JP2000050265A - Image transmitter and image coder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide at low cost and simply an image transmitter and an image coder corresponding to the next generation of broadcast system. SOLUTION: This image coder receives a sequential scanning signals with 750 scanning lines and at frame frequency of 24 Hz, a division means 2 divides the signal into four. Then a conversion means 3 applies telecine conversion and the number of pixel conversion to the signals to output a jumping scanning signal with 525 scanning lines. Then, four systems of coders 6-9 that encode the signal are used to apply compression coding to the signals, and a data combination means 4 combines the signals into a single stream.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image transmission device for transmitting a high-resolution image signal and an image encoding device for encoding.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, new broadcasting systems such as the EDTV2 system and the HDTV system have been developed and broadcasting has started. However, various systems have been proposed for the next-generation broadcasting system for digital broadcasting. As a proposed system, for example, a current 525 horizontal scanning lines interlaced signal (hereinafter referred to as an interlace signal) is compared with a 525 horizontal scanning lines sequential scanning signal (hereinafter referred to as a progressive signal). ), There is a so-called 525p signal system. Also, 525p
Not only signals but also various HDTV (high-definition TV) systems have been proposed for higher resolution than the current system. For example, as an interlaced signal, 1125i / 1035i (1125 scanning lines) is used. , Effective line number 1035), 1125i / 1080i (scanning line number 1125, effective line number 1080), and
7 as a progressive signal system in the HDTV system
50p / 720p (750 scanning lines, 7 effective lines)
20) method has been proposed.

[0003] Among them, the progressive signal is considered as a promising candidate in the next-generation TV system because it does not flicker even when characters are displayed, as is adopted as a display system on a personal computer monitor. And is particularly supported by the computer industry. Such a next-generation TV broadcast system will be distributed to homes as digital broadcasts using terrestrial waves, satellites, cables, or the like. Digital broadcasting is currently implemented as satellite broadcasting in Japan, and video signals are
MP disclosed as O / IEC 13818 standard
High-efficiency coding is performed using the EG2 method to reduce the amount of information, and then broadcast to homes via satellite. As described above, in the digital broadcasting, since the video signal is encoded with high efficiency, it is possible to transmit many channels in a small frequency band, and it is possible to increase the number of channels.

On the other hand, as described above, progressive signals of the next-generation broadcasting method are roughly divided into two methods, the 525p method and the 750p method, and these methods are mainly used for broadcasting and business use. VTRs and cameras are also being developed. However, such a next-generation TV
Coverage equipment corresponding to the broadcasting system is very expensive, and it is extremely difficult to recreate a new broadcasting material from scratch in terms of cost and time. Therefore, it has been considered to convert a film of a movie to a TV broadcast to produce a broadcast material, and it is expected that the material for the next-generation broadcast system will mainly be a movie material.

[0005] Converting the movie material into a TV signal is generally called telecine conversion. The number of frames per second of the movie film is 24 frames, and the frame frequency is 24 Hz. On the other hand, the frame frequency of the TV signal is N
30Hz in the TSC area (exactly 30 / 1.001H
z), and for a progressive signal, 60 Hz
(Accurately, 60 / 1.001 Hz). As described above, since the frame frequency is different between the motion picture film and the TV signal, the frame frequency needs to be converted. The frame frequency is converted as follows.

Hereinafter, a method of converting a movie film into a TV signal (hereinafter referred to as telecine conversion) will be described. FIG. 9 shows a method of converting a movie film having a frame frequency of 24 Hz into an interlaced signal having a frame frequency of 30 Hz (field frequency of 60 Hz). As shown in FIG. 9, the frame frequency is changed from 24 Hz to a field frequency of 60 Hz by repeatedly creating a field image of two fields, three fields, two fields, and three fields in a time series from one frame of a movie film. Convert. When three fields of images are created from one frame of film,
Of the images in the field, the third image is a copy of the first image. In general, such an approach
Called 3-2 pulldown. In the NTSC signal, since the actual field frequency is 60 / 1.001 Hz, the movie material is converted to the field frequency of 60 Hz and then converted to the field frequency of 60 Hz.
/1.001 Hz, or 24/1.
Either of the methods of reproducing a movie material at 001 Hz and converting to 60 / 1.001 Hz by 3-2 pull-down is adopted.

