JPH06217199A - Caption decoder device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a picture in which a video signal and a caption signal can be prevented from being mixed, and the caption signal can be easily recognized by providing a means which adjusts the range of a blanking signal, and arbitrarily changing the no-picture area of a caption character. CONSTITUTION:An inputted video signal is inputted to a data slicer circuit 1 together with a switching circuit 4. The circuit 1 extracts a scanning line on which the caption signal exists, and it is decoded by a decoder circuit 2. The decoded signal is converted into a scanning line signal equivalent to the video signal by a character signal generating circuit 3. Then, the character signal of a level set by a luminance and color level adjusting circuit 7 is outputted through the character signal level side 4b of the circuit 4. In a blanking period, a blanking signal level set by the circuit 7 is outputted. The blanking signal can be adjusted by a blanking adjusting circuit 6 so that the no-picture area can be set on an arbitrary area.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a caption decoder device capable of receiving caption broadcasting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the United States, in order to enable people with hearing loss to understand and enjoy TV broadcasting as well as those with normal hearing, the same content as voice is converted into character information, and 2
A system that multiplexes and transfers the first scan line is adopted in many programs and video software.

This multiplexed information is called closed caption, and the information can be decoded and displayed on the display device by using a dedicated caption decoder.

In the United States, a television receiver incorporating the caption decoda still exists,
In particular, produced and imported after July 1, 1993 1
All television receivers with a size of 3 inches or more are also legislated to have a built-in caption decoder.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing scanning lines for a caption signal. As shown in FIG. 6B, the 21st scanning line of this video signal is followed by a horizontal sync signal, a clock run-in signal of 7 cycles (frequency: 503 KHz), a start bit, and a 16-bit character. It consists of code.

The character code is 8 bits to generate one character. The breakdown is 7-bit ASCII
It is a combination of a code and a 1-bit parity code.

FIG. 6 shows a circuit block diagram of a conventional example.

Reference numeral 1 is a data slicer circuit for extracting the 21st scanning line of the input video signal, and 2 is a decoder circuit for decoding the caption extraction signal from the data slicer circuit 1.

Reference numeral 3 is a character signal generation circuit for generating a switching signal composed of a character signal according to the decoded data from the decoder circuit 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes a switching signal obtained from the character signal generation circuit 3, and a character signal level of the brightness / color level adjusting circuit 7 and a blanking signal level (a signal indicating a non-image area) representing the background around the character signal and a video signal. Is a switching circuit for switching between.

The brightness / color level adjusting circuit 7 can output a character signal or a blanking signal level at a brightness level or color level arbitrarily set by the viewer.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG.

The input video signal is extracted by the data slicer circuit 1 from the 21st scanning line and decoded by the decoder circuit 2. The decoded signal (character
Code) is the display mode of the mode displayed on the screen (caption that displays characters in a part of the screen, text that displays characters in the entire display area), display style that indicates how to display (sequential display) It is made up of paint on, pop-on to be displayed for each character temporarily stored), character contents, display position, etc.

Then, the character signal generating circuit 3 creates caption data corresponding to one scanning line based on the signal, and outputs the caption data. That is, the character code is a 16-bit signal for two characters, and the character content, display position, and the like are generated from the signal, thereby generating caption data for each scanning line (the 220th scanning line in FIG. 4c). Two
21 and later are omitted).

As a result, when there is caption data in the switching circuit 4 and the data is at a high level, it is switched from the video signal side 4a to the character signal level side 4b and is output via the terminal 4c.

When caption data exists and is at a low level, the video signal side 4a is switched to the character signal level side 4b, the terminal 4c is switched to the blanking signal side 4d, and the blanking signal is output. It

By doing so, when only the video signal is input, the switching circuit 4 has the video signal side 4a and the terminal 4
Although c is selected and a normal video signal is output and displayed, when the caption data is input, the character signal level side 4b should be selected only when the caption character signal generation circuit 3 operates. Thus, the predetermined level signal from the brightness / color level adjusting circuit 7 is selected, and the caption can be displayed via the terminal 4c. Further, when the character signal generation circuit 3 operates and the blanking level is reached, the switching circuit 4 switches the character signal level side 4b, but the switching unit in the subsequent stage switches to the blanking side 4d, and the luminance / color is changed. The blanking level of the level adjusting circuit 7 is output.

