Abstract: An image format conversion apparatus including a 3:2 pull-down detection part determining whether a current field out of plural fields continuous in time is an image of a 3:2 pull-down format produced by a 3:2 pull-down process; a scroll text/graphic data detection part determining whether scroll motions exist on the current field; a 3:2 pull-down compensation part calculating interpolation values for pixels of the current field to be interpolated by using a 3:2 pull-down interpolation method; an IPC part calculating interpolation values for pixels of the current field to be interpolated by using a second interpolation method; and an output selection part for selectively outputting either the interpolation values of the 3:2 pull-down compensation part or the interpolation values of the IPC part based on results of the determinations of the scroll text/graphic detection part and the 3:2 pull-down detection part.

Abstract: An apparatus for detecting whether an image signal is in a film mode, includes a first field buffer, a second field buffer and a third field buffer that sequentially buffer respective fields of the image signal by order of input, using the respective fields stored in the first, the second and the third field buffers.

Abstract: An image signal format detection apparatus and method. The image signal format detection apparatus includes a first summed absolute difference (SAD) value calculation unit for calculating, from a previous field, a current field, and a next field of a time-consecutive image signal, a first SAD value with reference to pixel values of the current field and the previous field. A second SAD value calculation unit calculates a second SAD value with reference to pixel values of the current field and the next field. A pattern generation unit generates a detection pattern based on a result of a comparison of the first and second SAD values,; and a pattern analysis unit stores the detection pattern by field, compares the stored detection pattern of a series of fields with a predetermined verification pattern, and determines whether the image signal is an image signal produced in 2:2 pull-down.

Abstract: An image enhancement apparatus using motion estimation includes: a motion estimation unit estimating a degree of motion between an input image on which image enhancement is performed and a temporally successive image; and an enhancement unit applying the image enhancement to an area without motion in the input image while not applying the image enhancement to an area with motion in the input image on the basis of the motion degree. Accordingly, by performing image enhancement on an area without motion in an input image while not performing image enhancement on an area with motion in the input image, it is possible to prevent image noise from being generated in the area with motion.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for image contrast enhancement using an RGB value. The method includes the steps of: determining a 1st and a 2nd mapping function for contrast enhancement in consideration of a mean luminance value per frame; calculating a first mapping function value by sustituting an input RGB value to the 1th mapping function; and calculating an enhanced RGB value by substituting the first mapping function value to the 2st mapping function. Therefore, by using an RGB signal, instead of a luminance signal, for contrast enhancement, the loss of color is prevented. Furthermore, the effect of contrast enforcement can be maximized by adaptively applying mapping functions to the brightness level of an image.

Abstract: An apparatus for converting an image signal includes a motion estimation unit which estimates a motion vector using current and reference fields; a ticker region detection unit which detects a ticker region of an image using the estimated motion vector where an image moving with a constant speed and direction in a current field is found; a motion information analysis unit which determines whether or not there exists an image moving with a constant speed and direction in the ticker region based on the frequency of a motion vector estimated within the detected ticker region; and an interpolation unit which interpolates the current field by controlling a degree of temporal and spatial interpolations using an output of the motion information analysis unit. Accordingly, interpolation is differently applied in accordance with characters and graphics moving with a constant speed and direction in an input image, so that picture quality can be enhanced.

Abstract: A field sequential display apparatus and an image display method thereof are provided. A field sequential display apparatus includes: a color-coordinate conversion unit which analyses image state information of a plurality of input image signals of primary colors representing one image and converts the input image signals of primary colors into image signals of primary colors and at least one image signal of specific colors by using the image state information; a display panel displaying the converted image signals; and a light source driving unit which sequentially drives light sources corresponding to colors of the converted image signals. Accordingly, color breakup can be prevented, and image quality can be improved.

Abstract: An apparatus and method to enhance a contrast includes a first operation part, a second operation part, and a mapping part. The first operation part calculates an average and a standard deviation of an input image. The second operation part calculates an average and a standard deviation of a target image based on the average and the standard deviation of the input image. The mapping part converts a pixel value of the input image by a mapping function generated by receiving the averages and the standard deviations of the input image and the target image from the first operation part and the second operation part, respectively, and outputs a pixel value of an output image.

Abstract: An image conversion apparatus to perform a motion compensation and a motion compensation method. The image conversion apparatus includes a first buffer, a second buffer, and a third buffer that store sequentially incoming video fields in sequence, a motion estimator that estimates a motion vector between a first field stored in the first buffer and a third field stored in the third buffer, a motion compensator that compensates for a motion between the first field and the third field using the motion vector output from the motion estimator and thereby outputs an interpolated field, an output unit that outputs at least one of the interpolated fields output from the motion compensator and a second field stored in the second buffer, and a field selector that selects a field to be output from the output unit according to a film mode of the sequentially incoming video fields.

Abstract: A motion estimation apparatus, method, and machine-readable medium capable of detecting scrolling text or graphic data, which can provide information of whether text or graphic data scrolling in a horizontal direction on a screen exists and information related thereto.

