JP2003284067A - Image relay system, image transmitter and its program, and image receiver and its program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image relay system which reduces the deterioration of images, without applying any load to apparatuses provided on the side of coding of video signals. <P>SOLUTION: The image relay system 1 is composed of an image transmitter 2 and an image receiver 3. The image transmitter 2 is provided with a background image coding means 21, a coded background image transmitting means 22, a regional information receiving means 23, a designated image extraction means 24, a designated image coding means 25, and a coded designated image transmitting means 26. The image receiver 3 is provided with a region designating means 30, a regional information transmitting means 31, a coded background image receiving means 33, a background image decoding means 34, a background image storage means 35, a coded designated image receiving means 36, a designated image decoding means 37, and an image synthesis means 38. The whole image is transmitted from the image transmitter 2 to the image receiver 3 as a background image beforehand, and only regions of high degrees of importance such as regions of persons, etc., are transmitted afterwards in a time series, and they are synthesized with the background image received earlier in the image receiver 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video signal coding and transmitting technique, and more particularly to a video relay system, a video transmitting device and its program, and a video receiving device and its program that reduce image deterioration even when the bit rate is low. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a video encoding method, ISO / IEC JTC1 / SC29 / which is an international standardization organization has been used.
ISO / IEC 13818 standardized by WG11
(MPEG-2) and ISO / IEC 14496 (M
PEG-4) and the like. In this MPEG-2, the input image is subjected to motion compensation prediction in units of 16 × 16 pixels (macroblock), and the difference between the image subjected to the motion compensation prediction and the input image is divided into blocks of 8 × 8 pixels. Then, a discrete cosine transform (DCT) is performed. The transform coefficient generated here is quantized and encoded to generate encoded data in which a moving image is compressed.

As described above, in the coding using the orthogonal transform such as DCT, the coding process is performed in block units.
Coding distortion such as so-called block distortion, in which distortion due to quantization is detected as discontinuity at a block boundary, or mosquito distortion generated by roughly quantizing high-frequency components, may occur. Various methods for improving such image quality deterioration have been proposed, such as a method of changing the distribution of bits of the code amount based on characteristics such as the movement of an image. Also, M
Since PEG-4 can encode an image for each object, the PEG-4 can perform video transmission with suppressed image degradation even when the bit rate of a transmission line such as a communication line is low.

[0004]

However, a video image captured at a remote location is encoded by a video transmission device and transmitted, and the transmitted data is decoded by a video reception device of a broadcasting station to reproduce the video image. In the form of relay broadcasting, for example, when a video is transmitted from a remote place to a video receiving device using a satellite telephone, the bit rate that can be secured for transmission is 64k
It is as low as bps. Therefore, the coded video is significantly deteriorated, and in the above-mentioned conventional technique, when the image deterioration is attempted to be improved, the more the processing of the improvement method is increased, the more the calculation amount of the video transmission device is increased. , The amount of hardware of the video transmitter, power consumption, and the delay time for encoding increase.

This is also the case when the image is divided into objects and encoded as in MPEG-4, and a large amount of calculation is required to divide the image into objects according to the meaning contents. The hardware amount of the video transmission device, power consumption, and the delay time for encoding increase.

This increase in the amount of hardware and power consumption poses a problem that, for example, when transmitting an image from a remote location, more equipment must be carried in and more power must be secured locally. In addition, the increase in the delay time for encoding causes a time lag, for example, when the person transmitting the video and the person receiving the video talk to each other. There is a problem that there is no.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a video relay system, a video transmission device, a program therefor, and a video which reduce the load on the video transmission device and reduce the image deterioration. An object is to provide a receiving device and its program.

[0008]

The present invention was devised to achieve the above object. First, the video relay system according to claim 1 has the following configuration. That is, in a video relay system that relays a video shot by a fixed camera with a fixed shooting range, a video transmission device that encodes and sends the video is encoded by using the video of the entire shooting area shot by the fixed camera as a background video. Background video coding and transmitting means for transmitting the coded background video to the video receiving device, and area information including at least a position and a size for designating a specific area of the video taken by the fixed camera from the video receiving device. Area information receiving means for receiving, designated video extracting means for extracting a designated video of a designated area from video of a shooting area photographed by a fixed camera based on the area information, and the designated video extracting means The designated video coding transmission means for transmitting the coded designated video obtained by coding the designated video to the video receiving device is configured.

Further, the video receiving device is provided with a region designating means for designating the region information, a region information transmitting device for transmitting the region information designated by the region designating device to the video transmitting device, and a transmission from the video transmitting device. An encoded background video receiving / decoding means for receiving and decoding the encoded background video,
Coded background video reception / decoding means for receiving and decoding the coded designated video transmitted from the video transmission device, background video decoded by the coded background video reception / decoding means, and coded background video And a video synthesizing unit for synthesizing the designated video decoded by the reception / decoding unit.

