Video signal processing apparatus

• US 5,778,140 A
• Filed: 03/07/1997
• Issued: 07/07/1998
• 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): Chevalier, Robert
• Application Number:
  US08/813,339
• Time in Patent Office: 487 Days
• Field of Search: 386/94, 386/95, 380/5, 380/10, 380/7, 380/3, 380/11, 380/15, 360/60, 360/37.1, 360/27, 360/15
• 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 processing apparatus with a control code generator arrangement, said apparatus comprising:

means for inputting a digital video signal;

a control code detection means for detecting a digital control code contained in the inputted digital video signal, said digital control code commanding at least copy information;

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 copy information;

a video signal processing means for processing said digital video signal to produce at least one processed digital video signal;

a D/A converter of converting a processed digital video signal from said video signal processing means into an analog video signal;

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 analog video signal 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 video signal from said video signal processing means to produce a digital video signal with said reconstructed digital control code to output said produced digital video signal.

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

3. A video signal processing 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 processing 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.

5. A video signal processing 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.

6. A video signal processing apparatus with a control code generator arrangement, said apparatus comprising:

an input terminal for inputting a digital video signal;

a control code detector detecting a digital control code contained in the inputted digital video signal, said digital control code commanding at least copy information;

a control code reconstructor forming a reconstructed digital control code to be added to said video signal to command a subsequent at least copy information;

a video signal processor processing said digital video signal to produce at least one processed digital video signal;

a D/A converter converting a processed digital video signal from said video signal processing means into an analog video signal;

a first adder adding said reconstructed digital control code from said control code reconstructor to a portion of a vertical blanking period of said analog video signal to produce an analog video signal with said reconstructed digital control code to output said produced analog video signal; and

a second adder adding said reconstructed digital control code to a processed digital video signal from said video signal processor to produce a digital video signal with said reconstructed digital control code to output said processed digital video signal.

7. A video signal processing apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said digital control code is copy information indicative of permission/inhibition of copying of said video signal recorded on a recording medium.

8. A video signal processing apparatus as claimed in claim 7, 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.

9. A video signal processing apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said first adder inserts said reconstructed digital control code from said control code reconstructor into a blanking period of said analog video signal.

10. A video signal processing apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein a false synchronization pulse is added to said video signal to be outputted in addition to said reconstructed digital control code.