Abstract: A video coding apparatus carries out a compression coding of a video based on a result of predicting a motion vector predicted between frames of the video. A quantization parameter control unit comprised of the apparatus calculates a ratio of an accumulation value, in the small block, of a prediction error of a brightness component to an accumulation value, in the small block, of a prediction error of a color difference component at the time that a motion vector detection/compensation unit which carries out a motion compensation based on a prediction result of the motion vector for the small block designated in a frame of the above video as a prediction accuracy indicator of the foregoing motion vector, and carries out a control of a quantization unit executing a quantization of image information of the small block based on the prediction accuracy indicator.

Abstract: A calculating unit of an integration server calculates an optimal processing sharing ratio for image format conversion processing between the integration server and each of a plurality of video accumulation servers. A processing unit of the integration server and each of the video accumulation servers perform image format conversion processing in a distributed manner based on the processing sharing ratio. An integrating unit of the integration server integrates the multimedia data subjected to the conversion processing by each of the video accumulation servers and the multimedia data subjected to the conversion processing by the processing unit.

Abstract: Metadata wherein characteristics descriptions for respective contents are performed is stored. A search server does not send back the whole metadata for each relevant metadata responding to a search request for the metadata from the client, but sends back part thereof. Thereby, a communications volume between the search server and the client is reduced. Further, it is possible to perform browsing wherein the metadata is sequentially obtained little by little.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a compound contents delivery method capable of reducing the network transmission quantity and of distributing the system processing load. The method according to the present invention comprises a compound contents element acquisition step of, in each of contents servers, acquiring a compound contents element undergoing a conversion into an encoding format for a portable terminal in corresponding relation to a contents portion which is an object of a fetching instruction in a contents portion fetching instruction step to return it to an intermediate apparatus and a production step of, in the intermediate apparatus, combining the compound contents elements returned from the contents servers according to time series on the basis of instruction information from a management server to produce compound contents oriented to the portable terminal.

Abstract: A moving picture is played and displayed according to synchronization control description data specifying a display starting time of a moving picture in a specific period, an offset time from the head of image data to the period, and a process starting time before a starting point time of the period. At this time, the image data from the process starting time to the starting point time is obtained and played, but is not displayed on the screen.

Abstract: The multimedia electronic tag model that can be exchanged among arbitrary members, of multimedia data with time sequence, such as a dynamic image and the like, the registration of which is requested by an arbitrary client is generated in a server. In this multimedia electronic tag model, a comment with a variety of attributes, such as a comment destination, a writer user name and the like, can be inputted/displayed for each scene obtained by dividing multimedia data in terms of time.

Abstract: A data embedding device includes a dynamic image storage unit storing inter-frame prediction coded dynamic image data, an embedding data storage unit storing embedding data that is embedded into the inter-frame prediction coded dynamic image data, and an embedding unit embedding the embedding data into a rounding direction flag contained per frame data in the inter-frame prediction coded dynamic image data.

Abstract: A monitoring system includes: monitoring terminals each having a sensor and a camera providing sensor information and image data on a monitored region, each monitoring terminal sampling and transmitting the sensor information at a first interval and at a second interval longer than the first interval, respectively; a client receiving the sensor information and the image data; and a storage server storing the sensor information and the image data. The monitoring terminals, the client, and the storage server are connected via a network. Each monitoring terminal includes: a parameter management part storing a parameter for the second interval; an abnormality detection part detecting an abnormal event; and a data amount restriction part changing the second interval when the abnormality detection part detects the sampled sensor information as the abnormal event, and starting the transmission of the sampled sensor information to the client at the changed second interval.

Abstract: A copyright inspection apparatus, a copyright inspection method and recording medium on which is recorded a copyright inspection program, for inspecting the copyright of digital data on a network, which can automatically inspect the copyright of digital data provided on a network using a hyperlink for setting a reference path.

Abstract: A multimedia electronic mail system includes a multimedia data server, which stores multimedia data to transmit according to a request; a sending client having a mailer, which registers the multimedia data to the multimedia data server and indicates the identifiers of the multimedia data to a plurality of clients using an electronic mail; and a plurality of receiving clients, each of which has a mailer for receiving the electronic mail transmitted from the sending client, and obtains the multimedia data stored in the multimedia data server through a network. The multimedia data server includes retention period information on the multimedia data, and reference client information consists of identifiers of entire receiving clients which may possibly refer to the multimedia data, to control to delete the multimedia data according to the retention period information and the reference client information.

