JP4461834B2 - VIDEO DISPLAY METHOD, VIDEO DISPLAY METHOD PROGRAM, RECORDING MEDIUM CONTAINING VIDEO DISPLAY METHOD PROGRAM, AND VIDEO DISPLAY DEVICE - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a video display method, a program for the video display method, a recording medium on which the program for the video display method is recorded, and a video display device, and can be applied to, for example, viewing a program in which a distant view scene or a foreground scene is switched. it can. The present invention distributes video signals to a plurality of display devices arranged in the depth direction based on the distance to the subject, and displays a still image during a period in which no video signal is allocated, thereby making it possible to Thus, it is possible to improve the realism of program viewing.

  Conventionally, various methods for improving the sense of reality have been proposed for processing video signals. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-81746, the distance to a subject is detected from a video, and the detection result Based on the above, a method of processing a video signal so as to correspond to a viewpoint movement of a user has been proposed.

  By the way, in real life, the focus of the eyes changes with the movement of the viewpoint, so that it is possible to see a focused landscape even when viewing a distant view or a near view. In addition, it is possible to perceive a sense of perspective by such a change in the focus of the eyes and further by stereoscopic viewing using both eyes.

  On the other hand, some programs provided by television broadcasting and the like are configured by combining distant scenes, foreground scenes, and the like. Provided to the user by a display screen arranged at a distance of.

As a result, even if the program is provided by television broadcasting or the like, if the user can perceive a sense of perspective, such as when viewing a distant view or a close view in real life, the presence of the program can be further improved. It is thought that you can.
JP-A-9-81746

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and a video display method, a program for the video display method, a video display method, and a video display method capable of improving the realistic sensation of a program provided by television broadcasting, etc. It is an object of the present invention to propose a recording medium and a video display device in which a display method program is recorded.

  In order to solve this problem, in the invention of claim 1, a distance detection step of detecting a distance to a subject in an image by applying to an image display method of displaying an image sequence based on a video signal on a plurality of display means; Based on the distance detected in the distance detection step, a classification step for classifying the video signal into a plurality of display means, and based on the classification by the classification step, the video is displayed on one of the plurality of display means. Allocating signals, displaying an image sequence of video signals on one display means, and displaying the image of the video signal last assigned to the display means as a still image on another display means among the plurality of display means. An image display step.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the predetermined processing procedure is applied to a program for a video display method for displaying an image sequence based on a video signal on a plurality of display means by causing the arithmetic processing means to execute a predetermined processing procedure. The procedure includes a distance detection step for detecting the distance to the subject in the image, a classification step for classifying the video signal into a plurality of display means based on the distance detected in the distance detection step, and a classification step. Based on the classification, the video signal is assigned to one display means among the plurality of display means, and the image sequence based on the video signal is displayed on one display means, and the other display means among the plurality of display means, A video display step of displaying the image of the video signal last assigned to the display means as a still image.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the present invention is applied to a recording medium on which a program of a video display method for displaying an image sequence based on a video signal on a plurality of display means by causing an arithmetic processing means to execute a predetermined processing procedure. A predetermined processing procedure includes a distance detection step for detecting a distance to the subject in the image, and a classification step for classifying the video signal into a plurality of display means based on the distance detected in the distance detection step; Based on the classification in the classification step, a video signal is assigned to one display means among the plurality of display means, and an image sequence based on the video signal is displayed on one display means, and another of the plurality of display means is displayed. The display means includes a video display step of displaying the image of the video signal last assigned to the display means as a still image.

  In the invention of claim 7, the present invention is applied to a video display device that displays an image sequence based on video signals on a plurality of display means, and is detected by a distance detection means for detecting the distance to the subject in the image, and the distance detection means. Classifying means for classifying the video signal into a plurality of display means based on the determined distance, and assigning the video signal to one display means among the plurality of display means based on the classification by the classification means. An image sequence based on the video signal is displayed, and another display unit of the plurality of display units is provided with a video display unit that displays the image of the video signal last assigned to the display unit as a still image. .

