Abstract: A dynamic range (D-range) compression apparatus that uses a look-up table (LUT) is capable of dynamic compression that compresses the peak input value to the full output range, even when image signals with variable D-ranges are inputted. According to this D-range compression apparatus, D-range compression processing that places the D-range of the image signal within a predetermined output D-range is performed by the visual processing unit converting the tone of the image signal in accordance with the surrounding average luminance signal. Furthermore, with this D-range compression apparatus, the image signal is amplified in accordance with amplification input/output conversion characteristics determined based on the peak value in the image detected by the peak detection unit, and therefore it is possible to perform a dynamic amplification processing in accordance with the peak value so that the D-range of the image signal outputted from the visual processing unit becomes a predetermined output D-range.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus for capturing a moving image performs backlight correction of an image and outputs a natural image. The imaging apparatus electronically captures an image of a subject. An optical system has a light amount adjustment function. An imaging unit reads an optical image of the subject that is formed by the optical system. An A/D converter subjects an output of the imaging unit to A/D conversion. A backlight correction unit converts the tones of an image read by the A/D converter using a conversion characteristic selected differently according to a spatial position and at least increases the luminance level of a dark region of the image. An instruction unit instructs to start backlight correction. A control unit operates the backlight correction unit based on an instruction signal output from the instruction unit, and decreases an exposure light amount of the optical system by a predetermined amount.

Abstract: A visual processing device, display device, visual processing method, program, and integrated circuit with which it is possible to inhibit side effect even if an image that has sharp edge regions or a special image has been input, and with a simple configuration it is possible to change the strength of the visual processing of the image in real-time, are provided. A spatial processing portion (2) creates an unsharp signal US from an input signal IS. A target level setting portion (4) sets a predetermined target level value L for setting a range in which to adjust the strength of the visual processing. An effect adjustment portion (5) creates a synthesized signal MUS by synthesizing the predetermined target level value L and the unsharp signal US in accordance with an effect adjustment signal MOD that has been set externally. A visual processing portion (3) outputs an output signal OS in accordance with the input signal IS and the synthesized signal MUS.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus of correcting the color of a specific range of a pixel signal for each pixel included in an input image signal, comprises an intensity determination means of generating a correction intensity that is small on the periphery of the color region of the specific range on the basis of two chromaticity signals excluding a luminance component and large in the vicinity of the nearly central portion of the range in the pixel signal, a target color setting means of setting a target color depending on which the pixel signal is corrected, a correction degree setting means of setting correction degree by also using information, other than pixel information, included in the pixel signal, and a correction means of making the image signal close to the target color depending on the correction intensity output from the intensity determination means and the correction degree output from the correction degree setting means.

Abstract: To provide a multiplexing method which facilitates a reproduction process and reduces unpleasantness felt by a viewer about image quality. The multiplexing method includes: a step of judging whether or not a clip to be coded should be coded as part of a continuous reproduction unit in which bitstreams are structured so as to allow continuous reproduction (S100); a step of determining a color space that is common within the continuous reproduction unit when it is judged that the clip should be coded as part of the continuous reproduction unit (S110); a step of generating bitstreams by coding the clip to be coded according to a determined color space (S112); and a step of packet-multiplexing bitstreams (S118).

Abstract: It is possible to inhibit artifacts, even when a special image has been input. The visual processing device of the invention is provided with a spatial processing portion (10) that extracts surrounding image information US from an image signal IS that is input, a special image detection portion (40) that outputs a special image effect adjustment signal DS according to a degree of the statistical bias of the image signal IS, a continuous changing portion (50) that outputs an effect adjustment signal MOD in which the special image effect adjustment signal DS is continuously changed between frames, an effect adjustment portion (20) that outputs a synthesized signal MUS in which the effect of the visual processing is differed depending on the effect adjustment signal MOD, and a visual processing portion (30) that outputs a processed signal OS that is obtained by visually processing the image signal IS based on the image signal IS and the synthesized signal MUS.

