JPH02202186A - Video signal reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the quantity of picture element data to be missed by selecting the reproducing signal of better tracking from either a normal reproducing head or an additional reproducing head. CONSTITUTION:Since a video signal for one field is recorded over plural tracks in a magnetic tape 2, the picture element data to be reproduced from the respective tracks are in the same field even when, for example, normal reproducing heads Ha-Hd are deviated from the track at a suitable azimuth angle and additional reproducing heads Ha'-Hd' are matched with the different track at the suitable azimuth angle. In such a case, the reproducing order of the picture element data is naturally disturbed. However, the order of the picture element data is properly corrected by writing and reading ID data in a picture element memory samely as the conventional case. Thus, the quantity of the picture element data to be reproduced in the respective fields is increased and the picture quality of the picture to be reproduced at variable speed is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a reproducing apparatus for digitized video signals, and particularly to a configuration suitable for variable speed reproduction.

[Conventional technology]

In VTR (video tape recorder), slow,
When performing variable speed playback such as still playback, the track on the magnetic tape and the scanning trajectory of the playback head are different and the playback head scans the track diagonally, so when the playback head moves from one track to the next. Noise bars appear on the screen. In the past, various methods have been proposed to prevent this and enable noiseless variable speed playback that complies with video signal standards.
- As described in Japanese Patent No. 103379, a method in which a reproducing head provided on a rotary cylinder is movable in the direction of the rotation axis of the rotary cylinder, and the reproducing head is displaced so as to scan over a track during variable speed reproduction. There is.

In a VTR (analog VTR), which has a format that records video signals in the form of analog signals, in order to reproduce video signals recorded on magnetic tape without noise, the playback head must scan the tracks correctly. The above conventional method is an effective method for performing this.

On the other hand, when a video signal is digitized and recorded and reproduced, noiseless reproduction is possible even if the reproduction head does not always accurately scan the track as described above.

That is, when recording a video signal digitally, generally, the recorded digital video signal has an ID (index) representing the position of that pixel on the screen for each pixel data.
Data etc. are added. Then, such a digital video signal is recorded on a magnetic tape after being subjected to shuffling processing or modulation in which the order of pixel data is changed in units of, for example, one field period.

In this case, the magnetic tape has, like an analog VTR,
Rather than recording one field of digital video signals on each track, it is not possible to record one field of digital video signals on each track due to constraints on the shortest recording wavelength, and one field may span multiple tracks. and recorded. Moreover, since the digital video signal has a very wide frequency band, the frequency band is narrowed by dividing it into two channels, for example, and each channel is recorded with a magnetic head having a different azimuth angle. Every other track formed on the magnetic tape has a different azimuth angle, so that every other track on the negative azimuth angle has one channel, and the other track has a different azimuth angle.
The other channel is recorded on the second track, so that one field of the digital video signal is recorded in two.
Recording is performed over n (where n is an integer greater than or equal to 1) tracks.

During playback, the playback digital video signal is demodulated.

After processing such as error correction and de-shuffling, the pixel data is supplied to the image memory, which is an output buffer, and each pixel data is written to the address specified by its ID data, and written in the address order corresponding to the screen position arrangement. pixel data is read out.

According to this, even if the playback head scans across multiple tracks during variable speed playback, the pixel data played back from each track will be stored in the pixel memory, depending on the ID data attached to it. The pixel will be correctly written to the address corresponding to the above position, and therefore this pixel will be positioned at the correct position on the screen.

Furthermore, even if continuous omissions occur in the reproduced digital video signal from the playback head due to dropouts or tracking deviations due to defects in the magnetic tape, the above-mentioned shuffling and de-shuffling processing will eliminate these continuous omissions on a pixel-by-pixel basis. As a result, omissions can be corrected by error detection and correction processing.

Incidentally, even in a digital VTR that records and reproduces such digital video signals, when the reproduction head moves from one track to the next, pixel data is not reproduced continuously, resulting in continuous dropouts. Even in such cases, the de-shuffling process disperses the missing parts within the field, but the amount of missing image data is so large that it is not possible to sufficiently correct the error. , much pixel data remains missing.

Therefore, when such a digital video signal is written to the image memory, if pixel data is lost, the previously written pixel data remains as it is without writing at the pixel memory address for this pixel data, and this pixel data is lost. This will be included as noise in the digital video signal read from the memory. Since this noise is dispersed over one field, the quality of the reproduced image is significantly degraded.

