METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DUAL CHANNEL VIDEO RECOVERY IN BAR CODE SCANNERS

A dual channel video data recovery system for use in a bar code scanner. A first and a second video signal are generated in parallel in response to light reflected from a bar code. The first and second video signals are received and filtered to limit their frequency ranges and produce filtered first and second video signals. The first and second filtered video signals are limited to different and preferably coverlapping frequency ranges. The first and second video signals have differing thresholds which may be dynamically varied. The first and second filtered video signals are converted to first and second digital data strings. If both strings contain useful data, the string containing the higher-quality data is decoded to recover bar code information. If only one string contains useful data, the string containing useful data is decoded.