`Schwartz
`
`P~.tent Number:
`[11]
`[45] Date of Patent:
`
`4,682,248
`Jul. 21, 1987
`
`[54] AUDIO AND VIDEO DIGITAL RECORDING
`AND PLAYBACK SYSTEM
`Inventor: David M. Schwartz, Englewood,
`Colo.
`
`[75]
`
`[73] Assignee: CompuSonics Video Corporation,
`Palo Alto, Calif.
`[21] Appl. No.: 776,809
`Sep. 17, 1985
`[22] Filed:
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`[63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 651,111, Sep. 17, 1984,
`which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 486,561,
`Apr. 19, 1983, Pat. No. 4,472,747.
`
`[56]
`
`Int. Cl.4 .......................... GllB 5/00; G lOL 5/02
`[51]
`[52] U.S. CI .......................................... 360/32; 381/51
`[58] Field of Search ...................... 381/51, 41; 360/32;
`358/22; 340/703, 717, 747
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`3,102,165 8/1963 Clapper ................................. 381/51
`3,236,947 2/1966 Clapper ................................... 179/1
`3,435,134 3/1969 Richards ................................. 178/6
`3,685,031 8/1972 Cook ................................ 340/174.1
`3, 723,879 3/1973 Kaul et al ............................. 325/38
`3,725,592 4/1973 Tanaka ............................. 179/15.55
`3,745,264 7/1973 Emerson et al. ................. 179/100.2
`3,786,201 1/1974 Myers et al. ..................... 179/100.2
`3,855,617 12/1974 Jakowski et al. ..................... 360/32
`4,015,286 3/1977 Russell .................................. 358/13
`4,075,423 2/1978 Martin et al. ......................... 381/50
`4,150,397 4/1979 Russell ................................ 358/127
`4,211,997 7/1980 Rudnick et al. ...................... 371!38
`4,214,125 7/1980 Mozer ................................... 381/51
`4,225,885 9/1980 Lux et al. ......................... 340/146.3
`4,270,150 5/1981 Diermann et al. .................... 360/10
`4,281,355 7/1981 Wada et al. ........................... 360/32
`4,302, 776 11/1981 Taylor et al. ......................... 360/39
`4,335,393 6/1982 Pearson ................................... 358/4
`4,345,314 8/1982 Melamud ............................ 364/515
`
`4,365,304 12/1982 Ruhman et al. .................... 364/515
`4,368,988 1/1983 Tahara et al. ......................... 360/32
`4,375,650 3/1983 Tiemann ............................. 358/133
`4,387,406 6/1983 Ott ....................................... 358/310
`4,389,537 6/1983 Tsunoda et al. ...................... 381!51
`4,389,681 6/1983 Tanaka et aL ........................ 360/27
`4,392,159 7/1983 Lemoine et al. .................... 358/319
`4,410,917 10/1983 Newdoll et al. ...................... 360/15
`4,411,015 10/1983 Scher! eta!. .......................... 382/51
`4,417,276 11/1983 Bennett et al. ...................... 358/160
`4,417,283 11/1983 Hoshimi eta!. ..................... 358/310
`4,429,334 1/1984 Hashimoto eta!. ................ 358/310
`4,432,019 2/1984 Maier .................................. 358/260
`4,441,201 4/1984 Henderson et al. .................. 381!51
`4,455,635 6/1984 Dieterich .............................. 369/59
`4,458,110 7/1984 Mozer ................................... 381/51
`4,493,106 1/1985 Farhangi et al. ..................... 382/41
`4,504,972 3/1985 Scher! et al. .......................... 382/51
`4,516,246 5/1985 Kenemuth ............................. 375/37
`4,519,027 5/1985 Vogelsberg ........................... 381/51
`4,520,401 5/1985 Takahashi et al. .................. 358/310
`4,528,585 7/1985 Bolger ................................... 358/22
`4,549,201 10/1985 Tanaka et al. ........................ 358/13
`
`Primary Examiner-Vincent P. Canney
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Jerry W. Berkstresser
`ABSTRACT
`[57]
`A microcomputer system for converting an analog sig(cid:173)
`nal, such as an audio or video signal representative of
`sound or video into a digital form for storing in digital
`form in a highly condensed code and for reconstructing
`the analog signal from the coded digital form. The sys(cid:173)
`tem includes reductive analytic means where the origi(cid:173)
`nal digital data stream is converted to a sequential series
`of spectrograms, signal amplitude histrograms and
`waveform code tables. Approximately 100 times less
`storage space than previously required for the storage
`of digitized signals is thereby obtained. Additive synthe(cid:173)
`sis logic interprets the stored codes and recreates an
`output digital data stream for digital to analog conver(cid:173)
`sion that is nearly identical to the original analog signal.
