JPH0144073B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is capable of recording a desired screen on a master video disk from a continuous video signal such as a television signal recorded on a videotape or the like, and then converting the color film and color separation plates of high-quality images offline. This invention relates to a prepress system for video images that are created manually.

Due to the recent remarkable development and spread of video technology and changes in publishing trends due to the diversification of printed materials, it is now possible to use desired screens from continuous video information recorded on video tapes, etc. for photographs, printed manuscripts, etc. If so, you will get many benefits. This is because compared to the traditional method in which photographers use still cameras to shoot film, there are improvements in speed, shot accuracy, shutter sound, flash light, and
This is because it is free from constraints such as low brightness, and at the same time, various needs can be expected to develop. for example,
Directly create photographs and printing plates from video information recorded on video tapes, etc., or use telecine equipment to create composite video signals from television or R (red), G (edge), B (blue) from movie film. create a signal,
From now on, it will be possible to directly create printing plates, making it possible to publish at a lower cost and more quickly than with conventional methods.

However, when using conventional video information recorded on a videotape as a printing document, the videotape is first set in a playback device, continuous video is displayed on a CRT (cathode ray tube) using slow or stop playback, and then the screen is displayed. After a film original is created by photographing a desired image with a still camera while observing the image, color separation plates are created from the film original using a plate making device such as a color scanner. Therefore, the quality of the printed original depends on the resolution of the television image. However, color television broadcasting in Japan uses the NTSC system, and one screen (one frame) is formed by 525 scanning lines, regardless of the size of the television image.
Therefore, the image quality of one frame is extremely poor in terms of resolution etc. compared to general color film. In addition, in the method of photographing a desired screen from a continuous video image with a still camera, in order to improve the quality of the image, the color temperature of the CRT, the coloring characteristics and brightness range of the RGB phosphor, the color temperature of the color film, Due to the inconsistency between the characteristics of the coloring material and the density range, a special color temperature conversion filter was inserted in the front of the camera, and
There is a problem in that it is necessary to adjust the hue and contrast of the color monitor. Moreover, it is not always possible to obtain a satisfactory color tone only by making these corrections.

Furthermore, the number of television scanning lines has a large effect on the quality of resolution, and when the image projected on a CRT is accurately focused and photographed with a camera, these scanning lines are clearly recorded as horizontal stripes on the film. It will be done. The scanning lines recorded on this film cause moiré during the plate-making process, so
A photographic technique that eliminates scanning lines is required. For example, in order to obtain a desired image from a continuous image with little movement, the effects of scanning lines are usually erased by exposing several frames onto a single film while playing or slowing back. , since it cannot be completely erased, the focal point of the shooting is slightly shifted. However, this method has the disadvantage that it is difficult to accurately photograph a desired screen and that the screen is blurred. Therefore, in order to obtain a desired image from continuous video with large movements, it is necessary to perform stop playback. Normally, with a 3/4-inch VTR, only one field of video signal is played during stop playback, and the vertical resolution of the image projected on the CRT is halved, making scanning line erasure a more difficult shooting technique than in the former case. is required. In such cases, the resolution of color film is generally
Since the rate is around 50 lines/mm, the shooting method takes advantage of the limitations of color film's resolution. That is, the scanning lines are erased by photographing the desired image on the CRT in a reduced size until the scanning lines are no longer distinguishable. Therefore, since video images with inherently poor image quality are shot on extremely small size color film, the final print size is limited to A6 to A7 size, and larger sizes have no commercial value. . Another drawback is that the work efficiency is significantly degraded due to page layout and enlarged plate making of small-sized color images.

