DIGITAL VIDEO EDITOR HAVING LOST VIDEO FRAME PROTECTION

A digital video editing apparatus in which the frame number information that is encoded in non-visible portions of frames in an analog video signal is utilized to ensure that there are no missing frames of corresponding digital video information. The frames of analog video information are digitized and stored in the editing apparatus using a two-pass procedure. In the first pass, as many analog video frames as possible are digitized and stored, and the frame numbers from the frames are utilized to form a list of missing frames. In the second pass, the missing frame list is utilized to reposition the analog video source and to read in the missing frames. If desired, a digital frame trap may be provided such that the contents of a temporary frame memory are frozen until computer processing apparatus has enough time permanently to store the trapped frame. Once a complete set of digital frames has been converted and stored, digital video editing may be undertaken, and the edited digital frames may be outputted in analog form.