JP2009253758A - Information processing apparatus and determination mode setting method of decoder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus capable of appropriately selecting a progressive/interlaced determination mode. <P>SOLUTION: A decoding unit 223 of an information processing apparatus comprises, as a mode for making a progressive/interlaced determination, two modes of a standard-compliant mode and an avoidance mode. A determination mode setting section 2,231, that the decoding unit 223 comprises, first sets the avoidance mode as an initial state when starting decoding a moving image stream and then switches to the standard-compliant mode when a repeat first field (RFF)=1 is detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a moving picture stream decoding control technique suitable for application to, for example, a personal computer having a TV function for recording / reproducing digital broadcast program data broadcast by a television broadcast signal.

  In recent years, notebook personal computers that can be driven by a battery and are easy to carry are widely used. This type of computer is becoming more and more sophisticated in parallel with the reduction in thickness and weight, and computers equipped with a TV function for viewing digital television broadcast programs have also appeared. Therefore, if this type of computer is carried, the user can enjoy a digital television broadcast program even when the user is away from home or on the move.

  In addition, with the development of the wireless communication environment, it is easy to connect to the Internet even when going out or on the move, and receiving and viewing digital television broadcast program data from a server connected via the Internet Is also possible.

  The digital television broadcast program data is a moving picture stream that has been compression-encoded by, for example, a method conforming to the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) 2 standard. MPEG2 can compress and encode an image on the premise that it is displayed not only in a progressive format but also in an interlace format. Furthermore, it is possible to mix images displayed by the progressive method and images displayed by the interlace method in the same moving image stream.

With respect to a decoder that decodes such a moving image stream, various proposals have been made so far, such as a mechanism for efficiently performing progressive / interlace conversion (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Progressive / interlaced determination must be performed appropriately.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-133935

  The decoder performs progressive / interlace determination in accordance with a predetermined rule. In reality, some encoders output a video stream that does not comply with the standard. .

  There is a problem in the handling of a PS (Progressive Sequence) flag and a PF (Progressive Frame) flag by a television broadcast encoder in a well-known non-standard system. This problem is that progressive / interlace determination should be made with reference to the PF flag as well as the PS flag according to the standard. It is an indefinite value. The decoder is required to display a correct moving image even for such non-standard content.

  In order to cope with this problem, most MPEG2 decoders have a mode in which progressive / interlace determination is performed according to the standard (standard conforming mode) and a mode in which only the PS flag is determined (avoidance mode). In many cases, the setting is set to either one, such as when operating for a standard compliant disk, operating in a standards-compliant mode, and setting for television, operating in an avoidance mode.

  However, for example, in a personal computer that operates software having both a DVD function and a television function, the decoder operation mode cannot be fixedly set to one, and the user is forced to perform setting work each time. Not right.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a determination mode setting method for an information processing apparatus and a decoder capable of appropriately setting a progressive / interlace determination mode. And

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises an input means for inputting a moving image stream, and a decoding means for decoding the moving image stream input by the input means. Is attribute information common to all the images in the moving image stream input by the input means, and is based on first attribute information indicating whether or not the encoding is performed on the assumption that the video is displayed by the progressive method. First determination means for determining whether an image to be decoded is encoded on the assumption that it is displayed by a progressive method or an interlace method, the first attribute information, and the input means Is the attribute information for each image in the moving image stream, encoded on the assumption that it will be displayed in a progressive format? Second determination means for determining whether an image to be decoded is encoded based on whether the image to be decoded is displayed by a progressive method or an interlace method based on the second attribute information indicating The attribute information for each image in the moving image stream input by the means, based on the third attribute information used for the 3: 2 pull-down process for converting the 24 fps moving image to the 60 fps moving image. Control means for determining whether the first determination means or the second determination means determines whether the image is encoded on the assumption that the image is displayed by the progressive method or the interlace method; It is characterized by having.