Abstract: An apparatus and method which includes estimating a motion vector of a frame and/or field to be interpolated and the accuracy of the motion vector using motion vectors of previous and next frames and/or fields; determining motion information by analyzing the estimated motion vector, and calculating a correlation between the motion vector of the current block and the motion vectors of neighboring blocks; generating pixels to be interpolated by performing motion compensation in a frame and/or field to be interpolated using the estimated motion vector and using pixels neighboring a pixel to be interpolated in the frame and/or field to be interpolated and pixels neighboring a pixel to be interpolated in the previous and next frame and/or field of the pixel to be interpolated; and outputting the generated pixels as interpolation values according to the accuracy of the estimated motion vector, the motion information, and the correlation.

Abstract: A motion adaptive image processing apparatus includes a classifier to classify a current field of a sequence of in put fields into one or more class regions, a calculator to calculate a variance based on pixel values of pixels located in a predetermined region around a certain pixel of the current field, a threshold calculator to calculate a maximum variance and a minimum variance which are pre-set according to the one or more class regions, the threshold calculator calculating a threshold based on the calculated maximum variance and the minimum variance, a motion calculator to calculate a motion change of an image using a previous field and a next field of the current field in the sequence of the input fields, and a weight calculator to calculate the weight to be applied to the certain pixel based on the calculated threshold and the calculated motion change of the image.

Abstract: A deinterlacing apparatus and method use a buffer unit having a previous field buffer, a current field buffer, and a next field buffer to store, sequentially, individual fields of an image signal; calculate a Sum of Absolute Difference (SAD) value of a predetermined search region unit with reference to a next field stored in the next field buffer and a previous field stored in the previous field buffer; determine whether the predetermined search region is a still region and whether a source of the image signal is a film based on the SAD value; uses a 3D interpolation unit to output adaptively a temporal interpolation value and a spatial interpolation value based on motion information; and adaptively select a deinterlacing result based on the previous field, the next field, and an output of the 3D interpolation unit according to a signal outputted from the still region/film mode detection unit.

Abstract: An apparatus for and a method of adaptive motion compensated de-interlacing of video data, in which one of a spatio-temporal method and a motion compensation method is adaptively selected according to a motion type. Motion vectors of a video field to be interpolated and an accuracy of the motion vectors are estimated using adjacent fields. An existence or non-existence of global motion is determined by analyzing the estimated motion vectors. Pixels generated according to a spatio-temporal interpolation method or pixels generated according to a motion compensated interpolation method are selected based on the accuracy of the estimated motion vectors and the existence or non-existence of global motion.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus using a judder-map and a method thereof. The image processing apparatus using a judder-map includes: a field storage block to receive an input interlaced video signal including an input image having a plurality of consecutive fields, a film detecting block to receive the plurality of the consecutive fields from the field storage block and to detect whether the input image is an image in a film mode, a judder-map generating block to detect judder created on a pixel or block of neighboring fields among the plurality of consecutive fields provided from the field storage block to generate a judder-map, and an image interpolating block to perform image interpolation using the judder-map if the input video signal is detected to be an image in the film mode and to generate and output a progressive video signal. The image processing apparatus prevents the creation of judder on CGI (Computer Graphic Imagery) or subtitles, to which pulldown technologies are not applied.

Abstract: An image conversion device and method of interpolating an input image by utilizing a motion estimation that is adaptive according to characteristics of the input image.

Abstract: An image processing device and method to select a field to use in interpolation, if an input image is a film image. The image processing device includes a field selector to select a field to use to interpolate a current field based on difference values in field data among first, second, and third fields being consecutively input in an input image, the field to use to interpolate the current image being one of the first and the third fields and the current field being the second field, a film detector to generate a pattern based on the difference values in the field data between the first, second, and third fields and to determine whether the input image is a film image based on the generated pattern, and an interpolator to interpolate the second field using the one of the first and third field selected by the field selector if the film detector determines the input image to be a film image.

Abstract: A brightness control apparatus comprising a probability density function (PDF) calculator to calculate a PDF based on pixel values of respective pixels of an input image signal, a first setter to set an upper limit value and a lower limit value with respect to the pixel values that are equal to or smaller than a predetermined level in the PDF, and a brightness value controller to calculate a cumulative distribution function for the PDF controlled by the upper and lower limit values set by the first setter, and calculating brightness levels corresponding to the input image signal based on the calculated cumulative distribution function. The brightness control apparatus controls the brightness of an image signal so as to prevent it from becoming unnecessarily bright or dark when compensating the brightness of an image signal, while also preventing degradation of contrast.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided to equalize a histogram using a cumulative distribution function (CDF) of an image. A model parameter estimator estimates parameters from the image using a Gaussian model. An error function storing unit stores error function values based on a Gaussian distribution. A CDF calculator calculates a CDF using one of the error function values from the error function storing unit and the estimated parameters. A histogram equalizer performs histogram equalization using the CDF.

Abstract: A film mode detection apparatus capable of detecting a bad edit and a method thereof that can detect a bad edit independently of a film pattern. The film mode detection apparatus includes a pattern generation unit to generate a pattern using difference values of information between sequential fields of an input image, a bad edit detection unit to detect extremum values of the difference values of the information between the fields and to judge whether a present field corresponds to a bad edit according to variances of the detected extremum values, and a decision unit to decide whether the input image is a film image using pattern information generated from the pattern generation unit and bad edit detection information from the bad edit detection unit. Accordingly, the apparatus can cope with all kinds of bad edits and thus can prevent an error during the judgment of a film mode.