Therefore, the image signal and the caption signal do not mix, and it is possible to provide the viewer with an image in which the caption signal is easy to understand as shown in FIG. 7a.

[0018]

However, the caption decoder device having the above-described configuration is, for example, a Western picture software, and if the video already contains Japanese dubbed subtitles (also called open caption), it is closed. Character signal display by captions and captions may randomly overlap (as shown in FIG. 7b).

Therefore, it becomes difficult for the viewer to understand the character signal of the closed caption, and the meaning of the caption is reduced.

As shown in FIG. 4, a captioned video signal (a in FIG. 4) is combined with the caption signal in c in the same figure. This is because they approach each other on the screen.

In addition, since subtitles are often added to original video software (with closed caption characters), the insertion position and the insertion timing of subtitles are considered to be a balance when viewing in subtitle display. Also, because the range occupied by subtitles varies depending on the dialogue, the character signal of the closed caption does not completely overlap with the subtitle in terms of position and time, and the subtitle flickers between the characters displayed in the closed caption. , The characters of closed captions may be difficult to view.

[0022]

According to the present invention, a closed caption data multiplexed on a predetermined scanning line of a video signal is extracted, the signal is decoded, and a character part area and the character part area are emphasized. In a caption decoder device comprising character information generating means for generating character information composed of a level non-image area, and switching means for synthesizing the video signal and the character information and outputting to a display means,
A level adjusting unit that acts on the switching unit and adjusts at least one of a luminance signal or a color signal of the character portion region and the non-image region, and is connected to the character information generating unit,
A caption decoder device, comprising: a region setting means for setting a region of the non-image region, wherein the region of the non-image region can be arbitrarily adjusted.

Further, in the video signal including the caption signal, the closed caption data multiplexed on a predetermined scanning line of the video signal is extracted, the signal is decoded, and the character area and the character area are extracted. In a caption decoder device comprising character information generating means for generating character information consisting of a constant level of non-image area to be emphasized, and switching means for synthesizing the video signal and the character information and outputting to the display means, Connected to information generation means,
A caption decoder device comprising: a region setting unit that sets a region of the non-image region, and the region setting unit can be arbitrarily adjusted so as to cover a caption signal displayed at a predetermined screen position.

Further, according to the present invention, the closed caption data multiplexed on a predetermined scanning line of the video signal is extracted, the signal is decoded, and a character portion area and a non-image area of a certain level for emphasizing the character portion area are extracted. In a caption decoder device including a character information generating unit configured to generate character information, and a switching unit switching and outputting the video signal and the character information, the caption decoder device is connected to the character information generating unit, and It is a caption decoder device comprising: an area setting unit capable of arbitrarily setting an area and moving a display position of the character area such that the character area falls within the non-image area.

[0025]

According to the present invention, the non-image area of the caption character can be arbitrarily changed by the means for adjusting the range of the blanking signal.

[0026]

1 shows a circuit block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those of the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a blanking signal generation circuit for setting a blanking signal area in response to a signal from the decoder circuit 2. Reference numeral 6 outputs a control signal to the decoder circuit 2 so that the blanking signal generation circuit 5 has no image area. It is a blanking adjustment circuit for controlling.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG.

The input video signal is input to the data slicer circuit 1 and the video signal side 4a of the switching circuit 4 and output. The data slicer circuit 1 extracts the scanning line in which the caption signal is present, and the decoder circuit 2 decodes it.

