DIGITAL BROADCAST RECEIVER

• US 20090073322A1
• Filed: 09/08/2008
• Published: 03/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Shibahara, Akihito, Kitajima, Tadahisa
• Application Number:
  US12/206,097
• Publication Number:
  US 20090073322A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/726
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/40 in video content extracting overlay text G06V20/62; video retrieval G06F16/70; processing of video elementary streams in video servers H04N21/234; processing of video elementary streams in video clients H04N21/44
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59

Abstract

A data separating section separates stream data demodulated by a signal demodulating section, into video data and other data. A pattern comparison processing section performs pattern comparison between a specific object included as an image in the video data decoded by a decoding section, on a screen, and comparison source image data included in the other data, and generates position information on the specific object on the screen. A data processing section uses the position information from the pattern comparison processing section to output display information data which enables display data related to the specific object to be displayed in accordance with a position of the specific object.

Claims

1. A digital broadcast receiver, comprising:

a signal demodulating section configured to receive and demodulate a digital television broadcast signal including stream data having at least video data and other data, the latter of which includes display data to be displayed for a specific object included as an image within the video data and comparison source image data which has been separately prepared for identifying the object;

a data separating section configured to separate the stream data demodulated by the signal demodulating section, into the video data and the other data;

a decoding section configured to decode the video data separated by the data separating section;

a pattern comparison processing section configured to perform pattern comparison between the specific object included as the image in the video data decoded by the decoding section, on a screen, and the comparison source image data included in the other data separated by the data separating section, and thereby generate position information on the specific object on the screen; and

a data processing section configured to use the display data related to the specific object included in the other data separated by the data separating section and the position information generated by the pattern comparison processing section, to output display information data which enables the display data to be displayed in accordance with a position of the specific object on the screen.

2. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 1, further comprising:

a motion detection processing section configured to input the video data decoded by the decoding section, detect an amount of movement (data on a direction and a distance) of the specific object between on a previous screen and on a current screen, generate new position information in which the amount of movement has been added to the position information on the specific object on the previous screen, and supply the new position information to the data processing section.

3. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 1, wherein:

when image pattern comparison is used, the pattern comparison processing section partitions the screen into predetermined areas based on partitioning information from outside included in the other data separated by the data separating section, performs the image pattern comparison in units of the predetermined areas which have been partitioned, and generates the position information on the specific object.

4. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 1, further comprising:

a comparison source data generating device configured to capture data corresponding to the comparison source image data from an externally connectable device.

5. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 1, further comprising:

a comparison source data generating device configured to generate data corresponding to the comparison source image data by clipping a specific portion from a reproduced screen based on the video data decoded by the decoding section, with a pointing device.

6. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 1, wherein:

the data processing section inputs the other data separated by the data separating section, analyzes whether or not the comparison source image data for identifying the specific object is included in the other data, and if the comparison source image data for identifying the specific object is included in the other data, generates the comparison source image data and an identifier which indicates that a condition for the comparison source image data has been satisfied and which can be linked to the display data, and registers the comparison source image data and the identifier in the pattern comparison processing section; and

the pattern comparison processing section captures a picture of the video data decoded by the decoding section, as input, performs a pattern matching process within an image of the picture data, with the registered comparison source image data, and if a matching object has existed within the image of the picture data, returns position information indicating a coordinate position at which data matching the identifier of matched comparison source image data exists within the picture data, along with the identifier of the comparison source image data, to the data processing section.

7. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 6, wherein:

the data processing section retrieves the display data to be displayed on the screen, from within data obtained in the other data, based on information on the identifier obtained in the pattern comparison processing section, processes the display data as appropriate display data by using the position information obtained in the pattern comparison processing section, and subsequently outputs the appropriate display data as the display information data.

8. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 6, wherein:

the comparison source image data includes multiple pieces of characteristic data for identifying the specific object, and if a predetermined number, which has been previously defined, of the multiple pieces of characteristic data matches characteristics of an object to be identified, the object to be identified is regarded as an intended object which has satisfied a necessary identification condition, and the identifier which represents that the identification condition has been satisfied and which can be linked to the display data is generated.

9. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 8, wherein:

multiple identification conditions for generating the identifier are prepared, and which identification condition is used can be selected.

10. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 8, wherein:

the comparison source image data includes the multiple pieces of characteristic data for identifying the specific object, and if the specific object to be identified is a person, image data of the same person in multiple poses (postures) is prepared as the characteristic data.

11. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 2, wherein:

the data processing section includes a motion detection flag therein, and while the flag is 0, from the other data which is inputted, the data processing section generates output which is the comparison source image data and an identifier thereof, and outputs the output to the pattern comparison processing section, and while the flag is 1, the data processing section does not output the comparison source image data and the identifier thereof;

in the pattern comparison processing section, the comparison source image data and the identifier thereof are inputted, the identifier is registered, and the generated position information and the identifier of the comparison source image data are outputted to the motion detection processing section; and

the motion detection processing section includes a buffer for picture data in the video data decoded by the decoding section, and a position information buffer, retains picture data which has been inputted immediately before, in the picture data buffer, and retains the position information for the immediately previous picture data, in the position information buffer.

12. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 2, wherein:

the motion detection processing section detects the amount of movement of the specific object between picture data, and if the amount of movement detected by the motion detection processing section is small, it is determined that a scene is continued between images of two pieces of the picture data, and the data processing section shifts a position of the display data in accordance with the amount of movement, and thereby enables the display data to be displayed in accordance with the position of the specific object which moves; and

if the amount of movement detected by the motion detection processing section is equal to or more than a certain amount, it is determined that a scene change has occurred between the images of the two pieces of the picture data, and instead of the amount of movement, the position information in data inputted from the pattern comparison processing section is directly outputted as data of output of the motion detection processing section, to the data processing section.

13. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 3, wherein:

the pattern comparison processing section includes a pattern comparison area table, and if the video data has been inputted to the pattern comparison processing section, the pattern comparison processing section uses data in a table which is selected from each lattice data which has been registered within the pattern comparison area table, based on latest pattern comparison area flag data, to perform pattern matching at an area portion indicated by each lattice data within the table, and outputs a result of a process of the pattern matching, as the position information and an identifier of the comparison source image data, to the motion detection processing section;

the motion detection processing section outputs the position information before or after being updated, the identifier of the comparison source image data, and information indicating whether or not picture data is continued, as data, to the data processing section; and

the data processing section retrieves the display data to be displayed on the screen, from within data obtained in the data separating section, based on information on the identifier inputted from the motion detection processing section, processes the display data as appropriate display data by using the position information or the position information after being updated, which are inputted from the motion detection processing section, and subsequently outputs the appropriate display data as the display information data.