JP3698874B2 - Karaoke device and character display device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a karaoke apparatus that makes it easy to see characters of lyrics displayed on a screen according to the progress of a karaoke song, and a character display apparatus that is applied to the karaoke apparatus .
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a general karaoke apparatus, a background video is displayed on a monitor in parallel with the performance of a karaoke song, and lyrics are displayed on the background video in a superimposed manner. In a conventional karaoke device using an optical disc, the words of the lyrics are burned into the background video, and these characters are generated by a high-quality device during video production and synthesized with the background video. There were no smooth and beautiful characters.
[0003]
On the other hand, in a communication karaoke apparatus that has become widespread in recent years, lyrics data is included in music data as code data, and character pattern data (font data) is stored in the karaoke apparatus body. Then, character pattern data is read based on the chord data during karaoke performance, and is displayed superimposed on a background image reproduced by another device.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the character pattern stored in the communication karaoke apparatus is binary data of a dot pattern, and when this is displayed on a monitor, a step-like jaggedness (jaggy) occurs in dot units on a diagonal line of the character, etc. It was not a beautiful character.
[0005]
An object of the present invention is to provide a karaoke apparatus capable of clearly displaying characters and a character display apparatus used in the karaoke apparatus in a karaoke apparatus that displays lyrics by synthesizing a built-in character pattern with a background image. And
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention of claim 1 is a karaoke apparatus that reads out a character pattern based on lyrics display data included in music data for performing a karaoke performance and displays it overlaid on a background image.
Character pattern storage means for storing the character pattern as a combination of a character body pattern and a contour pattern, a frame memory for expanding a character pattern to be displayed into a dot pattern, and each dot of the character pattern expanded in the frame memory A flag memory for identifying whether the pattern is a character main body pattern or an outline pattern, and the character main body pattern and the contour pattern are developed into dot patterns on the frame memory in a specified color, respectively . Of these, the character body pattern identification information is written to the dot of the flag memory corresponding to the character body pattern, the contour pattern identification information is written to the dot of the flag memory corresponding to the contour pattern, and the frame is identified as the character body pattern by the flag memory. Dot on memory Opaquely displayed against a background image, comprising a display control means for the dot on the frame memory are synthesized with a fixed ratio with the background image to translucently display identified as a contour pattern flag memory It is characterized by that.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a character pattern storage means for storing character pattern data as a combination of a character main body pattern and a contour pattern, a frame memory for expanding a character pattern to be displayed into a dot pattern, and a frame memory. A flag memory for identifying whether each dot of the character pattern is a character body pattern or a contour pattern;
The character body pattern and the contour pattern are developed into dot patterns on the frame memory in the specified colors, respectively, and the character body pattern identification information is written in the dot of the flag memory corresponding to the character body pattern among the dot patterns, Write the contour pattern identification information to the dots in the flag memory corresponding to the contour pattern, display the dots on the frame memory that are identified as the character body pattern in the flag memory in an opaque manner with respect to the background, and display the contour pattern in the flag memory. Display control means for combining the dots on the frame memory identified as being present with the background at a certain ratio and displaying them in a translucent manner.
[0007]
In the present invention, when the lyrics display data is read from the song data during the performance of the karaoke song, the character pattern corresponding to the lyrics display data is read. This character pattern is composed of a character body pattern and a contour pattern. The character body pattern is clearly displayed opaquely (without transmitting the background image). The contour pattern is displayed semi-transparently (with the background image lightly transmitted). Thereby, the outline of a character becomes soft and the jaggedness (jaggy) of the diagonal line by a dot pattern can be made inconspicuous.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A karaoke apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This karaoke apparatus displays a background image of a moving image on a monitor during karaoke performance, and displays lyrics by superimposing on the background image.
[0009]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the karaoke apparatus. The CPU 10 that controls the operation of the entire apparatus includes a ROM 11, a RAM 12, a hard disk storage device (HDD) 13, a communication control unit 14, an infrared signal receiving unit 15, a display panel 16, a panel switch 17, a sound source 18, and ADPCM via a bus. A decoder 19, a character display unit 21, a CD-ROM changer 24, and a display control unit 25 are connected.