According to this structure, the video relay system includes the background video encoding and transmitting means of the video transmitting device,
A video of the entire shooting area shot by a fixed camera is previously encoded as a background video and transmitted to the video receiving device. Then, by transmitting the area information including the position and size of the image captured by the fixed camera designated by the area designation means of the video reception device to the video transmission device, the designated video extraction means of the video transmission device fixes the area information. The designated video of the designated area is extracted from the video of the shooting area photographed by the camera, and the designated video coding and transmitting means codes the designated video in time series to the video receiving apparatus and transmits the coded video. Then, in the video receiving device, the background video that has been received and decoded in advance and the designated video that has received and decoded the coded designated video transmitted in time series are synthesized by the video synthesis means. Play the video.

The background image referred to here is an image of the entire photographing area photographed by a fixed camera, and it can be treated as a still image with little movement. As a result, in the image reproduced by the image receiving device, only the designated area on the background image, which is a still image, is sequentially updated.

The video transmission device according to the second aspect is
Based on the background image, which is the image of the entire shooting area shot by the fixed camera with a fixed shooting range, and the area information including at least the position and size specified from the outside, the image is shot by the fixed camera. A video transmission device for individually encoding and transmitting the specified video in which the extracted area is extracted, and a background video encoding means for encoding the background video,
Coded background video transmitting means for transmitting the coded background video coded by the background video coding means to the video receiving device, and designated video extraction for extracting the designated video from the video taken by the fixed camera based on the area information. Means, designated video coding means for coding the designated video extracted by the designated video extracting means, and coding designated video transmission for transmitting the coded designated video coded by the designated video coding means to the video receiving device. And a means.

According to this structure, the video transmitting apparatus encodes the video, which can be treated as a still image taken by the fixed camera, as the background video by the background video encoding means, and the encoded background video transmitting means preliminarily performs the encoding. The encoded coded background video is transmitted to the video reception device.
Then, based on the area information including the position and size designated from the outside, the designated video extracting means extracts the designated video from the video captured by the fixed camera, and the designated video is encoded by the designated video encoding means. The coded designated video is transmitted to the video receiving device in time series by the coded designated video transmitting means.

As a result, the video receiving device, which has received the encoded background image and the encoding designated image from the video transmitting device, fixedly uses the background image obtained by decoding the encoded background image and uses the background image. The video can be reproduced by decoding and synthesizing the coded specified video transmitted in time series.

Furthermore, the video transmission program according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a background video which is a video of the entire photographing area photographed by a fixed camera having a fixed photographing range, and at least a position and a size designated from the outside. In order to individually encode and transmit the specified image obtained by extracting the specified region from the image captured by the fixed camera based on the region information, the computer is configured to function by the following means.

That is, based on the background image encoding means for encoding the background image, the encoded background image transmitting means for transmitting the encoded background image encoded by the background image encoding means to the image receiving device, and the area information. A designated video extracting means for extracting a designated video from a video shot by a fixed camera, a designated video coding means for coding the designated video extracted by the designated video extracting means, and a coding for coding by the designated video coding means. The coded designated image transmitting means for transmitting the designated image to the image receiving device is used.

According to such a configuration, the video transmission program causes the background video encoding means to encode the video that can be treated as a still image taken by the fixed camera as the background video, and the encoded background video transmission means in advance. The encoded coded background video is transmitted to the video reception device. Then, based on the area information including the position and size designated from the outside, the designated video extracting means extracts the designated video from the video captured by the fixed camera, and the designated video is encoded by the designated video encoding means. The coded designated video is transmitted to the video receiving device in time series by the coded designated video transmitting means.

As a result, the video receiving device which has received the encoded background image and the encoding designated image from the image transmitting device uses the background image obtained by decoding the encoded background image in a fixed manner, and uses the background image. The video can be reproduced by decoding and synthesizing the coded specified video transmitted in time series.

The video receiving apparatus according to the fourth aspect is
A coded background video that encodes a background video that is a video of the entire shooting area shot by a fixed camera with a fixed shooting range,
A video receiving device for individually receiving a coded specified video obtained by coding a specified video obtained by extracting a predetermined area from a video captured by a fixed camera from a video transmitting device and reproducing the video. From the coded background video received by the coded background video receiving means, the background video decoding means for decoding the coded background video received by the coded background video receiving means, and the background video decoding means Background video storing means for storing the background video decoded in step 1, coding specified video receiving means for receiving the coding specified video transmitted from the video transmission device, and coding received by the coding specified video receiving means Specified video decoding means for decoding the designated video, video synthesizing means for synthesizing the designated video decoded by the designated video decoding means and the background video stored in the background video storage means It was configured to include the.

