초록 ▼

In order to delete commercial messages during the viewing and/or video tape recording of broadcast television signals a control circuit is disclosed for producing a commercial editing control signal at the beginning of one or more television commercial messages, which signal continues for the durati

In order to delete commercial messages during the viewing and/or video tape recording of broadcast television signals a control circuit is disclosed for producing a commercial editing control signal at the beginning of one or more television commercial messages, which signal continues for the duration of such messages and terminates after the end of the last of such messages. The control circuit incorporates detection circuitry for automatically detecting each of a series of fade breaks in the video and audio components of the television signal, wherein such fade breaks normally mark the beginning and end of each of one or more commercial messages that have been inserted in the program content. The first of a series of detected fade breaks marks the beginning of a single commercial or the first commercial in a consecutive block of commercials, and succeeding fade breaks occur at time intervals that correspond to the durations of the commercial messages. Cooperating with the circuitry for detecting the series of fade breaks, is electrical timing circuitry which is triggered to cause the generation of the above-mentioned editing control signal. The timing circuitry has a time out interval that is selected to be just slightly longer than the maximum anticipated length of each of the consecutive commercial messages, and is retriggered each time another fade break is detected. A steady control signal is thus generated which continues until the timing circuitry is allowed to time out because of the absence of detected fade breaks, indicating the resumption of non-commercial program content. In the form of the control circuitry disclosed herein, the automatically generated control signal is used to operate a pause control on a video tape recorder for momentarily stopping the recorder during the occurrence of one or more consecutive commercial messages.

대표청구항 ▼

In combination, a video tape recorder for recording a television signal and having a pause control for temporarily interrupting said recording in response to the receipt of a pause control signal, and a commercial message editing circuit for producing said pause control signal, wherein the improveme

In combination, a video tape recorder for recording a television signal and having a pause control for temporarily interrupting said recording in response to the receipt of a pause control signal, and a commercial message editing circuit for producing said pause control signal, wherein the improvement in said commercial message editing circuit comprises: detection circuit means for detecting each of a series of breaks in a telecast that are indicative of one or more commercial interruptions in non-commercial program content and in which each of such breaks is associated with a predetermined amplitude condition of the video and audio components of the television signal that exists for a predetermined minimum time greater than one video field duration, said detection circuit means comprising means for detecting said predetermined amplitude condition of said video component of the television signal existing for said predetermined minimum time, and means for detecting a predetermined audio level of said audio component of the television signal existing for said predetermined minimum time; electrical timing means having a retriggerable timing mode providing a predetermined time-out interval, said timing means being initially triggered and thereafter retriggered by said detection circuit means in response to the detection of successive breaks in a telecast; and means responsive to said electrical timing means for producing said pause control signal in response to and for so long as said electrical timing means is in said retriggerable timing mode, and for terminating said pause control signal when said electrical timing means times out at the end of said predetermined time-out interval. A method of editing commercial messages from a video tape recording of a telecast in which such messages interrupt the non-commercial program content of such telecast, the steps comprising: recording the telecast on a video tape recorder; electrically detecting each of a series of breaks that occur in said telecast and that are characterized by a predetermined amplitude condition of the video and audio components of the television signal existing for a predetermined minimum time greater than one video field duration, and in which a first of such series of breaks marks the beginning of a first commercial message and succeeding breaks in such series occur at time intervals that do not normally exceed a predetermined time period, and in which a last of such series of breaks indicates the resumption of non-commercial program content of said telecast; automatically initiating a timing interval of predetermined duration in response to the detection of a first of said series of breaks, and automatically restarting said timing interval each time a succeeding break in said series is detected, selecting said timimg interval of predetermined duration to be equal to or just greater than said predetermined time period; generating said editing control signal in response to the step of detecting a first of said series of breaks, and continuing to generate said control signal until said timing interval times out without being restarted; and applying said editing control signal to the video tape recorder for temporarily interrupting the recording step for the duration of said control signal.