JP2000101914A - Image compositing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image compositing apparatus which can display the superimposed characters, etc., of the word telop of a karaoke machine. SOLUTION: A compositing rate G is calculated through multiplication of a fade gain A and a semitransparent gain M as G=A*M. The gain A can be set in 63 steps and changed only in every frame, and the gain M can be set in 7 steps and changed in every dot. In a fade-in/fade-out mode where the density is gradually changed in every frame, the gain A is changed and the per-dot density control, which eliminates the character notches, etc., is carried out by the change of the gain M.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video synthesizing apparatus capable of displaying superimposed characters and the like of lyrics telops of a karaoke apparatus in an easily viewable manner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A karaoke apparatus is provided with a monitor such as a CRT, and superimposes the lyrics of the karaoke song on a background image and displays the lyrics on the monitor in parallel with the performance of the karaoke song. In a sound source karaoke apparatus that drives a sound source with music data, lyrics data is also included in the music data, and a character signal data is read out based on the lyrics data to generate a video signal of a lyrics telop.

[0003]

As described above, since character telops of lyrics are generated from character pattern data represented by dots, the characters are jagged, unlike conventional karaoke apparatuses such as optical disks which reproduce video. And there was no smooth fade-in and fade-out. Also, it was not possible to fade out only the title.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a video synthesizing apparatus capable of synthesizing a display such as a lyrics telop in an easily viewable manner.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image signal synthesizing apparatus for synthesizing a plurality of images, each of which is displayed by a plurality of dots and whose frame is updated at regular intervals, wherein the plurality of images are synthesized. First setting means for setting the ratio in a plurality of steps; second setting means for setting the composition ratio of the plurality of videos in a smaller number of steps than the first setting means; first setting means and the second setting means Compositing ratio calculating means for calculating the final combining ratio in dot units based on the contents of the setting means, fade means for changing the first setting means in frame units, and changing the second setting means in dot units. Shading forming means.

A second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, further comprises a fade area designating means for designating a fade area which is an effective area of the fade means. The final combining ratio is calculated in dot units based on the contents of the setting unit and the second setting unit, and the final combining ratio is calculated in dot units outside the fade area based on the contents of the second setting unit. Means.

In the present invention, the first setting means sets a multi-step synthesis ratio A, for example, 63 steps, and the second setting means sets a synthesis step M, for example, seven steps. Changing the combination ratio A set in multiple steps enables a smooth transition of the video, but the change is not easy due to the large data. On the other hand, the composition M of a small number of stages has a large number of stages, but allows a fine change of the composition ratio such as a bit unit. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly fade in and fade out by changing the combination ratio A on a frame basis,
By changing the combination ratio M in bit units, the outline of the character can be made translucent, and the jaggedness of the character combined with the dot pattern can be smoothed.

By designating a fade area and making the composition ratio A effective only in this area, it is possible to apply a fade-in / fade-out to only a partial area of the screen. Since the composition ratio M can be changed in dot units, such area designation is unnecessary.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A karaoke apparatus and a video mixer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the karaoke apparatus. 2 and 3 are block diagrams of the video mixer incorporated in the karaoke apparatus.

In FIG. 1, in this karaoke apparatus, a karaoke performance section 21 generates a karaoke performance sound based on music data. The karaoke performance section 21 includes a sound source that forms a performance sound signal, a PCM decoder that decodes audio data, and the like. The lyrics telop superimposed on the background video is displayed on the monitor 32 in synchronization with the karaoke performance.

The lyrics telop is developed on the VRAM of the graphic circuit 18 based on the character pattern, and is synthesized by the video mixer 20 with the background video. The video mixer 20
In addition to simply superimposing the lyric telop on the background video, intermediate synthesis such as fade-in, fade-out, and translucency is possible, and this synthesis is performed only for a partial area on the screen. be able to. The background video is reproduced by the DVD changer 31 controlled via the SCSI interface 35.

The CPU 10 for controlling the entire karaoke apparatus includes a ROM 11, a RAM 12, a hard disk 17, a communication control unit 16, a remote control reception unit 13, an operation unit 14, a display unit 15, a graphic circuit 18, a video mixer 20, a karaoke performance unit 21. , And a DVD changer 31 are connected.

The ROM 11 stores a program for starting the karaoke apparatus, and the like. The hard disk 17 stores the above-described music data, video data, and the like, as well as programs such as a system program, a karaoke performance program, a loader, and character pattern data. The system program is a program for controlling the basic operation of the apparatus, and is read into the RAM 12 when the karaoke apparatus is started. The karaoke performance program includes a karaoke performance section 2 based on music data.
1 is a program for controlling the program. The loader is a program for downloading music data and video data for a background video from a distribution center. The character pattern data is data for developing text information such as lyrics and song titles given as code information into character patterns. In the RAM 12, an area for reading the program and an execution data storage area for reading music data currently being played are set.

