Video and audio signal editing and transmitting apparatus and method of same

• US 6,314,576 B1
• Filed: 02/04/1997
• Issued: 11/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kodama, Yasumasa, Ebihara, Norio, Asamizuya, Noboru
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, Chris
• Application Number:
  US08/794,905
• Time in Patent Office: 1,736 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.716, H04/N.7173, 345/327, 348/7, 348/12, 348/13, 348/9, 348/10, 455/4.2, 455/5.1, 455/6.1, 455/6.2, 455/6.3, 725/92, 725/91, 725/115, 725/114, 725/87, 725/93, 725/94, 725/98, 725/101, 725/116
• US Class Current: 725/91
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2181 comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2343 involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26275 for distributing content or additional data in a staggered manner, e.g. repeating movies on different channels in a time-staggered manner in a near video on demand system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47208 for requesting near-video-on-demand content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A hardware configuration suited for a digital video and audio signal broadcast system such as a near-video on-demand apparatus (NVOD apparatus) includes a compilation unit, a play-out unit, a transmission unit, and a subscriber unit. The compilation unit stores several weeks to several months worth of the video and audio signals obtained by reproducing, compressing, encoding, and editing the broadcast stock according to a long term broadcast schedule of several weeks to several months. The play-out unit stores the video and audio signals stored in the compilation unit for several days to several weeks according to a broadcast schedule of several days to several weeks, reproduces the video and audio signals which become necessary for the real time broadcast, and adds a time difference to these video and audio signals distributed to a plurality of channels. The transmission unit transmits the plurality of channels worth of the video and audio signals given the time difference at the play-out unit to a subscriber unit.

Claims

1. A video and audio signal editing and transmitting apparatus comprising:

a compilation unit which has a first storage means having a storage capacity in a range of several weeks to several months, receives video signals serving as video stock and audio signals corresponding to the video signals, which has an encoder that compresses and encodes the received video and audio signals and multiplexed packets of the compressed and encoded video and audio signals and code data in the form of code data packets, and which has a record controller that performs predetermined editing on the compressed and encoded video and audio signals and code data from the encoder to obtain a signal storage format for staggered playback of multiple channels, stores the edited results in the signal storage format in the first storage means, and transmits the compressed and encoded video and audio signals stored in the first storage means in accordance with a first transmission request;

a play-out unit which has a second storage means having a capacity in a range of several days to several weeks and third storage means constituting an on-line storage for temporarily storing the compressed and encoded video and audio signals and having a substantially smaller storage capacity than the storage capacity of the second storage means, receives the compressed and encoded video and audio signals transmitted from the compilation unit, initially stores the compressed and encoded video and audio signals received by the play-out unit in the second storage means, routes the compressed and encoded video and audio signals from the second storage means to the third storage means, reads and reproduces the compressed and encoded video and audio signals from the second storage means for feeding to the third storage means in accordance with a second transmission request, and which has code data insertion circuits for inserting the code data packets from the record controller into the reproduced compressed and encoded video and audio signals prior to transmission, and transmits the reproduced compressed and encoded video and audio signals from the third storage means; and

a transmission unit which transmits the reproduced compressed and encoded video and audio signals transmitted from the play-out unit to subscribers according to a broadcast program.

2. The video and audio signal editing and transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus further comprises a subscriber unit having instruction means connected to the transmission unit for selecting a program to be received from the transmission unit and receiving means for receiving and decoding the video and audio signals transmitted from the transmission unit.

3. The video and audio signal editing and transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said compilation unit compresses and encodes said video and audio signals according to an MPEG standard.

4. The video and audio signal editing and transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said compilation unit receives input video and audio signals obtained by signal processing film stock or video and audio signals obtained by signal processing video stock recorded on video tape, performs compression and encoding on the video and audio signals, performs the predetermined editing to obtain a signal format suited to the broadcast program, and stores the same in said first storage means.

5. The video and audio signal editing transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission of the compressed and encoded video and audio signals from said compilation unit to said play-out unit is carried out via a transmission line.

6. The video and audio signal editing and transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission of the compressed and encoded signals from said compilation unit to said play-out unit is carried out via a recording medium on which the compressed and encoded signals are recorded.

7. The video and audio signal editing and transmitting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

said play-out unit copies continuous video and audio signals into a plurality of channels of video and audio signals, successively adds a predetermined time difference to said plurality of channels of the video and audio signals, and transmits a result to said transmission unit and

said transmission unit transmits the plurality of channels of video and audio signals with the predetermined time difference to said subscriber unit.

8. The video and audio signal editing and transmitting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said play-out unit has a promotion and commerical server for adding at least one of promotions and commericals to said plurality of channels of video and audio signals.

9. The video and audio signal editing and transmitting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmission and reception between said transmission unit and said subscriber unit are carried out by using radio communication.

10. The video and audio signal editing and transmitting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmission and reception between said transmission unit and said subscriber unit are carried out by using cable communication.

11. A video and audio signal editing and transmitting method for editing a program comprised by video and audio signals and transmitting the program to subscribers, comprising the following steps:

receiving video signals serving as video stock and audio signals corresponding to the video signals and compressing and encoding the received signals;

multiplexing packets of the compressed and encoded video and audio signals and packets of code data in the form of code data packets;

performing predetermined editing on the compressed and encoded video and audio signals to obtain a signal storage format for staggered playback of multiple channels and storing said video and audio signals in the signal storage format in first storage means having a storage capacity in a range of several weeks to several months;

transmitting the compressed and encoded video and audio signals stored in the first storage means in accordance with a first transmission request;

receiving the transmitted compressed and encoded video and audio signals and storing the video and audio signals in a second storage means having a storage capacity in a range of several days to several weeks;

routing the compressed and encoded video and audio signals from the second storage means to a plurality of online storage means for temporary storage, each of the line storage means having a smaller capacity than the storage capacity of the first or second storage means;

reading and reproducing the compressed and encoded video and audio signals from the plurality of online storage means in accordance with a second transmission request and transmitting the reproduced digital video and audio signals;

inserting the code data packets from the step of multiplexing into the reproduced compressed and encoded video and audio signals prior to transmission; and

transmitting the transmitted reproduced video and audio signals to the subscribers according to a broadcast program.