Abstract:
An image transmission apparatus/method characterized by inputting image data, detecting the motion of the image data, setting a transmission condition of the image data in accordance with the detection of the motion of the image data, processing the image data in accordance with the set transmission condition and transmitting the processed image data. 
     An image transmission apparatus/method characterized by detecting an image pickup condition of the image pickup means for picking up an image, decreasing information amount of image data from the image pickup means, controlling the decreasing operation in accordance with the image pickup condition and transmitting the image data having the information amount decreased. 
     An image transmission apparatus/method characterized by picking up an image to acquire image data, setting an image pickup operation mode, determining a transmission condition of the image data in accordance with the set condition, processing the image data in accordance with the determined transmission condition and transmitting the processed image data.

Description:
This is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 08/909,062, filed Aug. 14, 1997 now, U.S. Pat. No. 6,337,928. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an image transmission apparatus for transmitting image data and a method therefor. 
     2. Related Background Art 
     In the past, in order to watch and listen to video and audio picked up by a VTR built-in video camera or a video camera, the VTR built-in video camera or the video camera is connected to a monitor through a cord. 
     Alternatively, in order to wirelessly connect the VTR or the video camera to the monitor, the VTR or the video camera is connected to a transmission unit which is separate from the VTR built-in video camera or the video camera and the video and the audio are transmitted by FM-modulated infrared rays. 
     Recently, it has been proposed to wireless-transmit the video and audio data picked up by the VTR-built-in video camera or the video camera as a digital signal. 
     However, in the case of a cord connection, the work required to connect the VTR built-in video camera or the video camera with the monitor is troublesome. Further, because of the cord connection, the freedom of image pickup and watching is limited. 
     On the other hand, in the case of the FM-modulated infrared ray wireless connection, since the infrared ray transmission unit is separate, the connection of the VTR built-in video camera or the video camera with the infrared ray transmission unit is again needed and problems of degradation of information due to shortage of transmitted information, interference and disturbance, restriction to the directivity and short transmission distance are involved. Further, since the transmission amount is limited to a certain amount (for example, 128 Kbits/sec), information which is different from the intention of the user of the video camera may be transmitted. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     From the background described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image transmission apparatus which increases the freedom of image transmission, improves the operability and can externally transmit the intended information, and a method therefor. 
     For this purpose, in accordance with one preferred embodiment, the image transmission apparatus/method is characterized by inputting image data, detecting the motion of the image data, setting a transmission condition of the image data in accordance with the detection of the motion of the image data, processing the image data in accordance with the set transmission condition and transmitting the processed image data. 
     Further, in accordance with another preferred embodiment the image transmission apparatus/method is characterized by detecting an image pickup condition of the image pickup means for picking up an image, decreasing the information amount of image data from the image pickup means, controlling the decreasing operation in accordance with the image pickup condition and transmitting the image data having the information amount decreased. 
     Further, in accordance with another preferred embodiment, the image transmission apparatus/method is characterized by picking up an image to acquire image data, setting an image pickup operation mode, determining a transmission condition of the image data in accordance with the set condition, processing the image data in accordance with the determined transmission condition and transmitting the processed image data. 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a configuration of a VTR built-in video camera in accordance with the present invention, 
     FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of detail of a compression encoding/decoding circuit  108  of FIG. 1, 
     FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a configuration of a spread spectrum transmission circuit  110  of FIG. 1, 
     FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a detailed configuration of a pan/tilt detection circuit  113  of FIG. 1, 
     FIG. 5 shows an operation flow chart of a pan/tilt detector  404 , 
     FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a detailed configuration of a motion detection circuit  116 , 
     FIG. 7 shows a transmission method of image data in an operation key  113  and an operation switch for image pickup/transmission mode selection of transmission image quality, 
     FIG. 8 illustrates a setting ratio of parameters in an image pickup/operation mode in an embodiment, 
     FIG. 9 shows a flow chart of an operation of the VTR built-in video camera by the operation key shown in FIG. 7, 
     FIGS. 10A and 10B show examples of display of an EVF  112  in an embodiment, 
     FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of a configuration of a receiver in an embodiment, 
     FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of a transmission method of image data in the operation switch  113  and the operation switch for the image pickup/transmission mode selection of the transmission image quality, and 
     FIGS. 13A and 13B show relations between the number of frames and a frame rate in a frame preference mode and a resolution preference mode. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The image transmission apparatus of the present invention is now explained in connection with a VTR built-in video camera. 
     FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a configuration of a VTR built-in video camera in accordance with the present invention. 
     In FIG. 1, numeral  101  denotes a lens for picking up an image, numeral  102  denotes an image pickup element for focusing the image, numeral  103  denotes a CDS (dual correlation sampling)/AGC (automatic gain control) for sampling and holding the image and amplifying it to an appropriate level, numeral  104  denotes a motor driver for driving a lens for focusing or zooming, numeral  105  denotes a digital signal processing circuit for digitally processing image data, numeral  106  denotes a control circuit for controlling peripheral blocks, numeral  107  denotes a memory for digital processing, numeral  108  denotes a compression encoding/decoding circuit for compressing and decompressing the image data, numeral  109  denotes a recording and reproducing apparatus (VTR) for recording and reproducing the image data, numeral  110  denotes a spread spectrum transmission circuit for transmitting the image data, numeral  111  denotes an antenna, numeral  112  denotes an electronic view finder for displaying an image and image pickup information, numeral  113  denotes an operation key, numeral  114  denotes a microcomputer for controlling a system, numeral  115  denotes a detection circuit for detecting pan or tilt of the VTR built-in video camera and numeral  116  denotes a motion detection circuit for detecting the motion of the image data. 
     An operation of the VTR built-in video camera thus configured will be explained later. 
     FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the detail of the compression encoding/decoding circuit  108  of FIG.  1 . 
     In FIG. 2, numeral  151  denotes a pixel thinning-out circuit, numeral  152  denotes a memory, numeral  153  denotes a frame thinning-out circuit for thinning out the number of frames per second of the image data from a standard number, numeral  154  denotes a DCT (discrete cosine transform)/IDCT (inverse discrete cosine transform) circuit, numeral  155  denotes a quantization/inverse-quantization circuit, numeral  156  denotes a quantization step control circuit for controlling a quantization step of the quantization/inverse-quantization circuit  155 , numeral  157  denotes a Huffman code/decode circuit and numeral  158  denotes a Huffman table. 
     An operation of the compression encoding/decoding circuit  108  thus configured is described below. 
     First, an encoding operation is explained. 
     The image data inputted to the compression encoding/decoding circuit  108  is supplied to the pixel thinning-out circuit  151  and the pixels are thinned out in accordance with control data from the control circuit  106 . 
     The image data outputted from the pixel thinning-out circuit  151  is temporarily stored in the memory  152 . The frame thinning-out circuit  153  reads the image data stored in the memory  152  and thins out the frames in accordance with control data from the control circuit  106 . 
     The image data outputted from the frame thinning-out circuit  153  is divided into blocks for every 8×8 pixels by the DCT/IDCT circuit  154  to conduct the DCT conversion for each block. The DCT converted image data is supplied to the quantization/inverse-quantization circuit  155  and the quantization step control circuit  156 . 
     The quantization step control circuit  156  collects a plurality of blocks of DCT converted image data, determines the quantization step such that a predetermined code amount is acquired when the plurality of blocks of image data are coded and outputs quantization step data indicating the determined quantization step to the quantization/inverse-quantization circuit  155  and the control circuit  106 . 
     The quantization step data is added to the coded image data by the control circuit  106  and transmitted to a succeeding stage circuit. 
     The quantization step control circuit  156  is controlled by the control data from the control circuit  106  as the pixel thinning-out circuit  151  and the frame thinning-out circuits are controlled also. 
     Operation controls of the pixel thinning-out circuit  151 , the frame thinning-out circuit  153  and the quantization step control circuit  156  by the control data from the quantization step control circuit  156  will be explained later. 