`
`3 Claims, 18 Drawing Figures
`
`DISKETTE----..._____ .. "MAG c;:SK
`. ~TCRt.GE
`
`Th8LE STOR.!.GE
`3.) K&YTES
`
`Apple Exhibit 1221 Page 00001
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent Jul. 21, 1987
`
`Sheet 1 of 18
`
`4,682,248
`
`DATA AQUISITION MODULE (DAM)
`lBROAo:-i
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`( 128 CHANNELS )
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`WAVEFORM ANALYZER
`a CODER
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`
`2 KBYTES I SEC.
`
`130 KBYTES I SEC.
`(AVERAGE)
`
`DISK
`READ I WRITE
`MODULE
`
`240,000 .01 SECOND
`RECORDS ON AVERAGE
`DISKETTE
`
`WAVE TABLE STORAGE
`130 KBYTES
`
`FIG. I
`
`Page 00002
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent Jul. 21, 1987
`
`Sheet 2 of 18
`
`4,682,248
`
`Page 00003
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent Jul. 21, 1987
`
`Sheet 3 of 18
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`4,682,248
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`Page 00006
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`
`
`U.S. Patent Jul. 21, 1987
`
`Sheet 6 of 18
`
`4,682,248
`
`BAR-CODE
`PRODUCT
`TAG
`
`10 DUAL-ELEMENT SCANNING
`GUN (BAR-CODE a RANGE(cid:173)
`FINDER\
`
`HARDCOPY OF
`FLOOR PLAN a
`SHELF SPACE
`LAYOUT WITH
`' CURRENT INVEN(cid:173)
`TORY
`
`FIG. 6
`
`Page 00007
`
`
`
`' U.S. Patent Jul. 21, 1987
`
`Sheet 7 of 18
`
`4,682,248
`
`TIME OF SWEEP.
`
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`
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`TIME.
`FIG. 7 ANALOG SIGNAL REPRE.SENTING SHELF CONTENTS
`
`Page 00008
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent Jul. 21, 1987
`
`Sheet 8 of 18 · 4,682,248
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`U.S. Patent Jul. 21, 1987
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`U.S. Patent Jul. 21, 1987
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`Sheet 10 of 18 4,682,248
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 21, 1987
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`Sheet 11 of 18 4,682,248
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`U.S. Patent Jul. 21, 1987
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`U.S. Patent Jul. 21, 1987
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`Sheet 14 of 18 4,682,248
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`U.S. Patent Jul. 21, 1987
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`Sheet 15 of 18 4,682,248
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`Dll<.'cC'ro~Y DATA
`fOR AUDIO
`Lle,RARY REF'E~EI'JCE'
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`Jul. 21, 1987
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`U.S. Patent Jul. 21, 1987
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`AUDIO AND VIDEO DIGITAL RECORDING AND
`PLAYBACK SYSTEM
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. pa(cid:173)
`tent application Ser. No. 651,111 filed Sept. 17, 1984
`which is a continuation in part of U.S. patent applica(cid:173)
`tion Ser. No. 486,561, filed Apr. 19, 1983, now U.S. Pat.
`No. 4,472,747, directed to Audio Digital Recording and 10
`Playback System of David M. Schwartz.
`Conventional recording of sound and playback is
`performed by electronic systems of the analog type.
`The sound waves from a source being recorded are
`converted to electrical signals on a one to one basis; the 15
`acoustic sound waves have their analogy in the electri(cid:173)
`cal current generated by the microphone or pre(cid:173)
`amplifier circuit such as used in a receiver, turntable or
`magnetic tape source. On playback the electrical signal
`is amplified and used to drive loudspeakers which con- 20
`vert the electrical signal to sound waves by the mechan(cid:173)
`ical motion of an electromagnet and speaker cone.
