Abstract: A telestrator system is disclosed that allows a broadcaster to annotate video during or after an event. For example, while televising a sporting event, an announcer (or other user) can use the present invention to draw over the video of the event to highlight one or more actions, features, etc. In one embodiment, when the announcer draws over the video, it appears that the announcer is drawing on the field or location of the event. Such an appearance can be performed by mapping the pixels location from the user's drawing to three dimensional locations at the event. Other embodiments include drawing on the video without obscuring persons and/or other specified objects, and/or smoothing the drawings in real time.

Abstract: A video effect is created that provides an experience to a viewer of freezing time during an event that is the subject of a video presentation, investigating the event during that frozen moment in time, and (optionally) resuming the action of the event. During that frozen moment in time, the video can move around the scene of the event and/or zoom in (or out) to better highlight an aspect of the event. In one embodiment, there will be a transition from video captured by a broadcast camera (or another camera) to a high resolution still image, movement around the high resolution still image, and a transition from the high resolution still image back to video from the broadcast camera (or another camera).

Abstract: A system is disclosed that can find an image of a foreground object in a still image or video image. Finding the image of the foreground object can be used to reduce errors and reduce the time needed when creating morphs of an image. One implementation uses the detection of the image of the foreground object to create virtual camera movement, which is the illusion that a camera is moving around a scene that is frozen in time.

Abstract: A telestrator system is disclosed that allows a broadcaster to annotate video during or after an event. For example, while televising a sporting event, an announcer (or other user) can use the present invention to draw over the video of the event to highlight one or more actions, features, etc. In one embodiment, when the announcer draws over the video, it appears that the announcer is drawing on the field or location of the event. Such an appearance can be performed by mapping the pixels location from the user's drawing to three dimensional locations at the event. Other embodiments include drawing on the video without obscuring persons and/or other specified objects, and/or smoothing the drawings in real time.

Abstract: A system is disclosed for blending two image that makes use of a color map which indicates colors in a foreground can be mixed with the background and how much of each source to mix. One embodiment of the invention restricts the use of the color map to only pixels in the foreground that correspond to a graphic (or effect) in the background. Another embodiment makes use of a gray scale matte which stores blending values for each pixel in the foreground.

Abstract: A system is disclosed for enhancing video by use of a virtual surface. One or more positions are identified in a first image. These one or more positions are transformed to one or more locations in relation to the virtual surface. In subsequent video images (e.g. fields, frames, or other units), the one or more locations in relation to said virtual surface are transformed to one or more positions in the subsequent video images. The subsequent video images are enhanced based on the one or more transformed positions.

Abstract: A system uses GPS receivers and other sensors to acquire data about one or more objects at an event. The data acquired by the GPS receivers and the sensors is used to determine various statistics about the objects and/or enhance a video presentation of the objects. In one embodiment, the acquired data is used to determine three dimensional positions of the objects, determine the positions of images of the objects in a video and enhance the video accordingly. One exemplar use of the present invention is with a system for tracking automobiles at a race. The system determines statistics about the automobiles and enhances a video presentation of the race.

Abstract: A three-dimensional model is created to represent an environment to be captured on video. A camera is fitted with pan, tilt and/or zoom sensors. An operator selects a location in the environment. The three-dimensional model is used to determine the three-dimensional coordinates of the location selected by the operator. Information from the pan, tilt and/or zoom sensors is used to transform the three-dimensional coordinates to a two-dimensional position in the video from the camera. Using the two-dimensional position of the video, a graphic is properly added to the video such that the graphic appears to be at the selected location in the environment.

Abstract: A system uses GPS receivers and other sensors to acquire data about one or more objects at an event. The data acquired by the GPS receivers and the sensors is used to determine various statistics about the objects and/or enhance a video presentation of the objects. In one embodiment, the acquired data is used to determine three dimensional positions of the objects, determine the positions of images of the objects in a video and enhance the video accordingly. One exemplar use of the present invention is with a system for tracking automobiles at a race. The system determines statistics about the automobiles and enhances a video presentation of the race.