     In the quantization/inverse-quantization circuit  155 , the DCT converted image data is quantized by using the quantization step data from the quantization step control circuit  154 . The image data quantized by the quantization/inverse-quantization circuit  155  is Huffman-coded by the Huffman code/decode circuit  153  by using the Huffman table  158  and it is outputted. 
     The decode operation is now explained. 
     The coded image data is Huffman-decoded by the Huffman code/decode circuit  157  in accordance with the Huffman table  158 . 
     The Huffman-decoded image data is dequantized by the quantization/inverse-quantization circuit  155 . The quantization step is set by the quantization step control circuit  156  based on the result of identification conducted by the control circuit  106  which identifies the quantization step data added to the coded image data and transmitted. 
     The image data dequantized by the quantization/inverse-quantization circuit  155  is IDCT-transformed by the DCT/IDCT circuit  154  and it is outputted. 
     FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a detailed configuration of the spread spectrum transmission circuit  110  of FIG.  1 . 
     In FIG. 3, numeral  301  denotes a serial-parallel converter from serial-parallel converting the image data, numeral  301 - 1  to  302 - n  denote multipliers, numeral  303  denotes a spread code generator, numeral  304  denotes an adder and numeral  305  denotes an RF (radio frequency) converter for converting into an RF signal. 
     An operation of the spread spectrum transmission circuit  110  thus configured is now explained. 
     The input image data is converted to n parallel data by the serial-parallel converter  301  and the respective converted data are multiplied by n different spread code outputs of the spread code generator  303  in the n multipliers  302 - 1  to  302 - n , added by the adder and output to the RF converter  305 . The added base band wide spread signal is converted to a transmission frequency signal having a proper center frequency by the RF converter  305  and output from the transmission antenna  111 . 
     FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a detailed configuration of the pan/tilt detection circuit  115  of FIG.  1 . 
     In FIG. 4, numeral  401  denotes an angular velocity sensor, numeral  402  denotes an amplifier/filter for amplifying the output of the angular velocity sensor  401  and limiting a band of the signal, numeral  403  denotes an A/D converter for converting the analog output of the amplifier/filter  402  to a digital signal and numeral  404  denotes a pan/tilt detection circuit for detecting the pan and the tilt of the camera shown in FIG. 1 based on the output of the A/D converter  403 . 
     An operation of the pan/tilt detection circuit  115  thus configured is now explained. 
     When the orientation of the camera is changed by the pan or the tilt, the angle sensor  401  outputs a signal in accordance with an angular velocity of the change of the orientation. 
     The output of the angular velocity sensor  401  is amplified and band-limited by the amplifier/filter  402 , digitized by the A/D converter  403  and inputted to the pan/tilt detection circuit  404 . 
     FIG. 5 shows an operation flow chart of the pan/tilt detector  404 . 
     First, it determines whether the angular velocity is not smaller than a predetermined threshold ωa or not (S 1 ), and if the angular velocity is not smaller than the threshold ωa, it is determined as the pan/tilt condition (S 2 ). If an angular displacement which is an integration of the angular velocity is not smaller than a threshold Θa even if the angular velocity is smaller than the threshold ωa (S 3 ), it is also determined as the pan/tilt condition (S 2 ). If the angular displacement is smaller than Θa, it is determined as a steady state (S 4 ). 
     The detection result by the pan/tilt detection circuit  404  is applied to the pixel thinning-out circuit  151  and the frame thinning-out circuit  153  and used for the control of the number of thinning-out of the pixels and the number of thinning-out of the frames. 
     FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a detailed configuration of the motion detection circuit  116 . 
     In FIG. 6, numerals  601  and  603  denote a block divider for dividing the data into 16×16 pixel blocks, numeral  602  denotes a one-field delay circuit for delaying the input image data by one field period, numeral  604  denotes a matching circuit for matching the outputs from the block dividers  601  and  603  for each block to calculate a correlation distribution, numeral  605  denotes a motion vector detector for calculating a motion vector of each block based on the output from the matching circuit, numeral  606  denotes a weighting circuit for applying a predetermined weight to the motion vector of each block and numeral  607  denotes a motion/still image detector for detecting whether the current image is a motion image or a still image based on the output of the weighting circuit  606 . 
