JP2000295621A - Device and method for image processing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image signal whose deterioration is not distinct from input image signals where resolution or a degree of deteriorated image quality is different in the time base direction. SOLUTION: In this image processing unit, a distribution calculation section 14 and a difference generating section 15 respectively receive data of an area segmented by area segmentation sections 11, 12 from a decoded image signal in compliance with the MPEG-1 or the like as an input image signal. The difference generating section 15 takes a difference between an output data of the area segmentation section 12 and data of the area of the image signal segmented by an area segmentation section 18 from a frame memory 17 storing an image signal of one precedence frame with respect to the input image signal. A still/ moving picture discrimination section 16 discriminates whether a picture is a still picture or a moving picture on the basis of the difference. An output pixel decision block 13 compares the variance of output data of an area segmented by an area segmentation section 19 from the signal of the frame memory 17 with the variance of output data from the area segmentation section 11 and applies output processing to the image signal having higher variance when the discrimination section 16 discriminates a still picture.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
Improves image quality, etc., for image signals whose resolution or image quality is different in the time direction, such as image signals decoded from digital signals encoded by the encoding method specified by (Moving Picture Expert Group). The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for performing a process for causing the image processing to be performed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art MPEs such as MPEG-1 and MPEG-2
In an image coding method (hereinafter, referred to as an MPEG coding method) according to the G rule, a random access function,
There are three coding types of I picture, P picture and B picture in order to realize high coding efficiency. An I picture (Intra-Picture) is a screen for intra coding.
Encoded independently from other frames. On the contrary,
A P-picture (Predintive-Picture) is a predictive coding screen, and as shown by a dashed line below each picture in FIG. 8, motion compensation using temporally preceding I-picture or P-picture data as a reference picture It is encoded by performing predictive encoding.

A B-picture (Bidirectionally-Pictu
re) is a bidirectional predictive coding screen. That is, as shown by the solid line above each picture in FIG. 8, the data of the I picture or P picture that precedes in time is used as the reference image, and together with the time as shown by the dotted line above each picture in FIG. Succeeding I picture or P
Encoding is performed by performing motion compensation prediction encoding using picture data as a reference image. MPEG-1 is used for combining three types of pictures, I, P, and B.
There is no particular definition in MPEG-2, and the encoder sets the method of combining pictures according to a request when transmitting image information, such as a data transfer rate and the quality of a decoded image.

[0004]

As described above, the MPE
In the G encoding method, the encoding method differs for each picture type. In the actual encoding process, since the conditions such as the amount of motion, bit allocation, and rate control in the original image change,
It is generally not possible to determine which of these three picture types has the greatest degree of degradation in resolution or image quality. However, it is clear that the degree of degradation in resolution or image quality due to block distortion or the like differs for each frame due to the use of a plurality of types of pictures having different encoding methods.