  In the invention according to claim 8, a predetermined processing procedure is applied to the arithmetic processing means provided corresponding to each of the plurality of display means, which is applied to a video display system for displaying the image sequence based on the video signal on the plurality of display means. By applying to the program of the video display method for displaying the image sequence based on the video signal on the display means in charge, the predetermined processing procedure is a distance detection step of detecting the distance to the subject in the image, Based on the distance detected in the distance detection step, a classification step for classifying the video signal into a plurality of display means, an image sequence based on the video signal, a still image based on the video signal, based on the classification based on the classification step And a video display step for displaying on the display means in charge.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a predetermined processing procedure is applied to an arithmetic processing means provided corresponding to each of the plurality of display means, applied to a video display system for displaying an image sequence based on a video signal on the plurality of display means. Is applied to a recording medium in which a program of a video display method for displaying an image sequence based on a video signal is displayed on a display means in charge, and a predetermined processing procedure detects a distance to a subject in an image. A detection step; a classification step for classifying the video signal into a plurality of display means based on the distance detected in the distance detection step; an image sequence based on the video signal based on the classification based on the classification step; A video display step of switching between still images based on signals and displaying them on the display means in charge.

  In the invention of claim 10, the present invention is applied to a video display system that displays an image sequence based on video signals on a plurality of display means, and is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of display means. Applied to a video display device that displays an image sequence, a distance detection unit that detects a distance to a subject in an image, and a classification that classifies video signals into a plurality of display units based on the distance detected by the distance detection unit And a video display means for switching the image sequence based on the video signal and the still image based on the video signal to display on the display means in charge based on the classification by the classification means.

  According to the configuration of the first aspect, the distance detection step of detecting the distance to the subject in the image and the distance detection step are applied to the video display method of displaying the image sequence based on the video signal on a plurality of display means. A classification step of classifying the video signal into a plurality of display means based on the determined distance, and a video signal assigned to one display means among the plurality of display means based on the classification by the classification step An image sequence based on the video signal is displayed on the means, and a display step of displaying a still image based on the video signal last assigned to the display means on the other display means among the plurality of display means is provided. In this case, the plurality of display means are arranged in the depth direction, and each display device is arranged on the plurality of display devices arranged in the depth direction according to the distance to the subject in each scene. It is possible to display a moving image, a still image. In other words, the near-field scene can be displayed by the display means arranged in the foreground, and the far-field scene can be displayed by the display means arranged on the back side. In addition, by displaying each scene as a still image, it is possible to always display an image on the plurality of display means, thereby giving each scene a sense of perspective and improving the sensation of viewing the program as compared with the past. Can do.

  Thereby, according to the structure of Claim 5, Claim 6, Claim 7, the program of the image | video display method and image | video which can improve a realistic feeling compared with the former about the program provided by television broadcasting etc. It is possible to provide a recording medium and a video display device in which a display method program is recorded.

  According to the configuration of claim 8, the present invention is applied to a video display system that displays an image sequence based on a video signal on a plurality of display means, and a predetermined processing procedure is applied to arithmetic processing means provided corresponding to each of the plurality of display means. By applying to a program of a video display method for displaying an image sequence based on a video signal on a display means in charge, a predetermined processing procedure detects a distance to a subject in the image, and a distance detection step Based on the distance detected in the detection step, a classification step for classifying the video signal into a plurality of display means, and an image sequence based on the video signal and a still image based on the video signal based on the classification based on the classification step. Video display step for switching and displaying on the display means in charge, the plurality of display means are arranged in the depth direction so that each scene is displayed. Display image sequence by the video signal on the display device in charge according to the distance to definitive subject, in a period that does not display the image sequence by the video signal, it is possible to display a still image. Thus, in this video display system, images are always displayed on the plurality of display means by displaying each scene as a still image, and a plurality of images arranged in the depth direction in this manner according to the distance to the subject in each scene. The moving image and still image of each scene can be displayed on the display device. In other words, the near-field scene can be displayed by the display means arranged in the foreground, and the far-field scene can be displayed by the display means arranged on the back side. As a result, each scene can be given a sense of perspective, and the realistic sensation of program viewing can be improved as compared with the prior art.

  Thereby, according to the structure of Claim 9, Claim 10, about the program provided by television broadcasting etc., the recording medium which recorded the program of the video display method which can improve a realistic feeling compared with the past, A video display device can be provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve a sense of reality for a program provided by television broadcasting or the like as compared with a conventional program.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

(1) Configuration of Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a program viewing system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. This program viewing system 1 connects a plurality of display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,... So that various data necessary for processing can be transmitted and received between them, and a plurality of video signals S1 output from the video source 3 are connected. It is formed by inputting in common to the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,. Here, the video source 3 includes, for example, a television tuner, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) player, a video tape recorder, and the like. Accordingly, in the program viewing system 1, various video contents provided by the video source 3 are provided to the user via the plurality of display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the program viewing system 1 has a plurality of display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,... In the depth direction from the viewer so that the viewer can see the display screens. Display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,... Are sequentially arranged. The display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,... Selectively display the video signal S1 according to the arrangement in the depth direction and the distance to the subject, and display the video signal S1 in this way. In the absence period, the video by the video signal S1 displayed immediately before is displayed as a still image. As a result, in the program viewing system 1, the video signal S1 is distributed to the plurality of display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,... It is designed to display.

