JP4766318B2 - Video processing apparatus and computer program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a video processing apparatus, and more particularly to a video processing apparatus and a computer program capable of high-speed shooting.

  In recent years, with the advancement of digital technology, high-speed photography that captures images at a higher speed than usual has become possible. For example, in sports such as baseball and golf, the player's form is being played back in slow motion.

  When performing high-speed shooting, it is necessary to obtain a signal having a frequency band corresponding to the double speed of a standard television signal by imaging. For example, when imaging is performed at a scanning speed of 3 times, a data rate that is 3 times that of a standard television signal is required as the output of the camera (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-6-169419

  However, the television signal output from the camera is not versatile because it differs from the normal video signal format, and the transmission means for transmitting the signal and the recording means for recording the image were imaging devices dedicated to high-speed shooting. . In addition, the configuration of such an imaging apparatus has a problem that it is large and cost is very high.

  Also, since images recorded by high-speed shooting are not compatible, depending on the playback device, the images recorded by high-speed shooting cannot be played back, and the user may not be able to check the images.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is new and improved capable of recording or reproducing an image in accordance with a television standard in high-speed shooting. It is to provide a video processing device and a computer program.

To solve the above problems, by imaging a subject at a first period, an imaging means for generating a first image of the VGA standard, and arranging a plurality of first images of VGA standard generated by the imaging means, a predetermined comprising image generating means for generating a second image of the television standards-determined HD standard, and storage means for storing a second image that are sequentially generated by the image generating means in a second period, the first 1 images are converts the horizontal resolution reproducing television signal of a predetermined television standard, the second period is the image processing device, wherein the go longer than the first period is provided.

  The second image may be an HD (High Definition) image. The HD image is, for example, an image of 1920 × 1080 pixels or 1280 × 720 pixels.

  The second image may include one or more sets of units in which the first image is arranged in a line in order from left to right. With this configuration, the visibility with respect to the second image is improved.

In order to solve the above-described problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program that causes a computer to function as the video processing apparatus according to claim 1 .

In order to solve the above-described problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, a first image of the VGA standard is generated by imaging a subject in the first period, and the first of the VGA standard . Second image reading means for reading a second image of the HD standard defined in a predetermined television standard generated by arranging a plurality of images in a second cycle, wherein the first image has a horizontal resolution. converted and reproduced in the television signal of a predetermined television standard, the second period is the image processing device, wherein the go longer than the first period is provided.

  The second image may be configured to include one or more units in which the first image is arranged in a line in order from left to right, and the second image includes: It may be an HD image.

  The video processing apparatus may further include a first image reading unit that sequentially reads the first image included in the second image.

  The video processing apparatus may further include resolution conversion means for converting the resolution of the first image read by the first image reading means to a predetermined resolution. The predetermined resolution can be exemplified by the resolution of an SD (Standard Definition) image, for example. With this configuration, the first image after conversion can be displayed on a widely used TV or the like that can display SD images.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program that causes a computer to function as the video processing apparatus according to claims 3 to 5 .

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to record or reproduce an image in accordance with a television standard in high-speed shooting.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description and the accompanying drawings, components having substantially the same functions and configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

(About the video recording apparatus 101)
First, the video recording apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the video recording apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment.

  A video recording apparatus 101 shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus capable of recording an image generated by imaging a subject.

  In the present embodiment, the recorded image is shown below by taking the case of HD as a standard as an example. The HD standard here will be described by taking as an example a case of a 1080 / 60i interlaced image having 1920 pixels in the horizontal direction and 1080 pixels in the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the video recording apparatus 101 includes an imaging unit 111, a synchronization signal generation circuit 112, a control unit 113, a video signal amplifier 114, an A / D conversion unit 115, a video signal processing unit 116, , A changeover switch 117, a memory 127, and a recording unit 128.

  The imaging unit 111 has a zoom and wide imaging function, and outputs a video signal to the video signal amplifier 114 in accordance with the synchronization signal from the synchronization signal generation circuit 112. The imaging unit 111 includes at least an image sensor (imaging device).

  In addition, the image sensor can photoelectrically convert an optical image received from a subject and output it as an electrical video signal by a plurality of pixels composed of photoelectric conversion elements provided two-dimensionally on the light receiving surface. is there. For example, examples of the imaging element include various types of solid-state imaging devices such as a CCD.

  The synchronization signal generation circuit 112 generates a synchronization signal based on a frame frequency serving as a reference when the imaging unit 111 captures an image. For example, the synchronization signal generated by the synchronization signal generation circuit 112 has a normal HD frame frequency of approximately 30 Hz. For high-speed shooting, for example, the frame frequency is a predetermined multiple of 30 Hz (30 × 6 = 180 Hz, etc.). is there.