  Also, the determination mode setting method of the decoder of the present invention is attribute information common to all the images in the moving image stream, and is a first indicating whether or not the encoding is performed on the assumption that the image is displayed by the progressive method. A first determination mode for determining whether an image to be decoded is encoded based on whether it is displayed by a progressive method or an interlace method, and the first attribute information; Based on the attribute information for each image in the moving image stream and second attribute information indicating whether or not the image is encoded on the assumption that it is displayed by the progressive method, the image to be decoded is the progressive method. Or second to determine whether the data is encoded on the premise that it is displayed by interlace method A determination mode setting method for a decoder having a constant mode, wherein the decoder sets the first determination mode as an initial state at the start of decoding of a moving image stream, and sets an attribute for each image in the moving image stream The second determination is made when it is detected that the third attribute information used in the 3: 2 pull-down process for converting the 24 fps moving image into the 60 fps moving image indicates a predetermined value. It is characterized by switching to a mode.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a determination mode setting method for an information processing apparatus and a decoder that can appropriately select a progressive / interlace determination mode.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. The information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is realized as, for example, a notebook type personal computer 10.

  The computer 10 has a television (TV) function for viewing and recording broadcast program data broadcast by a television broadcast signal, and a DVD function for reproducing video data recorded on a DVD. Yes. The TV function and the DVD function are realized by, for example, a content reproduction application program installed in the computer 10 in advance.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the computer 10 with the display unit opened. The computer 10 includes a computer main body 11 and a display unit 12. The display unit 12 incorporates a display device constituted by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 17.

  The display unit 12 is attached to the computer main body 11 so as to be rotatable between an open position where the upper surface of the computer main body 11 is exposed and a closed position covering the upper surface of the computer main body 11. The computer main body 11 has a thin box-shaped housing, and has a keyboard 13 on its upper surface, a power button 14 for powering on / off the computer 10, an input operation panel 15, a touch pad 16, and a speaker 18A. , 18B, etc. are arranged.

  The input operation panel 15 is an input device that inputs an event corresponding to a pressed button, and includes a plurality of buttons for starting a plurality of functions. These button groups also include operation button groups for controlling TV functions, DVD functions, and the like.

  Further, a remote control unit interface unit 20 for executing communication with a remote control unit for remotely controlling the TV function, the DVD function and the like of the computer 10 is provided on the front surface of the computer main body 11. The remote control unit interface unit 20 includes an infrared signal receiving unit and the like. Furthermore, an antenna terminal 19 for TV broadcasting is provided on the right side of the computer main body 11, for example.

  Next, the system configuration of the computer 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the computer 10 includes a CPU 101, a north bridge 102, a main memory 103, a south bridge 104, a graphics processing unit (GPU) 105, a video memory (VRAM) 105A, a sound controller 106, a BIOS- ROM 107, LAN controller 108, hard disk drive (HDD) 109, DVD drive 110, wireless LAN controller 111, IEEE 1394 controller 112, embedded controller / keyboard controller IC (EC / KBC) 113, TV tuner 114, EEPROM 115, etc. .

  The CPU 101 is a processor that controls the operation of the computer 10. The CPU 101 is loaded from the hard disk drive (HDD) 109 to the main memory 103, and the content reproduction application program 220 that operates under the OS 210 is operated. Various application programs such as are executed. The content reproduction application program 220 is software that executes the above-described TV function and DVD function. The content playback application program 220 has, as a TV function, a live playback process for viewing broadcast program data received as a moving image stream encoded by the TV tuner 114, a recording process for recording the received broadcast program data in the HDD 109, and the HDD 109. A reproduction process for reproducing the broadcast program data / video data recorded in is performed. Further, the content playback application program 220 executes a playback process of reading and playing back the encoded video data from the DVD set in the DVD drive 110 as a DVD function.

  The CPU 101 also executes a basic input / output system (BIOS) stored in the BIOS-ROM 107. The BIOS is a program for hardware control.

  The north bridge 102 is a bridge device that connects the local bus of the CPU 101 and the south bridge 104. The north bridge 102 also includes a memory controller that controls access to the main memory 103. The north bridge 102 also has a function of executing communication with the GPU 105 via a PCI EXPRESS standard serial bus or the like.

