Color television recorder-reproducer system

Claim 2

In a color television recorder-reproducer having a rotating transducer for scanning in successive revolutions tracks recorded on a magnetic record medium, each of said tracks including a plurality of television lines, said recorder-reproducer having a signal processing path including equalization means for providing from the tracks of said record medium, a composite color television signal including a color burst in each of said lines, the improvement comprising; means for generating a threshold signal determined according to color amplitude errors normally present in said signal, means for comparing with said threshold signal the individual colOr burst of each of said plurality of lines scanned by said transducer to provide a corresponding plurality of error signal values proportional to the respective differences therebetween, memory means having individual storage elements corresponding in number to at least the plurality of said television lines scanned by said transducer in a given revolution thereof, said memory means including means for providing access to selected ones of said storage elements in accordance with separate ones of the lines of said tracks being scanned by said transducer, means coupling said access means to said comparing means for selectively accessing the corresponding ones of said storage elements for each line to store therein a signal determined by the respective one of said plurality of error signal values for that line, and further means coupled between said memory means and said signal processing path for selectively coupling said stored signals to vary said equalization for each line in accordance with said individual stored error signal values to provide color amplitude correction of said reproduced signal on a television line by television line basis.

Claim 3

In a color television recorder-reproducer having a rotating transducer for scanning in successive revolutions tracks recorded on a magnetic record medium, each of said tracks including a plurality of television lines, said recorder-reproducer having a signal processing path including equalization means for providing from the tracks of said record medium, a composite color television signal including a color burst in each of said lines, the improvement comprising; means for generating a threshold signal determined according to color amplitude errors normally present in said signal, means for comparing with said threshold signal the individual colOr burst of each of said plurality of lines scanned by said transducer to provide a corresponding plurality of error signal values proportional to the respective differences therebetween, memory means having individual storage elements corresponding in number to at least the plurality of said television lines scanned by said transducer in a given revolution thereof, said memory means including means for providing access to selected ones of said storage elements in accordance with separate ones of the lines of said tracks being scanned by said transducer, means coupling said access means to said comparing means for selectively accessing the corresponding ones of said storage elements for each line to store therein a signal determined by the respective one of said plurality of error signal values for that line, and further means coupled between said memory means and said signal processing path for selectively coupling said stored signals to vary said equalization for each line in accordance with said individual stored error signal values to provide color amplitude correction of said reproduced signal on a television line by television line basis.

Claim 4

In a color television recorder-reproducer having a rotating transducer for scanning in successive revolutions tracks recorded on a magnetic record medium, each of said tracks including a plurality of television lines, said recorder-reproducer having a signal processing path including equalization means for providing from the tracks of said record medium, a composite color television signal including a color burst in each of said lines, the improvement comprising; means for generating a threshold signal determined according to color amplitude errors normally present in said signal, means for comparing with said threshold signal the individual colOr burst of each of said plurality of lines scanned by said transducer to provide a corresponding plurality of error signal values proportional to the respective differences therebetween, memory means having individual storage elements corresponding in number to at least the plurality of said television lines scanned by said transducer in a given revolution thereof, said memory means including means for providing access to selected ones of said storage elements in accordance with separate ones of the lines of said tracks being scanned by said transducer, means coupling said access means to said comparing means for selectively accessing the corresponding ones of said storage elements for each line to store therein a signal determined by the respective one of said plurality of error signal values for that line, and further means coupled between said memory means and said signal processing path for selectively coupling said stored signals to vary said equalization for each line in accordance with said individual stored error signal values to provide color amplitude correction of said reproduced signal on a television line by television line basis.

Claim 5

The invention according to claim 1 wherein; said further means includes memory read amplifying means having an input coupled to said storage elements, sample and hold means coupled to the output of said memory read amplifying means, and drive means coupled between said sample and hold means and a voltage controlled variable attenuation means in said processing path through which said color television signal is processed.

Claim 6

The invention according to claim 2 wherein; said storage elements and said sample and hold means are capacitive means having a value when active providing gain and phase stabilization for correction of said color amplitude errors.

Claim 7

The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein; said memory means is a matrix memory having 64 capacitor storage elements arranged to be accessed in a rectangular configuration of 16 vertical busses and four horizontal busses.