As a television image plate making apparatus for solving the above-mentioned problems, for example, a video signal corresponding to one desired frame is read out from a video tape recorder that records a television video signal,
There is a device that produces a printing plate by converting this video signal into three primary color signals, converting the three primary color signals into a printing image signal, and supplying this printing image signal to a plate-making scanner. means for sequentially reading the signals in synchronization with the scanning speed of the signals, and means for converting the NTSC signal into an RGB signal;
RGB signals are Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan),
The means to convert it to a BK (black) signal and supply it to the scanner are all configured online. This device solves the above-mentioned problems quite effectively, but since the device configuration is all online, slow playback of the video tape recorder is required to obtain the desired screen.
Repeated stop readjustments shorten the life of the video tape recorder, and furthermore, the friction caused by the playback head of the video tape recorder can damage valuable customer video tapes. Furthermore, since this apparatus is entirely online, it is not possible to independently perform videotape editing work and signal conversion processing work, which poses problems in terms of workability and efficiency. Furthermore, there is no mention of the need for a time base corrector that electrically corrects image jitter and dropout, a noise reducer that removes non-image noise, a detail corrector that enhances image contours, etc. There are also problems in terms of

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a video image prepress system that solves the above-mentioned inconveniences and problems.

This invention will be explained below.

This invention covers (1) video tapes, video discs, slides, captions, television radio waves and
An input section that inputs a video signal from a TV camera, etc. through an input switching section and records the desired image on a master video disk while watching a TV monitor, and (2) connects offline or online to the master video disk of the input section. The image quality improvement unit is composed of a digital circuit that performs time shift correction, noise removal, and edge enhancement processing between each scanning line signal of the reproduced video signal of the master video disk, and a brightness that is suitable for improving image quality. In addition to converting the color signal into RGB signal by separating the color signal, it can also be used for other TV cameras, captain systems (Character and Pattern Telephone Access
It is possible to input RGB signals from sources such as Information System), adjust these RGB signals simultaneously or independently, and perform color and gradation correction processing (contrast correction, parallel gradation movement, adjustment of light areas or shadow areas). a display unit that displays the RGB signal before correction and the RGB signal after correction on a monitor via a screen synthesizer, and digitizes and stores the corrected RGB signal. (3) The image signal conversion processing section is configured offline, and the image signal conversion processing section is configured offline, and the image signal conversion processing section has a storage section.
Sequentially reading out the RGB signals as odd field scanning line information and even field scanning line information,
Scanning line interpolation is performed by switching to cubic convolution, bilinear, or nearest neighbor depending on the screen, and output to a color film creation device when creating a color film, or to a scanner when creating printed separation plates. An output device is provided for outputting one or more screens to a scanner or outputting to a layout system via a scanner when layout is performed.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the input section and image signal processing section of the present invention, and the input medium of the input device may be any medium as long as it generates a video signal, such as a video tape 11, a video disk ( or floppy disk) 12, film (or slide, caption) 13, television radio waves 14
is possible. The videotape 11 and video disc 12 are not only recordings of one screen;
A composite of several screens can be included, and each of these input media 11 to 14 is
VTR (video tape recorder) 21, VDR (video disc recorder) 22, telecine device 23,
The video signal is reproduced by the TV receiver 24 and transmitted to the input switching section 30. Also, TV camera 2
Video information captured in 5 (for example, NTSC format)
may be directly transmitted to the input switching section 30.

These input image information input to the input switching section 30 are selected by operating the console 50, and the images of the selected input media 11 to 14, 25 are displayed on the CRT monitor 31. And the operator
By operating the operation console 50 while looking at the screen displayed on the CRT monitor 31, image information of the desired screen is transferred to the video disk recorder 32 for each scene.
is recorded on the master video disk 33. In this case, if a video switcher is used as the input switching section 30, a composite image can be created using any input medium. In this way, through the input switching section 30,
The image information recorded on the master video disk 33 by the VDR 32 is played back by the VDR 32 during plate making, but the playback operation is controlled by the console 50.

Therefore, the image signal from the master video disk 33 that is played back by the VDR 32 is transmitted to the image quality improvement section 6.
0, and image quality improvement processing is performed here. This image quality improvement section 60 is composed of a time base collector 61, a noise reducer 62, and a detail collector 63. The time base corrector 61 is for correcting the time difference between each scanning line of the video signal, which is usually called jitter. This is because differences occur in the starting point and the number of sample pixels. The noise reducer 62 is intended to suppress various noises and improve the image quality, and is used to suppress various noises and improve image quality. This is to improve image quality that has deteriorated due to noise generated in a video editing section or a signal conversion system during playback of a re-recorded videotape 33. The detail corrector 63 performs contour enhancement processing to emphasize the points of change in the horizontal and vertical directions of the image and to make the image appear sharper.

