Abstract: Systems and methods for optimizing properties of objects within a scene or achieve a visual goal.

Abstract: A playback terminal (10) prevents a problem that content cannot be viewed because of a time adjustment carelessly made to a clock by a user.

Abstract: A method of recording an encoded bit stream that represents video objects includes recording a collection of contiguously arranged video objects and management information about recorded video objects. The collection is partitioned into adjacent recordings that represent playable titles, where a playable title is defined as a playback sequence of all complete cells or a subset of complete cells of a recording in the order of allocation within the video object storage area on the disc. The method further includes generating a title list of titles sorted in the order of arrangement within the video object area on the disc. The method further includes defining a free space title that represents free space within the video object area and includes the free space title in the title list.

Abstract: A method includes reading selected portions of video content from a digital versatile disk (“DVD”), said selected portions of video content separated by periods of time to provide a fast forward or rewind mode; generating a transport stream of transport stream packets containing said selected portions of video content; and in response to detecting said fast forward or rewind mode, causing a transport stream decoder to decode said transport stream packets without synchronization.

Abstract: A playback apparatus that divides the content into scenes; specifies a scene played back after a fast-forward operation or a rewind; calculates a first feature value of the scene specified by the specifying unit; divides content different from the video content into scenes and calculates second feature values, each of which corresponds to one of the scenes obtained by the second feature-value calculation unit; compares the first feature value with the second feature values and extracts a scene whose second feature value differs from the first feature value by a predetermined threshold or less; and outputs the scene extracted by the extraction unit.

Abstract: A motion estimation method includes: (A) defining one pixel in a reference image as a center of search (CS) corresponding to a target pixel set in a current image; (B) determining a center error (CE) signal; (C) defining another pixel in the reference image as a target of search (TS) with reference to the CS, one candidate search vector available for selection from a vector set, and a step size; (D) determining a target error (TE) signal; (E) determining whether to update the CS and the CE signal; (F) if determined, updating the CS, the CE signal and the vector set; (G) repeating steps (C)˜(F) using a candidate search vector selected from the vector set and the same step size until there is no candidate search vector available for selection in the vector set; (H) repeating steps (C)˜(G) using a smaller step size until a predetermined value is reached; and (I) computing a motion vector based on the target pixel set and one pixel set that includes the CS.

Abstract: Video advertising overlay technique embodiments are presented that generally detect a set of spatio-temporal nonintrusive positions within a series of consecutive video frames in shots of a digital video and then overlay contextually relevant ads on these positions. In one general embodiment, this is accomplished by decomposing the video into a series of shots, and then identifying a video advertisement for each of a selected set of the shots. The identified video advertisement is one that is determined to be the most relevant to the content of the shot. An overlay area is also identified in each of the shots, where the selected overlay area is the least intrusive among a plurality of prescribed areas to a viewer of the video. The video advertisements identified for the shots are then respectively scheduled to be overlaid in the identified overlay area of a shot, whenever the shot is played.

Abstract: The present invention provides an information embedding apparatus that is capable of preventing playback stop of a content that has been shot without intention of misuse. The information embedding apparatus comprises: an acquisition unit operable to acquire the content that is played back along the playback time-line; a watermark generating unit operable to generate the watermarks such that values held by the watermarks vary according to a first rule, the first rule showing that the values should vary according to a sequential order on the playback time-line; and an embedding unit operable to embed two or more of the watermarks into the content while keeping the sequential order.

Abstract: A recording and reproducing apparatus (100) can record information on a recording memory (111) having a recording region where a smallest unit for erasing recorded information is a block, on a unit of a cluster that is a unit smaller than the block. The recording and reproducing apparatus (100) includes: an input unit (130) that receives a request for starting or ending recording a file; and a system control unit (101) that records a header section of the file and a data section following the header section, from the beginning of the block in the recording region, when the request for starting recording is received; and updates the header section and records the updated header section on another cluster different from the cluster on which the header section before update is recorded when the request for ending recording is received.

Abstract: Disclosed is an exemplary video coder and video coding method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The exemplary video coder includes a scheduler, a plurality of processors and a multiplexer. The scheduler can examine processing units in an input buffer to determine an order for the processing unit to be coded by a processor. If the processing unit under examination depends on a processing unit not yet processed, the processing unit under examination can be merged with other processing units, if any, that share a similar dependency. If the processing unit under examination does not depend on any processing units not yet processed, it can be sent to a next available processor for coding. When a processing unit is sent to a processor, any merged processing units that depend on sent processing unit can also be sent to a next available processor.

