Abstract: A composite picture generating method is provided which superimposes an arbitrary image with a natural motion over a moving picture and allows the user to easily specify the position on the moving picture of the image to be superimposed. A moving picture over which an image is to be superimposed is selected and played on a display. The moving picture is temporarily stopped where the image is to be superimposed over the moving picture. The image is drawn and superimposed over the moving picture. When the image is determined, the playback of the moving picture is resumed as in a slow mode. As the moving picture is played, the locus of motion of the image is specified on the moving picture by using a pointing device or the like. The synthesizing of the image is performed by superimposing the image over the moving picture being played at the positions corresponding to the specified locus.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus is used to embed electronic watermark information. An input digital motion image is displayed on a display device. Using an input device, part of the displayed digital motion image is specified as an embed area into which electronic watermark information is to be embedded. The electronic watermark information is specified by use of the input device as well. The specified embed area is followed by detecting its movement so that only the specified embed area is watermarked.

Abstract: A method of distributing contents in a system including a distribution station for distributing contents, a relay station for relaying the contents, a management apparatus for receiving the contents distributed from the distribution station or the relay station and managing the contents, and a plurality of terminal apparatuses for receiving the contents distributed from the management apparatus, the method comprising the steps of: attaching metadata to the contents distributed from the distribution station; and adding location information of the relay station, the management apparatus or each of the terminal apparatuses to the metadata of the contents when the contents are stored in the relay station, the management apparatus or the terminal apparatus. The contents can be displayed on the user side concentratedly regardless of locations of the contents so that the contents can be acquired or played back without user's consciousness of locations of the large number of contents.

Abstract: When extraction start and end compressed pictures are specified from compressed moving picture data of MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) standard, a picture block is fixed which has compressed pictures arranged in the order of displaying with those start and end pictures selected for the opposite ends of the block. If the bidirectional prediction or previous prediction compressed pictures within the picture block have a picture to be required to expand by referring to an outside intraframe compressed picture and/or a previous prediction compressed picture that are out of the picture block, the outside prediction picture to be used for the expansion is added to the compressed pictures within the picture block to produce the range of data being edited. That is, at the time of editing the range of the picture block is changed so that the reference to outside data can be completed within the picture block in a closed manner.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program for detecting a scene change point in a moving picture which has been coded according to a moving-picture coding process. The moving picture coding process divides the processing picture into a plurality of pictures. Each picture is divided into a plurality of blocks each being compressed by an encoder. The encoder operates according to a selected one of three compression techniques, namely an intra-picture compression technique, a differential-picture compression technique or a skipped-block compression technique. The invention counts the number of blocks of each picture subjected to the compression techniques, records the counts as user data, and analyzes the counts stored in the user data in a decoding operation in order to detect a scene change point of the moving picture.

Abstract: A method for editing audio data includes the steps of creating a header portion containing at least information for indicating a start of an audio unit to be decoded and having composite elements whose values are equal to those of the audio data to which dummy data is to be added, and creating the audio data composed of the dummy data to be ignored during a decoding time. The system for editing audio data is also provided for executing the editing method.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program for detecting a scene change point in a moving picture which has been coded according to a moving-picture coding process. The moving picture coding process divides the processing picture into a plurality of pictures. Each picture is divided into a plurality of blocks each being compressed by an encoder. The encoder operates according to a selected one of three compression techniques, namely an intra-picture compression technique, a differential-picture compression technique or a skipped-block compression technique. The invention counts the number of blocks of each picture subjected to the compression techniques, records the counts as user data, and analyzes the counts stored in the user data in a decoding operation in order to detect a scene change point of the moving picture.

Abstract: A distributed drawing processing system which includes a drawing server for integratedly executing a string of drawing commands transmitted from a client program for graphics display. In the system, the client program divides the drawing command string into a drawing command block of a string of drawing commands processable on a parallel basis and a drawing command block of a string of drawing commands not processable on the parallel basis, and transmits the divided drawing command string blocks to the drawing server. The drawing server executes the drawing command string while judging whether to process it on the parallel or sequential basis with respect to each of the divided drawing command string blocks.

Abstract: A graphics system using a part or the entire part of a plurality of general-purpose processors which can be processed in parallel for output processing which classifies a series of graphics output primitives which are sent to the graphics program from the application program into graphics output primitives which can be operated in parallel and graphics output primitives which cannot be operated in parallel, obtains the frequency of occurrences of graphics output primitives which cannot be operated in parallel among them, and automatically determines the number of processors to be allocated to the graphics program from this frequency of occurrences.