[0005] Here, the block distortion is such that the activity is impaired in some of the blocks which are units of encoding in MPEG, and the boundary between the block whose activity is impaired and the block adjacent to the block is conspicuous. This phenomenon is known as a degradation component peculiar to the MPEG encoding method.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situation, and accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for controlling deterioration of an image signal in which the degree of deterioration of resolution or image quality differs in the time direction. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of reducing the number of times.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an image signal whose resolution or the degree of deterioration of image quality differs in the time direction is one frame before the first region in the frame of interest and the frame of interest. A still / moving determining means for determining a difference between the first region and the second region in the frame output to the first and second regions based on the difference; First calculating means for calculating an amount serving as a measure of the activity in the area; second calculating means for calculating an amount serving as a measure for the activity in the second area; Outputs image data in the first area when it is determined that the first area is a moving image part, and outputs the first calculation means when the first area is determined to be a still image part by the still / movement determining means. And the output of the second calculating means, An image processing device comprising: output image determination means for outputting image data in an area in which the activity is determined to be larger in the first area and the second area based on the comparison result. It is.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a motion is detected between a frame of interest and a frame output one frame before the frame of interest with respect to an image signal in which the degree of deterioration of resolution or image quality differs in the time direction. Motion detection means, first calculation means for calculating a measure of activity in the first region in the frame of interest, and output one frame before the frame of interest based on the output of the motion detection means A second calculating means for performing a pixel position correction process on the selected frame, and calculating an amount serving as a measure of an activity in a second region in the image signal to which the pixel position correction process has been performed; Is compared with the output of the second calculating means, and based on the comparison result, the image data in the area where the activity is determined to be larger in the first area and the second area is determined. An image processing apparatus characterized by an output image determination means for force.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the first region in the frame of interest and the frame in the frame output one frame before the frame of interest with respect to the image signal in which the degree of degradation of the resolution or image quality differs in the time direction. A still / moving determination step of taking a difference between the second region and the first region to determine whether the first region is a still image portion or a moving image portion based on the difference;
A first calculation step of calculating an amount that is a measure of the activity in the area, a second calculation step of calculating an amount that is a measure of the activity in the second area; If the region is determined to be a moving image portion, image data in the first region is output. If the first region is determined to be a still image portion in the still / moving determination step, a first calculation is performed. Comparing the result of the step with the result of the second calculation step, and based on the comparison result,
An output image determining step of outputting image data in an area in which the activity is determined to be larger in the first area and the second area.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, a motion is detected between a frame of interest and a frame output one frame before the frame of interest with respect to an image signal in which the degree of degradation in resolution or image quality differs in the time direction. A motion detection step;
A first calculation step of calculating a measure of the activity in the first region in the frame of interest, and a pixel position with respect to the frame output one frame before the frame of interest based on the result of the motion detection step A second calculation step of performing an adjustment process and calculating an amount that is a measure of an activity in a second region in the image signal to which the pixel position adjustment process has been performed; and a result of the first calculation step and a second calculation step. An output image determining step of comparing the result of the calculation step with the output step and outputting image data in an area in which the activity is determined to be larger in the first area and the second area based on the comparison result. An image processing method comprising:

According to the above invention, it is possible to selectively output image data having higher activity, for example, on a pixel-by-pixel basis, from image signals in which the degree of resolution or image quality deterioration differs in the time direction.

[0012]

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. The input image signal is output to the region cutout unit 11,
12 and an output pixel determination unit 13. here,
It is a prerequisite that the embodiment of the present invention operates effectively that the input image signal is a series of streams that do not include a scene change and that the degree of resolution degradation differs between frames. Specifically, MPEG-1, M
An image signal obtained by decoding a transmission code encoded by an MPEG encoding method such as PEG-2, which does not include a scene change, is suitable as the input image signal.

However, the stream is divided into a series of streams before and after the scene change, for example, by determining the average value of the inter-frame differences with reference to a threshold value, and each stream is treated as a separate input image signal. By adding a configuration for performing various processing, the embodiment of the present invention can be effectively operated even for an image signal including a scene change.

The area extracting section 11 extracts a predetermined area from the supplied input image signal, and supplies data of the extracted area to the variance calculating section 14. The variance calculation unit 14
The variance is calculated based on the supplied data, and the calculated variance value is supplied to the output pixel determination unit 13. The area cutout unit 12 cuts out an area having a size of, for example, 3 × 3 pixels from the input image signal, and supplies data of the cutout area to the difference calculator 15. Note that the region cutout unit 11,
As 12, the same region cutout portion may be configured to be shared.

The difference calculator 15 is further supplied with the output of an area cutout unit 18 described later. Difference calculator 15
Calculates the difference between the pixel of interest in the region clipped by the region clipping unit 12 and the pixel at the same position as the pixel of interest in the region clipped by the region clipping unit 18;
The calculated difference value is supplied to the static / movement determination unit 16. The still / movement determination unit 16 determines whether the periphery of the target pixel is a still image portion or a moving image portion based on the supplied difference value, and supplies the determination result to the output pixel determination unit 13. Here, as the determination process, a process of determining a moving image when the difference value is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value, and a process of determining a still image otherwise can be used.

The image signal held in the frame memory 17 and the output of the variance calculating unit 20 are further supplied to the output pixel determining unit 13 as described later. The output pixel determination unit 13 performs the following process when the still / movement determination unit 16 outputs a determination result indicating that the image is a still image. That is, the variance value supplied from the variance calculation unit 14 is compared with the variance value supplied from the variance calculation unit 20, and an output pixel is determined based on the comparison result.

