JP2010243943A - Image display, control program for controlling image display, and recording medium in which control program is recorded - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image display in which a video noise component remaining in a peripheral part of an input image signal is not displayed, even when dot-by-dot display of the input image signal is performed on a display capable of performing dot-by-dot display. <P>SOLUTION: Mask 5 by a masking processing is applied in a display image peripheral part of the display 1, capable of performing dot-by-dot display, the video noise 2 which appears, when the dot-by-dot display is performed, is masked. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display device represented by a liquid crystal television or the like.

  Along with the start and popularization of high-definition broadcasting, high-quality image display devices such as liquid crystal televisions have become popular, and more recently, so-called dot-by-dot display (one pixel of video information of input signals). Liquid crystal televisions that are capable of displaying an image corresponding to one dot of a display panel) have appeared. In high-definition broadcasting, video signals are transmitted at a resolution of 1920 × 1080 dots with an aspect ratio of 16: 9, and a liquid crystal television capable of dot-by-dot display has an aspect ratio of 16: 9 and 1920 × 1080 dots. A display screen that can be displayed is provided.

  On the other hand, in a conventional television receiver having a display screen with an aspect ratio of 4: 3 that receives a conventional NTSC broadcast, when the video signal with the aspect ratio of 16: 9 is received, the television with an aspect ratio of 4: 3 is used. It is necessary to display a video signal having an aspect ratio of 16: 9. For example, a blank area is added to the top and bottom of the display screen. This blank area is usually only displayed in gray and has a poor preference.

  Patent Document 1 describes a technique for displaying a gradation image in a blank area that has been displayed in gray or displaying a preset pattern image in order to solve the above-described problems. .

  FIG. 17 shows the technique described in Patent Document 1 above, and shows an example in which a video signal having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 is displayed on a display screen having an aspect ratio of 4: 3. In FIG. 17, when the average brightness of the video area Tp is 6, for example, a gradation image in which the brightness level of the area closest to the video area Tp is 5 and the brightness level of the area farthest from the video area is 1 Letterboxes Ld1 and Ld2 that are configured as described above are added to the top and bottom of the display screen.

  When a video signal having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 is displayed on a television having a display screen having an aspect ratio of 16: 9, the above-described problem based on the difference in aspect ratio does not occur.

JP 2007-150502 A (released on June 14, 2007)

  As described above, when a video signal having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 is displayed on a television having a display screen having an aspect ratio of 16: 9, a blank area without the video signal is generated based on the difference in aspect ratio. There are no challenges. However, when a Japanese (Japan) high-definition broadcast is received on a liquid crystal television capable of 1920 × 1080 dot dot-by-dot display and a dot-by-dot display is performed, a noise called video noise is displayed on the periphery of the screen. For this reason, the display quality of the high-definition high-definition video may be deteriorated.

  This is because the so-called “overscan” method is adopted in the television broadcasting in Japan (Japan) in order to maintain compatibility with the televisions that cannot be dot-by-dot displayed on the market. This is because video noise that could not be seen outside the screen area (a management signal or control signal other than the display image appears as image noise) may appear. In particular, since large screen televisions in recent years are high-definition panels, if even a small amount of noise appears on the upper and lower ends (or left and right ends) of the screen, the noise will be annoying and the display quality will be conspicuous.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining such a situation. FIG. 18A shows a situation where a current high-definition broadcast is received on a television capable of dot-by-dot display and is displayed dot-by-dot, and an image 113 is displayed on the peripheral portion 112 of the display screen 111. The case where the enclosed noise is reflected is shown. This figure is exaggerated and described so as to surround the peripheral portion for easier understanding, but in reality, depending on the broadcast wave, noise may not appear on all four sides.

  In order to make such noise invisible, on an actual television, an image is enlarged (overscanned) and displayed as shown in FIG. However, when overscan is performed, the original image sent from the broadcast station is enlarged and processed, so that the image quality is inevitably deteriorated.

  In recent years, Blu-ray Disc Recorders (BD) that can record high-definition broadcasts directly on a single disc with the same image quality have become widespread. When dot-by-dot display is performed on the display device, a situation similar to that shown in FIG.

  Furthermore, game machines equipped with a BD have become widespread, and the above situation also occurs when high-definition broadcasts are recorded and reproduced by such game machines.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is a system that sends video information in units of pixels, for example, when receiving a full high-definition broadcast of digital broadcast and performing dot-by-dot display. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image display device that can perform display without deteriorating the appearance and without causing deterioration in image quality.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the image display device according to the invention of the present application, a display device capable of displaying an input image signal in a dot-by-dot manner, and a predetermined contact with the edge of the display screen of the display device An image display device comprising: a masking processing unit for forming a mask made of an image, wherein the masking processing unit displays the display device when dot-by-dot display is performed on the display device. It is characterized in that a mask having a predetermined width that covers video noise appearing at the edge of the screen can be formed.

  According to this, even when high-definition broadcasting or the like sent from a broadcasting station is displayed dot-by-dot, unnecessary noise components that may appear in the display screen peripheral portion (edge) of the display device are masked, and the noise portion It is possible to provide an image display device that can display dot-by-dot high-quality video without worrying about the above.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in an image display device according to another invention of the present application, the image display device further includes a color information storage unit regarding a color of a desired portion of the image display device body, The image of the mask portion can be set to a strip-like image having the same color as or close to the color of the desired portion of the main body of the image display device.

  According to this, the peripheral portion of the display screen is masked with a color close to the main body portion of the image display device, and a display without a sense of incongruity is possible even when the mask is applied.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the image display device according to still another invention of the present application, the image width of the mask portion can be set for each of the upper, lower, left and right sides (edges) of the display screen of the display device. It is characterized by being.

  According to this, it is possible to provide a mask only on the side (edge) when actual video noise appears, and the display screen can be used to the maximum.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an image display device according to still another invention of the present application is characterized in that the color of the image of the mask portion can be set to an arbitrary color.

  According to this, a color according to the user's preference can be selected as the color of the mask.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an image display device according to still another invention of the present application is characterized in that the image of the mask portion is provided with a stepwise gradation.

  According to this, the presence of the mask can be made inconspicuous.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in an image display device according to still another invention of the present application, the image display device further detects noise in a peripheral portion of an input image signal displayed on the display device. And a range detected by the noise detection unit is masked.

  According to this, in particular, masking can be performed without bothering the user, and display with the highest image quality is always possible regardless of the user's consciousness.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in an image display device according to still another invention of the present application, the user can set in advance the type of an image signal to be masked, and the image signal to be masked is input. It is characterized by automatically performing a masking process when it is performed.

  According to this, it is possible to mask conspicuous noise parts while meeting the needs of users who do not want to provide masks as much as possible, such as being able to mask only image signals with a lot of noise. It becomes.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in an image display device according to still another invention of the present application, the image display device further includes a brightness sensor that detects ambient brightness, and the brightness sensor includes: It is characterized in that the color of the image of the mask portion is changed according to the detection output.

  According to this, when it is dark (such as at night), it is possible to reduce the feeling of discomfort caused by providing a mask by slightly darkening. In addition, when an area active type device is used for the backlight, it also has an energy saving effect.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in an image display device according to still another invention of the present application, the display device in the image display device is a liquid crystal display panel having an area active backlight device, and a mask portion. Is characterized by being lower than the brightness other than the mask portion.

  According to this, an energy saving effect of the image display device can be expected.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in an image display device according to still another invention of the present application, the image display device further includes a masking condition holding unit for storing a plurality of masking conditions, and the plurality of masking conditions. Is provided with a priority holding unit for storing the priority, and when the input image signal is an image signal having dot-by-dot information, it is automatically masked with priority 1. It is characterized by executing masking under conditions.

  According to this, it is possible to perform masking under a condition to which priority is given without requiring a special operation from the user, and it is possible to simplify the operation of the image display device capable of masking processing. .

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the image display device according to still another invention of the present application, it is possible to manually set the masking condition while displaying the image signal on the display device and confirming the masking state. It is characterized by that.

  According to this, it becomes possible to set a fine masking condition according to the state of the image signal.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an image display device according to still another invention of the present application is characterized in that a masking condition set manually is assigned a priority and can be registered.

According to this, it becomes possible to perform masking processing under masking conditions according to the user's preference,
In order to solve the above-described problems, an image display device according to still another invention of the present application is characterized in that the image display device is a liquid crystal television including a liquid crystal display panel.

  According to this, even when a dot-by-dot display broadcast wave is received on a liquid crystal television and a dot-by-dot display is performed, a mask covering unnecessary noise components can be added, and a high-quality image can be obtained. I can enjoy it.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an image display device according to still another invention of the present application is characterized in that a recording and / or playback device can be built in and / or externally connected to the image display device.

  According to this, when an external recording / reproducing apparatus such as a BD is connected, a mask can be applied even when a video from the recording / reproducing apparatus is enjoyed, and a high-quality image can be enjoyed.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an image display device according to still another invention of the present application is characterized by a control program for causing a computer to function as the image display device.

  According to this, when the dot-by-dot display is performed in the image display device capable of dot-by-dot display, a control program for masking the noise portion can be obtained.

  In order to solve the above problems, an image display device according to still another invention of the present application is characterized by a computer-readable recording medium storing an image display device control program.

  According to this, when the dot-by-dot display is performed in the image display device capable of dot-by-dot display, it is possible to obtain a recording medium on which a control program for masking the noise portion is recorded.

  As described above, the image display device according to the present invention comprises a display device capable of displaying an input image signal in a dot-by-dot manner and a predetermined image in contact with the edge of the display screen of the display device. A masking processing unit for forming a mask, wherein the masking processing unit has an edge of a display screen of the display device when dot-by-dot display is performed on the display device. A feature is that a mask having a predetermined width can be formed to cover image noise appearing in the area.

  As a result, even when high-definition broadcasts sent from broadcast stations are displayed dot-by-dot, unnecessary noise components that may appear in the display screen peripheral portion (edge) of the display device can be masked. It is possible to obtain an image display device that can enjoy dot-by-dot high-quality video without worrying about noise.

It is a figure for demonstrating the fundamental idea of this invention. It is a figure which shows one Example which applied this invention to the liquid crystal television. It is an operation | movement flowchart of one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of operation with a remote controller. It is a flowchart for setting a masking condition. It is a figure explaining the specific example for setting masking conditions. It is a figure explaining the other specific example for setting masking conditions. It is a flowchart of manual masking condition setting. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen display at the time of manual masking condition setting. It is a figure which shows the other example of the screen display at the time of manual masking condition setting. It is a figure which shows the example of a gradation. It is a figure which shows the example of a color palette. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the output of a photosensor, and the color density of a mask. It is a figure which shows the example of a masking condition, and a masking condition setting example. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of setting masking conditions using a mask setting parameter table | surface. It is a flowchart for demonstrating automatic masking. It is a figure for demonstrating a prior art example. It is a figure for demonstrating the conventional overscan display.