     An operation of the motion detection circuit  116  thus configured is now explained. 
     The image data input from the control circuit  106  is divided into 16×16 pixel blocks by the block divider  601 . The input image data is also delayed by one field by the one-field delay circuit  602  and divided into 16×16 pixel blocks by the block divider  603  as the block divider  601  does. 
     The matching circuit  604  matches the outputs of the block dividers  601  and  603  for each block to calculate the correlation distribution. The motion vector detector  605  for each block calculates the motion vector for each block from the correlation distribution calculated by the matching circuit  604 . 
     A predetermined weight is applied to the motion vector of each block detected by the motion detector  605 . 
     For example, a large weight is applied to a center of the screen and a small weight is applied to a periphery of the screen. Namely, the center of the screen is weighted. 
     The motion-still image detector  607  detects whether a current image is a motion picture or a still picture in accordance with the output of the weighting circuit  606 . The detection result of the motion/still image detector  607  is transmitted to the pixel thinning-out circuit  151  and the frame thinning-out circuit  153  through the control circuit  106 . 
     An operation of the VTR built-in video camera configured as shown in FIG. 1 is now explained. 
     In the configuration of FIG. 1, the operation of the VTR built-in video camera is conducted through the operation key  113 . 
     In the pickup mode of the video camera, an object image is focused on an image pickup element  102  (for example, a CCD) by the lens  101 . 
     The image data derived from the image pickup element  102  is sampled and amplified by the CDS/AGC circuit  103  and inputted to the digital signal processing circuit  105 . The digital signal processing circuit  105  conducts the gamma processing and the white balance adjustment to the input image data. 
     The lens  101  receives a control command of the microcomputer  114  for the zooming and the focusing and is driven by the motor driver  104 . The image data is transmitted from the digital signal processing circuit  105  to the EVF  112  for monitoring the image being picked up and the image pickup data. The image pickup data (for example, tape counter, various alarms and image pickup operation mode) and control command are transmitted from the microcomputer  114  to the EVF  112 . 
     On the other hand, the image data is coded by the compression encoding/decoding circuit  108  by using the control circuit  106  and the memory  107  and recorded in the recording and reproducing circuit  109 . 
     Based on the information set by the user of the video camera by the operation switch  135  on the operation key  113  of the main unit, coded data for transmission and timing are generated by using the digital signal processing circuit  105 , the control circuit  106 , the memory  107 , the compression encoding/decoding circuit  108 , the microcomputer  114 , the pan/tilt detection circuit  115  and the motion detection circuit  116  and the image data to be transmitted is wireless transmitted from the antenna  111  by the spread spectrum transmission circuit  110  by the set transmission method and transmission image quality. 
     FIG. 7 shows the transmission method of the image data in the operation key  113  and the operation switch for the image pickup/transmission mode selection of the transmission image quality. 
     By operating the operation key  113  of FIG. 7, a user-desired image can be transmitted even for the wireless transmission in which a maximum transmission rate is smaller than that of wire transmission. 
     As the image pickup/transmission mode switches, a manual/standard selection switch  701 , a sports mode (a frame rate preference mode) selection switch  702 , a portrait mode (a resolution preference mode) selection switch  703  and a fault mode selection switch  704  are provided. 
     The manual/standard mode selection switch  701  switches the manual mode and the standard mode for each operation. When the manual/standard mode selection switch  701  is operated when the sports mode (frame rate preference mode), the portrait mode (resolution preference mode) or the fault mode is set, the mode is switched to the standard mode. 
     The respective modes are now explained. 
     The parameters which can be set in the manual mode include a horizontal image angle size, a vertical image angle size, the number of pixels per frame, a frame rate (the number of frames/second), a compression rate of a luminance signal and a compression rate of a color signal. The respective parameters may be set in various manners by operating slide switches  705  to  710 . 