That is, the variance value is used as a measure of the activity, and the same as the target pixel or the target pixel in the region having the larger variance value between the region cut out by the region cutout unit 11 and the region cut out by the region cutout unit 19. The pixel at the position is selected as the output pixel. On the other hand, when the still / moving determination unit 16 outputs a determination result indicating that the image is a moving image, the output pixel determination unit 13 outputs pixels in an area cut out by the area cutout unit 11. The operation accuracy can be improved when the regions cut out by the region cutout units 11 and 19 and the regions cut out by the region cutout units 112 and 18 have the same size.

The output of the output pixel determining section 13 is supplied as a final output to a display device (not shown) or the like, and is also supplied to a frame memory 17 and held. The area cutout unit 18 cuts out an area used for processing by the difference calculator 15 from the image signal held in the frame memory 17. The region cutout unit 19 cuts out a region having the same shape and area as the region cut out by the region cutout unit 11 from the frame memory 17 and centering on the pixel at the same position as the target pixel. Area cutout unit 19
The data of the region cut out by the calculation is supplied to the dispersion calculation unit 20. The variance calculation unit 20 calculates the variance based on the supplied data, and supplies the calculated variance value to the output pixel determination unit 13. Here, as the region cutout units 18 and 19, the same region cutout unit may be configured to be shared.

The procedure of the process according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In step S1, a difference between a pixel in the input image signal (pixel of interest) and a pixel in the image signal held in the frame memory (pixel at the same position as the pixel of interest) is calculated. In step S2, the difference value calculated in step S1 is compared with a predetermined threshold. If it is determined that the difference value is larger than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S8 under the determination that the periphery of the pixel to be processed in step S1 is a moving image. surrounding pixels that are processed moves under the determination that a still image in step S3 ₁ and step S3 ₂ in step S1.

The cut out region centered around the target pixel from the input image signal as a Step S3 _1, the process proceeds to step S4 _1. In step S4 _1, dispersed in a region cut out in Step S4 ₁ (hereinafter referred to as dispersion 1) is calculated. Also, cut out area from the image signal stored in the frame memory in step S3 _2, step S
4 to shift _2. In step S4 _2, Step S3 ₂
(Variance 2)
Is calculated.

[0021] FIG. 3 shows an example of a shape of the region to be cut by the step S3 ₁ and Step S3 _2. One such example is centered on the pixel of interest indicated by hatching, is a region of rectangular including pixels x ₀₀ ~x _nn. When such a region is cut out, the variance V is calculated by the following equation (1).

[0022]

(Equation 1)

However, the shape of the region to be cut is not limited to a rectangle, but may be various shapes such as a diamond.

[0024] Step S4 _1, dispersion obtained in step S4 ₂ 1 and variance 2 of the magnitude comparison step S5
It is performed in. If the variance is determined to be larger than the dispersion 2, towards the activities in the area cut out from the input image signal is greater than the activity in the area cut out from the frame memory in step S3 ₂ in step S3 ₁ Is determined. In such a case, the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, the dispersion 1 is not greater than the variance 2 in step S5, the activity in the region where the activity in the area cut out from the frame memory in step S3 ₂ is cut out from the input image signal in step S3 ₁ It is determined that this is the case. In such a case, step S
Move to 6.

[0025] In step S7, performs processing to the display device such as a pixel of interest in the area cut out from the input image signal in step S3 ₁ as a final output, further, the process proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, in step S6, in the region cut out from the frame memory in step S3 _2, the pixel of interest at the same position performs processing supplied to the display device such as a final output, further,
Move to step S9.

In step S8, a pixel in the input image signal is supplied as it is as a final output to a display device or the like as a process to cope with the case where the periphery of the target pixel to be processed in step S1 is a moving image. Then, the process proceeds to step S9.

By the recursive processing as described above, it is possible to selectively output a pixel in a region having higher activity in a still image portion, and to propagate such a pixel to a subsequent frame.

While the above-described embodiment of the present invention performs an effective process only on a still image portion, an effective embodiment is also performed on a moving image portion. Other embodiments of the present invention are also possible. is there. Another embodiment of the present invention is:
It detects the movement of the input image signal and performs processing based on the detected movement.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention. The input image signal is supplied to an area cutout unit 41, a motion vector detection unit 42, and an output pixel determination unit 44. The region cutout unit 41 cuts out a region centered on the target pixel position from the supplied input image signal, and supplies data of the cutout region to the variance calculation unit 43. The variance calculator 43 calculates the variance based on the supplied data,
The calculated variance value is supplied to the output pixel determination unit 44.

