JPH08221045A - Method for controlling display of compressed picture and picture display processing device using this method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To avoid blocking phenomenon at the time of pause and to prevent the deterioration of picture quality in a pause state by performing pause processing in only a key frame regardless of the time of pause input, when still picture display is performed. CONSTITUTION: A video game device consists of a CPU 1, a ROM 2, a key pad 3, a frame memory 4, a monitor 5, work RAMs 60, 61 including a register. The key pad 3 is used as an input device which controls movement of characters to appear in a game or gives an instruction input of pause processing. The frame memory 4 develops display data of one frame under the control of the CPU 1, and successively sends them to the monitor 5. In this constitution, when a time of an instruction signal output from an output means of a still display signal is simultaneous with a time of the first picture data display, a picture display control means controls so that still display of a picture corresponding to an instruction signal is reserved until a display time of the next second picture data to be inserted to the first picture data at a prescribed interval.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention uses time-compressed image data, such as interframe compression, based on a player's instruction,
The present invention relates to a control method for displaying a still image and an image display processing device such as a video game device using this method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an image display processing apparatus such as a video dome apparatus which handles an animation or a real image as a moving image has been provided.

A program for such an image display processing device uses a compression technique because raw moving image data has a large amount of data, and the compressed data is stored in a CD.
-It is often provided in the form of ROM or semiconductor ROM.

Here, as a technique for compressing a moving image, there are a spatial compression technique and a temporal compression technique. As the spatial compression, for example, the compression is performed according to the degree of approximation between the scanning lines in the same frame, that is, by omitting the image data in the portion where the change amount is small.

Further, in the time compression, for example, the compression is performed by omitting the data in accordance with the degree of approximation between different frames, that is, in the portion where there is no change between the previous frame and the current frame.

In the above example, the time-compressed frame is generally called a difference frame, whereas the space-compressed frame that is not time-compressed is called a key frame. Furthermore, for all frames of the moving image,
When the time compression is performed so as to form the difference frame, an error in a part of the frames may spread to subsequent frames, resulting in deterioration of image quality.

Therefore, it is possible to perform time compression by designating that key frames are inserted at predetermined intervals during compression processing. For example, "keyframes are set every 30 frames" are designated, and one keyframe and 29 differential frames form one segment.

On the other hand, when such compressed moving image data is executed by the video game system, the game is interrupted by the player's intention and the displayed frame image is temporarily set as a still image state. Be seen. The operation in such a case is shown in the operation flow of FIG.

That is, while the display for one arbitrary frame is being performed (step S1), the player inputs a pause (temporary stop) from an input pad or the like. When this pause input is determined (step S2, Y), the pause process (step S5) is immediately performed. Then, it is judged whether or not there is a pause release input by the player (step S6).

If there is a pause cancel input (step S6,
Y), the pause canceling process is performed (step S7), and the next frame of the moving image is displayed (step S1).

Therefore, in the conventional operation flow shown in FIG. 6, since the pause process (step S5) is performed immediately when the player inputs a pause, even when the frame to be paused is a key frame, a difference is generated. Sometimes it's a frame.

[0012]

Here, when the difference frame is paused, that is, a still image is displayed by pausing the difference frame according to the method of constructing the difference frame, which will be described later, the time-compressed portion is compressed in the surrounding time. The continuity between the non-existing part and the displayed image is lost, and the time-compressed part is a block.
It is observed in the shape of.

Such a phenomenon is called a so-called blocking phenomenon and has a problem that the image quality is deteriorated as compared with the key frame.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent the blocking phenomenon at the time of the pause in the conventional example and prevent the deterioration of the image quality in the pause state, and a display control method of a compressed image and an image display processing apparatus using the same. To provide.

[0015]

Means and Actions for Solving the Problems A display control method for a compressed image corresponding to the above object of the present invention has, as a basic configuration, a time-compressed first image data and a first image data. A display control method for displaying, as a still image, image data including second image data that is not compressed for a time to be inserted at a predetermined interval, and when the pause input for instructing the still image display is performed when the first image is displayed. When it is time to display the data, the pause input is suspended until the next time to display the second image data, and a still image is displayed in the second image data.