On the other hand, regarding an analog VTR, the first .
A second magnetic head is provided, and a third magnetic head having the same azimuth angle as the first magnetic head is provided near the second magnetic head, and a third magnetic head having the same azimuth angle as the second magnetic head is provided near the first magnetic head. A fourth magnetic head at a corner is provided so that the azimuth angle of every other track is different from that of every other track. When performing variable speed playback such as quick, at the start of this variable speed playback operation, the first . The reproduction level of the fourth magnetic head is compared, and the reproduction level of the fourth magnetic head is compared.
When the reproduction level of the magnetic head is high, the first. Third
When the reproduction level of the fourth magnetic head is high, the reproduction signal of the second magnetic head is transmitted. A technique is known in which the reproduction signals of the fourth magnetic head are respectively selected as reproduction outputs (Japanese Patent Publication No. 8991/1989).

In this prior art, the first . The third magnetic head is one of the head pairs, and the other magnetic head is the second magnetic head with the same azimuth angle.
．． The fourth magnetic head is used as the other head pair, and at the start of variable speed playback, the head pair with better tracking is determined and used during variable speed playback. By adjusting the phase of the reproduction signals of the two magnetic heads, line skips are prevented from occurring at the joints of these reproduction signals on the reproduction screen.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above conventional technology, even if the head pair with better tracking is selected at the start of the variable speed playback operation, only the selected head pair is used during the subsequent variable speed playback operation, and this head pair is used during the subsequent variable speed playback operation. Since each magnetic head scans the track obliquely, tracking deviation occurs in a part of the track. If this is applied to a digital VTR, tracking deviations will similarly occur for each track, and while one field's worth of tracks is being played back and scanned, consecutive pixel data will be missing multiple times due to tracking deviations, and as expected. Deterioration in the quality of reproduced images is inevitable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a video signal reproducing device that eliminates such problems, significantly reduces the amount of missing pixel data, and significantly improves variable speed playback function. .

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a plurality of playback heads having an azimuth angle corresponding to the azimuth angle of each track on a magnetic tape on which a digital video signal is recorded, as normal playback heads, and the normal playback head In each case, a playback head whose scanning trajectory is shifted by approximately one track pitch from the scanning trajectory of the normal playback head during normal playback is placed on the rotating cylinder as an additional playback head, and
determining means for determining the tracking state of the normal reproducing head and the additional reproducing head with respect to the normal reproducing head; A switch for selecting a reproduction signal is provided.

[Operation] Since the normal playback head and the additional playback head arranged in the above relationship have the same azimuth angle, the digital video signal is played back from the track having the same azimuth angle. During variable speed playback, the normal playback head and the additional playback head scan the track diagonally, causing tracking deviations, but when one is tracking, the other is tracking.

In other words, from the above arrangement relationship between the normal playback head and the additional playback head, every other track and the other
For a magnetic tape on which digital video signals are recorded so that the azimuth angle is different from the two tracks, if one of these playback heads deviates from the track with the matching azimuth angle, the other The playhead will align with the tracks with the same azimuth angle. In this case, the track on which one playback head is misaligned may be the same as the track on which the other regeneration head is aligned, or may be different, but in any case, one playback head cannot finish playing the track. part will be played by the other playhead,
The amount of pixel data to be reproduced is increased compared to when only the normal reproduction head is used.

Here, in the present invention, since one field of video signals is recorded on a magnetic tape over a plurality of tracks, for example, the normal playback head deviates from a track with an azimuth angle that matches this, and the additional playback head Even if the pixel data is matched to different tracks at an azimuth angle that matches this, the pixel data reproduced from each track is within the same field. Furthermore, in this case, the reproduction order of the pixel data will naturally be out of order, but the order of the pixel data can be correctly corrected by writing and successively reading ID data in the pixel memory, as in the conventional case. Therefore, the amount of pixel data reproduced in each field increases, improving the quality of the variable-speed reproduced image.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a video signal reproducing device according to the present invention, in which 1 is a rotating cylinder, 2 is a magnetic tape, 3 is a guide pin, 4 is a changeover switch, 5 is a comparator, and 6
is a reproduction processing circuit, 7 is an image memory, Ha, Ha, H
b, Hb', Hc, He'.

