Abstract: A video signal is coded by intraframe coding. The coded video signal is then decoded by intraframe/field decoding. A decoded local video signal is generated, which corresponds to a specific region in one frame of a video signal coded one frame prior to the video signal. A first motion signal is generated, which indicates motion of pictures in both the decoded video signal and the decoded local video signal. The motion signal is then subtracted from the video signal to generate a predictive error signal which is then coded by intraframe coding. The coded video signal and the coded predictive error signal are decoded by intraframe/field-decoding. A second motion signal is generated, which indicates motion of pictures in both the decoded video signal and a video signal decoded one frame prior to a video signal to be reproduced. The decoded predictive error signal and the second motion signal are added to each other to reproduce the video signal.

Abstract: A video coding apparatus ensuring a high coding efficiency even at a low bit rate includes a moving object analyzer which extracts a moving part from an input picture signal, analyzes its motion, and outputs a residual signal relative to a reconstruction image and motion parameters. The apparatus further includes a residual coding device for coding the residual signal, a reconstruction device for reconstructing a picture using the motion parameters, and a device that performs a variable length coding of the motion parameters and residual coded information.

Abstract: A picture transmission system for compressing picture information to transmit compressed picture information is provided. The picture transmission system includes, on the transmitter side, circuitry for realizing scene change detecting function. This circuitry comprises a buffer memory for storing picture signal of one frame to output it in order of luminance signal Y, and chrominance signals C.sub.B, C.sub.

Abstract: When a digital video signal is compressed, the amount of resulting data is predicted and the quantization level is controlled so as to obtain a constant bit rate. The prediction is made by computing a linear combination of a standard deviation and a number of non-zero coefficients, or by computing a sum of absolute differences between adjacent pixel values, or by computing a dynamic range of pixel values. The bit rate can also be controlled by deleting high-frequency coefficients. To avoid image degradation, the quantization level can also be controlled according to the sensitivity of small image areas to quantization noise. Sensitivity is determined by dividing an area into subblocks, which may overlap, and calculating statistics in each subblock. To reduce the amount of computation required in motion estimation, chrominance motion vectors are derived from luminance motion vectors.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling the positioning of a filmstrip in a film scanning gate using signal states derived from a pair of spaced film sprocket holes or perforation ("perf") sensors on either side of the film scanning gate in conjunction with line scan counts and filmstrip drive, stepper motor half-step counts. The filmstrip is advanced by the stepper motor in a pre-scan operation through the film scanning gate for line scanning the image frames at a low resolution and advanced in the reverse direction back into the film scanning gate for high resolution scanning in a main-scan operation. A line scan array of line scan counts and half-step counts as well as first and second perf arrays of half-step counts and perf sensor states are generated in the pre-scan operation. Image frame borders are located in the pre-scan operation as border line scan counts and correlated in the line scan array to the half step counts to go to in the main-scan.

Abstract: A raster/block converting section converts an input raster image signal into a block scan signal. A compressing/coding section selectively compresses and codes one of the block scan signal, converted by the raster/block converting section, and a differential signal. An expanding/decoding section expands and decodes the block scan signal compressed and coded by the compressing/coding section. A block/raster converting section converts the block scan signal, expanded and decoded by the expanding/decoding section, into a raster signal. A filter section filters the raster signal, converted by the block/raster converting section, to remove deformation at a boundary between blocks. A differentiating section substantially obtains a difference between the raster signal filtered by the filter section and the input raster image signal and supplies the difference as the differential signal to the compressing/coding section.

Abstract: Compression algorithms for digital video signals are based on processing of data blocks of frames which are of three types, i.e. intraframes, predicted frames, and interpolated or bidirectional frames (B). The memory space of the decoder is arranged in the form of five pages, four pages of which are used for each storing a field of the intraframe or predicted type. The fifth page is divided into sections each of which can store a line of blocks of a field of a bidirectional frame B. The bidirectional frames are decoded in successive stages of one line of blocks at a time, and the lines of blocks which are being decoded are stored progressively each time at the address in memory of a line of blocks the contents of which have already been displayed. The necessary memory space of the decoder is thereby reduced from six pages to five pages.

Abstract: Direct current component coefficients resulting from an orthogonal transformation of a video signal are encoded with a precision, expressed in terms of quantization bits, which may be varied at each video sequence, group of pictures, picture, slice, macroblock or block portion of the video signal in accordance with a required picture quality. The encoded coefficients may be decoded in accordance with the precision used during encoding.

Abstract: A display concept designed to interface with source material from a computer, video recorder or video camera. The interface to a computer generates a series of images that are separate viewpoints of a desired scene to be viewed in three dimensions. The images are based upon a horizontal translation of viewpoints. In the case of a video camera, the interface captures video images from multiple viewpoints and delivers these images in a successive manner to a location at which they can be viewed. The camera requires a single lens and sensor instead of multiple lenses. In the video recorder case, an interface stores images from a computer or video camera and plays back images in the proper sequence for the display. A display system can also operate as a film recorder to provide hard copy, three-dimensional images. A computer, video recorder or video camera thus provides images to a surface which can be viewed and which can present two-dimensional images which are changeable into three-dimensional images.

Abstract: A medical system having an endoscope probe intubated into a body, a signal processing circuit for processing a signal for the probe and an electric source circuit insulated from a commercial electric source. A part of the signal processing circuit connected to the probe is isolated by an isolation circuit to secure the safety. An impedance element is employed to prevent a malfunction by reducing an emission/permeation of noises. No adverse influence is thereby exerted on outside units.

