Routing apparatus and method for video composition

• US 5,532,830 A
• Filed: 02/01/1994
• Issued: 07/02/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1982
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lex Computer and Management Corp.
• Original Assignee: Lex Computer and Management Corp.
• Inventors: Schuler, Chester L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thai Q.
• Application Number:
  US08/190,343
• Time in Patent Office: 882 Days
• Field of Search: 358/335, 358/310, 358/311, 358/342, 360/14.1, 360/14.2, 360/14.3, 360/32
• US Class Current: 386/206
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/90 Tape-like record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/024 on tapes G11B27/028, G11B27/029 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/028 with computer assistance
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/323 Time code signal, e.g. on a cue track as SMPTE- or EBU-time code
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/36 Monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing for digital recording G11B20/00 and s.gr.; for monitoring, testing or measuring of TV recorders of the type covered by H04N5/76 and subgroups, see H04N17/06

Abstract

A video composition apparatus and method select segments from image source material stored on at least one storage media (either random access and/or serial access) and denote serially connected sequences of the segments to thereby form a composition sequence. The apparatus and method employ a pictorial labels associated with each frame of image source material, and also associates at least one of such labels with each segment for ease of manipulating the segments to form the composition sequence. The labels are displayed on a plurality of ordered spatial arrays of display monitors to simulate the temporal relationship between the segments in what is typically a "snapshot" non-temporal display. The composition control function is highly user interactive and responds to user commands for selectively displaying segments from the source material on a pictorial display. The control function allows the user to denote a start and end of each of a plurality of selected segments to form defined segments, identify each selected segment by a pictorial image segment label which is displayed as described above, and assemble the selected and defined segments, and the corresponding labels, into a serially connected image sequence and a serially connected label sequence corresponding to the image sequence. The composition mode of operation employs continuous looping of the display segment(s) to aid the composing process.

Claims

1. Apparatus for composing image source material stored on at least one image storage medium, said source material being composed of a sequence of stored frames representing a time sequential visual image, sequences of said frames being associated to form a video segment, said composing apparatus comprising:

means for inputting said source material and for recording said source material in said storage medium;

means for segmenting said source material as it is being input;

means for digitizing each frame of said source material as said source material is being input so that each video segment comprises a number of digitized frames;

a plurality of pictorial display means arranged in an ordered array, each display means providing a visual presentation of a video label selected from a sequence of said digitized frames, said video labels, in sequence, representing a sequence of said video segments,

means for storing said digitized frames,

a composing control means operative with said frame storage medium, said composing control means comprising means for selectively supplying each said pictorial display means, while said source material is being input, with electrical data signals representing a selected one of said sequence of labels,

means for sorting the label sequence displayed by said plural pictorial display means while said source material is being input; and

means for selectively manually controlling said sorting means and said composing control means.

2. The composing apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sorting means comprises:

means for changing the order of the displayed label sequence while said source material is being input, and

said inputting means comprises means for automatically forming video segments from said source material, each formed segment having a predetermined time duration.

3. The composing apparatus of claim 1, wherein said storage medium comprises at least one random access storage medium;

and

said inputting and recording means records said source material on each said random access storage medium.

4. Composing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said random access storage medium is selected from the group consisting of a Winchester hard disk, a laser read/write disk, an analog video disk, a large computer RAM, a bubble memory and a crystal memory.

5. An apparatus as recited in claim 4, wherein:

said pictorial display means comprises a plurality of display window images concurrently displayed and arranged on a monitor screen.

6. An apparatus as recited in claim 5, further comprising:

means for configuring said window image arrangement on a monitor screen.

7. An apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein:

said configuring means comprises means, responsive to said manual control means, for selectively controlling a size of said ordered array of said windows of said pictorial display means.

8. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

means, responsive to said manual control means, for changing a video label for a selected video segment to a different digitized frame, said digitized frame comprising one of any of said digitized frames from said sequence of digitized frames representing said selected video segment.

9. An apparatus as recited in claim 5, further comprising:

means responsive to said manual control means, for changing a video label for a selected video segment to a different digitized frame, said digitized frame comprising one of any of said digitized frames from said sequence of digitized frames representing said selected video segment.

10. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein:

said pictorial display means comprises a plurality of passive pictorial display means arranged in an ordered array.

11. An apparatus as recited in claim 10, further including:

an active pictorial display means for providing a temporal pictorial presentation of a selected video segment, representing the current segment;

means for associating with each said current segment at least one video label; and

means for repetitively providing said active pictorial display means with electrical signals from said at least one storage medium pictorially representing said current segment in a repeating display.

12. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, further including:

means for maintaining a record of the sequence of current segments.

13. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, wherein:

said active pictorial display means and said passive pictorial display means comprise a plurality of display window images substantially concurrently displayed on a monitor screen.

14. An apparatus as recited in claim 13, further including:

means for configuring said window images on the monitor screen.

15. An apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein:

said configuring means comprises means, responsive to said manual control means, for selectively controlling a size of said ordered array of said window images of said passive pictorial display means.

16. An apparatus as recited in claim 10, further including:

means, responsive to said manual control means, for changing a video label for a selected video segment to a different digitized frame, said digitized frame comprising one of any of said digitized frames from said sequence of digitized frames representing said selected video segment.

17. An apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein:

said passive display means further comprises a display interface for receiving instructions from said composing control means and video data representing video labels, and for effecting an ordered pictorial presentation of said video labels on each said ordered array.

18. An apparatus as recited in claim 13, wherein:

said passive display means further comprises a display interface for receiving instructions from said composing control means and video data representing video labels, and for effecting an ordered pictorial presentation of said video labels on each said ordered array.

19. An apparatus as recited in claim 10, further including means for associating any of said digitized frames with stored text material, and switching means for selectively displaying said text material on said passive pictorial display means.

20. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, wherein:

each said ordered array provides a visual representation of a different temporal snapshot representation; and

one said temporal snapshot representation is associated with said current segment presented by said active pictorial display means.