Hd, Hd'' are playback heads.

In the figure, eight reproducing heads are provided on a rotary cylinder L, four of which are reproducing heads Ha,
Hb, Hc, and Hd are normal playback heads used for both normal playback and variable speed playback, while the remaining four playback heads Ha, )(b', Hc', H
d' is added for variable speed playback (i.e.
(additional playback head). Normal playback head Ha, H
c is placed 180@ off from the top of the rotating cylinder 1,
The normal playback heads I(b,)(d) are also arranged 180" apart. Here, the arrangement order of these four normal playback heads is different from the direction of arrow A indicating the rotation direction of the rotary cylinder 1. In the opposite direction, Ha.

They are Wb, Hc, and Hd. Additional playback head Ha'
, Hb', Hc', and Hd' are arranged in the same direction and at equal intervals from the normal reproduction heads Ha, Hb, Hc, and Hd, respectively. here,
The direction is opposite to arrow A. Therefore, the additional reproducing heads Ha', Hc' are arranged 180 degrees apart on the rotary cylinder 1, and the same is true for the additional reproducing heads Hb', )Id''.

Furthermore, the head gaps of the reproducing heads Ha, Ha', Hc, and Hc have the same azimuth angle, and if this is defined as an azimuth angle (+), then the reproducing head Hb.

The head gaps of Hb', Hc, and Hc'' have the same azimuth angle, but are different from the azimuth angle (+). This is called the azimuth angle (-).

On the outer periphery of the rotating cylinder 1, the magnetic tape 2 is guided by the guide pin 3 in a spiral shape over approximately 180@
Drive in the direction. Here, the playback heads Ha, Ha',
Hb, Hb' are arranged close to each other, and these are the first head group, and the reproduction heads Hc, Hc',
If Hd and Hd' are also arranged close to each other and form a second head group, then these first. The second head group alternately scans the magnetic tape 2 diagonally with respect to its longitudinal direction.

In this case, the four reproducing heads of these head groups scan the magnetic tape 2 almost simultaneously.

FIG. 2 shows a track pattern on the magnetic tape 2, where To, Tl, , T5 are tracks. Here, it is assumed that one field of the digital video signal is recorded over six tracks, and therefore, track T.

A video signal of one field is recorded at T5. Also, every other track To, T2. T4゜---1-
--- are recorded by a recording head with an azimuth angle of (+), and every other track TI, T3 . It is assumed that T5° is recorded by a recording head with an azimuth angle of (-).

Further, on the magnetic tape 2, a digital video signal is recorded divided into two channels, and one channel is a track with an azimuth angle (+).
O, T2. T4. --------·, the other channel has the azimuth angle (=) track Tl, T3. T5. −・
---Recorded separately.

Therefore, one field of digital video signals is recorded while the rotary cylinder 1 rotates 38 times.

Note that when recording a digital video signal with a digital VTR having the configuration shown in FIG.
, Hb, He, and Hd are used.

In FIG. 1, when the magnetic tape 2 is normally reproduced, normal reproduction heads Ha and Hb are used.

Servo is applied so that Hc and Hd scan tracks formed by recording heads having the same azimuth angle on the magnetic tape 2, respectively. For example, when the playback head Ha is on track T
o, the reproducing head Hb scans the track T1 at the same time, and then the reproducing head He
The reproducing head Hd reproduces and scans the track T2, and the reproducing head Hd reproduces and scans the track T3, respectively. Then, playback head H again.
The above operations are repeated so that the reproducing head a scans the track T4 and the reproducing head Hb scans the track T5 at almost the same time. At this time, the switch 4 is fixed in the closed state on the a side, and only the reproduction signal from the reproduction head Ha passes through the switch 4.

Although FIG. 1 shows the reproduction signal path only for the reproduction heads Ha, Ha', the reproduction heads 11b, Hb',
Regarding each of the playback heads Hc and Hc' and the playback heads Hd and Hd', the playback head Ha.

Switch for Ha' 4. Comparators similar to the comparator 5 are provided, and during normal playback, these switches output signals from the normal playback heads Hb and Hc, respectively.

An HD reproduction signal is output.

