Quantel Limited

Micro Consultants, Limited

Quantle Limited

Anthony D Searby

Paul R Kellar

Richard J Taylor

Ian C Walker

Robin Alexander Cawley

Neil Roy Hinson

Brian Robert Nonweiler

Colin John Wrey

Paul R Kellas

Martin Stewart Ingram

David W Bowman

David Stone

An electronic image processing system 1 includes a large capacity store 2 having a source area 3 for storing data representing an initial image and a destination area 4 for storing data representing a modified image. A control processor 5 calculates transformation parameters and controls the transfer of portions of the initial image data to a high speed low capacity cache store 9. A spatial filter 10 effects transformations on the data in the cache store 9 and the thus modified image portion data is written to the destination area 4.

Electronic image processing system for modifying initial image data

A video graphics system is provided with a framestore 3 and a viewing store 10. The framestore 3 is arranged to receive new image data created by a processor 6 in response to user manipulations of a stylus/touch tablet device 1. The framestore 3 and the viewing store 10 both have the capacity to store a high definition image and to facilitate display of the image on a high definition monitor 13 the framestore is arranged to transfer only portions of its data contents to the viewing store 10 during a frame period. The portion transferred is determined by the position of the stylus on the touch tablet at the beginning of a frame period. Data in the viewing store 10 is output in faster sequence for display on the monitor 13.

Electronic graphic apparatus with low data transfer rate between data

A data storage apparatus 20 comprises several disc stores 21 to 24 connected to respective RAM buffers 37 to 40 by respective data interfaces and highways 25 to 36. Sets of data are stored in the disc stores with the data in each set being distributed among the disc stores. The apparatus comprises a controller 51 which, in response to an external request for data, generates control data identifying one or more sets of data to be transferred between the disc stores and the RAM buffers. The control data is transferred to the disc stores 21 to 24 via the respective data interfaces and highways 25 to 36. When data is ready for transfer a signal is sent from the interfaces 33 to 36 and once the controller has received signals from each of the interfaces it enables data to be transferred between the interfaces and respective RAM buffers. A data highway 49 is provided for connection to external apparatus for a substantially continuous sequential transfer of the data in the identified set or all of the identified sets. Data is transferred between the RAM buffers 37 to 40 and the data highway 49 under the control of the controller 51. The highway 49 may be provided with error checking circuitry 55 to 57.

Data storage apparatus including parallel concurrent data transfer

Uncompressed digital video data representing one or more initial video frames is input from a video source 2 to a disc store 14 via a compressor/decompressor 10 or a bypass path 20 and a data bus 12. Thus, data can be stored in the disc store 14 in either compressed or uncompressed form. Video data corresponding to video frames selected for editing are held in a display store 5 in uncompressed or decompressed form and editing and other image processing operations are performed thereon by an image processor 6 under the control of a stylus/touch tablet or other user operable input device. Edited data is output to the bypass path for storage without compression in the store or to the compressor/decompressor for storage in compressed form in the store. The compressor/decompressor may be configured to effect symmetrical real time data compression and decompression or fractal data compression.

Video processing apparatus and method

A video image composition system and method in which the artist can move an insert cut out of a foreground image relative to a background image while continuously observing on the monitor the instantaneous artistic effects of the varying composition, without any need to make an initial decision on exactly where to pin the insert. A soft-edged control image operates on the foreground image to cut the insert. By using a pen and a tablet, the artist moves the control and foreground images as a unit relative to the background image while being able at all times to view the monitor display of the dynamically changing, full composited image. The artist can thus rapidly assess a great number of different composited images before deciding where and how to pin the insert for the final composited image. An additional control image allows the artist to select from the background image a foreground object which always will be in front of the insert from the foreground image. The insert moving around the background image will then appear to pass behind this foreground object. The foreground and/or background images can be displayed as transparent images to give more artistic freedom in the selection on where and how to pin an insert by making it possible to observe not only what is around the insert but also what is behind or in front of an image portion.

Video processing for composite images

An electronic graphic system for use in the painting of an image comprises a control store which stores control data representing a distribution of interpolation coefficients. The control data is created in a drawing process in which existing control data in the store is compared with new control data and is replaced with the new data when the new data has a value higher than that of the existing data. A combiner, in response to the stored control data, combines initial image data from an framestore with user selected color data from a store for display on a monitor. Also, the combiner can be reconfigured such that the combined data is written to the framestore replacing the initial image data therin. The system thus separates drawing operations from image modification operations, thereby providing a flexible means by which a simple binary line drawing algorithm can be used to paint into a color image.

Electronic graphic systems

An electronic graphic system (1) comprises a memory (2) for storing data representing an image and a user operable stylus and touch tablet combination (4) by which the user can select a notional painting implement a color with which to paint and can create data defining positions in the image at which painting is to occur. An address generator (5) is arranged to generate address data identifying addresses in the memory (2) corresponding to the user created position data. The stylus and touch tablet (4) is pressure sensitive and generates a parameter depending on the pressure applied via the stylus by the user. The address generator (5) generates address data at intervals dependent on the instantaneous value of the pressure related parameter. In one embodiment the interval is a distance between identified addresses in the memory (2) and in another embodiment the interval is a period of time. In this way the system simulates an implement having a paint flow rate which is pressure related. The stylus may be connectable to a source of pressurized air and arranged so as to simulate the feel of an airbrush.

