Moving picture processing method and moving picture processing apparatus

• US 6,466,731 B2
• Filed: 04/02/1997
• Issued: 10/15/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kaneko, Toshimitsu, Aoki, Hisashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Christensen, Andrew B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ONUAKU, CHRISTOPHER O
• Application Number:
  US08/832,374
• Publication Number:
  US 20020071649A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,022 Days
• Field of Search: 386/1, 386/45, 386/46, 386/125, 386/126, 386/4, 386/5, 386/34, 345/302, 345/327, 345/418, 348/700, 348/223, 725/19, 725/21
• US Class Current: 386/241
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/90 Tape-like record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/107 of operating tapes
• 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 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/147 Scene change detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen

Abstract

The object of the present invention is to provide a moving picture processing apparatus capable of preventing the viewer from watching the already watched pictures repeatedly. The moving picture processing apparatus of the present invention records the feature amounts of the already watched pictures in a database every moment and judges whether or not the pictures the viewer is now watching have already been displayed. When the current pictures are what have already been displayed, the apparatus carries out the process of stopping the video output until the time set by the user has been reached. When a list of small screens appears to show pictures, the apparatus carries out the process of displaying only dissimilar pictures on the screen.

Claims

1. A moving picture processing method comprising:

selecting a first subset of non-contiguous frames from a first shot of inputted moving picture data;

including a first picture

extracting first feature data from each frame in the first subset of frames selected;

selecting a second subset of non-contiguous frames from a second shot of inputted moving picture data including a second picture inputted after the first sub set of frames;

extracting second feature data from each frame of the second subset of frames selected;

comparing, on a frame-by-frame basis, first feature data of the non-contiguous frames of the first subset with the second feature data of the non-contiguous frames of the second subset; and

judging, based only on the frames of the first and second subsets, whether or not said first shot is similar to said second shot.

2. A moving picture processing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

creating first picture data for displaying a first picture corresponding to said first shot, when it is judged that said first shot is not similar to said second shot.

3. A moving picture processing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing said first feature data in a feature database, when it is judged that said first shot is not similar to said second shot.

4. A moving picture processing method according to claim 3, wherein said first feature data includes recording data that indicates the recording date and time that said first feature data has been recorded in said feature database.

5. A moving picture processing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

outputting second picture data for displaying a second picture corresponding to said second shot, when it is judged that said first shot is not similar to said second shot.

6. A moving picture processing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

creating message data for displaying a message that a first picture corresponding to the first shot has already been displayed at least in a part of said second picture, when it is judged that said first shot is similar to said second shot.

7. A moving picture processing method according to claim 1, wherein said moving picture data includes audio data.

8. A moving picture processing method according to claim 1, wherein:

said first feature data includes first average value data that indicates the average value of three primary colors in each pixel region of said first picture divided into specific pixel regions; and

said second feature data includes second average value data that indicates the average value of three primary colors in each pixel region of said second picture divided into specific pixel regions.

9. A moving picture processing method according to claim 1, wherein:

said first feature data includes first luminance data indicating the luminance of said first picture, first color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and red, and second color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and blue; and

,

said second feature data includes second luminance data indicating the luminance of said second picture, third color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and red, and fourth color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and blue.

10. A moving picture processing method according to claim 1, wherein said first feature data includes first luminance data indicating the luminance of said first picture and said second feature data includes second luminance data indicating the luminance of said second picture.

11. A moving picture processing method according to claim 1, wherein:

the first subset of frames includes a beginning frame, middle frame, and end frame of said first shot, and a frame between the beginning and middle frames, and a frame between the middle and end frames; and

the second subset of frames includes a beginning frame, middle frame, and end frame of said second shot, and a frame between the beginning and middle frames, and a frame between the middle and end frames.

