Patent ID: 6157625
Filing Date: 2000-12-05
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
An audio-video signal transmission apparatus which generates transmission data from a plurality of input program feeds, each said input program feed comprised of a video signal and an audio signal; said apparatus comprised of:compressing means for compressing said video signal and said audio signal corresponding to each said input program feed, and for outputting a compressed video signal and audio signal in the form of separable packets;video signal switching means for separating the packets of said video signals from the packets of said audio signals for each said input program feed;audio signal switching means for separating the packets of said audio signals from the packets of said video signals for each said input program feed;control means for controlling the video signal switching means and the audio signal switching means in such a manner as to form a video stream and an audio stream containing the packets from each said program feed in a contiguous sequence;multiplexing means for time-divisionally multiplexing said video stream with said audio stream into a single transmission stream containing said packets from each said input program feed;recording means for recording the packets of the compressed video signal and audio signal, wherein the packets are read from the recording means under the control of the control means and coupled to the respective video and audio signal switching means for switching; andfirst-in first-out buffers (FIFOs) of at least two systems for buffering the packets that are read from the recording means, the FIFOs of each of the at least two systems being constituted by a FIFO for buffering the read video signal and a FIFO for buffering the read audio signal wherein each system buffers corresponding audio and video signal packets of a respective program.