  Before describing embodiments of the present invention, the principle of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the image display apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1A shows an image display device that has a display device that includes a liquid crystal display panel or the like that can receive dot-by-dot display by receiving a high-definition broadcast that transmits video information in pixel units. FIG. 1 (b) shows the situation during the masking according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 (c) completes the masking according to the present invention. Shows the situation.

  In the present invention, “masking” means that a part of the display screen is covered with an image of a certain color, pattern or the like, as will be described in detail below.

  As already described with reference to FIG. 18, when a high-definition broadcast that transmits video information in pixel units is displayed in a so-called dot-by-dot method, the display screen of the display device 1 is displayed as shown in FIG. In some cases, the video noise 2 may be mixed in the edge (side part) of the display screen, for example, the lower edge (or side part) of the display screen. This video noise 2 (hereinafter simply referred to as “noise 2”) appears in a relatively narrow region having a width of about 5 pixels, but is not related to the image displayed on the display screen 1 at all. Therefore, it changes with time regardless of the image displayed on the display screen, and becomes more conspicuous as the screen becomes larger, which impairs the display image quality. This noise has not been noticed until now because it becomes invisible by overscanning, but it is particularly worrisome when performing dot-by-dot display using a large-screen, high-definition display device. is there.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the noise 2 portion is masked with a predetermined image, for example, a band of a certain color, to make the noise 2 portion invisible. FIG. 1B shows a situation in which a part of the noise 2 part is masked, and as a result, part of the noise 2 is covered by the mask 5. FIG. 1C shows a situation in which all of the noise part is covered with the mask 5.

  In FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, and FIG. 1C, reference numeral 3 denotes an operation guide for manual operation displayed on the screen when masking is performed by manual operation, which will be described in detail later. A display (indicator) 4 is a slide bar for facilitating determination of the width of the mask 5 during the masking operation, and the details will be described later in the same manner as the operation instruction indicator 3.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1C, when image information including image information in units of pixels is displayed dot-by-dot, a region where image noise is displayed is a predetermined color band or the like. It is possible to make the image noise invisible. According to this, even if the video information contains video noise, it is possible to display the information contained in the original video information as it is while making the noise component invisible. Can be displayed with high quality. In the above description, the “predetermined color band, etc.” is used as the mask 5 when masking is performed. However, as will be described later, the present invention is not limited to the “predetermined color band”, and various modifications can be made. Therefore, in general, when a more general display is meant as the mask 5, it is described as “predetermined image” or simply “image”.

  Examples according to the present invention will be described below. In the following description, various limitations preferable for carrying out the present invention are given, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the following examples and drawings.

[Example 1]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a liquid crystal television including a display device such as a liquid crystal display panel capable of dot-by-dot display. In addition, since the part which operate | moves as a television can use a conventionally well-known technique, in order to avoid that drawing becomes too complicated in FIG. 2, it has described as a rough structure.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 10 denotes a liquid crystal television capable of dot-by-dot display and capable of masking the video noise portion described with reference to FIG. The liquid crystal television 10 includes a CPU 6 and a memory 7 connected to the bus 8, and the operation of the liquid crystal television 10 is controlled by various control programs stored in the CPU 6 and the memory 7.

  The memory 7 is usually composed of a RAM, but may include a ROM in part. Further, a rewritable flash memory or the like may be included. The memory 7 stores an OS for operating the CPU, various control software, and the like, and has a work area that functions as a work memory necessary for various control operations. Data relating to program information such as received EPG data, OSD image data necessary for OSD display, and the like are stored.

  The liquid crystal television 10 is provided with an analog tuner unit 12 in addition to the digital tuner unit 14 so that analog broadcasts can be received. The external input unit 31 can be connected to various external devices 30 such as a solid-state memory such as an HDD and an SD card, and a disk device such as a BD (Blu-ray Disc), DVD, and CD. The BD / DVD / CD recording / reproducing unit 32 is also incorporated in the main body 10. Further, an IP broadcast tuner unit 23 is provided, and IP broadcast reception is also possible.

  In addition, the liquid crystal television 10 includes an AV switch unit 13, a digital demodulator 15, a separation unit (DMUX) 16, a video decode / capture unit 17, a video selector 18, a video processor 19, an adder circuit 20, and a display controller 21. A liquid crystal display device 22, an EPG / OSD / reservation processing unit 24, an audio decoding unit 25, an audio selector unit 26, an audio output conversion unit 27, a speaker 28, a channel selection unit 33, a communication control unit 34, and a remote control light receiving unit 35. ing.

  The liquid crystal television 10 according to the present invention further includes a masking processing memory 37 for realizing the masking described with reference to FIG. 1, an OPC (light) sensor 38 for detecting ambient brightness, and a masking processing unit 39. Is provided. For convenience of explanation, the masking processing memory 37 is specifically described here, but it goes without saying that a partial area of the memory 7 provided originally can be used.

  The analog tuner unit 12 selects an analog television broadcast signal received through the antenna 11 for receiving an analog broadcast, and performs channel selection according to a channel selection instruction from the channel selection unit 33. The received signal from the analog tuner unit 12 is separated into an audio signal and a video signal in the AV switch unit 13, the video signal is input to the video selector unit 18, and the audio signal is input to the audio selector unit 26.

