Importance

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Abstract

The present invention provides apparatus and methods for formatting and displaying video information having particular application to electronic publishing systems. A video signal which includes a plurality of fields of video information is inputted into an index generator. Alphanumeric characters, which include unique index numbers are generated and inserted into a portion of one or more fields of the video signal. The index numbers and other characters are generated in response to a clock signal, which in the present embodiment, is provided by synchronization signals extracted from the inputted video signal. The index numbers and other characters are advanced, decremented or otherwise modified in response to a control signal which is independent of the frame frequency of the video signal. The control signal may originate from a variety of sources, such as by way of example, switching means operated by a user, an external computer, or a predetermined delay coupled to the synchronization signals. Accordingly, the identical index numbers as well as other characters may be inserted into a plurality of fields of the video signal without regard to the video signal frame frequency. The characters and index numbers may be inserted into a visible portion of the displayed video signal. In addition, the characters and/or numbers may be encoded into the signal in a machine readable form.

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First Claim