Method of generating information used for the copy protecting signal and apparatus using the same

• US 6,018,608 A
• Filed: 12/06/1996
• Issued: 01/25/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Fujita, Masaaki, Ishikawa, Kenji, Sakashita, Hirohiko, Morita, Hisao
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, THAI Q
• Application Number:
  US08/761,532
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• Field of Search: 386/1, 386/94, 360/60, 380/5, 380/7, 380/22
• US Class Current: 386/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91371 the video color burst signal being modified
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 for scrambling ; for copy protection

Abstract

A component of color difference signal is detected from a video component signal, and its color saturation information is compared with a predetermined threshold level, then in response to the comparison result, information is generated in order to control phase modulation such as, when the information is smaller than the threshold level, phases of color burst signals are modulated during a specified period, and when the information is larger than the threshold level, the phase stays as standard. The generated information is added to the color video signal. These steps can avoid unpleasant striped color noises appeared on a conventional color TV receiver, the unpleasant striped color noises has been caused by a modified color burst signal without the above steps.

Claims

1. A method of generating information for a copy protecting signal used in modifying a color video signal in order to protect copying a video program, said method comprising the steps of:

(1) comparing information about color difference signal detected from said color video signal with a predetermined threshold level,

(2) generating information for a copy protecting signal in response to a comparison result gained from Step (1),

(3) adding said information for a copy protecting signal to said color video signal in a specified format.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said information about color difference signal described in step (1) is embodied as (R-Y) signal, and the (R-Y) signal is compared with the predetermined threshold level.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said information about color difference signal described in step (1) is embodied as (B-Y) signal, and the (B-Y) signal is compared with the predetermined threshold level.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said information about color difference signal described in step (1) is embodied as a composite signal of (R-Y) signal+(B-Y) signal, and said composite signal is compared with the predetermined threshold level.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein I signal is compared with the predetermined threshold level in step (1).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein Q signal is compared with the predetermined threshold level in step (1).

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a composite signal of I signal+Q signal is compared with the predetermined threshold level.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said information about color difference signal described in step (1) is embodied as an absolute value of the color difference signal, and a signal passed through a low pass filter is compared with the predetermined threshold value.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a comparison result gained in step (1) tells that said information about color difference signal is smaller than said threshold level, then in step (2), information for the copy protecting signal is generated in order to modulate a phase of a composite-color-video-signal during a predetermined period.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said predetermined period corresponds to at least several dozens of scanning lines per field.

11. An apparatus of generating information for a copy protecting signal used in modifying a color video signal in order to protect copying a video program, said apparatus comprising:

(1) a detecting circuit means for detecting information about color difference signal from an inputted color video signal,

(2) a comparing circuit means for comparing color-difference-signal-information tapped from said color-difference-signal-information detecting circuit means fed to an input terminal with a predetermined threshold level fed to another input terminal,

(3) a generating circuit means for generating specified information for a copy protecting signal in response to a comparison result of said color-difference-signal-information with said threshold level, said circuit means being connected to said comparing circuit means, and

(4) an adding circuit means for adding said information for a copy protecting signal to said inputted color video signal in a specified format, said adding circuit means being connected to an output terminal of said generating circuit means.

12. An apparatus of claim 11, wherein said detecting circuit means includes means which produces an absolute value of a color difference signal detected from said inputted color video signal, and then passes said absolute value through a low pass filter circuit to be a desired color-difference-signal-information.