  The GPU 105 is a display controller that controls the LCD 17 used as a display monitor of the computer 10. A display signal generated by the GPU 105 is sent to the LCD 17.

  The south bridge 104 controls each device on an LPC (Low Pin Count) bus and each device on a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. The south bridge 104 includes an IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) controller for controlling the HDD 109 and the DVD drive 110. Further, the south bridge 104 has a function of executing communication with the sound controller 106.

  The sound controller 106 is a sound source device and outputs audio data to be reproduced to the speakers 18A and 18B.

  The wireless LAN controller 111 is a wireless communication device that performs wireless communication of, for example, IEEE 802.11 standard. The IEEE 1394 controller 112 executes communication with an external device via an IEEE 1394 standard serial bus.

  The EC / KBC 113 is a one-chip microcomputer in which an embedded controller for performing power management and a keyboard controller for controlling the keyboard (KB) 13 and the touch pad 16 are integrated. The EC / KBC 113 has a function of powering on / off the computer 10 in accordance with the operation of the power button 14 by the user. Further, the EC / KBC 113 has a function of executing communication with the remote control unit interface unit 20.

  The TV tuner 114 is a receiving device that receives broadcast program data broadcast by a television broadcast signal, and is connected to the antenna terminal 19. The TV tuner 114 is realized as a digital TV tuner capable of receiving digital broadcast program data such as terrestrial digital TV broadcast. The TV tuner 114 also has a function of capturing video data input from an external device.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the content reproduction application program 220 operating on the computer 10 having such a configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the content playback application program 220 includes a TV function unit 221 that processes video content data received by the TV tuner 114, and a DVD function unit 222 that processes video content data read by the DVD drive 110. Have both. The video content data processed by the TV function unit 221 and the video content data processed by the DVD function unit 222 are both moving image streams that are compression-encoded by a method compliant with the MPEG2 standard. In order to decode the compression-coded moving image stream, the content reproduction application program 220 includes a decoding unit 223 that is a software decoder. The video content data decoded by the decoding unit 223 is supplied to the GPU 105 and displayed on the LCD 17.

  That is, the decoding unit 223 operates for a DVD at some times and for a television at other times. As mentioned above, some TV broadcast encoders output moving image data that does not conform to the standard. As a countermeasure, standard / progressive / interlace determination is performed as standard. Apart from the mode, an avoidance mode is provided. The decoding unit 223 that operates as both a DVD and a television must set the standard conforming mode or the avoidance mode as appropriate. Therefore, the decoding unit 223 of the content reproduction application program 220 running on the computer 10 appropriately sets the standard-compliant mode or the avoidance mode without forcing the user to perform the setting work each time (determination mode setting). Part 2231), which will be described in detail below.

  First, the progressive / interlace determination principle in each of the standard-compliant mode and the avoidance mode will be described with reference to FIGS.

  A moving image stream that has been compression-encoded by a method compliant with the MPEG2 standard has a hierarchical structure of six layers: a sequence layer, a GOP layer, a picture layer, a slice layer, a macroblock layer, and a block layer. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the sequence layer, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the picture layer.

  4A is a diagram illustrating the entire structure of the sequence layer, and FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating the detailed structure of the “Sequence Extension” (a1) of the sequence layer. 5A is a diagram illustrating the entire structure of the picture layer, and FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a detailed structure of “Picture Coding” (b1) of the picture layer.

  First, the progressive / interlace determination principle in the standard-compliant mode will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 and the flowchart of FIG.

  When performing progressive / interlace determination in the standard-compliant mode, first, refer to PS (Progressive Sequence: a2 in FIG. 4B) included in the “Sequence Extension” of the sequence layer (a1 in FIG. 4A). (Step A1 in FIG. 6) If this flag is ON (YES in Step A1 in FIG. 6), it is determined to be progressive (Step A4 in FIG. 6).

