Pulse or digital communications – Bandwidth reduction or expansion – Television or motion video signal
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-16
2001-08-21
Kostak, Victor R. (Department: 2611)
Pulse or digital communications
Bandwidth reduction or expansion
Television or motion video signal
C375S240280, C348S722000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06278739
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a digital data transmission apparatus which can transmit any of a plurality of digital data partially having a common format but having different formats as a whole to a desired apparatus by performing routing (switching), more specifically relates to a digital data transmission apparatus which preferably performs routing and can transmit to a desired apparatus even if two types of digital data, i.e., digital data of a serial digital interface (SDI) system and digital data of serial digital data interface (SDDI, trademark of Sony Corporation) having a partially common format to that of the SDI system are mixed.
BACKGROUND ART
In television broadcasting stations etc., the video tape recording (VTR) apparatuses, video editing apparatuses, etc. used for the editing of videos are connected via a routing apparatus. A digital video signal and an audio video signal transmitted from any apparatus are input to a desired other apparatus via the routing apparatus and used for editing etc.
The routing apparatus selects a signal which has been input to a specific input terminal of a plurality of input terminals and outputs it to any output terminal of a plurality of output terminals. That is, the routing apparatus acts as a switching apparatus which outputs a certain input signal to any output terminal to which a specific apparatus is connected. This switching operation is called the routing of the routing apparatus.
As the transmission format for transmitting a digital video signal and a digital audio signal (hereinafter, the digital video signal and the digital audio signal are referred to overall as digital data or a digital AV signal) between editing apparatuses used for the editing of the video signal etc., the serial digital interface (SDI) format has been known.
The SDI format is standardized in the SMPTE-295M standard of the SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineering).
This SMPTE-2 standard is basically a signal standard for the D
1
format or D
2
format which are the standards of digital signals. Accordingly, a signal of the SDI format is also used for transmission as a digital AV signal of the D
1
format or D
2
format. The transmission speed (transmission frequency) of the signal of the SDI format is a high speed, i.e., 270 MHz. However, for standardization, the amount of a signal of the SDI format which can be transmitted is restricted to only one channel's worth of the digital video signal and further restricted to only eight channels' worth of the base band audio signal. For this reason, when using an SDI signal, the user sometimes encounters the limits of transmission. A signal of the SDI format is not always suitable for meeting with the demands of multimedia or multi-channels which are now growing in the field of broadcasting or editing of videos.
Therefore, the assignee of the present application has proposed a novel format of digital data which is not only suitable for the multimedia or multi-channel while making active use of the advantages of the SDI format and maintaining partial commonality with the SDI format, but is also suitable for transmission in a data communication system such as a local area network (LAN), Ether Net, or Token Ring (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Application No. 6-144403 entitled “Digital Signal Transmission Method, Digital Signal Transmission Apparatus and Receiving Apparatus, and Transmitting and Receiving Apparatus” filed before the Japanese Patent Office on Jun. 27, 1994). This new transmission format proposed by the present assignee is referred to as the “serial digital data interface (SDDI)” format. Details of this SDDI format (trademark of Sony Corporation) will be explained later.
As the digital AV signal in the editing process of a television broadcasting station etc., there is a case where a signal of the SDI format and a signal of the SDDI format are mixed. Accordingly, it is necessary to suitably route these mixed signals of the SDI format and SDDI format in the routing apparatus to transmit the data to the intended editing apparatus and, at the same time, necessary to perform the editing using the signal of the SDI format and the signal of the SDDI format with a good efficiency.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
A first object of the present invention is to provide a digital data transmission apparatus having a routing apparatus which can effectively perform routing for a signal of the SDI format and a signal of the SDDI format with a simple circuit configuration in a signal processing system in which these signals are mixed.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a digital data transmission apparatus having a conversion device which can perform conversion between the signal of the SDI format and the signal of the SDDI format with a simple circuit configuration.
A third object of the present invention is to provide a digital data transmission apparatus which can suitably route a signal of the SDI format and a signal of the SDDI format and further has a conversion device which can perform conversion between the signal of the SDI format and the signal of the SDDI format with a high efficiency.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a data transmission apparatus using a transmission packet of a format suitable for an ATM exchange system not restricted to a signal of the SDI format and a signal of the SDDI format.
According to the present invention, there is provided a digital data transmission system including: a first signal supplying means comprising an end-of-active-video code (EAV) portion, an ancillary data portion, a start-of-active-video code (SAV) portion, and an active video portion and supplying data of a first transmission packet of the SDI format; a second signal supplying means for supplying data of a second transmission packet of the SDDI format, having an equal transmission packet size to that of the SDI format and in which the EAV portion, ancillary data portion, and the SAV portion are arranged at the same positions as those of the SDI format and in which a payload portion wherein the data to be transmitted is stored is arranged at the same position as that for the active video portion of the SDI format; and a first routing apparatus including, at least, a first input terminal to which at least the data of the first transmission packet is input, a second input terminal to which the data of the second transmission packet is input, a first output terminal, and a second output terminal, and outputting the data of the first transmission packet input to the first input terminal and the data of the second transmission packet supplied to the second input terminal to the first output terminal and the second output terminal in accordance with control data.
Preferably, it further has a setting means which supplies the control data to the first routing apparatus.
Also, preferably, the first routing apparatus can change the number of input terminals and number of output terminals for the data of the first transmission packet and the number of input terminals and number of output terminals for the data of the second transmission packet based on the control data supplied from the setting means.
Preferably, it further has a data conversion device which is connected to one output terminal of the first routing apparatus and converts the data of the second transmission packet to the data of the first transmission packet.
Preferably, it further has a second data conversion device which is connected to one output terminal of the first routing apparatus and converts the data of the first transmission packet to the data of the second transmission packet.
Preferably, the data of the first transmission packet and the data of the second transmission packet contain video data and provision is further made of a monitor provided with a conversion means which is connected to one output terminal of the first routing apparatus and converts the data of the second transmission packet to the data of the first transmission packet.
Preferably
Enomoto Mitsutaka
Kamiura Yoshio
Frommer William S.
Frommer Lawrence & Haug LLP.
Kostak Victor R.
Shallenburger Joe H.
Sony Corporation
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