Abstract: A system is disclosed that can be used to enhance a video of an event. Sensors are used at the event to acquire information. For example, the system can include pan, tilt and zoom sensors to acquire camera view information. This information can be added to the video signal from a camera (e.g. in the vertical blanking interval) or otherwise transmitted to a central studio. At the studio, the sensor information is used to enhance the video for broadcast. Example enhancements include drawing lines or other shapes in the video, adding advertisements to the video or adding other graphics to the video.

Abstract: A system uses GPS receivers and other sensors to acquire data about one or more objects at an event. The data acquired by the GPS receivers and the sensors is used to determine various statistics about the objects and/or enhance a video presentation of the objects. In one embodiment, the acquired data is used to determine three dimensional positions of the objects, determine the positions of images of the objects in a video and enhance the video accordingly. One exemplar use of the present invention is with a system for tracking automobiles at a race. The system determines statistics about the automobiles and enhances a video presentation of the race.

Abstract: A system is disclosed that can determine the distance a baseball would have traveled after being hit if its path was not interrupted. Thus, when a player hits a home run and the ball collides with an obstruction such as the seating area of a stadium or a wall, the present invention can determine how far the ball would have traveled had the ball not hit the stadium or the wall. The present invention can also be used to determine information about the path of objects other than a baseball.

Abstract: A three-dimensional model is created to represent an environment to be captured on video. A camera is fitted with pan, tilt and/or zoom sensors. An operator selects a location in the environment. The three-dimensional model is used to determine the three-dimensional coordinates of the location selected by the operator. Information from the pan, tilt and/or zoom sensors is used to transform the three-dimensional coordinates to a two-dimensional position in the video from the camera. Using the two-dimensional position of the video, a graphic is properly added to the video such that the graphic appears to be at the selected location in the environment.

Abstract: A three-dimensional model is created to represent an environment to be captured on video. A camera is fitted with pan, tilt and/or zoom sensors. An operator selects a location in the environment. The three-dimensional model is used to determine the three-dimensional coordinates of the location selected by the operator. Information from the pan, tilt and/or zoom sensors is used to transform the three-dimensional coordinates to a two-dimensional position in the video from the camera. Using the two-dimensional position of the video, a graphic is properly added to the video such that the graphic appears to be at the selected location in the environment.

Abstract: A graphic and video are blended by controlling the relative transparency of corresponding pixels in the graphic and the video through the use of blending coefficients. One example of a blending coefficient is an alpha signal used in conjunction with a keyer. The value of a blending coefficient for a pixel in the graphic is based on the luminance and chrominance characteristics of a neighborhood of pixels in the video. Inclusions and exclusions are set up which define how the neighborhood of pixels is used to create or change a particular blending characteristic.

Abstract: A system determines the vertical position of an object and report that vertical position in a format suitable for use on a television broadcast, a radio broadcast, the Internet or another medium. One example of a suitable use for the system includes determining the height that a basketball player jumped and adding a graphic to a television broadcast that displays the determined height. The system includes two or more cameras that capture a video image of the object being measured. The object's position in the video images is determined and is used to find the three dimensional location of the object. The three dimensional location includes a height coordinate. In some cases, the height coordinate is the desired vertical position. In other cases, the height or size of the object may be subtracted from the height coordinate to determined the vertical position.

Abstract: A system for enhancing the television presentation of an object that can display the object even if the object is not visible to a camera. The system determines whether the object is visible to the camera broadcasting the event. If the object is not visible to the camera, the video image captured by the camera is edited to show the object, not show the object or enhance the video in a different manner. The object is placed in the captured video image at the position the object would be in the camera's field of view if there was no barrier between the object and the camera.

Abstract: Although sensors are typically registered before the live event, a sensor's location, orientation and/or field of view can be altered during the event. A system for re-registering a sensor during a live event allows for the determination that a sensor is not properly registered. If such a determination is made, the system accumulates valid data during the live event. The valid data is compared to the data from the improperly registered sensor in order to determine the amount of error. The variables that define the sensor's registration are changed to reduce the error.