  On the other hand, if the PS flag is OFF (NO in step A1 in FIG. 6), then, a PF (Progressive Frame: FIG. 5B) included in “Picture Coding” (b1 in FIG. 5A) of the picture layer. ) B2) is referred to (step A2 in FIG. 6). If this flag is on (YES in step A2 in FIG. 6), it is determined that the flag is progressive at this point (step A4 in FIG. 6). If it is off (NO in step A2 in FIG. 6), Interlace is determined (step A3 in FIG. 6).

  Next, the progressive / interlace determination principle in the avoidance mode will be described with reference to FIG. 4 and the flowchart of FIG.

  When the progressive / interlace determination is performed in the avoidance mode, only the PS (a2 in FIG. 4B) included in the “Sequence Extension” (a1 in FIG. 4A) of the sequence layer is referred to (FIG. 7). Step B1).

  If this flag is on (YES in step B1 in FIG. 7), it is determined to be progressive (step B2 in FIG. 7) as in the case of the standard conforming mode. On the other hand, if the PS flag is off (NO in step B1 in FIG. 7), it is determined as interlaced without referring to the PF included in the “Picture Coding” of the picture layer, unlike in the standard-compliant mode. (Step B3 in FIG. 7). Therefore, when this avoidance mode is set, even if PF becomes an indefinite value, no malfunction is induced.

  Based on the progressive / interlace determination principle in each of the standard-compliant mode and the avoidance mode, the determination mode setting unit 2231 included in the decoding unit 223 of the content reproduction application program 220 operating on the computer 10 is configured to perform progressive / interlace. The principle of setting whether the determination is performed in the standard conforming mode or the avoidance mode will be described.

  “Picture Coding” (b1) of the picture layer whose detailed structure is shown in FIG. 5B includes RFF (Repeat First Field: b3). This RFF is a flag used for 3: 2 pull-down processing for converting a moving image of 24 fps into a moving image of 60 fps. This 3: 2 pull-down process is not executed for video content data received by the TV tuner 114. That is, in the video content data received by the TV tuner 114, the RFF flag is not set to on (1).

  The determination mode setting unit 2231 pays attention to the fact that RFF = 1 is not included in the moving image stream encoded by the encoder for television broadcasting, and executes the setting of the standard-compliant mode or the avoidance mode according to the procedure shown in FIG. To do.

  That is, the determination mode setting unit 2231 first sets an avoidance mode as an initial state at the start of decoding of a moving image stream (step C1), detects RFF = 1 (YES in step C2), and then shifts to the standard-compliant mode. Switch (step C3).

  According to this procedure, every time the decoding unit 223 is reset, an initial avoidance mode is set. By using this, the program has been switched, such as a break between programs. By resetting the decoding unit 223 at the timing of detecting, it becomes possible to automatically set the standard conforming mode or the avoidance mode for each program.

  In addition, although the example which provides the determination mode setting part 2231 in the decoding part 223 comprised as a software decoder was demonstrated here, this invention regarding the mechanism which sets a standard conformity mode or an avoidance mode automatically is not restricted to this, Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a hardware decoder.

  As described above, in the computer 10, it is possible to appropriately select the progressive / interlace determination mode.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine a component suitably in different embodiment.

The perspective view which shows the external appearance of the information processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. A block diagram showing a system configuration of the information processing apparatus of the embodiment Functional block diagram of a content reproduction application program operating on the information processing apparatus of the embodiment The figure which shows the structure of the sequence layer in the moving image stream compression-encoded by the system based on the MPEG2 standard The figure which shows the structure of the picture layer in the moving image stream compression-encoded by the system based on the MPEG2 standard Flow chart showing the progressive / interlace determination principle in the standards-compliant mode Flowchart showing the progressive / interlace determination principle in avoidance mode A flowchart showing a principle of setting whether to perform the progressive / interlace determination in the standard compliant mode or the avoidance mode, which is executed by the content reproduction application program operating on the information processing apparatus of the embodiment

