Method and apparatus of picture display
A method and an apparatus of picture display. The invention displays the first picture and the second picture and displaying at least one virtual picture in between the first and the second picture. The motion compensator is included in a DVD player. The method includes: decoding the first and the second pictures from the received bit-stream; creating the virtual picture parameter according to the transition effect; and generating the virtual picture according to the virtual picture parameter by the motion compensator.
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This application is a Continuation of co-pending application Ser. No. 10/346,063, filed on Jan. 17, 2003, and for which priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120; and this application, under U.S.C. §119, claims the benefit of Taiwan application Serial No. 091100700, filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Jan. 17, 2002; and the entire contents of all are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the method and apparatus of displaying pictures with transition effects, and more particularly to the method and apparatus of displaying pictures with transition effects utilizing a motion compensator.
2. Description of the Related Art
With rapid advance in the development of multimedia applications, various types of audio and video products are created to satisfy the demands of consumers. Taking the DVD audio specification as an example, it has higher sampling rate and better audio quality than the traditional CD audio specification.
The DVD audio specification requires that the DVD audio player not only plays back DVD audio tracks but also has the ability to display pictures stored in the DVD audio disk. It also requires that the pictures must be displayed with the transition effects. For example, wipe or dissolve effect, are used between displaying different pictures. Traditionally, those transition effects can be accomplished by firmware executed by a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU) or by other additional dedicated hardware.
However, the workload on the CPU is usually very high and the additional computation power for the transition effects will overload the CPU. On the other hand, the additional dedicated hardware also increases the cost of the system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved and simplified process of applying transition effects when displaying pictures by using the motion compensator in the DVD players.
The pictures stored in the DVD audio disk are encoded as MPEG Intra-Pictures (I-picture). Therefore, during the decoding of these still pictures, the motion compensator in the DVD player is idle. It is an object of the present invention to apply transition effects for displaying pictures by the idle motion compensator with the virtual picture function without the need of any excessive CPU loading or any additional dedicated hardware. Hence, the cost of the hardware can be substantially reduced and the hardware utilization of motion compensator is increased as well.
According to the object of the present invention, a method of applying transition effects between displaying pictures is provided; it is used to display the first picture and the second picture, in between which at least one virtual picture is inserted. The motion compensator is included in a DVD player. The method of the present invention includes generating virtual picture parameters according to the requirements for the transition effect and generating a virtual picture according to these virtual picture parameters.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for picture playback. The apparatus displays the first picture and the second picture, in between which at least one virtual picture is inserted according to the requirements for the transition effect. The apparatus includes a memory, a video decoding system, and a display control system. The displaying data of the first and the second pictures are stored in the memory. The video decoding system generates virtual pictures according to the requirements for the transition effect by using the motion compensator. The display control system displays the first picture, virtual pictures, and the second picture.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred but non-limiting embodiments. The following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The bit-stream of the MPEG (Moving Picture Coding Experts Group) video includes a series of I pictures (Intra-coded pictures),. P pictures (forward Predictive pictures), and B pictures (Bi-directionally predictive-coded pictures). I pictures are encoded as stand-alone still image. P pictures are encoded referring to the nearest I or P pictures by forward prediction processing. B pictures are encoded referring to the nearest past and future I and P pictures by bi-directional prediction. After the referenced I or P pictures are decoded, the B-picture can be decoded. The B-picture has the highest compression rate. A picture is composed of multiple blocks, and a block is the basic unit for encoding and decoding a picture.
A traditional Motion Compensator 250 retrieves a block from the Memory 180 according to the second decoded parameters that mainly includes motion type (MT) and motion vector (MV). The size and type of block retrieved by the Motion Compensator are determined by the MT, whereas the actual memory address of the data is determined by the MV. The Motion Compensator offers the functionality of forward motion compensation and bidirectional motion compensation during the decoding of P-pictures and B-pictures, respectively.
In order to create transition effects by using the existing Motion Compensator when displaying pictures stored in the disk. The present invention equipped the Motion Compensator with a new function called “virtual picture function”. Such function makes the Motion Compensator capable of accessing data among the memory buffers, and performs like a direct memory access (DMA) channel. A traditional Motion Compensator as described above can only receive the decoded parameters decoded from a real encoded MPEG bit-stream by a Variable Length Decoder and can only retrieve blocks from previous or subsequent reference pictures in order to generate the motion-compensated block M in a real picture.