12. A moving picture processing apparatus comprising:

a selecting section configured to select a first subset of non-contiguous frames from a first shot of inputted moving picture data;

including a first picture

an extracting section configured to extract first feature data from each frame in the first subset of frames selected;

a comparing section, configured to compare, on a frame-by-frame basis, (1) second feature data extracted from a second subset of non-contiguous frames selected from a second shot of moving picture data including a second picture and (2) the first feature data; and

a judging section configured to judge, based only on an output of the comparing section, whether or not said first shot is similar to said second shot.

13. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:

a first creating section configured to create first picture data for displaying a first picture corresponding to said first shot, when it is judged that said first shot is not similar to said second shot.

14. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:

a feature database; and

a storage section configured to store said first feature data in said feature database, when it is judged that said first shot is not similar to said second shot.

15. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said first feature data includes recording data that indicates the recording date and time that said first feature data has been recorded in said feature database.

16. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:

an outputting section configured to output second picture data for displaying second picture corresponding to said second shot, when it is judged that said first shot is not similar to said second shot.

17. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:

a second creating section configured to create message data for displaying a message that a first picture corresponding to the first shot has already been displayed at least in a part of said second picture, when it is judged that said first shot is similar to said second shot.

18. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said moving picture data includes audio data.

19. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein:

said first feature data includes first average value data that indicates the average value of three primary colors in each pixel-region of said first picture divided into specific pixel regions; and

said second feature data includes second average value data that indicates the average value of three primary colors in each pixel region of said second picture divided into specific pixel regions.

20. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein:

said first feature data includes first luminance data indicating the luminance of said first picture, first color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and red, and second color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and blue; and

said second feature data includes second-luminance data indicating the luminance of said second picture, third color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and red, and fourth color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and blue.

21. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said first feature data includes first luminance data indicating the luminance of said first picture, and said second feature data includes second luminance data indicating the luminance of said second picture.

22. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein:

said frames selected from the first shot includes a beginning frame, middle frame, and end frame of said first shot, and a frame between the beginning and middle of the shot, and a frame between the middle and end of the shot; and

said frames selected from the second shot includes a beginning frame, middle frame, and end frame of said second shot, and a frame between the beginning and middle frames, and a frame between the middle and end frames.

23. A moving picture processing method comprising:

selecting a first shot serving as a comparison reference from inputted moving picture data;

including a first picture

selecting second shots including a second picture to be compared from the inputted moving picture data;

judging whether or not said first shot is similar to said second shots in sequence based on a first non-contiguous subset of frames in the first and a second non-contiguous subset of frames in the second shots;

putting a first visible label on at least one shot of the second shots, the at least one shot to which it is judged that said first shot is not similar;

judging whether or not one of said second shots is a preset shot; and

creating picture data for displaying a screen corresponding to one frame selected from said at least one shot with said first visible label, when it is judged that the one of said second shots is a preset shot.

24. A moving picture processing method according to claim 23, wherein the judging whether or not said first shot is similar to said second shots in sequence, comprises:

extracting second feature data indicating a feature of second frames in one of said second shots; and

judging whether or not said first shot is similar to said one of the second shots, based on said second feature data and first feature data indicating a feature of first frames in said first shot.

25. A moving picture processing method according to claim 24, further comprising storing said first feature data in a feature database, when said first shot is not similar to said one of the second shots.

26. A moving picture processing method according to claim 25, wherein said first feature data includes recording data that indicates the recording date and time that said first feature data has been recorded in said feature database.

27. A moving picture processing method according to claim 24, wherein:

said first feature data includes first average value data that indicates the average value of three primary colors in each pixel region of said first picture divided into specific pixel regions; and

said second feature data includes second average value data that indicates the average value of three primary colors in each pixel region of said second picture divided into specific pixel regions.

28. A moving picture processing method according to claim 24, wherein:

said first feature data includes-first luminance data indicating the luminance-of said first picture, first color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and red, and second color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and blue; and

said second feature data includes second luminance data indicating the luminance of said second picture, third color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and red, and fourth color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and blue.