The communication control unit 16 is a controller for communicating with a distribution center via a communication line and downloading music data and the like. The communication control unit 16 has a built-in DMA circuit, and can directly write the downloaded music data and video data to the hard disk 17 without passing through the CPU 10.

The remote control receiver 13 receives the infrared signal sent from the remote controller 30 and restores the data. The remote controller 30 has a plurality of key switches such as a numeric keypad for inputting a song number and a set key for setting a song number. When the user operates these key switches, the remote controller 30 transmits an infrared code signal corresponding to the operated key switch. Remote control receiver 1
3 receives this infrared code signal, restores it to data, and inputs it to the CPU 10. The CPU 10 executes various processes such as reservation of karaoke songs and key changes based on the data. The operation unit 14 is provided on the front panel of the karaoke apparatus main body, and includes the same key switches as the remote controller 30. The display unit 15 is also the operation unit 1
Like FIG. 4, it is provided on the front panel of the main body of the karaoke apparatus, and includes an LED matrix display for displaying the number of the currently playing music or the number of reserved music.

The karaoke performance section 21 is a circuit section for generating karaoke performance sounds based on music data.
It includes a CM decoder, an effect DSP, and the like. The sound source generates a tone based on the tone track in the music data,
The PCM decoder reproduces audio such as back chorus based on audio data of music data. The effect DSP gives effects such as echo reverb to the generated musical sound and reproduced sound. A microphone 34 is connected to the karaoke performance section, and the singing voice signal input from the microphone 34 and the karaoke performance sound are mixed and output from the speaker 33.

On the other hand, the graphic circuit 18 has a VRAM, and generates a video signal in which a character pattern of lyrics is developed. By searching the character pattern database stored on the hard disk 17 based on the lyrics display data read from the lyrics track of the music data,
The lyrics are expanded into character patterns. The video signal of this character pattern is input to the video mixer 20. DVD
The changer 31 drives a DVD on which a background image is recorded, and reproduces the background image according to an instruction from the CPU 10.
DVD video data is MPEG compressed, but DVD
The changer 31 has a built-in MPEG decoder,
The compressed data is expanded and input to the video mixer 20 as a composite video signal. The video mixer 20 is a DVD
The video signal of the lyrics telop is superimposed on the video signal of the background video input from the changer 31 and displayed on the monitor 32.

The video mixer 20 partially has a fade function, and can fade-in and fade-out the lyrics telop displayed on the background video.
When a lyrics telop of a plurality of lines is displayed, only a part of the lines can be faded in or out. Note that only the lyrics telop is faded in / out, and the background video is always displayed. The fade function is controlled based on the mixing control data input from the CPU 10. The mixing control data is generated based on fade data read from the lyrics track.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are block diagrams of the video mixer 20. FIG. A video mixer which is a video signal synthesizing device according to the present invention includes a designated ratio synthesizing unit 40 and a synthesizing ratio calculating unit 41.
It has. The designated ratio synthesizer 40 outputs the first video signal V
1 and a multiplier 45 for multiplying by a first combination ratio G and a first video signal V2 to input a second combination ratio (1-
G), and an adder 47 for adding the video signals V1 and V2 multiplied by the combination ratio. First and second input video signals V1, V
2 is reproduced synchronously, and the above-described synthesizing process is executed for each corresponding dot. In the case of a karaoke apparatus, a video signal of a lyrics telop is input as a first video signal V1, and a video signal of a background video is input as a second video signal V2.

The designated ratio synthesizer 40 may be an analog circuit or a digital circuit, but FIG. 3 shows an example constituted by an analog circuit. In FIG. 3, the combination ratio G is input as 6-bit (64-stage) digital data, and a voltage divider circuit outputs a video signal of a level corresponding to the data to the adder side.

The combining ratio calculating device 41 calculates the combining ratio G and inputs it to the designated ratio combining device 40. An arithmetic unit 50 for calculating the combination ratio G is provided. The arithmetic unit 50 includes a fade gain register 51 for storing setting data, a fade start line register 52, a fade end line register 53, and a parameter register 54 for storing real-time parameters. It is connected to the. The fade gain register 51 stores a fade gain A which is an upper limit value of the combination ratio G. In the case of the karaoke apparatus, the characters of the lyrics telop are displayed at 100% density (complete opacity in which the background image cannot be seen through), so that the fade gain A is usually 1. Fade start line register 52
Stores the upper end position of the area for synthesizing the video signal.
The fade end line register 53 stores the lower end position of the area for synthesizing the video signal. The upper end position and the lower end position are designated by the numbers of about 483 scanning lines appearing on the screen excluding the vertical blanking period of the NTSC signal. Each setting data is data of about 1 to several bytes, and is set by the CPU 10 via the interface 42. The fade gain A takes a value of 0/63 to 63/63 in 6 bits. On the other hand, the real-time parameter register 54 stores the transparent signal YS, the translucent gain M, and the fade enable signal BLNK. The transparent signal YS and the fade enable signal BLNK are 1-bit data, and the translucent gain M is 3-bit (AT0, AT1, AT2) data. The setting of each bit can be changed. Translucent gain M is 1/8
(AT0, AT1, AT2 = 0, 0, 0) to 8/8
Take the value of (1,1,1). In the case of completely transparent (characters are not displayed), the transparent signal YS is set to 0 to cope with this.

