Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for detection of film mode or camera mode of a video sequence. This detection is carried out using histograms of video levels of frames of the video sequence. Difference histograms are calculated then compared with each other so as to generate difference parameters for each video frame of the sequence. The pattern formed by these difference parameters is then compared with predetermined patterns to deduce the mode, film or camera, of the sequence. The advantage of this method is that it requires just small memory resources for its implementation and can therefore be implanted in an FPGA circuit.

Abstract: The invention deals with the large area flicker effect reduction in display devices like plasma display panels, in which the light output is controlled by small pulses over a whole frame period and the amount of small pulses determine the brightness of the light output. The invention proposes an adaptation of the known principle of sub-field grouping for large area flicker reduction for the specific sub-field coding process called incremental sub-field coding, in which only those sub-field code words are taken for display driving having the characteristic that there is never a sub-field inactivated between two activated sub-fields or never a sub-field is activated between two inactivated sub-fields. For this specific sub-field coding it is proposed to make the sub-field grouping in a simple manner, where all the odd sub-fields are grouped together in one group (G1) and all the even sub-fields are grouped together in a second group (G2).

Abstract: The present invention relates to a device and a method for displaying images. To combat the copying of images by a camcorder in a cinema auditorium, modulating the luminance of the pixels of a pattern around the value to be displayed to a high frequency which makes the pattern invisible to the human eye but which generates artifacts on the sequence filmed by the camcorder is known. According to the invention, it is proposed to temporally modulate the pattern only in the fixed areas (background or indoor scenes) or, where appropriate, the areas with weak movements. Thus, rather than degrading the image in the areas with movement by applying to them the temporal modulation processing, a decision is taken not to temporally modulate the pattern in these critical areas.

Abstract: Each color image is decomposed into at least one series of at least three successive primary images of different primary colors which are successively displayed by modulating the activation duration of the pixels of an imaging device. According to the invention, the distribution of the pixel activation phases in the three successive subframes is contracted: the pixel activation periods of the first primary image are shifted toward the end of the subframe of this first image, and, during the subframe of the third primary image, the pixel activation periods of this third primary image are shifted toward the beginning of the subframe of this third image. Color break-up faults are thus advantageously reduced.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method for processing a sequence of source pictures to generate artifacts due to aliasing when these source pictures are captured by a video capturing device. This method comprises a first time modulation step for modulating temporally at a first modulation frequency the brightness of pixels of each picture of the sequence around a brightness to be displayed for said picture. According to an important feature of the invention, the method further comprises a second time modulation step for modulating temporally at a second modulation frequency different from the first modulation frequency the brightness of pixels of each picture of the sequence around a brightness value to be displayed for said picture, the first and second modulation frequencies being determined in order not to be visible to the human eye and contributing to generate aliasing artifact at a predetermined aliasing frequency.

Abstract: The present invention is situated within the frame or video processing domain and more particularly in the domain of video interpolation. It relates to a device for generating an interpolated frame from source frames temporarily surrounding it. This device comprises motion estimation means, motion compensated interpolation means, linear interpolation means, means for mixing the frame produced by the motion compensated interpolation means with the frame produced by the linear interpolation means. According to the invention, the mixing coefficients assigned to these two frames depend on the displaced frame difference and/or the frame difference between the source frames surrounding this interpolated frame and/or estimated motion vectors.

Abstract: The method comprises the following steps: detection of the static areas in the current picture, calculation of a histogram for the non-static areas of the current picture calculation of the difference between the histogram of a current picture and the histogram of at least one preceding picture, declaration of scene change if the difference is greater than a predetermined threshold. The applications related to video processing using picture movement such as up-conversion of video pace, reduction of motion compensated noise.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus and a device for displaying images. It is known to inlay a pattern of watermark type into the sequence of images to be displayed so as to combat the copying of images by picture-taking. This inlaying consists in modulating the intensity of the pixels of the pattern about the value to be displayed at a high frequency which renders the pattern invisible to the human eye but which generates artefacts on the sequence filmed by the camcorder. This technique poses problems when the sequence of images to be displayed comprises scenes in motion. The pattern appears since the integration carried out by the eye at the moment of display of the images is not correct. According to the invention, it is proposed that the patterns to be inlayed be motion compensated.

Abstract: The distances representative of the edge orientation at a current points of a video picture generated are particularly used for the deinterlacing or format conversion of video pictures. It can be implemented in a video coder or decoder. According to the invention, the distances representative of the edge orientation calculated are filtered with a conditional median filter applied to a window of p by q distances. This filter only takes into account the distances of points for which the local gradient module of the video components is greater than a threshold.

