Abstract: When a single page of a newspaper article or a magazine is displayed using hierarchical data, a guidance area (indicated by a line in the hierarchical data) for each article is defined in a scenario definition file. A plurality of guidance areas are defined in the layer below, i.e., the layer having a resolution of a level that allows characters to be legible, so that the viewer can track the article from start to end. The displayed image is initially guided to the guidance area upon a user request for enlargement. Upon a further request for enlargement, the displayed image is guided to the guidance area at the head of the article. When the user having read the sentence in the guidance area provides an input by indicating a direction or pressing a predetermined button, the displayed image is guided to the guidance area showing the continuation of the sentence.

Abstract: Compressed image data of different resolutions stored in a hard disk drive is divided into blocks of substantially regular sizes. A determination is made as to whether a required block is stored in the main memory at predefined time intervals. If the block is not stored, the block is loaded into the main memory. Subsequently, the loaded compressed image data is referred to so that data for an image of an area required for display or for an image of an area predicted to be required is decoded and stored in a buffer memory. Of the images stored in a buffer area, i.e. a display buffer, the image of a display area is rendered in a frame memory. The display buffer and the decoding buffer are switched depending on the timing of completion of decoding or the amount of change in the display area.

Abstract: There is provided an image processing apparatus including a stereo matching unit configured to obtain right and left disparity images by using stereo matching, based on a pair of images captured by right and left cameras, respectively, a filter processing unit configured to perform filter processing on the disparity images, and a first merging unit configured to make a comparison, in the disparity images that have undergone the filter processing, between disparity values at mutually corresponding positions in the right and left disparity images and to merge the disparity values of the right and left disparity images based on a comparison result.

Abstract: Links are set among three hierarchical data 170, 172, and 174 and one moving image data 182. When a display area overlaps with a link area 176 while an image is being displayed by using the hierarchical data 170, switching to display by use of the 0-th hierarchical level of the hierarchical data 172 is made (link a). When the display area overlaps with a link area 178 while an image is being displayed by using the hierarchical data 172, switching to display by use of the 0-th hierarchical level of the hierarchical data 174 is made (link b). The link destination of another link area 180 of the hierarchical data 170 is the moving image data 182 (link c) and moving image reproduction is started as a result of zoom-up of this area. The hierarchical data 170 and 172 are held on the client terminal side and the data existing on the other side of a switching boundary 184 are transmitted by a server to the client terminal in a data stream format.

Abstract: A timing signal generation unit of a content playback device generates a shutter control signal requesting the opening or closing of a shutter of a lens among one or more lenses of a pair of shutter glasses worn by a user viewing a display panel adapted to display content, and a backlight control signal requesting a backlight of the display panel to be turned on at least when the shutter is open. A transmitter unit transmits the shutter control signal to the shutter glasses. The timing signal generation unit changes at least one of the timing of turning on the backlight or the timing of opening the shutter of the lens of the shutter glasses.

Abstract: Frames of a moving image are configured as a hierarchical structure where each frame is represented with a plurality of resolutions. Some layers are set as original image layers, and the other layers are set as difference image layers in hierarchical data representing a frame at each time step. In the case that an area is to be displayed in the resolution of the difference image layer, to respective pixel values of a difference image of the area, respective pixel values of an image of a corresponding area retained by the original image layer of lower resolution, the image enlarged to the resolution of the difference image layer, are added. A layer to be set as a difference image layer is switched to another layer as time passes.

Abstract: Hierarchical data in which image data that represents an image at different resolutions is arranged according to the resolution comprises three types of data including a header, index blocks, and tile images. The header defines a plurality of areas produced by dividing the pyramidal hierarchical structure in the virtual space in which the hierarchical data is generated. A pointer pointing to one of the index blocks is set in each area. The index blocks are generated for the respective areas in the structure defined by the header. A pointer pointing to one of the tile images is defined for a position in the images in a plurality of layers belonging to each area. The images are image data actually used to render an image.

Abstract: Hierarchical data in which image data that represents an image at different resolutions is arranged according to the resolution comprises three types of data including a header, index blocks, and tile images. The header defines a plurality of areas produced by dividing the pyramidal hierarchical structure in the virtual space in which the hierarchical data is generated. A pointer pointing to one of the index blocks is set in each area. The index blocks are generated for the respective areas in the structure defined by the header. A pointer pointing to one of the tile images is defined for a position in the images in a plurality of layers belonging to each area. The images are image data actually used to render an image.

Abstract: A user enters an input for selecting an image-capturing mode. The user then captures the image of a target with a desired zoon factor as a target image. An image-capturing device determines a zoom factor for an image to be captured starting from the target image and then captures an image while zooming out to the determined zoom factor. A process of changing the zoom factor and capturing an image is repeated until the smallest zoom factor among determined zoom factors is used. When image capturing of an image of the smallest zoom factor is completed, metadata is created that includes the respective zoom factors of images and relative position information of the images, and the metadata is stored in a memory unit in relation with the data of the captured images.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus able to continuously generate region data, able to eliminate wasteful processing due to invalid regions, and able to efficiently draw an image, is provided with a triangle digital differential analyzer (DDA) circuit for generating region data increased by at least one unit square region worth of data based on set-up data including a change data input from a DDA set-up circuit in a case where at least one pixel is located inside a triangle in a unit square region including a plurality of pixels, storing the region data, further dividing the stored region data into usual region data equivalent to the unit square regions, and outputting the same as DDA data to a texture engine circuit, and a method of the same.