The composite ratio G is within the fade area designated by the fade start line register 52 and the fade end line register 53, and when BLNK = 1, is calculated by G = YS * A * M, When outside the area or when BLNK = 0, the calculation is performed using G = G = YS * M. Therefore, when the transparent signal YS = 0, the combination ratio G is always 0, the first video signal V1 is not output, and the composite video V3 is only the second video signal V2 (background video).

In the fade area, the BLNK
= 1, the fade gain A is effective, but is output when the outside of the fade area or BLNK = 0.
When BLNK = 0, the fade gain A becomes invalid.

The setting data of the fade gain A, the fade start line, and the fade end line can be changed in frame units. That is, the setting data set once is valid for at least one frame. On the other hand, the real-time parameters can be changed for each dot of the video signal. Alternatively, parameters for one line (about 400 dots) may be stored at a time and read out sequentially. By changing this real-time parameter, it is possible to change the combination ratio in units of one dot.

FIGS. 4 to 6 are diagrams for explaining the functions of the video mixer 20. FIG. In the description of these drawings, a case where the background video of the karaoke apparatus and the lyrics telop are mixed will be described. A lyric telop is input as the video signal V1, and a background video is input as the video signal V2.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of giving a translucent outline to the characters of the lyrics to make the characters look soft. The case where the fade gain A is set to 1 is taken as an example in order to prevent the background image from being projected completely in the character body portion. Since it is sufficient to display only the background image in the portion without lyrics, setting the transparent signal YS to 0 ignores the image signal V1 regardless of other setting data (A or the like) or parameters (M or the like). Signal V2 (background image)
Only the output is output to the adder 47 side.

On the other hand, in the main part of the character, only the character is completely displayed and the background image is not displayed.
And the translucent gain M is also 1 (= 8 /
8) is set. As a result, the final composition ratio G is also 1, and the video signal V1 (characters of the lyrics) is output at 100%, and the background video is not output at all.

The character is formed with three levels of contours (contour 1, contour 2, contour 3), and is displayed in a translucent manner with different degrees of transparency. Contour 1 closest to the character body has a translucent gain M set to 6/8 and a synthesis ratio G of 6 /
It becomes 8. Therefore, a video signal in which the lyrics are combined at a ratio of 75% and the background video is combined at a ratio of 25% is output. For the next contour 2, the translucent gain is set to 4/8, and the synthesis ratio G is also 4/8. Therefore, the lyrics are 5
A video signal composed of 0% and a background video combined at a ratio of 50% is output. Furthermore, the outermost contour 3
Is that the translucent gain is set to 2/8 and the synthesis ratio G is also 2
/ 8. Therefore, a video signal is output in which the lyrics are synthesized at a rate of 25% and the background video is synthesized at a rate of 75%. As described above, the characters are lighter and the background image is darker as the contours are outer, so that the characters are softer and easier to read. Such switching of the combining ratio in units of one dot is as follows.
With the fade gain A fixed, a bit unit (AT
(0, AT1, AT2) by multiplying the rewritable translucent gain M to calculate the combination ratio G.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method of changing the display density of the instruction word attached to the lyrics and the lyrics body. For example, in the case of a duet song, instruction words such as “male” and “female” are displayed at the beginning of the lyrics to indicate the lyrics sung by a man and the lyrics sung by a woman. If this is displayed in the same manner as the lyrics itself, it is difficult to distinguish the lyrics from the lyrics. For example, when the lyrics are displayed in English and the instruction wording is displayed in English such as "Male" and "Female" In some cases, singers who are not fluent in English think that this is also part of the lyrics and sing it, and the lyrics may not match the song. In order to prevent this, instruction words such as "male", "female" and "breathing" are displayed thinner and translucently than the lyrics body.

In this case, as in the case of FIG. 4, the fade gain A = 1 so that the lyrics body is completely opaque.
Take the example of In this case, the translucent gain M of the lyrics main body is 1 (8/8). And "men",
By setting the translucent gain M to an intermediate value such as 4/8, the display portion of the instruction words such as "female" and "breathing" can be displayed thinner than the lyrics itself, It can be easily distinguished.