  Thus, in this case, when the video signal S1 is distributed to the plurality of display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,... And displayed as moving images and still images, as shown in FIG. When 2B, 2C,... Are arranged in the horizontal direction, the eyes of the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, in the case where these display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,... The eyes are focused only on the display screen, and the display screens by other display devices are not focused.

  As a result, in this embodiment, when viewing the display screen of each of the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,..., Due to perspective due to changes in the focus of the eyes, and also due to perspective due to stereoscopic viewing using both eyes. In order to improve the realistic sensation of program viewing.

  Therefore, each of the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,... Drives the display units 4A, 4B, 4C,... By a liquid crystal display device or the like and the display units 4A, 4B, 4C,. The image classification units 5A, 5B, 5C,... Are sequentially formed based on the arrangement positions in the depth direction by the image classification units 5A, 5B, 5C,. The display units 4A, 4B, 4C,... Are driven, and a video signal relating to a still image is generated by the video signal S1 input in the past to drive the display units 4A, 4B, 4C,. Since these display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,... Are configured almost identically, the following mainly describes the configuration of the display device 2A in detail, and redundant description is omitted.

  Here, in the display device 2 </ b> A, the image classification unit 5 </ b> A executes a processing program recorded in a recording device (not shown) by the arithmetic processing unit 6, thereby obtaining a peripheral configuration related to the arithmetic processing unit 6 and the arithmetic processing unit 6. Thus, each functional block is configured. The processing program relating to this series of processing is provided by being preinstalled in the display devices 2A, 2B, and 2C. However, instead of provision by such preinstallation, download is performed via a network such as the Internet. You may make it provide, and you may make it provide via various recording media. As such a recording medium, various recording media such as an optical disk such as a CD-ROM and a DVD, a magnetic disk such as a floppy disk, a removable hard disk device integrated with a drive mechanism, and a memory card are widely applied. be able to.

  That is, in these functional blocks, the ID acquisition unit 7 performs the data communication with the other display devices 2B, 2C,..., The ID number assigned to the other display devices 2B, 2C,. An ID number assigned to is acquired. Here, the ID number is a number indicating the arrangement position of the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,..., Or a position (not shown) that is set by the user to the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,. It is assigned to each display device 2A, 2B, 2C,... By automatic setting based on the detection result of the detection means.

  The feature amount calculation unit 8 detects and outputs the feature amount, which is a reference for distributing the video signal S1 to the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,... From the sequentially input video signal S1, and the classification unit 9 outputs the ID. Based on the ID number detected by the acquisition unit 7 and the feature amount detected by the feature amount calculation unit 8, the video signal S1 is classified into 2A, 2B, 2C,... Based on this classification, the image classification unit 5A classifies the video related to the video signal S1 into the respective systems of the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,... According to the distance to the subject in the sequentially input video signal S1. .

  The output image selection unit 10 stores the sequentially input video signal SI in the memory 11 during the period in which the sequentially input video signal S1 is classified into its own display device 2A according to the classification result of the classification unit 9. The video signals S1 recorded in the memory 11 are sequentially output to the display unit 4A. Further, the recording of the video signal S1 to the memory 11 is stopped during the period in which the sequentially input video signal S1 is classified into the other display devices 2B, 2C,. A still image video signal is generated from the image of the video signal S1 and output to the display unit 4A.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the arithmetic processing unit 6 in the image classification unit 5A. The arithmetic processing unit 6 starts this processing procedure after a certain time has elapsed, and moves from step SP1 to step SP2. Here, the arithmetic processing unit 6 determines whether or not the power is turned on by the user, and when a negative result is obtained, the process proceeds from step SP2 to step SP3 and ends the processing procedure. On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP2, the process proceeds from step SP2 to step SP4, where the ID number assigned to the own apparatus is acquired. In the following step SP5, ID numbers assigned to the other display devices 2B, 2C,... Are acquired by data communication with the other display devices 2B, 2C,. The total number of units, which is the total number of display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,... Constituting the program viewing system 1, is detected. Thus, the arithmetic processing unit 6 constitutes the functional block of the ID acquisition unit 7 described above.

