Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing – Local trick play processing – With randomly accessible medium
Reexamination Certificate
2003-06-06
2004-08-31
Boccio, Vincent (Department: 2615)
Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing
Local trick play processing
With randomly accessible medium
C386S349000, C386S349000, C348S473000, C725S142000, C725S153000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06785463
ABSTRACT:
A multimedia optical disc for which a sub-picture can be favorably superimposed on a main image, and a disc reproduction apparatus and a disc reproduction method for the disc
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disc on which an information signal is recorded, and to a reproduction apparatus for the optical disc. More specifically, it relates to an optical disc which is used for recording video information which includes video data, audio data, and image data, and to a reproduction apparatus for the disc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Video applications, such as movies, are one kind of application which can be achieved using optical discs, such as laser discs, and a suitable reproduction device. These video applications are usually referred to as “video titles”.
As the supply of video titles becomes increasingly internationalized, “multilingual video titles” are starting to appear on the market. Here, the expression “multilingual” refers to the user being able to select subtitles for one out of a plurality of languages which are then reproduced with the moving picture information. As one example, a multilingual video title aimed at the U.S. and European markets can include separate dubbing soundtracks and sub-picture information for English subtitles, German subtitles, French subtitles, and Spanish subtitles, so that users can watch a movie in their specified language.
One of the technologies which underpins the realization of “multilingual video titles” is the use of MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group) stream data as format for the data stored on the disc. MPEG streams include video information which has been compressed at a high compression rate according to MPEG methods, and can also include multiple sub-picture channels and multiple audio channels which are selectively reproduced. This is to say, “multilingual video titles” can be achieved by storing the moving picture information as the video information, dubbing soundtracks for each of the featured languages as the multiple channels of audio information, and subtitles for each of the featured languages as the multiple channels of sub-picture information.
Another of the technologies which underpins the realization of “multilingual video titles” is the use of a process called OSD (On-Screen Display) processing performed by the disc reproduction apparatus. Here, OSD processing refers to the decoding of the image data included as sub-picture information and the mixing of the image data with the moving picture on the display. This is to say, when the user selects the language he/she would like reproduced, the disc reproduction apparatus selects and reproduces the sub-picture information on one of the channels in accordance with the selected language, with the sub-picture information being reproduced together with the moving picture. The image data used here for displaying subtitles is known as “tel-op” data.
The position at which the sub-picture information is superimposed onto the moving pictures is decided by the title producer when developing the title. As a result, during reproduction the sub-picture information can be positioned at the producer's desired position. Here, should the producer indicate a display command for a coordinate position around the chest of one of the characters in the main image, the disc reproduction apparatus may respond to that command by displaying subtitles showing the character's name which are superimposed over the chest area of the character. Here, when a plurality of characters are concurrently displayed, the subtitles for characters' names can be displayed at positions corresponding to the respective characters, making such subtitles extremely effective.
Another recent trend in video titles, apart from the development of “multilingual titles”, is the development of “wide-screen TV-adapted titles”. Adaptation for wide-screen television refers to the development of titles which have a high visual impact when displayed on a wide-screen television with an aspect ratio of 16:9, with the objective of giving commercially available video titles the same big-screen feeling attained from watching movies at a movie theater.
One of the technologies underpinning the adaptation of titles for wide-screen TVs is, of course, the development of wide-screen TV sets. Wide-screen TV sets have a screen whose aspect ratio is 16:9 and perform interpolation for a NTSC (National Television System Committee) signal whose image content has an aspect ratio of 4:3 to display an image whose aspect ratio is 16:9. This is to say, video information which is stored on a disc is processed so as to squeeze its image content in the horizontal direction to enable the information to be optimally displayed at a 16:9 aspect ratio. As described above, wide-screen TV sets perform interpolation for this video data which has been squeezed in the horizontal direction and by doing so display the video information with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
Another of the technologies underpinning the adaptation of titles for wide-screen TVs is display mode transformation processing by disc reproduction apparatuses. Here, display mode transformation processing refers to image interpolation which enables a video title adapted to a 16:9 aspect ratio to be reproduced by a conventional television set which has an aspect ratio of 4:3. As described above, video titles which are adapted to wide-screen TV use are processed so as to give an optimal display when displayed at an aspect ratio of 16:9. To do so, the video information is shrunk in the horizontal direction. As a result, conventional TV sets which cannot perform horizontal interpolation during display end up displaying the image shrunk in the horizontal direction as it is. In order to perform compensation, display mode transformation processing is executed by disc reproduction apparatuses, and by switching the display format (display mode) of the image signal for the main image, the image content can be arranged within the limited display area of a conventional TV set.
Here, “pan scan display mode” and “letterbox display mode” are representative examples of display modes. In the former, pan scan display mode, video which is adapted to wide-screen television is slid by given distances in the vertical and horizontal directions in accordance with the FCVO (Frame Center Vertical Offset) and the FCHO (Frame Center Horizontal Offset) which are standardized under MPEG, before the left and right edges of the image are trimmed to give an image which will fit onto a TV screen with an aspect ratio of 4:3. Putting this into other words, pan scan display mode involves a compensatory cutting of the image content of each frame so that the image can be displayed on a TV screen with an aspect ratio of 4:3. In the latter, letterbox display mode, the image recorded with an aspect ratio of 16:9 is reduced and displayed in the central area of a 4:3 aspect ratio TV screen, with a corrective image being added above and below the central belt-like area where the image is displayed. Putting this in other words, letterbox display mode involves a compensatory reduction of the image content of each frame with an aspect ratio of 16:9 so that the image can be displayed on a TV screen with an aspect ratio of 4:3.
When pan scan display mode and letterbox display mode are compared, letterbox display mode has the distinct merit of being an easier mode to achieve. This is because in pan scan display mode, the producer must set the FCVO and FCHO values very carefully for each frame of video, so that unintentional and undesired losses of image data, such as the trimming of half a character's face, can be avoided.
Using the letterbox display mode and the pan scan display mode described above, video information which has been adapted for wide-screen TV can be favorably arranged onto a conventional TV screen with an aspect ratio of 4:3. However, there remains the problem for TV sets, disc reproduction apparatuses, and disc that when “multilingual video t
Kozuka Masayuki
Miwa Katsuhiko
Murase Kaoru
Saeki Shinichi
Yamauchi Kazuhiko
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