Motion picture digital sound system and method with primary sound storage edit capability

Claim 1

In a movie projection system having a projector for projecting visual images from a movie film, and means for advancing a movie film past the projector, the improvement comprising a movie sound system that comprises: a time code reader for reading a time code on the movie film, a digital audio store for storing sound for the movie in a digital format that corresponds to the movie time code, a FIFO digital memory having a data input and a data output, a digital data transfer controller that responds to the time code read from the movie film by accessing the digital audio store and transmitting to the FIFO memory's data input the digital sound data that corresponds to said time code, the digital data transfer controller's access time being less than the film travel time from the time code reader to the projector, said digital data transfer controller responding to a jump in the time code read by the time code reader by making a corresponding access jump in the digital audio store, without any jump being made in the digital sound data in the FIFO memory, means for reading digital sound data out from the FIFO memory data output at a substantially constant rate that corresponds to the film advancement rate, with said FIFO memory providing a substantially continuous and uninterrupted sound data output rate during access jumps in the digital audio store, and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) means for converting the digital sound data read out from the FIFO memory to an analog format, said digital audio store having a data output rate capability that is greater than the rate at which digital sound data is read out from said FIFO memory.

Claim 9

A method of providing an analog sound signal for a movie film from a digital audio store, that stores the movie's sound, the film including a sequential digital time code and the digital audio store storing the sound in a digital format that corresponds to said time code, comprising: advancing the film, reading the time code from the film as it advances, accessing the digital audio store to read out the digital sound data that correspond to the time code that has been read, loading the digital sound data that have been read out from the digital audio store into a FIFO digital memory, reading out all of the digital sound data that has been loaded into the FIFO digital memory a predetermined period of time after the corresponding time codes have been read from the film, at a substantially constant rate that corresponds to the rate of film advancement, in response to reading at least one jump in the time code sequence, making a corresponding jump in accessing the digital audio store, without any jump in reading out the digital sound data from said FIFO digital memory, and with said FIFO memory providing a substantially continuous and uninterrupted sound data output rate during access jumps in the digital audio store, and converting the digital sound data read out from said FIFO memory to an analog sound signal.

Claim 10

A method of providing an analog sound signal for a movie film from a digital audio store, that stores the movie's sound, the film including a sequential digital time code and the digital audio store storing the sound in a digital format that corresponds to said time code, comprising: advancing the film, reading the time code from the film as it advances, accessing the digital audio store to read out the digital sound data that correspond to the time code that has been read, loading the digital sound data that have been read out from the digital audio store into a FIFO digital memory, reading out all of the digital sound data that has been loaded into the FIFO digital memory a predetermined period of time after the corresponding time codes have been read from the film, at a substantially constant rate that corresponds to the rate of film advancement, in response to reading at least one jump in the time code sequence, making a corresponding jump in accessing the digital audio store, without any jump in reading out the digital sound data from said FIFO digital memory, and with said FIFO memory providing a substantially continuous and uninterrupted sound data output rate during access jumps in the digital audio store, and converting the digital sound data read out from said FIFO memory to an analog sound signal.