  That is, as shown in more detail in FIG. 6, the ID acquisition unit 7 includes an ID acquisition unit 7 </ b> A that acquires the ID number of its own device recorded in the memory, for example. The input unit 7B is configured to input the acquired ID number of the own device and the ID number acquired from another device. As shown in FIG. 7, the classification unit 9 uses the ID number acquired by the ID acquisition unit 7 to detect the total number of units, as well as the position information of each device, which is a classification reference described later. An acquisition unit 9A is configured.

  The arithmetic processing unit 6 then proceeds to step SP7, acquires an image constituting the video signal S1 by acquiring the video signal S1 for one frame, and executes a feature amount calculation process in the subsequent step SP8. The feature amount is detected from this image.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 8, when starting the feature amount calculation process, the arithmetic processing unit 6 proceeds from step SP11 to step SP12, and sequentially detects the motion vector of this image using a macroblock which is a motion vector detection unit. Here, when the subject is moving with respect to the background, among the motion vectors detected in this way, the motion vector of the macroblock in which the subject is photographed differs from the other macroblocks. Is detected.

  That is, when a certain area is photographed and there is no motion in this area, a motion vector having a value of 0 is detected in all the macroblocks in the image. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, when the television camera is panning, motion vectors corresponding to the panning direction and speed are detected in the same manner in all macroblocks. . As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, when the television camera is tilted, motion vectors corresponding to the direction and speed of the tilt are detected in the same manner in all macroblocks.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, for example, when a certain area is photographed and a person who is the subject moves in the horizontal direction, the motion vector has a value of 0 in the macroblock corresponding to the background. On the other hand, in a macroblock corresponding to a person, a motion vector corresponding to the person's movement is detected. On the other hand, when the camera is chasing such a moving person, or when the background of a stationary person is moving, a constant value is obtained in the macroblock corresponding to the background, as shown in FIG. In contrast, a motion vector having a value of 0 is detected in a macroblock corresponding to a person. Accordingly, it is possible to determine that a macro block in which motion vectors having different values with respect to such a background are detected is a macro block to which a subject is assigned.

  As a result, when detecting the motion vector, the arithmetic processing unit 6 proceeds from step SP12 to step SP13, and determines whether or not there is even one macroblock whose motion vector is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. It is determined whether or not there is movement in the image. If a positive result is obtained in step SP13, the process proceeds to step SP14, where it is determined whether or not the background is moving by determining the motion vector of the macroblock considered to be the background based on a predetermined threshold value. In selecting a macroblock that is considered as a background here, when selecting a macroblock at a specific portion of an image such as a corner portion, the macroblock assigned to a portion showing a large area in the image is selected. In various cases, various selection methods can be widely applied.

  If a positive result is obtained here, the arithmetic processing unit 6 moves from step SP14 to step SP15, and detects a macroblock related to a motion vector in which a different value is detected with respect to the motion vector of the background macroblock, After the area of the object that is the subject is detected by the aggregation of the macroblocks, the process proceeds to step SP16 to return to the original processing procedure. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP14, the process proceeds from step SP14 to step SP17. In this case, after detecting the area of the object as the subject by counting the macroblocks in which the motion is detected, the step is performed. The process proceeds to SP16 and returns to the original processing procedure.

  Thus, when there is a difference in motion vectors detected in one image, the arithmetic processing unit 6 detects the subject by the motion vector, and further detects the size of the subject. However, the size of the subject detected in this way is detected by a larger area as the subject is photographed closer. Thus, in this embodiment, in this case, the distance to the subject is detected based on the motion vector.

  On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP13, the arithmetic processing unit 6 proceeds from step SP13 to step SP18. Here, the arithmetic processing unit 6 detects a skin color region from the image to be processed, and determines whether or not a human face exists by recognizing the shape of the skin color region. Further, it is determined whether or not the area of the face portion is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

  Thereby, the arithmetic processing unit 6 determines whether or not only one person is photographed with a certain size, specifically whether or not a so-called bust shot as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, it is determined whether or not the image is shot with a further zoom-up than the bust shot.