[0007] In this way, the TV signal created by the telecine conversion from the movie film is encoded and transmitted by the MPEG2 system.
Since the frame signal of second is converted into a field signal of 60 frames / second, the video signal is one in five fields.
Duplicate fields (copied fields) occur at the rate of the number of times. Considering the case of broadcasting by satellite broadcasting, since the frequency band of a signal that can be transmitted by one transponder is limited, it is necessary to transmit a video signal using a slightly smaller frequency band. So, MPE
Before encoding using the G2 method, a transmission band is reduced by detecting a duplicate field created by telecine conversion and not encoding the duplicate field. That is, before encoding, the overlapping fields of the telecine image are detected, the overlapping fields are thinned out, the 60 Hz field image is converted into a 24 Hz frame image and encoded. Such a conversion is called an inverse telecine conversion, and when a movie material is encoded and transmitted, the frequency band required for transmission may be narrow, and
When transmission is performed in a certain frequency band, higher image quality can be achieved.

[0008] In order to decode the image signal transmitted after inverse telecine conversion and obtain an image signal having a field frequency of 60 Hz, a flag is transmitted at the time of MPEG2 transmission. As shown in FIG. 10, this flag includes two fields, ie, a top field first (Top Field First) and a repeat first field (Repeat First Field).
There are types, and the decoder uses this flag information to
The encoded frame data of 24 Hz is decoded, and 6
A 0 Hz field signal is reproduced. Top Field First
The flag is set to 1 when the first field is the first field output in the frame-structured image in the decoder. Also, if the Repeat FirstField flag is set to 1, the output of the decoder for the playback frame consists of three fields, the first field being followed by the other, and then the first field is repeated. By transmitting the 3-2 pull-down information as a flag in this way, it becomes possible to reproduce a 60 Hz image signal on the decoder side.

[0009]

However, the above-mentioned conventional method has been established for 525i signals, and it cannot be said that there is a practical level of next-generation high-definition image signals. For example, a 750p TV
Consider a signal. Since the 750p method is a progressive signal having 750 scanning lines and a frame frequency of 60 Hz, the information amount is about six times that of the 525i signal. Considering a 750p input / output interface, a 1.5 GHz serial digital signal, or 8 bits or 10 bits with a clock frequency of 74.25 MHz.
It becomes a bit parallel digital signal. like this,
It is difficult to develop a transmission device and an encoding device compatible with the 750p system, and the standards and markets for next-generation broadcasting are unclear. It comes with costs and risks.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide an image transmission device and an image encoding device compatible with the next-generation broadcasting system at low cost and easily.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, an image transmitting apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a dividing means for dividing a first image signal having a first frame frequency into a plurality of image signals; Conversion means for converting each divided image output from the means into a second image signal having a second frame frequency higher than the first frame frequency, and transmitting a plurality of outputs of the conversion means.

Further, the image coding apparatus of the present invention comprises a dividing means for dividing a first image signal having a first frame frequency into a plurality of image signals, and each divided image output from the dividing means to a first image signal. A conversion unit for converting the image signal into a second image signal having a second frame frequency higher than the frame frequency, and a third image having the first frame frequency except for an overlapping image from the second image signal output from the conversion unit. A plurality of encoding devices that perform high-efficiency encoding after converting the image signals into image signals; and a data integration unit that integrates outputs of the plurality of encoding devices and outputs the encoded data as a first image signal. Things.

