Abstract: A MPEG table data structure includes a data portion and a header. The header includes an action identifier field, and the action identifier field relates to data that identifies an action to be carried by a receiver/decoder receiving the MPEG table data structure.

Abstract: A method for converting a sequence of electronically captured images into a sequence of modified images for providing the appearance of images captured by a film reproduction system. The film reproduction system being includes motion picture negative film printed onto a motion picture print film that is displayed, or a reversal motion picture system in which the reversal film is displayed, or a motion picture film electro-optically scanned to standard format video by a telecine and further displayed, or a motion picture film electro-optically scanned by a scanner suitable for producing digital data intended for additional digital image manipulation. A digital master is prepared from the aforementioned film formats for electronic distribution or recording out to another film to be used as a printing master for producing distribution optical prints for theatrical projection.

Abstract: A method and system of motion estimation for video data compression is disclosed. Individual frames of video data are divided into blocks of pixels. One frame is searched to find a block of pixels that matches intensity with the block of pixels from a second frame. In one embodiment, a motion estimator performs a rhombus shaped search of progressively smaller range for a matching block of pixels. In one embodiment, prediction motion vector is used to reduce the search efforts. In one embodiment, the actual shape of the rhombus can be adjusted to the type of motion expected.

Abstract: A method of transcoding from H.263 coded video frames to H.261 coded video frames, the method comprising for each INTER coded macro block (MB) of each frame, determining whether a component of the motion vector (MV) of the MB has a half pixel value, if yes, carrying out a MV search using the current H.263 decoded MB and a previous decoded frame to determine a new MV, the MV search being restricted to the vicinity of the H.263 coded MV, and coding the MB into an H.261 format using the new MV.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a system and method for tracking objects, such as customers in a retail environment. The invention is divided into two distinct software subsystems, the Customer Tracking system and the Track Analysis system. The Customer Tracking System tracks individuals through multiple cameras and reports various types of information regarding the tracking function, such as location by time and real world coordinates. The Track Analysis system converts individual tracks to reportable actions. Inputs to the Customer Tracking System are a set of analog or digital cameras that are positioned to view some physical environment. The output of the Customer Tracking System is a set of customer tracks that contain time and position information that describe the path that an individual took through the environment being monitored.

Abstract: A method for making a mode decision in video coding. The method includes collecting a first portion of video data and labeling the first portion of video data with an optimal mode. The method also includes identifying a feature of the first portion of video data corresponding to the optimal mode and making a mode decision for a second portion of the video data based on a value of the feature in the second portion of the video.

Abstract: Summarization of video content including football.

Abstract: An omni-directional camera array that is very small and unobtrusive and allows for higher pixel resolution for the face of meeting participants sitting or standing around a conference room table, as would be typical in a video conferencing situation. The camera system of the invention uses N cameras and an N sided mirror to capture images of the surrounding scene. The cameras are arranged to have a small distance between their virtual centers of projection. The images from the N cameras are stitched together to create a 360-degree panorama using a calibration surface. To stitch the images together in real-time, a static image stitcher is used, which stitches images together perfectly for objects on a calibration surface. The calibration surface is typically defined by the boundary of the table the camera is sitting on.

Abstract: A security camera system is provided. Several video cameras operate in conjunction with an image display monitor, a user control and camera selector means whereby a target of interest may be followed. Each two cameras providing adjacent areas of coverage are operable to provide an overlay image portion at transition regions of a displayed image. Upon movement of the target of interest to a specified transition region of a currently displayed image provided by one video camera, the camera selection means is operable to select a second camera whereby to maintain target display continuity by the monitor.

Abstract: A method for reducing or eliminating coding artifacts in video pictures processed using intra block prediction methods, for example, according to the H.264 standard. The causes of the coding artifacts are identified to be the intra prediction modes with prediction directions that are not in the direction of the raster scan. Filtering the affected blocks with a simple one-dimensional spatial filter will reduce or even eliminate these coding artifacts.

Abstract: A method encodes a video by first measuring a variance of pixel intensities in a current frame. A number of bits to encode the current frame is assigned according to rate and buffer fullness constraints. A multiplier value is determined directly as a function of only the variance and the number of bits assigned to the current frame. Motion vectors between a reference frame and the current frame are estimated, and a sum of absolute difference (SAD) is based on a motion compensated residual between the reference frame and the current frame. An encoding mode is determined for each macro block in the current frame based on the sum of absolute difference, the motion vectors and the multiplier value. Then, the motion compensated residual is encoded based on the encoding mode, multiplier value and the number of allocated bits.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for rate control for a constant-bit-rate finite-buffer-size video encoder is described. Rate control is provided by adjusting the size of non-intra frames based on the size of intra frames. A sliding window approach is implemented to avoid excessive adjustment of non-intra frames located near the end of a group of pictures. A measurement of “power” based on a sum of absolute values of pixel values is used. The “power” measurement is used to adjust a global complexity value, which is used to adjust the sizes of frames. The global complexity value responds to scene changes. An embodiment of the invention calculates and uses L1 distances and pixel block complexities to provide rate control. An embodiment of the invention implements a number of bit predictor block. Predictions may be performed at a group-of-pictures level, at a picture level, and at a pixel block level. An embodiment of the invention resets a global complexity parameter when a scene change occurs.