  The digital tuner unit 14 selects a digital television broadcast signal received via the digital broadcast receiving antenna 11 ′, and selects a channel to be received according to a channel selection instruction from the channel selection unit 33. The received signal from the digital tuner unit 14 is demodulated by the digital demodulation unit 15 and sent to the separation unit (DMUX) 16.

  The IP broadcast tuner unit 23 selects an IP broadcast received via a communication control unit 34 connected to a telephone line, a LAN, or the like, and receives a specific IP received in response to a channel selection instruction from the channel selection unit 33. The broadcast is selected and the output is sent to the separation unit (DMUX) 16.

  The separation unit (DMUX) 16 separates the multiplexed video data and audio data input from the digital demodulation unit 15 or the IP broadcast tuner unit 23, sends the video data to the video decoding / capture unit 17, and the audio data Is sent to the audio decoding unit 25. Further, the separation unit (DMUX) 16 extracts data such as EPG data included in the broadcast signal and sends it to the EPG / OSD / reservation processing unit 24. In addition, information necessary for masking processing, which will be described in detail later, is sent to the masking processing unit 39. The broadcast wave signal extracted by the separation unit (DMUX) 16 is recorded in the memory 7 by writing control by the CPU 6 as necessary.

  The video decoding / capture unit 17 decodes the video data separated by the separation unit (DMUX) 16 and captures video information included in the video data as a still image. The video signal decoded by the video decoding / capture unit 17 is sent to the video selector unit 18. As described above, the video signal from the analog tuner unit 12 is input to the video selector unit 18, and the video signal from the external input unit 31 is also input. The video selector 18 selects and outputs one video signal from these input image signals according to a control signal from the CPU 6, and sends it to the video processor 19.

  The video processing unit 19 performs video processing such as noise reduction processing, sharpness adjustment, and contrast adjustment on the input video signal so as to obtain an optimal video signal for the liquid crystal display device 22. Convert video data to.

  The display control unit 21 includes a drive circuit for displaying the received video data on the liquid crystal display device 22, and an electronic program table (from the EPG / OSD / reservation processing unit 24) added by the addition circuit 20 ( Electronic program guide (EPG) data or OSD (on-screen display) data is sent to the liquid crystal display device 22 in addition to the video data from the video processing unit 19. The liquid crystal display device 22 displays the transmitted video data on the screen.

  Further, the data from the masking processing unit 39 provided in accordance with the present invention is input to the adder circuit 20, which will be described in detail later.

  The audio decoding unit 25 decodes the audio data separated by the separation unit (DMUX) 16. The audio decoding unit 25 sends the decoded audio signal to the audio selector unit 26.

  The audio selector unit 26 receives the audio signal from the AV switch unit 13, the audio signal from the external input unit 31, and the audio signal from the audio decoding unit 25, and is selected by the video selector unit 18 under the control of the CPU 6. An audio signal corresponding to the video signal is selected, and the audio signal is sent to the speaker 28 via the audio output conversion unit 27. The audio output conversion unit 27 converts the received audio signal into a signal optimal for reproduction on the speaker 28 and supplies the converted signal to the speaker 28.

  The remote control light receiving unit 35 is for receiving an optical signal from the remote controller 36 and receiving a control signal from the remote controller 36. An instruction from the user at the time of executing a manual masking process described later is performed via the remote controller.

  The EPG / OSD / reservation processing unit 24 creates an electronic program guide based on EPG data periodically updated and stored, and draws OSD data stored in the memory 7 in advance. The OSD data is data for drawing various information such as a setting menu screen, a volume cage, a current time, a channel selection, and the like stored in advance in the memory 7, for example. Further, the EPG / OSD / reservation processing unit 24 performs program reservation processing using the electronic program guide.

  The communication control unit 34 performs control so as to establish communication via a network such as a telephone line, a LAN, and the Internet.

  The masking processing memory 37 stores various control programs required for executing the masking processing shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 16, and the like. Various data necessary for executing the masking process are stored. That is, for example, it functions as a part for storing color information (color information storage unit) shown in FIG. 11 and a part for storing masking conditions (masking information storage unit) shown in FIGS. . The above control program is stored in a computer-readable recording medium so that the control program itself can be handled alone, and an arbitrary liquid crystal television or the like can easily have a masking processing function. It is also possible.

  The masking processing unit 39 is shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 16 which will be described in detail later in cooperation with the CPU 6 operating as a computer and various programs for masking processing. Perform various processes.

  Next, an example of a masking process procedure in the liquid crystal television shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7. Next, an example of a manual masking process will be described with reference to FIGS. Further, an embodiment of the fully automatic masking process will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram (flow chart) showing an example of a procedure for performing masking according to the present invention described with reference to FIG. 1 in the liquid crystal television shown in FIG. The procedure described below is achieved mainly by the CPU 6, the masking processing memory 37, and the masking processing unit 39. Further, the input by the user of the liquid crystal television is performed by the remote controller 36 and the remote control light receiving unit 35 shown in FIG.

  Note that the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 shows an outline of the procedure related to the operation of the liquid crystal television shown in FIG. 2, and does not accurately show the entire detailed procedure. That is, various processing, for example, power-off processing, input switching processing including channel switching, masking function ON processing during non-masking display, masking function OFF processing during masking display, masking conditions during masking display 3 and the screen display mode change processing (dot-on-dot display ON / OFF processing, etc.) can be interrupted by a command from the user as needed during viewing of the liquid crystal television. However, to avoid overcomplicating, all of these are not listed.