The decoded signal is converted into a scanning line signal similar to the video signal in the character signal generation circuit 3. When the scanning line signal of the character signal exists, the switching circuit 4
The front switching unit selects the character signal level side 4b, and
The character signal of the level set by the color level adjusting circuit 7 is output. However, in the blanking period, the post-stage switching unit is switched to the blanking side 4d by the signal from the blanking signal generating circuit 5, and the blanking signal level set by the luminance / color level adjusting circuit 7 is output.

That is, the switching circuit 4 switches as shown in Table 1. Here, in the case of the blanking signal, it does not matter which side the front-stage switching section is connected to, but since it is switched by the caption signal, it is connected to the character signal level side 4b.

[0032]

[Table 1]

Further, since the blanking signal can be adjusted by the blanking adjustment circuit 6, approximately 2 from 188H (horizontal scanning line) where subtitle display appears.
Adjustment is performed so that blanking display is performed during 40H (450H to 502H in the next field).

As shown in FIG. 4, the signal a on which the caption signal is superimposed is switched to the caption signal c by the switching circuit 4 when the blanking signal d is at a high level, and the output signal f is obtained.

At that time, the blanking signal generating circuit 5 counts the horizontal synchronizing signal and the vertical synchronizing signal from the data slicer circuit 1, and when it reaches a predetermined position (188H in FIG. 4), it generates a blanking signal d. , To the switching circuit 4.

As a result, since the scanning lines before and after the caption signal are switched to the blanking signal, the caption signal is not displayed, and the caption signal and the caption signal are close to each other, which makes it difficult for the viewer to view the caption signal. Things will not happen.

FIG. 2 shows a screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The caption signal "You're n" shown at the bottom of the screen
ot to be afraid of anythi
ng! Like the blanking signal of the low luminance level shown around ", the caption display character of the video signal is completely hidden, and the caption signal can be clearly shown.

Further, it is possible to adjust the number of scanning lines composed of the blanking signal by the blanking adjusting means, and the viewer can arbitrarily adjust the blanking signal even if the subtitle display position changes. Can be changed.

The blanking signal generated by the blanking signal generation circuit 5 is controlled by an external control signal.
A blanking control circuit may be added to directly control the generation time (how many lines), the generation width (how many lines) and the generation time. In this case, not only can the range of the non-image area be set to an arbitrary position by the blanking adjustment circuit, but also the data decoded by the decoder circuit 2 and the function of the data can be reflected in the control circuit to control the blanking. You can also

FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Reference numeral 2'denotes a decoder circuit for decoding the caption extraction signal from the data slicer circuit 1, and receives a signal indicating a blanking area in the display position and the display range designated by the blanking adjustment circuit 6, The caption decode data and the blanking decode data are output to the character signal generation circuit 3.

Character signal generation circuit 3 which receives the respective data
Generates caption data corresponding to one scanning line from the caption decode data and outputs the caption data. That is,
A character code is a 16-bit signal for two characters, and the character content, display position, etc. are generated from the signal, thereby generating caption data for each scanning line, and blanking decode data for one scanning line. Create blanking data corresponding to and output.

Next, the circuit operation will be specifically described. Normal,
The blanking adjustment circuit 6 generates signals for four columns, which are the maximum caption character display columns. That is, the decoder circuit 2 ′ outputs (4 columns × 32 characters) blanking decode data to the character signal generation circuit 3. Then, the decoder circuit 2 ′ decodes the caption extraction signal from the data slicer circuit 1, adds the caption decoding data to the blanking decoding data, and outputs it to the character signal generating circuit 3.

On the other hand, when the character signal generating circuit 3 receives the signal in which the caption decoding data is added to the blanking decoding data, the character signal generating circuit 3 switches the switching section of the switching circuit 4 to the blanking side when receiving the blanking decoding data, The signal of the blanking level set by the brightness / color adjustment circuit 7 is output, but when the caption decode data is input, it is forcibly switched to the terminal 4c and also switched to the character signal level side 4b to set the brightness / color. A signal of the character signal level set by the adjusting circuit 7 is output. When the above data is not input, the video signal side 4a is switched to the terminal 4c, and a normal video signal is output.

