Micro Consultants, Limited

Quantel Limited

Emi, LLC

Richard J Taylor

Paul R Kellar

Peter C Michael

Martin R Trump

Anthony D Searby

Neil Roy Hinson

Ian C Walker

Phillip P Bennett

Stephen P Greenhalgh

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

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

A processing system includes a processor 10 and frame store 11. Both the frame store and processor are under the control of address mechanism 12. An incoming pixel is processed with previously stored information and the proportion of processed information restored is controlled to prevent errors in picture information density as store location may be accessed a number of times in a frame period. The addressing mechanism 12 can generate the desired information from address information which is only provided on some of the store locations and which is only updated over more than one frame period. The mechanism includes spatial and temporal interpolators to effect this operation.

Video processing systems

A processing system includes a processor 10 and frame store 11. Both the frame store and processor are under the control of address mechanism 12. The addressing mechanism 12 can generate the desired information from address information which is only provided on some of the store locations and which is only updated over more than one frame period. The mechanism includes spatial and temporal address interpolators to effect this operation.

A video signal processor for effecting frame rate conversion. A number of framestores connected in series receive incoming video signals under the control of a first generator and are available from the respective fieldstores under the control of a second generator. The presence of respective one line delays allow two adjacent lines from the same field to be available for use by respective multipliers and thence to an adder. A comparator determines if significant movement is present and modifies co-efficients to the multipliers, made available from a co-efficient control so as to allow a single field to pass to the output if desired.

Video processors

Proximity responsive apparatus capable of being used, for example, as a fuzing device for a bomb includes means for generating and emitting pulses of energy which conform to a predetermined time varying waveform. Reflected energy is sampled at two or more spaced instants in time, and the sampling instants are chosen in accordance with the required range of operation of the apparatus and also the shape of said waveform. The samples are compared and the result of the comparison is a signal used to control the fuzing of the bomb.

Proximity responsive apparatus

A digital data manipulation system for compensating for drop outs on a video recording medium. Data received by an assembler is assigned to a predetermined non-standard format prior to recording. Addition of synchronizing information via process amplifier allows the digital data to be recorded on an analog video tape recorder as lines of video information. A checksum generator and parity bit generator are provided to effect two dimensional coding indicative of assigned data content both prior to recording and following playback. By detecting any differences between the coding information this identifies drop out errors to allow compensation therefor.

Storage and retrieval of digital data on video tape recorders

A processing system for effecting angular displacement of at least part of a television picture. The picture is subdivided into picture areas each containing a plurality of picture points and a number of storage devices respectively receive information on each picture point within the area at a designated storage location. On read out, the location of a particular area is accessed by means of a picture point and line counter in a single read operation. Information on particular picture points within the area is selectively made available for interpolation via latches to allow construction of the displaced picture. The area accessed for read out can be modified relative to writing into the store in order to cope with any selected degree of displacement.

Video picture processing apparatus and method

A distributed video frame store and real time processing system which includes a frame store subdivided into a number of sectors each with an associated arithmetic unit capable of parallel operation for processing data from all the sectors simultaneously. Each arithmetic unit which comprises a subtractor, multiplier and adder may be shared as a common input and output processor during write and store read cycles respectively for that sector. During a write cycle, the incoming data together is processed with previously stored data and then written into the store sector, the coefficient for the multiplier being selected in dependence on any difference measured in the subtractor. During a read cycle and stored information can be passed via the arithmetic unit to the output. During the read cycle, data from two locations within that store sector is processed, and in dependence on any movement previously detected, these locations can be from the same or alternate fields.

Video frame store and real time processing system

A digital picture storage system with various facilities including size change. The system includes real time frame storage and a non-real time store expediently provided as disc storage. The size change mechanism has access to the data in the non-real time domain to allow size change techniques to be used which are more readily realizable.

Digital still picture storage system with size change facility

A digital video processor system adapted to reduce the number of digital data samples by effectively reducing the data rate to allow more efficient handling during any further manipulation. The processor includes a separator for separating data from spacially adjacent video lines into high and low frequency components and adders for adding the high frequency component from each line and adding this summed data to selected portions of the low frequency component to produce data reduction by a factor of two. The data after further manipulation can be reconstituted by similar techniques.

Digital video processor

A video noise reduction system for incoming video information from a plurality of picture points. A first processor is capable of synthesizing each picture point from incoming picture point information from adjacent picture points to provide noise reduced picture information. A store is provided for storing picture information from at least one frame and a second processor is capable of synthesizing each picture point from incoming and stored information from a corresponding picture point from a current and earlier frames to effect noise reduction. A detector is provided to detect any movement between pictures to allow processing by the first processor when movement is occuring and from the second processor when no movement is occuring. A third processor may be provided to allow synthesizing from adjacent picture points from current and earlier pictures to effect noise reduction when the picture content is detected to be stationary and has only low frequency components therein.

Video noise reduction systems

A T.V. picture freeze system capable of capturing a video frame comprising first and second fields. Movement is detected between fields for each picture point and data indicative of any movement is stored and is used on read out to determine whether the picture information is taken from a single field, when movement has occurred or from both fields when movement has not occurred for that portion of the picture.

T.V. Picture freeze system

A chroma key measuring system for determining the area of chroma key within a television picture. The position of each side of the key area is measured line by line to determine a maximum and minimum value, and top and bottom of the area is determined from the upper and lower cross over positions of the sides to provide an output indicative of the size and position of the key area. This output can be used as a control signal for further equipment generating a further picture which is to be inserted in the key area so that the size and position of the inserted picture is adjusted to correspond to the calculated parameters.

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London, United Kingdom

Richard J Taylor