Method and apparatus for processing and recovering images

• US 6,606,422 B1
• Filed: 06/15/1999
• Issued: 08/12/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Evs International (Swiss) Sàrl
• Original Assignee: Symah Vision, SA
• Inventors: Richard, Gilles, Dulin, Serge
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehta, Bhavesh M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, KANJIBHAI B
• Application Number:
  US09/332,884
• Time in Patent Office: 1,519 Days
• Field of Search: 382/284, 382/282, 382/295, 382/296, 382/300, 382/302, 348/109, 348/23, 348/43, 348/47, 348/48, 348/49, 348/207.99, 348/441, 348/239, 348/454, 348/24, 348/25, 348/71, 348/93, 348/104, 348/208, 348/39, 348/159, 348/333.1, 348/333.12, 348/561, 348/578, 348/621, 348/581, 345/619, 345/620, 345/632, 345/720, 345/713
• US Class Current: 382/282
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4728 for selecting a Region Of Interest [ROI], e.g. for requesting a higher resolution version of a selected region
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/58 Means for changing the camera field of view without moving the camera body, e.g. nutating or panning of optics or image sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/222 Studio circuitry; Studio devices; Studio equipment cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors, or control thereof H04N23/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0135 involving interpolation processes interpolation-based image scaling G06T3/4007; interpolation for video coding H04N19/587, H04N19/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

For displaying a selected zone of images belonging to a sequence of video images, each in the form of a matrix of pixels, on a display unit, a signal is generated by a fixed large-field camera having a definition that is greater than that of the display unit. A TV user or an operator at a control station selects a zone of format corresponding to that of the display unit in a field of view of the camera. The pixels of a modified image having the size and definition of the display unit are generated by interpolation from the pixels in the selected zone of the image supplied by the large-field camera. A device for implementing the method includes a module for warping the selected zone by operations of interpolation and resampling.

Claims

1. A method of displaying a selected zone of successive images belonging to a sequence of video images, each in the form of a matrix of pixels, on a display unit, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a signal originating from at least one fixed large-field camera having a resolution that is greater than that of said unit and representing said video images;

(b) dynamically and optionally selecting, at any place in the camera field, and designating a zone having a width/height ratio corresponding to that of the display unit in said video images; and

(c) generating pixels of modified images representing said selected zone, having a size and the resolution of the display unit by interpolation from the pixels in the selected zone of the video images;

further comprising,

between steps (a) and (b), designating a target of constant size and position in the image of the scene viewed by the fixed camera; and

processing the signal delivered by the camera by inlaying a stored pattern into said image in place of the target.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal of step (a) is continuously formed by combining signals from a plurality of cameras having individual fields that overlap to limit edge effects and having a common magnification so as to merge images from said cameras.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) is carried out by an operator in a control room and said modified image is broadcast or transmitted.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein steps (b) and (c) are carried out at a head of a television distribution network which receives the video signal from a production site and said head broadcasts at a rate lower than a rate required for displaying the video signal.

5. The method of claim 1, further including the step of a user or subscriber specifying a determined fraction of transmitted overall images which contains the zone which he or she wishes to see on a return channel, wherein warping is performed locally.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said determined fraction is specified among only a plurality of predetermined fractions and only the determined fraction is transmitted to the user, comprising the additional step of local selection by the user of a position and size of a window to be displayed locally after said warping.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of compressing the video signal according to a pyramid algorithm at a plurality of compression levels and transmitting at a level depending on the size of the selected window.

8. A method of displaying a selected zone of successive images belonging to a sequence of video images, each of said video images in the form of a matrix of pixels, on a TV set controlled by a subscriber and provided with a return channel toward a distribution network head, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a signal originating from at least one fixed large-field camera having a resolution that is greater than that of said TV set and representing said video images;

(b) designating at will from the TV set a determined portion of the video images and sending an identification of the determined portion to the network head via said return channel;

(c) sending only that portion of the signal which represents said determined portion from the network head to the TV set;

(d) from the TV set, selecting at will a zone having a format corresponding to that of the TV set in said determined portion under control of the subscriber; and

(e) generating pixels of a modified image having a size and the definition of the TV set by warping the selected zone.

9. A device for causing display of a selected zone of successive images belonging to a sequence of video images represented by a signal originating from at least one fixed large-field camera having a resolution that is greater than that of units for displaying said display;

means for enabling an operator to dynamically select a zone having a format corresponding to that of the display units in said video images;

means for generating pixels of modified images having a size and definition of the display units by interpolation from the pixels in the selected zone of the video image;

means for broadcasting a signal representing the modified image toward the display units;

means for enabling said operator to select a fixed target of constant size, once for all, in a scene as viewed by the camera; and

means for inlaying a representation of a stored pattern warped to match said target in place of the target prior to broadcasting.