`Conventional video recorders store the electrical
`waveforms, generated by the video camera, represent(cid:173)
`ing the visual image. The most common memory de- 25
`vices used to store the waveforms are magnetic tape or
`disk. These devices store an analogy to the electrical
`waveforms in the form of magnetic gradients in the
`medium of magnetic particles. The waveforms may be a
`composite of the color signal or discrete red, green, and 30
`blue signals, depending on the system. Due to the ana(cid:173)
`log nature of the system, the noise level is high and the
`results of surface defects are readily seen in the image
`when it is played back.
`Similarly, the output of conventional recording and 35
`playback systems consists of electrical signals in the
`form of signal waveforms either cut into a vinyl me(cid:173)
`dium or imposed on magnetic particles on tape. On
`playback, the signal waveforms are converted into
`sound waves as described above. The accuracy of the 40
`reproduced sound wave is directly dependent on the
`quality of the metal or plastic disk or of the tape itself.
`Both the production of disk copies and tapes and their
`means of playback tend to degrade the quality of the
`reproduced analog signal. Noise, in the form of con tam- 45
`ination, wear and the inherent background output of the
`medium itself is therefore unavoidably present in the
`recording and playback systems utilizing conventional
`analog to analog recording and playback technology.
`Recent developments in audio-digital sound recording 50
`and playback systems represent efforts to reduce or
`eliminate this noise problem. Exemplary of such devel(cid:173)
`opments are the kinds of systems and equipment dis(cid:173)
`closed in the followjng patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. Meyers
`et al, 3,786,201 issued Jan. 15, 1974; Borne et al, 55
`4,075,665, issued Feb. 21, 1978; Yamamoto, 4,141,039,
`issued Feb. 20, 1979; Stockham, Jr. et al, 4,328,580 is(cid:173)
`sued May 4, 1982; Tsuchiya et al, 4,348,699 issued Sept.
`7, 1982; and Baldwin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,129 issued
`Sept. 28, 1982, the disclosures of which are specifically 60
`incorporated herein by reference. These systems are
`characterized generally as taking advantage of the high
`speed operation of digital electronic ,computers. The
`signal waveform, representative of sound in such digital
`sound recording and playback systems, is frequently 65
`sampled to produce a serial stream of data that is trans(cid:173)
`lated into a binary code that assigns a numerical value
`for each sample. This can be visualized as slicing up a
`
`1
`
`4,682,248
`
`2
`continuous curve into a large number of very short
`step-like segments. The process is reversed on playback
`as each numerical value of each segment is converted
`into an output voltage. When this process is done rap-
`5 idly enough, the fact that the signal wave form repre(cid:173)
`sentative of a sound wave has been "chopped up" and
`re-assembled cannot be dett::cted by the human ear.
`When sound is recorded in digitized binary code in this
`manner, the sound, such as music, is only a series of
`numbers represented by magnetic tracks on a recording
`medium which, when read by the appropriate elec-
`tronic means, are either "on" or "off' with no interme(cid:173)
`diate values. Such binary signals are virtually immune
`to distortion, error, and degradation with time. All
`sources of noise normally associated with analog de(cid:173)
`vices are eliminated that is, there is no tape hiss, no
`tracking errors, no surface effects. Signal to noise ratios
`are limited only by the digital to analog conversion
`circuit itself and the power amplifiers, rather than the
`sensitivity of the mechanical or magnetic analog to
`analog conversion circuitry.
`These systems do, however, have several drawbacks.
`A representative system currently in use for recording
`master tapes in the record industry has excellent audio
`qualities as a result of a high speed sampling rate of 50
`KHz and good digital binary code resolution in the
`form of a 16 bit word for each sample. The problem
`with this system is that every sample must be preserved
`in mass storage for playback. The storage system thus
`must hold on the order of 4,320,000,000 bits of informa(cid:173)
`tion for a 45 minute record. Storage systems of this
`capacity are large, expensive, and generally not suitable
`for a consumer product.
`Attempts to resolve the storage capacity problem
`have taken the approach of reducing the resolution of
`each sample (fewer bits per "word") while at the same
`time reducing the sampling rate to 12khz). Such reduc(cid:173)
`tions have reduced the data storage requirement by as
`much as a factor of 4. The resulting fidelity of the out(cid:173)
`put, however, is often below that acceptable for high
`fidelity sound recordings of music.
