Video facility management system for encoding and decoding video signals to facilitate identification of the video signals

A method for tracking the flow of television programs within a program distribution system, each program including a video signal which contains information to generate a television picture, the distribution system including a plurality of units through which the television programs flow, said method comprising:

• adding, in first signal processing means connected within the system, signal elements to the video signal of a program in order to add patterns of nonbinary graphic symbols to the television picture such that the nonbinary graphic symbols are disposed at predetermined locations of the television picture and a plurality of successive patterns constitute a code associated with the program;
• detecting, in second signal processing means connected within the system, signal elements previously added to a video signal and producing, in response to such detection, information relating to the program which included the video signal;
• and
• receiving information .produced by said second signal processing means and supplying to the first signal processing means information associated with a program which is flowing through said first signal processing means, in response to information received from said second signal processing means, in order to control generation of associated signal elements by said first signal processing means.

Apparatus for tracking the flow of television programs within a program distribution system, each program including a video signal which contains information to generate a television picture composed of successive television picture frames, the distribution system including a plurality of units through which the television programs flow, said apparatus comprising:

• first signal processing means connected within the system for adding signal elements to the video signal of a program in order to add a plurality of patterns of nonbinary graphic symbols to a plurality of frames of the television picture such that each of the nonbinary graphic symbols is disposed at a respective one of a plurality of predetermined locations of a respective frame of the television picture, wherein the plurality of predetermined locations are composed of a reference location and a plurality of information locations, patterns at the information locations in one picture frame constitute a message element, and a plurality of successive patterns at the information locations in a plurality of frames constitute a complete message;
• and
• second signal processing means connected within the system for detecting signal elements previously added to a video signal at the information locations of each frame when a given nonbinary graphic symbol is present at the reference location of that frame and for producing, in response to such detection, an identification of the program which included the video signal.

A method for tracking the flow of television programs within a program distribution system, each program including a video signal which contains information to generate a television picture composed of successive television picture frames, the distribution system including a plurality of units through which the television programs flow, said method comprising:

• adding, in first signal processing means connected within the system, signal elements to the video signal of a program in order to add patterns of nonbinary graphic symbols to a plurality of frames of the television picture such that each of the nonbinary graphic symbols is disposed at a respective one of a plurality of predetermined locations of a respective frame of the television picture, wherein the plurality of predetermined locations are composed of a reference location and a plurality of information locations, patterns at the information locations in one picture frame constitute a message element, and a plurality of successive patterns at the information locations in a plurality of frames constitute a complete message;
• and
• detecting, in second signal processing means connected within the system, signal elements previously added to a video signal at the information locations of each frame when a given nonbinary graphic symbol is present at the reference location of that frame and producing, in response to such detection, an identification of the program which included the video signal.

Apparatus for tracking the flow of television programs within a program distribution system, each program including a video signal which contains information to generate a television picture composed of successive television picture frames, the distribution system including a plurality of units through which the television programs flow, said apparatus comprising:

• first signal processing means connected within the system for adding signal elements to the video signal of a program in order to add a plurality of patterns of nonbinary graphic symbols to a plurality of frames of the television picture such that each of the nonbinary graphic symbols is disposed at a respective one of a plurality of predetermined locations of a respective frame of the television picture, wherein the plurality of predetermined locations include at least two information locations, patterns at the information locations in one picture frame constitute a message element, and a plurality of successive patterns at the information locations in a plurality of frames constitute a complete message;
• and
• second signal processing means connected within the system for detecting signal elements previously added to a video signal at the information locations of each frame and for producing, in response to such detection, an identification of the program which included the video signal, wherein:
• each television picture frame is composed of a plurality of lines which extend in a horizontal direction and which are spaced apart in a vertical direction;
• each horizontal line is composed of a succession of pixel locations, a pixel is present at each pixel location and each pixel has a value determining the hue and intensity of the pixel in the television picture;
• each nonbinary graphic symbol is a two-dimensional symbol extending in the vertical direction across several lines and in the horizontal direction across a plurality of pixel locations of each of the several lines;
• and
• at least one of the nonbinary graphic symbols is composed of pixels which have at least two different values in the vertical direction and which have at least two different values in the horizontal direction along at least one line.

A method for tracking the flow of television programs within a program distribution system, each program including a video signal which contains information to generate a television picture composed of successive television picture frames, the distribution system including a plurality of units through which the television programs flow, said method comprising:

• adding, in first signal processing means connected within the system, signal elements to the video signal of a program in order to add patterns of nonbinary graphic symbols to a plurality of frames of the television picture such that each of the nonbinary graphic symbols is disposed at a respective one of a plurality of predetermined locations of a respective frame of the television picture, wherein the plurality of predetermined locations include at least two information locations, patterns at the information locations in one picture frame constitute a message element, and a plurality of successive patterns at the information locations in a plurality of frames constitute a complete message;
• and
• detecting, in second signal processing means connected within the system, signal elements previously added to a video signal at the information locations of each frame and producing, in response to such detection, an identification of the program which included the video signal, wherein:
• each television picture frame is composed of a plurality of lines which extend in a horizontal direction and which are spaced apart in a vertical direction;
• each horizontal line is composed of a succession of pixel locations, a pixel is present at each pixel location and each pixel has a value determining the hue and intensity of the pixel in the television picture;
• each nonbinary graphic symbol is a two-dimensional symbol extending in the vertical direction across several lines and in the horizontal direction across a plurality of pixel locations of each of the several lines;
• and
• at least one of the nonbinary graphic symbols is composed of pixels which have at least two different values in the vertical direction and which have at least two different values in the horizontal direction along at least one line.