Serial digital video processing with concurrent adjustment in RGB and luminance/color difference

• US 5,737,032 A
• Filed: 09/05/1995
• Issued: 04/07/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: HBC Solutions Incorporated (AEG Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Videotek Incorporated (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Stenzel, Robert E., Groff, Donald E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kostak, Victor R.
• Application Number:
  US08/523,269
• Time in Patent Office: 945 Days
• Field of Search: 348/651, 348/649, 348/30, 348/453, 348/656, 348/208, 348/441, 382/162, 382/167, 395/131, 345/154
• US Class Current: 348/649
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/67 for matrixing camera processing pipelines for matrixing of colour signals H04N23/85
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/68 for controlling the amplitude of colour signals, e.g. automatic chroma control circuits H04N9/71, H04N9/73 take precedence; camera processing pipelines for controlling the colour saturation of colour signals H04N23/86

Abstract

A digital converter controllably modifies input video data representing pixel luminance and color information, in two color space formats. Two color space converters are coupled in cascade. Serial video data is converted to parallel and demultiplexed. A first color space converter converts 4:2:2 sampled YCbCr luminance and color difference input data to RGB red/green/blue format. A second color space converter changes the data back to YCbCr before remultiplexing at the output. Under operator control from front panel inputs, a controller varies the conversion coefficients at the input-side color space converter, including by trigonometric functions applied to the coefficients to provide controllable hue phase shifting, modifies the transfer function in RGB color space by adjusting data in the lookup tables, and applies maximum/minimum clipping levels. Interpolation doubles the sample rate of CbCr color difference data at the input for co-siting each Y sample with a CbCr color difference for processing samples at 4:4:4. Two'"'"'s complement computations, including for luminance Y, employ the full dynamic quantization range of the color space converters. An auxiliary color space converter operates on divided coefficients for detecting overflow. A bypass delay route is provided for non-video data, and error detection and handling signals are passed through as well as compared and generated for the changed data.

Claims

1. A digital converter for an input video data signal having successive samples of at least three data values representing luminance and hue information defining the samples according to a first color space definition, the converter comprising:

at least two color space converters in cascade along a data path between a data input and a data output, a first said color space converter being operable to convert successive sets of the data values from the first color space definition to a second color space definition, the first color space converter being operable to perform a numeric function on the successive sets of the data values using first factors applicable to the data values, and a second said color space converter being operable to convert successive sets of the data back to the first color space definition, the second color space converter being operable to perform a numeric function on the successive sets of the data values using second factors applicable to the data values;

at least one value adjustment circuit operable to perform a numeric function on the successive sets of the data values using third factors applicable to the data values, the adjustment circuit being coupled to at least one of the two color space converters for performing the numeric function using the third factors to correct the data values in at least one of the color space definitions; and

,

a controller in data communication with the at least one value adjustment circuit, the first and second color space converters and an input, the controller being responsive to signals on the input to control the numeric function effected by the adjustment circuit for altering the luminance and color difference information contained in the data values, and wherein the data values have a gain and an offset and the controller is operable to adjust at least one of the first, second and third factors in order to adjust at least one of the gain and offset of the data values as the successive samples pass through the converter.

2. The digital converter of claim 1, wherein the successive samples comprise bit serial words at the data input, further comprising a serial to parallel converter and a demultiplexer for converting the successive samples to bit parallel, word serial form.

3. The digital converter of claim 1, wherein the adjustment circuit comprises at least one clipping filter coupled to an output of the second color space converter, the clipping filter imposing at least one of a maximum and a minimum value on the data values.

4. The digital converter of claim 1, wherein the successive samples comprise bit serial words at the data input and the data output according to a YCbCr luminance and color difference color space definition, further comprising a serial to parallel converter and a demultiplexer coupled between the data input and the first color space converter for converting the successive samples to bit parallel, word serial form at an input to the first color space converter, and a parallel to serial converter and remultiplexer coupled between the second color space converter and the data output, and wherein the third factors are variable coefficients and the adjustment circuit is responsive to the variable coefficients provided to the adjustment circuit by the controller.

5. The digital converter of claim 4, further comprising at least one lookup table memory containing data values loaded by the controller into addressable memory locations, the lookup table memory being coupled between an output of the first color space converter and an input of the second color space converter such that an output of the first color space converter addresses memory locations in the lookup table memory and applies contents of the memory locations to an input of the second color space converter.

6. The digital converter of claim 5, wherein the adjustment circuit further comprises at least one clipping filter coupled to an output of the second color space converter, the clipping filter imposing at least one of a maximum and a minimum value on the data values.