Abstract: Video coding apparatus and decoding apparatus capable of reproducing decoded pictures without introducing unwanted noises, even if any considerable difference in pixel values or discontinuity exists at a certain block boundary. In a video coding apparatus employing predictive techniques, a dequantizer and an inverse DCT processor reproduce a prediction error signal from quantized transform coefficients. Here, a first resolution conversion unit (or downsampling unit) might have subsampled the original prediction error signal to reduce its picture resolution. If this is the case, a second resolution conversion unit (or upsampling unit) attempts to restore the original resolution of the prediction error signal by applying an upsampling process to the reproduced prediction error signal having the reduced resolution. In this upsampling process, each new pixel value in a certain block are calculated with reference to some surrounding pixels.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for interframe predictive video coding and decoding which avoid the accumulation of rounding errors and thus obtain high-quality reproduced pictures. A frame memory outputs at least one reference picture to a prediction picture calculation unit, according to motion vector information with half-pel accuracy. From the reference picture(s), the prediction picture calculation unit produces a prediction picture by performing interpolation operations if the motion vector has a half-pel component. Here, each interpolated pel value is rounded off to an integer according to a particular rounding algorithm specified by a calculation controller. More specifically, the prediction picture calculation unit supports a first algorithm that rounds off the pel values toward positive infinity and a second algorithm that rounds off them toward negative infinity.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods for watermark-embedding/extracting identification information into/from picture data and apparatuses thereof. When identification information is watermark-embedded, the following steps are performed. Combinations of basis functions orthogonal each other are generated in association with each numerical signal. For each combination of the orthogonal basis functions, a weight coefficient is calculated so as to correspond to the combination of the basis functions by calculating a sum of products of values of the basis functions for pixels in the original picture data and pixel values of the pixels. For each numerical signal, a watermark-embedding function is referred, a input value is specified, and a pixel value is changed. When the identification information is extracted from the picture data, for each weight coefficient, the watermark-embedding function is referred, and the value of the watermark-embedding function is calculated for each weight coefficient.

Abstract: Video coding apparatus and decoding apparatus capable of reproducing decoded pictures without introducing unwanted noises, even if any considerable difference in pixel values or discontinuity exists at a certain block boundary. In a video coding apparatus employing predictive techniques, a dequantizer and an inverse DCT processor reproduce a prediction error signal from quantized transform coefficients. Here, a first resolution conversion unit (or downsampling unit) might have subsampled the original prediction error signal to reduce its picture resolution. If this is the case, a second resolution conversion unit (or upsampling unit) attempts to restore the original resolution of the prediction error signal by applying an upsampling process to the reproduced prediction error signal having the reduced resolution. In this upsampling process, each new pixel value in a certain block are calculated with reference to some surrounding pixels.

Abstract: A moving picture encoding system. There is provided a moving picture encoding system and method for changing the resolution of an original picture that is an object of encoding using a proper criterion, and encoding the picture while preventing deterioration of picture quality. A motion prediction/calculation means provides information of an error in prediction or of randomness of a motion vector which is calculated in the course of or as a result of motion prediction. A resolution determination means determines a resolution for the input picture to be encoded using the information. The input picture is converted into a picture having the determined resolution, and the picture resulting from the conversion is encoded and output.

Abstract: A motion picture reconstructing method includes steps of inputting motion picture data of a plurality of frames, the frames including a processed frame and a reference frame, inputting motion vectors of picture elements of each frame, region data of objects in a motion picture of each frame, and object identification data, the object identification data indicating an object among the objects which is to be removed, determining estimated values of picture elements of the processed frame by using estimated motion vectors of picture elements of the reference frame, the picture elements of the processed frame being within a region of the object, substituting the estimated values for values of the picture elements of the processed frame, and outputting the picture elements having the estimated values. Thus, providing a reconstructed motion picture of the processed frame in which the object is removed to view the concealed picture beneath the object.

Abstract: A moving image coding apparatus, a moving image decoding apparatus and a moving image coding-decoding apparatus suitable for use when a moving image is compressed and transmitted have a prediction error signal generating means for dividing an inputted image into blocks each consisting of plural pixels and computing a difference between the inputted image and a predicted image generated from a past inputted image to generate a prediction error signal, an amplitude modulating means for conducting amplitude modulation on an amplitude of each pixel of the prediction error signal at a predetermined modulation factor, a transforming means for transforming the prediction error signal having been undergone amplitude modulation in order to remove correlation among the pixels to generate a transform coefficient, a quantizing means for quantizing the generated transform coefficient, and a channel coding means for assigning a code to the quantized transform coefficient and outputting it, whereby a visually prominent erro

Abstract: A device for coding moving pictures includes a coding unit for applying intra-frame coding or inter-frame coding to the of blocks dividing each frame of the moving pictures. The device further includes a refresh-operation-control unit for controlling the coding unit to carry out the intra-frame coding as a refresh operation at predetermined intervals. The refresh-operation-control unit reschedules the predetermined intervals when the coding unit applies the intra-frame coding during one of the predetermined intervals, such that a timing of the intra-frame coding during the one of the predetermined intervals marks a start of a next one of the predetermined intervals.

Abstract: A video coding apparatus for performing predictive coding of digital video input signals. The apparatus employs a resolution selection controller that selects picture resolution to be used in coding of a source picture of a current frame, according to coding information in a previous frame. Such coding information includes quantizer step size, amount of coded data, and buffer occupancy. Before being supplied to a coding unit, the source picture is sent to a resolution converter, where the source picture is converted to gain the resolution selected by said resolution selection controller. The coding unit then encodes the source picture with the selected picture resolution.

Abstract: Control operations to access a memory changes respective priorities of the operations depending on the situation of the memory, and the operations are arbitrated and scheduled according to the respective, changed priorities, in order to avoid concentration on or rejection of a specific memory access operations and to eliminate an ineffective period. This realizes an efficient memory system without increasing the capacity of a buffer memory, the width of a memory bus, or an operating frequency.