Abstract: An apparatus for encoding a digital video signal of an image based on a still object-oriented coding technique wherein the image signal is divided into a number of blocks of an identical size and pixels lying outside of the object being masked with a zero value comprises a subblock formatter for subdividing each of the blocks into 4.sup.N subblocks; 4.sup.N encoders, each of said encoders for encoding each one of the 4.sup.N subblocks to produce a block of encoded data, respectively; 4.sup.N edge detectors, each of the edge detectors for detecting a sub-object edge in said each subblock to produce an edge detection signal and for determining a pattern of the detected edge to produce an edge pattern identification signal; an interleaving block for interleaving each of the scanned data from each of said encoder to produce a stream of scanned data; and a variable length coder for coding a stream of interleaved scanned data to produce a variable length coded signal.

Abstract: A video signal is encoded to provide a coded video signal, wherein a frame of the video signal is divided into a multiplicity of nonoverlapping blocks and each of the blocks contains K.times.L pixels, K and L being positive integers, by the steps of: dividing K.times.L pixels included in a block into a bright group and a dark group based on intensity values of the pixels; deciding a bit plane which contains K.times.

Abstract: An apparatus for determining a preducted current frame based on a current frame and a previous frames comprises: a unit for selecting a number of pixels from the pixels contained in the previous frame to detect a first set of motion vectors; a unit for producing a second set of motion vectors for all of the pixels contained in the current frame by using first set of motion vectors; a unit for assigning the value of each of the pixels in the previous frame as the value of one of the pixels in the current frame by using the second set of motion vectors, to determine a preliminary preducted current frame; a unit for finding the difference between the current frame and the preliminary preducted current frame to detect collective error regions; a unit for selecting one pixel amount the pixels contained in each of the collective error regions; a unit for detecting a third set of motion vectors for the selected pixels from the collective error regions; a unit for producing a fourth set of motion vectors for all of t

Abstract: An image processing system for processing a video signal has an encoder and a corresponding decoder wherein the encoder includes a frame decimator; a current frame prediction block for estimating displacements between a previous and a current frames provided from the frame decimator, and providing a predicted current frame based on the displacements; and a subtractor for providing a difference between the predicted and the original current frames and providing motion vectors representing the displacement, and the decoder includes a current frame prediction block for estimating displacements between the previous and the current frames and compensating the previous frame with the displacements to reconstruct the predicted current frame; and an adder for adding the reconstructed predicted current frame with the difference, to thereby reconstruct the current frame.

Abstract: A digital video signal encoder for coding a block of a digital video signal first converts the block of the digital video signal into a set of quantized transform coefficients having a low and a high frequency zones and scans the set of quantized transform coefficients to produce a first and a second subsets of scanned coefficients. The scanned coefficients of the first and the second subsets are converted into a first and a second sets of one or more RLC codes, respectively. The digital video signal encoder performs the coding each RLC code of the first and the second sets to generate a first and a second sets of one or more variable length codewords.

Abstract: A processing block is processed by using an extension-interpolation ("E-I") method, wherein the processing block consisting of N.times.

Abstract: An improved motion estimating method serves to determine a set of target motion vectors between a current frame and its previous selected frame, wherein N number of frames are skipped between the current frame and the previous selected frame, said N being a positive integer inclusive of 1. This method is implemented through the use of all frames, i.e., the current and the previous selected frames and the N number of skipped frames in order to obtain a series of motion vectors for one of the search points within the previous selected frame. Said series of motion vectors is then summed up to define a target motion vector representing the displacement between said one of the search points and the corresponding best matching point in the current frame. The process is repeated until the set of target motion vectors for all of the search points contained in the previous selected frame are detected.

Abstract: An apparatus for improving image quality comprising a converter for converting the B frame into a converted frame having a second set of search blocks wherein both the B frame and the converted frame have an overlapping region; a first predictor for estimating a first displacement vector representing the displacement between the B frame and a first neighboring frame of the B frame, and for providing a first predicted frame signal for the B frame based on the first estimated displacement vector; a second predictor for estimating a second displacement vector representing the displacement between the converted frame and a second neighboring frame of the converted frame, and for providing a second predicted frame signal for the converted frame based on the second estimated displacement vector; a third predictor for generating a third predicted frame signal by averaging the first and the second predicted frame signals located in an area corresponding to the overlapping region; and a circuit, responsive to selectio

Abstract: An apparatus for determining a motion vector representing a displacement between a current frame and a previous frame of video signals comprises an error detector for comparing the error functions calculated from block matching sections to each other and selecting M number error functions in the order of their magnitude beginning from a smallest, a displacement vector selector for selecting M number of displacement vectors from displacement vectors generated from candidate block formation sections, a candidate block selector for selecting M number of candidate blocks, M number of boundary matching sections for generating M sets of boundary differences, M number of comparison and counting sections for comparing boundary differences in one of the M sets of boundary differences with a predetermined value, to count the number of the boundary differences having a value larger than the predetermined value; and an optimum motion vector selector for selecting a counted number having a minimum value to determine one o