As a result, the caption signal can be emphasized and displayed as shown in FIG. 2, and the caption signal superimposed on the video signal can be covered.

However, the caption signal is not always included in all the display positions of the above-mentioned non-image area, and may reach the video signal area.

Therefore, according to the present invention, as described above, the caption signal is limited to the four maximum display columns. That is, assuming that the character string in the non-image area is 12 to 15 lines, for example, caption character signals are 8, 9, 12, 1
When it is confirmed that the 4-column caption character signal exists in the decoder circuit 2 ′ even if it exists in 3 lines, 8 lines are 12 lines, 8 lines are 13 lines, and 12 lines are 14 lines in this decoder circuit 2 ′. Change the display position from line 13 to line 15 And all the caption character signals are shown in the non-image area.

When the caption character signal is three columns or less, the caption characters are displayed in the non-image area as described above, but any column of the non-image area remains blanking. Therefore, in the present invention, the lowermost column is usually displayed as a reference, and blanking that occurs when the number of columns is less than 4 is provided above the non-image area.

Further, when the caption character signal is two columns or less, any column of the non-image area remains blanking more than the above. Therefore, according to the present invention, when the number of lines of display characters is small, it is displayed in the center of the non-image area, or is displayed evenly in the non-image area.

That is, the decoder circuit 2'detects the number of lines of the displayed characters and adjusts the display position of the displayed characters with respect to the non-image area so that the balance is not deteriorated even when they are displayed on the screen. It is also possible for the viewer to adjust the screen range of the blanking area and the position of the displayed characters by adjusting means (not shown) provided in the blanking adjusting circuit 6.

For example, specifically, in the case of pop-on, it is determined how many lines the caption characters are displayed at one time, and the data of the display position is set so that all the determined lines fit within the non-image area. Is updated to display position data in the non-image area, the caption character is displayed in the non-image area.

[0052]

According to the present invention, when closed captions are displayed with subtitled software, unnecessary caption display characters can be covered with a non-image area, and the closed caption display characters are easier to see.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a display screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a signal waveform of each part.

FIG. 5 shows a waveform diagram of a caption signal.

FIG. 6 is a circuit block diagram of a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a display screen of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 data slicer circuit 2 decoder circuit 3 character signal generation circuit 4 switching circuit 5 blanking signal generation circuit 6 blanking adjustment circuit 7 brightness / color level adjustment circuit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A closed caption data multiplexed on a predetermined scanning line of a video signal is extracted, the signal is decoded, and a character portion area and a non-image area of a certain level for enhancing the character portion area are formed. In a caption decoder device comprising character information generating means for generating character information and a switching means for synthesizing the video signal and the character information and outputting it to a display means, the caption decoder device acts on the switching means and does not have the character part area. A level adjusting means for adjusting at least one of a luminance signal and a color signal with respect to the image area, and an area setting means for setting the area of the non-image area, which is connected to the character information generating means, are provided. A caption decoder device capable of adjusting an area of an image area. 2. A video signal including a caption signal, further, closed caption data multiplexed on a predetermined scanning line of the video signal is extracted, and the signal is decoded,
Character information generating means for generating character information consisting of a character part area and a non-image area of a certain level for emphasizing the character part area; and a switching means for combining the video signal and the character information and outputting to the display means. In the caption decoder device, which comprises: a region setting unit that is connected to the character information generation unit and sets a region of the non-image region, and optionally covers the caption signal displayed at a predetermined screen position. A caption decoder device capable of adjusting a region setting means. 3. A closed caption data multiplexed on a predetermined scanning line of a video signal is extracted, the signal is decoded, and a character part region and a non-image region of a certain level for emphasizing the character part region are formed. A character information generation unit that generates character information, a switching unit that switches and outputs the video signal and the character information, and is connected to the character information generation unit, and the area of the non-image area can be arbitrarily set, and the character An area setting unit capable of moving the display position of the character area so that the partial area fits within the non-image area.