On the other hand, the motion detecting section 42 detects a motion vector from the supplied input image signal by a method such as block matching, and supplies the detected motion vector to the pixel position correcting and area extracting section 43. The pixel position adjusting and area extracting unit 45 extracts an area corresponding to the area extracted by the area extracting unit 41 from the image signal held in the frame memory 47 with reference to the supplied motion vector. In other words, the pixel position correction and area cutout unit 45 performs a process of correcting the pixel position of the target pixel with reference to the motion vector, and further obtains a pixel at the same position as the target pixel from the image signal generated as a result of the process A region having the same shape and area as the region cut out by the region cutout unit 41 is cut out centering on.

The data of the region clipped by the pixel position correction and region clipping unit 45 is supplied to the variance calculation unit 46. The variance calculation unit 46 calculates the variance based on the supplied area data, and supplies the calculated variance value to the output pixel determination unit 44. The output pixel determination unit 44 is further supplied with the image signal of the previous frame from the frame memory 47. The output pixel determination unit 44 compares the variance value supplied from the variance calculation unit 43 with the variance value supplied from the variance calculation unit 46, and determines an output pixel based on the comparison result.

That is, using the variance value as a measure of the activity, the pixel of interest in the region having a larger variance value between the region cut out by the region cutout unit 41 and the region cut out by the pixel position correction and region cutout unit 45 Alternatively, a pixel at the same position as the target pixel is selected as an output pixel. The output of the output pixel determination unit 44 is supplied as a final output to a display device (not shown) or the like, and is also supplied to the frame memory 47 and held.

A processing procedure according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In step S50, an area is cut out from the input image signal. Step S5
1, the variance in the region cut out from the input image signal in step S50 (hereinafter, referred to as variance 1 ′)
Is calculated. At step S52, the input image signal and
A motion vector between the image signal output one frame before and held in the frame memory is detected by a method such as block matching.

An outline of detection of a motion vector by block matching will be described. From the input image signal, a block of a predetermined shape (referred to as a reference block) including some pixels around the target pixel is cut out. On the other hand, a block having the same shape as the reference block, centered on each pixel in the search range set in the image signal held in the frame memory 47, is cut out. The sum of absolute difference values between each block cut out in this way and the reference block is calculated.

Then, an evaluation value table is created by holding the calculated values in correspondence with the pixels within the search range. The minimum value is searched from the evaluation value table created in this way, the shift amount between the position of the pixel in the search range related to the searched minimum value and the target pixel is calculated, and based on the calculated shift amount, Detect a motion vector. The block matching is disclosed in detail in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54-124927 proposed by the present applicant.

As step S53, first, step S53
Based on the motion vector detected by 52, a process for correcting the pixel position is performed on the image signal held in the frame memory. Further, in step S53,
From the image signal obtained as a result of the process of correcting the pixel position, a region centered on the pixel at the same position as the target pixel and having the same shape and area as the region cut out from the input image signal in step S50 is cut out. Step S
As 54, the variance (hereinafter referred to as variance 2 ′) in the region cut out in step S53 is calculated.

As the shape of the region cut out in steps S50 and S53, for example, the example shown in FIG. 3 can be used. When using such an example, the variance V is calculated by the following equation (2).

[0038]

(Equation 2)

However, the shape of the region to be cut is not limited to a rectangle, but may be various shapes such as a diamond.

In step S55, a comparison is made between the variance 1 'calculated in step S51 and the variance 2' calculated in step S53. If it is determined that variance 1 ′> variance 2 ′, the activity of the region cut out from the input image signal in step S50 is determined in step S50.
It is determined by 53 that the activity is larger than the activity of the area cut out from the frame memory. In such a case, the process proceeds to step S56. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S53 that the variance 1 is not larger than the variance 2, the activity of the region cut out from the frame memory in step S53 is equal to or greater than the activity of the region cut out from the input image signal in step S50. Is determined. In such a case, step S5
Move to 7.

In step S57, a process of supplying a pixel at the same position as the target pixel in the region cut out from the frame memory in step S53 to a display device or the like as a final output is performed. However, in this case, the pixel is output after the same pixel position correction as in step S53 based on the motion vector. Then, control goes to a step S58. On the other hand, in step S56, a process of supplying the pixel of interest in the region cut out from the input image signal in step S50 to a display device or the like as a final output is performed, and further proceeds to step S58.