Abstract: An information processing device includes: a block level information obtaining unit to detect a block level from the difference in pixel values between each pixel of an image and nearby pixels and to obtain distribution information wherein the block levels are accumulated for each position in a predetermined direction; a short cycle measuring unit to measure short cycle information which is the distribution information for each phase in a plurality of predetermined short cycles corresponding to a plurality of block sizes from the distribution information; and a determining unit to determine the block size corresponding to the short cycle information wherein the phase distribution takes a maximum value, of the short cycle information of the plurality of predetermined short cycles corresponding to the plurality of block sizes, as the block size in the image.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for managing long-term reference frames (LTRFs) for two or more video sources. A first video source is selected from a plurality of video sources. The first video source is encoded to produce an encoded video stream, where a reference frame message identifies a recent video frame as long-term reference frame (LTRF) associated with the first video stream. The process is repeated for other video streams. The LTRF associated with the first video stream is used as a reference for temporal predictive coding upon receiving a signal that the first video source has been re-selected.

Abstract: A video record/reproduction device provided with an inter-GOP management apparatus includes GOP detection means (15) for monitoring a multiplexed packet output by encoding and multiplexing to detect a packet including a GOP, count means (16) for counting the number of the multiplexed packets, and ATS addition means (17) for adding an ATS (Arrival Time Stamp) to the multiplexed packet. When the packets including the GOP terminate without reaching the number of packets in the predetermined packet units, the time added as the ATS is advanced by the time corresponding to the deficient number of packets.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes an encoding and decoding unit for performing a data conversion process by decoding encoded still image data acquired from an information recording medium and generating moving image encoded data based on the decoded still image data, a medium control unit for performing a data re-recording process by recording the moving image encoded data, generated by the encoding and decoding unit, on the information recording medium in a predetermined data recording format, and a controller for controlling the data conversion process of the encoding and decoding unit and the data re-recording process of the medium control unit. The controller controls the data conversion process and the data re-recording process in response to user input information as to whether to execute the data conversion process.

Abstract: A video-signal processing apparatus includes a video-signal input unit to which a video signal including multiple images arranged in a time sequential manner is input; a time-division output unit configured to output, in a time-division manner, the video signal constituting n images corresponding to the multiple images; signal processing units configured to individually perform image quality adjustments on the n images output from the time-division output unit; operation input units through which adjustment values of the image quality adjustments performed by the signal processing units are input; and image output units configured to output images that have been subjected to the image quality adjustments using the signal processing units.

Abstract: A method and related system of encoding or re-encoding video is disclosed. In the method, video data comprising a sequence of frames is received. For a respective frame in the sequence of frames, a multi-level frame is generated comprising the respective frame and a plurality of copies of the respective frame. Each copy has an associated video resolution level that is a member of a predefined range of video resolution levels, ranging from a highest video resolution level to a lowest video resolution level. The multi-level frame is encoded.

Abstract: A reproduction apparatus includes a reproduction unit that reproduces digital data selected by a user; a prediction unit that predicts a reproducible time based on remaining power of a battery and a determination unit that determines whether the digital data selected by the user can be reproduced to the end or not based on the reproducible time, wherein when the determination unit determines that the selected digital data can be reproduced to the end, the reproduction apparatus causes the reproduction unit to reproduce the selected digital data and when the determination unit determines that the selected digital data cannot be reproduced to the end, the reproduction apparatus warns that the digital data cannot be reproduced to the end.

Abstract: An apparatus for extracting spatio-temporal feature and detecting video copy based on the same in a broadcasting communication system, the apparatus includes: an original video feature extractor configured to receive an original video and extract spatio-temporal feature of the original video; an original video feature database configured to store the extracted feature; a query video feature extractor configured to receive a query video and extract spatio-temporal feature of the query video; and a feature comparison and decision unit configured to compare the spatio-temporal feature of the original video and the spatio-temporal feature of the query video and decide similarity of the original video and the query video based on the spatio-temporal features of the original video and the query video.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program provide a mechanism for intelligently synchronizing a portable video device with a digital video recorder. The intelligent synchronization handles conditions under which a complete transfer of difference content is not possible due to available storage limitations of the portable video device. The synchronization process determines a content difference between the content on the portable video device and the content on the DVR, determines available storage space on the portable video device and compares the available storage space on the portable video device to a size of the content difference. If the size of the content difference is greater than the available storage space, the size of the content difference is reduced, by compression or truncation, without completely excluding video programs from the transfer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for identifying an audiovisual document. Initially, the user programs the recording in an audiovisual content device with the aim of recording a determined document. Once the recording has been performed, the device detects and displays identifiers associated with shots extracted from the recorded content, each associated shot having at least one determined characteristic. An indication of the probability associated with each shot so that said shot is indeed the shot identifying the start or the end of said document is also displayed. Then, the user introduces a selection command for a displayed identifier, the start or the end of said document being identified by the shot associated with the selected identifier. The invention also relates to a receiver featuring a user interface implementing the method.