  3, when the power of the liquid crystal television is turned on, it is identified whether or not the input signal is a dot-by-dot compatible signal (St. 1). This identification is performed by the masking processing unit 39 in FIG. St. The identification processing in 1 can analyze the input signal itself to detect whether it is a dot-by-dot compatible signal, but more simply, which input signal is a dot-by-dot compatible signal in advance. By registering them in the memory 37 for masking processing in FIG. For example, when the input is a terrestrial digital broadcast or a signal from a BD playback device, the masking processing memory 37 is registered in advance as a dot-by-dot compatible signal. When viewing the liquid crystal television, it is determined from where the currently viewed content is a signal to determine whether the content is a dot-by-dot compatible signal (St. 2).

  If it is a dot-by-dot compatible signal, it is further detected whether or not the screen display mode of the liquid crystal television is set to the dot-by-dot display mode (St. 3), and the dot-by-dot display mode is set. If it is, it is further detected whether or not the masking function is set to ON in the liquid crystal television (St. 4).

  The above-mentioned settings (setting whether to turn the dot-by-dot display mode ON or OFF and setting the masking function to ON or OFF) on the liquid crystal television are set in advance. It is preferable. For example, if all of the above settings are set to “YES” at the time of factory shipment, when the viewer turns on the power switch of the liquid crystal television, when the input signal is a dot-by-dot compatible signal, “Display with masking function turned on” is made.

  In addition, for the above settings (setting whether to turn the dot-by-dot display mode ON or OFF, and setting whether the masking function is ON or OFF), the user first turns on the power. In doing so, the user may set it. That is, when the user first turns on the power, St. 3, St. In step 4, a message asking the user how to perform the setting may be displayed, and the user may perform initial setting according to the message.

  If there is no need for complications, the user may be prompted to make a setting each time the power switch is turned on, and each time the input is switched, and the user may make the setting accordingly.

  As described above, the process of changing the above settings (setting whether to turn the dot-by-dot display mode ON or OFF and setting whether the masking function is ON or OFF) It is preferable to be able to interrupt at any time during the viewing of the television, and in this case, the viewer can easily make a setting according to his / her preference at any time.

  When the masking function is set to ON, the process for setting the masking conditions is entered (St. 5). The details of this masking condition setting process will be described later with reference to FIG. 5. Prior to factory shipment, a specific masking condition is preferentially set. Masking can be executed under the masking conditions.

  The liquid crystal television according to this embodiment is the St. The masking process is executed according to the conditions (set values) set in the masking condition setting process of No. 5 (St. 6), and a command to turn off the masking function is input (St. 7), or the power supply The display in which the masking is executed is continued until is turned OFF (St. 8).

  St. 2, when the input signal is not a dot-by-dot compatible signal, display without masking is performed (St. 9). ST. 3, when the screen display mode of the liquid crystal television is not the dot-by-dot display mode, the user is prompted to confirm whether or not to change to the dot-by-dot mode, and the user inputs an instruction from the remote controller. (St. 10). When not changing to the dot-by-dot display mode, display without masking is performed (St. 11). The non-masking display continues until an instruction to turn on the masking function is input (St. 12).

  FIG. 10 shows an example of an input method for inputting an instruction from the user. If the input signal is a dot-by-dot compatible signal and the screen display mode is not set to dot-by-dot display, St. 10, since the display 41 of “screen size switching” is made on the display screen of the display device 1 of the liquid crystal television as shown in FIG. 4A, the user can use the remote controller 36 shown in FIG. 4B. To select “dot by dot”, which means switching to the dot by dot display mode.

  FIG. 4 also shows an example of an interrupt operation to the dot-by-dot display mode. That is, when the “menu” key 42 of the remote controller 36 is pressed, items that can be operated at that time are displayed, and the “screen size” key 43 for designating the screen size is pressed. When the LCD TV is receiving a dot-by-dot compatible signal but is not in the dot-by-dot display mode, the screen size can be switched on the display screen of the display device 1 by pressing the “screen size” key 43. Since the display 41 is made, the “up / down / left / right movement instruction” key 45 is operated to select “dot-by-dot”, and the “decision” key 44 is depressed to switch to the dot-by-dot display mode.

  In FIG. 11 and St. The description of 12 indicates that the non-masking display is performed until the “masking function ON” command is input, and the “masking function ON” is displayed while the non-masking display continues. When the command “” is interrupted, the screen display mode is changed to “dot-by-dot display mode”.

  FIG. 5 shows St. in the flow shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of an example of 5 (masking condition setting process). There are various items to be considered when performing masking. For example, there are items as shown in FIG. 14, that is, gradation, mask width, mask region, mask color, and the like. In the masking condition setting process, one condition is selected and set for each of these items. In the liquid crystal television of this embodiment, a default setting (priority is first) is determined as a manufacturer setting. Yes. FIG. 14 is an example of a mask setting parameter table, and details thereof will be described later.

  In the masking condition setting process, first, masking is performed according to the setting value of the priority setting (St. 1). As described above, in the present embodiment, masking is performed under the conditions shown in FIG. Next, St. 2, an instruction as to whether or not to change the masking method is required. In the liquid crystal television shown in this embodiment, the default setting is set in advance so that “the masking method is not changed” at the time of shipment from the factory. Therefore, particularly when the user does not instruct anything, masking is performed according to the default setting conditions. As already described, while the liquid crystal television is performing masking under a specific masking condition, “change of masking method” can be executed at any time by interrupt processing.