Here, in the basic configuration of the present invention,
When the time compression is the inter-frame compression, the first image data of the image data is a difference frame including difference data from the previous frame, and the first image data of the image data is at a predetermined interval. Corresponding key frames are not compressed between the inserted frames.

When the pause input for instructing the still image display is the time for displaying the difference frame, the pause process is suspended until the next key frame appears, and the still image is displayed only in the key frame.

With this configuration, in the pause process, the difference frame is prevented from becoming a still image, and the still image is displayed by the key frame. For this reason, deterioration of the image quality of the still image is avoided.

Further, as an advantageous configuration, the key frame and the difference frame have a plurality of pixel blocks having a predetermined number of pixels, and the plurality of pixel blocks are composed of vector-quantized in-frame compressed data in the frame. Is
In addition, the difference frame can be displayed with more preferable compressed data without image quality deterioration of the still image by omitting the data when the data is the same or similar in the pixel block corresponding to the previous frame.

Further, the image display control apparatus according to the present invention which uses the display control method of the inter-frame compressed image corresponding to the above-mentioned object, includes the time-compressed first image data and the predetermined interval between the first image data. With respect to the image display control means for storing the image data including the second image data that has not been time-compressed and inserted, the image display control means for reading the image data from the storage means and displaying the image data, And a means for outputting a still display instruction signal for outputting an instruction signal for instructing still display of an image.

Then, when the output timing of the instruction signal from the output means of the still display instruction signal is the display timing of the first image data, the image display control means controls the display timing of the next second image data. , Control to suspend the still display of the image corresponding to the instruction signal.

With this configuration, an image display control device such as a video game device can display an image of a still image without deterioration of the image quality, particularly while avoiding the blocking phenomenon.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or similar parts will be described with the same reference numerals and symbols.

Prior to the description of the embodiments, in order to understand the present invention, the relationship between the key frame and the difference frame shown in FIG. 1 will be described first.

FIG. 1 (1) shows moving image data before time compression. F1, F2 ... Are delimiters for each predetermined number of frames (here, 6 frames of 0 to 5). FIG.
(2) sets the key frames KF1, KF2, ... For every predetermined number of frames to the moving image data before compression for such time [FIG. 1 (1)], and the subsequent frames are the difference frames SF1. , SF2 ...

For example, the differential frames SF of a plurality of frames (here, 5 frames) following the key frame KF1.
Considering No. 1, as the data of the key frame KF1, the data (0) of the original data [(1) of FIG. 1] is used as it is, and the difference frame SF subsequent to the key frame KF1 is used.
1 is the difference between the first frame and the original data of the key frame, which is (0-1).

Further, the second frame of the differential frame SF1 is the difference between the first frame and the second frame of the original data [(1) in FIG. 1] and is (1-2).

Similarly, the third frame of the difference frame SF1 is (2-3), the fourth frame is (3-4), and the fifth frame is (4-5).

According to the present invention, the pause processing is performed on the data thus compressed according to the principle operation flow shown in FIG.

That is, similarly to the conventional example shown in FIG. 6, when an arbitrary one frame is displayed (step S).
1), the player inputs a pose from an input pad or the like. The presence / absence of this pause input is determined (step S2). In the present invention, unlike the conventional example, the pause process (step S5) is not performed immediately.

It is judged that there is a pause input (step S
2, Y), it is determined whether or not the displayed frame is a key frame (step S3). If the frame is a key frame, the pause process is performed on the frame (step S5).

Then, it is judged whether or not there is a pause release input by the player (step S6). If there is a pause release input (Y in step S6), the pause release process is performed (step S7), and the next frame of the moving image is displayed (step S1).