     The parameters which may be set by the slide switches are not limited to the above and switches for various parameters for the transmission such as an audio compression ratio, a transmission protocol and a transmission power may be provided. 
     In the sports mode, the portrait mode and the fault mode, the setting ratios of the number of pixels, the frame rate and the compression rate are different. 
     FIG. 8 illustrates the setting ratios of the parameters in the sports mode (frame rate preference mode), the portrait mode (resolution preference mode) and the fault mode. 
     In FIG. 8, an abscissa represents the parameters (compression ratio, frame rate and the number of pixels) and an ordinate represents the magnitude of numerals. 
     In the standard mode, the ratio A is set, and in the sports mode (frame rate preference mode), the ratio B for the preference of the frame mode is set and the number of pixels is reduced from the standard by the control of the pixel thinning-out circuit  151 , and the weighting is applied to the quantization step by the quantization step control circuit  156  to increase the frame rate. In the sports mode, the frame rate may be controlled to increase by increasing the compression ratio without reducing the number of pixels. The frame rate by the sports mode is a maximum frame rate (for example, 30 frames/second) which can be attained by the video camera. 
     In the portrait mode (resolution preference mode), the ratio is set to C for the preference of the resolution, and the number of pixels is increased from the standard by the control of the pixel thinning-out circuit  151 , the frame rate is reduced from the standard by the control of the frame rate thinning-out circuit  153 , and the weighting is applied to the quantization step by the quantization step control circuit  156  to reduce the compression ratio from the standard. By this process, a high resolution and high quality image is attained although the frame rate is dropped. 
     When the sports mode or the portrait mode is set when the image data is to be transmitted together with the image pickup of the VTR built-in video camera, a charge storage time of the image pickup element  102  is set shorter than that in the standard mode by the microcomputer  114  and an object depth is set shallow. A focus-following velocity of the lens  101  driven through the motor driver  104  is fastest in the sports mode, next fastest in the standard mode and slowest in the portrait mode. In a full auto mode, the image pickup element  102  and the motor driver  104  operate in the same manner as that in the standard mode as opposed to the sports mode and the portrait mode. 
     FIGS. 13A and 13B show relations between the number of pixels and the frame rate in the frame preference mode and the resolution preference mode in the present embodiment. 
     In the fault mode, whether the image is a motion image or a still image is determined by the pan/tilt detection circuit  115  and the motion detection circuit  116 , and when it is the motion image, the pixel thinning-out circuit  151 , the frame rate thinning-out circuit  153  and the quantization step control circuit  156  are controlled to set the ratio B, and when it is the still image, they are controlled to set the ratio C. 
     Namely, in the fault mode, the frame preference mode or the resolution preference mode is automatically selected in accordance with the motion of the image. 
     In the present embodiment, the manual mode, the standard mode, the sports mode (frame rate preference mode), the portrait mode (resolution preference mode) and the fault mode are shown as the image pickup/transmission modes, the ratios of the parameters may be programmed in other operation modes for setting the image quality. As to the sorts of the parameters, parameters such as audio compression ratio, transmission protocol and transmission power may be used. 
     A wireless transmission operation of the VTR built-in video camera using the operation key shown in FIG. 7 is now explained with reference to a flow chart of FIG.  9 . 
     FIG. 9 shows a flow chart of an operation of the VTR built-in video camera by the operation switch shown in FIG.  7 . 
     First, in a step S 11 , a state of the operation switch (see FIG. 7) operated by the user of the video camera is read. 
     In a step S 12 , whether the manual mode is set or not is determined. If the manual mode is set, the process proceeds to a step S 13  to read the set states of the slide switches  705  to  710  shown in FIG. 7 to determine the settings to control the pixel thinning-out circuit  151 , the frame rate thinning-out circuit  153  and the quantization step control circuit  156 . 
     In the step S 12 , if the manual mode is not set, the process proceeds to a step S 14  to determine whether the standard mode is set or not. If the standard mode is set, the process proceeds to a step S 15  to determine the setting to control the pixel thinning-out circuit  151 , the frame rate thinning-out circuit  153  and the quantization step control circuit  156  to set the setting ratio A of FIG.  8 . 
