Video system and method of operating a video system

• US 7,193,645 B1
• Filed: 07/27/2000
• Issued: 03/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Original Assignee: PVI Virtual Media Services, LLC (Altice USA, Inc.)
• Inventors: Barbatsoulis, Larry, Farrell, Craig Matthew, McManus, Sean Joseph, Aagaard, Kenneth John
• Primary Examiner(s): Ye; Lin
• Application Number:
  US09/626,568
• Time in Patent Office: 2,427 Days
• Field of Search: 348/211.1, 348/211.3, 348/211.7, 348/211.9, 348/211.11, 348/143, 348/144, 348/157, 348/159, 348/14.09, 348/705, 348/170, 348/169, 348/211.4, 386/118
• US Class Current: 348/211.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• 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 5/2224 related to virtual studio applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera

Abstract

A video imaging system includes a master video camera for producing video images of a moving object of interest, a plurality of additional video cameras each positioned at a different location for producing additional video images of the object of interest from different spatial perspectives, and a control system for controlling the additional video cameras to track the object of interest imaged by the master video camera. The system generates video images using a method comprising the steps of producing a master video image of a moving object of interest, producing additional video images of the object of interest from different spatial perspectives, and controlling size of the object of interest in the additional video images in response to the size of the object of interest in the master video image. The invention further encompasses a method of presenting a video image comprising the steps of producing a plurality of video images of an object of interest from a plurality of spatial perspectives, displaying one of said video images for a period of time, selecting a frame in the displayed video image, and switching the displayed video image among a plurality of corresponding frames of said plurality of video images to display the object of interest from multiple spatial perspectives, giving the illusion of a single camera moving around the frozen object(s). This invention further encompasses the recording of point sound source by placing microphones at the cameras such that the microphones receive sound waves from the direction of the field of view of the cameras, and processing audio signals produced by these microphones to produce an audio output signal representative of sound being produced at a particular location in the area occupied by an event being recorded.

Claims

1. A video imaging system, the system comprising:

a master video camera for producing video images of a moving object of interest;

a plurality of additional video cameras each positioned at a different location surrounding the object of interest for producing additional video images of the object of interest from different spatial perspectives;

a control system for controlling said additional video cameras in response to the master video camera to follow movement of the object of interest, wherein said control system includes a means for controlling the focal length of each additional camera such that the size of the moving object of interest is generally equal in each of the master and additional cameras;

a recording system for recording the video images produced by the master camera and the additional cameras; and

a user interface for selecting particular ones of the video images for display, wherein said user interface includes a single control device which is adapted to select successive video images from a plurality of additional cameras, each successive one of said plurality of additional cameras being adjacent to a preceding camera, in order to effectuate a partial rotation around the object of interest in the display by moving through said plurality of adjacent additional camera images, such that the size of the object of interest remains generally equal throughout the rotation through successive adjacent additional camera images.

2. The video imaging system of claim 1, further comprising:

a monitoring unit for transmitting signals representative of an operating status of the master camera to the control system; and

a plurality of positioning units for positioning the additional cameras in response to control signals from the control system.

3. The video imaging system of claim 1, wherein the user interface permits the sequential selection of individual frames in the video images.

4. The video imaging system of claim 1, wherein the control system comprises:

a pan control, a tilt control, a focus control and a frame control for each of the additional video cameras; and

a computer processor for coordinating operation of the pan control, the tilt control, the focus control and the frame control for each additional video camera in response position and focus parameters of the master video camera.

5. The video imaging system of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of microphones positioned at the locations of predetermined ones of the additional cameras; and

the microphones being coupled to the control system to supply signals representative of audio signals received by the microphones.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said successive additional camera images displayed during said rotation were all captured at the same time.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said successive additional camera images displayed during said rotation were captured sequentially in time.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein said control system assigns a delay to each of said sounds signals to account for the relative distance between each microphone and the object of interest.

9. A method of generating a video image, said method comprising the steps of:

producing a master video image of a moving object of interest;

producing additional video images of the object of interest from different spatial perspectives; and

controlling characteristics of said additional video images in response to the master video image to track the object of interest wherein the object of interest is maintained at a generally equivalent size in each of said additional video images by controlling a focal depth of a camera associated with each said additional video images, further wherein a user interface is used to select between the master video image and a plurality of successive adjacent additional user images in order to effectuate a partial rotation around the object of interest by moving through the images from the plurality of successive adjacent additional user images.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

storing the master video images and the additional video images; and

selecting particular ones of the video images for display.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of selecting particular ones of the video images for display comprises the step of:

sequentially selecting individual frames in the video images.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

producing signals representative of audio signals received at selected ones of the different spatial perspectives.

13. A method of generating a television image, said method comprising the steps of:

producing a plurality of video images of an object of interest from a plurality of spatial perspectives;

displaying one of said video images for a period of time;

selecting a frame in the displayed video image; and

switching the displayed video image among a plurality of corresponding frames of said plurality of video images to display the object of interest from multiple spatial perspectives, wherein the object of interest is maintained at a generally equivalent size in each of said plurality of video images by controlling a focal depth of a camera associated with each of said plurality of video images, further wherein a user interface is used to select between a master video image and a plurality of successive adjacent additional user images in order to effectuate a partial rotation around the object of interest by moving through the images from the plurality of successive adjacent additional user images.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

displaying another one of the plurality of video images.

15. A method of generating a television image, said method comprising the steps of:

producing a plurality of video images of an object of interest from a plurality of spatial perspectives;

displaying one of said video images for a period of time; and

switching the displayed video image among said plurality of video images to display the object of interest from multiple spatial perspectives, wherein the object of interest is maintained at a generally equivalent size in each of said plurality of video images by controlling a focal depth of a camera associated with each of said plurality of video images, further wherein a user interface is used to select between a master video image and a plurality of successive adjacent additional user images in order to effectuate a partial rotation around the object of interest by moving through the images from the plurality of successive adjacent additional user images.