Electronic graphic system

A video image creation system provides intensity or color data from one or more stores. The image is created under manual control which effectively defines the coordinates of the artists implement at any given time. A processor receives the incoming image data and previously derived data from a frame store and modifies this data in dependance on a parameter available from another store. The created image can be viewed on a monitor. The parameter controls the contribution made from any adjacent, previously created, parts of the image and can be such as to simulate different pencil or brush shapes or types of paint for example. Additional facilities such as pressure sensitivity and blurring can be provided.

Video image creation

An electronic graphic system for modifying image pixels includes a framestore 21 and a pipeline brush processor 22. Image pixels are read out of the framestore 21 in batches and applied to an input of the brush processor 22. Other data representing colour shape and pressure of a line drawn by a user on a touch tablet 17 by way of a stylus 18 is also input to the processor 22. As the pixels pass through the processor 22 they are modified by the other data. Batches of modified pixels are written back to the framestore 21. The reading and writing of pixels from the framestore 21 is interleaved with the reading of pixels for display as an image on a monitor 16. The system also includes an arrangement for interpolating stylus pressure to remove visible discontinuities or other changes in the drawn image resulting from significant changes in stylus pressure. An improved zoom facility enables a substantially continuously variable zoom factor to be defined thereby to avoid large changes in scale during a zooming operation. An arrangement for adjusting numerical values associated with some functions or features of the system allows the user to control the values solely by movement of the stylus over the touch tablet.

Video image creation in which a raster-scan monitor displays an image comprising realistic, inherently non-aliased strokes created by combining proportions of the values of: (i) pixels defining a simulated brush moving along the image as an artist moves a pen on a tablet in continuous strokes; and (ii) the values of the pixels in the image that are under the brush at the time. The pixel values resulting from such combining replace the corresponding pixel values in the image so that, after an initial portion of a stroke, the pixel values in the image which are under the brush and therefore will be combined with the brush values comprise pixel values which are the cumulative result of a number of previous such combining operations. Manual pressure on the pen controls the proportions used in such combining operations. As the artist presses harder on the pen, the effect seen on the monitor is that more 'paint' is applied. Image creation takes place substantially in real time, to retain the feel of conventional drawing or painting while providing the benefits of the electronic medium. The brush position on the image can be defined to sub-pixel resolution to improve the process. In an air brush mode, dwell time rather than movement of the pen initiates new pixel value combining operations.

Video image creation system which proportionally mixes previously

A character generator provides video signals representing desired characters which may be held in a store capable of rapid access. The character information is processed in a manipulator to provide a change in shape, size or orientation for example. Field stores receive this manipulated information via switches as well as reference information from a generator. Read out from the respective field stores is arranged to occur when information is not being received by that store. After read out, the information is replaced by reference information, prior to the receipt of further manipulated character information. The reference information may be configured so as to include a portion of previously derived image data.

Image processing system

An electronic graphic system is suitable for use in modifying data defining an initial high resolution image. In the system data relating to a user defined low resolution control image controls the combining of other image data with data defining a low resolution representation of the initial image. In this way the system produces data representing a low resolution combined image which is continously displayed on a display monitor. Once desired modifications have been achieved by the user to the image displayed on the display monitor, the low resolution control image data is converted into a high resolution representation. The high resolution control image is used to control the combining of the other image data with the initial high resolution image data to produce data defining a modified high resolution image. The other image data may be a user defined color or another image, for example.

An electronic image composition system in which in a preview mode of operation an image or image portion is manipulated and displayed substantially in real-time. In a compositing mode the image is finally composed (or stuck) into a background image. During the previewing stage, only a selected number of pixels representing the image are transformed and the remainder are derived from said transformed pixels by filtering or, preferably, replication.

Previewing cuts and transformations in an electronic image composition

A character generating system is disclosed having a source of batches of video keying signals representing different characters combined with further keying signals representing a background for the respective character. The video keying signals are confined to one value range and said further keying signals are confined to a different value range. The system effects spatial transformation of the combined signals and responds to the values of the spatially transformed combined signals to derive shape signals corresponding to the further keying signals and to derive shade signals corresponding to the video keying signals. In response to the shape and shade signals different video signals are provided respectively representing the character and the background both spatially transformed as the combined signals were spatially transformed.

Character and other graphical generating systems for video display

A rotation system includes an input buffer 14 allowing two lines of video information to be processed in interpolator 15 prior to receipt by a framestore 16. The desired rotational angle is selected by selector 17 and the angle information is used within calculator 18 to determine the modified framestore address sequence to be accessed to receive the interpolated data and the interpolation values used within processor 15. The rotated information stored is available for read out under the control of generator 19 to be displayed on monitor 53.

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Newbury, United Kingdom

Anthony D Searby