[0010]
The ROM 11 stores a startup program, and the HDD 13 stores a system program and application programs. When the power of the karaoke device is turned on, the startup program in the ROM 11 is executed, and the system program is read from the HDD 13. The system program is a program for controlling the basic operation of the apparatus and data transmission / reception with peripheral devices. Application programs include peripheral device control programs and sequence programs. At the time of karaoke performance, a sequence program is executed by the CPU 10 to generate musical sounds and reproduce video based on music data. A work area is set in the RAM 12. In addition to the above program, the HDD 13 stores song data for karaoke performance and font data that is a character pattern of a character group used as lyrics. The music data has a structure as shown in FIG. 3, and the character pattern of the font data is composed of a character body pattern and a contour pattern as shown in FIG. Details of these will be described later.
[0011]
The communication control unit 14 is a controller for communicating with the host station via a telephone line. The music data is downloaded from the host station. The downloaded music data is written in the music data storage area of the HDD 13.
[0012]
The commander 30 includes a command switch such as a music selection switch, a numeric key switch, and the like. When the user operates these switches, the commander 30 transmits an infrared signal modulated with a code corresponding to the operation. The infrared signal receiver 15 receives the infrared signal sent from the commander 30 to restore the data and inputs it to the CPU 10. The CPU 10 selects music data according to this data and executes a karaoke performance.
[0013]
The display panel 16 is provided on the front surface of the karaoke device, and displays the currently playing song code, the number of reserved songs, and the like. The panel switch 16 is provided in the front operation unit of the karaoke apparatus, and includes a song code input switch, a key change switch, and the like.
[0014]
The sound source 18 forms a musical tone signal based on music data input from the CPU 10. The ADPCM decoder 19 forms an audio signal having a specified length and a specified pitch based on the audio data included in the music data. The sound data is obtained by directly converting a sound signal waveform such as a back chorus that is difficult to be generated electronically by the sound source 18 into ADPCM data.
[0015]
The tone signal formed by the sound source 18 and the sound signal reproduced by the ADPCM decoder 19 are input to an amplifier 22 connected to the apparatus main body. A singing microphone 27 is connected to the amplifier 22. The singing voice signal of the singer is input from the microphone 27. The amplifier 22 amplifies the input audio signal or musical sound signal by applying effects such as reverb or echo. The amplified signal is input to the speaker 23 and output as sound.
[0016]
The character display unit 21 is a circuit that generates a video signal for displaying a character pattern of lyrics. In parallel with the performance of the karaoke song, the lyric display data is read from the song data. The CPU 10 reads the character pattern designated by the lyric display data from the font data file and expands it to the designated position. This expansion is performed on a frame memory such as a VRAM. As this frame memory, a part of the RAM 12 may be used, and with the RAM 12, a memory may be built in the character display unit 21 and used. The character display unit 21 converts the developed character pattern into a video signal in synchronization with the video signal of the background video reproduced by the CD-ROM changer 24 and outputs the video signal. The character pattern is composed of a character body pattern and a contour pattern. The CPU 10 uses the same matrix configuration as that of the frame memory for character pattern development to indicate data indicating where the character pattern is expanded and where the character pattern is contoured. Write to the flag memory. In general, the number of pixels (line resolution) of a television monitor is about 400 × 400, and the frame memory and flag memory are both configured in a matrix of this level. The frame memory is composed of 8 to 16 bits per dot, and the flag memory is composed of 2 bits per dot.
[0017]
In the 2 bits corresponding to each dot in the flag memory, the Ys flag value indicating whether or not the dot of the lyric character pattern exists in the dot, and if there is a character pattern dot, the dot is a character. The value of the AT flag indicating whether the dot is a main body dot or a contour dot is stored. In the display control unit 25, the Ys flag functions as a flag for switching whether or not to display the video signal of the character pattern (output to the monitor 26), and the AT flag makes the character pattern translucent and allows the background image to be transmitted lightly. It functions as a flag for switching whether or not.
[0018]
A maximum of six CD-ROMs can be set in the CD-ROM changer 24, and about 100 scenes of background video (BGV) can be reproduced. The CD-ROM changer 24 receives video selection data determined based on the genre data of the song. The CD-ROM changer 24 selects and reproduces one background video from the background video data of about 100 scenes based on this video selection data, and outputs it as video data. The video signal of the character pattern generated by the character display unit 21 and the video signal of the background video reproduced by the CD-ROM 24 are input to the display control unit 25. The display control unit 25 synthesizes these video signals by superimposing and displays them on the monitor 26.
