An experimental study for a home-use digital VTR

An experimental digital VTR system is described. A modified DCT (discrete cosine transform) has been developed for this system that needs only one-half the number of multipliers of a conventional DCT, making the hardware scale smaller. A data quantity estimator controls the variable-length coding for completion within a synchronization block, keeping the picture quality high. Three stages of error correction correct more errors and make the probability of miscorrection lower. A high area packing density of 270 Mb/in/sup 2/ is brought about by the use of a low-noise head amplifier, optimized payback signal processing, high-performance magnetic heads and tapes, and a stable tracking to narrow tracks. >