The reproduction signals of the normal reproduction heads Ha and Hc are spliced by a switcher (not shown) and supplied to the reproduction processing circuit 6 as a negative channel signal. In the reproduction processing circuit 6, processing such as equalization, demodulation, synchronization detection, two-time axis correction, error correction, and de-shuffling is performed on this channel signal. Similarly, normal playback head 1 (
The reproduction signals of B and Hd are spliced to form the other channel signal, and are subjected to the same processing as described above in a reproduction processing circuit (not shown). The respective channel signals outputted from these reproduction processing circuits are combined into a digital video signal, which is written and read out in the image memory 7 as described above. The digital video signal is then error corrected again and converted to an analog video signal.

Next, the variable speed reproducing operation of this embodiment will be explained.

First, the case of double speed variable speed playback (playback by running the magnetic tape 2 in the forward direction at twice the speed of normal playback) will be described. Below is the playback head Ha.

Although the explanation is for "Ha", the same applies to other playback heads.

In this case, the playback heads Ha and Ha' scan over a maximum of three tracks, but in FIG. Then, this results in
As shown in FIG. 3, at the beginning of the scanning period of the playback heads Ha and Ha', the playback head Ha is set to the a side of the switch 4.
A playback signal from the track TO is supplied, and then,
Track T by playback head Ha is placed on the b side of switch 4.
The reproduction signal from track T2 is supplied from track T2 by reproduction head Ha, and at the end, the reproduction signal from track T2 by reproduction head Ha is again supplied to the a side of switch 4. No reproduced signal can be obtained from track T1 because the azimuth angle is different.

The comparator 5 compares the levels of the reproduced signals supplied to the a and b sides of the switch 4, and when the level of the reproduced signal supplied to the a side is higher, it closes the switch 4 to the a side, and when the opposite is true, it closes the switch 4 to the a side. A switching signal SW is generated to close the switch 4 to the b side. As a result, switch 4 outputs the playback signal from track TO for the first part, and then outputs the playback signal from track T for the first part.
A reproduced signal from 2 can be obtained.

The subsequent processing is the same as in the case of normal playback described above.

By the way, in such variable speed playback, the playback timing of each track is shifted. For example, track To
, T2, normally the entire track TO should be played back and then the next track T2, but according to the above playback, the playback of track T2 starts in the middle of playing track TO. Therefore, there is a difference in the relationship between the reproduction timing of the pixel data of the track To and the reproduction timing of the pixel data of the track T2. However, this shift is corrected by writing the pixel data in the image memory 7 at addresses corresponding to the 10 data and reading them out in the order of display positions on the screen.

Also, if there is a difference in the playback timing of each pixel data,
Even if de-shuffling processing is performed in the reproduction processing circuit 6,
The arrangement order of each pixel data cannot be restored to its original order. However, this is also written in the image memory 7.

Corrected by successive entries.

In the above manner, the normal playback head Ha.

The amount of pixel data to be reproduced in each field of the digital video signal is significantly increased compared to the case where double-speed variable speed reproduction is performed using only Hb, Hc, and Hd.

Note that, as a method for fixing the switch 4 to the closed state on the a side during normal playback, for example, there is a method of controlling the comparator 5 to constantly output a switching signal SW that closes the switch 4 to the a side during normal playback. .

Next, in the case of noiseless slow playback, in this embodiment, the amount of pixel data obtained is less than that during normal playback in the tape speed range of -1x to +11x (negative: backward running, positive: forward running). Almost equally, sufficient amount of pixel data can be obtained for noiseless reproduction.

Figure 4 shows the scanning trajectories of the playback heads Ha and Ha' in the case of noiseless slow playback at 11x speed. This is the scanning trajectory.

-According to this, as shown in FIG.
, Ha', the reproduction signal from the track T4 by the reproduction head Ha'' is supplied to the b side of the switch 4, and then the reproduction signal from the track T2 by the reproduction head Ha is supplied to the a side of the switch 4. The signal is supplied, and at the end, the reproduction signal from the track T2 by the reproduction head Ha' is again supplied to the b side of the switch 4.Track T
I.

Since the azimuth angle is different from T3, no reproduced signal can be obtained. Therefore, under the control of the comparator 5, the reproduced signals from these reproduction heads Ha, Ha are spliced together by the switch 4.