Abstract: An image hierarchy generation unit reads image data stored in a hard disk drive, generate images with a plurality of resolutions, and hierarchizes the images. An image dividing unit divides the image in each layer into tile images. A redundancy detection unit analyzes the image in each layer so as to detect redundancy between images within the same layer or images from different layers. A tile image reference table creates a tile image reference table that maps area numbers to tile numbers, in view of the redundancy. An image file generation unit creates an image file that should be ultimately output and includes image data and the tile image reference table.

Abstract: A main memory stores M-bit gradation image data (M is a natural number). A correction function generating unit generates a correction function in N-bit gradation (N is a natural number, N>M) from image data. A display image generating unit generates display image data using a correction function generated by the correction function generating unit. The display image generating unit uses a correction function so as to generate display image data resulting from correcting image data obtained by decoding compressed image data in M-bit gradation with the restriction of M-bit quantization.

Abstract: A hard disk drive stores hierarchical image data, a speed map holding, for each tile image, an index of the processing time required to render a tile image having a predetermined image size obtained by partitioning the image, and scenario data which defines viewpoint shifting. In a control unit of an information processing apparatus having a function of displaying an image, an input information acquisition unit acquires information with respect to the user's input operation via an input device. A loading unit loads necessary data for image displaying from the hard disk drive. A shifting condition adjustment unit adjusts the viewpoint shifting speed based upon the speed map. A frame coordinate determination unit sequentially determines frame coordinates of a display area. A decoding unit decodes compressed image data. A display image processing unit renders a display image.

Abstract: Moving image data is delivered from an image provider server. A hierarchical data generation device decodes the moving image data and generates data for the moving image representing each frame in a plurality of resolutions, by reducing frames included in the moving image in a single or multiple stages. A decoder reads only data for a layer in the hierarchical data for each frame, the layer being determined by a resolution requested for display, and decodes the read data. This produces a series of frames representing frames in a requested resolution. A display device displays the frames so that the moving image is displayed in the requested resolution.

Abstract: An apparatus and method capable of selecting and providing content while reducing the load on a user are provided. A controlled device is determined based on content identification information. Control information corresponding to the determined controlled device is generated and output to, for example, a remote controller, and device control is performed based on a control signal from the remote controller. The user can output and view content without performing processing necessary to output the content, such as processing on a control device, a channel operation to the control device, and searching for the content storage location. Further, content cards recording content information are displayed as a card group and content information of a card at a position of a cursor is displayed.

Abstract: In an image processing apparatus, an image pickup unit takes images of an object including the face of a person wearing the glasses by which to observe a stereoscopic image that contains a first parallax image and a second parallax image obtained when the object in a three-dimensional (3D) space is viewed from different viewpoints. A glasses identifying unit identifies the glasses included in the image of the object taken by the image pickup unit. A face detector detects a facial region the face of the person included in the image of the object taken by the image pickup unit, based on the glasses identified by the glasses identifying unit. An augmented-reality special rendering unit adds a virtual feature to the facial region of the face of the person detected by the face detector.

Abstract: A parallax representation unit in a displayed image processing unit uses a height map containing information on a height of an object for each pixel to represent different views caused by the height of the object. A color representation unit uses, for example, texture coordinate values derived by the parallax representation unit to render the image, shifting the pixel defined in the color map. The color representation unit uses the normal map that maintains normals to the surface of the object for each pixel to change the way that light impinges on the surface and represent the roughness accordingly. A shadow representation unit uses a horizon map, which maintains information for each pixel to indicate whether a shadow is cast depending on the angle relative to the light source, so as to shadow the image rendered by the color representation unit.

Abstract: A compression format identifying unit identifies the compression format of image data stored in a main memory. A transfer function determining unit determines a transfer function in accordance with the compression format of a tile image thus identified. A convolution operation unit subjects a modification request signal and the transfer function thus determined to convolution operation so as to generate a modification direction signal. A read ahead processor reads a tile image from the main memory using the modification request signal, decodes the image, and writes the decoded image in a buffer memory. A display image processor generates a display image using the modification direction signal.

Abstract: A user enters an input for selecting an image-capturing mode. The user then captures the image of a target with a desired zoon factor as a target image. An image-capturing device determines a zoom factor for an image to be captured starting from the target image and then captures an image while zooming out to the determined zoom factor. A process of changing the zoom factor and capturing an image is repeated until the smallest zoom factor among determined zoom factors is used. When image capturing of an image of the smallest zoom factor is completed, metadata is created that includes the respective zoom factors of images and relative position information of the images, and the metadata is stored in a memory unit in relation with the data of the captured images.

Abstract: Hierarchical data in which image data that represents an image at different resolutions is arranged according to the resolution comprises three types of data including a header, index blocks, and tile images. The header defines a plurality of areas produced by dividing the pyramidal hierarchical structure in the virtual space in which the hierarchical data is generated. A pointer pointing to one of the index blocks is set in each area. The index blocks are generated for the respective areas in the structure defined by the header. A pointer pointing to one of the tile images is defined for a position in the images in a plurality of layers belonging to each area. The images are image data actually used to render an image.