Abstract: A video coding apparatus includes a memory for storing a coded picture signal used as a reference picture signal, a vector detecting circuit for detecting, from plural field picture signals or plural frame picture signals which are read out from the memory and the reference picture signals, an optimum motion vector regarding a picture to be coded, a prediction signal producing circuit for subjecting a spatial-temporal filtering to a reference picture designated by the optimum motion vector to produce a prediction signal, and a coding circuit for coding the to-be-coded picture signal on the basis of the prediction signal.

Abstract: An apparatus for coding a moving picture in which one frame is comprised of two fields, includes a coder such that, with respect to all blocks in a frame, the odd field (the first field) and the even field (second field) are divided into blocks, thus permitting motion prediction of the second field from the first field, a coder means adapted for switching, every macro block, whether or not a frame is divided into the first field and the second field to generate block data to adaptively switch these coders every frame, thereby making it possible to obtain a picture of a high picture quality with a lesser quantity of information, to reduce the scale of hardware, and to reduce the capacity of a decoder.

Abstract: Blocks of each of successive frames of a motion picture signal are classified into classified blocks in accordance either with selected schemes for use in adaptive prediction encoding the signal or with whether the selected schemes are restricted or not. On encoding each classified block, a quantization parameter is decided based on an amount of codes produced per classified block. The codes are stored in a buffer, and delivered outwardly of the buffer at a predetermined code rate while the remaining codes are reserved in the buffer. The quantization parameter is also based on an initial amount of the reserved codes kept in the buffer at a beginning of each frame, a code amount characteristic value, and an amount of codes assigned to each classified block. The code amount characteristic value is calculated by a product of the quantization parameter and the amount of codes produced.

Abstract: A motion detection signal delivered from a mixer is output through a series circuit of a maximum value calculation portion and a minimum value calculation portion. In each of the calculation portions, calculation is performed within a block of 3-dot.times.3-line. Missing of motion detection is prevented from occurring in the maximum value calculation portion because the motion detection signal of the pixel under attention is calculated therein with the values within the block and, accordingly, the motion detection signal is expanded in the horizontal and vertical directions. A detection spread to a still picture portion occurring in the calculation portion is suppressed in the minimum value calculation portion because, when surrounding motion detection signals therein are lower than the motion detection signal of the pixel under attention, the motion detection signal of the pixel under attention is replaced with the lower value.

Abstract: An adaptive quantizing apparatus and method in HDTV according to the invention is capable of modifying a quantization spacing for the individual blocks to be processed in accordance with the human visual system, such as motion, complicatedness, brightness, etc. of a picture. To this end, a picture portion which is prone to present any conspicuous visual undesirable effects is tracked down and assigned a modified bit rate so that a bit rate is lowered for a picture portion where such undesirable effects, if they occur, should not be very conspicuous, decreasing the probability of enhancing the subject picture quality.

Abstract: A monitoring method for moving vehicles allows the presence of danger to be determined from the magnitude of an optical flow vector. The optical flow vector is detected as a movement of a single point on an object taken over two images, with one image taken at a preceding time and the other image taken at succeeding time in a series of images. A long and narrow window set in a radial direction from a focus of expansion (FOE) of the earlier image is moved in the same direction on the latter image. An optical flow vector of a target point is defined by a vector connecting the midpoint of a location of a subsequent window and the midpoint of a location at which the long and narrow window is set in the earlier image. The location of the subsequent window is determined by minimizing the sum of absolute values of differences in luminance between the long and narrow window and an area of the latter image overlapping such long and narrow window.

Abstract: An apparatus for generating a quantization parameter for use in controlling a quantizer quantization size for use in the quantization of a video frame signal, which comprises: a first calculation circuit for receiving the video frame signal and calculating the variance of the entire video frame signal; a video slice generator for receiving the video frame signal and dividing the video frame signal into a predetermined array of video slices; a second calculation circuit for receiving the predetermined array of video slices and sequentially calculating the variance of each of the video slices; a third calculation circuit for receiving the variance of the entire video frame signal and the variance of the each of the video slices and calculating the spatial activity of each of the video slices; and a quantization control circuit, in response to the spatial activity of each of the video slices, for generating an adjusted quantization parameter corresponding to each of the video slices in order to perform a fine qu

Abstract: Autostereoscopic imaging is achieved by acquiring succession of first and second image frames from at least two different points of view, and image processing the first and second image frames, such that progressively different partial images of at least focussed and converged subject images in the second image frames are substituted for corresponding subject partial images in the first image frames in repeating sequence on a corresponding image frame-by-image frame basis to create a succession of composite image frames. Two-dimensional display of the resulting succession of composite image frames is perceivable in three-dimensional illusion.

Abstract: A video signal compressor includes apparatus for generating motion vectors for respective blocks of video data. Motion vectors, other than those which provide direction to co-located blocks in other frames, are determined to be candidates for conversion to vectors which do provide direction to co-located blocks. However, conversion is precluded if the vector is determined to be correlated with one of the neighboring motion vectors.

Abstract: An improved method for determining optimum motion vectors of video signals employs a similarity measurement between a search block in a current frame and each of a plurality of candidate blocks included in a corresponding search region in a previous frame along with a spatial correlation measurement between pixel data in each of error signals generated from the search block and the candidate blocks. The method comprises the steps of providing error signals, calculating an error function and index of correlation for each of said error signals, and generating a motion vector corresponding to an optimum error signal determined based on error functions and indices of correlation of the error signals.