In step S3, if the displayed frame is not a key frame (step S3,
In N), the next difference frame is displayed without being paused until it becomes a key frame (step S4).

Therefore, according to the method of the present invention, the pause process (step S5) is performed only on the key frame. This eliminates the deterioration of image quality when displaying a still image by performing a pause process on the difference frame.

Therefore, even when the player instructs the pause process at the display timing of the difference frame, the pause process is suspended until the next key frame appears.

Therefore, the holding time can be set arbitrarily according to the contents of the program, but it is generally desirable to set the key frame interval to about 1 second. If it is set too short, the time compression rate will decrease. On the contrary, if the length is increased, the processing time up to the pause processing becomes longer and the purpose of the pause processing is diminished.

FIG. 3 is a structural example of a video game device to which the method of the present invention is applied. 4 and 5 are views (No. 1) and (No. 2) for explaining the operation of the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG.
Is.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 is a CPU, and a ROM
The game program stored in 2 is read out and its execution is controlled. The ROM 2 stores the semiconductor R storing the program for controlling the execution of the game and the moving image data as described above.
It is a fixed memory such as an OM or a CD-ROM.

Reference numeral 3 is a keypad operated by the player. Control the movement of the characters that appear in the game,
Alternatively, it is an input device that gives an instruction input for pause processing in accordance with the present invention.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a frame memory, which expands display data for one frame under the control of the CPU 1 and sequentially sends the display data to the monitor 5 to display an image of one frame. Normally, the frame memory 4 exists for two surfaces, and while the display data is sent from one surface to the monitor 5, the image data of the next frame is written on the other surface.

Reference numerals 60 to 61 denote work RA including registers.
M, and the data read from the ROM 2 is temporarily written under the control of the CPU.

The work RAMs 60 to 61 store a flag data register 60, code data 61 and a code table 62, as will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The contents stored in the work RAMs 60 to 61 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 is a view (No. 1) for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the present invention, particularly for explaining the data structure of one screen 6, where one screen has 4 × 4 pixels as one block.
It is divided into multiple blocks. FIG. 5 is a diagram (part 2) for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

Each of the one block composed of 4 × 4 pixels is further divided into four small blocks as shown in FIG. 4 with four pixels as small blocks (for example, indicated by reference numeral 7 in FIG. 4). Has been.

One pixel is represented by 3-byte data to represent RGB. Therefore, a small block requires 12 bytes as data for 4 pixels. On the other hand, when observing the relationship between a plurality of small blocks made up of 4 pixels on the entire screen, many are similar. Therefore, the same or similar small blocks can be grouped and coded.

This relationship is shown in FIGS. 5 (1) and 5 (2). Code 1 is associated with the first four pixels (four RGB blocks) of FIG. 5A, that is, the first small block. Furthermore, the code 3 is associated with the second small block of the next 4 pixels. The correspondence between the grouped small blocks and codes is stored in the RAM 62 as a code table (see FIG. 3).

FIG. 5B shows compressed data [FIG. 5C].
Is an enlarged display of the code 1:
3: 4: 2: 5: 1: 2: 3: 4: 2: 1: 3 ...

As described above, the same code number is a group code indicating the same or similar small blocks and is represented by 1 byte. Therefore, the 12-byte data corresponding to the 4 pixels of the small block in FIG. 5A is compressed in the frame so that it becomes 1 byte.

The data thus compressed in the frame is sequentially processed into blocks (B) of 4 × 4 pixels as shown in FIG.
11 B12 B13 ... Bnn) to form one frame of data. The data for one frame is
Work RAM read from ROM2 by CPU1
It is temporarily stored in 61 as compressed data (see FIG. 3).

Further, assuming that FIG. 5 (3) is the data of the key frame, the data of the frame following this key frame is constituted by the difference data with the key frame as a difference frame. The difference data according to the embodiment of the present invention is as shown in FIG.

That is, the previous frame and the current frame are compared for each pixel block composed of 4 × 4 pixels, the data of the pixel block having a small difference is omitted, and the data of the previous frame is By copying and using it, compression between frames is performed.

