Video image quality control apparatus and method

• US 7,777,815 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2009
• Issued: 08/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kimura, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US12/350,888
• Publication Number:
  US 20090244382A1
• Time in Patent Office: 586 Days
• Field of Search: 348602-603, 348587-589, 348/658, 345/204, 345/207
• US Class Current: 348/602
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42202 environmental sensors, e.g. for detecting temperature, luminosity, pressure, earthquakes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440218 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 conversion of standards in analogue television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4858 for modifying screen layout parameters, e.g. fonts, size of the windows
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64792 Controlling the complexity of the content stream, e.g. by dropping packets intermediate media network packet handling H04L65/765; proxy provisioning conversion or adaptation for reducing the amount or size of exchanged application data H04L67/5651; negotiation of resources in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/58 in dependence upon ambient light

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video image quality control apparatus including: a video processing module configured to adjust image quality based on a control signal; a data table holder configured to hold a data table representing information of a start time and an end time of a daytime in each area; a determination module configured to determine a current location of the apparatus based on areal setting information of a receiving channel; a specifying module configured to specify a start time and an end time of a daytime at the current location by referring to the data table based on information of the current location; and an adjusting module configured to output the control signal based on a start time and an end time of a daytime specified by the specifying module.

Claims

1. A video image quality control apparatus, in a broadcast receiver apparatus having a video processing portion to which a digital video signal is input and which adjusts screen brightness by adjusting the digital video signal in accordance with image quality adjustment data, the video image quality control apparatus comprising:

a daytime start/end time table holding portion that holds at least a regional daytime start/end time table;

an installation region determination portion that determines an installation region of the apparatus based on regional setting information according to a digital broadcasting protocol;

a daytime start/end time specifying portion that specifies daytime start/end time of the installation region by referring to the daytime start/end time table based on information of the installation region;

an adaptive image quality adjusting portion that outputs the digital video signal that gradually changes in a time zone before reaching the start/end time, and that adjusts the screen to a bright direction before the start time and to a dark direction before the end time, based on the specified daytime start/end time;

a sensor that detects ambient brightness; and

a sensor output utilization portion that corrects the image quality adjustment data in accordance with an output of the sensor.

2. The video image quality control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the daytime start/end time table holding portion holds the regional daytime start/end time table classified by seasons.

3. The video image quality control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the daytime start/end time table holding portion holds the regional daytime start/end time table classified by month and day.

4. The video image quality control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor output utilization portion is selectively settable to be an on-state or an off-state.

5. The video image quality control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises a forcible correction portion that forcibly corrects the image quality adjustment data by an external operation.