By the recursive processing as described above, for both the still image portion and the moving image portion, pixels in a region with higher activity are selectively output, and such pixels are propagated to a subsequent frame. I can do it.

Next, a configuration for detecting a motion vector by block matching will be described with reference to FIG. The motion vector detection unit 42 includes the block extraction unit 6
1. Evaluation value table creation unit 62, minimum evaluation value search unit 63
And a motion vector estimating unit 64. The block cutout unit 61 is supplied with an input image signal, and cuts out a reference block from the supplied input image signal. The data of the reference block is supplied to the evaluation value table creation unit 62.

The evaluation value table creation section 62 sets a search range on the image signal of one frame before stored in the frame memory 47, and sets a pixel centered on each pixel within the search range, a reference block, and Cut out blocks of the same shape.
Furthermore, the evaluation value table creation unit 62 calculates the sum of absolute differences between each block cut out from the search range and the reference block, and holds the calculated value corresponding to each pixel in the search range. Creates an evaluation value table. The data of the evaluation value table is supplied to the minimum evaluation value search unit 63.

The minimum evaluation value search section 63 searches for the minimum evaluation value based on the supplied data, and supplies data indicating the search result to the motion vector estimation section 64. The motion vector estimating unit 64 calculates a shift amount between the position of the pixel in the search range related to the minimum value and the target pixel based on the supplied data, and estimates a motion vector based on the calculated shift amount. . The output of the motion vector estimation unit 64 is used as the final output of the motion vector detection unit 42.

Although the motion vector is detected by block matching in another embodiment of the present invention, the motion vector may be detected by another method such as a gradient method.

Next, step S53 in FIG. 5 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. By adding the motion vector (x, y) detected in step S52 to the position of the pixel of interest 72 in the reference block 71,
The position of the pixel 74 located at the position corresponding to the target pixel 72 in the image signal held in the frame memory 47 can be calculated. By cutting out a region having the same shape and size as the region cut out in step S50 around the pixel position calculated in this way, the region cutout after performing the pixel position correction based on the motion vector is performed. It can be carried out.

In one embodiment of the present invention and the other embodiments of the present invention, a variance value is used as a measure of an activity. For example, a dynamic range (Dynamic Range) is used as a measure of an activity.
e, sometimes referred to as DR). In one embodiment of the present invention and another embodiment of the present invention, the final output is determined in units of pixels. However, for example, the final output is determined in units of regions cut out for calculating variance. May be determined.

The present invention is not limited to one embodiment of the present invention described above and other embodiments of the present invention, and various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention. .

[0050]

According to the present invention, for an image signal or the like obtained by encoding and decoding an original image, for example, in accordance with the MPEG standard, the activity is more increased between temporally adjacent frames. Image data determined to be high can be selectively output and such pixels can be propagated to subsequent frames.

For this reason, it is possible to eliminate or reduce a difference in image quality between frames caused by deterioration such as block distortion between frames. Therefore, it is possible to output an image signal that is uniform and inconspicuous in deterioration of the entire image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining extraction of an area according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a partial configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining pixel position compensation in another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a problem in the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

13 ... output pixel determination unit, 16 ... motion judgment unit, 4
2 ... Motion vector detection unit, 45 ... Pixel position correction and area cutout unit, 44 ... Output pixel determination unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Hideo Nakaya 6-35, Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Sony Corporation (72) Inventor Toshihiko Hamamatsu 6-35, Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo No. Sony Corporation F term (reference) 5C059 KK01 MA00 MA04 MA05 NN01 NN23 NN28 NN43 PP04 TA07 TA80 TB08 TC10 TC13 TD02 TD04 TD11

