Recording/ reproducing apparatus and input/ output device

• US 6,587,638 B1
• Filed: 09/20/1999
• Issued: 07/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Nishijima, Hideo, Okamoto, Hiroo, Watanabe, Katsuyuki, Sasaki, Motoyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUY THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/399,085
• Time in Patent Office: 1,380 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/94, 386/95, 386/111, 386/112, 386/12, 386/37, 386/68, 380/203
• US Class Current: 386/203
• 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 2005/91328 the copy protection signal being a copy management signal, e.g. a copy generation management signal [CGMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91371 the video color burst signal being modified
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44504 Circuit details of the additional information generator, e.g. details of the character or graphics signal generator, overlay mixing circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7921 for more than one processing mode

Abstract

A recording/reproducing apparatus is provided for effecting digital processing to convert an analog video signal into a digital signal without losing character data superimposed over a vertical blanking period of the analog video signal. The recording/reproducing apparatus for converting the analog video signal into the digital signal and recording/reproducing the converted digital signal has a detector which detects character data, which is superimposed over the vertical blanking period of the received analog video signal, at the recording time. A superimposer which encodes the detected character data and superimposes the encoded character data over a digital signal from which the character data was removed, whereby the digital signal with the superimposed character data is recorded on the recording media. There is also a detector which detects first copy guard data superimposed over the vertical blanking period and second copy guard data superimposed over a color burst signal; and an adder which adds the two detected copy guard data to a signal reproduced from the recording media.

Claims

1. In a recording/reproducing apparatus having a converter which converts a first analog video signal into a digital signal;

a compressor which compresses the converted digital signal;

a recorder which records the compressed digital signal on a recording media;

a reproducer which reproduces the compressed digital signal from the recording media; and

an expander which expands the compressed digital signal, the improvement comprising;

a converter which converts a digital signal which is at least one of compressed and expanded into a second analog video signal; and

a switcher which switches said first analog video signal before it is converted into a digital signal and said second analog video signal, whereby an output analog video signal is displayed in a picture display device; and

wherein the improvement further comprises;

a detector which detects data, which is superimposed over a vertical blanking period and is deleted from the first analog video signal in the process of at least one of compression and expansion, at an upstream side of the compressor which compresses the converted digital signal;

a superimposer which encodes and superimposes said detected data over said compressed signal;

a processor which extracts said superimposed data from the compressed signal; and

an adder which adds the extracted data to the signal expanded by the expander, whereby the output obtained from said adder is applied to said converter which produces said second analog video signal.

2. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said compressor has a variable transmission rate, and wherein said second analog signal is utilized in a check mode for executing the optimum setting of said transmission rate for influencing picture quality.

3. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a digital OSD (On Screen Display) is arranged to receive the output of said expander, whereby at the reproducing time and at the time of inputting an external analog video signal, said second analog video signal is supplied at an output of said switcher so that a digital OSD screen is displayed in a picture display device.

4. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the path for obtaining said second analog video signal includes:

a video decoder which decodes said first analog video signal into a luminance signal and a color difference signal;

a compressor which compresses the output of the video decoder to produce a compressed signal;

an expander which expands the compressed signal;

an adder which adds said data which is superimposed over a vertical blanking period to the output of said expander; and

a video encoder which converts the output of the adder into said second analog video signal, and wherein the output of said expander is supplied to a switch circuit which switches the output of said video decoder and the output of the expander; and

a digital OSD circuit is connected to receive the output of the switch circuit.

5. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data extracted by said detector is sent through a microcomputer to said adder.

6. In a recording/reproducing apparatus having a converter which converts a first analog video signal into a digital signal;

a compressor which compresses the converted digital signal;

a recorder which records the compressed signal on a recording media;

a reproducer which reproduces the digital signal from the recording media; and

an expander which expands the compressed signal, said apparatus having a recording/reproducing digital mode and an analog mode for recording/reproducing said first analog video signal in the state of an analog signal, the improvement comprising;

a converter which converts a digital signal which is at least one of compressed and expanded into a second analog video signal; and

a switcher which switches said first analog video signal before it is encoded and said second analog video signal, whereby an output analog video signal is displayed in a picture display device; and

wherein the improvement further comprises;

a detector which detects data, which is superimposed over a vertical blanking period and is deleted from the first analog video signal in the process of at least one of compression and expansion, at an upstream side of the compressor which compresses the converted digital signal;

a superimposer which encodes and superimposes said detected data over said compressed signal;

a processor which extracts said superimposed data; and

an adder which adds the extracted data to the signal expanded by the expander, whereby the output obtained from said adder is applied to said converter which produces said second analog signal.

7. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the data extracted by said detector is sent through a microcomputer to said adder.

8. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said compressor has a variable transmission rate, and wherein said second analog video signal is utilized in a check mode for executing the optimum setting of said transmission rate for influencing picture quality.

9. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said compressor has a variable transmission rate, and wherein said second analog video signal is utilized in check mode for executing the optimum setting of said transmission rate for influencing a picture quality.

10. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a digital OSD (On Screen Display) is arranged to receive the output of said expander, whereby at the reproducing time in the digital mode, at the time of inputting an external analog video signal, and at the reproducing time in the analog mode, said second analog video signal is supplied at an output of said switcher so that a digital OSD screen is displayed in a picture display device.

11. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a digital OSD (On Screen Display) is arranged to receive the output of said expander, whereby at the reproducing time in the digital mode, at the time of inputting an external analog video signal, and at the reproducing time in the analog mode, said second analog video signal is supplied at an output of said switcher so that a digital OSD screen is displayed in a picture display device.

12. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the path for obtaining said second analog video signal includes:

a video decoder which decodes said first analog video signal into a luminance signal and a color difference signal;

a compressor which compresses the output of the video decoder to produce a compressed signal;

an expander which expands the compressed signal;

an adder which adds said data to the output of said expander; and

a video encoder which converts the output of the adder into said second analog video signal, and wherein the output of said expander is supplied to a switch circuit which switches the output of said video decoder and the output of the expander; and

a digital OSD circuit is connected to receive the output of the switch circuit.

13. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the path for obtaining said second analog video signal includes:

a video decoder which decodes said first analog video signal into a luminance signal and a color difference signal;

a compressor which compresses the output of the video decoder to produce a compressed signal;

an expander which expands the compressed signal;

an adder which adds said data to the output of said expander; and

a video encoder which converts the output of the adder into said second analog video signal, and wherein the output of said expander is supplied to a switch circuit which switches the output of said video decoder and the output of the expander; and

a digital OSD circuit is connected to receive the output of the switch circuit.

15. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the first and second copy guard data extracted by said detector are sent through a microcomputer to said adder.

16. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said microcomputer adjusts a delay in the signal, caused in said compression/expansion process, and a delay in the first and second copy guard data extracted by said detector.

14. In a recording/reproducing apparatus having an AD converter which converts an input analog video signal into a digital signal;

a compressor which compresses the output of said AD converter;

a recorder which records the output of said compressor on a recording media;

a reproducer which reproduces a digital signal from said recording media;

an expander which expands the output of said reproducer; and

a DA converter which converts the output of said expander into analog video signal, the improvement comprising;

a detector which detects first copy guard data superimposed over a vertical blanking period of said input analog video signal and second copy guard data superimposed over a color burst signal; and

an adder which adds said two copy guard data detected by said detector to the output of said expander, whereby the output of said compressor is fed to said expander in modes other than a reproducing mode by said reproducer.

17. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said second copy guard data is detected on the basis of a signal which is demodulated from an incoming modulated color signal with respect to a B-Y axis.

18. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

an analog recorder which records the input analog video signal on the recording media as it is in the analog state; and

an analog reproducer which reproduces an analog signal from said recording media.

19. A recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said detector detects said second copy guard signal on the basis of the data from an APC (Auto Phase Control) circuit, contained in said analog recorder for phase-locking a color burst signal contained in the input analog video signal and a color subcarrier to be used as a reference signal of said analog recorder.

20. An input/output device comprising:

an AD converter which converts an input analog video signal into a digital signal;

a compressor which compresses the output of said AD converter to produce a compressed signal;

an expander which expands the compressed signal; and

a DA converter which converts the output of said expander into an analog video signal, wherein the output of said compressor is fed to said expander; and

further comprising;

a detector which detects first copy guard data superimposed over a vertical blanking period of said input analog video signal and second copy guard data superimposed over a color burst signal; and

an adder which adds said first and second copy guard data detected by said detector to the output of said expander.

21. An input/optput device according to claim 20, wherein the first and second copy guard data extracted by said detector are sent through a microcomputer to said adder.

22. An input/outputdevice according to claim 21, wherein said microcomputer adjusts a delay in the signal, caused in said compression/expansion process, and a delay in the first and second copy guard data extracted by said detector.

23. An input/output device according to claim 21, wherein said second copy guard data is detected on the basis of a signal which is demodulated from an incoming modulated color signal with respect to a B-Y axis.