`Another approach much favored by telephone com(cid:173)
`panies, employs the foregoing reduction of bits de(cid:173)
`scribed above and in addition adds the restriction of
`input signal band width to that most used by talking
`voices (50 Hz to 3500Hz). A total data reduction factor
`of about 12 is possible in this manner, again accompa(cid:173)
`nied with a reduction in sound quality.
`Recent attempts at a solution to the storage problem
`and the fidelity reduction problem utilizes ultra high
`density digital storage by laser recording technology.
`This has been partially successful in that adequate play(cid:173)
`ing times have been achieved with the improved stor(cid:173)
`age capacity. However, the manufacturing technology
`and equipment presently necessary to create a "laser-
`burned hole", "pit", or "black spot" in the storage me(cid:173)
`dium restricts "laser disks" or "laser fiches" to the
`"playback only" mode with no potential for in-home
`recording or erasing and editing.
`With respect to digital video recording, digital mem(cid:173)
`ory devices identical to those used in conventional COilJ·
`puter systems have found use storing very high quality
`images. Small digital memories of 10 to 500 megabytes
`are frequently used as still frame stores for image pro(cid:173)
`cessors that create special effects and enhancements.
`The digital memories tend to be small for cost reasons.
`Typically, the video images are recorded on magnetic
`
`Page 00020
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`4,682,248
`
`3
`tape as they are produced, in analog form, then small
`portions of the tape are digitized and transferred to the
`digital image memory for manipulation. When the
`image processing task is complete, the data in the digital
`memory is converted back into analog form and stored 5
`on magnetic tape.
`The digital image storage and playback systems cur(cid:173)
`rently in use have two principal problems: cost and slow
`access speed. The high cost of digital memory for image
`storage is a result of the large quantities of data pro- 10
`duced when analog video is digitized. The wide band(cid:173)
`width of the video signal consumes memory at the rate
`of 80,000,000 binary numbers (bits) per second. Slow
`access to stored images is the result of the time consum(cid:173)
`ing task of locating and transferring the desired image 15
`from analog tape to the digital system, and then back
`again before the next segment can be processed.
`Typical present day digital video recorders are com(cid:173)
`posed of an imaging system such as a video camera, a
`digitizer, digital memory for frame buffering, and a 20
`winchester disk or optical disk data storage subsystem.
`These recorders are restricted to non real time opera(cid:173)
`tion due to the limited bandwidth of the data channel in
`and out of the storage subsystem. The fastest disk stor(cid:173)
`age device will sustain an average data transfer rate of 25
`less than 10,000,000 bits per second. This is about one
`eighth the rate required to capture continuous moving
`images.
`Solutions to the above problems have been limited by
`the negative complementary nature of the relationships 30
`between access time, digital memory size, and tape
`transport speed.
`It is therefore an objective of the present invention to
`provide a system for high fidelity sound recording and
`playback that does not have the foregoing drawbacks 35
`and associated problems.
`It is therefore an objective of the present invention to
`store high quality digital video and audio data in a
`readily accessible, durable, and inexpensive form, and
`to provide a system for video and audio playback of the 40
`stored data.
`
`4
`tions with pre-existing waveform and real time data and
`generating a resultant waveform data code from such
`comparison, and then comparing the selected data from
`the data streams which are indicative of frequency and
`amplitude with the waveform data code to produce
`another data code proportional to the frequency and
`amplitude of the original analog signal, sequentially
`recording the data stream indicative of amplitude, the
`data code indicative of frequency and amplitude, and
`the data code indicative of waveform, onto a recording
`media, for subsequent playback by the processing of the
`sequentially recorded data.
`And if audio and video recording is desired, the fol(cid:173)
`lowing description will apply.
