Device and method for image processing

An image processing method for detecting a scene change based on moving-image data, comprising the steps of:

• (a) under control of a transfer control unit, reading out at intervals from a storage device data of groups of a predetermined number of pixels which are consecutively arranged in a horizontal direction in at least a first picture, and transferring the data of the groups to a scene-change detection unit through a data bus having a width, where the first picture is a picture which immediately precedes a second picture in which presence or absence of a scene change is to be detected, and said predetermined number is determined based on the width, and corresponds to a maximum number of pixels which can be concurrently transferred through the data bus, or an integer multiple of the maximum number;
• and
• (b) by said scene-change detection unit, capturing first data of pixels constituting said first picture and second data of pixels constituting said second picture, calculating differences between the first data and the second data, and detecting presence or absence of a scene change based on the differences.

An image processing program which makes a computer realize an image processing device for detecting a scene change based on moving-image data, said image processing device comprising:

• a scene-change detection unit which captures first data of first pixels constituting a first picture and second data of second pixels constituting a second picture with the first and second pixels thinned out, and detects presence or absence of a scene change in the first picture based on differences between the first data and the second data, where the second picture immediately precedes the first picture;
• and
• a transfer control unit which controls a first operation of reading out at intervals from a storage device data of groups of a predetermined number of pixels consecutively arranged along a horizontal direction in at least said second picture of the first and second pictures, and a second operation of transferring the data of the groups to said scene-change detection unit through a data bus having a width, where said predetermined number is determined based on the width, and corresponds to a maximum number of pixels which can be concurrently transferred through the data bus, or an integer multiple of the maximum number.