Abstract: According to one embodiment, a first extraction unit extracts a first group of pixels having a specific hue from an input image. A second extraction unit extracts a second group of pixels having large distance from a reference axis on a plane defined by a chroma axis and a luminance axis from the first group. A first transform unit executes a plurality of color-transform processing to the second group and obtains a plurality of third groups of pixels as the second group transformed by each color-transform processing. A reliability calculation unit calculates a reliability of each third group. The reliability is larger when pixels of the third group are more located in shape of a straight line on the plane. A selection unit selects a color-transform processing by which the third group has the largest reliability from the plurality of color-transform processing. A second transform unit executes the color-transform processing to the input image to obtain an output image.

Abstract: A resolution enhancing method of a video includes reducing a training video, extracting a high-frequency component from the training video, calculating a first feature vector including a feature amount of a first spatio-temporal box in the reduced video, storing pairs of the first feature vectors and second spatio-temporal boxes in the high-frequency component videos at the same positions as those of the first spatio-temporal boxes, expanding an input video, retrieving a first feature vector similar to a second feature vector including a feature amount of a third spatio-temporal box of an object of the input video to be processed, as an element, and adding a second spatio-temporal box making a pair with the retrieved first feature vector to a fourth spatio-temporal box in the expanded video at the same position as that of the third spatio-temporal box in order to generate an output video.

Abstract: A scroll position estimation apparatus includes a unit acquiring a complex document including main data and sub-data items, the main data being for determining a layout of presentation of the complex document, a unit visualizing the main data, a unit presenting the visualized main data, a unit acquiring scroll positions indicating display areas of the presented main data, a unit storing pairs of the scroll positions and times of acquiring the scroll positions, a unit estimating a future scroll position based on the scroll positions and the times, a unit computing priority levels of the sub-data items based on the estimated scroll position, the priority levels being used to determine order of visualization, a unit sequentially visualizing the sub-data items in accordance with the computed priority levels of the sub-data items, and a unit presenting the visualized sub-data items.

Abstract: An apparatus includes unit acquiring, from an image source, an image represented by pixel values indicating brightness levels, unit setting, as a reference frame, one frame, unit sequentially setting, to be target pixels, each of pixels in one or more frames, unit setting target-image regions including the target pixels, unit searching the reference frame for similar-target-image regions similar to each of the target-image regions in a change pattern of pixel values, unit selecting, from the similar-target-image regions, corresponding points corresponding to each of the target pixels, unit setting sample values concerning brightness at the corresponding points to a pixel value of a target pixel corresponding to the corresponding points, and unit computing pixel values in a high-resolution image corresponding to the reference frame, based on the sample values and the corresponding points, the high-resolution image containing a larger number of pixels than pixels in the reference frame.

Abstract: An image processing device includes: an estimating module configured to estimate boundaries of blocks in an input image; a characteristic value calculating module configured to calculate a characteristic value of a subject pixel group having constituent pixels including a pixel in the frame and at least one pixel that is adjacent to the pixel by calculating a degree of pixel value dispersion between the constituent pixels of the subject pixel group if all the constituent pixels belong to the same block; an strength value calculating module configured to calculate, from the characteristic value, a strength value to be used in performing pixel value smoothing; and a smoothing module configured to perform the pixel value smoothing according to the strength value.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a first-acquisition unit acquiring, from target image data, an input image pattern including pixel values within a predetermined range with reference to each of ideal corresponding points, a second-acquisition unit acquiring, as candidate image patterns, from search-image-pattern data, a first candidate image pattern including pixel values within the predetermined range, a finding unit finding, from the search-image-pattern data, an estimated image pattern as a second candidate image pattern of the candidate image patterns which has a smaller difference from the input image pattern than other candidate image patterns, a first setting unit setting pixel values of positions corresponding to the ideal corresponding points in the estimated image pattern as pixel values at the ideal corresponding points, and a conversion unit converting a resolution of the target-image data using the N-dimensional coordinate values and the pixel values corresponding to the N-dimensional coordinate values.

Abstract: A content reproduction apparatus (a) reads a specific server identifier, from a recording medium storing the specific server identifier and a content data item including a destination identifier, to store the specific server identifier in a table, (b) certifies a server corresponding to the specific server identifier, (c) certifies the recording medium by use of a data item in a storage area of the recording medium designated by the server being certified, (d) reproduces the content data item stored in the recording medium, (e) acquires the destination identifier while reproducing the content data item, (f) determines whether the destination identifier being acquired is equal to the specific identifier stored in the table, and (g) accesses to the server when the destination identifier being acquired is equal to the specific server identifier, and the server and the recording medium are certified.

Abstract: A content reproduction apparatus including reproduction unit configured to reproduce content data item stored in recording medium storing first server identifier and content data item including destination identifier, reads first server identifier from recording medium, to store first server identifier in table, certifies first server corresponding to first sever identifier, receives first server policy from first server being certified, first server policy including second server identifier redirecting to second server, to store second server identifier in table, certifies second server, acquires destination identifier while reproduction unit reproduces content data item, determines whether destination identifier being acquired is equal to first identifier stored in table, and accesses to second server, when at least destination identifier is equal to first identifier and second server is certified.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for reproducing metadata provides a data structure in which metadata whose preferential reproduction is desired can be selected and reproduced. The metadata relevant to a moving image includes a stream data structure including one or more access units each being a data unit which can be independently processed, and each of the access units includes first data to specify an effective period defined with respect to a time axis of the moving image, object area data describing a spatio-temporal region in the moving image, second data including one of or both of data to specify a display method relevant to the spatio-temporal region and data to specify a processing to be performed when the spatio-temporal region is specified, and third data to specify, in a case where one or more access units exist on a same screen in the moving image at a time of reproduction of the metadata, reproduction priority of each of the access units.

