Snell Limited

Snell & Wilcox Limited

Grass Valley Limited

Other

British Broadcasting Corporation

Snell Advanced Media Limited

Thomson Licensing S.a.

Amstr. Investments 5 K.g., LLC

Electrocraft Laboratories Limited

Amberfin Limited

Amstr. Investments 6k.g., LLC

Michael James Knee

Jonathan Diggins

Nicholas Dominic Wells

Martin Weston

Bruce Fairbairn Devlin

Maurice Snell

David Brooks

Andrew David Raine Cotton

Michel Kerdranvat

Andrew D Hackett

Nadine Bolender

Charles P Sandbank

Oliver Hartwig Werner

Emma Gottesman

Daniel Colgan

Ian James Poole

Roberta Piroddi

A video process is controlled through a one-dimensional control function to affect the two outcomes of processing time and processing error. Points are generated in error/time space corresponding to multiple combinations of parameter values applied to the process using reference input data. A subset of points is selecting in which each point is such that all other points in the space have either a higher error or a higher time, to define the one-dimensional control function.

Video processing using a one-dimensional control function to control processing time and error

A Bayer-mask image is decoded by forming a decoded green array; calculating a slope at each pixel of the array, expressed as an angle; calculating an activity at each pixel; converting the slope angle and the activity into a complex number for each pixel, of modulus equal to the activity and argument equal to twice the slope angle; expressing said complex numbers in Cartesian coordinates to form a Cartesian slope signal and filtering the Cartesian slope signal with a linear spatial filter to derive a slope measure. Blue-green and red-green values are calculated and interpolated using a slope-adaptive interpolation filter steered by said slope measure.

Decoding a Bayer-mask or like coded image

To generate a warning that a stereoscopic image sequence has been synthesised from a 2D image sequence, a video processor correlates left-eye image data and right-eye image data to identify any sustained temporal offset between the left-eye and right-eye image data. A measure of sustained correlation between a measured spatial distribution of horizontal disparity and a spatial model can also be used to generate the warning.

Video processing method and apparatus for use with a sequence of stereoscopic images

A Bayer-mask is decoded by forming a decoded green array, calculating red green and blue-green color difference signals, deriving a first full-resolution grid of each colour difference signal using a first interpolation filter; deriving a second full-resolution grid of each colour difference signal using a second interpolation filter taking a larger number of colour difference signal inputs than the first; generating a cross-colour weighting signal; and forming a mixed colour difference signal from the first and second full-resolution grids in accordance with the cross-colour weighting signal.

In video motion estimation an initial candidate motion vector is generated for each block and a vector error is determined as for example a DFD. Spatial gradients of pixel values are calculated and used to refine the initial candidate motion vector. The relative contribution of the spatial gradients to the refinement process depends on the vector error.

Refining motion vectors in video motion estimation

Decoding a bayer-mask or like coded image

To control loudness during a junction between different types of broadcast content, such as a junction between program and commercial or promotional content, representative loudness values for content respectively before (P) and after (C) the junction are received from a playout automation system. A time-varying gain control is applied before and after the junction in order to smooth loudness around the junction. The audio gain is smoothly increased prior to the junction to a gain (P+C)/2P times higher than the original gain value. Then, the gain is reduced shortly before the junction to a value (P+C)/2C times lower than the original gain value. After the junction, the gain is returned smoothly to the original value.

Management of broadcast audio loudness

A method of analyzing an array of pixel-to-pixel dissimilarity values to identify a pixel which has a low pixel-to-pixel dissimilarity value and which has neighboring pixels which have a low pixel-to-pixel dissimilarity value; the method comprising filtering the pixel-to-pixel dissimilarity values and varying the spatial extent of the filter aperture in dependence upon a picture spatial activity measure.

Video sequence processing of pixel-to-pixel dissimilarity values

In for example the assignment of motion vectors, an array of pixel-to-pixel dissimilarity values is analyzed to identify a pixel which has a low pixel-to-pixel dissimilarity value and which has neighboring pixels which have a low pixel-to-pixel dissimilarity value. The pixel-to-pixel dissimilarity values are filtered with a filter aperture decomposed into two or more sectors with partial filters applied respectively to each sector. Outputs of the partial filters are combining by a non-linear operation, for example taking the minimum from diametrically opposed sectors.

Method and apparatus for analysing an array of pixel-to-pixel dissimilarity values by combining outputs of partial filters in a non-linear operation

A method of enhancing the perceived sharpness of an image by controlling a spatial interpolation process. A pixel value spatial gradient measure is formed and used to generate a map of modified pixel positions. In this map, the pixel spacing is reduced when the gradient measure is high. By using this map of modified pixel positions to control an otherwise conventional interpolation process, an output image is formed having a perceived sharpness which is greater than that of the unmodified output of the interpolation process.

Enhancing perceived sharpness of images

An image manipulation process is controlled by a spatial periodicity measure formed for an image or an image block by measuring the sparseness of the two-dimensional spatial frequency spectrum of the image on a scale of zero to unity in which a two-dimensional spatial frequency spectrum having all equal values has a sparseness of zero and in which a two-dimensional spatial frequency spectrum having only one non-zero value has a sparseness of unity. Sparseness may be measured by allocating values of the spectrum to frequency bins and counting the number of bins that contain non-zero values; comparing values of the spectrum with a threshold and counting the number of values that exceed the threshold; or forming a function of the mean-square value and the mean value of the spectrum values.

Image process with spatial periodicity measure

A motion estimator has a spatial sub-sampler to receive input images; at least one motion estimator determining motion vectors between input images and sub-sampled motion vectors between sub-sampled images; an up-sampler for up-sampling the sub-sampled motion vectors; and a selector for providing a motion vector output by selecting between the motion vectors and the (up-sampled) sub-sampled motion vectors, according to motion vector confidence.

Motion estimation with variable spatial resolution

To generate a warning that a stereoscopic image sequence has been synthesized from a 2D image sequence, a video processor correlates left-eye image data and right-eye image data to identify any sustained temporal offset between the left-eye and right-eye image data. A measure of sustained correlation between a measured spatial distribution of horizontal disparity and a spatial model can also be used to generate the warning.

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Petersfield, United Kingdom

Michael James Knee