As described above, the first image signal can be transmitted and encoded in the form of the second image signal which can be realized at low cost.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first invention of the present invention provides a dividing means for dividing a first image signal having a first frame frequency into a plurality of image signals, and each divided image output from the dividing means. Conversion means for converting into a second image signal having a second frame frequency higher than the first frame frequency, and an image transmission apparatus for transmitting a plurality of outputs of the conversion means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dividing unit for dividing a first image signal having a first frame frequency into a plurality of image signals, A conversion unit that converts the first frame frequency into a second image signal having a second frame frequency higher than the first frame frequency, and excluding a duplicate image from a second image signal output from the conversion unit. A plurality of encoding devices that perform high-efficiency encoding after converting into a third image signal, and data to be integrated as outputs of the plurality of encoding devices and output as encoded data of the first image signal This is an image coding apparatus provided with an integrating means.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dividing means for dividing a first image signal having a first frame frequency into a plurality of image signals; Image rearranging means for rearranging the image data, and converting means for converting an output of the image rearranging means into a second image signal having a second frame frequency higher than the first frame frequency. This is an image transmission device for transmitting an output.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dividing means for dividing a first image signal having a first frame frequency into a plurality of image signals, and dividing the divided image signals into temporally different frames. Image rearranging means for rearranging the image, a converting means for converting an output of the image rearranging means into a second image signal having a second frame frequency higher than the first frame frequency, and the second image signal A plurality of coding devices that combine images into frames that are temporally the same except for overlapping images, convert them to a third image signal having the first frame frequency, and then perform high-efficiency coding; And a data integration unit that integrates the output of the encoding device and outputs it as encoded data of the first image signal.

Thus, the first image signal can be divided and transmitted and encoded in the form of the second image signal which can be easily realized at low cost. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image coding apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a serial digital signal having a frequency of 1.5 GHz or an 8-bit or 10-bit digital parallel signal having a clock frequency of 74.25 MHz is input to an input terminal 1. The input image signal is an image signal generated based on a movie film, and its frame frequency is 24 Hz, 30 Hz, or 60 Hz. Hereinafter, it is assumed that a 750p TV signal, which is a progressive signal among the next-generation broadcasting systems, is input to the input terminal 1 as a first image signal. Here, it is assumed that the 750p signal is made from a movie material and its frame frequency is 24 Hz.

Reference numeral 2 denotes division means for dividing the input image signal, reference numeral 3 denotes conversion means for performing predetermined conversion processing on the image signal output from the division means 2, and reference numerals 6 to 9 denote at least 525i signals. An encoding device capable of encoding, 4 is data integration means for integrating the outputs of the encoding devices 6 to 9 into one stream, and 5 is an output terminal. FIG.
Is a configuration as an image encoding device,
The image transmission device of the present invention is constituted by the conversion means 3.

The dividing means 2 is, as shown in FIG.
The input image signal is divided into four and the screen size is converted. That is, 1280 effective samples within one horizontal scanning period are divided into two parts on the left and right, divided into 640 samples each, and 720 effective lines are divided into 360 parts vertically, thereby dividing the screen into four screens in total. . For example, FIG.
In, one frame of a movie material is divided into divided images 1 to 4
Is converted to Similarly, each frame having a frame rate of 24 Hz is divided.

Next, the conversion means 3 further divides each divided image of the image signal divided into four into two and rearranges them into fields different in time. As shown in FIG. 2B, 360 effective scanning lines are divided into 180 lines each in each divided screen. The division method is to divide each line into odd-numbered fields and even-numbered fields, and to perform the interlaced scanning after the division. Also, since the frame frequency of the input video signal is 24 Hz, the field frequency of the output video signal is set to 60 Hz.
Dummy data is inserted once every five fields.
The timing for inserting the dummy data is the same as the timing for inserting the overlapping field in the 3-2 pull-down, and once every five fields as the dummy data,
Insert the copied field.