According to this structure, the video receiving device receives the coded background video obtained by coding the background video that can be treated as a still image by the coded background video receiving means, and causes the background video decoding means to receive the coded background video. , The encoded background video is decoded and stored in the background video storage means. Further, the designated coding video receiving means receives the designated coding videos in time series, and the designated video decoding means decodes the designated coding video. Then, the video receiving device fixedly uses the background video accumulated in the background video accumulating means, and synthesizes the designated video transmitted in time series on the background video by the video synthesizing means. Play the video.

Furthermore, the video receiving apparatus according to a fifth aspect is the video receiving apparatus according to the fourth aspect, in which at least the position and the size for extracting the designated video from the video captured by the fixed camera are set. Area specifying means for specifying the included area information, and area information transmitting means for transmitting the area information specified by the area specifying means to the video transmitting device,
It is configured to include.

According to such a configuration, the video receiving device determines an area in which a person or the like is moving or an area in which the video needs to be sequentially updated in the video taken by the fixed camera connected to the video transmitting apparatus. The area is designated by the area designating means, and the area information transmitting means notifies the video transmitting device of the area information indicating the designated area. Then, the video transmission device
Based on an instruction from the video receiving device, a designated video is extracted from the video taken by the fixed camera and transmitted to the video receiving device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video receiving program, wherein an encoded background image obtained by encoding a background image, which is an image of the entire photographing area photographed by a fixed camera having a fixed photographing range, and the fixed camera. And a coded designated video obtained by coding a designated video in which a designated region is extracted from the video, which is individually received from the video transmission device to reproduce the video. did.

That is, the encoded background image receiving means for receiving the encoded background image transmitted from the image transmitting device, and the encoded background image received by the encoded background image receiving means are decoded into the background image. Background video decoding means for storing in the background video storing means, coding designated video receiving means for receiving the coding designated video transmitted from the video transmission device, and the coding designated video received by the coding designated video receiving means. Designated video decoding means for decoding the designated video decoding means for decoding the designated video and the background video stored in the background video storage means.

According to this structure, the video receiving program receives the encoded background image obtained by encoding the background image which can be treated as a still image by the encoding background image receiving means, and causes the background image decoding means to receive the encoded background image. , The encoded background video is decoded and stored in the background video storage means.
Further, the encoding designated video receiving means receives the encoding designated video in time series, and the designated video decoding means
The encoded designated video is decoded. Then, the video receiving device fixedly uses the background video accumulated in the background video accumulating means, and synthesizes the designated video transmitted in time series on the background video by the video synthesizing means. Play the video.

Further, the video receiving program according to claim 7 is the video receiving program according to claim 6, wherein at least the position and the size for extracting the designated video from the video taken by the fixed camera are set. It is configured to function as an area designating unit that designates the included area information and an area information transmitting unit that transmits the area information designated by the area designating unit to the video transmitting apparatus.

According to such a configuration, the video receiving program determines an area in which a person or the like is moving or an area in which the video needs to be sequentially updated in the video taken by the fixed camera connected to the video transmitting apparatus. The area is designated by the area designating means, and the area information transmitting means notifies the video transmitting device of the area information indicating the designated area. Then, the video transmitting device extracts the designated video from the video captured by the fixed camera based on the instruction from the video receiving device, and transmits it to the video receiving device.

[0028]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Structure of Video Relay System) FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the overall structure of the video relay system. As shown in FIG. 1, the video relay system 1 has a configuration in which a video transmission device 2 and a video reception device 3 are connected via a transmission line 5.

In this video relay system 1, the video transmitter 2 transmits a static background image of the entire photographing area, which is photographed by the fixed camera 7 having a fixed photographing range, to the image receiver 3 in advance, and thereafter In addition, designated images designated by the video receiving device 3 as a moving region such as a person region in the photographing region of the fixed camera are sequentially transmitted to the video receiving device 3 in a time series, and the video receiving device 3 preliminarily transmits the designated images. It is a system for relaying an image from a remote place by sequentially synthesizing the specified image with the received background image.

Further, the transmission path 5 used for this relay can be, for example, a wireless communication path using a satellite telephone using a communication satellite. When the video transmission device 2 arranged at a remote place is used fixedly, the transmission line 5 may be an ISDN line or a dedicated line.

Here, the relationship between the background image and the designated image will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4. Figure 4 (a)
The image (relay image) of the entire photographing area photographed by the fixed camera 7 is shown. Further, FIG. 4B shows a background image showing the background area of FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4C shows FIG.
The designated image extracted by designating only the person area is shown in (a).

