Television – Format – Including additional information
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-04
2002-08-27
Kostak, Victor R. (Department: 2611)
Television
Format
Including additional information
C386S349000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06441859
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for enabling duplication preventing control depending on an extracted additional information which may be done by outputting an image signal superimposing an additional information and then receiving such image signal to extract the superimposed additional information and also relates to an image signal recording medium, for example, in such a case that an image signal recorded in a recording medium is reproduced, it is then transmitted together with a duplication preventing signal and the transmitted image signal is received to limit or inhibit recording thereof to the other recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
A VTR (Video Tape Recorder) is widely used and many software applications which may be reproduced by the VTR are now available. Particularly, a regenerating apparatus such as a digital VTR and DVD (Digital Video Disk) is appearing as novel apparatus in these days. Therefore it is now possible to enjoy the image and sound of high quality and high fidelity by easily regenerating the recorded image and sound.
However, in one hand, such excellent apparatus has brought about a new problem that abundant software applications which are available in the market are probably be copied without limitation and various kinds of duplication preventing measures have been considered.
For example, although it is not a method to prevent in direct the duplication of analog image signal, a method for substantially preventing the duplication has been proposed. In this method, difference in the AGC (Auto Gain Control) systems between the VTR as the recording apparatus and a monitor receiver for providing images is used or difference in the APC (Auto Phase Control) thereof is used for the purpose of preventing duplication of software applications.
Namely, the former method utilizes difference of the AGC system in which VTR, for example, performs AGC using a pseudo synchronous signal inserted in the image signal, while the monitor receiver employs the AGC system not depending on such pseudo synchronous signal. In this case, at the time of recording an analog image signal into an original recording medium, a pseudo synchronous signal of extremely higher level is superimposed as the synchronous signal for AGC to such analog signal and thereby the pseudo synchronous signal of extremely higher level is inserted to the synchronous signal for AGC into the image signal to be supplied to the recording VTR from the regenerating VTR.
Moreover, in the latter method, difference of such APC characteristic that APC follows a color burst signal with a short time constant in the VTR but it follows with a comparatively longer time constant in the monitor receiver. Namely, at the time of recording an analog image signal into an original recording medium, phase of a color burst signal of the image signal is partially inverted and thereby the signal in which the phase of the color burst signal is partially inverted is output as the image signal supplied to the recording VTR from the regenerating VTR.
In the case explained above, in the monitor receiver which receives supply of an analog image signal from the regenerating VTR, image signal is normally reproduced without receiving any influence of the pseudo synchronous signal and partial phase inversion of the color burst signal used for APC.
However, in the VTR which records the signal to a recording medium by receiving the analog image signal which has superimposed the pseudo synchronous signal as explained from the regenerating VTR or is subjected to the phase inversion control of the color burst signal, it is impossible to normally realize the gain control or phase control depending on the input signal and thereby the image signal cannot be recorded normally. Accordingly, if the recorded image signal is reproduced, the normal image to enjoy excellent image and sound can no longer be reproduced.
In the case of processing the analog image signal, duplication is not inhibited but it is made impossible to obtain the reproduced signal which cannot used for watching and hearing and this method is rather concluded as the so-called negative duplication preventing control.
On the other hand, in the case of the processing the digital information, for example, the digital image signal, a direct duplication preventing control is executed to inhibit the duplication by adding a duplication preventing control signal consisting of a duplication preventing code or a duplication generation limiting code to-the image signal as a digital data and thereby recording such code and image signal to a recording medium.
FIG. 1
shows a basic structure of a duplication apparatus for processing a digital information. In this structure, a digital information reproduced by a digital regenerating apparatus
110
is sent to a digital recording apparatus
120
via a digital transmission line
101
and thereby such digital information which is allowed to be duplicated is duplicated but the information which is not allowed inhibited for duplication.
In a recording medium
111
loaded in the digital regenerating apparatus
110
, a duplication preventing control information as an additional information is recorded in addition to a digital main information. This duplication preventing control information instructs duplication inhibit, duplication acknowledgment, limitation of duplication generation as the details of control. A digital regenerating means
112
reads information from the recording medium
111
to obtain the duplication preventing control information with the digital main information and then sends such pieces of information to a digital recording apparatus
120
via a digital transmission line
101
.
A duplication preventing control signal detecting means
122
of the digital recording apparatus
120
detects the duplication preventing control signal from the information received via the digital transmission line
101
to discriminate details of control and then transfers this discrimination result to the digital recording means
121
.
The digital recording apparatus
121
converts, when discrimination result of the duplication preventing control signal from a duplication preventing control signal detecting means
122
allows recording of the digital information input from the digital transmission line
101
, the input digital signal into the digital information suitable for recording and executes the recording by writing such digital information into the recording medium
123
. On the other hand, when the discrimination result of the duplication preventing control signal from the duplication preventing control signal detecting means
122
does not allow duplication, the digital recording means
121
does not execute the recording of the input digital information.
Moreover, when the discrimination result of the duplication preventing control signal from the duplication preventing control signal detecting means
122
allows only first duplication generation, the digital recording means
121
converts the input digital to the digital information suitable for recording and executes the recording by writing such digital information to the recording medium
123
and also changes the duplication preventing control signal as the additional information into the signal to instruct inhibit of duplication (inhibit of duplication of the next generation) and also records such inhibit signal to the recording medium
123
. Therefore, it is impossible to duplicate the image signal using the duplicated recording medium
123
.
As explained above, in the case of the so-called digital connection in which the main information signal and the duplication preventing control signal as an additional information are supplied to the recording apparatus as the digital signals, a duplication preventing control signal is included in the digital data to be transmitted. Therefore, the recording apparatus surely can execute the duplication preventing control such as inhibit of duplication b
Ikeda Nozomu
Ogino Akira
Kostak Victor R.
Maioli Jay H.
Sony Corporation
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