Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Technologies, Inc.

Rca Inc.

Sirius Xm Radio Inc.

Other

Robert J Topper

Lee R Dischert

Robert A Dischert

Carl G Scarpa

Thomas J Leacock

Peter H Westerink

Daniel Gnanaprakasam

Patrick Devaney

Joseph Robert Ader

Joseph F Hacke

William M Shyu

Systems and methods for performing automatic frequency control are provided. Instead of relying on individual frequency tuners for each channel of a multi-channel receiver system, the present subject matter uses a single frequency tuner for receiving each channel of the multi-channel receiver system. A locked demodulator may be designated as a reference demodulator and frequency offset values associated with the reference demodulator may be applied to other demodulators of the multi-channel receiver. These frequency offset values may be used by individual demodulators of each channel for correcting corresponding frequency offsets.

Universal automatic frequency control for multi-channel receivers

A method, apparatus, and system for displaying widescreen video images on a stand video display is disclosed. Letterboxing, which occurs when a widescreen image is displayed in its entirety on a standard video display, is removed by enlarging the widescreen image and panning the enlarged widescreen image responsive to a multi-channel audio signal corresponding to the widescreen image.

Method, apparatus, and system for displaying widescreen video images on standard video displays

Progressive-scan video signals that are generated from interlaced-scan video signals by interpolation may be subject to temporal distortion when the interstitial interpolated lines have a different time reference than the interlaced lines. This distortion may be mitigated by detecting vertical low-frequency spatial distortion in an interpolated video signal and by generating a compensating signal that, when added to the interpolated video signal reduces that vertical low-frequency spatial distortion. A spatial low-pass filter is applied to corresponding pixels of several adjacent lines of the current field of the original interlaced image. Concurrently, a spatial low-pass filter is applied to corresponding pixels of several interpolated lines that are inserted between the lines of the interlaced image to produce the progressive image. At each pixel position, the low-pass filtered values are compared. If the difference between the low-pass filtered values exceeds a predetermined threshold value, a value approximately equal to the difference between the original pixels and the interpolated pixels is added to the interpolated pixel.

Apparatus and method for concealing interpolation artifacts in a video interlaced to progressive scan converter

A motion estimation system for finding motion vectors between first and second images selects first and second overlapping blocks of pixels from the first image. The motion estimation system then estimates motion between the first and second images to define respective motion vectors for the overlapping blocks. These motion vectors are assigned to respective first and second non-overlapping sub-blocks of pixels within the respective first and second overlapping blocks of pixels. The motion estimation system is advantageously used in a video de-interlacing system in which the sub-blocks are used to determine whether interpolated samples are generated using samples from both the first and second image fields or only from the first field.

Method and apparatus for calculating motion vectors

Horizontal and vertical registration errors in a color television camera are automatically error corrected by detecting registration errors in live scenes. Each error is associated with the preselected region of the raster in which it was detected. The errors are separately collected for each region. An error waveform is generated from collected error values. The past history of registration errors is also used. A correction waveform is generated to correct the registration error by minimizing the error waveform. This automatic registration system is microprocessor controlled.

Registration correction waveform determination method and system for a

A system and method for reducing signal-to-noise ratio in a multi-component analog signal during analog to digital conversion. The multi-component analog signal is made up of a plurality of separate analog signals, with each of the separate analog signals having separate amplitude levels. A reference gain control signal, corresponding to the largest amplitude component of the multi-component signal, is first determined. Next, the reference gain control signal is used to generate a gain control signal. The gain control signal is then used to adjust each component of the multi-component signal by a gain value. Finally, the gain adjusted signals are converted to corresponding digital signals.

System and method for reducing noise during analog to digital conversion

An analog to digital converter which includes a resistive network for generating a number of first reference voltages related to each other by a first linear relationship and a number of second reference voltages related to each other by a second linear relationship, where the first linear relationship is different from the second linear relationship. Also included are first comparators which compare an analog signal to each one of the first reference voltages to produce specified first comparator signals where a respective comparator of the first comparators is provided for each of the first reference voltages. Second comparators are provided to compare the analog signal to each of the second reference voltages to produce second comparator signals where a respective comparator of the second comparators is provided for each one of the second reference voltages. Also included is an encoder to directly convert the first comparator signals and the second comparator signals to a linear digital encoded signal having respecting different quantization resolutions in different parts of its range.