For example, in the video relay system 1 in which the video transmission device 2 is installed in a remote place and the video reception device 3 is installed in a broadcasting station, when transmitting a video from a remote place, the camera (fixed camera 7) is fixed. A composition such as that shown in FIG. 4A is often used in which the characters are arranged in the center of the screen and there is no large movement. In such a composition,
The background of the characters can be treated as stationary, and only the characters can be considered moving.

Therefore, this video relay system 1 is shown in FIG.
The background image, which is the still image in (b), is transmitted from the image transmitting device 2 to the image receiving device 3 in advance, and only the moving area (designated image) in FIG. 4C is sequentially transmitted in time series. The image data is transmitted from the device 2 to the image receiving device 3, and the image receiving device 3 synthesizes the previously received background area and the designated image transmitted in time series. Next, FIG. 2 and FIG.
The video transmission device 2 and the video reception device 3 that constitute the video relay system 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

(Structure of Video Transmitting Device) First, the structure of the video transmitting device 2 will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 2
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video transmission device 2 of the video relay system 1 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the video transmission device 2 includes switching means 20, 27, background video encoding means 21, encoded background video transmission means 22, area information receiving means 23, designated video extraction means 24, and The designated video encoding means 25 and the encoded designated video transmission means 26 are provided. The video transmission device 2 includes a video (background video) of the entire shooting area shot by the fixed camera 7 and a designated area (area information) designated by the video receiving device 3 in the shooting area shot by the fixed camera 7. This is a device for switching and transmitting a video (designated video).

The switching means 20 and 27 are for switching the input / output path of the designated image extracted from the background image photographed by the fixed camera 7 or the image photographed by the fixed camera 7. The switching means 20 switches the video input from the fixed camera 7 to the background video coding means 21 or the designated video extracting means 24 described later. The switching means 27 switches the outputs of the coded background video transmission means 22 and the coded designated video transmission means 26, which will be described later.

The switching means 20, 27 may be manually switched by a switch or the like, and the switching information is added to the area information for designating the area of the designated video notified from the video receiving device 3. The input / output may be switched based on the switching information.

The background video encoding means 21 is a fixed camera 7.
The image (video signal) input from the device is encoded as a background image and is output as an encoded background image, for example, encoded by MPEG-2. The coded background video coded by the background video coding means 21 is output to the coded background video transmission means 22.

It should be noted that, for example, when the image is relay-broadcasted, this background image is transmitted in advance before the relay-broadcasting, and does not need to be transmitted in real time (real time). Therefore, the background image encoding means 21 can encode the background image with high image quality and high resolution.

The encoded background video transmitting means 22 transmits the encoded background video encoded by the background video encoding means 21 to the video receiving device 3 via the transmission path 5. It should be noted that the transmission of the encoded background video by the encoded background video transmission means 22 does not require real-time transmission. The background video coding means 21 and the coded background video transmission means 22 constitute the background video coding transmission means.

The area information receiving means 23 receives area information representing the position and size of the area of the designated image from the image receiving device 3 via the transmission path 5. The area information received by the area information receiving means 23 is notified to the designated video extracting means 24.

The designated video extracting means 24 extracts the video (designated video) of the area designated based on the area information notified from the area information receiving means 23 from the video (video signal) input from the fixed camera 7. To do. The designated image extracting means 24 stores the area information notified from the area information receiving means 23 in a storage means such as a memory (not shown) and sequentially refers to the area information from the images input in time series. While extracting the specified video. The designated video extracted here is output to the designated video encoding means 25.

The designated video encoding means 25 encodes the designated video input from the designated video extraction means 24 and outputs it as an encoded designated video. For example, MPEG-
The encoding is performed by 4. The coded designated video coded by the designated video coding means 25 is output to the coded designated video transmission means 26.

The designated video needs to be transmitted in real time (real time) in the video relay. Therefore, when the bit rate of the transmission path 5 is low, the designated video encoding unit 25 reduces the code amount and performs encoding. However, even in this case, the code amount per unit area can be increased as compared with the case where all the video images captured by the fixed camera 7 are encoded, so that the deterioration of the image can be suppressed.

The coded designated video transmission means 26 transmits the coded designated video coded by the designated video coding means 25 to the video receiving device 3 via the transmission path 5. The designated video coding means 25 and the coded designated video transmission means 26 form a designated video coding transmission means.

Although the configuration of the video transmitting apparatus 2 according to the present invention has been described above, the video transmitting apparatus 2 can also realize each unit in the computer as each functional program, and combine each functional program. It is also possible to operate it as a video transmission program.

