Recent Patents in Signal Processing (July 2016) – Video processing

For our July 2016 issue, we cover recent patents dealing with hardware and signal processing issues of  video processing. The section below covers patents granted recently for video enhancement, noise removal from videos, watermarking techniques, visual quality measurement and new video processing circuits.

The disclosure presented in Patent no. 9,374,524 relates to a method for removing noise from a digital video sequence containing a modulated light signal emitted from a beacon light source. In some embodiments, the method includes electronically receiving, by an image sensor of a device, a digital video sequence of a scene, calculating noise from the digital video sequence, wherein the noise comprises information within the digital video sequence corresponding to the un-modulated illumination of the scene, reducing the noise from the digital video sequence to obtain an isolated digital video sequence of the modulated illumination of the scene, and demodulating the emitted light signal from the isolated digital video sequence.

In Patent no. 9,369,627 a video processing apparatus includes an image capturing apparatus and a processing apparatus connected to the image capturing apparatus. The image capturing apparatus includes an image obtaining unit that obtains a frame image; a frame image transmitting unit that transmits the frame image to the processing apparatus; a transformation parameter setting unit that sets transformation parameters received from the processing apparatus in the image capturing apparatus; an image transforming unit that applies an image transformation to the frame image using the transformation parameters thus set; and a transformed frame image transmitting unit that transmits a transformed frame image to the processing apparatus. The processing apparatus includes a transformation parameter calculating unit that calculates the transformation parameters for the image transformation, using the frame image received from the image capturing apparatus; and a transformation parameter transmitting unit that transmits the transformation parameters to the image capturing apparatus.

An the invention no. 9,369,627 a video processing device overlays appropriate presentation data over video images, even if the size of the display area for 3D video images differs from the size of the display area for presentation data that is to be presented with the 3D video images. The video processing device generates left- and right-view images from a 3D video stream, enlarges presentation data obtained from a relevant data stream to scale its display size to match the display size of video images, applying an offset value, which is determined to cause a specific parallax, to the thus enlarged presentation data to generate left- and right-view presentation data, and overlays the left-view presentation data over the left-view images and the right-view presentation data over the right-view images to display video images resulting from the overlaying.

Patent no. 9,357,162 presents a method of processing digital video signals, comprising: receiving input pixels to be processed; performing multiple processing operations on the input pixels, where the multiple processing operations are performed during a time interval determined in part by a desired video output rate; and performing a classification analysis at an intermediate time during the time interval, the classification analysis yielding tag data that is used to dynamically vary one or more of the multiple processing operations, and where the tag data is generated on a per-pixel basis to enable pixel by pixel variation of the multiple processing operations.

In patent no. 9,355,426 a method, apparatus, article of manufacture, and a memory structure for inserting a watermark in a media program is described. In an exemplary embodiment, the method comprises the steps of receiving data comprising the media program in the receiver disposed at a subscriber station, generating a watermark, the watermark generated at least in part according to a secure data processor-unique identifier irreversibly stored in the secure data processor, processing the received data to reproduce the media program, and inserting portions of the generated watermark in the reproduced media program at locations determined at least in part according to the secure data processor-unique identifier to produce a watermarked media program provided for display.

The invention no. 9,355,317 is to notify a recognition result with respect to a recognition object in a video in real time while maintaining recognition accuracy. A recognition object and m-number of first local characteristic quantities which are respectively 1-dimensional to i-dimensional characteristic vectors are stored in association with each other, and n-number of second local characteristic quantities which are respectively 1-dimensional to j-dimensional characteristic vectors are generated for n-number of local areas respectively including n-number of characteristic points from an image in a video. In addition, a smaller dimension is selected from the dimension i and the dimension j, a recognition that the recognition object exists in an image in the video is made when it is determined that a prescribed proportion or more of the m-number of first local characteristic quantities which are characteristic vectors up to the selected number of dimensions correspond to the n-number of second local characteristic quantities which are characteristic vectors up to the selected number of dimensions, and information representing the recognition object is displayed in superposition on an image in which the recognition object exists in the video.

Patent no. 9,338,463 presents a measure of visual quality of processed images relative to unprocessed images is generated in real-time. The measure of visual quality closely correlates with a human's actual perception of the processed image relative to the original image. The measure of visual quality is computed based on a measure of discrepancy (e.g., mean square errors) between the processed and unprocessed images and the variance of each image in the pixel domain or the transform domain may be determined. If the processed image is unavailable, a prediction of the processed image may be used in place of the processed image. The prediction of a processed image may involve predicting the variance values for processed image blocks. The visual quality measure may be used in a feedback loop to improve processing or encoding

Based on patent no. 9,338,429, in a video processing apparatus, image information relating to a graphic image corresponding to a first video is converted using difference information calculated from first view-point information relating to a first video and second view-point information relating to a second video. A graphic image corresponding to the second video is generated based on the converted image information, and the generated graphic image and an image of the second video are synthesized.