The preferred embodiment according to the present invention provides a Parameter Generating Unit capable of generating virtual picture parameters to the Motion Compensator. The virtual picture parameters are generated based on desired transition effects so as to indicate the Motion Compensator to move data among the memory buffers. The virtual picture parameters generated by the Parameter Generating Unit are not obtained from decoding a real MPEG bit-stream by a variable length decoder. On the contrary, the Parameter Generating Unit can generate all necessary parameters in a virtual picture by itself. The Motion Compensator receives these virtual picture parameters from the Parameter Generating Unit and decodes “virtual” pictures created according to the invention. The virtual picture 1 can be further categorized as a P-virtual picture or a B-virtual picture. The P-virtual picture is similar to an ordinary P-picture, and can be generated by transferring data from one memory buffer to another memory buffer. The B-virtual picture is similar to an ordinary B-picture, and can be generated by transferring data from two memory buffers to the Motion Compensator, then performing data processing, and outputting the processed data to a memory buffer. The P-virtual picture and B-virtual picture are similar to ordinary P-picture and B-picture except that the P-virtual picture and B-virtual picture are created instead of being decoded from the real MPEG video bit stream.
Three exemplary transition effects are demonstrated below, they are respectively ‘dissolve,’ ‘wipe,’ and ‘move-in.’
The implementation of the dissolve effect uses the B virtual picture function by the Motion Compensator 410. Please refer to
The interpolation process changes the signal intensity of pictures Fd1 and Fd2 according to the alpha values. The formula for displaying pictures by the dissolve effect is:
Fd0(t)=(1−alpha(t))*Fd1+alpha(t)*Fd2 (1)
where Fd0(t) is the virtual picture displayed at time t.
Initially at time t=0, alpha(0)=0, and therefore Fd0(0)=Fd1. The alpha value alpha(t) increases with time. At the ends of the dissolve period Td, the alpha value alpha(Td) reaches 1, and therefore Fd0(Td)=Fd2, which means that Fd2 is completely displayed.
Due to the fact that the two operands of each multiplication operator in equation (1) are variable, two general-purpose multipliers hardware are required, but such arrangement increases the hardware cost. In order to reduce the cost, the variable alpha(t) can be simplified to a constant value alpha, for example alpha=⅓. Using such simplification, the expensive general-purpose multipliers can be replaced by constant multipliers, and equation (1) can be converted to the following recursive equation:
Fd0(t)=(1−alpha)*Fd0(t−1)+alpha*Fd2 (2)
wherein t>0. When t=0, Fd0(0)=Fd1.
In equation (1), three buffers are required to store picture Fd0, Fd1, and Fd2, whereas in equation (2) only two buffers are needed for storing Fd0 and Fd2. Virtual picture Fd0(t−1) is the previous picture of virtual picture Fd0(t). Equation (2) can also accomplish the task of gradually decreasing the signal intensity ASV1 of Fd1 and increasing the signal intensity ASV2 of Fd2. For example:
and so on.
The cost of hardware can be further reduced by setting the value of alpha in the ½n format, where n is positive integer. In this way, a simple shifter can be used as a substitution for multipliers. By using the new alpha value, equation (3) is:
Fd0(t)=Fd0(t−1)*(1−(½n))+Fd2*(½n)=(Fd0(t−1)*2n=Fd0(t−1)+Fd2)/2n, (3)
wherein n is a positive integer.
In order to support the calculation of equation (3), the functionality of the Interpolator in the Motion Compensator 410 has to be expanded.
When the Motion Compensator 410 is in the operation mode of performing original bidirectional motion compensation for decoding MPEG bit-streams in the DVD video disks, the Left Shifter 510 left-shifts the block D1 by 0 bits and outputs a left-shift-signal; the multiplex-signal of the Multiplexer 540 is 1; the Right-Shifter 550 right-shifts the add-signal by 1 bit to create the motion-compensated block M.
When the Motion Compensator 410 creates a B-virtual picture for the dissolve effect, the multiplex-signal is the negate-signal. The Left-Shifter 510 left-shifts the block D1 n bits, and outputs a left-shift-signal. The Adder 520 receives the multiplex-signal, the left-shift-signal and the block D2, and then sums them all up and outputs the sum as an add-signal. The Right Shifter 550 right-shifts the add-signal by n bits and creates the motion-compensated block M, which is then output by the Multiplexer 560.
When the Motion Compensator 410 is in the operation mode of performing forward motion compensation, the Multiplexer 560 outputs the motion-compensated block M according to the block D1 directly.
During the dissolve effect created by equation (3), the alpha value can have a constant ½n value during the entire Td. In another embodiment of the invention, Td can be divided into several stages and each stage has its own fixed alpha value in the form of ½, for example, ½, ¼, or ⅛, wherein n is a positive integer. In another embodiment of the invention, each virtual picture in the Td period can be assigned independently with an alpha value of ½n format. Hence, the speed and degree of the dissolve effect can be controlled more effectively.
