Abstract: A method of controlling a dish washer includes performing a wash cycle for washing dishes with wash liquid and performing a rinse cycle for rinsing the washed dishes. Cold water is supplied to a sump after completion of the rinse cycle, the cold water lowering the temperature with a tub. After completion of supplying the cold water, a drying cycle for drying an inside of the tub is performed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating a thumbnail image are provided so that the out-of-focus (OOF) information can be ascertained from looking at the thumbnail. An input image is decoded, and a degree of the amount of OOF of the decoded image is measured (OOF information). There is a determination as to whether or not there is an EXchangeable Image File (EXIF) information about the input image. In the presence of EXIF information, a thumbnail image is extracted from the EXIF information and as much an OOF effect is applied to the thumbnail image in accordance with the degree of OOF. In the absence of the EXIF information, a thumbnail image is generated by scaling down the decoded image at a down scaler and applying as much of an OOF effect is applied to the thumbnail image in accordance with the degree of OOF.

Abstract: Disclosed is a selective frame error concealment method for a moving picture frame, the method including the steps of determining if an erroneous frame corresponds to one among a predetermined number of frames received after an I frame when the erroneous frame is received during reception of moving picture frames, determining if the number of consecutive erroneous frames is greater than a threshold value when the erroneous frame does not correspond to one among the predetermined number of frames received after the I frame, using an error concealment technique when the number of consecutive erroneous frames is equal to or less than the threshold value; and displaying a frame, which has been received without error before the erroneous frame, until receiving a new I frame, either when the erroneous frame corresponds to one among the predetermined number of frames received after the I frame, or when the number of consecutive erroneous frames is greater than the threshold value.

Abstract: A method for estimating a boundary between a background and a user object in a video, in which the user object is segmented from the background is provided. The initial object contour is estimated in a first video frame for object segmentation, and color probability density functions are estimated for the user object and the background segmented from the first video frame. An edge strip with a predetermined width is generated in a current frame based on an object contour of a previous frame, and a coherence probability density function of the edge strip is estimated. The user object is segmented in the current frame by energy minimization.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for extracting a region-of-interest of a user in a multimedia mobile terminal. The method includes: setting a search region in an input picture input to the multimedia mobile terminal on a screen picture-to-screen picture basis, and extracting a group of boundary of a region-of-interest based on a brightness difference between the set search region and an environment around the set search region; determining boundary coordinates of the region-of-interest through learning during a predetermined frame among the extracted group of boundary coordinate candidates; and enlarging the region-of-interest having the determined boundary coordinates, and displaying the enlarged region-of-interest. As a result, a region the user is most interested in or pays more attention to than other regions on a screen is automatically extracted.

Abstract: Provided is a data receiving device and method for shortening a channel switching time in a DMB system. The device includes a CDM channel for receiving a broadcasting signal from a DMB satellite, demodulating the broadcast signal, and generating a MPEG2-TS packet. a GOP buffer for receiving the MPEG2-TS packet, checking whether or not the received MPEG2-TS packet is a key frame, and, when it is determined that the received MPEG2-TS packet is the key frame, initializing the buffer and storing the received MPEG2-TS packet as a GOP unit, a channel switch for switching a channel of a DMB service to the GOP buffer, an A/V reproducing buffer for buffering a predetermined amount of A/V data to reproduce the A/V data of the GOP buffer; and an A/V decoder for receiving and decoding the A/V data.

Abstract: Provided are methods and apparatuses for coding a motion vector by a multimedia image codec. The method including: calculating and storing difference vectors which represent differences between adjacent motion vectors of image data; selecting a central axis of the stored difference vectors based on trend information of the difference vectors; transforming the difference vectors based on the central axis of the difference vectors; and performing bit coding using the axis-transformed difference vectors.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for estimating the contour of a user object in a moving picture during video communications so that a personal background image is not provided during video communications. Information about center coordinates as well as a size of a face of the user object is extracted from a moving picture frame. Edges are extracted from the moving picture frame, and a boundary of a head of the user object is estimated using a semicircle. The boundaries of left and right shoulders and left and right arms of the user object are estimated using second-order function graphs that overlap a largest portion of the edges. An entire contour of the user object is estimated according to the boundaries of the head, the left and right shoulders, and the left and right arms of the user object.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for decoding video data that is encoded by bit rate control to keep a bandwidth of a bit stream in a predetermined range are provided. The encoded video data is decoded, picture quality estimation information is estimated, the estimation including information about a bit stream size of a decoded video frame, the number of fragmented macro blocks included in the video frame, and the number of skip-mode macro blocks included in the video frame, the picture quality of the video data is determined based on a correlation between picture quality estimation information and SNR, and the video data is output by applying a picture quality improving algorithm to the video data, if the determined picture quality is lower than a predetermined level.

Abstract: A ring-shaped wireless input device for providing an indication of a scroll direction includes a housing having a ring shape, a wheel rotatably installed on the housing, a first sensor unit, that has first and second sections alternatively disposed along a circumference of the wheel and rotated along with the wheel, and a wireless communication unit which is fixedly disposed in the housing, and includes a second sensor unit arranged with the first sensor unit, the communication unit sending a scroll signal indicating an arranged state of the first sensor with regard to the second sensor to the host device.