In patent no. 9,336,741 a video processing circuit includes a boundary detection unit which detects a boundary between a first pixel in which an application voltage which is designated by a video signal Vid-in is lower than a first voltage and a second pixel which exceeds a second voltage in which the application voltage is higher than the first voltage in a normally black mode; and a correction unit which corrects a video signal in which an application voltage to a liquid crystal element corresponding to the first pixel which comes into contact with a boundary detected by the boundary detection unit is designated to be a video signal in which a correction voltage which is higher than the application voltage is designated in a part of period of one frame period, and a correction voltage which is lower than the application voltage is designated in other periods of the one frame period.

In patent no. 9,332,288 a video processing system includes a video device that generates a request corresponding to video content. A conditional access module generates a video signal for transmission to the video device during a first time period, and terminates transmission of the video signal when the request is not authenticated during the first time period. In a further embodiment, the conditional access module generates a video signal for unscrambled transmission to the video device during a first time period, terminates the unscrambled transmission of the video signal at the expiration of the first time period, and continues with scrambled transmission of the video signal after the first time period

If you have an interesting patent to share when we next feature patents related to video processing, or if you are especially interested in a signal processing research field that you would want to be highlighted in this section, please send email to Csaba Benedek (benedek.csaba AT sztaki DOT mta DOT hu).

References

Number: 9,374,524
Title: Method and system for video processing to remove noise from a digital video sequence containing a modulated light signal
Inventors: Ryan; Daniel (North Andover, MA), Staats; Peter (Wenham, MA), Sumner; Rob (Cambridge, MA)
Issued: June 21, 2016
Assignee: ABL IP Holding LLC (Conyers, GA)

Number: 9,369,627
Title: Video processing apparatus, video processing system, and video processing method
Inventors: Ishii; Masaki (Kanagawa, JP), Namie; Kenji (Kanagawa, JP)
Issued: June 14, 2016
Assignee: Ricoh Company, LTD. (Tokyo, JP)

Number: 9,369,627
Title: Video processing device and video processing method
Inventors: Uesaka; Yasushi (Hyogo, JP), Yahata; Hiroshi (Osaka, JP), Ikeda; Wataru (Osaka, JP), Ogawa; Tomoki (Osaka, JP), Ozawa; Yuka (Osaka, JP), Kawaguchi; Toru (Tokyo, JP)
Issued: May 31, 2016
Assignee: Panasonic Intelectual Property Management CO., LTD. (Osaka, JP)

Number: 9,357,162
Title: Video processing system and method with dynamic tag architecture
Inventors: Ruggiero; Carl J. (Tigard, OR)
Issued: May 31, 2016
Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation (Santa Clara, CA)

Number: 9,355,426
Title: Hardware-enforced, always-on insertion of a watermark in a video processing path
Inventors: Flaharty; Dennis R. (Shingle Springs, CA), Cocchi; Ronald P. (Seal Beach, CA), Gagnon; Gregory J. (Redondo Beach, CA), Gorman; Michael A. (Cypress, CA), Carson; Jacob T. (Long Beach, CA)
Issued: May 31, 2016

Number: 9,355,317
Title: Video processing system, video processing method, video processing device for mobile terminal or server and control method and control program thereof
Inventors: Nomura; Toshiyuki (Tokyo, JP), Yamada; Akio (Tokyo, JP), Iwamoto; Kota (Tokyo, JP), Mase; Ryota (Tokyo, JP)
Issued: May 31, 2016
Assignee: NEC Corporation (Tokyo, JP)

Number: 9,338,463
Title: Visual quality measure for real-time video processing
Inventors: Tanchenko; Alexander (Lenigrad Oblast, RU)
Issued: May 10, 2016
Assignee: Synopsys, Inc. (Mountain View, CA)

Number: 9,338,429
Title: Video processing apparatus capable of reproducing video content including a plurality of videos and control method therefor
Inventors: Umeyama; Manabu (Kawasaki, JP)
Issued: May 10, 2016
Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo, JP)

Number: 9,336,741
Title: Video processing circuit, video processing method, liquid crystal display device, and electronic apparatus
Inventors: Kitagawa; Taku (Shiojiri, JP), Hosaka; Hiroyuki (Matsumoto, JP)
Issued: May 10, 2016
Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Tokyo, JP)

Number: 9,332,288
Title: Video processing system with conditional access module and methods for use therewith
Inventors: Gordon; Stephen E. (Lexington, MA), Karaoguz; Jeyhan (Irvine, CA), Chen; Sherman (Xuemin) (Rancho Santa Fe, CA), Dove; Michael (Los Gatos, CA), Rosmann; David (Irvine, CA), Quigley; Thomas J. (Franklin, NC)
Issued: May 3, 2016
Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Irvine, CA)