  If a positive result is obtained here, the arithmetic processing unit 6 proceeds from step SP18 to step SP16 and ends this processing procedure. However, in such a bust shot and zoomed-in image, it can be determined that the image is taken close to the subject to some extent. As a result, when the distance to the subject cannot be detected by the motion vector, the arithmetic processing unit 6 detects a state in which the subject approaches the subject by a face size or more than a certain value.

  On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP18, the arithmetic processing unit 6 proceeds from step SP18 to step SP19. Here, the arithmetic processing unit 6 sets a plurality of regions for equally dividing the image to be processed, and detects a color distribution. The arithmetic processing unit 6 performs the color distribution detection by calculating the color histogram of each region. Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the image to be processed is divided into three equal parts in the horizontal direction to set three areas ARL, ARC, and ARR, and a color histogram is calculated for each of these three areas ARL, ARC, and ARR. .

  Here, as shown in FIG. 15, when shooting a distant view such as a landscape, the color distributions in the three regions ARL, ARC, and ARR set in this way are almost equal. The histogram has almost the same shape.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 16, when shooting a specific subject, the subject occupies ARL, ARC, and ARR due to different colors and the like compared to the background. Depending on the size of the subject, the color histograms differ. That is, in this case, when the subject is photographed from a distance and the subject is small, for example, when the subject is photographed only in the central area ARC, only the color histogram of the central area ARC is affected by the subject. . On the other hand, when the subject is photographed large and the subject image protrudes from the left and right areas ARL and ARR, the color histograms of the left and right areas ARL and ARR are also affected by the subject.

  Accordingly, it can be determined that the closer the subject is photographed, the greater the degree of difference in the color histograms in these three regions ARL, ARC, and ARR. For this reason, when the arithmetic processing unit 6 obtains the color histogram of each of the areas ARL, ARC, and ARR in this way, the process proceeds from step SP19 to step SP20, where, for example, each level in the color histogram relating to the central area ARC is obtained. By calculating the sum of absolute differences between the frequencies and the frequencies of the corresponding levels of the histograms of the colors of the left and right regions ARL and ARR, the degree of similarity is shown between the histograms of the colors of these regions ARL, ARC and ARR. After calculating the correlation coefficient, the process proceeds to step SP16 to return to the original processing procedure. It should be noted that such correlation coefficient detection is not only performed when the color histograms of the left and right regions ARL and ARR are processed based on the central region ARC as described above, but for example, the color histograms differ most. For example, when processing a color histogram of another region with reference to the region as described above, various processing criteria can be set. Various methods can be applied to the method of calculating the correlation coefficient indicating the degree of similarity between the color histograms.

  Thus, in this embodiment, when the distance to the subject cannot be detected by the motion vector and the face size, the distance to the subject is detected by the color distribution. Thus, in the processing based on the motion vector, the feature amount due to the change in the image in the time axis direction is detected and the distance to the subject is detected, whereas in the processing based on the face size and color distribution, The distance to the subject is detected from the color feature amount in one image. As a result, the arithmetic processing unit 6 constitutes a feature amount calculation unit 8 by this feature amount calculation processing.

  When the feature amount is calculated by the feature amount calculation processing in this way, the arithmetic processing unit 6 moves from step SP8 to step SP31 (FIG. 5), and the video signal S1 currently input based on the feature amount thus detected. Are classified into the system of the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,. Here, as shown in FIG. 18, the arithmetic processing unit 6 holds a conversion table defining the feature amount calculated by the feature amount calculation processing and the distance to the subject in a memory (not shown), and is calculated by the feature amount calculation processing. The distance to the subject is specifically detected by accessing the conversion table according to the feature amount.

  That is, in this embodiment, a first conversion table (FIG. 18A) defining the relationship between the object area and the distance is provided corresponding to the feature quantity depending on the size of the subject detected by the motion vector. When the area of the subject is detected from the motion vector in the feature amount calculation process, the arithmetic processing unit 6 accesses this conversion table using this area. In this first conversion table, the area of the subject is sequentially divided in steps, and the distance increases as the area of the subject increases. (Depth) is defined to be small.

  The conversion table is provided with a second conversion table (FIG. 18B) that defines the distance to the subject when it is determined that the image is a bust shot or a close-up image. In the calculation process, when it is determined that the image is a bust shot or a close-up image, the second conversion table is accessed to detect the distance to the subject.

  Similarly to the first conversion table, the conversion table is provided with a third conversion table (FIG. 18C) that defines the relationship between the value of the correlation coefficient based on the color histogram and the distance. When the correlation coefficient is calculated in the feature amount calculation process, the unit 6 detects the distance to the subject by using the third conversion table.