Claim 8

The combination with a television recorder/reproducer system having a signal processing path for providing from a record medium a television signal consisting of a plurality of television lines for each television frame, each of said lines having a sync pulse and a color burst associated therewith, said system having in said processing path timing correction circuitry to provide error correction to said signal by comparing said bursts with a first reference signal and said sync pulses with a second reference signal to provide two error signals indicative of the timing errors in said reproduced television signal, including means for combining said two error signals and storing said composite error signal on a line-by-line basis and having means to apply said stored signal to said signal processing path to vary said path''s response on a line-by-line basis to reduce the effects of said timing errors in said television lines, comprising; means for providing a threshold signal amplitude in the range of expected color amplitude errors, means for comparing the amplitude of the color burst of each of said lines with said threshold signal amplitude to produce a plurality of further error signals, each of said further error signals corresponding to respective ones of said comparisons, memory means, means for operating said memory means to individually store on a television line by television line basis each of said further error signals, and means responsive to said television signal and coupled to said memory means to compensate during each television line said amplitude errors according to said further error signals stored in said memory means as representing said amplitude errors in that television line, so that said amplitude errors are compensated in a continuous manner during each respective television line and on a television line-by-television line basis.

Claim 9

The combination with a television recorder/reproducer system having a signal processing path for providing from a record medium a television signal consisting of a plurality of television lines for each television frame, each of said lines having a sync pulse and a color burst associated therewith, said system having in said processing path timing correction circuitry to provide error correction to said signal by comparing said bursts with a first reference signal and said sync pulses with a second reference signal to provide two error signals indicative of the timing errors in said reproduced television signal, including means for combining said two error signals and storing said composite error signal on a line-by-line basis and having means to apply said stored signal to said signal processing path to vary said path''s response on a line-by-line basis to reduce the effects of said timing errors in said television lines, comprising; means for providing a threshold signal amplitude in the range of expected color amplitude errors, means for comparing the amplitude of the color burst of each of said lines with said threshold signal amplitude to produce a plurality of further error signals, each of said further error signals corresponding to respective ones of said comparisons, memory means, means for operating said memory means to individually store on a television line by television line basis each of said further error signals, and means responsive to said television signal and coupled to said memory means to compensate during each television line said amplitude errors according to said further error signals stored in said memory means as representing said amplitude errors in that television line, so that said amplitude errors are compensated in a continuous manner during each respective television line and on a television line-by-television line basis.

Claim 10

The combination with a color television recorder/reproducer having playback mEans for providing from a record medium a complete color television picture signal consisting of a plurality of television frames, each of said television frames having a plurality of television lines including a color burst signal associated therewith, of signal processing means including a single equalizer means having an input coupled to said playback means and a demodulation means coupled to the output of said equalizer means; and means forming a single closed loop feedback path about said signal processing means to substantially reduce the effects of color amplitude errors in each of said television lines; wherein said feedback path forming means comprises means coupled to an output of said demodulation means to compare said burst amplitude for each television line with a threshold value to provide a color amplitude error signal for each line of said television signal, memory means coupled to said comparing means for storing a color amplitude error signal for each television line, and means coupling said memory means and said equalizer means for accessing said memory means to vary the path response of said equalizer means to each of said television lines according to said stored color amplitude error signal for that line.

Claim 11

The combination with a color television recorder/reproducer having playback mEans for providing from a record medium a complete color television picture signal consisting of a plurality of television frames, each of said television frames having a plurality of television lines including a color burst signal associated therewith, of signal processing means including a single equalizer means having an input coupled to said playback means and a demodulation means coupled to the output of said equalizer means; and means forming a single closed loop feedback path about said signal processing means to substantially reduce the effects of color amplitude errors in each of said television lines; wherein said feedback path forming means comprises means coupled to an output of said demodulation means to compare said burst amplitude for each television line with a threshold value to provide a color amplitude error signal for each line of said television signal, memory means coupled to said comparing means for storing a color amplitude error signal for each television line, and means coupling said memory means and said equalizer means for accessing said memory means to vary the path response of said equalizer means to each of said television lines according to said stored color amplitude error signal for that line.

Claim 12

The invention according to claim 6 wherein said closed loop feedback path comprises a time shared color amplitude correction loop for each line of said television signal and wherein said loop includes capacitive means each one of which when active in said loop acts to simultaneously correct said color amplitude error and stabilize the operation of said loop.