  The control unit 113 includes an imaging unit 111, a synchronization signal generation circuit 112, a video signal amplifier 114, an A / D conversion unit 115, a video signal processing unit 116, a changeover switch 117, a memory 127, and a recording unit 128 of the video recording apparatus 101. Control the processing.

  The video signal amplifier 114 outputs the signal output from the imaging unit 111 to the A / D conversion unit 115 with a gain higher than that during normal HD imaging during high-speed shooting. The reason for increasing the gain is that, in high-speed shooting, the charge of the image sensor is short and the image becomes dark.

  The A / D converter 115 outputs a video signal obtained by A / D converting the video signal output from the video signal amplifier 114 from an analog signal to a digital signal, to the video signal processor 116.

  The video signal processing unit 116 performs video processing on the RGB video signal output from the A / D conversion unit 115. The video processing is, for example, converting RGB video signals output from the A / D conversion unit 115 into Y / Pb / Pr HD standard video signals.

  The change-over switch 117 can switch either the video signal to be output to the memory 127 or the recording unit 128 as it is by switching control by the control unit 113. Note that by outputting a video signal to the memory 127, a multi-image can be generated and the multi-image can be output to the recording unit 128. Details will be described later.

  The memory 127 is storage means having a storage area of a predetermined size. The memory 127 stores an image output from the video signal processing unit 116.

  The video signal subjected to the video signal processing by the video signal processing unit 116 is transmitted to a recording unit 128 capable of recording an HD digital image. The recording unit 128 may include, for example, a storage unit such as a magnetic disk or a semiconductor memory in its own device, and may store HD video information or the like in the storage unit. The recording unit 128 may record on a medium (tape, optical disk, magnetic disk, semiconductor memory, or the like).

  Next, a captured image according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a captured image according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an image normally captured by the imaging unit 111 is an HD standard image 201 composed of 1920 × 1080.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the case of high-speed shooting, an image captured by the imaging unit 111 is an image 203 corresponding to a 640 × 480 VGA.

  For example, if the synchronization signal of the synchronization signal generation circuit 112 is changed so that only 640 pixels (horizontal direction) × 480 pixels (vertical direction) in the central portion of the image sensor provided in the imaging unit 111 is read by the imaging unit 111. The pixel readout frequency does not change from the HD frequency, and the frame frequency can be increased 6 times to read the image 203. As a result, high-speed shooting at 6 × speed can be realized. Optically, for example, the zoom amount of the imaging unit 111 is adjusted to the wide side so as to fit the imaging area of 640 × 480.

  Therefore, in the case of high-speed shooting, the imaging unit 111 captures a subject and outputs a video signal of the image 203 to the video signal amplifier 114. Further, the image output by the video signal amplifier 114 is output to the memory 127 via the A / D conversion unit 115 and the video signal processing unit 116 as described above.

  Note that in the video recording apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment, for example, when an instruction is received from the user with an input button or the like to select which imaging mode, normal shooting or high-speed shooting, the control unit 113 captures the imaging unit 111. Instruct each part such as high-speed shooting or normal shooting.

  Further, although the video recording apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment has been described by taking as an example the case where it is an apparatus capable of imaging and image recording of either normal shooting or high-speed shooting, it is not limited to such an example. For example, the video recording apparatus 101 can be implemented even when the apparatus is only capable of high-speed shooting and image recording.

(About multi-image)
Next, a multi-image according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3A. FIG. 3A is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a multi-image according to the present embodiment.

  When high-speed shooting is recorded, before the recording process by the recording unit 128, the control unit 113 using the memory 127 creates a single multi-image 301 in which a plurality of images 203 as shown in FIG. Is done.

  More specifically, as described above with reference to FIG. 2, the image 640 × 480 has six images 203-1 to 203 in the order of the A region, the B region, the C region,. The multi-image 301 is generated by arranging −6. As shown in FIG. 3A, since the image 301 is an HD image composed of 1920 × 1080, even if six images 201 are arranged, some image area remains.

  The multi-image 301 is recorded by the recording unit 128 in the same manner as a normal HD image.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3A, the multi-image 301 according to the present embodiment has been described by taking an example in which six images 203 are included. However, the multi-image 301 includes one or more images. 203 can be included.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3A, the multi-image 301 has been described by taking as an example a case where two sets of units each including three images 203 in a horizontal row are present in the vertical direction, but is not limited to such an example. For example, the multi-image 301 can be implemented even when there are one or two or more sets of one or more sets of images 203 in the vertical direction.

  In addition to the multi-image 301 shown in FIG. 3A, for example, as shown in FIG. 3B (a), a multi-image 301 including four images 203 so as not to overlap the upper and lower or left and right images 203, or FIG. As shown in b), a multi-image 301 including six images 203 so as not to overlap the upper and lower or left and right images 203 may be used.

