Electronic apparatus

• US 9,596,385 B2
• Filed: 10/13/2016
• Issued: 03/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red.com, LLC
• Original Assignee: Red.com, LLC
• Inventors: Jannard, James H., Nattress, Thomas Graeme
• Primary Examiner(s): DIEP, TRUNG T
• Application Number:
  US15/293,193
• Publication Number:
  US 20170034400A1
• Time in Patent Office: 152 Days
• Field of Search: 348/222.1, 375/240.2, 375/240.25, 375/240.26, 375/240.29, 382/166
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/32 involving image mosaicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4015 Image demosaicing, e.g. colour filter arrays [CFA] or Bayer patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/648 Transmitting or storing the primary (additive or subtractive) colour signals; Compression thereof H04N1/642 - H04N1/646 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/186 the unit being a colour or a chrominance component
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/85 using pre-processing or post-processing specially adapted for video compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/91 Entropy coding, e.g. variable length coding [VLC] or arithmetic coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0063 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2209/048 having several pick-up sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/50 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/54 Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/843 Demosaicing, e.g. interpolating colour pixel values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/134 based on three different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/71 Charge-coupled device [CCD] sensors; Charge-transfer registers specially adapted for CCD sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/76 Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure

Abstract

Embodiments provide a video camera configured to capture, compress, and store video image data in a memory of the video camera at a rate of at least about twenty three frames per second. The video image data can be mosaiced image data, and the compressed, mosaiced image data may remain substantially visually lossless upon decompression and demosaicing.

Claims

1. A method of operating a motion video imaging device capable of generating mosaiced image data at a frame rate of at least about 23 frames per second, pre-emphasizing the mosaiced image data, transforming the mosaiced image data, and compressing the pre-emphasized, transformed mosaiced image data, the method comprising:

with an image sensor, generating mosaiced image data at a frame rate of at least about 23 frames per second for a plurality of motion video image frames from light entering a body of a motion video imaging device,

wherein the mosaiced image data has a resolution per frame of at least 4 k and comprises;

first pixel data corresponding to first pixels of the image sensor and that represents light having a green color, and

second pixel data corresponding to second pixels of the image senor and that represents light having a red color or a blue color;

pre-emphasizing the mosaiced image data;

for each second pixel of a plurality of the second pixels, transforming the mosaiced image data at least by;

calculating an average of values of the first pixel data corresponding to four of the first pixels that are adjacent to the second pixel, and

subtracting the calculated average from a value of the second pixel data corresponding to the second pixel;

subsequent to said transforming and said pre-emphasizing, compressing the pre-emphasized, transformed mosaiced image data with a mathematically lossy wavelet compression to generate compressed mosaiced image data, the compressed mosaiced image data being able to be decompressed and demosaiced as part of an image processing to generate video output having a resolution per frame of at least 4 k; and

outputting the compressed mosaiced image data for storage at a frame rate of at least 23 frames per second.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mosaiced image data is arranged in a Bayer pattern.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said transforming improves compression of the second pixel data during said compressing by exploiting spatial correlation of the second pixel data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the mosaiced image data corresponds to linear light sensor data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said compressing achieves an effective compression ratio of at least 6:

1 when generating the compressed mosaiced image data.

6. Non-transitory computer readable storage media storing a file generated according to the method of claim 1.

7. An apparatus capable of receiving and storing compressed mosaiced image data at a frame rate of at least about 23 frames per second, the compressed mosaiced image data being able to be decompressed and demosaiced as part of an image processing to generate video output having a resolution per frame of at least 4 k, the apparatus comprising:

a housing configured to couple to a motion video imaging device so that the housing is supported by the motion video imaging device;

a communication interface supported by the housing, the communication interface being configured to receive compressed mosaiced image data at a frame rate of at least about 23 frames per second from the motion video imaging device and output the compressed mosaiced image data to the motion video imaging device or another electronic device, the compressed mosaiced image data being able to be decompressed and demosaiced as part of an image processing to generate video output having a resolution per frame of at least 4 k,

wherein mosaiced image data used to generate the compressed mosaiced image data is generated by an image sensor of the motion video imaging device at a frame rate of at least about 23 frames per second for a plurality of motion video image frames,

wherein the mosaiced image data has a resolution per frame of at least 4 k and comprises;

first pixel data corresponding to first pixels of the image sensor and that represents light having a green color, and