That is, in FIG. 2A, one frame is divided into four parts, and each divided image (divided images 1 to 4) is further divided into a first field (field 1).
a-4a), the second field (fields 1b-4)
b) is divided into two. Then, in the third field, the image of the first field (fields 1a to 4a) is copied as dummy data. As a result, 64
There are four interlaced signals of 0 × 180 pixels having a field frequency of 60 Hz.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2C, data of 80 samples are added as dummy samples within one horizontal scanning period of each divided screen, and converted into 720 effective samples. Then, 60 dummy data are added to 180 effective lines of each field, and 240 effective lines per field, 720 effective samples in a horizontal scanning period, and 525 scanning lines per frame are used. Convert to an interlaced signal. That is, the screen divided into four by the dividing means 2 is converted by the converting means 3 into an interlaced signal having 525 scanning lines as a second image signal, and four interlaced signals are produced and converted. 525i
Output as digital interface format.

The 525i digital interface format conforms to the SMPTE259M standard (so-called 4:
(2: 2 serial interface) is known, and this may be used, for example.
Each serial digital interface signal output by the conversion means 3 corresponds to １ ／ of the screen of the 750p signal, and can be transmitted using the existing standard.

Next, encoding devices 6 to 6 for performing high-efficiency encoding
9 has exactly the same configuration, and has at least 52 scanning lines.
Five interlaced signals (525i signals) are converted to MPEG2
It encodes using a method. Since the MPEG2 system is a well-known technique, details thereof will be omitted, but the encoding devices 6 to 9 will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the encoding device 6. Here, the encoding device 6 encodes a 525i signal which is an interlace signal. The input terminal 11 is connected to the SMPTE 259
The serial digital interface signal converted into the M format is input. The input processing means 12 includes an input terminal 1
1 and receives the 525i interlace signal input thereto to establish synchronization. The inverse telecine conversion means 13 detects an overlapping image from the input image signal, deletes the overlapping image, and converts it into a movie material having an original frame frequency of 24 Hz. The input 525i signal includes a field that is duplicated at least once every five fields, and the duplicated field is automatically removed by the inverse telecine conversion unit. This is the same as the method shown in FIG.
The encoding means 14 encodes the image signal converted to the frame frequency of 24 Hz by the MPEG2 method. The encoding means 14 encodes an image having an effective scanning line number of 360 in the MPEG2 format (480 lines including a dummy and two fields are framed) and a frame frequency of 24 Hz. In order to perform conversion, two types of flags, Top Field First and Repeat First Field, are set to a picture coding extension (Picture_Coding_Extension) of a picture header (Picture_Hedder) part in an MPEG2 bit stream.
And insert it into the transmission. The encoded data is output to the output terminal 15.

The data integration means 4 integrates a total of four MPEG2 encoded bit streams output from the encoding devices 6 to 9 and converts them into one encoded bit stream of a 750p signal and outputs it. In the data integration means 4, the MP
The screen size and VBV DELAY value in the EG2 bit stream are converted and replaced for the 750p signal, or sliced at the boundary of the screen division.
Perform processing to insert a header (SLICE HEDDER), etc.
It is output as an encoded bit stream of the book 750p signal.

As described above, the 750p signal is divided into four 5
By converting to a 25i signal, transmission can be performed using an existing transmission standard. In addition, four current 525i
The 750p signal can be encoded using the signal encoding device as it is, and the cost can be reduced. Also,
Since there is no need to develop a coding device for the 750p signal from scratch, it is possible to shorten the development period and to introduce the coding device early.

In the present embodiment, the 750p signal is divided into four parts and then subjected to telecine conversion, but may be divided into four parts after performing telecine conversion. Also, in the present embodiment, the 750p signal is divided into four parts, and telecine-converted into four parts.
The signal was transmitted as a 525i signal of the system,
The signal may be converted into a p signal and transmitted. In this case, since the encoding devices 6 to 9 treat the signal as a 525p signal of 24 Hz, the encoding can be performed by exactly the same processing as the 525i signal of the field frequency of 48 Hz.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image coding apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 4, reference numeral 10 denotes an input terminal, 11 denotes a dividing unit, 12 denotes an image rearranging unit, and 13 denotes a converting unit.
Division means 11, image rearrangement means 12, and conversion means 1
3 constitutes the image transmission apparatus of the present invention. further,
An image encoding device is configured by including the two systems of encoding devices 14 and 15 and the data integration unit 16.