This reproduction operation can be performed online or offline. Then, the image signal whose image quality has been improved by the image quality improvement section 60 is
RIV is sent to the RGB decoder 52 and converted from the NTSC signal into RGB signals of R (red), G (edge), and B (blue). Since this RGB decoder 52 separates the luminance signal Y and chroma signal C using a comb filter, it is possible to obtain an image signal with excellent resolution and color tone, and the separated RGB signals are sent to the switch 53 and frame The image is input to the gradation correction unit 72 via the memory 84, and is also passed through the screen synthesizer 70 so that it can be observed on the screen 71A of the CRT monitor 71. Also, switchcha 53
RGB signals from a TV camera (RGB system), a capsule system (RGB signal), a microcomputer, an office computer, etc. are input to the , and these RGB signals can be taken in by switching the switcher 53. be able to.
That is, the data imported via the switcher 53
The RGB signal is digitized by an AD converter 83, stored in a frame memory 84, converted into an analog signal by a DA converter 85, and sent to a screen synthesizer 70 and a gradation correction section 72. The gradation correction unit 72 also includes a correction device and a display 55 controlled by the operation console 50.
is connected, and it is possible to manually correct the contrast, shift the gradation in parallel, and adjust the gradation of the light or shadow areas by manual operation for each RGB signal input from the switcher 53, and the correction results are displayed on the screen. It passes through the synthesizer 70 and is displayed on the CRT monitor 71 at any time. Therefore, the corrector and indicator 5
By inserting a cursor signal into the still image from step 5, the video level at any point of the solicitation image displayed on the CRT monitor 71 can be determined as a comparison value with respect to the video white signal reference value of 0.7V. Numerical values can be displayed on the display section of the corrector and display 55. In addition, the conditions for applying gradation correction to each of the input RGB signals and the setting position information of the gradation correction knob of the corrector and display 55 are
It is possible to record on an external memory (eg, magnetic tape, paper tape) 57 via an external memory recording/reproducing device 56. In this way, the RGB still image signal that has undergone the necessary corrections by the corrector and display 55 is displayed on the CRT monitor 71 via the screen synthesizer 70, and when the correction is completed, the correction completion instruction switch on the console 50 is activated. 1 through the AD converter 54 in real time by pressing
It is converted into a digital signal with 765 pixels per scanning line,
The RGB signals are sequentially stored in the frame memory 80 corresponding to each signal, and the recording of the RGB signals for one screen is completed.

In addition, the display method on the CRT monitor 71 is as follows.
First, the entire screen may be displayed as the image before gradation correction, and then the image after gradation correction may be displayed on the entire screen by switching the screen synthesizer 70.
Screen switching is optional. In addition, as shown in the figure, one screen is divided into two, and one is the image area 71 before correction.
A, and the other is the corrected image area 71B, the screen dividing line 71C can be set at any position using a knob etc. provided on the screen synthesizer 70, and the dividing line 71C If 71C is set at the left and right screen edges, it is the same as switching the screen.

The RGB corrected still image information written in the frame memory 80 in this way is sent to the operation console 50.
As a result of the operation, the data is sequentially sent to the floppy disk driver (FDD) 81 via the selector 86 for each RGB color, and written to the floppy disk 82 here. For this writing, it is necessary to control reading of the frame memory 80 in accordance with the writing speed of the floppy disk 82. Further, the frame memory 80 can be replaced with a line memory, but in this case, the time required for writing becomes even longer.

