Abstract: Edge information sensitive to a visual characteristic is efficiently stored, block artifacts are reduced, and highly efficient compression is accomplished by an image compressing method.

Abstract: An encoding method is provided with which users can select picture quality and a quantity of data in multiple stages and with which an image of higher picture quality can be regenerated by scalable selection, i.e., by further adding data to compressed data that can be decoded. Image data is compressed using: means (62) for segmenting an original image into a plurality of object regions where each region pixels all correlate with one another and for determining a hierarchical structure of the object regions; means (63) for approximating each of the object regions with at least one polygonal surface so that errors of a intensity of luminance and chrominances in each the pixel are less than a predetermined threshold value; means (64) for obtaining residual images by subtracting the approximated image from the original image or by subtracting a decompressed image of a compressed nth-order residual image from the original nth-order residual image; means (65) for compressing the nth-order residual image (n.gtoreq.

Abstract: A storage stores n-dimensional information, n being an integer greater than or equal to three. A display displays an icon which is provided with a central region and a peripheral region surrounding the central region, and displays information, among the n-dimensional information stored in the storage, corresponding to a given displayed region within a two-dimensional cross-section formed in two predetermined dimensions, and displays a cursor. A selector positions the cursor at a desired area of the icon and selects the desired area.

Abstract: The invention relates to searching for a desired data item within a group of data. Representative samples among a group of data to be searched are displayed, and two representative samples in display are selected to specify a new area of data to be searched. Thus, the portion of the data is bracketed and narrowed down, and the desired data item is found quickly and efficiently.

Abstract: A scene information editor 12 extracts, for a plurality of scenes, still image data on the representative frames of scenes from a representative frame file, and arranges the still images along with a time axis and in chronological order along a time axis for display on the screen of a display. For the time period corresponding to the part of the time axis specified by a user, the editor extracts motion image data from an LD and displays the motion image data on a TV monitor. The scene information editor also extracts the information given to those scenes from a scene information file 21 and graphically displays the information on the screen of the display 14 at the same time. When the user inputs an edit command, the scene information editor executes it for the edit scene information file 21.

Abstract: A method for storing and managing motion video image information for retrieving scenes of interest in a short time from a many-hour motion video image stored in a recording medium. As motion video image information for managing and retrieving a motion video image, a whole motion video image R is hierarchically divided into frame sequences A, A1, A11 . . . of shorter time according to the construction and the semantic contents thereof, and logical frame structure data representing the hierarchical relationship of the frame sequences, attribute data At of the frame sequences, and still video images rf of representative frames are generated, which are associated with each other to create a data file. Retrieval of a motion video image is performed by extracting frame sequences using the attribute data and logical frame structure as retrieval keys for the data file of the motion video image information, and confirming the contents using the still video image rf of the representative frames.

Abstract: A color image region management system suitable for retrieving a region having a specified color. Color class is determined for each picture element of image data in which the color data of each picture element is expressed by a trichromatic system. In the trichromatic system, it is determined to which color class the color of the picture element belongs of a plurality of color classes divided on the basis of a perceptual color system. There is a color index memory for constructing tree structure data reaching a root node with blocks each including at least one picture element as a leaf node, and calculating, for each node in the tree structure data and for each color class in regards to the picture elements included in the node, the frequency of picture elements having a color belonging to the color class. The calculated frequency of the picture elements is stored as a color index for each color class.