Abstract: This invention relates to a stereo imaging system for use in telerobotic systems. A method of imaging a target site in a stereo imaging system is provided. The method typically includes capturing a right and a left optical image of the target site and transforming the right and the left optical images preferably into digital information. The method further includes converting the digital information into opposed images of the target site displayed on a stereo display of the stereo imaging system, one of the opposed images being associated with the right optical image and the other of the opposed images being associated with the left optical image. The method further includes regulating the digital information to cause the positions of the target site displayed on the opposed images to change relative to each other.

Abstract: An information collecting unit reads encoded moving image data from an information storing unit, decodes part of the moving image data, extracts the number and the magnitudes of motion vectors, the square measure of a region having a low correlation with a preceding/succeeding frame, etc. for each frame, and outputs these items of scene change information to an evaluation function calculating unit. The evaluation function calculating unit calculates the value of a predetermined evaluation function based on the scene change information, and outputs the calculated value to a scene change determining unit. The scene change determining unit determines a frame of a scene change by making a comparison between the calculated value and a threshold value. A scene change information storing unit stores the scene change information used for the determination.

Abstract: Motion vectors encode for differences between segments of a reference frame and pixels of a current frame being encoded when the current frame is a nonkey frame. The motion vectors are encoded by grouping one or more segments of the frame into a group of segments, generating a group motion vector for the group of segments and one or more local motion vectors, wherein a local motion vector corresponds to a segment in the one or more segments and specifies a change for the segment relative to the motion vector for the group of segments and encoding the motion vector and one or more local motion vectors. The group motion vector can be determined based on a relationship between the motion vectors for the one or more segments. The grouping can be hierarchical. The motion vectors can represent translation, z-ordering, deformation, and/or lighting data.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus of picture display. The invention displays the first picture and the second picture and displaying at least one virtual picture in between the first and the second picture. The motion compensator is included in a DVD player. The method includes: decoding the first and the second pictures from the received bit-stream; creating the virtual picture parameter according to the transition effect; and generating the virtual picture according to the virtual picture parameter by the motion compensator.

Abstract: A process and a system is described for generating an MPEG output bitstream starting from an MPEG input bitstream. The output bitstream has a resolution modified with respect to the resolution of the input bitstream. In the input bitstream, first portions that substantially do not affect and second portions that do affect resolution variation are distinguished. The second portions are then subjected to a function of modification of the resolution obtained by filtering the second portions in a domain of the discrete cosine transform, and then are transferred to the output bitstream. A corresponding computer program product is also provided.

Abstract: A data transmitting apparatus includes a sensor. When an alarm is generated from the sensor, a post-alarm recording is started, and a plurality of still image files are written to an alarm storage area of an SDRAM by a memory control circuit. The still image files within the alarm storage area are transmitted to an image accumulating server through an NIC during a period from occurrence of the alarm to becoming full of the alarm storage area. Furthermore, still image files created in a normal recording after the post-alarm recording are intermittently transmitted to the image accumulating server at an arbitrary file transmission cycle. The still image files which have not been transmitted yet out of the still image files in the alarm storage area are transmitted to the image accumulating server at intervals of the file transmission operations in the normal recording mode.

Abstract: An electronic endoscope apparatus has a single coaxial cable installed between a scope A and a processor unit B. Waveform superimposing circuits superimpose a video signal on power transmitted through the coaxial cable and sequentially superimpose scope-side reference pulses and processor-side reference pulses alternately on horizontal scanning blanking periods in one field of the video signal. At the same time, the scope A and processor unit B generate reference signals and various timing signals synchronized with the reference pulses of the counterpart and perform video processing based on them. This enables accurate sampling even when scopes with different pixel counts are used. Also, a scope information signal and electronic shutter control signal may be superimposed on a predetermined blanking period in the video signal.

Abstract: A remote operation system includes a server and a client. In the server, a video-audio data conversion-into-common-format section converts data in a format unique to application software into data in a common format. A video-audio distributing section outputs audio-accompanying video data and moving-picture area data from the data in the common format. A section, which processes the transmission of the data of audio-accompanying moving-picture, adds a synchronizing data to video data and audio data, thereby obtaining a data stream. A video-audio data converting section outputs data including the moving-picture area data, operation-related audio display data. A remote control section outputs this data and the data stream. The client controls the application software of the server in response to an operation related to the video and the audio obtained from those data.