From the floppy disk 82 storing the RGB image information, a color film is created by the offline color film creation device 120 as shown in FIG. 2, and printed separation plates are created by the color scanner 221. do. This color scanner is connected to a layout scanner 222 as necessary to create a layout image.
That is, when trying to obtain a color film or a layout image, the floppy disk 82
Or set it in the floppy disk driver 101 and send the read image information to the multiplexer 102.
The scanning line interpolation unit 1 reads out the data in accordance with the scanning speed of the color film production device 120 or the color scanner 221.
Send to 03. A scanning line interpolation unit 103 performs interpolation between scanning lines according to a predetermined calculation formula. When a color film is to be obtained, interpolated high-density image information is sent to a color film production device 120 via an RGB selector 105 and an interface 110 to obtain a color film. Note that a control section is provided in the color film production device 120, and includes a frame memory 104 and a selector 1.
05 and interface 110. In the signal transferred to the scanning line interpolation unit 103, the scanning lines of the odd field and even field are read out alternately in ascending order of number, and the scanning method is switched from the interlaced method to the sequential method. This prevents pairing, which is a drawback of the interlaced method, and prevents deterioration in image quality. The number of scanning line signals transferred to the scanning line interpolation unit 103 is 484 signals, which is the number of scanning lines of television (NTSC system), which is 525 minus the number of scanning lines corresponding to the blanking period. The scanning line interpolation unit 103 performs interpolation calculations to increase the number of scanning lines from 484 to 1924, approximately four times as many, so that some of the scanning lines overlap during exposure so that they cannot be recognized as separate lines. Make it. The resolution can also be increased by the interpolation effect.

The interpolation calculation in this invention is configured so that the nearest neighbor method, bilinear method, and Cubic convolution method can be selected by switching a switch. The nearest neighbor method uses the data of adjacent pixels as pixel data at the interpolation point, and is suitable for binarized images, while the bilinear method uses interpolation assuming that the data between scanning lines changes linearly. The method determines the pixel data of a point, and is suitable for images with many intermediate tones.The Cubic convolution method determines the pixel data of the interpolation point from the correlation of the data of the 16 pixels surrounding the interpolation point. It is also suitable for images of This interpolation calculation requires 16 multiplications and additions per interpolation pixel for approximately 1.5 million pixels, so computer software processing is slow and time-consuming. Pass. Therefore, in the present invention, the scanning line interpolation section 103 is configured with a logic circuit, and data is outputted to the output section of the next stage in real time, thereby enabling extremely high-speed film production.

On the other hand, when obtaining a color separation plate for a layout image, the interfaces 110 and 210 are switched, and the image signal from the scanning line interpolation unit 103 is sent to the color scanner 221 of the layout scanner system 220 via the interface 210. At 222, color separations for the layout image are obtained. The details of the layout output system 200 are shown in FIG. 3. A color scanner 221 picks up information such as color manuscripts and text manuscripts using a scanning method, and the picked-up analog image information is converted into digital information by an AD converter. The data is converted and temporarily stored in the external memory 225 via the computer 223. As the external memory 225, one or more magnetic disk devices with a large storage capacity (approximately 300 megabytes) are sufficient. The image processing/editing device 224 is also equipped with a keyboard, a digitizer, and a monitor display, and these devices are used to input page layout information of the block mount. This page layout information is also temporarily stored in the external memory 225 via the computer 223. In addition,
When performing page make-up, a command is input from the keyboard of the image processing and editing device 224 to call up page layout information on the display.
Furthermore, a command is input from the keyboard to retrieve image information from the magnetic disk device of the external memory 225 and move it to a designated trimming position. Next, when a mask-related command is input, the information other than the trimming size is erased from the image, leaving only the necessary image information. If you are dissatisfied with the tone, you can also retouch it with instructions regarding corrections. In addition to the above-mentioned image movement, masking, and correction, the commands and functions necessary for page make-up include cropping, image overlapping processing, and flat screen/shading.
When the operator completes a page make-up process, the image information is stored in a predetermined magnetic disk device via the computer 223. The information after this page make-up processing is converted into a film from the output device 226 when necessary, and is printed in Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan),
This is obtained as a laid out color separation plate 227 of BK (black).

