Sony Corporation

Sony Electronics Inc

Other

Naofumi Yanagihara

Nobuaki Izumi

Ching-Fang Chang

Keiji Kanota

Kazushi Sato

Mari Horiguchi

Masaki Oguro

Kenji Komori

Satoshi Mitsuhashi

Tetsuo Kaneko

Hisato Shima

Takehiko Nakano

Teruyoshi Komuro

Masami Goseki

Makoto Sato

Hajime Inoue

Hiroshi Okada

Yukio Kubota

Tadashi Ezaki

Ichiro Hamada

Chuen-Chien Lee

Hiroshi Fukuda

Yuka Oikawa

Yu Liu

Yoichi Yagasaki

Teruhiko Suzuki

Masahiko Sato

Takaaki Yamada

Shintaro Okada

Takao Terao

Takeshi Kubozono

Keiji Kanoto

Ching Fang Chang

Ali Jezu Tabatabai

Jun Yonemitsu

Katsumi Tahara

Harumi Kawamura

Akihiro Uetake

Mohammed Zubair Visharam

Koji Iijima

Masao Mizutani

Yuka Kiyama

Isao Saito

Liming Wang

Michio Nagai

Kiminori Sugisaki

Kazushi Satoh

Mingning Gu

Osamu Matsumura

Jason Fischl

C C Lee

A hybrid imaging device is configured to capture low resolution video and high resolution still images. The imaging device is configured to apply motion information obtained from the low resolution video to a reference high resolution still image to generate a missing moment of interest high resolution still image. The low-resolution video is captured at a high frame rate in conjunction with a few high-resolution still pictures taken at periodic intervals. A user locates a desired scene of interest, e.g. a moment of interest, from the captured video, and a post-processing technique is used to generate the high resolution still picture corresponding to the selected moment of interest. The high resolution still image is generated using texture information from one or more nearby captured high resolution still images and motion information from the low-resolution video frame corresponding to the selected moment of interest.

Shutter time compensation

An inputted digital signal of a first format (DV video signal) is restored to a variable-length code by having its framing cancelled by a de-framing section, then decoded by a variable-length decoding (VLD) section, inversely quantized by an inverse quantizing (IQ) section, and inversely weighted by an inverse weighting (IW) section. Then, required resolution conversion in the orthogonal transform domain (frequency domain) is carried out on the inversely weighted video signal by a resolution converting section. After that, the video signal having the resolution converted is weighted by a weighting (W) section, then quantized by a quantizing (Q) section, coded by variable-length coding by a variable-length coding (VLC) section, and outputted as a digital signal of a second format (MPEG video signal).

Information processing apparatus and method, and program storage medium

Digital signal conversion method and digital signal conversion device

Methods and systems for obtaining a motion vector between two frames of video image data are disclosed. Specifically, methods and systems of the present invention may be used to perform a block-matching algorithm over a two-dimensional search area in a manner that reduces number of comparisons. In particular, the method determines a best candidate block for each strip based by searching in a first dimension of a two-dimensional search area and based on a predetermined difference criterion. The method then determines a second set of best candidate blocks by performing a limited search in the other direction based on the results from the search in the first dimension. The method then determines a motion vector for the best candidate block. Integral projection arrays may be used to further optimize the search. The methods and systems of the present invention may be used in optimizing digital video encoders, decoders, and format converters.

Motion estimation process and system using sparse search block-matching and integral protection

An input digital signal of a first format (DV video signal) is restored to a variable-length code by having its framing cancelled by a de-framing section, then decoded by a variable-length decoding (VLD) section, inversely quantized by an inverse quantizing (IQ) section, and inversely weighted by an inverse weighting (IW) section. Then required resolution conversion in the orthogonal transform domain (frequency domain) is carried out on the inversely weighted video signal by a resolution converting section. After that, the video signal having the resolution converted is weighted by a weighting (W) section, then quantized by a quantizing (Q) section, coded by a variable-length coding by a variable-length coding (VLC) section, and outputted as a digital signal of a second format (MPEG video signal).

A transmitting apparatus and method, and a receiving apparatus and method for communicating a pack of 2,048 bytes using the digital interface in accordance with the IEEE 1394 standard. A 4-byte time stamp is added to a 2,048-byte pack of MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group)&mdash;PS (program stream) data. Also, 124 bytes of padding data is added to this pack in order that the overall byte length of data be a multiple of 16. Then the data is divided into a number of fractions which is a multiple of 2 (e.g., 32), thereby being converted into a number of data blocks equal to the number of fractions. Each data block has a byte length of a multiple of 4 (e.g., 68 bytes). A CIP header and the like are added to a predetermined number of the data blocks to form a packet.