Abstract: A natural white balance is achieved in images that are captured while emitting a flash. A WB adjustment portion is provided with a mixture ratio calculation portion that estimates a mixture ratio of an external light component and a flashed light component that are present in an image that is captured with emitting a flash, from the image obtained that is captured while emitting a flash and an image signal that is obtained without emitting a flash, an external light WB coefficient determination portion that determines an WB coefficient for the external light, a flashed light WB coefficient setting portion that sets a WB coefficient for the flashed light, and a WB processing portion that continuously performs WB processing on the image captured while emitting a flash by using the mixture ratio as an interpolation ratio.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus estimates a distance based on a reflectance value of a subject estimated with improved precision. An illumination unit illuminates a subject with illumination light. An imaging unit captures a plurality of images each under a different condition of the illumination unit. An illumination light element obtaining unit obtains an image formed with an element of the illumination light from the plurality of images. A reflectance estimation unit eliminates illumination variations from one of the plurality of images or from the image formed with the illumination light element, and estimates a reflectance of the subject corresponding to each pixel. A distance information estimation unit estimates a distance to the subject corresponding to each pixel based on the image formed with the illumination light element and the reflectance of the subject.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus appropriately captures a large dynamic range image of even a scene including a backlit person with a blue sky background in a manner that the person's face has an appropriate luminance level without saturating the background sky. In the imaging apparatus, an imaging unit obtains analogue image signals through exposure control that prevents a highlight from being saturated, an A/D converter converts the analogue image signals to digital image signals, and a signal processing unit linearly increases the dynamic range of the digital image signals. The image signals with the increased dynamic range are nonlinearly compressed to have a dynamic range of 100% or less through nonlinear dynamic range compression that intensively compresses a highlight portion. The imaging apparatus with this structure first increases the dynamic range of an image and efficiently compresses the increased large dynamic range of the image.

Abstract: An aim of the invention is to achieve an image processing method that performs color information correction of an image more naturally with a simple configuration. The image processing method of the invention is an image processing method that performs color information correction of image data that have been input, and includes an information calculation step (S11), a characteristic calculation step (S12), a color information correction step (S13), and an output step (S14). The information calculation step (S11) calculates the color information of the image data. The characteristic calculation step (S12) calculates the visual characteristic information in accordance with the color information. The color information correction step (S13) corrects the color information based on the visual characteristic information that is calculated in the characteristic calculation step (S12).

Abstract: A method for time-division multiplexing including steps of generating a plurality of first signals and a plurality of second signals to which specific pulse trains for frame synchronization are allocated respectively; generating low speed signals of plural channels including the first and second signals and transmission signals; a conversion step; and time-division multiplexing the low speed signals after the conversion step, thereby obtaining high speed signals. When applied to SDH, for example, the first and second signals may be A1 bytes and A2 bytes respectively, and the transmission signals may ho payload signals. According to one aspect of the invention, at the conversion step, the first and second signals in each channel are panty convened into either of “1/0” alternating signals and “0/1” alternating signals. Consequently, it becomes possible to reduce the number of successive same code and to diminish the deviation of the mark rate.

Abstract: The invention provides a visual processing device that has a hardware configuration that does not depend on the visual processing to be achieved. A visual processing device 1 is provided with a spatial processing portion 2 and a visual processing portion 3. The spatial processing portion 2 performs predetermined processing with respect to an input signal IS that has been received as input, and outputs the result as an unsharp signal US. The visual processing portion 3 outputs an output signal OS, which is the input signal IS after visual processing, based on a two-dimensional LUT 4 that lists the relationship between the input signal IS that has been received as input and the unsharp signal US, and the output signal OS.