  When “change masking method” is selected by the interrupt process (St. 2), an instruction is given as to whether or not to change to the existing setting value (St. 3). In some cases, St. As shown in FIG. 5, it can be executed with other holding setting values. This St. The details of the flow 5 are shown in FIG. 6 and will be described in detail later.

  If the masking with the existing set value is not performed, an instruction as to whether or not to manually change the masking method is required (St. 4). The process for “masking method change by” (St. 6) is executed. Details of the “manual masking method change” (St. 6) will be described later with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of a flow in the case where there is already a registered setting value related to the masking condition. As shown in FIG. 6A, first, a process of “selecting from registered setting values” is performed (St. 1). For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, a display showing selection candidates (setting value data 1,..., Setting value data n) is performed on the display device 1, and a specific setting is selected from the display. This can be done by selecting value data. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6C, screens 61 to 64 showing a state when actual masking is executed may be sequentially displayed on the screen, and the masking situation may be selected and selected.

  In FIG. 6A, after masking of a specific set value is selected (St. 1), this is confirmed (St. 2), and masking is executed based on the confirmed set value (St. 3). When the masking method based on the determined setting value is set as a priority setting value (St. 4), that is, when a new priority display is performed instead of the factory default setting, the determined setting value is determined. Is set as a priority setting value (St. 4). In this case, a circle is entered in the priority column in the mask setting parameter table shown in FIG.

  Next, a case where the masking conditions are set manually will be described.

  FIG. 7 shows an overview of the processing when manually setting the masking conditions. 7, details of “manual operation setting” (St. 1) will be described later with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. Since whether or not to confirm the set value selected in 1 is determined (St. 2), when an instruction to confirm is given, masking display with the confirmed set value is executed (St. 3). Furthermore, the St. 3 is used as the priority setting value, an instruction to that effect is given (St. 4).

  8 is a flowchart for explaining details of “setting by manual operation” (St. 1) in FIG. In FIG. 8, first, selection of a masking portion and masking amount (width) are manually performed (St. 1).

  An example of a manual operation when selecting the masking portion and the masking amount (width) will be described with reference to FIGS.

  When entering the masking execution process by manual operation, a list 91 for selecting a place to execute masking is displayed on the display screen of the display device 1 as shown in FIG. 9A, 9 </ b> B, and 9 </ b> D show a situation in which noise 2 appears in the upper and lower ends of the screen in the display device 1. The operation of the liquid crystal television by the user described below is performed by operating the remote controller 36 shown in FIG. 4B, for example, a “menu” key 42, “up / down / left / right movement instruction” key 45, “decision” key 44, etc. This is done by pushing down.

  In the list 91 shown in FIG. 9A, when the item 92 “set only the lower part of the screen” is selected, the location of the item 92 “set only the lower part of the screen” is highlighted. As shown in FIG. 9B, a display 93 “setting only the lower part of the screen” is displayed at the center of the display device 1 and an operation guide display 3 for manual operation is displayed at the end of the screen.

  Since the operation guide display 3 includes a slide bar 4 for executing adjustment, this slide bar is used as a guideline by using the “up / down movement instruction” key of the remote controller 36. By moving the screen upward, the width of the mask 5 portion is adjusted. FIG. 9C shows a situation in which the noise 2 portion is completely covered by the mask 5.

  Next, select “set only the upper part of the screen” and, similarly to the above-mentioned “set only the lower part of the screen”, the mask 5 is put on the upper part of the screen using the slide bar 4 of the operation guide display 3 as a guide. Apply. FIG. 9D shows the screen at this time, and a display 95 “Setting only the upper part of the screen” appears. Eventually, as shown in FIG. 9E, the entire noise portion is covered with the mask 5.

  FIG. 10 shows another setting method for manual setting. In FIG. 10, since the same numbers are assigned to the same portions as those in FIG. 9, the description for these portions is omitted. FIG. 10A shows a method of setting the upper and lower portions of the screen at the same time as the display 97 of “displaying upper and lower portions of the screen simultaneously” is displayed on the display device 1. In this case, by moving the slide bar 4 of the operation guide display 3 upward, the noise 2 portion at the bottom of the screen is from the bottom of the screen, and the noise 2 portion at the top of the screen is from the top of the screen (ie, the screen At the same time, the mask is formed. The manual operation ends when the area of noise 2 is completely covered by the mask 5.

  FIG. 10B shows that the operation of covering the noise 2 is performed simultaneously from the left and right as the display 98 “Setting the left and right sides of the screen simultaneously” is present. FIG. 10 (c) shows another method. In this case, as shown by the indication 99 that “the screen is being set simultaneously on the top, bottom, left and right”, the four sides of the screen are adjusted simultaneously. It is. Both are more efficient than the adjustment shown in FIG. 9, but the amount (width) of the mask 5 cannot be set for each of the four sides as shown in FIG. Absent. With the above operation, the setting of the portion to be masked and the masking amount (width) can be set.