[0019]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of the superimpose circuit 40 included in the display control unit 25. The superimpose circuit 40 has two video signal input terminals. One terminal receives a background video (BGV) video signal output from the CD-ROM changer 24, and the other terminal displays characters. The video signal of the lyric character pattern output from the unit 21 is input. Both video signals are read out in synchronization. The values of the Ys flag and AT flag stored in the flag memory are also converted into continuous time signals (Ys signal, AT signal) synchronized with the video signal and input to the superimpose circuit 40. In the superimpose circuit 40, the Ys signal functions as a signal for instructing whether to display lyrics or a background image. When this signal is “1”, the background image is displayed unconditionally. On the other hand, when this signal is “0”, the character pattern of the lyrics is displayed over the background image. When a lyric character pattern is displayed, if the AT signal is “0”, the character pattern is displayed opaquely while hiding the background image. If the AT signal is “1”, the character pattern makes the background image lightly transparent. Is displayed semi-transparently.
[0020]
That is, the superimpose circuit 40 switches the input video signal of the lyrics and the video signal of the background video and outputs them to the monitor 26, and generates a video signal blended with both video signals. It also has a function to output. As a result, an intermediate color between the outline color and the background image color is displayed at the contour portion of the lyric character pattern, and an image in which the contour is translucent is displayed. Thereby, the outline of a character pattern can be made soft.
[0021]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of music data stored in the HDD 13 of the karaoke apparatus. FIG. 5B is a detailed view of the lyrics display data track.
[0022]
The music data is composed of a header, a performance data track, a guide melody data track, a lyrics display data track, an audio track, and audio data. The header is a part in which bibliographic data of the music data such as the music title, genre data, release date, performance time (length) of the music is written. Each data track is composed of sequence data including event data and duration data indicating a time interval between the event data. The performance data track is a track in which data for forming a musical sound of karaoke performance is stored, and is composed of a plurality of musical tone tracks that generate melody and rhythm sounds. The data of this track is supplied to the sound source 18.
[0023]
The lyrics display data track is a track for storing data for displaying lyrics on the monitor 26. The lyrics are displayed on the lower side of the monitor 26 and rewritten for each phrase. Then, the display color is switched from the first color to the second color in accordance with the timing of singing. As shown in FIG. 5B, the lyric display data includes character string data P of lyrics for one phrase, color change instruction data CC for instructing a color change of each character of the character string data, It consists of duration data ΔT indicating the time interval of event data. In the character string data P, data indicating the character code to be displayed, the display position of each character, the main body of each character, and the display color of the outline are written.
[0024]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing examples of character patterns stored in the font data file of the HDD 13 and display examples thereof. This figure shows the katakana “me” pattern. Each character pattern is composed of a character body pattern shown in FIG. 5A and a contour pattern shown in FIG. Since each dot is displayed as a square, the diagonal lines are stepped in dot units. Further, the outline pattern is slightly larger (1-2 dots in the figure) around the character body pattern. When displaying the lyrics, the color of the character main body pattern and the contour pattern is changed, and the character main body pattern is superimposed on the contour pattern and displayed as shown in FIG. By changing the color of the character body pattern and the outline pattern, it is possible to make the character easier to read regardless of the color of the background image. Then, as described above, the superimpose circuit 40 of this apparatus displays the background image so that the background image is lightly transmitted by making the contour pattern translucent. Thereby, the outline of a character can be made soft, and even if there is a step-like jagged (jaggy) in an oblique line, this can be made inconspicuous.
[0025]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing signals at various parts of the superimpose circuit 40. This figure shows a signal of a portion indicated by an arrow S in FIG. 5A shows the structure of the character pattern, FIG. 5B shows the Ys signal synchronized with the character pattern, FIG. 5C shows the AT signal synchronized with the character pattern, and FIG. D) shows an example of the video signal of the character pattern, FIG. 8E shows an example of a BGV video signal input in a section synchronized with the character pattern, and FIG. Based on the AT signal, the video signal of the character pattern and the video signal of the background video are combined.
[0026]
The dot pattern of the character pattern in this section is in order of outline 1 dot, character body 4 dots, outline 1 dot. Then, a Ys signal of “1” is input to the superimpose circuit 40 in synchronization with the character pattern portion of the video signal (FIG. 4D) as shown in FIG. In addition, an AT signal of “1” is input as shown in FIG. 5C in a section where a contour (contour only) is displayed.
