Loading patent…
OwnerJohn J. Karamon, Daniel W. Gravereauxinventors
Estimating the term…
A method and system for synchronizing a digital signal of an audio message at higher quality with another signal of the same audio message at lower quality. The invention synchronizes an auxiliary high quality audio digital sound signal source with the ordinary quality analog sound signal coming from a conventional analog sound track on motion picture film as the motion picture is being shown and maintains effective synchronization in spite of missing segments of the sound track due to film splices. The invention does not require synchronization tracks, markers, codes, time codes or other extrinsic data. The only requirement is that the higher qualtiy audio message recording, e.g. in a digital medium, be made from the same "master recording" (or a high quality duplicate thereof) as the sound track so that the auxiliary recording have the same informational content as the sound track. In order to maintain synchronization of the high quality audio message in spite of missing segments of the lower quality audio message, the higher quality message is caused to precede the lower quality message, and is temporarily stored in time-delay means, such as a FIFO overwriting memory store. Correlation is achieved by re-iterative subtractions between digital numbers representative of characteristics of the absolute value envelope of the ordinary quality message signal and digital numbers representative of characteristics of the absolute value envelope of the high quality message. When the missing segments of the cinema sound track amount to more than the time-delay storage capability of the time-delay means, the system immediately smoothly "fades" over to utilize the conventional analog sound track of the cinema film for uninterrupted sound accompanying the motion picture being viewed by the theater audience. Re-synchronism is quickly achieved, and the system immediately automatically smoothly "fades" back to the higher quality sound.
In the showing of viewable images depicting motion and wherein the viewable images are provided by operation of a first medium containing first means providing a first sound signal to provide an audio message of first quality accompanying the viewable images and wherein said means for providing said first sound signal are made from a master recording, the method of synchronizing with said first sound signal a second sound signal of higher quality than said first quality but containing the same audio message to accompany the showing of the viewable images, said method comprising the steps of:
The method of synchronizing with an analog signal of an audio message a digital signal of said audio message, and wherein the audio message of said analog signal is derived from a master recording, said method comprising the steps of:
Method of claim 39, wherein:
The method of synchronizing a second signal having an audio message at higher quality with a first signal having said audio message at lower quality and wherein said first signal is derived from a master recording, said method being capable of accommodating discontinuities in said first signal and comprising the steps of:
A system for synchronizing an audio message signal at higher quality with an audio message signal at lower quality, wherein said audio message at lower quality is derived from a master recording said system comprising:
A system for providing a viewing audience with high quality sound synchronized with viewable images having an ordinart sound signal track associated with said viewable images for providing ordinary sound synchronized with said viewable images, said system comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.