  Next, returning to FIG. 8, it is set whether or not gradation is applied to the mask 5 formed by executing the masking process (St. 2). When executing gradation, the masking method is changed to gradation (St. 3). As shown in FIG. 11, the gradation gradually changes the color intensity between the mask 5 and the mask portion 53 that is distant from the mask portion 52 adjacent to the frame 50 portion of the display device 1. Say things. FIG. 11A shows a case where the entire periphery is covered along the frame 50 of the display screen of the display device 1, and FIG. 11B shows the top of the display screen of the display device 1. An example in which the mask 5 is applied only to the frame 50 is shown.

  Further, the process of determining the color of the mask 5 is entered. In this embodiment, whether to perform masking is determined first according to the color of the previous cabinet (St. 4, St. 5). If the mask 5 is applied in accordance with the color of the front cabinet, that is, the color of the frame 50, there is an effect that the mask 5 and the frame 50 are connected to each other without a sense of incongruity. Therefore, it is extremely effective when masking is performed inconspicuously. In this case, it goes without saying that information on the color of the previous cabinet needs to be held in advance in the masking processing memory 37 of FIG.

  The color of the mask 5 can be set according to the user's preference regardless of the color of the frame 50 (St. 6, St. 7). In this case, for example, it is preferable that a favorite color can be selected using a color palette as shown in FIGS. 12 (a) and 12 (b). In this case, information on the color palette is stored in advance in the masking processing memory 37 of FIG.

  In this embodiment, the masking color can be changed according to the ambient brightness (St. 8, St. 9). That is, the OPC sensor 38 (light sensor) in FIG. 2 detects the brightness around the liquid crystal television set, and performs masking with a corresponding color. For example, as described in the table shown in FIG. 13, the color of the mask 5 may be set to be changed for each brightness, or the color is the same, but the color intensity may be changed.

  Further, in this embodiment, the brightness of the mask 5 portion can be changed according to the brightness (instead of changing the color) (St. 10, St. 11). In recent liquid crystal televisions, an LED (area active type backlight device) has been proposed in which an LED is used as a backlight and the brightness (luminance) of the LED can be adjusted for each narrow area. In this case, it can be easily performed by adjusting the luminance of the LED.

  Alternatively, the default value of the mask 5 color may be black and black masking may be used (St. 12). The color and the like of the mask 5 are not limited to those described above, and can be executed in various forms.

  FIG. 14 is a table summarizing various conditions (selection items) to be considered in masking. For example, as described above, masking conditions include whether to apply gradation, what to do with the intensity of gradation, what to do with the mask width, what to do with the area where the mask is provided, what to do with the mask color There are also elements such as a frame or a specific pattern. For a specific pattern, several patterns may be registered in advance and selected. In that case, it is also possible to set a specific pattern so that the color can be selected using the color palette shown in FIG.

  In this embodiment, a specific condition (selection item) can be selected and registered in advance for the above condition (selection item). In the table of FIG. 14, examples registered as manufacturer settings (default settings at the time of factory shipment), user settings 1 and user settings 2 are shown.

  It is also possible to select and register the setting that should be given the highest priority. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the condition set by the manufacturer at the time of factory shipment is set as a condition to be prioritized. As already described, the masking condition to which the priority is given becomes a set value when “masking is performed by the masking method using the set value of the priority setting” described with reference to FIG.

  The details of the manufacturer setting values as default settings will be described. The mask 5 is subjected to gradation, the degree thereof is medium, the width of the mask 5 is 5 dots, and the color of the mask 5 applied to the entire periphery. Is the same color as the cabinet (or frame). In this case, since the colors of the mask 5 and the frame around the mask 5 are the same, there is little discomfort due to the masking. Even if the colors are not exactly the same, similar effects can be expected if they are close colors, that is, colors having the same hue.

  In the manual masking condition setting, the masking conditions shown in FIG. 14 may be displayed in a list on the display screen of the display device 1 so that each item can be selected individually. FIG. 15 shows the situation in this case. A table similar to the selection items shown in FIG. 14 is displayed on the display screen of the display device 1 so that each item can be directly designated and selected. In FIG. 15, for example, the currently selected item is indicated by blinking, and the confirmed item is highlighted. When selection of all items to be changed is completed, for example, the “decision” key of the remote controller 36 is depressed.

  FIG. 15 shows an example in which the item “gradation” is being selected and “medium” is selected as the gradation condition. Various keys of the remote controller 36 are used for input such as item selection. The determined set value is displayed in the “set value” field as needed. After the selection of necessary items is completed, this may be registered as a new user setting value.

[Example 2]
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and shows a flow in the case of performing masking processing completely automatically. In this case, the configuration of the liquid crystal television itself to which the present invention is applied may be the same as that of the liquid crystal television 10 shown in FIG. 2, and the operation of the masking processing unit 39 is different.

  In FIG. 16, when the power switch of the liquid crystal television is turned on, it is determined whether or not the input signal is a dot-by-dot compatible signal (St. 2). Set to dot display (St. 3). Further, it is detected whether or not there is noise in the video signal corresponding to the peripheral portion of the screen (St. 5). If there is noise, the number of scanning lines or the masking amount converted into the horizontal frequency time (mask width) Is calculated (St. 6), and masking processing is performed with the mask width (St. 7).

  Although it is not always easy to detect whether there is noise in the periphery of the screen, for example, the difference between the image information in the periphery of the screen and the image information in the adjacent part is detected over a predetermined time. If there is a big difference, it can be achieved by determining that there is noise. Also, if masking is executed or stopped while watching the same program, or if the masking state changes, the image on the periphery of the screen becomes distorted and distorted, so input switching, for example, channel switching is performed. Until then, you can set the masking to not change.