[0027]
The video signal synthesized by these signals ((F) in the figure) is the character pattern of the lyrics in the section where the character body is displayed, that is, the section where the Ys signal is “1” and the AT signal is “0”. Only the video signal is output. Further, only the video signal of the background video is output in the section where Ys is “0”. In the section where both the Ys signal and the AT signal are “1”, the video signal of the character pattern and the video signal of the background video are blended, and the intermediate color between the color of the character pattern (including luminance) and the color of the background video is displayed. Such a video signal is synthesized. In the case of a video composite signal, a luminance signal and a chroma signal may be mixed so as to take an intermediate value between the video signal of the character pattern and the video signal of the BGV signal to generate a composite signal. This generation processing may be performed by an analog circuit, or the video signal may be converted once into digital data, synthesized by digital processing, and then converted again into an analog signal.
[0028]
In this way, it is possible to display lyric characters in which only the character body portion is opaque and the contour portion is translucent.
[0029]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation when the CPU 10 writes Ys and AT values in the flag memory of the character display unit 21. This operation is executed in parallel when the CPU 10 generates a character pattern based on the character string data of the lyrics display data and writes this character pattern in the frame memory. Then, an analog Ys signal and an AT signal are generated based on the data written in the flag memory.
[0030]
Here, the following processing is performed for each dot of the frame. It is determined whether there is a character body pattern in the currently processed dot (s1). Since the character body pattern is displayed opaquely, the Ys flag corresponding to this dot is set to “1” (s5), and the AT flag is set to “0” (s6). If there is a contour pattern, the contour is displayed translucently, so the Ys flag is set to “1” (s7) and the AT flag is also set to “1” (s8). If there is neither a character body pattern nor an outline pattern, the Ys flag is set to “0” to display only the background image (s9). Since the AT signal is ignored if the Ys signal is “0” in the superimpose circuit 40, it is not necessary to set the AT flag in s9.
[0031]
The superimpose circuit inputs a video composite signal. However, an RGB component signal may be input.
[0033]
In the superimposing circuit 40 of the above-described embodiment, the contour pattern video signal and the BGV video signal are mixed on a one-to-one basis. However, the mixing ratio is not limited to this .
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
According to the invention, as described above, the outline of a character pattern of the displayed lyrics, such as during a karaoke performance by the translucent, it is possible to soften the contours of characters, to inconspicuous jagged such diagonal lines Can display characters neatly.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a karaoke apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a superimpose circuit of the karaoke apparatus. FIG. 3 is a configuration of music data used in the karaoke apparatus. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing character pattern data used in the karaoke apparatus and a display example thereof. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing examples of waveforms of various signals inputted to and outputted from the superimpose circuit. Flowchart showing the operation of the CPU of the karaoke machine [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... CPU, 13 ... HDD, 21 ... Character display part, 25 ... Display control part,
26 ... monitor, 40 ... superimpose circuit Ys ... lyric / background switching signal, AT ... opaque / translucent switching signal

Claims (2)

In a karaoke device that reads out a character pattern based on lyrics display data included in music data for performing a karaoke performance and displays it overlaid on a background image,
Character pattern storage means for storing the character pattern as a combination of a character body pattern and a contour pattern;
A frame memory for expanding a character pattern to be displayed into a dot pattern;
A flag memory for identifying whether each dot of the character pattern developed in the frame memory is a character body pattern or a contour pattern;
The character body pattern and the contour pattern are developed into dot patterns on the frame memory in the specified colors, respectively, and the character body pattern identification information is written in the dot of the flag memory corresponding to the character body pattern among the dot patterns, Write the contour pattern identification information to the dot in the flag memory corresponding to the contour pattern,
The dots on the frame memory identified as the character body pattern in the flag memory are displayed opaquely with respect to the background image, and the dots on the frame memory identified as the contour pattern in the flag memory are the same as the background image . Display control means for combining and displaying in a semi-transparent ratio ,
A karaoke apparatus comprising: Character pattern storage means for storing character pattern data in a combination of a character body pattern and a contour pattern;
A frame memory for expanding a character pattern to be displayed into a dot pattern;
A flag memory for identifying whether each dot of the character pattern developed in the frame memory is a character body pattern or a contour pattern;
The character body pattern and the contour pattern are developed into dot patterns on the frame memory in the specified colors, respectively, and the character body pattern identification information is written in the dot of the flag memory corresponding to the character body pattern among the dot patterns, Write the contour pattern identification information to the dot in the flag memory corresponding to the contour pattern,
The dots on the frame memory identified as the character body pattern in the flag memory are displayed opaquely with respect to the background, and the dots on the frame memory identified as the contour pattern in the flag memory are displayed at a certain ratio with the background. Display control means for combining and displaying in a translucent manner;
A character display device comprising:

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