Transmitting apparatus and method, receiving apparatus and method

An MPEG downdecoder is to be provided which eliminates dephasing of pixels of moving picture data without losing properties inherent in a picture obtained on interlaced scanning. If an interlaced picture is inputted, and the DCT mode is the field mode, an interlaced picture accommodating picture decoding unit executes 4&times;4 decimating IDCT. If the DCT mode is the frame mode, the entire coefficients of the DCT block are IDCTed for separation into two pixel blocks associated with interlaced scanning. The separated two pixel blocks are DCTed. The coefficients of the low-frequency components are IDCTed and the two pixel blocks are synthesized together. A progressive picture accommodating picture decoding unit is fed with a progressive picture. The coefficients of the low-frequency components of the DCT block are inverse orthogonal transformed.

Picture decoding method and apparatus

A picture information conversion method and apparatus in which, if the compressed picture information with a variable or non-recognized information volume is input, optimum compression processing on the compressed picture information is performed to prevent underflow and/or overflow to suppress deterioration of the picture quality. A compressed information analysis device analyzes the structure of the picture type of the GOP of the compressed picture information input to the FF buffer . A bit allocation device generates a pseudo GOP of the input compressed picture information, based on N frames stored in the FF buffer and on the analysis result information stored in the information buffer , and allocates a pre-set code volume to respective pictures of the generated GOP so that the output compressed picture information will be at a second bitrate.

Picture information conversion method and apparatus

At least one program is selected from MPEG encoded transport streams carrying a plurality of packets, and is recorded/reproduced without a need to determine the contents of those transport streams. When an MPEG encoded transport stream containing at least one program is selected, additional data is attached to each packet of this transport stream. The additional information indicates how many programs are contained in the selected MPEG encoded transport stream; indicates an error in the MPEG encoded transport stream; and indicates a transition point representing a beginning of a program in the MPEG encoded transport stream.

Processing of packets in MPEG encoded transport streams using additional data attached to each packet

Methods and systems for obtaining a motion vector between two frames of video image data are disclosed. Specifically, methods and systems of the present invention may be used to estimate a motion vector for each macroblock of a current frame with respect to a reference frame in a multi-stage operation. In a transcoder, motion estimation may be performed in the compressed domain eliminating the need to fully decode the compressed data in the first format before reencoding in a second format. In a first stage, an application implementing the process of the present invention obtains a motion vector between first and second pictures of video image data in a video sequence. Each picture includes a plurality of supermacroblocks, each having a plurality of macroblocks. For each supermacroblock of the first picture, a match supermacroblock in the second picture is determined that best matches the supermacroblock of the first picture. For each macroblock in the first picture supermacroblock, a macroblock in the second picture is determined that best matches the macroblock in the first picture supermacroblock. Macroblocks are determined by searching the second picture for a candidate macroblock that best matches the macroblock in the first picture supermacroblock. The search begins at a macroblock in the second picture supermacroblock that corresponds to the first macroblock in the first picture supermacroblock and a motion vector is determined based on the candidate macroblock. For the remaining macroblocks in the first picture supermacroblock, motion vectors are estimated based on the macroblocks in supermacroblocks of the second picture that neighbor the candidate macroblock.

Methods and apparatus for motion estimation in compressed domain

An apparatus and a method for transforming picture information can significantly reduce the bit rate. A picture information transform apparatus for receiving as input the compressed picture information obtained by coding the picture information of a plurality of picture type images by ways of orthogonal transform and motion compensation includes a variable length decoder for performing a variable length decoding operation on the input compressed picture information, an inverse quantizer for inversely quantizing the decoded information, a band limiter for limiting the bandwidth, a quantizer and a bit rate controller for computationally determining the target bits for the coded images of each picture type by adaptively using a plurality of parameters operating as coefficients for the contents of the coded images of the picture type on the bais of the contents of the coded images of the picture type.

Apparatus and method for transforming picture information

A picture data compressing device has picture data divided by a blocking circuit in to a plurality of blocks, each block consisting of a pre-set number of pixels and shuffled by a shuffling circuit . The blocked and shuffled data is transformed by a DCT circuit into data in the frequency domain and re-quantized by a quantization circuit , thereby compressing the picture data. A red detector determines whether a block from the shuffling circuit is the red-based block. If the red detector detects a red-based block, a controller controls the quantization circuit so that the quantization step of the quantization circuit will become finer. Thus, the data of the red-based block susceptible to block distortion may be quantized with a finer quantization step for improving reproduction and alleviating block distortion.

Picture data compression device and red data detection device

Methods and apparatus for motion estimation using neighboring macroblocks

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Naofumi Yanagihara