Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Hideaki Shibata

Hideki Fukuda

Tatsushi Bannai

Kazuhiko Nakamura

Hiroshi Okamoto

Masamitsu Ohtsu

Masahiro Honjo

Shinya Kadono Kadono

Satoshi Kondo

Satoshi Sakaguchi

An audio/video synchronous playback device includes a first synchronization section for repeating or skipping a first video data sequence in units of a video frame interval thereof to synchronize the first video data sequence with an audio data sequence, and a second synchronization section for repeating or skipping a second video data sequence in units of a video frame or video field interval thereof to synchronize the second video data sequence with the audio data sequence. A first video data sequence output and a second video data sequence output having different frame frequencies are separately synchronized with one channel of audio data sequence output with their respective precisions.

Audio/video synchronous playback device

A filter device includes a vertical NR process portion, a vertical resolution conversion portion and a vertical NR process decision portion. The vertical NR process portion receives a horizontal NR processed signal and produces an NR processed signal. The vertical resolution conversion portion includes a plurality of resolution conversion filters and uses the NR processed signal to perform a vertical resolution conversion. The vertical NR process decision portion decides whether or not the vertical NR process portion should perform the vertical NR process on the horizontal NR processed signal in accordance with a resolution conversion filter selection signal for selecting one of plurality of resolution conversion filters for the vertical resolution conversion portion.

Filter device, filtering method and filtering program product

An image coding apparatus is provided with a blocking circuit for dividing an input image signal into two-dimensional blocks each comprising plural pixels; a frequency distribution verifier for calculating the average and variance from a plurality of image feature data and the frequency distribution of each feature data for each block in a predetermined period; a filter characteristic decider, a filter circuit, and an encoder. The input image signal is divided into local regions each comprising plural pixels, the image feature data of each local region is extracted, the average and the variance of the extracted image feature data are calculated from the frequency distribution of the image feature data for a predetermined period, and a filter characteristic and a quantization step are decided for each local region according to the degree of singularity of each local region.

Image coding method, image coding and decoding method, image coding apparatus, and image recording and reproduction apparatus

An image motion detecting circuit and an image motion detecting method of the present invention can accurately detect motion of such an image sequence that different still pictures are connected with each other. Inter-frame difference absolute values of an inputted image signal during a predetermined frame period are held by plural registers. Then, the maximum value is extracted from the inter-frame difference absolute values which are held by the plural registers, and the extracted maximum value is subtracted from the sum of the inter-frame difference absolute values during the predetermined frame period, thereby detecting the motion of the whole image sequence.

Image motion detecting circuit

Image coding method, image coding/decoding method, image coder, or image recording/reproducing apparatus

A coder of the present invention is adapted to reproduce a signal of quality at a low coding rate even when a video or audio signal continuously supplied thereto should be coded in real time. The coder includes: a quantizer for quantizing the input signal; an encoder for encoding the output of the quantizer and outputting coded data; and a quantization parameter supply circuit for supplying a quantization parameter to the quantizer. If a scene change detector has detected a scene change, the supply circuit supplies a quantization parameter, which has been determined adaptively to a scene newly appearing after the scene change, to the quantizer. Otherwise, the supply circuit supplies a quantization parameter, which has been determined at such a value as to stabilize a coding rate, to the quantizer. In this manner, an average coding rate can be controlled and coding processing can be performed adaptively to individual scenes.

Coding method and apparatus and recorder

A video recorder for recording a video signal having one frame period and having a high resolution such as a high definition television signal. The video signal in a frame period is divided into two groups for corresponding to a respective field period of the video signal. The two groups are encoded efficiently and independently of each other. After encoding the respective data as respective variable length data signals, pseudo data is added to either one of the variable length data signals having a smaller amount of variable length data than the other variable length data signal so that the amount of variable length data in the divided signals is substantially equal for a designated period. The encoded data is then recorded on an optical disk by a recording mechanism using two respective channels. When reproducing a video signal having lower resolution, such as is used for a standard television system, the video signal is reproduced by decoding the encoded data for one channel. When reproducing video signal having a higher resolution, such as a high definition television signal, the video signal is reproduced by decoding the encoded data from both channels.

Optical disk recorder for video signals and an optical disk for use

A coding and decoding apparatus is used to code and decode video signals. Input video signals are enhanced by an emphasis circuit having a nonlinear characteristic increasing an enhancement degree as amplitude of the input video signal decreases. The enhanced video signal, outputted from the emphasis circuit, is compression coded in an encoder and a code stream, representing a compression coded video signal, is outputted from the encoder. The code stream is transmitted to a decoder and the decoder decodes the code stream, outputting a decoded video signal. The decoded video signal is fed to a de-emphasis circuit having a nonlinear characteristic increasing a suppression degree as amplitude of the input signal decreases. As a result, low noise high quality video signals is reproduced from the de-emphasis circuit.

Coding apparatus, decoding apparatus, coding-decoding apparatus for

In a video signal recording/reproducing apparatus, a video signal is subjected to bit rate reduction including a variable length processing to obtain a coded data. The coded data is separated into basic data which shows a basic construction of a video image and has a fixed data length and additional data which shows detailed information of the video image and has a variable data length. In recording the coded data containing basic data and additional data on a recording medium, the basic data is recorded in one region on the recording medium and the additional data is recorded continuously in a region other than the basic data recording region, by which both data are recorded in separated regions on the recording medium.

Video signal digital recording/reproducing apparatus

A video and audio signal recording apparatus for recording video and audio signals on parallel tracks formed on a recording medium, includes: a divider for dividing a video signal into video signal blocks each contained in a unit period which is N times (N=1, 2, . . .) as long as one field period of the video signal; another divider for dividing an audio signal into audio signal blocks each contained in a specific period which is synchronized with the unit period; and a recorder for recording signal contained in each of said video signal and audio signal blocks in each of fully independent areas on the recording medium such that any two of the fully independent areas adjacent to each other in a track width direction are separated from each other by an unrecorded area composed of L unrecorded consecutive tracks (L=1, 2, . . .) and any two of the fully independent areas adjacent to each other in a track length direction are separated from each other by an unrecorded area having a specific length in the track length direction.

Apparatus for recording each editing unit of video and audio signals in

In a video signal recording/reproducing apparatus, a video signal is subjected to bit rate reduction including a variable length processing to obtain a coded data. The coded data is separated into basic data which shows a basic construction of video image and has a fixed data length and additional data which shows detailed information of the video image and has a variable data length. In recording the coded data containing basic data and additional data on a recording medium, the basic data is recorded in one region on the recording medium and the additional data is recorded continuously in a region other than the basic data recording region, by which both data are recorded in separated regions on the recording medium.

Digital video signals are divided in blocks, maximum and minimum values of each block are extracted, and a frequency distribution of one frame period of a dynamic range in each block is detected. The coding condition is determined by the frequency distribution and a predetermined N kinds of characteristic tables, and by determining only one characteristic table, the signal obtained by subtracting the minimum value of each block from the digital video signals of each block is coded in variable length according to the dynamic range of each block. The characteristic table shows the relationship of the distortion or the number of quantization bits between the original signal and decoded signal after coding and decoding with respect to the dynamic range of digital video signal in each block, and the picture quality of decoded image is set as a parameter.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Hideaki Shibata