29. A moving picture processing method according to claim 24, wherein said first feature data includes first luminance data indicating the luminance of said first picture, and said second feature data includes second luminance data indicating the luminance of said second picture.

30. A moving picture processing method according to claim 24, wherein:

the first subset includes a beginning frame, middle frame, and end frame of said first shot, and a frame between the beginning and middle frames, and a frame between the middle and end frames; and

the second subset includes a beginning frame, middle frame, and end frame of said second shot, and a frame between the beginning and middle frames, and a frame between the middle and end frames.

31. A moving picture processing method according to claim 23, wherein said moving picture data includes audio data.

32. A moving picture processing method comprising:

a first step of selecting a first shot serving as a comparison reference from inputted moving picture data;

including a first picture

a second step of selecting a shot next to said first shot as a second shot to be compared from the inputted moving picture data;

including a second picture

a third step of judging whether or not said first shot is similar to said second shot;

a fourth step of putting first label on said second shot, when it is judged that the first shot is not similar to said second shot;

a sixth step of judging whether or not said second shot is a preset shot;

a fifth step of determining a shot next to said second shot to be a new second shot, when it is judged that the second shot is not a preset shot, and then executing said third step to said fifth step repeatedly;

a seventh step of judging whether or not a specified number of shots have been made said first shot, when it is judged that a second shot is a preset shot;

an eighth step of determining a shot next to said first shot to be a new first shot, when a specific number of shots have not been made said first shot, and then executing said third step to said seventh step repeatedly; and

a ninth step of creating image data for displaying a screen corresponding to one frame selected from the second shot with said first label, when it is judged that a specific number of shots have been made said first visible shot,

wherein the third step includes the steps of;

selecting frames from the first shot and frames from the second shot;

extracting first feature data from said frames selected from the first shot and second feature data from the frames selected from the second shot wherein the first feature data indicate features of said frames selected from the first shot and the second feature data indicate feature of the frames selected from the second shot, respectively;

comparing the first feature data and the second feature data with each other in order to obtain a similarity between the first feature data and second feature data; and

judging, based on the obtained similarity between the first feature data and the second feature data, whether or not said first shot is similar to said second shot.

33. A moving picture processing method according to claim 32, wherein the third step of judging whether or not said first shot is similar to said second shot, comprises:

extracting second feature data indicating a feature of frames in said second subset; and

judging whether or not said first shot is similar to said second shot, based on said second feature data and first feature data indicating a feature of frames in said first subset.

34. A moving picture processing method according to claim 33, further comprising storing said first feature data in a feature database, when it is judged that said first shot is not similar to said second shot.

35. A moving picture processing method according to claim 34, wherein said first feature data includes first luminance data indicating the luminance of said first picture, and said second feature data includes second luminance data indicating the luminance of said second picture.

36. A moving picture processing method according to claim 33, wherein:

said first feature data includes first average value data that indicates the average value of the three primary colors in each pixel region of said first picture divided into specific pixel regions; and

said second feature data includes second average value data that indicates the average value of the three primary colors in each pixel region of said second picture divided into specific pixel regions.

37. A moving picture processing method according to claim 33, wherein:

said first feature data includes first luminance data indicating the luminance of said first picture, first color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and red, and second color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and blue; and

said second feature data includes second luminance data indicating the luminance of said second picture, third color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and red, and fourth color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and blue.

38. A moving picture processing method according to claim 33, wherein:

the first subset includes a beginning frame, middle frame, and end frame of said first shot, and a frame between the beginning and middle frames, and a frame between the middle and end frames; and

the second subset includes a beginning frame, middle frame, and end frame of said second shot, and a frame between the beginning and middle frames, and a frame between the middle and end frames.

39. A moving picture processing method according to claim 32, wherein said moving picture data includes audio data.

40. A moving picture processing method according to claim 39, wherein said first feature data includes recording data that indicates the recording date and time that said first feature data has been recorded in said feature database.