The arithmetic processing unit 6 detects the distance in this manner, the display device 2A detected in step SP5, 2B, 2C, the position of its own device 2A in the total number of ..., this distance detection result, to the object As the distance is shorter, the video signal S1 is classified into the system of the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,. That is, the arithmetic processing unit 6 divides the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,... From the smallest distance detected in the conversion table to the largest distance by the total number of display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,. Calculate the distance class to be allocated. Further, the distance detected by accessing the conversion table is determined for this distance category, and by this, it is determined to which display device system the video signal S1 is classified. As a result, when the distance to the subject is detected based on the distance corresponding to the bust shot or the close-up image, for example, the arithmetic processing unit 6 is the video signal currently input to the system of the display device 2A arranged closest to the viewer side. Classify S1. As a result, the arithmetic processing unit 6 constitutes a functional block of the classification unit 9.

  That is, as the functional block of the feature quantity calculation unit 8 is shown in more detail in FIG. 17, the feature quantity calculation unit 8 corresponds to the processing of step SP12 to step SP17 shown in FIG. A vector calculation unit 8A, a motion determination unit 8B that determines the presence or absence of motion based on this motion vector, and a background motion determination unit that determines whether or not this motion is related to the background when it is determined by this motion determination unit 8B 8C, a motionless region extracting unit 8D that extracts a region without motion when the motion is related to the background, a motion region extracting unit 8E that extracts a motion region when the motion is not related to the background, and no motion An area extraction unit 8D and an object area calculation unit 8F for calculating the area of the region extracted by the motion region extraction unit 8E are provided. Similarly, corresponding to the processing of step SP18 to step SP20, when the motion determination unit 8B determines that there is no movement, the bust shot, the bust shot for determining the close-up, the close-up determination unit 8G, the bust shot, When it is determined that the image is not close-up, an image dividing unit 8H that divides the image, a color histogram calculating unit 8I that calculates a color histogram for each area divided by the image dividing unit 8H, and a color histogram obtained by the color histogram calculating unit 8I A correlation coefficient calculation unit 8J is used to obtain a correlation coefficient by using it.

  The arithmetic processing unit 6 subsequently moves to step SP32, determines whether or not the classification in step SP31 is a classification to its own device, and when a positive result is obtained here, moves to step SP33 from step SP32 and obtains in step SP7. The recorded image is recorded in the memory 11, and in the subsequent step SP34, the image recorded in the memory 11 in this way is output to the interface to the display unit 4A, and then the process returns to step SP2. As a result, the arithmetic processing unit 6 of the display device 2A arranged on the viewer side displays the moving image based on the video signal S1 while sharing the video with the smallest distance to the subject, such as a bust shot and a close-up image. This is displayed on the part 4A.

  On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP32, the arithmetic processing unit 6 moves to step SP34, outputs the image recorded in the memory 11 to the interface to the display unit 4A, and then returns to step SP2. As a result, in the arithmetic processing unit 6 of the display device 2A arranged closest to the viewer side, when the video signal S1 is distributed to the other display devices 2B, 2C,... The last scene distributed to the display device 2A is displayed on the display unit 4A as a still image.

  Thus, as shown in more detail in FIG. 7 the functional block of the classification unit 9, the classification unit 9 holds the table described above with reference to FIG. 15 in addition to the information acquisition unit 9A related to the ID number processing described above. A memory 9B, a reading unit 9C that reads a record in the table memory 9A from the processing result of the feature amount calculation unit 8, and a classification determination unit 9D that determines the classification of the video signal S1 based on the information read by the reading unit 9C It is made to be composed.

(2) Operation of Embodiment In the above configuration, in this program viewing system 1 (FIGS. 1 and 2), display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,. The video signal S1 output from the video source 3 is input. This video signal S1 is obtained from a television camera with respect to the subject of the image constituting the video signal S1 by the image classification units 5A, 5B, 5C,... Provided in the respective display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,. Is detected, and is classified into the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,. In addition, in the display device in which the video signal S1 is classified by this classification, a moving image based on the video signal S1 is displayed, whereas in the display device in which the video signal S1 is not classified at that time, the past The newest video signal S1 classified as follows is displayed as a still image.

  Thereby, in this program viewing system 1, the farther the distance to the subject is, the more the video signal S1 is displayed on the display device on the back side, and the viewer can change the focus of the eyes when viewing each display screen, Furthermore, it is possible to perceive a sense of perspective while viewing the program through stereoscopic viewing with both eyes (FIGS. 3 and 4), and to that extent, the realistic sensation of viewing the program can be improved as compared with the related art.