Abstract: An image resolution increasing method include setting a first block which is included in a low resolution image and is located at a first position, and a second block which is included in a high resolution image and is located at a second position, and setting, as an increasing resolution block of the first block, a third block expressed by a second vector obtained by projecting a first vector representing the second block to a linear manifold as a set of vectors that indicate fourth blocks of the second block size, the fourth blocks becoming the first block due to reduced resolution, in a Euclidean space having, as the number of dimensions, a product of the number of pixels arranged vertically in the second block size and the number of pixels arranged horizontally in the second block size.

Abstract: A method includes inputting to-be-processed data including a set of first-N-dimensional-coordinate values in an N-dimensional space and first-sampling values, inputting search-pattern data including a set of second-N-dimensional-coordinate values in the N-dimensional space and second-sampling values, setting a set of virtual-corresponding points designated by third-N-dimensional-coordinate values, acquiring input patterns each including third-sampling values within a first range with reference to a corresponding virtual-corresponding point, acquiring search patterns each including fourth-sampling-values within a second range with reference to a corresponding second-N-dimensional-coordinate value of the second-N-dimensional-coordinate values in correspondence with each of the second-N-dimensional-coordinate values, detecting, from the search pattern data, an estimated pattern including one search pattern and having smaller differences with respect to the input patterns than other search patterns, setting sampl

Abstract: An apparatus includes unit acquiring a target image as a target of resolution conversion, unit acquiring an additional image from the image source, unit estimating a corresponding point in the target image using corresponding point estimation methods, the corresponding point being associated with at least one pixel in the additional image to obtain corresponding points in the target image, unit setting a pixel value of each pixel included in the additional image as a sampling value for the corresponding point when each pixel is set as a target pixel, to obtain sampling values for pixels included in the additional image, and unit generating an image of a first resolution into which a second resolution of the target image is converted, using pixel values and positions of pixels included in the target image, and the sampling values and positions of the corresponding points.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a first receiving unit configured to receive a plurality of frames of an image containing pixel values, a first setting unit configured to set one of the frames as a reference frame, a second setting unit configured to set, of the frames received by the first receiving unit, one frame other than the reference frame as an other frame, a first storage unit configured to store at least one subpixel shift value that is a preset fractional value, and an estimation unit configured to estimate a fractional part of a position of a corresponding point corresponding to a pixel of the other frame to readily select a value closer to the subpixel shift value.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus calculates estimated pixel values of respective pixels of a provisional high-resolution image by interpolation on basis of pixel values in a reference frame, segmentalizes interior of the reference frame into an edge region, a texture region or a flat region and other on basis of pixel values of respective pixels, sets the respective pixels in the reference frame as target pixels one by one in sequence, calculates corresponding positions on the provisional high-resolution image, of the respective target pixels in fractional pixel accuracy on basis of information on the segmented regions including the target values, modifies the estimated pixel values so that difference from the pixel values of the target pixels to provisionally estimated pixel values obtained from the estimated pixel values of the provisional high-resolution image for pixels around the corresponding positions of the target pixels, becomes smaller, and obtains modified pixel values.

Abstract: In the case where metadata refers to relevant content on a network, since the relevant content on the network can not be necessarily permanently held, it is desirable that a time limit for making reference can be set. Besides, in order to provide relevant content which can be referred to only in a limited period for promoting sales, or in order to provide relevant content which can be referred to only in a limited period such as, for example, Christmas Day every year for raising the entertainingness of the metadata, it is desirable that a reference time limit of the relevant content can be set. Then, in order to set an effective time limit of an access unit, a flag to specify the effective time limit and the effective time limit are described in each access unit.

Abstract: There is provided an invention in which a buffer size and a data buffering size before a reproduction start can be determined according to a transfer rate of data and a network protocol used. In metadata of a moving image, a dynamic range of a data amount in a buffer is described, and the buffer size and the data buffering size before the reproduction start of the metadata are determined by this dynamic range.

Abstract: An information storage medium according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a management area in which management information to manage content is recorded and a content area in which content managed on the basis of the management information is recorded. The content area includes an object area in which a plurality of objects are recorded, and a time map area in which a time map for reproducing these objects in a specified period on a timeline is recorded. The management area includes a play list area in which a play list for controlling the reproduction of a menu and a title each composed of the objects on the basis of the time map is recorded.

Abstract: There is provided a structure of metadata which can express an object of a complicated shape. There are added vcr_shape_num indicating the number of sub-planar areas constituting an object area, vcr_rule_code indicating that an integration system to integrate the sub-planar areas and to determine a final object area is written, vcr_rule_length to indicate the length of data of the integration system, and data vcr_rule to indicate the integration system, and thereafter, vcr_subregion_data of data of each sub-planar area appearing in vcr_rule is described continuously by the number indicated by vcr_shape_num.

Abstract: According to a data display method, data having a program unit and instruction data for the program unit multiplexed on bit stream data is received. The program unit is extracted from the received data and is stored in a memory. The instruction data is extracted from the received data, and the program unit or part thereof specified by the instruction data is read from the memory and is executed. Then, the bit stream data and the execution result are displayed. This ensures smooth synchronization of reproduction of a bit stream with execution of an associated program and efficient use of resources.

Abstract: A region data describing method for describing, over a plurality of frames, region data about the region of an arbitrary object in a video, the method specifying the object region in the video with at least either of an approximate figure approximating the region or characteristic points of the region, approximating a trajectory obtained by arranging position data of the representative points or the characteristic point in a direction in which frames proceed with a predetermined function and describing the parameter of the function as region data. Thus, the region of a predetermined object in the video can be described with a small quantity of data. Moreover, creation and handling of data can easily be performed.