41. A moving picture processing apparatus comprising:

a first selecting section configured to select a first shot serving as a comparison reference from inputted moving picture data;

including a first picture

a second selecting section configured to select second shots to be compared from the inputted moving picture data;

including a second picture

a first judging section configured to judge whether or not said first shot is similar to said second shots in sequence based on a first non-contiguous subset of frames in the first and a second non-contiguous subset of frames in the second shots;

a labeling section configured to put a first visible label on at least one shot of the second shots, the at least one shot to which it is judged that first shot is not similar;

a second judging section configured to judge whether or not one of said second shots is a preset shot; and

a creating section configured to create image data for displaying a screen corresponding to one frame selected from said at least one shot with said first visible label, when it is judged that one of said second shots is a preset shot.

42. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 41, wherein said first judging means comprises:

an extracting section configured to extract second feature data indicating a feature of second frames in one of said second shots; and

a third judging section configured to judge whether or not said first shot is similar to said one of the second shots, based on said second feature data and first feature data indicating a feature of first frames in said first shot.

43. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 42, further comprising a storage section configured to store said first feature data in a feature database, when it is judged that said first shot is not similar to said one of the second shots.

44. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 43, wherein said first feature data includes recording data that indicates the recording date and time that said first feature data has been recorded in said feature database.

45. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 42, wherein:

said first feature data includes first average value data that indicates the average value of three primary colors in each pixel region of said first picture divided into specific pixel regions; and

said second feature data includes second average value data that indicates the average value of the three primary colors in each pixel region of said second picture divided into specific pixel regions.

46. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 42, wherein:

said first feature data includes first luminance data indicating the luminance of said first picture, first color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and red, and second color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and blue; and

said second feature data includes second luminance data indicating the luminance of said second picture, third color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and red, and fourth color difference data indicating the color difference between the luminance and blue.

47. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 42, wherein said first feature data includes first luminance data indicating the luminance of said first picture, and said second feature data includes second luminance data indicating the luminance of said second picture.

48. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 42, wherein:

the first subset includes a beginning frame, a middle frame, and end frame of said first shot, and a frame between the beginning and middle frames, and a frame between the middle and end frames; and

the second subset includes a beginning frame, middle frame, and end frame of said second shot, and a frame between the beginning and middle frames, and a frame between the middle and end frames.

49. A moving picture processing apparatus according to claim 41, wherein said moving picture data includes audio data.

50. A computer program product for operating a computer, said computer product comprising:

a computer readable medium;

first program instruction means for instructing a computer processor to select a first non-contiguous subset of frames from a first shot of inputted moving picture data;

second program instruction means for instructing a computer processor to extract first feature data from each of the frames in the first subset of frames selected; and

third program instruction means for instructing a computer processor to judge, based on said first feature data and second feature data indicating features of frames selected from a second non-contiguous subset of frames of a second shot of said moving picture data inputted before said first shot, whether or not said first shot is similar to said second shot, wherein each of said program instruction means is recorded on said medium in executable form and is loadable into the computer for execution by the processor.

51. A computer program product for operating a computer, said computer product comprising:

a computer readable medium;

first program instruction means for instructing a computer processor to select a first non-contiguous subset of a first shot serving as a comparison reference from inputted moving picture data;

second program instruction means for instructing a computer processor to select a second non-contiguous subset of second shots to be compared from the inputted moving picture data;

third program instruction means for instructing a computer processor to judge whether or not said first shot is similar to said second shots in sequence based only on frames of the first and second subsets;

fourth program instruction means for instructing a computer processor to put a first visible label on at least one shot of the second shots, the at least one shot to which it is judged that said first shot is not similar;

fifth program instruction means for instructing a computer processor to judge whether or not one of said second shots is a preset shot; and

sixth program instruction means for instructing a computer processor to create picture data for displaying a screen corresponding to one frame selected from said at least one shot within said first label, when it is judged that the one of said second shots is a preset shot, wherein each of said program instruction means is recorded on said medium in executable form and is loadable into the computer for executing by the processor.