaki, Takahashi, Takao
• Primary Examiner(s): Groody, James J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HSIA, SHERRIE Y
• Application Number:
  US07/597,332
• Time in Patent Office: 778 Days
• Field of Search: 358/183, 358/182, 358/181, 358/180, 358/22, 358/167, 358/166, 358/36, 358/37, 358/909, 358/906, 358/209
• US Class Current: 348/704
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2621 Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects during image pickup, e.g. digital cameras, camcorders, video cameras having integrated special effects capability
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/265 Mixing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 358/906 Hand-held camera with recorder in a single unit

Abstract

A video signal processing apparatus for performing editing of video signals includes a memory into which one field or one frame of a moving picture video signal from a video camera is written and a crossfading circuit, wherein a still picture of the video signal is written in the memory at a selected time or at a time the video camera stops operation. Thereafter, when the video camera resumes operation, the contents of the memory are read out, so that the real moving picture video signal being currently provided by the video camera and the previous still picture video signal read out from the memory are crossfaded. The video signal processing apparatus can also cooperate with a video tape recorder for storing in the memory a still picture derived from the video tape recorder, so that when the video camera starts its operation, the real moving picture video signal produced by the video camera and a still picture video signal from the memory are crossfaded.

Claims

1. A video signal processing apparatus for use with a video camera, comprising:

memory means for storing a selected field or frame period of a real moving picture video signal produced by the video camera when the video camera stops operation; and

crossfading means connected to said memory means and to the video camera so that when said video camera begins operation following the stop in operation, the real moving picture video signal being produced by the video camera and a still picture video signal readout from said memory means are crossfaded;

wherein said crossfading means comprises a pair of coefficient generators and an adder, one of said pair of coefficient generators having an input connected to said memory means and the other of said pair of coefficient generators having an input connected to the video camera, outputs of said pair of coefficient generators being fed to said adder, the output of said adder being a crossfaded signal.

2. The video signal processing apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said memory means comprises a field memory.

3. A video signal processing apparatus for use with a video camera, comprising:

memory means for storing a selected field or frame period of a real moving picture video signal produced by the video camera when the video camera stops operation; and

crossfading means connected to said memory means and to the video camera so that when said video camera begins operation following the stop in operation, the real moving picture video signal being produced by the video camera and a still picture video signal readout from said memory means are crossfaded;

wherein said crossfading means comprises a pair of coefficient generators and an adder, one of said pair of coefficient generators having an input connected to said memory means and the other of said pair of coefficient generators having an input connected to the video camera, outputs of said pair of coefficient generators being fed to said adder, the output of said adder being a crossfaded signal;

wherein each of said pair of coefficient generators includes a read only memory in which predetermined coefficient data is stored.

4. The video signal processing apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the predetermined coefficient data in one of said pair of coefficient generators varies from zero to one, whereas the predetermined coefficient data in the other of said pair of coefficient generators varies from one to zero.

5. A video signal processing apparatus for use with a video camera and a video tape recorder, comprising:

memory means for storing a selected field or frame of a real moving picture video signal reproduced from the video tape recorder; and

crossfading means connected to the video camera and said memory means, so that when the video camera commences operation, a real moving picture video signal from the video camera and a still picture video signal read out from memory means are crossfaded;

wherein said crossfading means comprises a cyclic-type crossfading circuit including a subtracter for subtracting an output signal of the video camera from an output signal of said memory means, a coefficient generator for varying an output signal from said subtracter in accordance with a predetermined variable coefficient, and an adder for adding the output signal from the video camera and the output signal from said coefficient generator and producing a summed signal forming a crossfaded signal and fed back to an input of said memory means.

6. The video signal processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said memory means comprises a field memory.

7. The video signal processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said memory means comprises a 3-port field memory.

9. The video signal processing apparatus according to claim 5 further comprising a switch means and a video monitor, whereby said switch means selectively connects the crossfaded signal to the video monitor for display and to the video tape recorder for recording.

8. A video signal processing apparatus for use with a video camera and a video tape recorder, comprising:

memory means for storing a selected field or frame of a real moving picture video signal reproduced from the video tape recorder; and

crossfading means connected to the video camera and said memory means, so that when the video camera commences operation, a real moving picture video signal from the video camera and a still picture video signal read out from memory means are crossfaded;

wherein said crossfading means comprises a cyclic-type crossfading circuit including a subtracter for subtracting an output signal of the video camera form an output signal of said memory means, a coefficient generator for varying an output signal from said subtracter in accordance with a predetermined variable coefficient, and an adder for adding the output signal from the video camera and the output signal from said coefficient generator and producing a summed signal forming a crossfaded signal and fed back to an input of said memory means;

wherein said coefficient generator includes a read only memory in which predetermined coefficient data is stored and that varies from zero to one.