  In this way, when classifying the video signal S1 by distance, a motion vector is detected in the video signal S1, and the size of the subject is detected by a motion vector having a value different from the background (FIGS. 5 to 12). Thus, the feature amount due to the change of the image in the time axis direction is detected. If the feature quantity cannot be detected by the motion vector as described above, the face portion is detected by the shape of the skin color portion, and the area of the face portion indicates a scene where the distance to the subject is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. Color feature amounts are detected (FIGS. 13 to 15). When the area of such a face portion is smaller than a predetermined value, a plurality of regions are set in the image based on the video signal S1, color distribution between these regions is detected, and the degree of difference in the color distribution is indicated. A color feature amount based on the correlation coefficient is detected (FIGS. 15 to 16).

  In the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,..., These feature amounts are input from the feature amount calculation unit 8 to the classification unit 9, where these feature amounts are converted into distances to the subject by the conversion table (see FIG. 18) Thereby, the distance to the subject in the video signal S1 is detected. In each of the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,..., According to the distance detection result, an image with a smaller distance to the subject is distributed to the display devices 2A, 2B, 2C,. The video signal S1 is classified into each display device 2A, 2B, 2C,.

  As a result, the program viewing system 1 detects the distance to the subject by combining a plurality of types of distance detection methods, and appropriately displays each scene even in a program with various types of scenes. 2A, 2B, 2C,... Can be classified.

(3) Effects of the embodiment According to the above configuration, the video signal is distributed to a plurality of display devices arranged in the depth direction based on the distance to the subject, and is stationary during a period in which the video signal is not allocated. By displaying the image, it is possible to improve the realistic sensation of viewing the program as compared with the conventional art.

  Further, by using a motion vector to detect a subject based on an image change in the time axis direction and detecting a distance based on the size of the subject, the distance can be reliably detected for a moving image.

  Further, by detecting the distance based on the size of the face area in the image, the distance can be reliably detected based on the size of the person even when there is no movement.

  Further, by detecting the distance from the color histograms in a plurality of areas set in the image, the distance can be reliably detected even when there is no movement and even a person is not shown.

  In the above-described embodiment, each device has been described as a functional block corresponding to the processing procedure of the processing program. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the ID acquisition unit 7 is divided into functional blocks of the classification unit 9. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the division by the functional block according to the above-described embodiment.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case of assigning one pattern to the table related to the bust shot has been described. However, various table settings can be made as necessary.

  In the above-described embodiments, the case where the image classification unit is provided integrally with the display device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the image classification device may be provided separately from the display device. As described above, when the image classification unit is provided separately from the display device, the image classification unit corresponding to each display device may be integrated.

  The present invention can be applied to, for example, viewing a program in which a distant scene or a near scene is switched.

It is a block diagram which shows the program viewing-and-listening system which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a basic diagram with which it uses for description of arrangement | positioning of the display apparatus in the program viewing system of FIG. It is a basic diagram with which it uses for description of the appearance at the time of arranging two display apparatuses side by side. It is a basic diagram with which it uses for description of the appearance at the time of arranging two display apparatuses side by side in the depth direction. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the arithmetic processing part in the image classification part in the program viewing-and-listening system of FIG. It is a functional block diagram which shows the ID acquisition part of FIG. 1 in detail. It is a functional block diagram which shows the feature-value calculation part of FIG. 1 in detail. It is a flowchart which shows the feature-value calculation process in the process sequence of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows a motion vector in case the television camera is panning. It is a schematic diagram which shows a motion vector in case the television camera is tilting. It is a schematic diagram which shows a motion vector when a to-be-photographed object is moving with respect to the stationary background. It is a schematic diagram which shows a motion vector in case the television camera is chasing the moving subject. It is a top view which shows a bust shot. It is a top view which shows a close-up screen. It is a top view which shows the image by a distant view. It is a top view with which it uses for description of distance detection by color distribution. It is a functional block diagram which shows the classification | category part of FIG. 1 in detail. It is a chart which shows a conversion table.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Program viewing system, 2A, 2B, 2C ... Display apparatus, 3 ... Video source, 4A, 4B, 4C ... Display part, 5A, 5B, 5C ... Image classification part, 6 ... Arithmetic processing part , 7... ID acquisition unit, 8... Feature amount calculation unit, 9... Classification unit, 10.

