Motion picture enhancing system

• US 6,351,545 B1
• Filed: 12/14/1999
• Issued: 02/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Integrated Digital Technologies, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.), NIO, Inc. (China)
• Original Assignee: Dynapel Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Diepold, Klaus, Edelson, Steven D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Boudreau, Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tabatabai, Abolfazl
• Application Number:
  US09/459,988
• Time in Patent Office: 805 Days
• Field of Search: 382/107, 375/240, 352/85, 348/155
• US Class Current: 382/107
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/32 Details specially adapted for motion-picture projection with film moving continuously through the gate G03B41/02

Abstract

In the motion picture display system, successive frames of a motion picture are compared to determine the dense motion vector fields representing the change of position of image elements in the images represented by the frames. Interpolated frames are generated by scaling the vectors of the dense motion vector fields to a fraction of their original magnitudes and moving image elements in the corresponding frames to positions in the interpolated frames in accordance with the dense motion vector fields. The invention is used to eliminate jerky motion in low frame rate motion pictures and also to provide slow motion in high frame rate motion pictures.

Claims

1. A video system comprising a video transmitter and a video receiver, said video transmitter operating to transmit a sequence of video frames to said video receiver, said transmitter comprising a splitter operable to eliminate at least half of the video frames from an original set of video frames and to transmit the remaining video frames as the sequence of video frames transmitted to said receiver, a first motion extractor connected to receive the remaining video frames from said splitter and to generate dense vector fields comprising sets of first vectors representing the change in position of image elements from frame to frame in the sequence of said remaining video frames, a first interpolator connected to said first motion extractor and connected to receive said remaining picture frames and operable to create first interpolated frames derived from corresponding ones of said remaining video frames by moving the image elements of corresponding remaining video frames to positions in the first interpolated frames in accordance with said first vectors reduced in magnitude, a comparator connected to receive from said splitter the original video frames eliminated from said original sequence of video frames and to receive said first interpolated frames and to compare the first interpolated frames with the corresponding eliminated frames to produce corrective data, said transmitter transmitting said corrective data to said receiver, said receiver comprising a second motion extractor connected to receive the sequence of video frames received by said receiver and to generate dense vector fields comprising sets of second vectors representing the change in position of image elements from frame to frame in the sequence of received video frames, and a second interpolator connected to said second motion extractor and to receive video frames received by said receiver and operable to create second interpolated frames derived from corresponding ones of the received video frames by moving the image elements of the corresponding frames to positions in the second interpolated frames in accordance with said second vectors reduced in magnitude, and a correction module connected to receive said corrective data and said second interpolated frames and to correct said second interpolated frames in accordance with said corrective data to correspond to said eliminated frames.

2. A video system as recited in claim 1 wherein said splitter eliminates every other frame and wherein said vectors are reduced in magnitude by ½

in both said transmitter and said receiver.

3. A video system as recited in claim 1 wherein said receiver further comprises an interleaver to interleave said interpolated frames in the sequence of video frames received from said transmitter.

4. A method of transmitting video data from a transmitter to a receiver, said video data comprising an original sequence of video frames representing a motion picture, comprising eliminating at least half of the video frames from said sequence of video frames at said transmitter and transmitting the remaining video frames to said receiver, generating at said transmitter dense motion vector fields comprising sets of vectors representing the change in position of image elements from frame to frame in the sequence of remaining video frames which are transmitted to said receiver, creating interpolated frames derived from corresponding ones of the remaining video frames at said transmitter by moving the image elements in corresponding remaining video frames to positions in the interpolated frames in accordance with said vectors reduced in magnitude, comparing said interpolated frames with the frames eliminated from the original sequence of video frames to produce corrective data at said transmitter, transmitting said corrective data to said receiver, deriving from the remaining frames received by said receiver dense motion vector fields comprising sets of vectors representing the change of position of image elements from frame to frame in the sequence of remaining video frames received by said receiver, creating interpolated frames at said receiver derived from the remaining video frames received by said receiver and the dense motion vector fields generated at said receiver, and correcting said interpolated frames created at said receiver in accordance with said corrective data to correspond to the original frames eliminated at said transmitter.