Abstract: In order to avoid a load change which occurs when seam O passes by the heads affect image information, a dyeing layer transfer head and recording heads are located in equal intervals having length P, which is obtained by equally dividing an entire circumference K of a recording intermediate belt by n (n is integer), and, given that the position of the seam of the recording intermediate belt, which does not have an end obtained by coupling two ends of a belt body of a band shape, is origin O, images are formed in portions except for portions at origin O, or at a distance of 1×P, 2×P, . . . (n?1)×P from origin O. In this way, it is possible to prevent deterioration in the image quality, such as a stripe line in an image formed by an image forming apparatus.

Abstract: The grayscale of an input signal is converted without amplifying noise components thereof. A grayscale conversion portion 100 performs grayscale conversion on an input signal IS to create a converted signal TS, a noise reduction degree determining portion 200 determines a noise reduction degree NR that expresses a strength of noise reduction processing to be applied to the converted signal based on the input signal IS and the converted signal TS, and a noise reducing portion 300 executes noise reduction processing on the converted signal TS based on the noise reduction degree NR. By doing this, it is possible to convert the grayscale of the input signal without enhancing the noise.

Abstract: When a shutter button of a digital camera is pressed, a picture signal fetched from a CCD is converted to a digital signal and compressed and written into a nonvolatile memory means like a flash memory card as a picture file which can be identified uniquely. A user can produce a control file for controlling print processing, display processing, transmission processing and the like for the picture file by selecting a particular picture file using an operation key. If multi-screen print is carried out on a printer unit, a vertical direction of each picture is unified. Further, upon reprint operation for multiple order persons, sorting work after the print is facilitated by providing with an identification means for identifying each order person.

Abstract: The invention provides a visual processing device that has a hardware configuration that does not depend on the visual processing to be achieved. A visual processing device 1 is provided with a spatial processing portion 2 and a visual processing portion 3. The spatial processing portion 2 performs predetermined processing with respect to an input signal IS that has been received as input, and outputs the result as an unsharp signal US. The visual processing portion 3 outputs an output signal OS, which is the input signal IS after visual processing, based on a two-dimensional LUT 4 that lists the relationship between the input signal IS that has been received as input and the unsharp signal US, and the output signal OS.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide an image processing device with which color processing can be adjusted with ease. An image processing device (10) is provided with a processing degree setting portion (18), a profile creation portion (15), and a color processing execution portion (16). The processing degree setting portion (18) sets a target degree of color processing with regard to at least two properties of a plurality of properties of an image signal (d2), as a single target processing degree (d8). The profile creation portion (15) creates a color transformation profile for performing color processing at the target processing degree (d8), based on the target processing degree (d8) that has been set by the processing degree setting portion (18) and a plurality of base color transformation profiles for performing the color processing to differing degrees.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image processing device with which the storage capacity for storing lookup tables can be reduced while allowing the degree to which various color processing operations are performed to be freely adjusted. The image processing device 10 performs color processing of an image signal d2, and is provided with a profile creation portion 15 and a color processing execution portion 16. The profile creation portion 15 creates a new color transformation profile that achieves a predetermined color processing to a predetermined degree of processing based on a plurality of base color transformation profiles that achieve the predetermined color processing to different degrees of processing. The color processing execution portion 16 executes color processing of the image signal d2 based on the new color transformation profile that has been created.

Abstract: It is an object of the invention to obtain an image having a better visual effect for the person who will view the visually processed image. A visual processing device 910 comprises an output portion 914 and a transformation portion 915. The output portion 914 outputs a luminance adjustment parameter P2 based on a parameter P1 expressing the ambient light. The transformation portion 915 transforms a luminance of a target pixel based on the luminance adjustment parameter P2 that is output by the output portion 914, a luminance of the target pixel to be subjected to visual processing, and a luminance of surrounding pixels positioned in an area around the target pixel.

Abstract: The invention achieves a visual processing device that can execute precise contrast adjustment on image signals that have been input and that does not cause discrepancies in the output timing of the image signals that are output. The visual processing device is provided with a gain-type visual processing portion that outputs a first gain signal having predetermined gain characteristics with respect to the input image signal, and a correction portion that corrects the input image signal based on the first gain signal.