Recording apparatus and reproducing apparatus for video signals

• US 5,627,655 A
• Filed: 10/28/1994
• Issued: 05/06/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Consumer Electronics Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Arai, Takao, Okamoto, Hiroo, Oku, Masuo, Noguchi, Takaharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thai Q.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chevalier, Robert
• Application Number:
  US08/331,269
• Time in Patent Office: 921 Days
• Field of Search: 358/335, 358/310, 358/319, 360/60, 360/37.1, 360/27, 380/5, 380/10, 380/7, 380/3, 380/11, 380/15
• US Class Current: 386/245
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91314 the copy protection signal being a pulse signal inserted in blanking intervals of the video signal, e.g. pseudo-AGC pulses, pseudo-sync pulses
• 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 2005/91328 the copy protection signal being a copy management signal, e.g. a copy generation management signal [CGMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9206 the additional signal being a character code signal

Abstract

In a reproducing apparatus, a generator circuit for adding copy information during the vertical blanking period of a reproduced video signal output is provided, and copy information in compliance with copy information contained in the reproduced signal is added and delivered. In a recording apparatus, a detection circuit for detecting copy information in an inputted video signal is provided, and permission/inhibition of copy is controlled on the basis of the detected copy information and when copy is permitted, necessary copy information is generated and added to a recording signal.

Claims

1. A video signal reproducing apparatus with a control code generator arrangement, said apparatus comprising:

a reproducing means for reproducing a video signal recorded on a recording medium;

a control code detection means for detecting a digital control code contained in a reproduced signal reproduced by said reproducing means, said digital control code commanding at least one of a reproduction condition and a recording condition with respect to said video signal;

a control code reconstructing means for forming a reconstructed digital control code to be added to said video signal to command a subsequent at least one of a reproduction condition and a recording condition of said video signal, said subsequent at least one of a reproduction condition and a recording condition being dictated by a content of said digital control code;

a first adding means for adding said reconstructed digital control code from said control code reconstructing means to a portion of a vertical blanking period of said video signal reproduced by said reproducing means to produce an analog video signal with said reconstructed digital control code to output said produced analog video signal; and

a second adding means for adding said reconstructed digital control code to said video signal reproduced by said reproducing means to produce a digital video signal with said reconstructed digital control code to output said produced digital video signal.

2. A video signal reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said digital control code is copy information indicative of permission/inhibition of copying of said video signal recorded on said recording medium.

3. A video signal reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said copy information contains information about at least one of an inhibition of copying, permission of copying and limitation on a number of times of copying operations.

4. A video signal reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said control code reconstructing means forms said reconstructed digital control code as a code indicative of a same contents as that of said digital control code detected by said control code detection means.

5. A video signal reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said control code reconstructing means forms said reconstructed digital control code as a code indicative of permission of copying when said control code detection means cannot detect said digital control code from said video signal reproduced by said reproducing means.

6. A video signal reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said adding means inserts said reconstructed digital control code from said control code reconstructing means into a blanking period of said analog video signal.

7. A video signal reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein a false synchronization pulse is added to said video signal to be outputted in addition to said reconstructed digital control code.

8. A video signal reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein when said digital control code is not detected, a false synchronization pulse is detected as said digital control code.

9. A video signal reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said digital control code is recorded in a multiplex fashion in the analog video signal to improve a detection ability.

12. A video signal recording apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said copy information contains information about at least one of an inhibition of copying, permission of copying and limitation on a number of times of copying operations.

13. A video signal recording apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein when said copy information is information for permitting copying, said control code reconstructing means forms said reconstructed digital control code as a code indicative of permission of copying.

14. A video signal recording apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein when said copy information is information for limiting a number of times of copying operations, said control code reconstructing means forms said reconstructed digital control code as a code indicative of inhibition of copying.

15. A video signal recording apparatus as claimed in claim 8, further comprising an inhibiting means for inhibiting recording operation of said recording means when said digital control code detected by said control code detecting means is copy information indicative of inhibition of copying.

10. A video signal recording apparatus with a control code generator arrangement, comprising:

a first input means for receiving an input analog video signal;

a second input means for receiving an input digital video signal;

a control code detection means for detecting a digital control code contained in an inputted one video signal of said input analog video signal and said input digital video signal, said digital control code commanding at least one of a reproduction condition and a recording condition with respect to said inputted one video signal;

a control code reconstructing means for forming a reconstructed digital control code to be added to said inputted one video signal to command a subsequent at least one of a reproduction condition and a recording condition of said inputted one video signal, said subsequent at least one of a reproduction condition and a recording condition of said inputted one video signal being dictated by a content of said digital control code;

an adding means for adding said reconstructed digital control code from said control code reconstructing means to said input video signal to produce a recording signal with said reconstructed digital control code; and

a recording means for recording said recording signal from said adding means on a recording medium.

11. A video signal recording apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said digital control code is copy information indicative of permission/inhibition of copying of said input video signal inputted from said input means.

16. A video signal recording apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein when said control code detecting means cannot detect said control code from said input video signal inputted from said input means, said control code reconstructing means forms said reconstructed digital control code as a code indicative of permission of copying.

17. A video signal recording apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein when said video signal to be recorded on said recording means is an analog video signal, said adding means inserts said reconstructed digital control code from said control code reconstructing means into a blanking period of said analog video signal.

18. A video signal recording apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein a false synchronization pulse is added to said recording signal to be outputted in addition to said digital control code.

19. A video signal recording apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein when said digital control code is not detected, a false synchronization pulse is detected as said digital control code.

20. A video signal recording apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said digital control code is recorded in a multiplex fashion in the analog video signal to improve a detection ability.