Player and disc system for producing video signals in different formats

• US 7,190,880 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2003
• Issued: 03/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Warner Bros Home Entertainment Incorporated (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Warner Bros Home Entertainment Incorporated (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ostrover, Lewis S., Cookson, Christopher J., Lieberfarb, Warren N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Thai
• Assistant Examiner(s): ATALA, JAMIE JO
• Application Number:
  US10/429,445
• Publication Number:
  US 20030194221A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,408 Days
• Field of Search: 386/1, 386/45, 386125-126, 386111-112, 386/131, 348/441, 348/445, 348/555, 348/556, 348/558
• US Class Current: 386/232
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/04 with audible presentation of the material to be studied sound recording or reproducing G11B
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0041 in coded form
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/363 using optical disks, e.g. CD, CD-ROM, to store accompaniment information in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/056 for extraction or identification of individual instrumental parts, e.g. melody, chords, bass; Identification or separation of instrumental parts by their characteristic voices or timbres
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/036 File multilingual, e.g. multilingual lyrics for karaoke
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/02 Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/12 by sensing distinguishing features of or on records, e.g. diameter end mark
• 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: G11B 20/00137 involving measures which result in a restriction to contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier to authorised users
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00144 involving a user identifier, e.g. a unique customer ID
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00159 Parental control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0021 involving encryption or decryption of contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00557 wherein further management data is encrypted, e.g. sector headers, TOC or the lead-in or lead-out areas
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0071 involving a purchase action
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10 Digital recording or reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10527 Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements G11B20/12 - G11B20/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/12 Formatting, e.g. arrangement of data block or words on the record carriers within interface between computers and data recorders G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2583 wherein two standards are used on a single disc, e.g. one DVD section and one CD section
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 : of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 : on a disc [VTOC]
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0037 : with discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/005 : Reproducing G11B7/0065 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/007 : Arrangement of the information on the record carrier, e.g. form of tracks , actual track shape, e.g. wobbled, or cross-section, e.g. v-shaped; Sequential information structures, e.g. sectoring or header formats within a track
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/00745 : Sectoring or header formats within a track formats in general G11B20/12
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/013 : for discrete information, i.e. where each information unit is stored in a distinct discrete location , e.g. digital information formats within a data block or sector
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 : between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• 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 7/0122 : the input and the output signals having different aspect ratios
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7925 : for more than one standard
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/802 : involving processing of the sound signal H04N9/806, H04N9/835 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 : involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8063 : using time division multiplex of the PCM audio and PCM video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8216 : using time division multiplex
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8222 : using frequency division multiplex
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8238 : for teletext
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8244 : involving the use of subcodes

Abstract

A system for playing a selected one of multiple audio tracks recorded in synchronized fashion with a motion picture on an optical disk. The optical disk has encoded on it a mixing master music and effects (“M&E”) track, or a switching master M&E track. Individual audio tracks are provided for language-specific versions of the same motion picture, but these tracks have data recorded in them only where there is dialog. In this way, for many a motion picture, all tracks but masters will have data recorded for well less than half of the running time of the motion picture. When a mixing master is used, it is mixed with a language-specific track when the latter has dialog; the mixing master contains no dialog. If a switching master is used, it may contain dialog recorded with the M&E; when a language-specific track has dialog recorded in it, it also contains M&E and the track is played to the exclusion of the switching master.

Claims

1. A player-disc system that allows a software publisher to distribute copies of a single digital disc for play in different types of players that produce respective output signals having different formats and different output aspect ratios, comprising multiple copies of the same digital disc for play in any of said players, each of said discs having digital data stored therein representing a resolution sufficiently high to satisfy the format having the highest video resolution and the digital data stored therein also representing an aspect ratio from which all of said output aspect ratios can be derived, and a plurality of players of different types each for reading the data on any inserted disc and then processing the data to generate an output signal having a respective format and output aspect ratio;

wherein each disc represents a program containing audio and/or visual components, said components being represented on the disc in the form of digital data streams designed to be processed at bit-use rates which vary with the information contents of the respective components and with the bit-use rates for said components being independent of each other, the digital data streams being organized in a series of data blocks with each data block containing bits of one or more data streams and with the bits in the data streams being distributed in the data blocks such that, after being read from the disc and buffered by the player playing the disc, bits are at all times available as required for proper reconstruction of the respective audio and/or visual components.

2. The player-disc system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the data blocks that contain bits representing said audio and/or visual components further contain commands that specify how the player playing the disc is to process said components.

3. A player-disc system comprising:

a plurality of different types of players that produce respective output signals having different formats and different output aspect ratios; and

multiple identical copies of the same digital disc for play in any of said players, each of said discs having digital data stored therein representing a resolution sufficiently high to satisfy the format having the highest video resolution and the digital data stored therein also representing an aspect ratio from which all of said output aspect ratios can be derived;

wherein each of said plurality of players is adapted to read the data on any inserted disc and then processing the data to generate an output signal having a respective format and output aspect ratio; and

wherein each disc represents a program containing audio and/or visual components, said components being represented on the disc in the form of digital data streams designed to be processed at bit-use rates which vary with the information contents of the respective components and with the bit-use rates for said components being independent of each other, the digital data streams being organized in a series of data blocks with each data block containing bits of one or more data streams and with the bits in the data streams being distributed in the data blocks such that, after being read from the disc and buffered by the player playing the disc, bits are at all times available as required for proper reconstruction of the respective audio and/or visual components.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said plurality of players includes a first player adapted to generate outputs in a first format and a second player adapted to generate outputs in a second format.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said first player is adapted to generate outputs in a NTSP format.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein said first player is adapted to generate outputs in a PAL format.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein said first player is adapted to generate outputs in a letter-box format.