Control method for detecting change points in motion picture images and for stopping reproduction thereof and control system for monitoring picture images utilizing the same

• US 6,321,024 B1
• Filed: 10/26/1999
• Issued: 11/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Miyatake, Takafumi, Nagasaka, Akio, Taniguchi, Katsumi, Fujita, Takehiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Chevalier, Robert
• Application Number:
  US09/426,902
• Time in Patent Office: 756 Days
• Field of Search: 386/55, 386/52, 386/46, 386/69, 386/68, 386/70, 386/124, 386/125, 386/126, 386/121, 386/107, 386/117, 386/45, 386/38, 386/60, 386/6
• US Class Current: 386/281
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7328 Query by example, e.g. a complete video frame or video sequence graphical querying G06F16/7335
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/738 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/90 Tape-like record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/22 Means responsive to presence or absence of recorded information signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/147 Scene change detection

Abstract

Only a video cut (containing a frame) designated by a user is automatically and correctly extracted directly from a video image under playing operation at high speed. A judgement is made as to whether or not the frame of the video image is designated by the user. When such a user designation is made, a detection is made of a change point in the video cut containing this designated frame (reverse playing direction, forward playing direction). Under such a condition that a frame image immediately before this change point is displayed, the playing operation of the video image is brought into a pause state. Accordingly, only the video cut desired by the user can be extracted during a single playing operation of the video image, and the video image can be edited in a high efficiency.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a video image section in a video image, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a video image on a screen, the video image including a plurality of frames grouped into a plurality of video image sections, each of the video image sections including a plurality of the frames of the video image;

designating one of the frames of the video image displayed on the screen;

detecting a video image section including the designated frame of the video image based on a feature of the frames of the video image; and

displaying, on the screen, at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of the detected video image section including the designated frame of the video image.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein each of the video image sections is a continuous video image section taken by a single video camera.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of detecting a video image section including the designated frame of the video image includes the steps of:

converting the frames of the video image into digital signals;

detecting the feature of the frames of the video image from the digital signals; and

comparing the detected feature of one of the frames of the video image with the detected feature of another one of the frames of the video image.

4. A computer-readable medium storing a computer program, the computer program, when executed by a computer, performing the steps of:

inputting a video image into the computer, the video image including a plurality of frames grouped into a plurality of video image sections, each of the video image sections including a plurality of the frames of the video image;

displaying the video image on a screen;

accepting a command designating one of the frames of the video image displayed on the screen;

detecting at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of a video image section including the designated frame of the video image based on a feature of the frames of the video image; and

displaying, on the screen, at least one of the detected at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of a video image section including the designated frame of the video image.

5. A computer-readable medium according to claim 4, wherein the step of displaying the video image on a screen includes the steps of:

playing the video image at a high playing speed higher than a normal playing speed of the video image; and

displaying, on the screen, the video image being played at the high playing speed.

6. A computer-readable medium according to claim 5, wherein the step of displaying the video image on a screen further includes the steps of

obtaining frames of the video image at a constant time interval from the video image being played at the high playing speed, and

displaying, on the screen, the obtained frames of the video image as representative images in a list;

and

wherein the step of accepting a command designating one of the frames of the video image displayed on the screen includes the step of accepting a command designating one of the representative images in the list as the designated frame of the video image.

7. A computer-readable medium according to claim 6, wherein the step of displaying, on the screen, the obtained frames of the video image as representative images in a list includes the steps of:

comparing the feature of a newly obtained frame of the video image with the feature of a previously obtained frame of the video image, the previously obtained frame of the video image being one of the representative images in the list; and

displaying, on the screen, the newly obtained frame as a representative image in the list if a difference between the feature of the newly obtained frame and the feature of the previously obtained frame is larger than a predetermined value.

8. A computer-readable medium according to claim 7, wherein the computer program, when executed by the computer, further performs the step of displaying, on the screen, the newly obtained frame under the representative image in the list which is the previously obtained frame such that the newly obtained frame is partially overlapped by the representative image in the list which is the previously obtained frame, thereby leaving a portion of the newly obtained frame visible, if the difference between the feature of the newly obtained frame and the feature of the previously obtained frame is not larger than the predetermined value.

9. A computer-readable medium according to claim 4, wherein the step of detecting at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of a video image section including the designated frame of the video image includes the steps of:

converting the frames of the video image into digital signals;

detecting the feature of the frames of the video image from the digital signals; and

comparing the detected feature of one of the frames of the video image with the detected feature of another one of the frames of the video image.