7. The digital converter of claim 1, wherein the input video data signal includes sample data values representing active video data and also signalling codes in addition to the sample data values, and further comprising a control circuit operable to detect the signalling codes and a bypass datapath enabled by the control circuit for passing the signalling codes around the color space converters and the adjustment circuit, the bypass datapath having a delay equal to a processing delay of the active video data.

8. The digital converter of claim 1, wherein the successive samples comprise 4:

2;

2 sampled YCbCr luminance and color difference values, and further comprising means operable to provide color difference values CbCr at twice a rate of sampling thereof, prior to performing the numeric function, for each luminance sample, whereby the YCbCr luminance and color difference values are processed at a 4;

4;

4 sample rate.

9. The digital converter of claim 8, wherein the means for doubling samples of the color difference values comprises an interpolating filter operable to insert an average of a predetermined number of successive color difference values Cr, Cb between samples thereof.

10. The digital converter of claim 9, further comprising a decimating filter operable to reduce the number of CbCr color difference values to reconvert the values to a 4:

2;

2 sampling rate.

11. The digital converter of claim 1, wherein the successive samples are provided at the input according to a YCbCr luminance and color difference color space definition, wherein the adjustment circuit includes a matrix multiplier operable to multiply the data values by coefficients provided to the adjustment circuit by the controller, and wherein each of the YCbCr components are applied to the matrix multiplier in a two'"'"'s complement form, and wherein the Y component of the luminance and color difference is artificially offset to provide approximately equal distribution of allowable values above and below zero, whereby outputs of the matrix multiplier range substantially through a full dynamic quantization span in a variably offset translation of an RGB color space definition.

12. The digital converter of claim 11, further comprising at least one auxiliary color space converter, the auxiliary color space converter being arranged to perform the numeric function using reduced values of one of the data values and the factors, and further comprising means for comparing an output of the auxiliary color space converter and one of the first and second color space converters, and generating an overflow code when said one of the first and second color space converters produces an output having a sign different from a sign of the output of the auxiliary color space converter.

13. A digital converter for an input video data signal having successive samples of at least three data values representing luminance and hue information defining the samples according to a first color space definition, the converter comprising:

at least two color space converters in cascade along a data path between a data input and a data output, a first said color space converter being operable to convert successive sets of the data values from the first color space definition to a second color space definition, and a second said color space converter being operable to convert successive sets of the data back to the first color space definition;

at least one value adjustment circuit operable to perform a numeric function on the successive sets of the data values using coefficients applicable to the data values, the adjustment circuit being coupled to at least one of the two color space converters for performing the numeric function to correct the data values in at least one of the color space definitions;

a controller coupled to the at least one value adjustment circuit and to an input, the controller being responsive to signals on the input to control the numeric function effected by the adjustment circuit for altering the luminance and color difference information contained in the data values; and

,

wherein the successive samples are provided at the input according to a YCbCr luminance and color difference color space definition, wherein the adjustment circuit includes a matrix multiplier operable to multiply the data values by the coefficients provided to the adjustment circuit by the controller, and wherein each of the YCbCr components are applied to the matrix multiplier in a two'"'"'s complement form, and wherein the Y component of the luminance and color difference is artificially offset to provide approximately equal distribution of allowable values above and below zero, whereby outputs of the matrix multiplier range substantially through a full dynamic quantization span in a variably offset translation of an RGB color space definition.

14. A digital converter for an input video data signal having successive samples of at least three data values representing luminance and color information defining the samples according to a first color space definition, the converter comprising:

at least two color space converters in cascade along a data path between a data input and a data output, a first said color space converter being operable to convert successive sets of the data values from the first color space definition to a second color space definition, and a second said color space converter being operable to convert successive sets of the data back to the first color space definition;

at least one value adjustment circuit operable to perform a numeric function on the successive sets of the data values using factors applicable to the data values, the adjustment circuit being coupled to at least one of the two color space converters for performing the numeric function to correct the data values in at least one of the color space definitions; and

,

a controller coupled to the at least one value adjustment circuit and to an input, the controller being responsive to signals on the input to control the numeric function effected by the adjustment circuit for altering the luminance and color difference information contained in the data values; and

,

at least one auxiliary color space converter, the auxiliary color space converter being arranged to perform the numeric function using reduced values of one of the data values and the factors, and further comprising means for comparing an output of the auxiliary color space converter and one of the first and second color space converters, and generating an overflow code when said one of the first and second color space converters produces an output having a sign different from a sign of the output of the auxiliary color space converter.

15. The digital converter of claim 14, further comprising a jamming circuit responsive to the overflow code, operable to insert a predetermined value in place of the output of said one of the first and second color space converters.