Other transition effects besides the above dissolve, wipe and move-in transition effects can also easily be achieved by using the virtual picture function of the Motion Compensator in a similar way and are not described here for the sake of brevity.
Hence, the invention utilizes the Motion Compensator to achieve the transition effects between displaying pictures, the hardware cost is reduced and the system performance is enhanced.
While the present invention has been described by way of example and in terms of a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements and procedures.
Claims
1. A method of decoding an encoded video data stream to generate decoded video data, the method comprising:
- retrieving a first block from a first reference picture;
- adjusting a signal intensity of the first block; and
- performing a motion compensation operation to generate the decoded video data according to the first block.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein adjusting the signal intensity of the first block comprises:
- multiplying the signal intensity of the first block with a value.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the value is in a ½n format and n is a positive integer.
4. A method of decoding an encoded video data stream to generate decoded video data, the method comprising:
- retrieving a first block from a first reference picture;
- retrieving a second block from a second reference picture;
- adjusting a first signal intensity of the first block;
- adjusting a second signal intensity of the second block; and
- performing a motion compensation operation to generate the decoded video data according to the first and second blocks.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein adjusting the first signal intensity of the first block comprises multiplying the first signal intensity with a first value; and adjusting the signal intensity of the second block comprises multiplying the second signal intensity with a second value.
6. A video decoding system for decoding an encoded video data stream to generate decoded video data to a memory, the video decoding system comprising:
- a processing unit receiving the encoded video data stream to generate first and second parameters;
- a motion compensator (MC) retrieving a first block of a first reference picture from the memory according to the first parameter, adjusting a first signal intensity of the first block, and generating an adjusted video signal; and
- a block reconstruction module combining the second parameter and the adjusted video signal to generate the decoded video data to the memory.
7. The video decoding system of claim,6, wherein the MC adjusts the first signal intensity of the first block (Fd1) by multiplying a value (alpha) to generate an adjusted first signal intensity of the first block (Fd1′) according to the following equation: Fd1′=alpha*Fd1.
8. The video decoding system of claim 7, wherein alpha is in a ½n format and n is a positive integer.
9. The video decoding system of claim 6, wherein the MC generates the adjusted video signal by retrieving a second block of a second reference picture from the memory according to the first parameter and adjusting a second signal intensity of the second block.
10. The video decoding system of claim 9, wherein the first parameter comprises:
- a motion type indicating a size of the first and second blocks in the first reference picture and the second reference picture to be retrieved by the MC, respectively;
- a forward motion vector indicating a first address in the memory to be retrieved by the MC; and
- a backward motion vector indicating a second address in the memory to be retrieved by the MC.
11. The video decoding system of claim 10, wherein the MC further comprises:
- an address generator receiving the forward motion vector and the backward motion vector, and outputting a first fetch-address and a second fetch-address respectively;
- a data buffer retrieving the first block from the first reference picture and the second block from the second reference picture according to the first fetch-address, the second fetch-address, and the motion type; and
- an interpolator receiving the first and second blocks and interpolating the first and second blocks to generate and output the adjusted video signal to the BR module.
12. The video decoding system of claim 11, wherein the Interpolator further comprises:
- a left shifter that left-shifts the first block data by n bits and outputs a left-shift-signal, where n is a positive integer;
- a negator that converts the left-shift-signal into a negative value, and outputs a negate-signal;
- a first multiplexer that receives the negate-signal, outputs a negate signal as a multiplex-signal;
- an adder that receives the second block, the left-shift signal, and the multiplex-signal, and generates an added signal; and
- a right shifter that right-shifts the added signal by n bits and outputs a right-shift-signal to the BR module.
13. The video decoding system of claim 6, wherein the first parameter comprises a motion type indicating a size of the first block in the first reference picture to be retrieved by the MC, a motion vector indicating a first address in the memory to be retrieved by the MC.
14. The video decoding system of claim 13, wherein the MC further comprises:
- an address generator receiving the motion vector, and outputs a fetch-address;
- a data buffer retrieving the first block from the first reference picture according to the fetch-address and the motion type; and
- an interpolator receiving the first block and outputting the adjusted video signal to the BR module.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 18, 2007
Publication Date: Nov 15, 2007
Applicant: MEDIATEK Inc. (Hsin-Chu City)
Inventors: Chi-Cheng Ju (Taipei), Tzu-Ping Lin (Pingtung)
Application Number: 11/826,703
International Classification: H04N 7/12 (20060101); H04N 11/04 (20060101); H04N 11/02 (20060101);