10. A computer-readable medium according to claim 9, wherein the step of detecting the feature of the frames of the video image from the digital signals includes the step of forming a color histogram of the frames from the digital signals.

11. A computer-readable medium according to claim 9, wherein the digital signals include digital audio data;

and

wherein the step of detecting the feature of the frames of the video image from the digital signals includes calculating an autocorrelation value of the digital audio data.

12. A computer-readable medium according to claim 4, wherein each of the video image sections is a continuous video image section taken by a single video camera.

13. A computer program stored by a computer-readable medium, the computer program, when executed by a computer, performing the steps of:

inputting a video image into the computer, the video image including a plurality of frames grouped into a plurality of video image sections, each of the video image sections including a plurality of the frames of the video image;

displaying the video image on a screen;

accepting a command designating one of the frames of the video image displayed on the screen;

detecting at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of a video image section including the designated frame of the video image based on a feature of the frames of the video image; and

displaying, on the screen, at least one of the detected at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of a video image section including the designated frame of the video image.

14. A computer program according to claim 13, wherein each of the video image sections is a continuous video image section taken by a single video camera.

15. A computer program according to claim 13, wherein the step of detecting at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of a video image section including the designated frame of the video image includes the steps of:

converting the frames of the video image into digital signals;

detecting the feature of the frames of the video image from the digital signals; and

comparing the detected feature of one of the frames of the video image with the detected feature of another one of the frames of the video image.

16. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, the computer data signal, when processed by a computer, creating a video image editing system comprising:

means for inputting a video image into the computer, the video image including a plurality of frames grouped into a plurality of video image sections, each of the video image sections including a plurality of the frames of the video image;

means for displaying the video image on a screen;

means for accepting a command designating one of the frames of the video image displayed on the screen; and

means for detecting at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of a video image section including the designated frame of the video image based on a feature of the frames of the video image.

17. A computer data signal according to claim 16, wherein each of the video image sections is a continuous video image section taken by a single video camera.

18. A computer data signal according to claim 16, wherein the means for detecting at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of a video image section including the designated frame of the video image includes:

means for converting the frames of the video image into digital signals;

means for detecting the feature of the frames of the video image from the digital signals; and

means for comparing the detected feature of one of the frames of the video image with the detected feature of another one of the frames of the video image.

19. A display apparatus comprising:

means for displaying a video image on a screen, the video image including a plurality of frames grouped into a plurality of video image sections, each of the video image sections including a plurality of the frames of the video image;

means for accepting a command designating one of the frames of the video image displayed on the screen;

means for displaying, on the screen, the designated frame of the video image;

means for accepting a command to detect at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of a video image section including the designated frame of the video image;

means, responsive to the command to detect at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of a video image section including the designated frame of the video image, for

playing the video image,

detecting at least one of the head frame and the tail frame of the video image section including the designated frame of the video image from the video image being played, and

stopping playing of the video image after the at least one of the head frame and the tail frame of the video image section including the designated frame of the video image has been detected; and

means for displaying, on the screen, at least one of the detected at least one of the head frame and the tail frame of the video image section including the designated frame of the video image.

20. A screen, embodied in a display apparatus, for providing an interactive capability in a video image editing system, the screen comprising:

a video image display region for displaying a video image, the video image including a plurality of frames grouped into a plurality of video image sections, each of the video image sections including a plurality of the frames of the video image;

a frame designating region, responsive to a command from a user, for designating one of the frames of the video image displayed in the video image display region;

a designated frame display region for displaying the designated frame of the video image;

a region, responsive to a command from a user, for

playing the video image,

detecting at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of a video image section including the designated frame of the video image from the video image being played, and

stopping playing of the video image after the at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of a video image section including the designated frame of the video image has been detected; and

a region for displaying at least one of the detected at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of a video image section including the designated frame of the video image.

21. A video image editing system comprising:

a video image playing apparatus for playing a video image, the video image including a plurality of frames grouped into a plurality of video image sections, each of the video image sections including a plurality of the frames of the video image;

a video image input apparatus for time-sequentially converting the video image being played by the video image playing apparatus into digital signals frame by frame; and

a video image processing apparatus including means for receiving the digital signals from the video image input apparatus,

means for displaying, on a screen, a plurality of the frames of the video image based on the digital signals,

means for accepting a command designating one of the frames of the video image displayed on the screen,

means for detecting a feature of the frames of the video image from the digital signals,

means for detecting a video image section including the designated frame of the video image from the digital signals based on the detected feature of the frames of the video image, and

means for detecting at least one of a head frame and a tail frame of the detected video image section including the designated frame of the video image from the digital signals.