Note that although Fig. 2 shows an example of a system in which a color film and a layout image are not obtained at the same time, if a color film and a layout image are to be obtained at the same time, the color The film production system and the layout output system shown in FIG. 5 may be provided separately. The operation of each system is exactly the same as in the case of FIG.

As explained in detail above, according to the present invention, the image quality is dramatically improved compared to the conventional method of displaying continuous video images on a color cathode ray tube, selecting the desired screen, and photographing it with a still camera. It is possible to obtain an image suitable for printing. This includes correction of RGB signal gradation, conversion of scanning method, 2
In addition to performing various image quality improvement processes such as increasing the number of scanning lines through dimensional interpolation to eliminate scanning lines and increasing resolution, we have also implemented various image quality improvement processes, such as increasing the number of scanning lines through dimensional interpolation processing, and improving resolution. This is due to the effects of correction, suppression of noise signals contained in the video signal by the noise reducer, and enhancement of image contours by the detail collector. It also has the advantage of making it easier to extract the screen compared to the method of shooting with a still camera.
Furthermore, since the signal conversion processing section and the interpolation processing and output section are configured offline, each task can be performed independently and can be performed at any time, resulting in highly efficient operation. Can be done. Another advantage is that color film output and color scanner output can be dedicated, and when a layout scanner system is installed in the output section, it is possible to combine photo processing, mask creation, etc., which are the main tasks in the plate-making process. It is expected that manual departments with many labor-intensive elements such as preparation and synthesis will be able to be automatically processed. In addition, this system has only one display monitor, which can be switched and monitored individually or simultaneously using a screen synthesizer, which solves the color tone problem and is also economical. Furthermore, video information selected from multiple input media is recorded on a video disk by selecting the desired screen while viewing the CRT monitor, which has the advantage of simplifying the configuration and lowering the cost. be.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the input section and image signal conversion processing section of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a part of the output part of the invention, and Fig. 3 shows a part thereof in detail. Block diagrams shown in Figures 4 and 5
The figures are block diagrams showing other examples of the output section of the present invention. 11...Video tape, 12...Video disk (floppy disk), 13...Film (slide, caption), 14...Television radio waves, 21...VTR, 22, 32...VDR, 23
...Telecine equipment, 24...TV receiver, 25...
...TV camera, 30...Input switching unit, 31, 71
...CRT monitor, 50...Operation console, 52...
RGB decoder, 53...Switcher, 60...
Image quality improvement unit, 70...Screen synthesizer, 80, 84,
104... Frame memory, 82... Floppy disk, 81, 101... Floppy disk driver, 102... Multiplexer, 103...
...Scanning line interpolation unit, 120...Color film creation device, 220...Layout scanner system,
221...Color scanner, 222...Layout system.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 (a) Video signals from video tapes, video discs, slides, subtitles, television radio waves, TV cameras, etc. are input through the input switching section, and desired images are mastered while watching the TV monitor. (b) an input section for recording on a video disk; The image quality improvement unit consists of a digital circuit that performs edge enhancement processing, and separates the brightness and color signals suitable for high-quality images to convert them into RGB signals.
RGB from cameras, capsule systems, etc.
It is also possible to input signals, adjust these RGB signals simultaneously or independently, and perform color and tone correction processing (contrast correction, parallel movement of tone, adjustment of tone in light areas or shadow areas, etc.). a display unit that displays the RGB signal before correction and the RGB signal after correction on a monitor via a screen synthesizer, and a storage unit that digitizes and stores the corrected RGB signal. (c) The image signal conversion processing section is configured offline, and converts the RGB signals stored in the storage section of the image signal conversion processing section into odd field scanning line information and It is sequentially read out as scanning line information for even fields, and scan line interpolation is performed by switching to cubic convolution, bilinear, or nearest neighbor depending on the screen, and when creating a color film, it is output to a color film creation device. A video characterized by comprising: an output device that outputs to a scanner when creating printed separation plates, and outputs to the scanner or to a layout system via the scanner when laying out a single or multiple screens. Image prepress system.