The video recording apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment has the following excellent effects.
(1) In either normal shooting or high-speed shooting, the recording unit 128 can record a standard HD image (multi-image 301 in high-speed shooting).
(2) Since the recording unit 128 records the multi-image 301 which is an HD image, the recording mechanism is not complicated, the enlargement of the video recording apparatus 101 can be prevented, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
(3) Conventionally, since bit reduction is performed at the time of high-speed shooting, it is necessary to reduce the recording rate and the image quality is poor. However, in the video recording apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment, the image quality is not degraded. High-speed shooting is possible.

(About the video playback device 102)
First, the video reproduction apparatus 102 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the video reproduction apparatus 102 according to the present embodiment.

  The video playback device 102 shown in FIG. 4 is a device capable of playing back an already recorded image and outputting the image to a display unit (screen) corresponding to a display device or the like. The image according to the present embodiment can be exemplified by a moving image.

  In the present embodiment, the recorded image will be described below by taking the case of HD as an example. The HD standard here will be described by taking as an example a case of a 1080 / 60i interlaced image having 1920 pixels in the horizontal direction and 1080 pixels in the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the video playback apparatus 102 includes a control unit 113a, a changeover switch 117a, a memory 127a, a playback unit 131, a resolution conversion unit 133, a video encoder 135, and DACs 137 (137-1, 137). -2).

  The control unit 113a controls processing of the changeover switch 117a, the memory 127a, the playback unit 131, the resolution conversion unit 133, the video encoder 135, and the DAC 137 of the video playback device 102.

  The change-over switch 117a can switch either the video signal read out by the reproduction unit 131 to the memory 127a or the DAC 137-1 as it is by the switching control by the control unit 113a. . Note that by outputting the multi-image 301 to the memory 127a, the video reproduction apparatus 102 can take out each of the images 203 included in the multi-image 301 and output the image to the DAC 137-2. To do.

  When each image 203 included in the multi-image 301 is transmitted, the resolution conversion unit 133 converts the resolution of the image 203. For example, the resolution conversion unit 133 can convert the resolution in the horizontal direction of the 640 × 480 pixel image 203 output from the memory 127a and convert the image into a 720 × 480 pixel image. That is, the image converted from the image 203 by the resolution conversion unit 133 corresponds to an image of an NTSC signal that is a television standard.

  The playback unit 131 may include, for example, a storage unit such as a magnetic disk or a semiconductor memory in its own device, and may read an image such as an HD multi-image 301 recorded in the storage unit. The playback unit 131 may read an image recorded on a removable recording medium (tape, optical disk, magnetic disk, semiconductor memory, or the like).

  When the video signal is converted by the video encoder 135 so as to be output to the display unit, the DAC 137 outputs a video signal obtained by converting the video signal from a digital signal to an analog signal to a display unit (not shown). To do. The image is output to the screen of the display unit, and the video reproduction device 102 can reproduce the video.

  The display unit is, for example, a television (TV) or a liquid crystal display device, and can output a still image in addition to a moving image and sound.

  More specifically, the DAC 137-1 converts a digital signal into an analog Y / Pb / Pr component signal and outputs it as an HD image. The DAC 137-2 converts the digital signal into an analog signal and outputs it as a Y / Cb / Cr composite signal, which is an SD video signal, or a Y / C composite signal.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, in the normal reproduction mode, a frame image composed of two field images per frame is sequentially output on the screen as an HD image.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, the field image 1-1 of the first frame, the field image 1-2, the field image 2-1 of the second frame, the field image 2-2,. Played in order.

  Further, in the high-speed shooting / playback mode in which each high-speed shot image 203 is played back, slow motion playback is performed at a playback speed that is 1/6 of normal playback.

  That is, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 5B, the frame image composed of the field image 1-1 and the field image 1-2 is repeatedly output six times. As shown in the lower part of FIG. 5B, by sequentially cutting out and reading out the image 203 from the multi-image 301 of one frame, all the six images 203 existing in the multi-image 301 are reproduced in order.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of normal playback or high-speed shooting / playback by the video playback device 102 according to the present embodiment.

  As described above, the resolution of the 640 × 480 pixel image 203 read from the memory 127 a is converted in the horizontal resolution by the resolution conversion unit 133. Therefore, for example, if an image signal of 720 × 480 pixels, that is, an NTSC signal, which is a standard television signal, is converted, an SD image can be easily reproduced. By encoding the NTSC signal in this way, a high-speed captured image with SD quality can be obtained.

  Note that the video playback apparatus 102 according to the present embodiment has been described using a 1920 × 1080 / 60i system and a system that outputs 6 × high-speed shooting with a 720 × 480 / 60i NTSC signal as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the video playback apparatus 102 uses a 1920 × 1080 / 50i image and converts the resolution of the 640 × 480 image 203 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction to 720 × 576 / 50i. The present invention can be implemented even when outputting as a PAL signal.

