Patent ID: 6393148
Filing Date: 2002-05-21
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
A method of enhancing an image, said image comprising a plurality of colors, each color having a range of tone levels, said method comprising:stretching the range of at least one color in said image, wherein the mean tone level for said at least one color remains approximately the same and the range of tone levels is stretched more at tone levels further away from said mean tone level than at tone levels close to said mean tone level, wherein said stretching the range comprises: generating one overall stretch factor for all of said plurality of colors; generating a color weighting factor for each respective color; generating an anchor factor based on the mean tone level for each respective color, wherein said anchor factor holds the mean tone level at approximately the same tone level; and using said overall stretch factor, said color weighting factor, and said anchor factor to stretch the range for at least one color.