`A micro computer recording system for recording
`analog audio and video signals in digital data form can
`comprise converting means for converting an analog
`audio signal into a multiplicity of digital data streams
`wherein at least one of the data streams is a relatively
`broadband reference signal representative of the ampli(cid:173)
`tude of a preselected range of audio frequencies, and
`wherein another of the data streams is produced by
`filtering the analog audio signal to produce a data
`stream channel indicative of a plurality of discrete fre(cid:173)
`quencies encompassed by the bandwidth represented by
`the first data stream; and wherein another of the digital
`data stream is a reference signal representative of the
`amplitude of the audio signal for each of plurality of
`discrete frequencies; sampling means for producing a
`sequential stream of samples in each of the digital data
`streams, selection means for selecting a predetermined
`portion of the digital data samples produced by the
`sampling means in each digital data stream; means for
`separately storing each of the selected data samples
`produced by the sampling means; means for comparing
`the reference data stream containing amplitude data
`with the reference data stream containing frequency
`data to produce frequency spectrogram data representa-
`tive of the frequency and energy of the original audio
`signal; means for comparing the histogram data with
`selected waveform parameters and producing address(cid:173)
`able data representative of the waveform of the original
`input dat;t; means for sequentially assembling and stor(cid:173)
`ing the frequency spectrogram data and the amplitude
`reference data and the addressable waveform data for
`subsequent use; and converting means for converting an
`analog video signal into a multiplicity of digital data
`streams wherein the first of the digital data streams is a
`50 sequential time code representative of the beginning of
`each video frame, and wherein another of the digital
`data streams is produced by filtering the analog time
`domain signal to produce a data stream channel indica-
`tive of chrominance; and wherein another of the data
`streams is indicative of brightness; and wherein another
`of the digital data streams is indicative of pixel spatial
`relationships; and wherein another of the data streams is
`indicative of the temporal frame to frame relationships;
`and coding means for receiving each data stream indi(cid:173)
`vidually, the coding means including means for mathe(cid:173)
`matically transforming each digital data stream into
`modified data streams each capable of being subse(cid:173)
`quently analyzed by comparison of the chromanance,
`brightness and spatial factors present respectfully in the
`modified data streams, and means for selecting prede(cid:173)
`termined data bits from each of the modified data
`streams after comparison, in a sufficient amount to re(cid:173)
`construct each chromanance, brightness and spatial
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention, using high density recording
`on a low cost magnetic media, such as a magnetic tape 45
`or disc or magneto-optical discs, or optical discs in a
`system having a random access memory architecture
`and a unique bit rate reduction scheme for processing
`digital audio and video data, provides a digital audio,
`video recording and playback system.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention is yet another approach to a.
`solution to the storage and reproduction problems asso(cid:173)
`ciated with digital audio recording and playback sys- 55
`terns described herein and digital video recording and
`playback systems. Good audio fidelity can be achieved
`with limited computer storage capacity by the provi(cid:173)
`sion of unique electronic signal processing means
`which: (l) converts analog data to digital data stream 60
`samples; (2) selects portions of the samples to produce
`at least three data streams indicative of amplitude, fre(cid:173)
`quency and waveform characteristics; (3) stores data
`samples indicative of waveform having a predetermined
`time duration, comparing each such sample of wave- 65
`form data against predetermined waveform parameters
`to select and preserve only predetermined portions, said
`waveform data samples matching the preserved por-
`
`Page 00021
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`
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`5
`factors for video presentation, and means for storing the
`digital data bits for retrieval.
`
`4,682,248
`
`25
`
`50
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`The present invention provides a system for convert(cid:173)
`ing input analog signals such as audio signals, and/or
`video signals into digital signals and subsequently coded
`into structured data sets for recording in condensed 55
`digital form; and, for reconstructing a digital data set
`similar to the original digital signal input prior to recon(cid:173)
`version to the analog form of signal.
`In its broadest sense, therefore, the recording of the
`audio signals into a digital form for subsequent playback 60
`is accomplished by the provision of a microcomputer
`recording system which comprises electronic compo(cid:173)
`nents for converting an analog audio signal into at least
`three digital data streams, wherein the first of the digital
`data streams is a relatively broad band reference signal 65
`representative of the amplitude of a pre-selected range
`of audio frequencies, and the second of the data streams
`is produced by filtering the analog audio signal to pro-
`
`20
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the digital recording
`and playback systems of the present invention.
`FIG. 2 is a pictorial representation of the analytical
`model of the function of the Data Acquisition module of
`FIG.1.
`FIG. 3 contains a diagrammatic representation of the 10
`recorded waveform data.
`FIG. 4 is a pictorial representation of a single module
`of binary code as stored on disk, from which reproduc(cid:173)
`tion will be obtained according to the system of the
`present invention.
`FIG. 5 is a di<igrammatic representation of the layout
`of the electronic components used in the present inven(cid:173)
`tion.
`FIG. 6 is a pictorial representation of a warehouse
`inventory system.
`FIG. 7 represents an analog signal output of the appa(cid:173)
`ratus of FIG. 6.