(Structure of Video Receiver) Next, the structure of the video receiver 3 will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 3
2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video reception device 3 of the video relay system 1 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the video receiving device 3 includes an area designating unit 30 and an area information transmitting unit 31.
, Switching means 32, and encoded background video receiving means 33
Background video decoding means 34 and background video storage means 35
The encoding designated video receiving means 36, the designated video decoding means 37, and the video synthesizing means 38 are provided. The video receiving device 3 synthesizes the background video transmitted from the video transmitting device 2 and the designated video to generate a video, and further instructs the video transmitting device 2 about the area of the designated video. It is a device to perform.

The area designating means 30 is a person area in an image taken by the fixed camera 7 at a remote location based on area information indicating a position and a size input from an external inputting means (not shown). It designates the position and size of the designated image such as. The area designating means 30 inputs the background video from the background video decoding means 34, which will be described later, and confirms the area of the background video on an external display means (not shown), while confirming the position and size of the designated video. specify. For example,
The position and size of the designated image can be designated by the operator of the image receiving device 3 selecting a rectangular area by a cursor indicating a designated position such as a mouse which is displayed on the display means in an overlapping manner with the background image.

In this case, the background image in this case is a still image in which a person or the like is arranged, so that the setting of the designated area can be easily performed visually. The area information designated here is notified to the area information transmitting means 31 and the image synthesizing means 38.

The area information transmitting means 31 is the area specifying means 3
The area information designated by 0 is transmitted to the video transmitting device 2 arranged at a remote place via the transmission line 5. If a bidirectional communication line such as a telephone line is used for video transmission, the transmission line 5 used here does not need to secure a new transmission line for transmitting the area information.

The switching means 32 switches the input / output path of the coded background image obtained by encoding the background image transmitted from the image transmitting device 2 or the encoded designated image obtained by encoding the designated image. When the information transmitted from the video transmission device 2 is a coded background video, the switching means 32
The output is switched to the coded background video receiving means 33, and in the case of the coded designated video, the output is switched to the coded designated video receiving means 36.

The switching means 32 may be manually switched by a switch or the like, and the switching information is added to the area information for designating the area of the designated image designated by the area designating means 30, A mode in which input / output is switched based on the switching information may be used.

The coded background video receiving means 33 receives the coded background video from the video transmission device 2 via the transmission path 5. The encoded background image receiving means 33
The reception of the coded background video in does not require real-time transmission. The encoded background video received here is
It is output to the background image decoding means 34.

The background video decoding means 34 decodes the coded background video input from the coded background video receiving means 33 and outputs it as a background video. The background video decoding unit 34 uses the coding method used by the background video coding unit 21 (see FIG. 2) of the video transmission device 2, for example, MPE.
Decoding processing based on G-2 is performed. The decoded background video is stored in the background video storage means 35.

The background video storage means 35 is a storage means for storing the background video decoded by the background video decoding means 34, and is composed of a general hard disk, memory or the like. The coded background video stored here is
It is read by the image synthesizing means 38. The coded background video receiving means 33, the background video decoding means 34, and the background video storage means 35 constitute a coded background video receiving and decoding means.

The coded designated video receiving means 36 receives the coded designated video from the video transmission device 2 via the transmission path 5. The coded designated video received by the coded designated video receiving means 36 is received in real time (real time) in the video relay, and is output to the designated video decoding means 37 immediately after reception.

The designated video decoding means 37 decodes the coded designated video inputted from the coded designated video receiving means 36 and outputs it as designated video in time series. The designated video decoding means 37 performs a decoding process based on the coding method used by the designated video coding means 25 (see FIG. 2) of the video transmission device 2, for example, MPEG-4. The decoded designated video is output to the video synthesizing means 38.
In addition, the encoded designated image receiving means 36 and the designated image decoding means 37 constitute an encoded background image receiving and decoding means.

The image synthesizing means 38 is the background image storing means 3
5 and the background video stored in the designated video decoding means 3
Video (video signal) by synthesizing specified video input from 7
Is output as. In addition, this image synthesizing means 3
Reference numeral 8 always uses the same background video as the background video, and sequentially synthesizes the specified video input in time series to the background video at the position specified based on the area information notified from the area specifying means 30. As a result, a video in which only the designated video is sequentially updated is output.

The video composition in the video composition means 38 can be realized by a general video composition technique. For example, based on the area information, a key signal is generated that sets the area of the designated image in the background image to "1" and the area of the background image other than the designated area to "0". Then, when the key signal is “1”, the signal of the designated video is output, and when the key signal is “0”, the signal of the background video is output, thereby outputting the video in which the designated video is synthesized on the background video. can do.