In the scanning by Rad Hc and Hc' for the next reproduction, these scanning trajectories are shifted to the left by two track pitches from the scanning trajectories Sa and Sa' in FIG. 4, respectively. according to this,
The part that could not be reproduced by the playback heads Ha and Ha' of track T2 is now played by the playback head Hc'.
In this way, the same amount of pixel data as during normal playback can be obtained.

By the way, in FIG. 4, the playback head Ha.

One of the switchings of Ha' takes place when these reproducing heads Ha and Ha' simultaneously scan the same track T2. Therefore, in order to perform the most efficient reproduction, the reproduction head Ha must be switched at this switching point.

It is necessary to ensure that Ha' reproduces approximately the same pixel data in track T2.

A playback head Ha arranged to be played in this way,
The vicinity of the switching point of the reproduced signal of "Ha" is shown as D in Fig. 5, and this part is enlarged in Fig. 6. Here, SB represents a synchronous block, and each synchronous block SB Contains a predetermined number of pixel data.Synchronization block S
As shown in FIG. 7, B is S Y N in order from the beginning.
C911 area, ID area, DATA area,
It is composed of arranged ECC regions. S Y N
The C9M area stores a synchronization signal for synchronizing the data processing of the synchronization block in the reproduction processing circuit 6 (FIG. 1).
A predetermined number of pixel data are stored in the DATA95 area. Also, ID? ID data of these pixel data are stored in the iI area, and these I
Contains error correction signals for error detection and correction of D data and pixel data.

In FIG. 6, each synchronization block SB is numbered 100.1.01. for convenience in the order of arrangement. -...-, 104 is attached. Further, switching points are indicated by arrows. In this example, the playback heads Ha, Ha' are on track T2.
It is assumed that the switching has been performed while the synchronization block 5B102 of It is what was done. Therefore, in the spliced reproduction signal, the synchronization block SB is 100. 101.1
02°103.104.・--11-- There is no possibility that the same synchronization block will be repeated or that the synchronization block will be missing.

By the way, to ensure synchronization between each synchronous block,
Although the frequency and phase of the synchronization signal are specified, if the phases of the blocks are not continuous before and after the spliced switching point of the synchronization block 5B102, the next synchronization block 5B
At 103, a synchronization error occurs. However, it is possible to regain synchronization again in the next synchronization block 104,
Therefore, the amount of data that becomes unreproducible due to the output switching of the reproduction controllers Ha, Ha'' is limited to one or two synchronized blocks, and the amount of missing data can be kept to a level sufficient to allow data correction.

As described above, it is possible to efficiently reproduce pixel data, keep pixel data loss due to switching of the reproduction head to a correctable minimum, and perform noiseless slow reproduction.

Next, the arrangement relationship between the normal playback head and the additional playback head in this embodiment will be explained.

Figure 8 shows the normal playback head Ha seen on the magnetic tape 2.
This figure shows the arrangement relationship between the playback head Ha' and the additional playback head Ha'. In the figure, a playback head Ha.

Ha' is arranged on the rotating cylinder 1 so that the normal playback extra large starts scanning adjacent tracks simultaneously and with accurate tracking. For this reason, regardless of the running speed of the magnetic tape, the playback head Ha,
If the center point of the head gap of Wb is on a straight line parallel to the lower end of the magnetic tape 2 shown in the figure, and the track pitch is Y, then the distance between the center points of these head gaps in the width direction of the track is is equal to Y.

FIG. 9 shows the reproducing head Ha on the rotating cylinder l.

It shows the arrangement relationship of Ha'. In the same figure,
The reproducing heads Ha, Ha' are arranged to be shifted by a track pitch Y in the direction of the rotation axis of the rotary cylinder 1, and by X in the circumferential direction of the rotary cylinder 1. here,
In FIG. 8, the deviation lx is determined by the playback heads Ha, H'a
' is the amount of deviation in the longitudinal direction of the track, and is the amount of deviation of the track (
When the rolling angle is α, there is a relationship between it and the amount of deviation Y as follows: Y−Xtancr.

If the playback heads Ha and Ha' are arranged in the above manner, in the case of slow playback explained in FIG. 4, the playback heads Ha and H
When switching is performed by reproducing and scanning the same track (l/rack T2 in the case of FIG. 4), the center point of the head gap of these reproducing heads Ha, Ha is parallel to the edge of the magnetic tape 2. Therefore, at the switching point of the playback heads Ha and Ha' where the playback levels are equal,
To play the same synchronized block of the same track,
This means that Ha' is being played at the same time, and as shown in Figures 5 and 6.
The switching takes place as explained in the figure.