The input terminal 10 receives a serial digital signal having a frequency of 1.5 GHz or a clock frequency of 7 GHz.
An 8-bit or 10-bit digital parallel signal of 4.25 MHz is input. The input image signal is an image signal created based on a movie film,
The frame frequency is 24 Hz, 30 Hz or 60 Hz. Here, it is assumed that a 750p TV signal which is a progressive signal among the next-generation broadcasting systems is input to the input terminal 10. Here, 75
It is assumed that the 0p signal is made from a movie material and has a frame frequency of 24 Hz.

In FIG. 4, the dividing means 12 corresponds to FIG.
As shown in (a), the screen is divided into four and the screen size is converted. That is, valid samples 1 within one horizontal scanning period
The 280 samples are divided into two parts to the left and right, divided into 640 samples each, and 720 effective lines are divided up and down by 36
The screen is divided into 0 screens at a time, and divided into four screens in total. For example, in FIG. 5A, one frame of the movie material is
The image is divided into divided images 1 to 4. Next, the image rearranging unit 12 rearranges the image signal into frames that are temporally different. That is, for the left and right data on the screen,
Of the 720 pieces of valid data, the upper half is arranged in an odd frame or an even frame, and the lower half is arranged in a frame next to the upper half frame.

That is, in FIG. 5B, one frame image of the film image is divided into four parts, and the divided four parts are rearranged into different frames. The upper left side (divided image 1) of the divided screen is rearranged into a first frame, and the lower left side (divided image 3) is rearranged into a second frame. A copy of (divided image 1) is inserted. Similarly, the upper right side (divided image 2) of the divided screen is rearranged into a first frame, and the lower right side (divided image 4) is rearranged into a second frame. A copy of the first frame (divided image 2) is inserted.

The timing at which the dummy data is inserted is the same as the period of 3-2 pull-down for converting 24 Hz to 60 Hz. Is inserted. The conversion means 13 converts the screen size as shown in FIG. 5C, adds data of 80 samples as dummy samples within one horizontal scanning period,
20 samples, and dummy data was applied to scan line 1
The signal is converted into a progressive signal having two lines of 480 effective lines, 720 effective samples in a horizontal scanning period, and 525 scanning lines. And
After forming a progressive signal having 525 scanning lines, the converted two-system data is output as a 4: 2: 0p digital interface format. 4: 2: 0
p Digital interface format is SMP
It is disclosed as the TE294M standard (so-called 4: 2: 2: 4 serial interface), and transmits a progressive signal as a 360 MHz serial digital signal. The converter 13 outputs two serial digital interface signals 30 and 31. Here, the serial digital interface signal 30 corresponds to the left half of the screen of the 750p signal, and the serial digital interface signal 31 corresponds to the right half of the screen of the 750p signal.

Conversion means 1 for indicating a dummy frame or the like
3 is inserted and transmitted in a packet format as shown in FIG. 6, for example, in the horizontal blanking period of the serial digital interface signals 30 and 31. In FIG. 6, 000h, which indicates a packet header,
Following 3 consecutive 10-bit words of 3FFh and 3FFh, DID indicating a first ID for identifying a packet, SDID indicating a second ID for identifying a packet, DC indicating the number of words of UDW, UDW indicating user data, Each word of CS indicating the checksum of all the words except the header part is transmitted in packet format. In FIG.
The UDW is an actual data area, and FIG. 7 shows an example of the structure of the UDW. In FIG. 7, BIT0 is dummy frame information, and 1 is transmitted when the dummy data in FIG. 5B is transmitted. BIT1 is a flag for determining whether the input frame is odd or even. For example, in FIG. 5B, 1 is transmitted in the first frame and 0 is transmitted in the second frame. BIT2 is information on screen division, and 1 is transmitted for data in the upper half of the screen, and 0 is transmitted for data in the lower half. BIT3 is information on screen division, and 1 is transmitted for data on the left half of the screen, and 0 is transmitted for data on the right half of the screen. BIT8 is BIT
This is an even parity for the data from 0 to BIT7, and BIT9 is the inverse of BIT8. As mentioned above,
By transmitting the conversion information, the subsequent processing can be simplified.

