Noise reduction filter circuitry and method

• US 20120169936A1
• Filed: 01/03/2011
• Published: 07/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arm Limited (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Arm Limited (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Persson, Erik, Edgren, Per
• Granted Patent: US 8,773,593 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/609
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/21 Circuitry for suppressing or minimising disturbance, e.g. moiré or halo
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/646 for image enhancement, e.g. vertical detail restoration, cross-colour elimination, contour correction, chrominance trapping filters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/77 Circuits for processing the brightness signal and the chrominance signal relative to each other, e.g. adjusting the phase of the brightness signal relative to the colour signal, correcting differential gain or differential phase circuits for matrixing H04N9/67

Abstract

The present invention provides filter circuitry for reducing noise in an input stream of image signals having luminance and chrominance components. Spatial filter circuitry is provided which, for a current image signal of the input stream, generates a spatially filtered internal signal from at least the luminance component of the current image signal. Comparison circuitry is configured to compare the current image signal with temporal data derived from multiple image signals of the input stream, and to generate a control signal dependent on the comparison. Combining circuitry is then used to combine, in a ratio determined by the control signal, the spatially filtered internal signal with at least a luminance component derived from the temporal data, in order to generate at least the luminance component of a current output image signal that forms a noise reduced version of the current image signal. Such a form of filter circuitry has been found to provide a filtered stream of image signals with significant noise suppression, and is particularly well suited to providing a filtered stream of image signals for input to video encoding circuitry, enabling significant improvements in the efficiency of the encoding circuitry by virtue of the manner in which the noise is suppressed.

Claims

1. Filter circuitry for reducing noise in an input stream of image signals having luminance and chrominance components, comprising:

spatial filter circuitry configured, for a current image signal of the input stream, to generate a spatially filtered internal signal from at least the luminance component of the current image signal;

comparison circuitry configured to compare the current image signal with temporal data derived from multiple image signals of said input stream, and to generate a control signal dependent on said comparison; and

combining circuitry configured to combine, in a ratio determined by said control signal, the spatially filtered internal signal with at least a luminance component derived from said temporal data, in order to generate at least the luminance component of a current output image signal forming a noise reduced version of the current image signal.

2. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

temporal filter circuitry configured, for the current image signal, to generate a temporally filtered image signal in dependence on said temporal data, the temporally filtered image signal having luminance and chrominance components.

3. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

said temporal data comprises a stored temporally filtered image signal; and

said comparison circuitry comprises change detection circuitry configured to detect a change between said current image signal and said stored temporally filtered image signal, and to generate the control signal dependent on the detected change.

4. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 3, wherein said temporally filtered image signal generated by the temporal filter circuitry for said current image signal is used to form said stored temporally filtered image signal for use in connection with a subsequent image signal in said input stream.

5. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

the spatial filter circuitry is configured to generate the spatially filtered internal signal from only the luminance component of the current image signal;

the combining circuitry is configured to generate only the luminance component of the current output image signal; and

the filter circuitry further comprises chrominance generation circuitry for generating the chrominance component of the current output image signal from the chrominance component of the temporally filtered image signal.

6. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 5, wherein the chrominance generation circuitry applies a spatial filtering operation to generate the chrominance component of the current output image signal from the chrominance component of the temporally filtered image signal.

7. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 3, wherein the change detection circuitry comprises:

absolute difference circuitry for creating an absolute difference between the luminance component of the stored temporally filtered image signal and the luminance component of the current image signal, and to generate the control signal in dependence on said absolute difference.

8. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 7, wherein the change detection circuitry further comprises:

nonlinear mapping circuitry for applying a nonlinear mapping function to a signal derived from said absolute difference, in order to generate a value of the control signal.

9. Filter circuitry as claimed claim 8, wherein:

the nonlinear mapping function is an exponential function such that a value of the control signal increases exponentially with increase in the signal derived from said absolute difference; and

the combining circuitry is arranged, in response to changes in the value of the control signal, to change proportionally the ratio between said spatially filtered internal signal and said at least a luminance component derived from said temporal data.

10. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 8, wherein the change detection circuitry further comprises:

low pass filter circuitry to generate the signal derived from said absolute difference that is then used as an input to the nonlinear mapping circuitry.

11. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 3, wherein the temporal filter circuitry generates the temporally filtered image signal by combining the current image signal with the stored temporally filtered image signal in a ratio determined by said control signal.

12. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spatial filter circuitry comprises:

low pass filter circuitry for removing high frequency features from said at least the luminance component of the current image signal, said high frequency features including high frequency noise; and

nonlinear thresholding circuitry for recovering one or more of said high frequency features that represent image detail removed by the low pass filter circuitry.

13. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 12, wherein the nonlinear thresholding circuitry comprises:

subtraction circuitry for subtracting the output of the low pass filter circuitry from said at least the luminance component of the current image signal in order to generate a first signal identifying said high frequency features;

modifying circuitry for applying a nonlinear function to said first signal to generate a second signal in which the high frequency features of low amplitude are suppressed; and

summation circuitry for adding the second signal to the output of the low pass filter circuitry.

14. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 6, wherein said chrominance generation circuitry comprises:

low pass filter circuitry for removing high frequency features from the chrominance component of the temporally filtered image signal, said high frequency features including high frequency noise; and

nonlinear thresholding circuitry for recovering one or more of said high frequency features that represent image detail removed by the low pass filter circuitry.

15. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 14, wherein the nonlinear thresholding circuitry comprises:

subtraction circuitry for subtracting the output of the low pass filter circuitry from said chrominance component of the temporally filtered image signal in order to generate a first signal identifying said high frequency features;

modifying circuitry for applying a nonlinear function to said first signal to generate a second signal in which the high frequency features of low amplitude are suppressed; and

summation circuitry for adding the second signal to the output of the low pass filter circuitry.

16. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 1, wherein each image signal comprises a plurality of pixel data items, each pixel data item comprising luminance data and chrominance data for the associated pixel.

17. Filter circuitry as claimed in claim 16, wherein:

the comparison circuitry is configured to compare each pixel data item of the current image signal with a corresponding pixel data item of said temporal data, and to generate a separate control signal for each pixel data item.

18. Video encoding circuitry comprising:

filter circuitry as claimed in claim 1 for receiving an input stream of image signals and generating a corresponding output stream of image signals having reduced noise when compared with the input stream; and

encoder circuitry for applying a compression scheme to compress the output stream from the filter circuitry in order to generate a bitstream of encoded video data.

19. A method of reducing noise in an input stream of image signals having luminance and chrominance components, comprising the steps of:

employing spatial filter circuitry, for a current image signal of the input stream, to generate a spatially filtered internal signal from at least the luminance component of the current image signal;

comparing the current image signal with temporal data derived from multiple image signals of said input stream, and generating a control signal dependent on said comparison; and

combining, in a ratio determined by said control signal, the spatially filtered internal signal with at least a luminance component derived from said temporal data, in order to generate at least the luminance component of a current output image signal forming a noise reduced version of the current image signal.

20. Filter circuitry for reducing noise in an input stream of image signals having luminance and chrominance components, comprising:

spatial filter means for generating, for a current image signal of the input stream, a spatially filtered internal signal from at least the luminance component of the current image signal;

comparison means for comparing the current image signal with temporal data derived from multiple image signals of said input stream, and for generating a control signal dependent on said comparison; and

combining means for combining, in a ratio determined by said control signal, the spatially filtered internal signal with at least a luminance component derived from said temporal data, in order to generate at least the luminance component of a current output image signal forming a noise reduced version of the current image signal.