`FIGS. 8 and Sa together are a schematic block dia(cid:173)
`gram of the digital video recorder in the system of the
`present invention.
`FIGS. 9 and 9a together are a schematic diagram of
`the software modules for the digital audio and video
`recording and playback system of the present invention.
`FIG. 10 is a diagramatic representation of the trans(cid:173)
`formed digital, video signal for one video frame (VF n) 30
`displayed.
`FIG. 11 is a diagramatic representation of the trans(cid:173)
`formed digital video signal for the video frame (VFn+ J)
`following that depicted in FIG. 10.
`FIG. 12 is a diagramatic representation of the differ- 35
`ence between the frames depicted in FIGS. 10 and 11,
`or (VFn)-(VFn+J).
`FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic representation of the audio
`and video data disposition on a 5!" flexible magnetic
`diskette.
`·
`FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic representation of the anal(cid:173)
`ysis and synthesis factors related to a single digital video
`image picture element (pixel).
`FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic representation of the bit
`map of a digital video frame image.
`FIG. 16 is a diagrammatic representation of the en(cid:173)
`coding of tri-stimulus values of a single picture element
`(pixel).
`
`40
`
`45
`
`6
`duce at least one data stream channel indicative of a
`sampled bandwidth of frequencies narrower than the
`bandwidth represented by such first data stream, and a
`third reference data stream representative of the sam-
`5 piing frequency of the audio signal; sampling means for
`producing a sequential stream of data samples from
`each of the digital data streams, selection means for
`selecting a pre-determined portion of the digital data
`sample produced by the sampling means in each of the
`data streams; means for separately storing each of the
`selected digital data samples produced by the sampling
`means; means for comparing the reference signal data
`stream containing amplitude data with the second data
`stream containing frequency data to produce frequency
`15 spectrogram data representative of the frequency and
`amplitude of the original audio signal; means for trans(cid:173)
`forming data samples of the third data stream channel
`selected from the narrower bandwidth into data repre-
`sentative of a time versus amplitude histogram for each
`bandwidth means for comparing the histogram data
`with selected waveform parameters and producing and
`storing addressable data representative of the waveform
`of the original audio input and means for sequentially
`assembling and storing the frequency spectrogram data
`and the amplitude reference data of the first data stream
`and the addressable waveform data for subsequent play-
`back use.
`In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1, for
`digital audio recording and playback the input signal is
`conditioned and amplified in the first stage of the Data
`Acquisition Module (DAM). The DAM is a multichan-
`nel programmable microprocessor based device that
`utilizes standard integrated circuits to perform three
`functions:
`1. To sample at the rate of 42 Khz, hold, digitize, and
`output the broadband (20 hz to 20 Khz) audio sig(cid:173)
`nal level (de voltage) of amplitude every 0.01 sec(cid:173)
`ond. Thus, 100 times every second a digital "word"
`composed of from 4 to I 4 bits is created for assem(cid:173)
`bly as part of a disk record file.
`2. To sample, hold, digitize and output an audio fre(cid:173)
`quency spectrogram every 0.01 second from a 128
`segment array of logical bandpass filters which
`sample 128 channels and are arranged logarithmi(cid:173)
`cally over the overall band width used. The data
`set produced by this function may range from null
`(no signals on any channel) to (n) [(7 bit iden(cid:173)
`tifier+(7 bit scaler):t(2 bit pointer)] where (n) is
`the number of channels with signal content.
`3. To act as a digital storage oscilloscope loader,
`assembling strings of digitized amplitude versus
`time data (histograms) corresponding to the array
`of bandpass fil~ers selected in paragraph 2, above.
`This assembled data set is produced every 0.01
`second and is the largest single data structure and
`contains time continuous listing for every active
`bandpass filter. The number of "words" in each
`string is a function of the filter center frequency
`and requires as many as 4,000 samples for a 20 Khz
`channel, or as few as five samples for a 20 hz chan(cid:173)
`nel. This data set"is not sent to the file assembler as
`in paragraphs 1 and 2, above, but is loaded into a
`Random Access Memory (RAM) buffer where it is
`accessible by the Waveform Analyzer and Coder
`module.
`The function of the Waveform Analyzer and Coder
`module (WAC FIG. 1) is to be a digital numeric proces(cid:173)
`sor array that is programmed to extract characteristic
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`4,682,248
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`7
`waveforms from the data set stored in the RAM by the
`DAM described