Display method and associated apparatus

• US 9,185,340 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2013
• Issued: 11/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MediaTek, Inc.
• Original Assignee: MStar Semiconductor Incorporated (MediaTek, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cheng, Kun-Nan
• Primary Examiner(s): Shibru, Helen
• Application Number:
  US14/037,497
• Publication Number:
  US 20140086552A1
• Time in Patent Office: 775 Days
• Field of Search: 386/248, 386/232, 386/230, 348/42
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/3027 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440272 for performing aspect ratio conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4621 Controlling the complexity of the content stream or additional data, e.g. lowering the resolution or bit-rate of the video stream for a mobile client with a small screen arrangements for using the results of monitoring on user's side in broadcast systems H04H60/65; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4884 for displaying subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0122 the input and the output signals having different aspect ratios
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0882 for the transmission of character code signals, e.g. for teletext circuits for the digital non-picture data signal H04N7/035

Abstract

A display apparatus and associated method are provided. The display apparatus receives a display frame having an output width-height ratio, and outputs an image frame according to a screen width-height ratio. The output width-height ratio is different from the screen width-height ratio. The display method includes obtaining an image region and a subtitle region from the display frame, generating a subtitle according to the subtitle region, generating the image frame according to the image region, and displaying the image frame and the subtitle.

Claims

1. A display method, applied to a display apparatus, the display apparatus configured to receive a display frame having an output width-height ratio and display an image frame according to a screen width-height ratio different from the output width-height ratio;

the display method comprising;

obtaining an image region and a subtitle region from the display frame;

generating a subtitle according to the subtitle region;

generating the image frame according to the image region; and

displaying the image frame and subtitle;

wherein the image region and the subtitle region are pixel-based; and

wherein the step of obtaining an image region and a subtitle region from the display frame comprises;

acquiring a plurality of horizontal sections from the display frame according to a predetermined horizontal axis;

identifying in the horizontal sections having a concentrated distribution of grayscale values; and

obtaining the subtitle region from the display frame according to at least one of the horizontal sections displaying the concentrated distribution.

2. The display method according to claim 1, wherein the concentrated distribution refers to that the grayscale values of the pixels comprised in one horizontal section comprise a first extremum grayscale value and a second extremum grayscale value.

3. The display method according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal sections are all located at a same side of the predetermined horizontal axis or near the predetermined horizontal axis dividing the display frame.

4. The display method according to claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining the subtitle region from the display frame according to the at least one of the horizontal sections displaying the concentrated distribution comprises:

selecting one of the horizontal sections displaying the concentrated distribution as a starting horizontal axis; and

obtaining a part of the display frame below or above the starting horizontal axis as the subtitle region.

5. The display method according to claim 1, wherein the step of generating the subtitle according to the subtitle region comprises:

dividing the subtitle region into a foreground region and a background region; and

changing color transparency of the background region.

6. The display method according to claim 5, wherein the foreground region refers to a plurality of pixels having a first extremum grayscale value in the subtitle region;

and

the background region refers to a plurality of pixels having a second extremum grayscale value in the subtitle region.

7. The display method according to claim 6, wherein the step of changing the color transparency of the background region transforms pixels comprised in the background region from the second extremum grayscale value to transparent.

8. The display method according to claim 5, wherein the step of generating the subtitle according to the subtitle region further comprises:

performing a scene analysis on the image frame to obtain a three-dimensional (3D) depth and a position of a speaker image, and accordingly adjusting the 3D depth and the position of the subtitle region and adjusting display dimensions, a 3D depth, colors, subtitle brightness, a font, a size, an outer frame or a position of the foreground region.

9. The display method according to claim 5, wherein the step of generating the subtitle according to the subtitle region further comprises:

performing a scene analysis on the image frame to obtain brightness and a color of a predetermined region, and accordingly adjusting brightness and a color of the subtitle region.

10. The display method according to claim 5, wherein the step of generating the subtitle according to the subtitle region further comprises:

performing a scene analysis on the image frame, and accordingly adjusting a font, a size and an outer frame of the subtitle region.

11. The display method according to claim 1, wherein the display apparatus comprises a panel, widths of the display frame and the panel are greater than heights of the display frame and the panel, the output width-height ratio is a ratio of the width of the display frame to the height of the display frame, the screen width-height ratio is a ratio of the width of the panel to the height of the panel, and the output width-height ratio is smaller than the screen width-height ratio.

12. A display apparatus, signally connected to an image playback apparatus, the display apparatus configured to receive a display frame having an output width-height ratio and display an image frame according to a screen width-height ratio different from the output width-height ratio;

the display apparatus comprising;

a reception unit, signally connected to the image playback apparatus, for receiving the display frame from the image playback apparatus;

a control unit, coupled to the reception unit, for obtaining an image region and a subtitle region from the display frame and to generate a subtitle according to the subtitle region; and

a panel, coupled to the control unit, for generating the image frame according to the image region, and to display the image frame and the subtitle;

wherein the image region is a pixel-based image and the subtitle region is a pixel-based image; and

wherein the control unit comprises;

a acquisition unit, coupled to the reception unit, for acquiring a plurality of horizontal sections from the display frame according to a predetermined horizontal axis; and

a determination module, coupled to the acquisition module, for determining the horizontal sections havin a concentrated distribution of grayscale values; and

to obtain the subtitle region from the display frame according to at least one of the horizontal sections displaying the concentrated distribution.

13. The display apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the concentrated distribution refers to that the grayscale values of the pixels comprised in one horizontal section comprise a first extremum grayscale value and a second extremum grayscale value.

14. The display apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the horizontal sections are all located at a same side of the predetermined horizontal axis or near the predetermined horizontal axis dividing the display frame.

15. The display apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the determination module selects one of the horizontal sections displaying the concentrated distribution as a starting horizontal axis, and obtains a part of the display frame below or above the starting horizontal axis as the subtitle region.

16. The display apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the control unit defines a plurality of pixels in the subtitle region having a first extremum grayscale value as a foreground region, defines a plurality of pixels in the subtitle region having a second extremum grayscale value as a background region, and changes color transparency of the background region.

17. The display apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the control unit transforms a plurality of pixels comprised in the background region from the second extremum grayscale value to transparent.

18. The display apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising:

an analysis unit, configured to perform a scene analysis on the image frame;

wherein, the control unit further controls the panel to adjust display dimensions, a 3D depth, a color, subtitle brightness, a font, a size, an outer frame or a position of the subtitle region.

19. The display apparatus according to claim 12, wherein widths of the display frame and the panel are greater than heights of the display frame and the panel, the output width-height ratio is a ratio of the width of the display frame to the height of the frame, the screen width-height ratio is a ratio of the width of the panel to the height of the panel, and the output width-height ratio is smaller than the screen width-height ratio.