Multi-format audio/video production system

Abstract

An audio / video production system facilitates professional quality image manipulation and editing using an enhanced general-purpose hardware. A program input may be translated into any of a variety of graphics or television formats, including NTSC, PAL, SECAM and HDTV, and stored as data-compressed images, using any of several commercially available methods such as Motion JPEG, MPEG, etc. While being processed, the images may be re-sized to produce a desired aspect ratio or dimensions using conventional techniques such as pixel interpolation. Frame rate conversion to and from conventional formats is performed by using the techniques employed for film-to-NTSC and film-to-PAL transfers, or by inter-frame interpolation, all well known in the art. By judicious selection of the optimal digitizing parameters, the system allows a user to establish an interrelated family of aspect ratios, resolutions, and frame rates, yet remain compatible with currently available and planned graphics and television formats.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates generally to video production, photographic image processing, and computer graphics design, and, more particularly, to a multi-format video production system capable of professional quality editing and manipulation of images intended for television and other applications, including HDTV programs.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONAs the number of television channels available through various program delivery methods (cable TV, home video, broadcast, etc.) continues to proliferate, the demand for programming, particularly high-quality HDTV-format programming, presents special challenges, both technical and financial, to program producers. While the price of professional editing and image manipulation equipment continues to increase, due to the high cost of research and development and other factors, general-purpose hardware, including personal computers, can produce remarkable effects at a cost well within the reach of non-professionals, even novi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention takes advantage of general-purpose hardware where possible to provide an economical multi-format video production system. In the preferred embodiment, specialized graphics processing capabilities are included in a high-performance personal computer or workstation, enabling the user to edit and manipulate an input video program and produce an output version of the program in a final format which may have a different frame rate, pixel dimensions, or both. An internal production format is chosen which provides the greatest compatibility with existing and planned formats associated with standard and widescreen television, high-definition television, and film. For compatibility with film, the frame rate of the internal production format is preferably 24 fps. Images are re-sized by the system to larger or smaller dimensions so as to fill the particular needs of individual applications, and frame rates are adapted by inter-frame interpolation or by traditional schemes, including "3:2 pull-down" for 24-to-30 fps conversions, or by manipulating the frame rate itself for 24 to 25 fps for a PAL-compatible display. The enhancement to a general-purpose platform preferably takes the form of a graphics processor connected to receive a video signal in an input format. The processor comprises a plurality of interface units, including a standard / widescreen interface unit operative to convert the video program in the input format into an output signal representative of a standard / widescreen formatted image, and output the signal to an attached display device. A high-definition television interface unit is operative to convert the video program in the input format into an output signal representative of an HDTV-formatted image, and output the signal to the display device. A centralized controller in operative communication with the video program input, the graphics processor, and an operator interface, enables commands entered by an operator to cause the graphics processor to perform one or more of the conversions using the television interfaces. The present invention thus encourages production at relatively low pixel dimensions to make use of lower-cost general-purpose hardware and to maintain high signal-to-noise, then subsequently expands the result into a higher-format final program. This is in contrast to competing approaches, which recommend operating at higher resolution, then down-sizing, if necessary, to less expensive formats which has led to the high-cost, dedicated hardware, the need for which the present invention seeks to eliminate.

Problems solved by technology

As the number of television channels available through various program delivery methods (cable TV, home video, broadcast, etc.) continues to proliferate, the demand for programming, particularly high-quality HDTV-format programming, presents special challenges, both technical and financial, to program producers.

While the price of professional editing and image manipulation equipment continues to increase, due to the high cost of research and development and other factors, general-purpose hardware, including personal computers, can produce remarkable effects at a cost well within the reach of non-professionals, even novices.

As a result, the distinction between these two classifications of equipment has become less well defined.

However, the variety of available and planned program standards and delivery methods places further demands on video production equipment, including the editing and manipulation of images not only from a variety of sources, but in differing pixel formats, frame rates, and so forth.

Although general-purpose PC-based equipment may never allow professional-style rendering of images at full resolution in real-time, each new generation of microprocessors enables progressively faster, higher-resolution applications.

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