A graphic and video are blended by controlling the relative transparency of corresponding pixels in the graphic and the video through the use of blending coefficients. One example of a blending coefficient is an alpha signal used in conjunction with a keyer. The value of a blending coefficient for a pixel in the graphic is based on the luminance and chrominance characteristics of a neighborhood of pixels in the video. Inclusions and exclusions are set up which define how the neighborhood of pixels is used to create or change a particular blending characteristic.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/099,262, filed on Sep. 4, 1998.
This Application is related to the following Applications:
A System For Enhancing A Video Presentation Of A Live Event, by James R. Gloudemans, Richard H. Cavallaro, Jerry N. Gepner, Stanley K. Honey, Walter Hsiao, Terence J. O'Brien, Marvin S. White, filed the same day as the present application;
Detecting A Tallied Camera, by Marvin S. White, Richard H. Cavallaro, James R. Gloudemans, Stanley K. Honey, filed the same day as the present application;
A Method And Apparatus For Enhancing The Broadcast Of A Live Event, by Stanley K. Honey, Richard H. Cavallaro, Jerry Neil Gepner, Edward Gerald Goren, David Blyth Hill, Ser. No. 08/735,020, filed Oct. 22, 1996.
Each of these related Applications are incorporated herein by reference.
A device for generating fusion images by fusioning two images, in particular medical images, comprising an image-processing computation unit (2) for fusioning the images, as well as a monitor (3) connected thereto for image output, a gray-value histogram (7, I, II) being displayable on the monitor (3) for each image of the images to be fusioned, which device is designed in such a way that, in each gray-value histogram (7, I, II) of the images to be fusioned, one or more gray-value ranges can be selected by user-controlled highlighting of one or more markings (8) on the monitor (3), as well as for generating the fusion image with the aid of the selected gray-value ranges.
Method for the interactive real time processing and displaying of camera shots or computer generated video image sequences that include moving objects of variable speed for generating improved computer games. A bank of original sequences of individually selectable images is generated. Each sequence is shot by a camera and contains moving objects and converted to a digital form. A range of possible modified object speeds are selected for each computer game. A set of transformations, from each frame of the original sequence, to its next frame, is calculated in advance for all frames, and stored in a memory, together with the original digital sequence, as a data-base file. Any desired manipulation of the image of a frame on the stored transformation is calculated in real-time, as a function of the desired speed provided by a player and a new virtual frame, which is an intermediate frame of frames from the original sequence is generated in real-time, according to the calculation results. The new generated frame is displayed means, and any other required intermediate frame is generated and displayed, in real-time, optionally together with selected frames from the original sequence.
A system and method for identifying whether sample values of pixel samples in a sample region have two or fewer different sample values represented, such as in graphics data representing text images. Identification is performed by hierarchically dividing the samples of the sample region into sample pairs and comparing the sample values of a first sample pair and a second sample pair to determine if two or fewer sample values are represented by the sample values of the first and second sample pairs. Where two or fewer levels are represented by the sample values of the samples, a tally value is generated and the first and second sample values are recorded. The recorded sample values are compared to the sample values of another sample pair to determine if two or fewer values are represented therein. If so, a new tally value is generated and the sample values are recorded. Comparing and recording continues until the remaining sample pairs of the sample region have been compared and a combined tally value indicative of whether two or fewer sample values are represented by the samples of the sample region is produced.
A method and apparatus for enhanced image display that substantially eliminates video image fragments include processing that begins by monitoring color data of an image to be displayed. The processing then continues by determining whether at least a portion of the image includes color data that matches a chroma key color. When at least a portion of the image includes color data that matches the chroma key color, the processing continues by adjusting the color of at least a portion of the image to produce adjusted color data such that the adjusted color data does not match the chroma key color.
A method for enhancing air to ground target detection, acquisition and terminal guidance which includes providing a reference image of a target scene, detecting contrast boundaries, tracing edges along the edge pixels, storing in computer memory endpoints of fitted straight line segments, providing a video image of the target scene, identifying contrast boundaries, scaling and transforming the template, correlating it with the edges of the video image, and converting the target designation in the reference image to the sensor image. A multispectral gradient based image correlation system including a template containing information as to edges, a video image of a target processed by a gradient operator, means for correlating the template and the image edge-to-edge, a means for transferring the target from the template to the image, that provides an enhanced video image with the target within it.