Claims (10)

A video display method for displaying an image sequence based on a video signal on a plurality of display means,
A distance detecting step of detecting a distance to the subject in the image;
A step of classifying the video signal into the plurality of display means based on the distance detected in the step of detecting the distance;
Based on the classification in the classification step, the video signal is assigned to one display means among the plurality of display means, the image sequence based on the video signal is displayed on the one display means, and the plurality of displays A video display method comprising: displaying the image based on the video signal last assigned to the display means as a still image on the other display means of the means. The distance detecting step includes:
The video display method according to claim 1, wherein a subject in the image is detected based on a change in the image in a time axis direction, and the distance is detected based on a size of the subject in the image. The distance detecting step includes:
The video display method according to claim 1, wherein the distance is detected based on a size of a face area in the image. The distance detecting step includes:
The video display method according to claim 1, wherein the distance is detected based on a color distribution in the image. A program for displaying an image sequence based on a video signal on a plurality of display means by causing an arithmetic processing means to execute a predetermined processing procedure,
The predetermined processing procedure is:
A distance detecting step of detecting a distance to the subject in the image;
A step of classifying the video signal into the plurality of display means based on the distance detected in the step of detecting the distance;
Based on the classification in the classification step, the video signal is assigned to one display means among the plurality of display means, the image sequence based on the video signal is displayed on the one display means, and the plurality of displays A program for causing the arithmetic processing means to execute a video display step of displaying, as a still image, an image based on the video signal last assigned to the display means . A recording medium recording a program for displaying an image sequence based on a video signal on a plurality of display means by causing an arithmetic processing means to execute a predetermined processing procedure,
The predetermined processing procedure is:
A distance detecting step of detecting a distance to the subject in the image;
A step of classifying the video signal into the plurality of display means based on the distance detected in the step of detecting the distance;
Based on the classification in the classification step, the video signal is assigned to one display means among the plurality of display means, the image sequence based on the video signal is displayed on the one display means, and the plurality of displays A program for causing the arithmetic processing means to execute a video display step of displaying an image based on the video signal last assigned to the display means as a still image on the other display means. Recording medium. A video display device for displaying an image sequence based on a video signal on a plurality of display means,
Distance detecting means for detecting the distance to the subject in the image;
Classification means for classifying the video signal into the plurality of display means based on the distance detected by the distance detection means;
Based on the classification by the classification means, the video signal is assigned to one display means of the plurality of display means, and the image sequence based on the video signal is displayed on the one display means, and the plurality of display means A video display device, comprising: the other display unit of the first display unit, and a video display unit that displays an image based on the video signal last assigned to the display unit as a still image. The present invention is applied to a video display system that displays an image sequence based on a video signal on a plurality of display means, and causes a calculation processing means provided corresponding to each of the plurality of display means to execute a predetermined processing procedure. A program for displaying an image sequence based on the video signal on the display means,
The predetermined processing procedure is:
A distance detecting step of detecting a distance to the subject in the image;
A step of classifying the video signal into the plurality of display means based on the distance detected in the step of detecting the distance;
Based on the classification in the classification step, the arithmetic processing means executes the video display step of switching the image sequence based on the video signal and the still image based on the video signal to display on the display means in charge. A featured program. The present invention is applied to a video display system that displays an image sequence based on a video signal on a plurality of display means, and causes a calculation processing means provided corresponding to each of the plurality of display means to execute a predetermined processing procedure. A recording medium on which a program for displaying an image sequence based on the video signal is recorded on the display means,
The predetermined processing procedure is:
A distance detecting step of detecting a distance to the subject in the image;
A step of classifying the video signal into the plurality of display means based on the distance detected in the step of detecting the distance;
Based on the classification in the classification step, the arithmetic processing means executes the video display step of switching the image sequence based on the video signal and the still image based on the video signal to display on the display means in charge. A recording medium on which a characteristic program is recorded. Video that is applied to a video display system that displays an image sequence based on a video signal on a plurality of display means, and is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of display means, and displays an image sequence based on the video signal on the display means in charge A display device,
Distance detecting means for detecting the distance to the subject in the image;
Classification means for classifying the video signal into the plurality of display means based on the distance detected by the distance detection means;
A video display device comprising: an image sequence based on the classification by the classification means; and a video display means for switching and displaying the image sequence based on the video signal and the still image based on the video signal on the display means in charge.

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