In this case, as shown in the lower part of the figure, the translucent gain M is set to 8/8 in the display section of the lyrics body, and M is set to 4/8 in the display section of the instruction wording. Then, YS is switched to 1/0 according to the shape of the character. The translucent display of the instruction word and the translucent outline of the character described with reference to FIG. 4 may be used together.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of fading only a partial area of the screen. In the figure, the title "Koisutefu" is displayed at the center of the screen, and two lines of lyrics are displayed at the bottom of the screen. In addition, "YA
M "and the word" Karaoke "are displayed on the right side of the title. Of these, only this title character is faded out.

A rectangular area including the character of the title is set as a fade area, and a fade start line and a fade end line are specified in a fade start line register 52 and a fade end line register 53 in order to specify the upper and lower ends of the fade area. Set. The horizontal section of the fade area is set by the BLNK parameter. As shown in the figure, during scanning of the scanning line,
BLNK = 1 is set only in the horizontal section of the fade area. The synthesis ratio calculation device 41 enables the fade gain A only between the fade start line and the fade end line and within the fade area of BLNK = 1, and calculates the synthesis ratio G by G = YS * A * M. Outside the fade area, the fade gain A is invalidated, and the combination ratio G is calculated by G = YS * M.

Then, as shown in the lower part of the figure, A is sequentially changed from 63/63 to 0/63 for each frame, so that the display of the fade area gradually becomes lighter in 63 steps. Can be smoothly faded out. In other words, "Koisutefu"
Gradually becomes thinner, but "YAM", "Karaoke",
The word "Unknown ... until you ask" does not fade.

In this case, since the composition ratio G is calculated ignoring A outside the fade area, the result is the same as that of A = 1. Transparency (FIG. 5) and this fade-out can be used together on the same screen. Also, a semi-transparent outline can be added to the title character that fades out.

When fading in characters or the like, the fade gain A may be gradually increased from 0/63 to 63/63 for each frame.

If some areas are not set as fade areas, the entire area on the screen may be designated as a fade area and the fade gain A may be made effective. The fade gain A may be invalidated.

The setting data and the real-time parameters may be written in the lyrics track of the music data for the karaoke performance, or the karaoke device may automatically generate the data at that time.

The parameter register 54 may store a 1-bit parameter for invalidating the translucent gain M. For example, if this parameter is ATON, M is effective when ATON = 1, but A
If TON = 0, M is assumed to be 1 regardless of its value. By doing so, it is possible to realize expressions with different effects while keeping the same A and M.

In the above embodiment, two video signals V
Although a case has been described where the video signal V3 is created by combining the video signals V1 and V2, the present invention can be applied even when the video signal is three or more. In that case, the fade gain A and the translucent gain M are set to A1 + A2 + A3 = 1, M1
It is sufficient to use three data such that + M2 + M3 = 1. Alternatively, the third data may be the remaining data.

In the above-described embodiment, an apparatus for superimposing a lyrics telop on a background image has been described. However, images to be synthesized are not limited to these. Both may be analog photographic images.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of videos can be combined to realize smooth fade-in and fade-out, and a composite video that can be easily viewed can be created by removing jaggies in dots. . Further, these operations can be performed separately and simultaneously in a partial area of the screen.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a karaoke apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a video mixer used in the karaoke apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a designated ratio combiner of the video mixer.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating functions of the video mixer.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating functions of the video mixer.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating functions of the video mixer.

[Explanation of symbols]

18 Graphic circuit, 20 Video mixer, 32 Monitor, 40 Designated ratio synthesizer, 41 Synthesis ratio calculation device, 42 Interface, 45, 46 Multiplier, 47
... Adder, 50 arithmetic unit, 51 fade gain register, 52 fade start line register, 53 fade end line register, 54 parameter register

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Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A video signal synthesizing apparatus for synthesizing a plurality of videos displayed by a plurality of dots and having a frame updated at a predetermined time interval, wherein a first setting for setting a synthesis ratio of the plurality of videos in a plurality of steps Means, a second setting means for setting the composition ratio of the plurality of videos in a stage smaller than that of the first setting means, and a final composition based on the contents of the first setting means and the second setting means. A video synthesizing apparatus comprising: a synthesizing ratio calculating unit that calculates a ratio in dot units; a fade unit that changes the first setting unit in frame units; and a shading forming unit that changes the second setting unit in dot units. . 2. A fade area designating means for designating a fade area which is an effective area of the fade means, wherein the combining ratio calculating means is configured to determine a fade area based on contents of the first setting means and the second setting means. 2. The video synthesizing device according to claim 1, wherein the final combination ratio is calculated in dot units, and the outside of the fade area is calculated based on the contents of the second setting unit. .