The 750p signal converted into two 525p signals is input to the encoding devices 14 and 15, respectively, and is encoded. In the encoding devices 14 and 15, the 525p signal including the input dummy data is returned to a signal of 640 × 360 pixels. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the frames of the dummy data are removed, and the upper and lower images are inversely converted to the original positional relationship.

That is, frames different in time are combined using the conversion information transmitted in the packet format to form one frame. As shown in FIG. 8, the image signals of the same frame originally inserted into and transmitted in temporally different frames are synthesized and inversely converted to the original image signal. As shown in FIG. 8, the image data to be encoded has a large image size, but since the frame frequency is 24 Hz, encoding can be performed using an encoding unit having a performance of encoding a 525p signal.

The inputs of the encoding devices 14 and 15 are 525p
Although the rate is the same as that of the signal, in the actual coding, the rate is reduced by the inverse transform shown in FIG.
It is sufficient that the encoding devices 14 and 15 have a performance of encoding a 525p signal. Therefore, the coding devices 14 and 15 can be realized by slightly changing the design of the coding device for 525p.

The outputs of the encoding devices 14 and 15 are integrated into one encoded bit stream by a data integrating means 17 and output from an output terminal 17. As described above, according to the present embodiment, for example, a 750p signal is
The signal can be converted into two signals and transmitted. 750
The p signal has a high frequency of 1.5 GHz and is difficult to transmit over a long distance, but the 525p signal has a frequency of 360 MHz and can be transmitted over a long distance as compared with the 750p signal.

Furthermore, the 750p signal transmitted after being converted into two 525p signals can be encoded using two encoding devices having the same performance as that of the 525p signal encoding device. With this encoding device, encoding is possible by performing frame reconstruction. Since the 525p signal encoding apparatus has a frame memory for inverse telecine conversion, it is easy to reconstruct a frame using this frame memory, and it is easy to perform software reconstruction without changing hardware. It can be handled only by hardware processing, and costs can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the screen of the 750p signal is divided into two digital interface signals by dividing the screen into left and right. However, the present invention is not limited to the left and right divisions. Needless to say, it is good. Also, in the present embodiment, the encoding device 14,
Reference numeral 15 denotes two devices capable of encoding the 525p signal. However, after excluding the frame of the dummy data from the two systems of the 525p signal, the system is further divided into two systems, and a total of four 525i encoding devices ( (4 units for up, down, left and right) may be used. In this case, a sequential scanning signal having 525 scanning lines and a frame frequency of 24 Hz is encoded by an encoding device for 525i.

Further, the conversion information such as the dummy frame information can be inserted not only in the horizontal blanking period but also in the vertical blanking period. Can also be transmitted separately. Further, the transmission format of the conversion information is merely an example, and may be other than the above format.

In each of the above embodiments, the input video signal is a progressive scanning signal having a frame frequency of 24 Hz. However, the input video signal is not limited to 24 Hz, and is a telecine-converted progressive scanning signal having a frame frequency of 60 Hz. Or an interlaced scanning signal having a field frequency of 60 Hz. In this case, after inputting, duplicate frames or duplicate fields in telecine conversion are detected,
By removing the duplicated frame or the duplicated field, a video signal having a frame frequency of 24 Hz may be converted.

Although the frame frequency of the input video signal is 24 Hz, it is not limited to this.
It may be 1.001 Hz or 25 Hz, etc.
In short, it is only necessary that the conversion unit can convert the frame frequency into a different frame frequency. In addition to the 750p signal, the encoding of the 1125i signal can be realized only by changing the number of divisions. In this case, the encoding of the 1125i signal is possible by having six encoders of the 525i signal. It is.

