Patent ID: 6310982
Filing Date: 2001-10-30
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
Apparatus for reducing noise and motion artifacts in pixels of a currently output, displayed or processed video image by filtering pixel values of the pixels in the video image based on a first frame of the video image having currently filtered pixel values and a second frame of the video image having recently captured unfiltered pixel values, the apparatus comprising:a display for displaying filtered pixel values of the video image;a memory for storing the filtered pixel values of the first frame of the video image, wherein the first frame is represented by digital data and each pixel of the first frame has a pixel value represented by a set of bits of the digital data;a subtractor for producing difference values by (i) receiving the filtered pixel values of the first frame and the unfiltered pixel values of the second frame and (ii) computing a difference between the filtered pixel values of the first frame and the unfiltered pixel values of the second frame;a spatial filter means for computing a motion value of a pixel of interest by averaging the difference values of selected pixels surrounding the pixel of interest;a filter function means for producing an output difference value of the pixel of interest based on the motion value; andan adder for adding the output difference value to the first frame filtered pixel value of the pixel of interest.