The configuration of the video receiving device 3 according to the present invention has been described above. However, the video receiving device 3 can also realize each unit in a computer as each functional program, and combine each functional program. It is also possible to operate it as a video reception program.

(Operation of Video Relay System) Next, the operation of the video relay system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the video relay system 1. Hereinafter, regarding the operation of the video relay system 1, the operations of the video transmitting device 2 and the video receiving device 3 will be alternately described based on the transmission and reception of information.

[Operation 1 of Video Transmitting Device 2] First, the background image is photographed by the fixed camera 7 connected to the video transmitting device 2 (step S1), and the background image is encoded by the background image encoding means 21. Then, the encoded background image transmitting means 22 transmits the encoded background image (encoded background image) to the image receiving device 3 (step S2).

[Operation 1 of Video Receiving Device 3] The video receiving device 3 receives the coded background video from the video transmitting device 2 by the coding background video receiving means 33, and codes it by the background video decoding means 34. The encoded background video is decoded (step S3). Then, the background image obtained by decoding the encoded background image is accumulated (saved) in the background image accumulating unit 35 (step S4).

[Operation 2 of Video Transmission Device 2] Step S2
After transmitting the encoded background image to the image receiving device 3, the image transmitting device 2 shoots a background image with a person in which a person is arranged in the background with the fixed camera 7 (step S5), and the background image encoding means. The background image with the person is encoded by 21 and the encoded background image transmission means 22 transmits the encoded background image (encoded background image with person) to the image receiving device 3 (step S6). .

[Operation 2 of Video Receiving Device 3] In the video receiving device 3, the encoded background image receiving means 33 receives the encoded background image with a person from the video transmitting device 2, and the background image decoding means 34 receives it. , The encoded background image with the person is decoded (step S7). Then, the area designating unit 30 confirms the decoded background image with the person on the display unit (not shown), and designates the position and size (area information) of the designated image which is the area of the person (area information). Step S8). Then, the area information transmitting means 31 transmits this area information to the video transmitting apparatus 2 (step S).
9).

[Operation 3 of Video Transmitting Device 2] In the video transmitting device 2, the area information receiving means 23 causes the video receiving device 3 to operate.
Region information is received from the device, and a designated region for extracting the designated video is set based on the region information (step S1).
0).

Then, the video transmitter 2 uses the designated video extracting means 24 to extract the video taken by the fixed camera 7 from
The designated video is extracted (step S11), the designated video is encoded by the designated video encoding means 25, and the encoded designated video (encoded designated video) is processed by the encoded designated video transmitting means 26. 3 (step S12).

[Operation 3 of Video Receiving Device 3] In the video receiving device 3, the coding designated video receiving means 36 receives the coding designated video from the video transmitting device 2, and the designated video decoding means 37 codes the code. The designated video is decrypted (step S13). Then, the video receiving device 3 synthesizes the decoded designated video with the background video stored in the background video storage means 35 by the video synthesizing means 38 (step S14), and outputs the video (video) to the outside. It is output as a signal) (step S15).

Then, from step 11 to step S15
By repeating the steps up to, the video is relayed. During the operation after step S11, only the coded designated video is transmitted on the transmission path 5, and even if the bit rate is low, a large amount of code can be given to the designated video, so that a video with little image deterioration can be obtained. Can be obtained.

The area of the designated video (designated area) is changed during the video relaying by transmitting the area information to the video transmitting apparatus 2 at the arbitrary timing of the video receiving apparatus 3 as in the step S9. In the device 2, step S12
After transmitting the designated video of No. 1 to the video receiving device 3, a step of determining whether or not the area information is received is added, and when the area information is received, designation for extracting the designated video based on the area information is added. Change the area, step S1
It can be realized by executing 1 or later.

(Operation of Video Relay System; Flow of Video Signal) Next, the flow of the video signal of the video relay system 1 will be described in chronological order with reference to FIGS. 1, 6 and 7.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the flow of the video signal when the area (designated area) of the designated video is designated in advance.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a flow of a video signal when a designated area is changed.

First, the flow of the video signal of the video relay system 1 when the area of the specified video (designated area) is designated in advance will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, first, the background image 50, which is a still image, is transmitted from the image transmitting device 2 to the image receiving device 3. Then, the background image with person 51 in which the person is arranged on the background image 50 is
It is transmitted from the video transmission device 2 to the video reception device 3. Then, by referring to the background image with person 51, the video receiving device 3 specifies the area information at the time of the area information specification Ta. As a result, only the designated video 54 obtained by extracting the video of the designated area 53 designated by the area information from the video input from the fixed camera 7 is transmitted from the video transmission device 2 to the video reception device 3.