Abstract: The present invention can be implemented in a video coder or decoder or directly in any type of display device. According to the invention, a distance representative of the edge orientation in the input picture is calculated, for at least one point situated inside a zone delimited by a first set of neighbouring pixels of the input picture, it is calculated independently from the grid of pixels of the output picture. For at least one pixel of the output picture situated in this zone, a second set of pixels is determined in the input picture from the distance and the position of said pixel of the output picture in this zone. The value of this output pixel is then determined from the value of the pixels of said second set of pixels. This method enables a reduction in the number of calculations for this format conversion.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a video picture display method that aims to reduce the effects of blurring and multiple contours when the picture display frequency is doubled. According to the invention, for each source video picture, a video level dissymmetry is created between the two pictures from the source video picture after doubling the frequency in the areas in motion of the source video picture.

Abstract: According to the invention, the video data to be processed and the configuration data are transferred to the module via one and the same data bus. These modules are advantageously chained in series on a common bus which transfers to each module both the configuration data and the video data to be processed. Preferably, dead time or “blanking” periods between two picture frames transmitted on this bus are used in order to insert the configuration data.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and device for processing video images aimed at compensating for the defects of display devices. According to the invention, the method is characterized in that it comprises the following steps: correction of a video signal by a specific gamma law associated with a first component from among said horizontal and vertical components of said video signal, first video processing acting on said first component of the corrected video signal, application, to the video signal processed, of an intermediate law effecting the transfer from a space which is linear with respect to the first component to a space which is linear with respect to the other of said components, called the second component, second video processing acting on the second component of the video signal emanating from the previous step, and correction of the video signal processed by a specific inverse gamma law associated with the second component.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and a device for displaying images aimed at combating the copying of images by filming during their display, for example by a camcorder in a cinema hall. It is known to modulate the luminance of the pixels of a pattern around the value to be displayed at a high frequency which renders the pattern invisible to the human eye but which generates artefacts on the sequence shot by the camcorder. This pattern is commonly called an anti-copy pattern. According to the invention, it is proposed to increase the hindrance generated by this modulation by varying the amplitude of the modulation of the pixels of the anti-copy pattern as a function of their membership or non-membership in a zone of interest of the sequence.

Abstract: The invention proposes a motion compensated video interpolation that is not sensitive to the errors in the motion estimation vectors. The invention proposes a motion compensated video interpolation method in which the interpolation step varies according to the amplitude and/or a reliability index of the estimated motion vector for the considered pixel. The number of pixels to be taken into account for interpolation and the weighting factors associated with these pixels are made to vary according to the amplitude and/or reliability index of the estimated motion vector.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for digital display of a video image using time-division modulation. This device is intended to display a video image during a video frame comprising a plurality of consecutive subfields distributed within at least two separate identical time segments. According to the invention, the pixels of the video image change state at most once during each time segment and the video image to be displayed is saved in the image memory in the form of information identifying, for each subfield, the pixels changing state.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of displaying video images on a display device and especially on a plasma display panel. The frame for displaying a video image is divided into two subframes, both comprising approximately the same number of subscans. The subscans of the first subframe are arranged in a first order in which their weights increase and those of the second subframe in the reverse order. The second subframe is consecutive to the first subframe. Each cell of the PDP changes state at most once during the first subframe. The same applies during the second subframe.

Abstract: The invention proposes methods of processing and displaying images comprising the steps of:—modification of the color (C1) in at least one pixel of an image source; and—calculation of the color of the pixel in the processed images (C3, C4), in such a way that the average of the colors of said pixel in the processed images (C3, C4) is equal to the average of the colors of said pixel in the source image or images (C1). The resulting color of the display of the processed images as regards the human eye is therefore the desired color in the source image or images, whereas a camcorder will record an unsatisfactory mixture of the modified colors.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and device for processing video images aimed at compensating for the defects of display devices. According to the invention, the method is characterized in that it comprises the following steps: correction of a video signal by a specific gamma law associated with a first component from among said horizontal and vertical components of said video signal, first video processing acting on said first component of the corrected video signal, application, to the video signal processed, of an intermediate law effecting the transfer from a space which is linear with respect to the first component to a space which is linear with respect to the other of said components, called the second component, second video processing acting on the second component of the video signal emanating from the previous step, and correction of the video signal processed by a specific inverse gamma law associated with the second component.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of displaying video images on a plasma display panel. The invention is applicable in plasma display panels. According to the invention, in order to achieve contouring movement compensation, the subscans are divided into two symmetrical groups of subscans. Moreover, the movement of the video image to be displayed with respect to the preceding video image is estimated so as to generate a movement vector for each pixel of the video image. Finally, for each pixel of the video image, the subscans of the second group are displaced by an amount proportional to the estimated movement vector.