FIG. 5 (5) shows a difference flag, which is formed integrally with the compressed data, and is "1" for each pixel block if it is new data, and the difference from the previous data is small and the difference is small. When copying the above data, a flag of "0" is set. This flag information is read from the ROM 2 under the control of the CPU 1 and set in the flag register 60 (see FIG. 3).

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the data of the previous frame of the pixel block B13 is copied and used. Therefore, when the differential data of the compressed data of the differential frame of FIG. 5 (4) is differentially demodulated, it is converted to differential demodulated data according to the differential flag of FIG. 5 (5), as shown in FIG. 5 (6).

In FIG. 5 (6), the pixel block B13
, The data of the previous key frame is copied.

The key frame and the difference frame are constructed as described above and are stored in the ROM 2 together with the program data. Therefore, referring back to FIG. 3, the CPU 1 converts the compressed data 61 in the RAM into RGB data by referring to the code table 62.

At the same time, for the difference frame, the difference flag of the flag register 60 is referred to, and for the pixel block having the flag "0", the compressed data of the corresponding pixel block of the preceding frame is copied to form frame data. To do. Next, the constructed frame data is sent to and stored in the frame memory 4.

Therefore, the compressed data 61 in the RAM
Must store the compressed data of the previous frame, and the data amount of at least 2 frames is required.

The compressed data of each frame demodulated in this way is continuous as described with reference to FIG. Then, when the player inputs a pause instruction from the keypad 3, according to the operation flow of FIG. 2, if the displayed frame is a key frame, the pause process is performed as it is, and if it is a difference frame, the key is pressed. The pause process is suspended until the frame (see FIG. 3: steps 3 and 4).

[0059]

As described above according to the embodiments,
The present invention provides, as temporal compression, for example, a pause input timing when a still image is displayed for an inter-frame compressed image composed of a key frame that is not inter-frame compressed and a difference frame that includes difference data between the previous frame. However, the pause process is performed only in the key frame.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the image quality from being deteriorated by displaying the still image of the difference frame.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a key frame and a difference frame.

FIG. 2 is an operation flow for explaining the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration block diagram of an embodiment of a game device to which the method of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a diagram explaining the operation of the embodiment of the present invention (No. 1).
Is.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the present invention (No. 2)
Is.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CPU 2 ROM 3 Keypad 4 Frame Memory 5 Monitor 60 Flag Register 61 Compressed Data 62 Code Table

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Image data including first image data that has been time-compressed and second image data that has not been time-compressed and that is inserted into the first image data at predetermined intervals is displayed as a still image. In the display control method, when the pause input for instructing still image display is the time for displaying the first image data, the pause input is performed until the next display time for the second image data. A method for controlling display of a compressed image, characterized by holding and displaying a still image in the second image data. 2. The still image according to claim 1, wherein the time-compressed first image data is composed of a difference frame including difference data from a previous frame, and the second image data is repeatedly displayed. A method for controlling display of a compressed image, characterized by displaying. 3. The second image data according to claim 2, wherein the first image data and the second image data have a plurality of pixel blocks having a predetermined number of pixels, and the plurality of pixel blocks are vector quantum within one frame. Characterized in that the first image data is composed of compressed intra-frame compressed data, and the data is omitted when the data is the same or approximate in the pixel block corresponding to the previous frame. Control method of compressed image display. 4. Storage means for storing image data including first image data that has been time-compressed and second image data that has not been time-compressed and that is inserted into the first image data at predetermined intervals. An image display control unit that reads out the image data from the storage unit and displays the image data, and a still display instruction signal output unit that outputs an instruction signal for instructing the image display control unit to display the image stillly are provided. When the output timing of the instruction signal from the output means of the stationary display instruction signal is the display timing of the first image data, the image display control means displays the next second image data. An image display processing device, which controls to hold still display of an image corresponding to the instruction signal until time.