The video receiving device 3 which has received the designated video 54 synthesizes the background video 50 previously received and stored and the designated video 54 sequentially transmitted in chronological order, thereby synthesizing The image 52 is generated and output.

Next, the flow of the video signal when the designated area is changed will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the background image 50, which is a still image, has already been transmitted from the image transmitting device 2 to the image receiving device 3, and the designated image 54 is displayed in time series based on the preset area information. It is assumed that the image is transmitted from the transmitter 2 to the video receiver 3.

Here, the video receiver 3 changes the area information T
Area information is specified at the time of b. Then, the designated area 53
The position and the size of the designated video 54 are changed, and the designated video 54 having a different position and size of the designated video 54 transmitted from the video transmission device 2 is transmitted to the video reception device 3. Then, the video receiving device 3 that has received the designated video 54 synthesizes the background video 50 previously received and stored with the designated video 54 sequentially transmitted in chronological order. At this time, after the time of the area information change Tb, the designated image 54 is combined with the updated position of the background image 50 to generate and output the combined image 52.

By the above operation, the video relay system 1
Can improve the resolution of an important part such as a person area in the video, and reduce the deterioration of the image quality. It should be noted that the background image 50 is transmitted for a plurality of frames from the video transmitting device 2 to the video receiving device 3 and the background image 50 is repeatedly used by the video receiving device 3 to operate the background in a pseudo manner. Is also possible.

[0077]

As described above, the video relay system, the video transmission device and the program thereof, and the video reception device and the program thereof according to the present invention have the following excellent effects.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the video relay system transmits the background video, which can be treated as a still image captured by the fixed camera, from the video transmission device to the video reception device, and thereafter, Since the designated image, which is the image only in the region designated by the image receiving device, is transmitted, deterioration of the image quality can be suppressed as compared with the case where the entire image is encoded and transmitted. Further, in encoding using orthogonal transformation such as DCT, it is possible to suppress encoding distortion that occurs when the bit rate of the transmission path is low.

Further, since the video receiving device can notify the video transmitting device of a highly important region, it is not necessary for the video transmitting device to determine the region by image recognition or the like. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the amount of hardware and power consumption of the video transmission device and an encoding delay.

According to the second or third aspect of the invention, the video transmission device or the video transmission program causes the video transmission device to receive the background image that can be treated as a still image previously captured by the fixed camera. Since the designated video, which is the video of only the designated area, is transmitted after that, deterioration of the image quality can be suppressed as compared with the case where the entire video is coded and transmitted.

Since the area to be encoded can be designated, the delay time for encoding can be reduced as compared with the case of encoding the entire video. Accordingly, even when the person who transmits the video and the person who receives the video talk to each other, it is possible to talk without feeling uncomfortable due to the delay.

According to the invention described in claim 4 or claim 6, the image receiving device or the image receiving device program transmits the background image transmitted from the image transmitting device as a still image taken by a fixed camera. Since the specified video that is stored in advance and then transmitted is combined with the background video in time series, it is possible to allocate a larger amount of code to the specified video than in the case where the entire video is coded and transmitted. Therefore, deterioration of image quality can be suppressed.

According to the fifth or seventh aspect of the invention, the video receiving device or the video receiving device program is a video receiving device that uses video, and a person or the like who is regarded as important in the video is placed. Since you can specify the area,
It is possible to arbitrarily set the area where image quality degradation is not desired. As a result, the coding load of the video transmission device can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a video relay system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video transmission device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video receiving device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship between a background image and a designated image.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the video relay system according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a flow of a video signal when a designated video area is designated in advance.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a flow of a video signal when changing an area of a designated video.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Video relay system 2 ... Video transmission device 5: Transmission line 7: Fixed camera 20 ... Switching means 21 ... Background video coding means 22 ... Coded background video transmission means 23: Area information receiving means 24 ... Designated video extraction means 25 ... Designated video encoding means 26 ... Encoding designated video transmission means 27 ... Switching means 3 ... Video receiver 30: Area designation means 31: Area information transmission means 32 ... Switching means 33: Coded background image receiving means 34 ... Background video decoding means 35: Background image storage means 36 ... Encoding designated image receiving means 37 ... Designated video decoding means 38: video synthesizing means

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Shunichi Okada             2-2-1 Jinnan 2-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo             Sending Association Broadcast Center (72) Inventor Kenji Takagi             2-2-1 Jinnan 2-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo             Sending Association Broadcast Center (72) Inventor Masashi Kubota             2-2-1 Jinnan 2-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo             Sending Association Broadcast Center F-term (reference) 5C059 KK15 MB21 PP28 PP29 RB02                       RC11 SS06 SS20 UA02 UA05                       UA38 UA39                 5C063 AB03 AB07 CA23 DA07 DA13

