Information processing apparatus, graphic processing unit, graphic processing method, storage medium, and computer program

• US 6,924,846 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2001
• Issued: 08/02/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Chatani, Masayuki, Ohba, Akio
• Primary Examiner(s): Yenke, Brian P.
• Application Number:
  US09/861,916
• Publication Number:
  US 20020059648A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,534 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N00.5/445, H04/N00.9/74, 348/51, 348/54, 348/55, 348584-586, 348588-589, 348598-600, 348563-567, 348473-474, 345/633
• US Class Current: 348/584
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 11/26 involving two-channel transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42653 for processing graphics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/431 Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
• 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 21/44012 involving rendering scenes according to scene graphs, e.g. MPEG-4 scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/631 Multimode Transmission, e.g. transmitting basic layers and enhancement layers of the content over different transmission paths or transmitting with different error corrections, different keys or with different transmission protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/816 involving special video data, e.g 3D video
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8547 involving timestamps for synchronizing content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44504 Circuit details of the additional information generator, e.g. details of the character or graphics signal generator, overlay mixing circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen

Abstract

An information processing apparatus obtains a first image and display timing information of the first image via a first channel, and a second image via a second channel different from the first channel. The information processing apparatus includes a main CPU for processing the obtained second image in accordance with the contents of the first image, and a CRTC for outputting the obtained first image, the processed second image and the display timing information to a predetermined display unit to display a combined image obtained by combining the first and second images on the display unit.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

means for obtaining a first image and display timing information of said first image via a first channel, and for obtaining a second image via a second channel, said first image being a moving image obtained by reducing resolution of a high-resolution moving image to correspond to said first channel, said second image including differential information representing a difference between said high-resolution moving image and said first image, wherein said first channel is selected from the group consisting of a) a broadcast channel carrying a broadcast signal of a broadcast station transmitted via radio frequency, b) a cable communication channel carrying a cable signal of said broadcast station transmitted via a cable, and c) a recorded source of information recorded on a portable storage medium, and said second channel is selected from the group consisting of said broadcast channel, said cable communication channel and said recorded information source, said second channel being different from said first channel;

means for combining said first image with said second image to produce a unitary merged image timed according to said display timing information, said unitary merged image having the same resolution as that of said high-resolution moving image; and

means for outputting said unitary merged image in a form permitting said unitary merged image to be displayed on a display unit.

2. A graphic processing device for use in an information processing apparatus, comprising:

an information obtaining mechanism operable to obtain a first image and display timing information of said first image via a first channel, and to obtain a second image via a second channel, said first image including one of an image for a right eye and an image for a left eye, said second image being the other of said image for the right eye and said image for the left eye, said first and second images being generated for forming a stereoscopic image wherein said first channel is selected from the group consisting of a) a broadcast channel carrying a broadcast signal of a broadcast station;

b) a cable communication channel carrying a cable signal of said broadcast station transmitted via a cable, and c) a recorded source of information recorded on a portable storage medium, and said second channel is selected from the group consisting of said broadcast channel, said cable communication channel and said recorded information source, said second channel being different from said first channel; and

a processor operable to process said second image obtained by said information obtaining mechanism in accordance with contents of said first image to produce a unitary merged image forming said stereoscopic image for display, said unitary merged image timed according to said display timing information to permit said unitary merged image to be displayed on a display unit.

3. A computer-readable storage medium having a program stored thereon for performing a graphic processing method, said method comprising:

obtaining a first image and display timing information of said first image via a first channel, said first image being a moving image shot by an external unit, said first channel being selected from the group consisting of a) a broadcast channel carrying a broadcast signal of a broadcast station;

b) a cable communication channel carrying a cable signal of said broadcast station transmitted via a cable; and

c) a recorded source of information recorded on a portable storage medium;

obtaining a second image via a second channel, said second image including a computer generated (CG) object capable of being displayed in a form conveying motion, said second channel being selected from the group consisting of said broadcast channel, said cable communication channel and said recorded information source, said second channel being different from said first channel;

combining said first image with said second image to produce a unitary merged image timed according to said display timing information, such that the motion of the object and an appearance of the object are synchronized with a motion of said first image in accordance with said display timing information, and the motion of the object and the appearance of the object change in accordance with an execution procedure of a predetermined graphic processing program; and

outputting said unitary merged image in a form permitting said unitary merged image to be displayed on a display unit.

4. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 3, wherein said method further comprises obtaining additional information indicative of a condition of a shooting site at which said first image is shot in synchronization with said display timing information, and said first and said second images are combined such that the motion and the appearance of the object change in accordance with said additional information.

5. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 4, wherein said additional information includes relative position information indicating an apparent location of at least one of a character and the object in relation to said moving image, and said first and said second images are combined such that a direction and a display position of said at least one of the object and the character change in accordance with said relative position information.

6. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 4, wherein said additional information further includes meteorological condition information of said shooting site, and said first and second images are combined such that the motion and the appearance of the object change in accordance with said meteorological condition information.

7. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 4, wherein said method further comprises receiving operation information from a predetermined controller operated by an operator, and said first and said second images are combined such that the motion and the appearance of the object change in accordance with said received operation information.

8. A graphic processing method, comprising:

obtaining a first image and display timing information of said first image via a first channel, said first image being a moving image obtained by reducing resolution of a high-resolution moving image to correspond to said first channel, said first channel being selected from the group consisting of a) a broadcast channel carrying a broadcast signal of a broadcast station;

b) a cable communication channel carrying a cable signal of said broadcast station transmitted via a cable; and

c) a recorded source of information recorded on a portable storage medium;

obtaining a second image via a second channel, said second image including differential information representing a difference between said high-resolution moving image and said first image, said second channel being selected from the group consisting of said broadcast channel, said cable communication channel and said recorded information source, said second channel being different from said first channel;

combining said first image with said second image to produce a unitary merged image timed according to said display timing information and having the same resolution as that of said high-resolution moving image; and

outputting said unitary merged image in a form permitting said unitary merged image to be displayed on a display unit.