Apparatus, method, and program for video signal processing, and storage medium

• US 9,100,663 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2008
• Issued: 08/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kimura, Seiji, Ogata, Masami
• Primary Examiner(s): IDOWU, OLUGBENGA O
• Application Number:
  US12/110,909
• Publication Number:
  US 20080278630A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,654 Days
• Field of Search: 348/607, 348/318
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/85 using pre-processing or post-processing specially adapted for video compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/21 Circuitry for suppressing or minimising disturbance, e.g. moiré or halo
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/911 for the suppression of noise H04N5/932 takes precedence

Abstract

A video signal processing method includes the steps of processing an input video signal and outputting an output video signal, detecting a temporal feature from the input video signal, smoothing the temporal feature by filtering and outputting the smoothed temporal feature, and controlling processing performed in the processing step in accordance with the temporal feature smoothed in the smoothing step. In this method, the smoothing step switches a characteristic of the filtering in accordance with the attribute of the input video signal.

Claims

1. A video signal processing apparatus comprising:

a video signal processing unit configured to process an input video signal and output an output video signal;

a temporal feature detecting unit configured to detect a temporal feature from the input video signal;

a smoothing unit configured to smooth the temporal feature by filtering using a smoothing filter configured to reorder values of the temporal feature in accordance with a dynamically adjustable order, and selectively output values of the smoothed temporal feature; and

a controlling unit configured to control processing performed in the video signal processing unit in accordance with the smoothed temporal feature,

wherein;

the smoothing unit dynamically adjusts the dynamically adjustable order in accordance with an attribute of the input video signal.

11. The video signal processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the attribute of the video signal is part of a header of the input video signal or part of meta-information of an electronic program guide (EPG).

12. The video signal processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the attribute of the video signal indicates whether the input video signal is a 2-3 pulldown signal.

13. The video signal processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the attribute of the video signal indicates whether the input video signal was generated by interlace scanning or by progressive scanning.

2. A video signal processing method comprising the steps of:

processing an input video signal and outputting an output video signal;

detecting a temporal feature from the input video signal;

smoothing the temporal feature by filtering using a smoothing filter which reorders values of the temporal feature in accordance with a dynamically adjustable order, and selectively outputting values of the smoothed temporal feature; and

controlling processing performed in the processing step in accordance with the smoothed temporal feature,

wherein;

the smoothing step dynamically adjusts the dynamically adjustable order in accordance with an attribute of the input video signal.

3. The video signal processing method of claim 2,

wherein the detecting step includes the steps of:

delaying the input video signal to generate a delayed video signal;

generating a difference signal corresponding to a difference between the delayed video signal and the input video signal; and

detecting the temporal feature from the difference signal by processing the difference signal.

4. The video signal processing method of claim 3,

wherein the detecting step includes the steps of:

detecting the temporal feature from the difference signal in units of blocks set in the input video signal; and

performing statistical processing on the temporal feature detected in units of blocks, for each of images of the input video signal and detecting the temporal feature.

5. The video signal processing method of claim 3,

wherein a delay time in the delaying step is set as a predetermined field period or frame period.

6. The video signal processing method of claim 2,

wherein the smoothing filter is an order statistic filter.

7. The video signal processing method of claim 2, wherein the smoothing step determines the attribute of the input video signal from attribute information of the input video signal.

8. The video signal processing method of claim 2, wherein the detecting step includes the steps of:

detecting a feature from the input video signal; and

detecting an inter-field difference or an inter-frame difference in the feature and detecting the temporal feature.

9. The video signal processing method of claim 2, further comprising the step of dividing one image of the input video signal into blocks and outputting the input video signal from a plurality of channels,

wherein in the processing step, the detecting step, the smoothing step, and the controlling steps, the input video signal is processed for each of the channels, and

wherein the video signal processing method further includes the step of integrating results of processing of the plurality of channels performed in the processing step into one channel corresponding to the input video signal.

14. The video signal processing method of claim 2, wherein the attribute of the video signal is part of a header of the input video signal or part of meta-information of an electronic program guide (EPG).

15. The video signal processing method of claim 2, wherein the attribute of the video signal indicates whether the input video signal is a 2-3 pulldown signal.

16. The video signal processing method of claim 2, wherein the attribute of the video signal indicates whether the input video signal was generated by interlace scanning or by progressive scanning.

10. A non-transitory storage medium storing a program for a video signal processing method in which an input video signal is processed and an output video signal is generated, the program comprising the steps of:

processing the input video signal and generating the output video signal;

detecting a temporal feature from the input video signal;

smoothing the temporal feature by filtering using a smoothing filter which reorders values of the temporal feature in accordance with a dynamically adjustable order, and selectively outputting values of the smoothed temporal feature; and

controlling processing performed in the processing step in accordance with the smoothed temporal feature,

wherein;

the smoothing step dynamically adjusts the dynamically adjustable order in accordance with an attribute of the input video signal.

17. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 10, wherein the attribute of the video signal is part of a header of the input video signal or part of meta-information of an electronic program guide (EPG).

18. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 10, wherein the attribute of the video signal indicates whether the input video signal is a 2-3 pulldown signal.

19. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 10, wherein the attribute of the video signal indicates whether the input video signal was generated by interlace scanning or by progressive scanning.