  In the above description, it is assumed that the digital television broadcast is received on the liquid crystal television on the premise of the liquid crystal television. However, even when the television broadcast is not received, for example, a BD that records the digital broadcast is played back. Even in this case, noise may be reproduced around the display device such as a liquid crystal display panel, and it is clear that the present invention is effectively applied. That is, the present invention is not limited to a television receiver, and is an image display device including a display device capable of dot-by-dot display and incorporating a BD recording and / or reproducing device, or a BD recording and / or reproducing device. The present invention can also be effectively applied to an image display device having a connection terminal.

  In the above description, the liquid crystal display panel has been described as the display device. However, the display device is not limited to the liquid crystal display panel, and a display device capable of dot-by-dot display, such as a plasma panel or an EL panel. It is obvious that the display screen in the projection type image display apparatus can also be targeted.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to each embodiment mentioned above. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications to the present invention within the scope of the claims. That is, a new embodiment can be obtained by combining appropriately changed technical means within the scope of the claims.

(Program and recording medium)
Finally, each block included in the display device 1 may be configured by hardware logic. Alternatively, it may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as follows.

  That is, the display device 1 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a program (image display device control program) that implements each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the program, and a RAM ( Random Access Memory) and a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing the program and various data. With this configuration, the object of the present invention can be achieved by a predetermined recording medium.

  The recording medium only needs to record the program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of the program of the display device 1 which is software for realizing the above-described functions so as to be readable by a computer. This recording medium is supplied to the display device 1. Thus, the display device 1 (or CPU or MPU) as a computer may read and execute the program code recorded on the supplied recording medium.

  The recording medium that supplies the program code to the display device 1 is not limited to a specific structure or type. That is, the recording medium includes, for example, a tape system such as a magnetic tape and a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. System, a card system such as an IC card (including a memory card) / optical card, or a semiconductor memory system such as a mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM.

  Further, even if the display device 1 is configured to be connectable to a communication network, the object of the present invention can be achieved. In this case, the program code is supplied to the display device 1 via the communication network. The communication network is not limited to a specific type or form as long as it can supply the program code to the display device 1. For example, it may be the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication network, and the like.

  The transmission medium constituting the communication network may be any medium that can transmit the program code, and is not limited to a specific configuration or type. For example, even in the case of wired lines such as IEEE 1394, USB (Universal Serial Bus), power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line, infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth (registered trademark), 802.11 It can also be used by radio such as radio, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  According to the present invention, it is an image display device such as a liquid crystal television that can be displayed dot-by-dot, and a noise portion that may appear at the periphery of the screen when receiving a digital broadcast or the like is impaired. Therefore, it is possible to provide an image display device that can be covered without any problem, and the industrial applicability is extremely high.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Display apparatus 2 Image noise 3 Indicator 4 Slide bar 5 Mask 6 CPU
7 Memory 8 Bus 10 LCD TV (image display device)
14 Digital Tuner Unit 24 EPG / OSD / Reservation Processing Unit 35 Remote Control Light Receiving Unit 36 Remote Controller 37 Masking Processing Memory 38 OPC Sensor 39 Masking Processing Unit

Claims (16)

A display device capable of displaying the input image signal dot-by-dot;
A masking processing unit for forming a mask made of a predetermined image in contact with the outermost peripheral portion of the display screen of the display device, and an image display device comprising:
The masking processing unit is capable of forming a mask having a predetermined width that covers video noise that appears at the edge of the display screen of the display device when dot-by-dot display is performed on the display device. An image display device.   The image display device further includes a color information storage unit relating to the color of the desired portion of the image display device body, and the image of the mask portion has a hue that is the same as or close to the color of the desired portion of the image display device body. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image display device can be set to a belt-like image.   The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the width of the image of the mask portion can be set for each of the top, bottom, left, and right edges of the display screen of the display device.   The image display device according to claim 1, wherein an image color of the mask portion can be set to an arbitrary color.   5. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image of the mask portion is provided with stepwise gradation. The image display device further includes a noise detection unit that detects noise in a peripheral portion of an input image signal displayed on the display device,
6. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein a range detected by the noise detection unit is masked.   7. The type of an input image signal to be masked can be set in advance by a user, and masking is automatically performed when an image signal to be masked is input. The image display device according to any one of the above.   2. The image display device further includes a brightness sensor that detects ambient brightness, and changes a color of an image of the mask portion according to a detection output of the brightness sensor. And an image display device according to any one of 3 to 7.   9. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display device is a liquid crystal display panel having an area active type backlight device, and the luminance of the mask portion is lower than the luminance other than the mask portion. The image display device according to any one of the above.   The image display device further includes a masking condition holding unit for storing a plurality of masking conditions, and a priority holding unit for designating a priority for each of the plurality of masking conditions and storing the priority. 10. The masking according to claim 1, wherein masking is automatically executed under a masking condition of priority 1 when the input image signal is an image signal having dot-by-dot information. The image display device described.   11. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein masking conditions can be manually set while displaying an image signal on the display device and confirming a masking state.   12. The image display apparatus according to claim 11, wherein registration is possible by assigning priority to manually set masking conditions.   The image display device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the image display device is a liquid crystal television including a liquid crystal display panel.   The image display device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein a recording and / or playback device is built in and / or externally connectable to the image display device.   The control program for functioning a computer as an image display apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-14.   A computer-readable recording medium storing the image display device control program according to claim 15.

Images