Full-motion video disc with reference information for slow-motion or freeze playback

• US 5,745,641 A
• Filed: 11/28/1995
• Issued: 04/28/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: De Haan, Wiebe, Van Der Meer, Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, THAI Q
• Application Number:
  US08/563,799
• Time in Patent Office: 882 Days
• Field of Search: 358/335, 358/342, 358/310, 360/32, 360/48
• US Class Current: 386/239
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10527 Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements G11B20/12 - G11B20/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1217 on discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1251 for continuous data, e.g. digitised analog information signals, pulse code modulated [PCM] data
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10537 Audio or video recording
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2525 Magneto-optical [MO] discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/255 CD-I, i.e. CD-interactive
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/30 on the same track as the main recording
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/3027 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/3036 Time code signal
• 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: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9205 the additional signal being at least another television signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9261 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9267 : using time division multiplex of the PCM audio and PCM video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/937 : by assembling picture element blocks in an intermediate store
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/52 : Systems for transmission of a pulse code modulated video signal with one or more other pulse code modulated signals, e.g. an audio signal or a synchronizing signal assembling of a multiplex stream by combining a video stream with other content or additional data, remultiplexing of multiplex streams, insertion of stuffing bits into the multiplex stream, assembling of a packetised elementary stream at server side H04N21/236; disassembling of a multiplex stream, remultiplexing of multiplex streams, extraction or processing of Service Information, disassembling of packetised elementary stream at client side H04N21/434
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/804 : involving pulse code modulation of the colour picture signal components
• 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

Abstract

An optically readable disc like a compact disc contains a sequence of full-motion video scene digital video blocks, having differing lengths. Each video block contains the entire encoded picture information for at least one picture of the sequence. A header in each video block contains reference information referring to the location of a predetermined video block in the series of blocks, so that this information permits a playback device to recover from a slow-motion or freeze mode by reading from a desired location in the predetermined video block.

Claims

1. An optically readable disc on which a sequence of pictures of a full-motion video scene is stored in the form of a series of video blocks,

characterized in that said video blocks have unpredictably differing respective lengths, each block including the entire encoded picture information for at least one picture of said sequence, and

each video block includes a header comprising reference information referring to the location of a predetermined video block in the series of video blocks.

2. A disc as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said reference information comprises the ordinal number of the relevant video block in the series.

3. A disc as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the reference information in the header of a given video block refers to the location of the next video block in the series.

4. A disc as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said reference information comprises a time code which, with reference to a reference instant, is indicative of the instant when the picture characterized by the relevant video block is displayed in the case of normal display of the picture sequence.

5. A disc as claimed in claim 4, wherein said time code comprises a time indication in hours, minutes and seconds, and an auxiliary ordinal number indicating the ordinal number of a video block in a series of video blocks whose corresponding pictures must be displayed at a frame frequency within the period of a predetermined second.

6. A disc as claimed in claim 4, in which the series of video blocks is divided into sectors each having a sector number, and wherein the reference information further comprises a pointer code (PC) comprising a sector offset code which, together with the time code, points at the sector number indicating the beginning of the relevant video block.

7. A disc as claimed in claim 6, wherein the pointer code further comprises a word offset code indicating the ordinal number of the word in the relevant sector where the video block begins.

8. A disc as claimed in claim 1, in which the series of video blocks is divided into sectors each having a sector number, and wherein the reference information further comprises a pointer code (PC) comprising a sector offset code which, together with the time code, points at the sector number indicating the beginning of the relevant video block.

9. A disc as claimed in claim 8, wherein the pointer code further comprises a word offset code indicating the ordinal number of the word in the relevant sector where the video block begins.