     In the step S 14 , if the standard mode is not set, the process proceeds to a step S 16  to determine whether the sports mode (frame rate preference mode) is set or not. If the sports mode (frame rate preference mode) is set, the process proceeds to a step S 17  to determine the setting to control the pixel thinning-out circuit  151 , the frame rate thinning-out circuit  153  and the quantization step control circuit  156  to set the setting ratio B of FIG. 8, and the process proceeds to a step S 24 . 
     In the step S 16 , if the sports mode (frame rate preference mode) is not set, the process proceeds to a step S 18  to determine whether the portrait mode (resolution preference mode) is set or not. If the portrait mode (resolution preference mode) is set, the process proceeds to a step S 19  to determine the settings to control the pixel thinning-out circuit  151 , the frame rate thinning-out circuit  153  and the quantization step control circuit  156  to set the setting ratio C of FIG. 8, and the process proceeds to a step S 24 . 
     In the step S 18 , if the portrait mode (resolution preference mode) is not set, the process proceeds to a step S 20  to determine whether the fault mode is set or not. If the fault mode is set, the process proceeds to a step S 21  to determine whether the input image data is a motion image or not. 
     In the determination method for the motion image in the step S 21 , whether the input image data is a motion image or not is determined by determining whether the pan/tilt state is set or not by the pan/tilt detection circuit. 
     Namely, when it is determined as the pan/tilt state by the pan/tilt detection circuit  115 , it is determined that the input image data is a motion image. If it is not the pan/tilt state, whether the input image data is a motion picture or not is determined by the motion detection by the motion detection circuit  116 . 
     If it is determined as the motion image in the step S 21 , the process proceeds to a step S 22  to determine the setting to control the pixel thinning-out circuit  151 , the frame rate thinning-out circuit  153  and the quantization step control circuit  156  to set the setting ratio B of FIG.  8  and the process proceeds to a step S 24 . 
     If it is determined as not a motion image in the step S 21 , the process proceeds to a step S 23  to determine the settings to control the pixel thinning-out circuit  151 , the frame rate thinning-out circuit  153  and the quantization step control circuit  156  to set the setting ratio C of FIG. 8, and the process proceeds to a step S 24 . 
     If the fault mode is not set in the step S 20 , the process returns to the step S 11  to read the state of the operation switch (see FIG. 7) to conduct the mode determination again. 
     In the step S 24 , the operations of the pixel thinning-out circuit  151 , the frame rate thinning-out circuit  153  and the quantization step control circuit  156  are controlled to set the settings determined in the steps S 15 , S 17 , S 19 , S 22  and S 23 . 
     In a step S 25 , whether the transmission data is within a transmission capacity or not is determined. If it exceeds the transmission capacity, the process proceeds to a step S 26  to control the quantization step control circuit  156  to adjust the quantization step to suppress the transmission data amount within the transmission capacity. 
     In the step S 25 , if it is within the transmission capacity, the process proceeds to a step S 27  to start the data transmission. 
     In a step S 28 , whether the data transmission is completed or not is determined, and if the data transmission is not completed, the process returns to the step S 11 . If the data transmission is completed, the flow is terminated. 
     The settings determined in the steps S 15 , S 17 , S 19 , S 21 , S 23  and S 22  are stored in a ROM table built in the system in the present embodiment. 
     In the present embodiment, an operation state of the camera is displayed on the EVF  112  to allow the user of the video camera to recognize the operation state of the video camera. 
     FIGS. 10A and 10B show examples of the display of the EVF  112  of the present embodiment. 
     FIG. 10 shows an example of the display of the EVF  112  in the manual mode and FIG. 10B shows an example of the display of the EVF  112  in the sports mode. 
     “Record” in the figure indicates a recorder operation mode in the VTR built-in video camera and “10:15 AM” and “1995.12.10” indicates an auto date. 
     An apparatus for receiving the data wireless-transmitted by the VTR built-in video camera of FIG. 1 is now explained. 
     FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of a configuration of a receiving apparatus in the embodiment. 
     In FIG. 11, numeral  201  denotes an antenna, numeral  202  denotes a spread spectrum receiving circuit for spectrum inverse-spreading the signal received by the antenna  201  (by correlating the received signal with the same spread signal as that of the transmitter), converting the received signal to a narrow band signal having a band width corresponding to the original data and conducting the normal data demodulation to reproduce the original data. Numeral  203  denotes a decoding circuit for demodulating the image data reproduced by the spread spectrum receiving circuit  202 , numeral  204  denotes an input buffer for temporarily storing the decoded image data, numeral  205  denotes a frame memory for storing one frame of image data, and numeral  206  denotes a recording and reproducing circuit for temporarily storing the image data output from the frame memory  205  in a recording medium and reproducing it as required. Numeral  207  denotes a synchronization signal addition circuit for adding video synchronization signal data to the image data read from the frame memory  205  to convert it to video data, numeral  208  denotes a D/A converter, numeral  209  denotes a monitor (for example, a liquid crystal monitor) for video-displaying the video signal output from the D/A converter  208 , numeral  210  denotes a frame control circuit for controlling the input buffer  204  and the frame memory  205  and outputting one frame of received image data from the frame memory  205 , and numeral  211  denotes a synchronization signal generation circuit for generating a synchronization signal for defining a timing of the overall system and a video synchronization signal of the received image data. 
     An operation of the receiving apparatus thus configured is now explained. 
     The spread spectrum receiving circuit  202  spectrum inverse-spreads the signal received by the antenna  201  to convert the received signal to a narrow band signal of the band width of the original data to demodulate the original data. 
     The demodulated image data is supplied to the decoding circuit  203  for decoding processing. The decoded image data is stored in the frame memory  205  through the input buffer  204 . When the frame memory  205  stores one frame of image data, it reads out the image data. 
     The image data read out from the frame memory  205  is supplied to the synchronization signal addition circuit  207  or recorded and reproduced by the recording and reproducing circuit  206  and then supplied to the synchronization signal addition circuit  207 . 
     The synchronization signal addition circuit  207  adds the video synchronization signal data from the synchronization signal generation circuit  211  to the image data from the frame memory  205  or the recording and reproducing circuit  206 . The D/A converter  208  converts the digital output of the synchronization signal addition circuit  207  to an analog signal and supplies it to the LCD monitor  209 . The LCD monitor  209  displays the supplied image signal. 
     As described herein above, in accordance with the present embodiment, since the wireless transmission is conducted by freely selecting the transmission method and the transmission image quality which the user of the video camera desires, the information desired by the user of the video camera may be transmitted. Further, since the information of the optimum transmission method and the transmission image quality is automatically generated in accordance with the operation mode in the image pickup mode and it is wireless-transmitted, the work of the user of the video camera may be saved and the optimum wireless transmission may be conducted. 
     Further, since the spread spectrum transmission system is used for the wireless transmission, the transmission information amount may be increased, the degradation of the information by interference and disturbance may be prevented, the directivity is enhanced and the transmission distance may be extended. Further, since the setting information is displayed in the finder, the failure of the transmission state may be prevented and the operability is improved. 
     The operation switch of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is a mere example and various forms may be adopted. 
     For example, another example is shown in FIG.  12 . The operation switch of FIG. 12 uses one rotary switch  720  as a switch to set in the manual mode. 
     When the rotary switch  720  is rotated to a position a, the preference is set to the frame rate, and when it is rotated to a position b, the preference is set to the resolution. 
     As the rotary switch  720  is operated, the control circuit  106  controls the pixel thinning-out circuit  151 , the frame rate thinning-out circuit  153  and the quantization step control circuit  156 . 
     In other words, the foregoing description of the embodiments has been given for illustrative purposes only and is not to be construed as imposing any limitation in every respect. 
     The scope of the invention is, therefore, to be determined solely by the following claims and is not limited by the text of the specification, and alterations made within a scope equivalent to the scope of the claims fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.