second pixel data corresponding to second pixels of the image senor and that represents light having a red color or a blue color,

wherein the compressed mosaiced image data is generated from the mosaiced image data by the motion video imaging device at least by;

pre-emphasizing the mosaiced image data,

for each second pixel of a plurality of the second pixels, transforming the mosaiced image data at least by;

calculating an average of values of the first pixel data corresponding to four of the first pixels that are adjacent to the second pixel, and

subtracting the calculated average from a value of the second pixel data corresponding to the second pixel, and

subsequent to said transforming and said pre-emphasizing, compressing the pre-emphasized, transformed mosaiced image data with a mathematically lossy wavelet compression to generate the compressed mosaiced image data; and

non-transitory computer readable storage media supported by the housing and in communication with the communication interface, the non-transitory computer readable storage media being configured to store the compressed mosaiced image data at a frame rate of at least about 23 frames per second.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage media is configured to output the compressed mosaiced image data to the motion video imaging device to present video images corresponding to the compressed mosaiced image data on a display of the motion video imaging device.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the housing is configured to couple to an exterior of the motion video imaging device.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the communication interface is configured to receive the compressed mosaiced image data at a frame rate less than or equal to 120 frames per second from the motion video imaging device, and the mosaiced image data is generated by the image sensor at a frame rate less than or equal to 120 frames per second for the plurality of motion video image frames.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the video output has a resolution per frame less than or equal to 4.5 k, and the mosaiced image data has a resolution per frame less than or equal to 4.5 k.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the mathematically lossy wavelet compression achieved an effective compression ratio of at least 6:

1 when generating the compressed mosaiced image data.

13. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the video output is substantially visually lossless.

14. A method of receiving and storing compressed mosaiced image data at a frame rate of at least about 23 frames per second, the compressed mosaiced image data being able to be decompressed and demosaiced as part of an image processing to generate video output having a resolution per frame of at least 4 k, the method comprising:

receiving, from a motion video imaging device via a communication interface of an electronic device, compressed mosaiced image data at a frame rate of at least about 23 frames per second, the compressed mosaiced image data being able to be decompressed and demosaiced as part of an image processing to generate video output having a resolution per frame of at least 4 k, the electronic device comprising a housing and non-transitory computer readable storage media supported by the housing, the housing being coupled to the motion video imaging device so that the housing is supported by the motion video imaging device,

wherein mosaiced image data used to generate the compressed mosaiced image data is generated by an image sensor of the motion video imaging device at a frame rate of at least about 23 frames per second for a plurality of motion video image frames,

wherein the mosaiced image data has a resolution per frame of at least 4 k and comprises;

first pixel data corresponding to first pixels of the image sensor and that represents light having a green color, and

second pixel data corresponding to second pixels of the image senor and that represents light having a red color or a blue color,

wherein the compressed mosaiced image data is generated from the mosaiced image data by the motion video imaging device at least by;

pre-emphasizing the mosaiced image data,

for each second pixel of a plurality of the second pixels, transforming the mosaiced image data at least by;

calculating an average of values of the first pixel data corresponding to four of the first pixels that are adjacent to the second pixel, and

subtracting the calculated average from a value of the second pixel data corresponding to the second pixel, and

subsequent to said transforming and said pre-emphasizing, compressing the pre-emphasized, transformed mosaiced image data with a mathematically lossy wavelet compression to generate the compressed mosaiced image data;

storing the compressed mosaiced image data at a frame rate of at least about 23 frames per second to the non-transitory computer readable storage media; and

outputting, via the communication interface, the compressed mosaiced image data from the non-transitory computer readable storage media to the motion video imaging device or another electronic device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said outputting comprises outputting the compressed mosaiced image data to the motion video imaging device to present video images corresponding to the compressed mosaiced image data on a display of the motion video imaging device.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising coupling the housing to an exterior of the motion video imaging device.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein said receiving comprises receiving the compressed mosaiced image data at a frame rate less than or equal to 120 frames per second, and the mosaiced image data is generated by the image sensor at a frame rate less than or equal to 120 frames per second for the plurality of motion video image frames.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the video output has a resolution per frame less than or equal to 4.5 k, and the mosaiced image data has a resolution per frame less than or equal to 4.5 k.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the mathematically lossy wavelet compression achieved an effective compression ratio of at least 6:

1 when generating the compressed mosaiced image data.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the video output is substantially visually lossless.