Analog to digital converter providing varying digital resolution

An image processing system encodes a natural image into a segmented or mosaic image having well-defined edges and a residual image. The segmented image is encoded using a lossless encoding technique while the residual image is encoded using a lossy technique. This encoded image may be recorded on a video tape such that the segmented image may be recovered in picture-in-shuttle modes such as fast forward and fast rewind. In addition, the recorded image may be decoded and reencoded through several generational levels without experiencing significant degradation in perceived image quality. The segmented image is produced by an encoder which employs a multi-scale edge finder that is able to resolve transitions occurring over two, four and eight pixels into an edge located between two pixels. In addition, the lossless encoder includes circuitry which chain-encodes the segmented image into a low-resolution image and multiple complementary images such that the low-resolution image may be stored as a single data packet and, thus, recovered as a unit from the tape in picture-in-shuttle mode.

Segmentation based image compression system

A video signal processor controls aperture correction of the video signal by detecting the occurrence of particular colors in the image produced by the video signal. The particular color, for example, fleshtone, is detected as a ratio of the amplitude of an in-phase color signal and the magnitude of its corresponding quadrature phase color signal. This defines a range of color phases which are classified as the particular color, regardless of their saturation. The detected color is converted into a control signal which changes the amplitude of the aperture correction signal. In one embodiment the control signal has a value of zero if the detected color is within the range of color phases and a value of one otherwise. This control signal is used as a multiplier for the aperture correction signal. In another embodiment, a second range of colors is defined around the defined range. If the detected color is within this second range, the aperture correction signal is reduced in proportion to the difference between the detected color and the particular color.

Color selection aperture correction circuit

A technique is disclosed for correcting black shading errors in a video camera. The technique involves calculating a horizontal correction waveform as a function of the average pixel values for the columns of a field. Next, a vertical correction waveform is calculated as a function of the average pixel values for the rows of a field. Then, calculation of a diagonal correction waveform as a function of the average pixel values along predetermined diagonals is performed. Finally, an input video signal representing real images is combined with the correction waveforms to produce a video output signal having substantially reduced black shading errors. Correction waveforms can be determined in any order.

Apparatus and method for black shading correction

An edge finder for an image processing system locates edges in a digitized image over several different ranges of pixel values and assigns, to each pixel value an edge characteristic value which represents a minimum edge value for the pixel in the image. The exemplary edge finder that is able to resolve transitions occurring between two pixels or over groups of four or eight pixels to determine whether an edge should be defined between the original two pixels. The edge finder simultaneously examines four edges in two dimensions to determine the edgeness value for each pixel in the digitized image.

Image edge finder which operates over multiple picture element ranges

An apparatus is provided for processing the output signals of a charge transfer device having at least one row of photoelectric elements. The charge transfer device produces output signals with charge levels that are provided to a shift register having a plurality of elements. The successive charge levels from each photoelectric element are provided to respective shift register elements, and the charge levels are transferred within the shift register to a readout terminal. Some of the charge is retained by each element as the charge is transferred. The retained charge is added to the next charge transferred into the element. This adding of residual charges averages the charges transferred, producing undesirable noise. A sample and hold device removes sampling artifacts inherent in the signal provided by the CCD, to produce a signal representing successive image pixel values. A peaking filter emphasizes high frequency components relative to low frequency components, to compensate for low pass filtering effects which may occur in the CCD.

Dynamic peaking aperture correction for use with a CCD camera

A color video camera includes circuitry which generates a peaking signal that is applied to each of the color signals to enhance high-frequency components of the video signal relative to low-frequency components. The circuitry adds high-frequency components from the green video signal, as the peaking signal, at instants when the amplitudes of the green and red color signals are approximately equal. If there is a significant difference between the amplitudes of the red and green video signals, however, a combination of the high frequency components of both of these signals is used as the peaking signal. In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the peaking signal includes in-band horizontal and vertical contour signals and out-of-band aperture correction signal.

Growing community of inventors

Hatboro, PA, United States of America

Robert J Topper