Method and system for enhanced modulation of video signals

• US 8,704,946 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2013
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advocado, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Koplar Interactive Systems International, LLC
• Inventors: Chupp, Christopher E., Gramelspacher, Michael S., Chounard, Jesse J. II, Withers, James G., Barsoum, Yousri H., Reynolds, Michael C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Natnael, Paulos M
• Application Number:
  US13/776,282
• Publication Number:
  US 20130271652A1
• Time in Patent Office: 421 Days
• Field of Search: 348/473, 348/474, 348/469, 348/470, 348475-479, 375/240.01, 375/240.26, 375/240.27, 386/263, 386/343
• US Class Current: 348/473
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/44 Decoders specially adapted therefor, e.g. video decoders which are asymmetric with respect to the encoder
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/85 using pre-processing or post-processing specially adapted for video compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2383 Channel coding or modulation of digital bit-stream, e.g. QPSK modulation arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by adapting the channel coding H04L1/0009; analogue front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4382 Demodulation or channel decoding, e.g. QPSK demodulation analog front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/007 Systems with supplementary picture signal insertion during a portion of the active part of a television signal, e.g. during top and bottom lines in a HDTV letter-box system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/025 Systems for the transmission of digital non-picture data, e.g. of text during the active part of a television frame transmission of digital non-picture data during the vertical blanking interval only H04N7/088
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/08 Systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information signals, the signals occupying wholly or partially the same frequency band , e.g. by time division H04N7/007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/081 the additional information signals being transmitted by means of a subcarrier

Abstract

A method for encoding a carrier signal in a video signal, the video signal having one or more frames, the frames each having a first field and a second field, the first field and the second field of each frame having a plurality of scan lines, each having a plurality of pixels with an intensity value indicating brightness, the method comprising selectively designating the plurality of scan lines of the first field of the one or more frames as up lines or down lines, calculating an optimum amount of adjustment to the pixels of the up lines and the down lines, and selectively increasing the intensity value of pixels of the up lines and decreasing the intensity value of pixels of the down lines by the optimum amount of adjustment thereby modulating the video signal with a carrier signal and creating a modulated video signal.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a video signal from a signal source, the video signal including plural frames having scan lines with designated intensities for representing at least one of an image or a video;

selecting portions of one or more of the scan lines in one or more frames of the video signal; and

changing intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines relative to the designated intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines by raising or lowering the intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines,

wherein raising or lowering the intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines encodes a carrier signal in the video signal without the carrier signal being noticeable to a human viewer of the video signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the intensities of the portions of different ones of the one or more scan lines are changed by different amounts within one or more common frames of the video signal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the intensities of the portions of neighboring scan lines in the one or more scan lines are changed by different amounts within one or more common frames of the video signal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the portions of the one or more scan lines that are selected represent less than entire lengths of the one or more scan lines.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the scan lines include pixels and selecting the portions of the one or more of the scan lines includes selecting a subset of the pixels in the one or more of the scan lines.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the scan lines include plural pixels and changing the intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines includes raising or lowering the intensities of the video signals in the pixels of the portions of the one or more scan lines by designated amounts.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising identifying a spatial edge displayed in the video signal by comparing the designated intensities associated with first and second neighboring pixels in the pixels of at least one of the scan lines within a common frame of the frames in the video signal.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein changing the intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines includes increasing or decreasing the intensity of the first pixel by a greater amount than the intensity of the second pixel is increased or decreased responsive to the spatial edge being identified between the first and second pixels.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising identifying a temporal edge displayed in the video signal by comparing the designated intensities associated with a first pixel in the pixels of at least one of the scan lines across several sequential frames of the frames in the video signal.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein changing the intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines includes increasing or decreasing the intensity of the pixels other than the designated pixel by a designated amount and increasing or decreasing the intensity of the first pixel by a greater amount than the designated amount responsive to the temporal edge being identified at the first pixel within the sequential frames.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising identifying luminance of one or more of the pixels prior to changing the intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines, wherein changing the intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines includes increasing or decreasing the intensity of the one or more pixels by amounts that are proportional to the luminance of the one or more pixels that are identified.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein raising or lowering the intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines encodes the carrier signal in the video signal without changes in the intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines being noticeable to a human viewer of the video signal.

13. An encoder device comprising:

a video input configured to receive a video signal provided by a signal source, the video signal including plural frames having scan lines with designated intensities for representing at least one of an image or a video; and

one or more processors configured to select portions of one or more of the scan lines in one or more frames of the video signal and change intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines relative to the designated intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines,

wherein raising or lowering the intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines encodes a carrier signal in the video signal without the carrier signal being noticeable to a human viewer of the video signal,

wherein the scan lines include plural pixels and the one or more processors are configured to change the intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines by raising or lowering the intensities of the video signals in the pixels of the portions of the one or more scan lines by designated amounts.

14. The encoder device of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are configured to change the intensities of the portions of different ones of the one or more scan lines by different amounts within one or more common frames of the video signal.

15. The encoder device of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are configured to change the intensities of the portions of neighboring scan lines in the one or more scan lines by different amounts within one or more common frames of the video signal.

16. The encoder device of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are configured to identify a spatial edge displayed in the video signal by comparing the designated intensities associated with first and second neighboring pixels in the pixels of at least one of the scan lines within a common frame of the frames in the video signal.

17. The encoder device of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are configured to change the intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines by increasing or decreasing the intensity of the first pixel by a greater amount than the intensity of the second pixel is increased or decreased responsive to the spatial edge being identified between the first and second pixels.

18. The encoder device of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are configured to identify a temporal edge displayed in the video signal by comparing the designated intensities associated with a first pixel in the pixels of at least one of the scan lines across several sequential frames of the frames in the video signal.

19. The encoder device of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors are configured to change the intensities of the portions of the one or more scan lines by increasing or decreasing the intensity of the pixels other than the designated pixel by a designated amount and increasing or decreasing the intensity of the first pixel by a greater amount than the designated amount responsive to the temporal edge being identified at the first pixel within the sequential frames.