Method for converting the scanning format of images, a system and computer program product therefor

Abstract

The conversion into a progressive format of digital images organized in half-frames or fields with interlaced lines or rows envisages selecting successive lines in one or more of said fields and reconstructing by pixels an image line set between the interlaced lines selected. The reconstruction operation obtains the image by creating a set of candidate patterns associated to the work window by selecting the patterns to be considered within the window. Next, applying to the patterns of the aforesaid set a first cost function which is representative of the correlations between pairs of pixels. Applying to the patterns of the aforesaid set a second cost function which is representative of the non-correlations between pairs of pixels. Selecting, for each candidate pattern, respective internal correlations and external non-correlations, calculating corresponding scores for the candidate patterns using the aforesaid first cost function. Selecting a best pattern by comparing the respective scores of the candidate patterns with at least one threshold; and selecting the pixels of the window identified by the best pattern selected, then reconstructing the missing line by filtration starting from said pixels.