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A video relay system for relaying a video image captured by a fixed camera having a fixed image capturing range, wherein a video transmitting device for encoding and transmitting the video image includes a background image of the entire image capturing area captured by the fixed camera. Background video coding and transmitting means for transmitting a coded background video coded as a video to a video receiving device, and at least a position and a size for designating a specific area of the video taken by the fixed camera from the video receiving device. Area information receiving means for receiving area information including the specified area, and specified image extracting means for extracting the specified image of the specified area from the image of the photographing area photographed by the fixed camera based on the area information. A designated video coding transmission means for transmitting a coded designated video obtained by coding the designated video extracted by the designated video extracting means to a video receiving device; Area specifying means for specifying the area information to the video receiving device; area information transmitting means for transmitting the area information specified by the area specifying means to the video transmitting apparatus; Coded background video receiving and decoding means for receiving and decoding the coded background video, and coding specified video for receiving and decoding the coding specified video transmitted from the video transmission device Receiving and decoding means, video synthesizing means for synthesizing the background video decoded by the encoded background video receiving and decoding means, and the designated video decoded by the coded designated video receiving and decoding means A video relay system comprising: 2. The fixed camera shoots based on a background image, which is a video of the entire shooting area shot by a fixed camera with a fixed shooting range, and area information including at least the position and size specified from the outside. A video transmission device for individually encoding and transmitting the specified video obtained by extracting the specified area from the video, the background video coding means for coding the background video, and the background video coding means. An encoded background image transmitting means for transmitting the encoded encoded background image to an image receiving device; and a specified image extracting means for extracting the specified image from the image captured by the fixed camera based on the area information, A designated video coding means for coding the designated video extracted by the designated video extraction means, and a coded designated video coded by the designated video coding means are sent to the video receiving device. Video transmitting apparatus characterized by comprising an encoding specified video transmitting means, a to. 3. The fixed camera shoots based on a background image, which is a video of the entire shooting area shot by a fixed camera with a fixed shooting range, and area information including at least the position and size specified from the outside. A background image encoding unit that encodes the background image, in order to separately encode and transmit the specified image obtained by extracting the specified region from the specified image, and encoding by the background image encoding unit. A coded background video transmitting means for transmitting the coded background video to the video receiving device, a designated video extracting means for extracting the designated video from the video captured by the fixed camera based on the area information, and the designated video extracting means Designated video coding means for coding the designated video extracted in step 1, and transmitting the coded designated video coded by the designated video coding means to the video receiving device. Image transmission program for causing the No. of the specified image sending unit function as a,. 4. A coded background image obtained by encoding a background image which is an image of the entire photographing area photographed by a fixed camera whose photographing range is fixed, and designation in which a predesignated area is extracted from the image photographed by the fixed camera. A video receiving device for individually receiving a coded specified video obtained by coding a video from a video transmitting device and reproducing the video, wherein the coding is for receiving the coded background video transmitted from the video transmitting device. Background video receiving means, background video decoding means for decoding the coded background video received by the coded background video receiving means, and background for accumulating the background video decoded by the background video decoding means Video storing means; coding designated video receiving means for receiving the coding designated video transmitted from the video transmitting device; and the coding designated video received by the coding designated video receiving means. Designated video decoding means for decoding the designated video decoding means, and a video synthesizing means for synthesizing the designated video decoded by the designated video decoding means and the background video stored in the background video storage means. A video receiving device characterized by being provided. 5. An area designating means for designating area information including at least a position and a size for extracting the designated picture from a picture taken by the fixed camera, and the area designated by the area designating means. The image receiving apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: area information transmitting means for transmitting area information to the image transmitting apparatus. 6. A coded background image obtained by encoding a background image, which is an image of the entire photographing area photographed by a fixed camera whose photographing range is fixed, and designation by extracting a previously designated area from the image photographed by the fixed camera. A coding background for receiving the coded background video transmitted from the video transmission device, in order to individually receive the coding designated video obtained by coding the video from the video transmission device and reproduce the video. Video receiving means, background video decoding means for decoding the coded background video received by the coded background video receiving means into the background video and accumulating it in the background video accumulating means, A coded designated video receiving means for receiving the coded designated video; a designated video decoding means for decoding the coded designated video received by the coded designated video receiving means; Video receiving program for causing to function the designation image decoded by the video decoding unit, a video combining means for combining said background image stored in the background image storage means as. 7. An area designating means for designating area information including at least a position and a size for extracting the designated picture from a picture taken by the fixed camera, and the area designated by the area designating means. The image receiving program according to claim 6, which is caused to function as area information transmitting means for transmitting information to the image transmitting device.