US 6,674,478 B2 · Image processing apparatus, method and providing medium

Abstract

The invention provides an image processing apparatus and method as well as a providing medium by which deterioration of the vertical resolution is prevented and conspicuous appearance of line flickering is suppressed. In order to convert an interlaced video signal having 525 scanning lines into another progressive video signal having 525 scanning lines while maintaining the image size, in an odd-numbered field, a line after conversion is offset by 0.5 H (H is the distance between horizontal scanning lines of the inputted video signal). Consequently, pixel data of each line Oi are produced from pixel data of two lines Ii and Ii+1 before conversion. As a result, pixels of a line on the boundary between white pixels and black pixels have a gray color. In an odd-numbered field, no offset is given, and pixel data of each line I1 of the field before conversion are set as they are as pixel data of each line Oi of the field after conversion. The pixels of the line on the boundary between the white and black pixels become white or gray pixels, and consequently, when compared with an alternative case wherein such pixels on the boundary line are white and black pixels, line flickering is prevented from being observed conspicuously on a display screen.

Claims15

Dependent claims

An image processing device for converting an input image signal exhibiting one of interlace and progressive scan format into an output image signal exhibiting the other of said interlace and progressive scan format, with the output image having an output size represented by a number of lines and/or a number of pixels in each line, equal to or different from an input image size represented by the number of lines and/or the number of pixels in each line of the input image, comprising:

means for detecting format conversion of the input image signal format to the output image signal format and for detecting size conversion of the input image size to the output image size;
supply means for supplying one of plural predetermined initial values in response to the detected format and size conversion;
coefficient generating means for generating a vertical interpolating coefficient whose value is dependent upon said predetermined initial value supplied by said supply means;
and
interpolating means for multiplying pixel data of said input image by the generated coefficient to produce output image pixel data.

2 more elements

An image processing method for converting an input image signal exhibiting one of interlace and progressive scan format into an output image signal exhibiting the other of said interlace and progressive scan format, with the output image having an output image size represented by a number of lines and/or a number of pixels in each line, equal to or different from an input image size represented by the number of lines and/or the number of pixels in each line of the input image, comprising the steps of:

detecting format conversion of the input image format to the output image format and size conversion of the input image size to the output image size;
supplying one of plural predetermined initial values in response to the detected format and size conversion;
generating a vertical interpolating coefficient whose value is dependent upon said supplied, predetermined initial value;
and
multiplying pixel data of said input image by the generated coefficient to produce output interpolated image pixel data.

2 more elements

A medium for providing a computer-readable program to control a processor to execute a program for converting an input image signal exhibiting one of interlace and progressive scan format into an output image signal exhibiting the other of said interlace and progressive scan format, with the output image having an output image size represented by a number of lines and/or a number of pixels in each line, equal to or different from an input image size represented by the number of lines and/or the number of pixels in each line of the input image, comprising the steps of:

detecting format conversion of the input image format to the output image format and size conversion of the input image size to the output image size;
supplying one of plural predetermined initial values in response to the detected format and size conversion;
generating a vertical interpolating coefficient whose value is dependent upon said supplied, predetermined initial value;
and
multiplying pixel data of said input image by the generated coefficient to produce output interpolated image pixel data.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Image processing apparatus, method and providing medium

Life of this patent

Image processing apparatus, method and providing medium

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims15