JPH10276392A - Database generating device for index video image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To use a transfer system using a clip link function even in the case that source video data picked-up by an image pickup device not having the clip link function are transferred. SOLUTION: Index picture data recorded on a source tape by a video camera having a clip link function are reproduced by a VTR 30 according to an instruction of a CPU 111 and written on a hard disk HDD 14. On the other hand, source video data recorded on the source tape with the video camera not having the clip link function are reproduced by the VTR 30 according to the command of the CPU 111 and fed to the CPU 111. The CPU 111 detects a change in each scene based on the reproduced data and generates the index picture data of each scene based on the detection output. The index picture data are written on the hard disk HDD 14 according to the instruction of the CPU 111.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to, for example, an index video database creating apparatus for creating a database of data indicating an index video serving as an index of each scene of the source video in a video editing system for editing a source video. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a non-linear video editing system has attracted attention as a video editing system for editing a material video. Here, the non-linear video editing system is a system for editing a material video using a disk-shaped recording medium that can be randomly accessed.

According to the non-linear video editing system, editing efficiency and flexibility can be improved as compared with a linear video editing system that performs editing using a tape-shaped recording medium.

[0004] However, the shooting of material video is usually
This is performed using a tape-shaped recording medium. Therefore, to realize a non-linear video editing system,
It is necessary to transfer (copy) data indicating material video from a tape-shaped recording medium (material recording medium) to a disk-shaped recording medium (editing recording medium).

[0005] In order to perform this transfer, a time equivalent to the recording time of the material video data on the tape-shaped recording medium is required. As a result, in the non-linear video editing system, although the actual editing time can be reduced, there is a problem that the preparation time before starting the actual editing is increased.

In order to solve this problem, the transfer time of the material video data may be reduced. Hitherto, a high-speed transfer method and a transfer method using a clip link function have been considered as transfer methods for reducing the transfer time of material video data.

Here, the high-speed transfer system is a system in which material video data is reproduced at high speed from a tape-shaped recording medium, and the reproduced data is recorded at high speed on a disk-shaped recording medium.
According to this method, since the material video data can be transferred at a high speed, the transfer time of the material video data can be reduced. For example, if the transfer speed of the material video data is set to four times the normal transfer speed, the transfer time of the material video data can be reduced to a quarter of the normal transfer time.

[0008] The transfer method using the clip link function means that, at the time of shooting, a material based on index video (hereinafter referred to as "index picture") of each scene recorded on a tape-shaped recording medium. This is a method for controlling the transfer of video data. According to this method, only the material video data of the required scene can be selectively transferred, so that the transfer time of the material video data can be reduced.

[0009]

However, of the two transfer time reduction methods described above, the high-speed transfer method can be used for transferring material video data shot by an existing video camera. In many cases, the link method cannot be adopted for transferring such material video data. This is because existing video cameras often have a high-speed playback function but do not have a clip link function.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to use a clip link function even when transferring material video data shot by a camera having no clip link function. It is an object of the present invention to provide an index video database creating apparatus which can use the transfer method described above.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An index video database creating apparatus according to the present invention reproduces the index video data from a recording medium on which data indicating the index video of each scene of the material video is recorded, and reproduces the index data. First database creation means for creating a database, and the material video data is reproduced from a recording medium on which data indicating the material video is recorded, and a change point of each scene of the material video is detected based on the reproduced data. Scene change point detection means, index image creation means for creating data indicating an index image of each scene of the material video based on the detection output of the scene change point detection means, and an index created by the index image creation means Second database creating means for creating a database of video data.

In the index video database creating apparatus of the present invention, for example, index video data recorded on a recording medium by a photographing machine having a clip link function is reproduced by a first database creating means, and then converted into a database. You. On the other hand, after the material video data recorded on the recording medium by the photographing apparatus having no clip link function is reproduced from the recording medium, the change point of each scene is detected by the scene change point detecting means. Then, data indicating the index video of each scene is created based on the detection output of the scene change point detection means. Then, the index video data is made into a database by the second database creating means.

With this, not only the index video of each scene of the material video shot by the camera having the clip link function but also the index video of each scene of the material video shot by the camera having no clip link function can be obtained. Created as a database. As a result, when transferring the material video data, only the material video data of the necessary scene is transferred with respect to the material video data shot by the camera having no clip link function. Therefore, even for such a material video, the transfer time is reduced.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The embodiment will be described in detail.

(Structure of the First Embodiment) In this embodiment, as a scene change point detecting means for detecting a scene change point, a change point automatic detecting means for automatically detecting the change point and a manual change point (Hereinafter referred to as “manual”).

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an index video database creating apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the entire non-linear video editing system including the index video database creation device of the present embodiment.

The illustrated non-linear video editing system 10
Is a computer main body 11 for performing database creation processing of index picture data and editing processing of material video data, an operation unit 12 for an operator to input data and the like to the computer main body 11, and a graphic for database creation. User interface (hereinafter “GU
I ". A) a computer display 13 for displaying a screen, a GUI screen for editing, and the like, and a hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as “HDD”) 14 for storing a database of index picture data.

The nonlinear video editing system 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a control communication unit 15 for transmitting control data to / from a video tape recorder (hereinafter, referred to as “VTR”) 30 for reproducing material video data, and digitally converting analog material video data reproduced by the VTR 30 to digital data. Analog / digital conversion unit (hereinafter, referred to as an “A / D conversion unit”) 16 for converting the video data into the original video data,
It has a compression unit 17 for compressing the material video data converted by the conversion unit 16, and a fixed disk device 18 for storing the material video data compressed by the compression unit 17.

The nonlinear video editing system 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes decompression units 19 and 20 for decompressing material video data reproduced by the fixed disk device 18 and analog video data supplied from an information source (not shown) storing video data such as titles. A / D converters 21 and 22 for converting into digital video data, and decompressors 19 and 20
Video data or A / D converter 2 decompressed by
A switcher circuit unit 23 for editing the video data converted in the first and second 22 and a digital / analog conversion unit (hereinafter referred to as “D / A”) for converting the video data output from the switcher circuit unit 23 into analog video data. ), A video display device 25 for displaying the edited result of the video data, and a VTR 26 for recording the edited result of the video data on, for example, a master video tape.

The computer main body 11 includes a central processing unit (hereinafter, referred to as “CPU”) 111 and the CPU 11.
It has a program memory 112 for storing one processing program, a work memory 113 used for the work of the CPU 111, and a video memory 114 for storing one frame of video data.

The fixed disk device 18 has, for example, one recording channel and two reproduction channels, and
The recorded data can be reproduced while recording the material video data reproduced at 0.

FIG. 2 shows such a fixed disk device 18.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a specific configuration of FIG. The illustrated fixed disk device 18 has three fixed disks 181.
(1) -181 (3) and fixed disk 181 (1)-
181 (3) access interface (hereinafter “I
/ F ". ) 182 (1) to 182 (3) and I / Os for input / output of fixed disks 181 (1) to 181 (3).
F183 (1) to F183 (3).

(Operation of the First Embodiment) In the above configuration, a process of creating a database of index picture data and a process of editing a material video using the created database will be described.

(1) First, a process of creating a database of index picture data according to a clip link will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart showing this processing.

First, a clip link will be described to make this process easier to understand. A clip link is a technique for recording data necessary for an editing process in a cassette at the time of shooting, thereby greatly improving the efficiency of the entire video production process.

Data necessary for the editing process includes clip link log data and index picture data. The clip link log data includes a scene number indicating a scene number, a time code indicating an absolute address on a tape, and the like. The time code is a time address in a frame unit. As the index picture, for example, a video of the first frame of each scene is used.

FIG. 4 shows a cassette 40 for clip links.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view conceptually showing the configuration of FIG. As shown, the clip link cassette 40 has a video tape 41 and a cassette memory 42. On the video tape 41, material video data (including material audio data) and index picture data are recorded. Cassette memory 4
2 stores clip link log data.

FIG. 5 shows the recording state of clip link log data and index picture data. When a predetermined button is pressed at the beginning (mark-in point) of each scene n (n = 1, 2,..., N) during shooting, the time code and the scene number of the mark-in point are recorded in the cassette memory 42. . At this time, data indicating a video of one frame at the mark-in point is recorded in the cassette memory 42 as index picture data. Similarly, when the above button is pressed at the end of each scene (mark-out point), the time code at the mark-out point is recorded in the cassette memory 42.

When the photographing is completed, the index picture data recorded in the cassette memory 42 is recorded after the last scene N. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing this recording state. In the figure, IP indicates an index picture. As illustrated, a plurality of index pictures IP are recorded in a region R for one frame as reduced still images. Specifically, for example, 32 sheets are recorded. Further, such a recording area R is provided for, for example, seven frames. The above is the description of the clip link.

Next, returning to FIG. 3, the process of creating a database of index picture data according to the clip link will be described.

In this database creation process, first, a process of reading clip link log data and index picture data from the cassette 40 to the computer main body 11 is executed (step S11). This process is started by an instruction of the worker. This instruction may be, for example, a GU displayed on the computer display 13.
This is performed by operating the I screen.

Upon receiving this instruction, the CPU 111 instructs the VTR 30 via the control communication unit 16 to reproduce the clip link log data and the index picture data. Upon receiving this instruction, the VTR 30
The clip link log data is reproduced from the cassette memory 42, and the index picture data is reproduced from the video tape 41. These reproduction data are transferred to the CPU 111 via the control communication unit 16.

Upon receiving these data, the CPU 111 writes them into the working memory 113. When the writing is completed, the reading process of the clip link log data and the index picture data is completed.

When the reading process is completed, a process for selecting a predetermined index picture is executed (step S12). Here, the predetermined index picture is, for example, an index picture of a scene that the operator wants to edit. This selection process is performed using, for example, a GUI screen for selecting an index picture.
That is, when the writing of the clip link log data and the index picture data is completed, the CPU 111 displays a GUI screen for selecting an index picture on the computer display 13.

FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of the GUI screen. As shown, G for selecting an index picture
On the UI screen, an index picture IP and a selection bar SB are displayed. Here, the selection bar SB is a bar indicating whether or not the corresponding index picture has been selected.

When the above-mentioned GUI screen for selecting an index picture is displayed, the operator selects a predetermined index picture IP. This selection is made, for example, by clicking the required index picture IP. When a certain index picture IP is selected, a corresponding selection bar SB is turned on. Thereby, the operator can know that the necessary index picture IP has been selected. When the selection of all necessary index pictures IP is completed, the process of selecting index pictures IP ends. This means that the necessary index picture IP database has been created in the HDD 14.

(2) Next, a process for editing material video data using a database of index picture data created according to clip links will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing this editing process.

In this editing process, first, a scene selection process required for editing is executed (step S2).
1). This process is started by an instruction of the worker.
This instruction is performed using, for example, a GUI screen.

Upon receiving this instruction, the CPU 111 first reads index picture data of the editing material specified by the instruction from the hard disk of the HDD 14. Next, the CPU 111 displays a GUI screen for scene selection on the computer display 13.

This GUI screen has the same configuration as the GUI screen shown in FIG. That is, it has a configuration in which the index picture IP and the selection bar SB are displayed. In this case, the index picture IP is H
The index picture IP read from the hard disk of the DD 14 is displayed.

When the GUI screen is displayed, the operator selects a scene required for editing. This selection is performed by selecting an index picture IP of a scene required for editing. When all scenes necessary for editing have been selected, the scene selection process ends.

When the selection process is completed, a process of transferring material video data is executed (step S22). In this transfer process, first, the CPU 111 instructs the VTR 30 to reproduce the material video data of the selected scene. VTR
Upon receiving this instruction, the 30 reproduces the material video data of the scene specified by the instruction from the video tape 41.

The reproduced data is transferred to the fixed disk drive 18
Supplied to In this case, if the reproduced data is compressed digital data, the reproduced data is supplied to the fixed disk device 20 as it is. On the other hand, if the reproduced data is analog data, the reproduced data is A / A
After being converted into digital data by the D conversion unit 17, the data is compressed by the compression unit 18 and supplied to the fixed disk device 18.

Upon receiving the reproduced data, the fixed disk device 18 transfers the reproduced data to the fixed disk 181.
Write to (1) to 181 (3). When the writing of the material video data of all the designated scenes ends, the transfer processing of the material video data ends.

When this transfer process is completed, a process for editing the material video data transferred to the fixed disks 181 (1) to 181 (3) is executed (step S23). This editing process is performed according to the instruction of the operator. This instruction is performed using, for example, a GUI screen.

Upon receiving this instruction, the CPU 111 controls the operations of the fixed disk device 18, the switcher circuit unit 23, the VTR 26, and the like based on the instruction. As a result, the material video data stored in the fixed disks 181 (1) to 181 (3) is read. This material video data is subjected to predetermined editing processing by the switcher circuit unit 23 after being expanded by the expansion units 19 and 20. This processing output is converted to analog data by the D / A conversion unit 24, and then supplied to the video display device 25. Thereby, the progress of the editing process is displayed.

The output of the switcher circuit section 23 is
It is supplied to the VTR 26. As a result, the editing result is recorded on the master video tape. When this recording process ends, the editing process ends.

When the editing process is completed, a process for outputting the editing result is executed (step S24). This process is started by an instruction of the worker. This instruction is performed using, for example, a GUI screen. Upon receiving this instruction, the CPU 111 instructs the VTR 26 to reproduce the edited result. Upon receiving this instruction, the VTR 26 reproduces the edited result. The reproduced data is supplied to the video display device 25 via the D / A conversion unit 24. Thereby, the editing result is displayed.

The above is the processing for editing the material video using the database of index pictures created according to the clip link.

(3) Next, with reference to FIG. 9, a description will be given of a process of automatically detecting a change point of a scene of a material video and creating a database of index picture data according to the detection result. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing this processing.

In this database creation processing, first, processing for automatically detecting a change point of a scene is executed (step S31). This change point automatic detection process is performed, for example, by detecting a change in the amount of a predetermined video element for each frame, and comparing this detection output with a predetermined threshold.

In other words, when the shooting scene is changed (when the recording time or the recording place is changed), even if the video is continuous, the video tape continues at the frame (frame of the video) before and after the change. , The amount of video elements such as luminance, saturation, hue, and the like (hereinafter, referred to as “feature amount”) greatly change.
On the other hand, when the shooting scene is not changed (when the same scene is continuously shot), the amount of the video element does not change much.

The present embodiment focuses on this point, detects a change in the characteristic amount for each frame while reproducing the material tape, and compares the detected output with a predetermined threshold to obtain a scene. Are detected.

This change point detection processing is started by an instruction from an operator. This instruction is performed using, for example, a GUI screen. When receiving this instruction, the CPU 111
It instructs the VTR 30 to reproduce the material video data and instructs the fixed disk device 20 to record the reproduced data.

Upon receiving this instruction, the VTR 30 reproduces the material video data from the video tape. This playback is
Done in real time. In this case, the VTR 30 includes:
A normal cassette, that is, a cassette having no clip link function is loaded.

The reproduction data of the VTR 30 is transmitted to the CPU 111
Is supplied to the fixed disk device 18. In this case, if the reproduced data is compressed digital data, the reproduced data is supplied to the CPU 111 and the fixed disk device 18 as they are. On the other hand, if the data is analog data, the reproduced data is converted into digital data compressed by the A / D converter 16 and the compressor 17, and then supplied to the CPU 111 and the fixed disk device 18.

When receiving the reproduced data, the CPU 111 detects a change in the characteristic amount for each frame. This detection is performed by detecting a feature amount for each frame and detecting a difference between the detected output and the detected output one frame before. This detection is performed in real time.

The processing result of this detection processing is stored in the working memory 1
13 is stored. This detection process is continued until the reproduction of the material video data ends. As a result, when the reproduction of the material video data is completed, a graph showing the change of the feature amount in units of frames is created on the work memory 113.

When the reproduction of the material data is completed, the CPU 111 compares the created graph with a predetermined threshold. Thereby, a change point of each scene is detected. In this case, a point where the detection output exceeds the threshold value is a change point. FIG.
0 shows an example of the relationship between the change in the feature amount and the threshold value TH.
In the figure, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the difference value of the feature amount. Time is expressed in frame units. Also,
Numbers in parentheses indicate frames detected as change points.

The threshold value TH is specified by, for example, an operator. This designation is performed by designating the number of scenes. When this number is designated, the CPU 111 automatically sets a threshold based on this number. This setting is performed so that the same number of change points as the designated number are detected. The reason that the threshold value TH is specified according to the number of scenes is that the editing worker is usually the photographer, or the worker hears the number of scenes from the photographer. Because they often know.

By the way, in the change point detection processing, as described above, the reproduction of the material video data is performed in real time. Therefore, in this change point detection processing,
No reduction in processing time. However, this change point detection processing is automatically performed. Therefore, during this processing period, the worker can perform other work.

In this embodiment, attention is paid to this point, and a device having one recording channel and two reproduction channels is used as the fixed disk device 18.

According to such a configuration, the fixed disks 181 (1) to 181 (3) of the fixed disk
This video data can be reproduced from the fixed disks 181 (1) to 181 (3) while recording the video data reproduced from the TR 30. This allows the worker
During the process of the change point detection process, another process different from this process can be performed as the background process of the change point detection process.

As the background processing, for example, there is a processing of deleting unnecessary video data from video data recorded on the fixed disks 181 (1) to 181 (3). According to this processing, it is possible to overwrite the recording area of the unnecessary video data with the subsequent video data.
The recording capacity of 81 (1) to 181 (3) can be effectively utilized.

As the background processing, two video data in different places are synthesized, and the synthesized result is output to the VTR 26.
There is a process for recording the information. According to this processing, simple editing can be performed prior to actual editing.

The above-described background processing is performed, for example, as follows. That is, when the process of automatically detecting a change point is started, the CPU 111 displays a GUI screen for background processing on the computer display 13. The worker
When this GUI screen is displayed, the CPU 111 is used to instruct the CPU 111 to perform desired background processing.

Upon receiving this instruction, the CPU 111 appropriately drives the fixed disk device 18, the switcher circuit section 23, the video display device 25, the VTR 26, and the like based on the instruction. As a result, a predetermined background process is performed.

For example, when unnecessary video data is deleted as background processing, video data recorded on the fixed disks 181 (1) to 181 (3) is reproduced using one reproduction channel. This reproduced data is supplied to the video display device 25 via the switcher circuit 23 and the D / A converter 24 after being expanded by the expansion unit 19 or 20. Thereby, the fixed disks 181 (1) to
The material video recorded in 181 (3) is displayed.

When the worker displays the material image,
While watching this display image, it is determined whether this display image is necessary. If it is not necessary, the CPU 111 is instructed to delete this video data using the GUI screen. Upon receiving this instruction, the CPU 111 instructs the fixed disk device 18 to overwrite the video data in the recording area where the video data specified by this instruction is recorded. Upon receiving this instruction, the fixed disk device 18 overwrites the subsequent video data on the recording area of the video data determined to be unnecessary. As a result, the video data determined to be unnecessary is deleted.

When a process of synthesizing two pieces of video data is performed as background processing, two different reproduction channels are used to record different portions recorded on the fixed disks 181 (1) to 181 (3). One video data is reproduced. Each reproduced data is decompressed by the decompression unit 19 or 20 and then synthesized by the switcher circuit unit 23. The result of the synthesis is supplied to the video display device 25 via the D / A converter 24 and also to the VTR 26. Thereby, the synthesized result is displayed and recorded on the master tape.

FIG. 11 is a timing chart showing the recording / reproducing operation of the fixed disk device 18. As illustrated, in the present embodiment, one recording channel CH (W) and two reproduction channels CH (R1) and CH (R2) are set by dividing one frame period T into three. It has become. In the figure, the first divided period T (1)
To the recording channel CH (W), and assign the second and third divided periods T (2) and T (3) to the reproduction channel CH (R).
1) shows a case of assigning to CH (R2).

According to such a configuration, the video data (see video input) reproduced in real time from the VTR 30 during a certain frame period T is three times as large as the first divided period T (1) of the next frame period T. Fixed disks 181 at the speed of
It is recorded in any one of (1) to 181 (3). Also, in the second or third divided period T (2), T (3) of a certain frame period, three fixed disks 181 are set.
The video data read from any one of (1) to 181 (3) is supplied to the decompression unit 19 or 2 in the next frame period.
It is output in real time from 0 (see video outputs 1 and 2). The above is the background processing performed in parallel with the change point detection processing.

When the change point detection processing shown in step S31 is completed, index picture creation processing is executed based on the detected change points (step S3).
2). That is, when the change point detection process ends, the CPU 111 instructs the VTR 30 to reproduce, for example, one frame of video data of the detected change point. VTR30
Receives this instruction, and reproduces one frame of the video data at the point designated by the instruction. This reproduced data is supplied to the CPU 111.

When receiving the reproduced data, the CPU 111 reduces the size of the reproduced data and stores it in the working memory 113. Thus, the index picture of the detected change point is stored in the working memory 113. When the storage of the index pictures of all the detected change points ends, the process of creating the index pictures ends.

Upon completion of the index picture creation process, a process of selecting a predetermined index picture from the created index pictures is executed (step S33). Here, the predetermined index picture is, for example, an automatic change point detection process (step S3).
Among the change points detected in 1), it refers to an index picture of a plausible change point or an index picture of a scene that the operator wants to edit.

This selection processing is performed, for example, in the same manner as the index picture selection processing (step S12) described with reference to FIG. That is, this is performed by displaying a GUI screen for selecting an index picture as shown in FIG.

Thus, the process of automatically detecting the change point of each scene and creating the index picture data database based on the detected output is completed.

(4) Next, with reference to FIG. 12, a description will be given of a process of editing a material video using a database created by a process of automatically detecting a change point.

The editing process includes, for example, an editing process for editing material video data written to the fixed disks 181 (1) to 181 (3) of the fixed disk device 18 by a database creation process, and a new VTR 30 for editing. There is an editing process of transferring material video data to the fixed disks 181 (1) to 181 (3) and editing the transferred data. The latter editing process is performed in the same manner as the editing process described with reference to FIG. Therefore, in the following description, the former editing process will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the former editing process.

In this editing process, first, the fixed disks 181 (1) to 181 of the fixed disk device 18 are set.
A process of selecting an unnecessary scene from the scenes written in (3) is executed (step S41). This selection process is performed in substantially the same manner as the necessary scene selection process (step S21) described with reference to FIG. That is,
This is performed using a GUI screen for selecting an unnecessary scene.

When the selection process is completed, a process of deleting the selected unnecessary scene is executed (step S4).
2). That is, when the selection process is completed, the CPU 111 instructs the fixed disk device 18 to delete the selected scene. Upon receiving the instruction, the fixed disk device 18 deletes the material video data of the scene specified by the instruction. When the deletion of the material video data of all the selected scenes ends, the unnecessary scene deletion processing ends.

When the deletion process is completed, an editing process is executed (step S43). This process is performed in the same manner as the editing process (step S23) in FIG. When the editing process is completed, an editing result output process is executed (step S44). This processing is performed in the same manner as the editing result output processing (step S24) in FIG.

The above is the processing for editing the material video using the index picture database created according to the automatic detection output of the scene change point.

(5) Next, with reference to FIG. 13, a description will be given of a process of manually detecting a scene change point of a material video and creating an index picture database based on the detected output. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing this processing.

In this database creation process, first, a process of displaying a GUI screen for creating an index picture is executed (step S51). FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a GUI screen for creating an index picture. The illustrated GUI screen for creating an index picture has a change point detection unit 51 for detecting a change point of a scene and an index picture display unit 52 for displaying an index picture.

The change point detecting section 51 includes a material image display section (Live) 511 for displaying a material image and a mark-in display section (IN) 512 for displaying an image of one frame at a mark-in point. , A mark-out display section (OU) for displaying one frame of video at the mark-out point
T) 513 and various operation buttons. The operation buttons include, for example, a playback button 514 for instructing playback of material video data and a reverse button 5 for instructing reverse.
15, a stop button 516 for instructing a stop, and a mark-in button 517 for instructing a mark-in point of each scene.
And a mark-out button 5 for indicating a mark-out point
18.

The index picture display section 52 displays the created index picture IP and a selection bar SB indicating whether or not this index picture IP has been selected.
Is displayed.

When the display processing of the GUI screen for creating an index picture is completed, a change point detection processing for detecting a change point and an index picture creation processing for creating an index picture based on the detected output are executed (step S1). S52). That is, when the GUI screen for creating an index picture is displayed, the operator operates the play button 514 displayed on the GUI screen. When this operation is performed, the CPU 111 instructs the VTR 30 to reproduce the material video data. Upon receiving this instruction, the VTR 30 reproduces the material video data. At this time, the material cassette loaded in the VTR 30 is a normal cassette having no clip link function.

The reproduction data of the VTR 30 is
Supplied to Upon receiving the reproduction data, the CPU 111 displays the material video represented by the reproduction data on the material video display unit 511 in a reduced size. When the material image is displayed, the worker detects the start and end of each scene while watching the material image.

When the head of each scene is detected by this detection operation, the operator operates the mark-in button 517. C
When the mark-in button 517 is operated, the PU 111 reduces and displays the image of one frame of the operation point on the mark-in display unit 512 as a mark-in point image, and displays it on the index picture display unit 52 as an index picture IP. Zoom out. Thus, each time the beginning of each scene is detected, the index picture IP is sequentially displayed on the index picture display unit 52.

When the end of each scene is detected, the operator operates the mark-out button 518. CPU111
When the mark-out button 518 is operated, an image of one frame of the operation point is displayed on the mark-out display unit 513 as a mark-out point image.

Upon receiving the reproduced data from the VTR 30, the fixed disk device 18 writes the reproduced data to the fixed disks 181 (1) to 181 (3). When the reproduction of the material video data is completed in this way, the process of detecting a change point and the process of creating an index picture IP are completed.

When these processes are completed, a process of selecting a predetermined index picture IP is executed (step S53). This selection process is performed, for example, in the same manner as the index picture selection process (step S33) described with reference to FIG.

When the selection process is completed, a process of writing data indicating the selected index picture to the hard disk of the HDD 14 is executed (step S5).
4). This process is performed, for example, in the same manner as the index picture data writing process (step S34) described with reference to FIG.

Thus, the process of manually detecting a scene change point and creating a database of index picture data based on the detected output is completed.

Next, a process of editing a material video using the index pictures stored in the database will be described.

As in the editing process, similarly to the case of automatically detecting a change point, for example, an editing process of editing material video data transferred to the fixed disk device 18 by a database creation process, and a new VTR 30 And the editing process for transferring the material video data to the fixed disk device 18 and editing the transferred data.

The former editing process is performed in the same manner as the editing process described with reference to FIG. The latter editing process is performed in the same manner as the editing process described with reference to FIG. Therefore, a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

The above is the processing for editing the material video using the index picture stored in the database.

(Effects of First Embodiment) (1) According to the present embodiment described above, a scene change point is detected, and a database of index picture data is created based on the detected output. Therefore, a database of index picture data can be created even for material video shot by a video camera having no clip link function. As a result, even for such a material video, only the video data of the necessary scene can be transferred from the material tape to the fixed disk device 18, so that the transfer time of the video data can be reduced.

(2) According to the present embodiment, means for automatically detecting a change point of a scene is provided as a means for detecting a change point of a scene. Can not be.

(3) According to the present embodiment, as means for detecting a change point of a scene, a means for manual detection is provided in addition to a means for automatic detection. Can detect a change point with his / her own eyes.

(4) According to the present embodiment, one recording channel CH is used as the fixed disk device 18.
(W) and two reproduction channels CH (R1) and CH (R
Since the apparatus having 2) is used, a simple editing process or the like can be performed while automatically detecting a change point of a scene. As a result, in terms of time and capacity,
The effective cost can be greatly reduced.

(5) According to the present embodiment, when automatically detecting a change point of a scene, a feature amount of a material video is detected, and this detection output is compared with a predetermined threshold value. , The detection accuracy of the change point can be improved.

(6) According to the present embodiment, when a threshold value for automatically detecting a change point of a scene is set, the number of change points to be detected is specified, and the specified number of change points is determined. Since the threshold value is set so that the number of change points approximately equal to the number of change points is obtained, if the number of scenes is known in advance, the detection accuracy of the change points can be improved.

(7) According to the present embodiment, when an index picture created based on the automatic detection output of a change point is made into a database, it can be selectively made into a database. Erroneous detection in automatic detection of a change point can be compensated.

(8) According to the present embodiment, when an index picture created based on the output of manual detection of a change point is stored, only the desired index picture can be stored. In addition, erroneous detection in manual detection of a change point can be compensated.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The embodiment will be described in detail.

(Structure of the Second Embodiment) In the above embodiment, a change in the characteristic amount of a material video is detected, and the detected output is compared with a predetermined threshold to automatically determine a scene change point. The case where one threshold is set as the threshold in the case of performing the automatic detection has been described. In contrast, in the present embodiment, a plurality of thresholds are set as such thresholds, a change point is detected for each threshold, and a plausible detection output is selected from among the detection outputs for the number of thresholds. It was made.

(Operation of the Second Embodiment) FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a process of detecting a changing point according to the present embodiment. In the figure, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the difference value of the feature amount. Time is expressed in frame units. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, a plurality of thresholds are set, and a change point is detected for each threshold.

In the figure, three threshold values TH1 and T
The case where H2 and TH3 are set is shown. Here, the threshold value TH
For example, 1 is a threshold value for suppressing the number of detected change points X to 8 or more and less than 12, and the threshold value TH2 is a threshold value for setting the number to 5 or more and less than 8, for example.
Is a threshold value to be set to less than 5. In such a configuration, the detection output of the change point is 3
One detection output is obtained.

When the change point detecting process is completed, a process of creating an index picture is executed based on the detected output. When this creation process ends, a process of selecting a plausible detection output from the three detection outputs is executed. This selection process is performed by displaying the created index picture for each threshold value.

FIG. 15 shows an example of a GUI screen for selecting a detection output. In the illustrated GUI screen, the created index picture IP is displayed for each threshold value. The GUI screen is provided with an icon I for selecting a detection output for each threshold value. Selection of the detection output is performed by clicking the icon I. For example, the icon I of the threshold TH1
When the button is clicked, the detection output based on the threshold value TH1 is selected.

In this embodiment, not only the change point detection output but also all index pictures IP related to this detection output are selected by this selection processing. Therefore, when all of these are the desired index pictures IP and the like, it is not necessary to separately select an index picture for creating a database (for example, the processing in step S33 in FIG. 9). In contrast, the desired index picture I
When an index picture IP other than P or the like is also included, clicking the index picture IP deletes the index picture IP.

(Effects of Second Embodiment) (1) According to the present embodiment described above, a change point is automatically determined by comparing a change in the characteristic amount of a material image with a predetermined threshold value. In this case, since a plurality of thresholds are set as the thresholds, even when the number of scenes is not known in advance, the detection accuracy of the change point can be improved.

(2) According to the present embodiment, all index pictures related to the detected output are selected by the process of selecting a plausible detected output from a plurality of detected outputs at the changing points. Therefore, when all the index pictures related to the selected detection output are the desired index pictures or the like, the selection of the detection output and the selection of the index picture can be performed by one operation.

(Modification of Second Embodiment) In the above description, when a predetermined index picture is selected from the created index pictures, the means for selecting the index picture in units of thresholds (a plurality of change points) Means for selecting a plausible detection output from the detection outputs of
The case has been described in which unnecessary index pictures are selected from the index pictures associated with the selected detection output by means of deleting the index pictures in index picture units.

However, in the present embodiment, a predetermined index picture may be selected from the created index pictures only by means for selecting the index picture in index picture units.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where a predetermined change point is selected from the detection output of the change point and the case where one frame of video is displayed at each change point has been described. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, several consecutive frames of video before and after the change point are displayed.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a change point selection process according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, reduced images of several frames before and after the change point are displayed for each of the detection points D1, D2, D3,. The figure shows a case where a video of 11 frames is displayed as a representative. Here, the reduced video with hatching indicates a video of one frame of the detected change points D1, D2, D3,. That is, it indicates the index picture IP.

According to such a configuration, when a plausible change point is selected from the detected change points, the change point can be selected on the basis of images of several frames.
The change point selection accuracy can be improved.

[Other Embodiments] The third embodiment of the present invention is described above.
Although one embodiment has been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

(1) For example, in the above embodiment, the case where a fixed disk device having one recording channel and two reproduction channels is provided as the fixed disk device 18 has been described. However, in the present invention, a fixed disk device having two or more recording channels and three or more reproduction channels may be provided.

(2) In the first, second, and third embodiments, when a change in the characteristic amount of a video material is detected,
The case where detection is performed in units of one frame has been described. However, in the present invention, detection may be performed in units of several frames.

(3) In the first, second, and third embodiments, as a method of automatically detecting a change point of a scene, a change point of a feature amount of a material image is detected. The detection method has been described. However, in the present invention, the detection may be performed by detecting a change point of an element other than the feature value. For example, the detection may be performed by detecting a change point of the time code.

(4) In the first, second, and third embodiments, a case has been described in which an image of one frame at a detected change point is used as an index picture. However, in the present invention, an image of one frame at a point other than the change point may be used.

(5) In the third embodiment, the case of displaying several frames of video and the case of displaying several consecutive frames of video before and after the detected change point has been described. However, in the present invention, it is also possible to display images of several consecutive frames before and after a point other than the change point. Further, in the present invention, instead of displaying images of several consecutive frames, images of several discontinuous frames may be displayed.

(6) In the first, second, and third embodiments, means for automatically detecting a change point in a scene and means for manually detecting a change point are provided. The case was explained. However, in the present invention, only means for automatically detecting may be provided.

(7) In the first, second, and third embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to the index video database creating device of the non-linear video editing system has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to an index video database creating device of a linear video editing system.

(8) In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0133]

As described above in detail, according to the index video database creating apparatus of the present invention, a change point of a scene is detected, and a database of index pictures is created based on the detected output. As a result, a database of index pictures can be created for material videos shot by a camera having no clip link function. As a result, even for such a material video, when the material video data is transferred, only the material video data of a necessary scene can be transferred.
Transfer time can be reduced.

According to the index video database creating apparatus of the present invention, means for automatically detecting a change point of a scene is provided as means for detecting a change point of a scene. It is possible to prevent the worker from being restrained.

According to the index video database creating apparatus of the present invention, as means for detecting a change point of a scene, means for manual detection is provided in addition to means for automatic detection. It is possible to cope with a case where an operator wants to detect a change point while checking with his own eyes.

Further, according to the index video database creating apparatus, a disc-shaped recording medium is used as a recording medium to which material video data is transferred, and a plurality of channels are set as drive channels of the recording medium. Therefore, a simple editing process or the like can be performed in parallel with the process of automatically detecting a change point. As a result, the effective cost can be significantly reduced in terms of time and capacity.

According to the index video database creating apparatus of the present invention, when automatically detecting a change point of a scene, a change in the characteristic amount of the material video is detected, and the detected output is compared with a predetermined threshold value. Are compared with each other, the detection accuracy of the change point can be improved.

According to the index video database creating apparatus of the present invention, when setting a threshold value for automatically detecting a scene change point, the number of change points to be detected is specified and specified. Since the threshold value is set such that the number of change points substantially equal to the number of change points obtained is obtained, if the number of scenes is known in advance, the detection accuracy of the change points can be increased.

According to the index picture database creating apparatus of the present invention, when the index picture created based on the detection output of the change point is created in the database, only the predetermined index picture can be selectively created in the database. As a result, erroneous detection in the detection of a change point can be compensated.

According to the index video database creating apparatus of the present invention, when a change point is automatically detected by comparing a change in the characteristic amount of the material video with a predetermined threshold, a plurality of thresholds are set. I set the threshold of
Even when the number of scenes is not known in advance, the detection accuracy of the change point can be improved.

According to the index video database creating apparatus of the ninth aspect, all index pictures related to the detected output are also selected by the process of selecting a plausible detected output from a plurality of detected outputs at the changing points. Therefore, when the index picture related to the selected detection output is all the desired index pictures, the selection of the detection output and the selection of the index picture can be performed by one operation.

Further, according to the index image database creating apparatus of the tenth aspect, since an image of several frames is displayed for each detected change point, a predetermined number of change points can be selected from the detected change points. It is possible to increase the selection accuracy when selecting a change point.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an index video database creating apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fixed disk device in the index video database creating device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first embodiment, particularly showing a process of creating a database of index picture data according to a clip link.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view for explaining the operation of the first embodiment, particularly showing a configuration of a cassette for a clip link;

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the first embodiment, particularly showing recording of clip link log data and index picture data.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the first embodiment and is a diagram particularly showing a recording state of index picture data on a material tape.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the first embodiment, and is a diagram particularly showing a GUI screen for selecting an index picture.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first embodiment, particularly showing a process of editing a material video using a database of index picture data created according to a clip link.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the first embodiment, in particular, a process of automatically detecting a change point of a scene of a material video and creating a database of index picture data according to the detected output. It is a flowchart which shows.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the first embodiment, and particularly shows an example of a relationship between a difference value of a feature amount and a threshold value TH.

FIG. 11 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the first embodiment, particularly showing the operation of the disk fixing device.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the first embodiment, and particularly shows a process of editing a material video using a database of index picture data created based on an automatic detection output of a change point. It is a flowchart.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first embodiment, in particular, a process for manually detecting a scene change point and creating a database of index picture data based on the detected output. It is.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the first embodiment, and particularly shows a configuration of a GUI screen for creating an index picture.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram particularly showing a change point detection process.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the second embodiment, and particularly shows a process of selecting an index picture.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram particularly illustrating index picture selection processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Non-linear editing system, 11: Computer body, 12: Operation unit, 13: Computer display,
14 HDD, 15 control communication unit, 16, 21, 22, ...
A / D converter, 17 compression unit, 18 fixed disk unit, 19, 20 expansion unit, 23 switcher circuit unit, 2
4: D / A converter, 25: video display device, 181 (1)
~ 181 (3) ... fixed disk, 182 (1) ~ 182
(3), 183 (1) to 183 (3) ... I / F

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI G11B 27/10 G06F 15/70 405 27/34 H04N 5/91 Z H04N 5/91 G11B 27/02 K

Claims (10)

[Claims] A first database creating means for playing back the index video data from a recording medium on which data indicating an index video of each scene of the material video is recorded, and creating a database of the reproduced data; The material video data is reproduced from a recording medium on which data indicating the following is recorded, and a scene change point detecting means for detecting a change point of each scene of the material video based on the reproduced data; Index video creating means for creating data indicating an index video of each scene of the material video based on the detection output of the above, and a second database creating a database of index video data created by the index video creating means And a means for creating a database for index video. 2. The index video database creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said scene change point detecting means is configured to automatically detect said change point. 3. The scene change point detection means includes: a change point automatic detection means for automatically detecting the change point; and a change point manual detection means for manually detecting the change point. The index video database creating device according to claim 1. 4. A disk-shaped recording medium for recording the material video data, a plurality of channels, and the writing of the material video data to the disk-shaped recording medium and the material video from the disk-shaped recording medium Medium drive means capable of simultaneously reading data; andediting means for editing material video data read from the disc-shaped recording medium by the medium drive means. The index video database creating device according to claim 1. 5. A video element detecting means for detecting a change in a predetermined number of video elements for each frame of material video data reproduced from the recording medium; 3. The index video database creating apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a change point detecting means for detecting the change point by comparing a detection output of the means with a predetermined threshold value. 6. The change point detecting means, the change point number specifying means for specifying the number of change points to be detected, and the threshold value being set based on the change point number specified by the change point number specifying means. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: a threshold setting unit; and a detection unit configured to detect the change point by comparing a threshold set by the threshold setting unit with a detection output of the video element detection unit. Index video database creation device. 7. The index database display means for displaying an index video indicated by the index video data created by the index video creation means, and an index displayed by the index video display means. Index video selecting means for selecting a predetermined index video from the video; and database creating means for creating a database of data indicating the index video selected by the index video selecting means. The index image database creating device according to claim 1. 8. The change point detecting means, a threshold setting means for setting a plurality of thresholds as the threshold, and comparing the plurality of thresholds set by the threshold setting means with a detection output of the video element detecting means. Detecting means for detecting the change point, wherein the second database creating means displays an index image indicated by the index image data created by the index image creating means for each threshold value Means, an index image selecting means for selecting a predetermined index image from the index images displayed by the index image displaying means, and a database of data indicating the index image selected by the index image selecting means is created. 6. An index video database creating apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a database creating means for performing the operation. 9. The index image selecting means, the image selecting means for selecting a predetermined index image from the index images displayed by the index image displaying means on a threshold basis, and the index image selecting means selected by the selecting means. 9. The index video database creating apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising video deletion means for deleting unnecessary index video from the index video in index video units. 10. The index image creating means is configured to create data indicating a plurality of frames of images including the index image for each change point detected by the scene change point detecting means, A database display unit for displaying a video indicated by the video data generated by the index video generation unit; and a predetermined index video from the video displayed by the video display unit. 2. The index video database creating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an index video selecting unit; and a database creating unit that creates a database of data indicating the index video selected by the index video selecting unit.