The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 03, 2001
Filed:
Aug. 12, 1997
Haoping Yu, Indianapolis, IN (US);
Barth Alan Canfield, Indianapolis, IN (US);
Billy Wesley Beyers, Jr., Greenfield, IN (US);
Wai-man Lam, Mohegan Lake, NY (US);
Thomson Licensing S.A., Boulogne, FR;
Abstract
A memory efficient image processor receives DPCM prediction error values from decompressed MPEG coded digital video signals in the form of pixel blocks containing luminance and chrominance data in a 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 format and recompresses the pixel blocks to a predetermined resolution. Luminance and chrominance data are processed with different compression laws during recompression. Luminance data are recompressed to an average of six bits per pixel, and only a reference pixel and one other pixel are processed separately from all other luminance pixels in a block. Chrominance data are recompressed to an average of four bits per pixel. Each pixel block is stored with overhead information facilitating efficient and accurate reconstruction. Accurate pixel reconstruction is facilitated by processing a reference pixel accurately; scaling the pixel block; employing quantization tables which are symmetrical and fitted to the domain of the pixel block; biasing negative prediction error values to positive values; using short codewords in quantization tables at levels which are most likely to occur statistically; and processing each pixel with three, four or five bit quantization to ensure maximum resolution and an overall four-bit average for the pixel block.