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A first area in a frame of interest and a second area in a frame output one frame before the frame of interest with respect to image signals having different degrees of resolution or image quality deterioration in the time direction. And a still / moving determining means for determining whether the first region is a still image portion or a moving image portion based on the difference, and a measure of the activity in the first region. First calculating means for calculating an amount of the second area; second calculating means for calculating an amount that is a measure of the activity in the second area; The image data in the first area is output when it is determined that there is, and when the first area is determined to be a still image portion by the still / moving determining means, the first calculating means is output. And the output of the second calculation means Output image determining means for comparing the output with the output and outputting image data in an area determined to have a higher activity in the first area and the second area based on the comparison result. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image signal is an image signal decoded from a digital signal encoded by an encoding method using inter-frame correlation. . 3. The image according to claim 1, wherein the first and second calculation means calculate a variance in the first and second regions as an amount serving as a measure of the activity. Processing equipment. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first and second calculation means calculate a dynamic range in the first and second regions as a quantity serving as a measure of the activity. Image processing device. 5. The output image determining unit according to claim 1, wherein the output image determining unit determines a target pixel in the first region when the still / moving determining unit determines that the first region is a moving image portion. An image processing device for outputting. 6. The output image determining unit according to claim 1, wherein the output region determining unit outputs the first region when the static region determining unit determines that the first region is a moving image portion. Characteristic image processing device. 7. The output image determining means according to claim 1, wherein said output image determining means determines an output of said first calculating means when said still and moving determining means determines that said first area is a still image portion. Comparing the output of the second calculating means with the target pixel or the target pixel in a region of the first region and the second region in which the activity is determined to be larger than that of the second region based on the comparison result; An image processing device for outputting a pixel at the same position as that of the image processing device. 8. The output image determining unit according to claim 1, wherein the output image determining unit determines an output of the first calculating unit when the static region determining unit determines that the first region is a still image portion. Comparing the output of the second calculation means and outputting, based on the comparison result, an area of the first area and the second area determined to have a higher activity. Image processing device. 9. A motion detecting means for detecting a motion between a frame of interest and a frame output immediately before the frame of interest with respect to an image signal having a resolution or a degree of deterioration of image quality different in a time direction. A first calculating means for calculating an amount serving as a measure of an activity in a first area in the frame of interest; and an output one frame before the frame of interest based on an output of the motion detecting means. Second calculating means for performing a pixel position correction process on a frame, and calculating an amount serving as a measure of an activity in a second region in the image signal on which the pixel position correction process has been performed; The output of the means is compared with the output of the second calculation means, and it is determined that the activity is larger in the first area and the second area based on the comparison result. An image processing apparatus comprising: output image determination means for outputting image data in a region. 10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the image signal is an image signal decoded from a digital signal encoded by an encoding method using inter-frame correlation. . 11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the first and second calculation means calculate a variance in the first and second regions as a quantity serving as a measure of the activity. Image processing device. 12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the first and second calculation means calculate a dynamic range in the first and second regions as a quantity serving as a measure of the activity. Image processing device. 13. The output image determining means according to claim 9, wherein the output image determining means compares an output of the first calculating means with the second output, and, based on a comparison result, the first area and the second area. An image processing apparatus for outputting a target pixel or a pixel at the same position as the target pixel in a region where the activity is determined to be larger among the two regions. 14. The output image determining unit according to claim 9, wherein the output image determining unit compares an output of the first calculating unit with an output of the second calculating unit, and based on a comparison result, determines the first area. An image processing apparatus that outputs an area determined to have a larger activity among the second area and the second area. 15. A first region in a frame of interest and a second region in a frame output one frame before the frame of interest with respect to image signals having different degrees of resolution or image quality deterioration in the time direction. A still / moving determination step of determining whether the first area is a still image portion or a moving image portion based on the difference; and a measure of activity in the first area. A first calculation step of calculating an amount of the first area; a second calculation step of calculating an amount that is a measure of an activity in the second area; If it is determined that there is, the image data in the first area is output, and the first and second motions are determined by the static / moving determination step.
When the region is determined to be a still image portion, the result of the first calculation step is compared with the result of the second calculation step, and based on the comparison result, the first region and the An output image determining step of outputting image data in an area in which the activity is determined to be larger than the second area. 16. A motion detecting step for detecting a motion between a frame of interest and a frame output one frame before the frame of interest with respect to an image signal having a resolution or a degree of deterioration of image quality different in a time direction. A first calculation step of calculating an amount that is a measure of an activity in a first region in the frame of interest; and a frame output before the frame of interest based on a result of the motion detection step. A second calculation step of performing a pixel position correction process on a frame and calculating an amount that is a measure of an activity in a second region in the image signal on which the pixel position correction process is performed; and the first calculation. The result of the step is compared with the result of the second calculation step. Based on the result of the comparison, the activity in the first area and the second area is determined. An output image determining step of outputting image data in an area determined to be larger than the image data.