Abstract: Motion vectors are determined between a current frame and a preceding frame within a frame duration by employing a time-sharing multi-tier hierarchical motion estimation approach, wherein the candidate blocks being grouped into a multiple number of hierarchical search areas. The motion vector determination scheme is initiated by performing a motion estimation of a highest hierarchy for all of the search blocks; and an error function and a motion vector of the highest hierarchy are stored. Subsequently, motion-estimation of a lower hierarchy is performed for each of the selected search blocks which have the error functions greater than the threshold value of the highest hierarchy. In the next step, the error functions of the highest and the lower hierarchies are compared for each of the selected search blocks and a smaller error function is selected therefrom to thereby update each of the stored potential motion vectors with the motion vector corresponding to the selected error function.

Abstract: An apparatus used in a motion-compensated video signal encoder for determining a predicted current frame based on a current frame and a previous frame of a digital video signal using a predetermined number of search grids, each search grid being a set of search blocks formed in the current frame, comprising: a motion estimator for detecting a set of motion vectors for each of the search grids, each of the motion vectors being determined by calculating an error between each of the search blocks and candidate blocks and selecting one candidate block which yields a minimum error; an error accumulator for accumulating each minimum error for all of the search blocks contained in each of the search grids to provide an accumulated minimum error signal for each of the search grids; a selector for comparing each of the search grids by using the accumulated error signal to provide a search grid selection signal; a switch, in response to the search grid selection signal, for selecting one set of motion vectors correspon

Abstract: An apparatus for detecting motion vectors between a current frame and a previous frame of video signals based on a block matching motion estimation approach comprises a variable block formation section for defining a variable search block from the current frame, the variable search block is extended from a selected search block which is a plain picture block without having an edge of an object within the current frame; and a motion-estimation section for estimating the variable search block with respect to each of candidate blocks included in the previous frame to provide a number motion vector and an error function corresponding thereto, the motion vector representing the displacement of pixels between the search block and a candidate block which yield a minimum error function.

Abstract: An apparatus for determining motion vectors for pixels of a current frame which includes a number of processing blocks comprises a motion estimator for providing motion vectors for the pixels in the current frame, an edge detector for detecting edge positions of an object in the current frame to produce edge position signals, a median filter for providing filtered motion vectors of the pixels, a majority detector for obtaining a first and a second majority vectors corresponding to the pixels of a processing block, a controller for generating a control signal, a vector selection block for providing an output motion vector from the first and second major vectors which yields a motion compensated processing block having a least error function, and a switch responsive to the control signal for selecting a motion vector for each processing block from the output motion vector and a motion vector of the pixel located at the center of each processing block.

Abstract: A quantization pattern codebook is prepared by way of: merging each pair of pattern clusters into a merged pattern cluster until all combinable pairs of the pattern clusters are merged to derive a set of merged pattern clusters; calculating the rate of bit increment by subtracting the total number of quantization bits in the pair of the quantization patterns used in the merging process from the total number of quantization bits in the merged pattern cluster derived from the pair of the pattern clusters; and determining the merged pattern cluster having a minimum rate of bit increment as one of the cluster patterns to be stored in the pattern code book.

Abstract: An apparatus for determining motion vector for pixels of a current frame which includes a number of processing blocks comprises a motion estimator for providing motion vectors for the pixels in the current frame, a median filter for providing filtered motion vectors of the pixels, a majority detector for obtaining a first and a second major vectors corresponding to the pixels of a processing block, a controller for generating a control signal, a vector selection block for providing an output motion vector from the first and second major vectors which yields a motion compensated processing block having a less error function, and a switch responsive to the control signal for selecting a motion vector for each processing block from the output motion vector and a motion vector of the pixel located at the center of each processing block.

Abstract: An apparatus for determining motion vectors between a current frame and a previous frame of digital video signals apparatus comprises a subblock motion vector detector for detecting a subblock motion vector for each of the subblocks included in a panning block within the current frame; a panning vector detector for detecting a panning vector for the panning block; a motion vector determination circuit for determining whether the previous frame is motion compensated by the panning vector to produce a control signal; and in response to the control signal, selecting the subblock motion vector from the subblock motion vector detector or the panning vector from the panning vector detector as an output of the motion vector detecting apparatus.

Abstract: A motion area detector capable of simple detection of a moving picture-area in a HDTV receiver of a multiple subsampling transmission system is disclosed. The motion area detector includes a still-picture processor for reproducing a still picture from a picture signal applied into the detection circuit of the receiver, a moving-picture processor for reproducing a moving picture from the picture signal, a mixer for carrying out a linear mixing operation between the still picture and the moving picture, and a motion detector for detecting a motion area from a mixed picture signal of the mixer and from the still picture signal reproduced by the still picture processor and for providing information concerning a mixing ratio between the still picture and the moving picture.