Abstract: An apparatus for reproduction of an image frame in an image receiving system is disclosed. The apparatus includes a demultiplexer for restoring a received signal to a decodable bitstream and generating start information of each image frame of the bitstream, and an image decoder for decoding the bitstream restored by the demultiplexer, thereby generating a reproducible I frame or P frame, which is an image frame; an image reproduction time uniformity processing module for buffering each image frame output from the image decoder, and then outputting the buffered I frame or P frame while delaying the I frame or P frame based on the start information of each image frame provided by the demultiplexer according to a preset delay time. The present delay time has been preset to be greater than a processing time period required for decoding of an I frame and to be less than a time interval between image frames in the image bitstream.

Abstract: Disclosed is an H.264 decoder equipped with multiple operation units, and a method for decoding compressed image data using same. The decoder comprises a plurality of operation units that successively perform a Variable Length Decoding (VLD) operation, an Inverse Transform & DeQuantization (ITDQ) operation, and an intra PREDiction & inter PREDiction (PRED) operation with respect to a macroblock for which each operation unit is to perform a decoding operation, on receiving information on a macroblock, for which each operation unit is to carry out the decoding operation, with reference to a synchronization information storage unit.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for error concealment in decoding of a moving picture. The method includes the steps of determining an erroneous macro block in a present frame when the moving picture is decoded, finding a first macro block having a highest similarity to the erroneous macro block and a second macro block having a next highest similarity to the erroneous block in a previous frame by comparing adjacent pixels of respective blocks in the previous frame with adjacent pixels of the erroneous block in the present frame; and replacing the erroneous block by using an average between the found macro blocks having the highest similarity and the second highest similarity to thereby conceal the erroneous macro block. The apparatus includes a parser, an entropy decoder, an inverse quantizer, an inverse converter, and a concealment unit that uses motion compensation from a previous frame to correct a macro block in a current frame.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for interpolating chrominance signals in a video encoder and a decoder. The method includes the steps of accessing a memory unit to load an integer pixel value with regard to a plurality of motion compensation blocks, searching for a location of a motion vector s to perform sub-pixel interpolation of chrominance signals regarding the blocks and performing ¼ sub-pixel interpolation by row-based and column-based shifting when the motion vector indicates a ¼ location pixel with regard to the blocks. Also disclosed is an apparatus for performing the interpolating method described and a computer program product which when loaded into a computer system performs the interpolating method described.

Abstract: A deblocking filtering method for image data and a deblocking filter. According to the deblocking filtering method for image data and the deblocking filter, when computation of Boundary Strength (BS) values for each boundary based on one of horizontal and vertical directions from input image data is completed, it is possible to estimate BS values for each boundary based on a direction different from the currently selected direction by using the computed BS values. Further, deblocking filtering is performed based on corresponding directions according to the estimated values, so that the deblocking filtering can be completely performed with only a BS value of boundaries based on a selected one direction. Consequently, a BS value computation process necessarily required in a deblocking filtering process can be considerably reduced, and thus time required in the operation process of a deblocking filter can also be considerably reduced.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for reproducing data are provided. The method and apparatus involve receiving a first signal for marking a desired reproduction position in media data; storing reproduction information for reproducing the media data from the desired reproduction position without searching for reference data in the media data; and reproducing the media data by using the reproduction information if a second signal is received so as to request the media data to be reproduced from the desired reproduction position.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for accessing a memory for processing moving pictures, which loads data from a frame buffer of an external memory, and uses a motion prediction technique. The method includes the steps of: loading, from the frame buffer, pixels of a relevant block of 8×8 size and extra pixel data necessary for an inter prediction while performing the inter prediction of a block of an 8×8 size following division of a macroblock, storing the pixels of the relevant block size of 8×8 and the extra pixel data in an internal cache memory. The stored pixels of the relevant block size of 8×8 and the stored extra pixel data are used; and then the stored pixels of the relevant block size of 8×8 and the stored extra pixel data stored in the cache memory are re-used during an inter prediction of the relevant block size of 8×8 and sub-blocks.

Abstract: A method and apparatus that display information about content as a thumbnail. The thumbnail may be an image that represents the content, and the thumbnail may be generated to include first and second portions based on information about the content. The information on the content may indicate a point of progress within the content, and the first and second portions may represent time segments of the content, occurring before and after the point of progress, and the first and second portions may be distinguishably displayed from each other to convey the point of progress to a user.

Abstract: Provided is a multichannel video reception apparatus of a mobile communication terminal for digital broadcasting. An RF processor receives a broadcast signal of a digital broadcast service via an antenna. A baseband processor processes the received broadcast signal in a baseband. A controller controls the RF processor and the baseband processor to receive the broadcast signal including video frames of a main channel and a sub-channel. A memory stores a program code, reference data, and updatable user data, for an operation of the controller. A video processor receives the video frames of the main channel and the sub-channel, decodes the latest key frame of the sub-channel if a key frame of the main channel occurs while decoding the video frames of the main channel, and after decoding the key frame of the sub-channel, decodes the frames of the main channel. A display divides the decoded video signal into a main-channel image and a sub-channel image and separately displays the images.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for depacketization of multimedia packet data, the method comprising: a context-aware step of parsing and recording a start code, which can identify each frame, in a first portion of a payload of a real-time transport protocol (RTP) packet; and a step of performing depacketization according to each packet by using the start code.