  Even in the case of a playback device that does not support the high-speed shooting playback mode and cannot perform slow motion playback, such as the video playback device 102 according to the present embodiment, the playback device displays the multi-image 301 in the normal playback mode. As it is, it can be output as an HD image on the screen.

The video reproducing apparatus 102 according to the present embodiment has the following excellent effects.
(1) Since the image read by the playback unit 131 is an HD image, the system of the video playback device 102 can be prevented from becoming large and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
(2) Even in a playback device that does not support the high-speed shooting / playback mode, since the recorded image is an HD image, the user can check the recorded content if the playback device is compatible with HD.
(3) Since bit reduction is not performed on each image 203 taken at high speed, the image quality of the video displayed on the screen can be improved.

  The series of processes described above can be performed by dedicated hardware or software. When a series of processing is performed by software, a program constituting the software is installed in an information processing apparatus such as a general-purpose computer or a microcomputer, and the information processing apparatus is installed in the video recording apparatus 101 and / or the video reproduction apparatus 102. To function as.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, this invention is not limited to this example. It is obvious for a person skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be envisaged within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood that it belongs.

  In the above-described embodiment, the video recording apparatus 101 has been described as an example in which an image generated by imaging a subject can be recorded, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, the video recording apparatus 101 may include a reproduction function for outputting a recorded image to an output device such as a display device in addition to the recording function.

  In the above-described embodiment, the video playback device 102 has been described by taking as an example the case where the recorded image can be played back and output to an output device such as a display device. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. It is not limited. For example, the video playback device 102 may include a recording function for recording an image generated by capturing an image of a subject in addition to the playback function.

  In the above embodiment, the imaging unit 111, the synchronization signal generation circuit 112, the control unit 113, the video signal amplifier 114, the A / D conversion unit 115, the video signal processing unit 116, the changeover switch 117, provided in the video recording apparatus 101. Although the case where the memory 127 and the recording unit 128 are made of hardware has been described as an example, the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, at least one of the imaging unit 111, the synchronization signal generation circuit 112, the control unit 113, the video signal amplifier 114, the A / D conversion unit 115, the video signal processing unit 116, the changeover switch 117, the memory 127, or the recording unit 128. One may be the case of a program composed of one or more modules or components.

  In the above embodiment, the control unit 113a, the changeover switch 117a, the memory 127a, the playback unit 131, the resolution conversion unit 133, the video encoder 135, and the DAC 137 provided in the video playback device 102 are exemplified as hardware. However, the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, at least one of the control unit 113a, the changeover switch 117a, the memory 127a, the playback unit 131, the resolution conversion unit 133, the video encoder 135, or the DAC 137 is a program composed of one or more modules or components. It may be the case.

  The present invention can be applied to a video processing apparatus or a computer program capable of high-speed shooting.

It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the video recording device concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the captured image concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the schematic structure of the multi image concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the modification of the schematic structure of the multi image concerning this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the video reproduction apparatus concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline of the normal reproduction | regeneration by the video reproduction apparatus concerning this Embodiment or high-speed imaging | photography reproduction.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Video recording apparatus 102 Video reproduction apparatus 111 Image pick-up part 112 Synchronization signal generation circuit 113 Control part 114 Video signal amplifier 115 A / D conversion part 116 Video signal processing part 117 Changeover switch 127 Memory 128 Recording part 131 Playback part 133 Resolution conversion part 135 Video encoder 137 DAC

Claims (6)

Imaging means for imaging a subject in a first period and generating a first image of the VGA standard ;
An image generation means for arranging a plurality of first images of the VGA standard generated by the imaging means and generating a second image of the HD standard defined in a predetermined television standard ;
Storage means for storing the second images sequentially generated by the image generation means in a second period;
The first image is reproduced with a television signal of a predetermined television standard by converting the horizontal resolution,
The second cycle is characterized by a go longer than the first period, the image processing apparatus. A computer program for causing a computer to function as the video processing apparatus according to claim 1 . When a subject is imaged in the first period, a first image of the VGA standard is generated, and an HD defined in a predetermined television standard generated by arranging a plurality of the first images of the VGA standard . A second image reading means for reading the second image of the standard in a second cycle;
The first image is reproduced with a television signal of a predetermined television standard by converting the horizontal resolution,
The second cycle is characterized by a go longer than the first period, the image processing apparatus. The video processing apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising a first image reading unit that sequentially reads the first images included in the second image. 5. The video processing apparatus according to claim 4 , further comprising resolution conversion means for converting the resolution of the first image read by the first image reading means into a predetermined resolution. A computer program causing a computer to function as the video processing device according to any one of claims 3 to 5 .

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