Hardware adaptation layer for MPEG video recording on a helical scan-based digital data recorder
Ad C. de Ridder, S. Kindt, Emmanuel D. Frimout, Jan Biemond, Reginald L. Lagendijk · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1996
The forthcoming introduction of helical scan digital data tape recorders with high access bandwidth and large capacity will facilitate the recording and retrieval of a wide variety of multimedia information from different sources, such as computer data and digital audio and video. For the compression of digital audio and video, the MPEG standard has internationally been accepted. Although helical scan tape recorders can store and playback MPEG compressed signals transparently they are not well suited for carrying out special playback modes, in particular fast forward and fast reverse. Only random portions of a original MPEG bitstream are recovered on fast playback. Unfortunately these shreds of information cannot be interpreted by a standard MPEG decoder, due to loss of synchronization and missing reference pictures. In the EC-sponsored RACE project DART (Digital Data Recorder Terminal) the possibilities for recording and fast playback of MPEG video on a helical scan recorder have been investigated. In the approach we present in this paper, we assume that not transcoding is carried out on the incoming bitstream at recording time, nor that any additional information is recorded. To use the shreds of information for the reconstruction of interpretable pictures, a bitstream validator has been developed to achieve conformance to the MPEG-2 syntax during fast playback. The concept has been validated by realizing hardware demonstrators that connect to a prototype helical scan digital data tape recorder.