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Personal computer, 11 ... Computer main body, 12 ... Display unit, 13 ... Keyboard (KB), 14 ... Power button, 15 ... Input operation panel, 16 ... Touch pad, 17 ... LCD, 18A, 18B ... Speaker, 19 ... Antenna terminal 20 ... Remote control unit interface unit 101 ... CPU 102 ... North bridge 103 ... Main memory 104 ... South bridge 105 ... Graphics processing unit (GPU) 105A ... Video memory 106 ... Sound controller 107 ... BIOS-ROM, 108 ... LAN controller, 109 ... hard disk drive (HDD), 110 ... DVD drive, 111 ... LAN controller, 112 ... controller, 113 ... embedded controller / key Controller IC (EC / KBC), 114 TV tuner, 115 EEPROM, 210 operating system (OS), 220 content playback application program, 221 TV function unit, 222 DVD function unit, 223 decoding unit , 2231 ... Determination mode setting unit.

Claims (6)

An input means for inputting a moving image stream;
Decoding means for decoding the moving image stream input by the input means;
Comprising
The decoding means includes
Decoding based on first attribute information indicating whether or not the attribute information is common to all images in the moving image stream input by the input means and is encoded on the assumption that it is displayed in a progressive manner. First determination means for determining whether a target image is encoded on the assumption that the target image is displayed by a progressive method or an interlace method;
The first attribute information and the attribute information for each image in the moving image stream input by the input means, and indicating whether or not the second attribute information is encoded on the assumption that it is displayed in a progressive manner. Second determination means for determining whether the image to be decoded is encoded based on whether it is displayed by a progressive method or an interlace method, based on the attribute information of
Decoding based on the third attribute information used for the 3: 2 pull-down process that is attribute information for each image in the moving image stream input by the input means and converts a 24 fps moving image into a 60 fps moving image. Control for determining whether the first determination unit or the second determination unit determines whether the target image is encoded on the assumption that the target image is displayed by the progressive method or the interlace method. Means,
An information processing apparatus comprising:   The control means determines that the first determination means is to make a determination as an initial state at the start of decoding of the video stream input by the input means, and the third attribute information indicates a predetermined value. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein switching is performed to cause the second determination means to perform determination when it is detected.   The moving image stream is obtained by compressing and encoding a moving image by a method compliant with the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) 2 standard, and the first to third attribute information includes PS (Progressive Sequence) of a sequence layer. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the picture layer is a PF (Progressive Frame) of the picture layer and an RFF (Repeat First Field) of the picture layer. The first determination unit determines that the PS of the sequence layer is the progressive method when the progressive method indicates the progressive method, and determines that the PS is the interlace method when the sequence layer does not indicate the progressive method,
The second determination unit determines that the PS is in the progressive mode when the PS in the sequence layer indicates the progressive mode, and the PF in the picture layer indicates the progressive mode when the PS in the sequence layer indicates the progressive mode. If it is determined that it is a progressive method, it is determined that it is an interlace method when the progressive method is not indicated.
The control means performs switching from the first determination means to the second determination means when it is detected that the flag is set in the RFF of the sequence layer.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3. The input means inputs digital broadcast program data broadcast by a television broadcast signal as the moving image stream,
When the digital broadcast program data input by the input unit is switched from one program to another program, the control unit returns to the initial state that causes the first determination unit to make a determination. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2. The attribute information common to all the images in the moving image stream is the progressive format based on the first attribute information indicating whether or not the encoding is performed on the assumption that the video is displayed by the progressive format. Or a first determination mode for determining whether the data is encoded on the premise that it is displayed by the interlace method, the first attribute information, and attribute information for each image in the moving image stream. Based on the second attribute information indicating whether or not the image is encoded on the assumption that it is displayed by the progressive method, it is assumed that the image to be decoded is displayed by either the progressive method or the interlace method. Determination mode setting method for decoder having second determination mode for determining whether encoding is performed There,
The decoder
At the start of decoding of the video stream, the first determination mode is set as an initial state,
It is attribute information for each image in the moving image stream, and third attribute information used for 3: 2 pull-down processing for converting a 24 fps moving image into a 60 fps moving image indicates a predetermined value. If detected, switch to the second determination mode,
A determination mode setting method for a decoder.

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