US 5,847,770 A · Apparatus and method for encoding and decoding a subtitle signal

Abstract

Subtitle encoding and decoding apparatus and corresponding method are operable to encode and decode multiple subtitle signals representing multiple subtitles to be superimposed on a video image. Each received subtitle signal is encoded (in the encoding apparatus only) and stored in a buffer memory. An address list including data nodes therein is generated from the received subtitle signals wherein each data node in the address list corresponds to a respective subtitle stored in the buffer memory. Each data node includes data corresponding to the time and position at which a respective subtitle is to be superimposed on a video image, as well as buffer memory address information which identifies the location in the buffer memory at which the respective subtitle is stored. Each data node further includes pointer data that identifies another data node that corresponds to a successively positioned subtitle in the display. Appropriate write and read address control signals are generated from the data in the address list and a subtitle signal is stored to and reproduced from the buffer memory in accordance with the respective write and read address control signals. In the decoding apparatus, the read out subtitle signal is decoded before being output.

Claims26

Dependent claims

Apparatus for coding a subtitle signal, comprising:

means for receiving a subtitle signal representing a subtitle to be superimposed on a video image, said subtitle signal including display time data representing a time at which said subtitle is to be superimposed and display position data representing a location in said video image at which said subtitle is to be superimposed;
encoding means for encoding the received subtitle signal to produce a coded subtitle signal;
storage means for temporarily storing the coded subtitle signal in accordance with a write address signal and for reading out the stored coded subtitle signal in accordance with a read address signal;
storage control means for generating an address list from said display time data and said display position data and for generating said read address signal and said write address signal in accordance with the generated address list;
and
means for supplying as an output signal the coded subtitle signal read from said storage means.

3 more elements

Apparatus for decoding a coded subtitle signal, comprising:

means for receiving a coded subtitle signal representing a subtitle to be superimposed on a video image, said coded subtitle signal including display time data representing a time at which said subtitle is to be superimposed and display position data representing a location in said video image at which said subtitle is to be superimposed;
storage means for temporarily storing the coded subtitle signal in accordance with a write address signal and for reading out the stored coded subtitle signal in accordance with a read address signal;
storage control means for generating an address list from said display time data and said display position data and for generating said read address signal and said write address signal in accordance with the generated address list;
and
decoding means for decoding the read out coded subtitle signal to produce a decoded subtitle signal.

2 more elements

Method of coding a subtitle signal, comprising the steps of:

receiving a subtitle signal representing a subtitle to be superimposed on a video image, the subtitle signal including display time data representing a time at which the subtitle is to be superimposed and display position data representing a location in the video image at which the subtitle is to be superimposed;
encoding the received subtitle signal to produce a coded subtitle signal;
generating an address list from the display time data and the display position data;
generating a write address signal;
generating a read address signal in accordance with the generated address list;
storing the coded subtitle signal in a memory in accordance with the write address signal;
reading the stored coded subtitle signal from the memory in accordance with the read address signal;
and
supplying as an output signal the coded subtitle signal read from the memory.

6 more elements

Method of decoding a coded subtitle signal, comprising the steps of:

receiving a coded subtitle signal representing a subtitle to be superimposed on a video image, the coded subtitle signal including display time data representing a time at which the subtitle is to be superimposed and display position data representing a location in the video image at which the subtitle is to be superimposed;
generating an address list from the display time data and the display position data;
generating a write address signal;
generating a read address signal in accordance with the generated address list;
storing the coded subtitle signal in a memory in accordance with the write address signal;
reading the stored coded subtitle signal from the memory in accordance with the read address signal;
and
decoding the read out coded subtitle signal to produce a decoded subtitle signal.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus and method for encoding and decoding a subtitle signal

Life of this patent

Apparatus and method for encoding and decoding a subtitle signal

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims26