Csr Technology Inc.

Zoran Corporation

David Vakrat

Noam Korem

A system, method, and computer program product for improving digital images and video by reducing or eliminating artifacts created by sensor binning, i.e. channel displacement of downscaled image pixels. Red and blue pixels are shifted to corresponding ideal pixel locations using for example bi-linear interpolation for each color. Green pixels are shifted to corresponding ideal pixel locations using one-dimensional cubic interpolation along a diagonal direction in which the green pixels are aligned. Pixel values are replaced by weighted pixel value averages of groups of pixels, preferably four, and the weights used vary inversely with shifted distances. Cubic interpolation results may be separately weighted pairwise among pixels with a weighting parameter favoring pixels near the ideal pixel location. The embodiments noticeably improve image and video quality, particularly by treatment of jagged edges of diagonal image features without compromising image sharpness or creating false colors along edges.

Advanced sensor binning correction

Techniques for implementing a Black Level Correction (BLC) processing operation on image data signal pixel values that results in little to no nonlinearity in the dark areas of the image due to black noise clipping, and avoids reducing image quality or adding cost, are provided. Image data signal pixel values are caused to maintain black level while being operated on by image data signal processor circuits that precede a Noise Reduction (NR) processing operation, thus allowing the BLC processing operation to be executed after the NR processing operation. With black noise mostly removed, little to no nonlinearity in the dark areas of the image due to black noise clipping results from the BLC processing operation.

Growing community of inventors

Netanya, Israel

David Vakrat