The above arrangement relationship is the same for the other normal playback heads and additional playback heads shown in FIG.

Incidentally, it is not necessary to strictly set the arrangement relationship between the normal reproduction head and the additional reproduction head as shown in FIG. 9. There are cases where it is difficult to set such an arrangement relationship due to the mounting position of the head, etc., but in such a case, the arrangement relationship may be slightly shifted from the above-mentioned arrangement relationship. However, even in this case, by setting the deviation of the scanning trajectories of the normal playback head and the additional playback head to approximately one track pitch, it is possible to run the tape so that the inclination angle of the scanning trajectories of these playback heads is not much different from the track inclination angle α. In the above-described slow reproduction, sufficient pixel data of the scenery can be reproduced, and good image reproduction can be performed.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the playback levels of the normal playback head and the additional playback head are compared to determine which one has better tracking, and the playback signal of the playback head with better tracking is selected using a switch. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the reproduction signal of the reproduction head with better tracking may be selected using other methods. FIGS. 10 and 11 show examples thereof. In FIG. 10, the playback head Ha.

The playback signal of Ha' is supplied to the changeover switch 4 through PLL (phase locked loop) circuits 8 and 9, and these PLL circuits 8 and 9 lock to the playback signal when the tracking of the playback head is good. , when the tracking of the playback head is poor, the playback signal is unlocked. As a result, the PLL circuits 8 and 9 output lock/unlock information, and based on this, the controller 10
controls the selector switch 4 so that the reproduction signal of the reproduction head Ha or Ha' with better tracking is selected. In FIG. 11, reproduction signals of reproduction heads Ha and Ha output from PLL circuits 8 and 9 are supplied to changeover switch 4 via synchronization detection circuits 11 and 12, respectively. The synchronization detection circuits 11 and 12 each detect synchronization information in the reproduction signal, but no synchronization information is detected from the reproduction signal of the reproduction head with poor tracking. The presence or absence of synchronization information detection is determined, and based on this determination result, the controller 10 controls the changeover switch 4 so as to select the reproduction signal of the reproduction head with better tracking.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, even if there is a tracking deviation in the playback head in variable speed playback, the amount of image data to be played back for each field can be significantly increased, and the amount of image data to be played back can be increased. Image quality will be significantly improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 9 show an embodiment of a video signal reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram thereof, and FIG. Figure 3 shows the operation of the switch and comparator in Figure 1 during variable speed playback; Figure 4 shows the scan trajectory of the playback head on the magnetic tape during slow playback. , FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the operation of the switch in FIG. 1 during slow playback, FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the playback head switching point in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of the synchronization block. , FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the arrangement relationship between the normal reproducing head and the additional reproducing head on the magnetic tape, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the arrangement relation between the normal reproducing head and the additional reproducing head on the rotating cylinder, and FIG. FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are block diagrams showing other embodiments of the video signal reproducing apparatus according to the present invention. 1--Rotating cylinder, 2--Magnetic tape,
4--------switch, 5-----one comparator,
6---1--reproduction processing circuit, 7---1 image memory, Ha, Ha', Hb. Hb' Hc, Hc) Id, Hd" ----------・Reproduction. Figure Figure 3 Figure 8 Figure 4 Prisoner Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure Number 7 Figure 10 Figure 11

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The digital video signal is recorded from a magnetic tape in which one field is recorded over multiple tracks, and every other track is formed with a different azimuth angle. In a video signal reproducing device configured to perform playback, a plurality of playback heads with azimuth angles corresponding to the azimuth angles of the respective tracks are used as normal playback heads, and each normal playback head scans the normal playback head during normal playback. A reproducing head whose scanning trajectory is shifted by approximately one track pitch from the trajectory is placed on a rotating cylinder as an additional reproducing head, and a determination is made to determine the tracking state of the normal reproducing head and the additional reproducing head with respect to the normal reproducing head. and a switch that is controlled by the output of the determining means and selects a reproduction signal with better tracking between the normal playback head and the extended playback head, and during variable speed playback, the normal playback and the extended playback are controlled by the output of the determination means. A video signal reproducing device characterized in that the reproduction signal of the head with better tracking is selected.