Similarly, in encoding a 1125p signal which is a signal obtained by sequentially scanning the 1125i signal,
Either use six 525p signal encoders, or
By having 12 encoders for 525i signals, 112
It goes without saying that the encoding of the 5p signal is also possible.
Although the transmission means is based on the SMPTE 294M standard, each progressive signal may be transmitted using two normal 4: 2: 2 serial digital interfaces disclosed as the SMPTE 259M standard. Needless to say. It is clear that a parallel interface may be used instead of a serial interface.

The encoding method is the MPEG2 method. However, the encoding method is not limited to the MPEG2 method, and it is needless to say that the same effect can be obtained if the encoding method performs high-efficiency encoding of an image. .

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention, an interlaced scanning signal (525i signal) having, for example, 525 scanning lines is provided.
By using an image coding apparatus for the current system, such as a coding method, an image signal having a larger resolution, such as a progressive scanning signal (750p signal) having 750 scanning lines, is easily transmitted and encoded. Therefore, the present invention can be realized only by dividing and converting a screen without developing a new image transmission device or image encoding device for a high-resolution image signal. Therefore, as compared with the case where a dedicated device is developed, the development period can be shortened, the cost can be reduced, and the device can be downsized.

Further, since transmission can be performed using the current transmission standard (two 525p signals or four 525i signals, etc.), the interface device of the current TV system can be used as it is, and the frequency at the interface is low. Therefore, it is easy to handle and can transmit a long distance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image encoding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the handling of image data for explaining the operation of the image encoding apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an encoding device in the image encoding device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image encoding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of an image signal for explaining the operation of the image encoding apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a transmission format of conversion information in the image encoding device.

FIG. 7 shows a UDW in conversion information in the image encoding apparatus.
Figure showing an example of the structure of

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of an image signal for describing an operation of the encoding device in the image encoding device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a conventional telecine conversion (3-2 pull-down) method;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a relationship between a conventional inverse telecine conversion method and a transmission flag.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 division means 3 conversion means 4 data integration means 6-9 encoding device

Claims (9)

[Claims] A dividing unit that divides a first image signal having a first frame frequency into a plurality of image signals; and a second image that is output from the dividing unit and is higher than the first frame frequency. A conversion unit configured to convert the image signal into a second image signal having a frame frequency, and transmitting a plurality of outputs of the conversion unit. 2. A dividing means for dividing a first image signal having a first frame frequency into a plurality of image signals, and a second image which is output from the dividing means and is higher than the first frame frequency. Converting means for converting the image signal into a second image signal having a frame frequency; and converting the second image signal output from the converting means into a third image signal having the first frame frequency except for overlapping images. Image encoding apparatus comprising: a plurality of encoding devices for performing high-efficiency encoding on the above; and data integration means for integrating outputs of the plurality of encoding devices and outputting as encoded data of the first image signal. apparatus. 3. A dividing unit that divides a first image signal having a first frame frequency into a plurality of image signals, an image rearranging unit that rearranges the divided image signals into temporally different frames, Conversion means for converting the output of the image rearranging means into a second image signal having a second frame frequency higher than the first frame frequency, and transmitting the output of the conversion means. 4. A dividing means for dividing a first image signal having a first frame frequency into a plurality of image signals; an image rearranging means for rearranging the divided image signals into temporally different frames; Converting means for converting the output of the image rearranging means into a second image signal having a second frame frequency higher than the first frame frequency; And a plurality of coding devices that perform high-efficiency coding after converting into a third image signal having the first frame frequency, and integrating the outputs of the plurality of coding devices. And a data integrating means for outputting as encoded data of the first image signal. 5. The image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first image signal is a progressive scan signal, and the second image signal is an interlaced scan signal. 6. The image encoding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first image signal is a progressive scan signal, and the second image signal is an interlaced scan signal. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first image signal and the second image signal are sequentially scanned signals.
The image transmission device as described in the above. 8. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first image signal and the second image signal are sequentially scanned signals.
The image encoding device according to claim 1. 9. The image transmission apparatus according to claim 3, wherein at least division information, time information, and conversion information of overlapping image information are transmitted.