Patent Publication Number: US-2011075042-A1

Title: Method and System for Advanced Motion Detection and Decision Mechanism for a Comb Filter in an Analog Video Decoder

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE 
     None. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     Certain embodiments of the invention relate to video processing. More specifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to a method and system for an advanced motion detection and decision mechanism for a comb filter in an analog video decoder. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Analog video may be received through broadcast, cable, and VCRs. The reception is often corrupted by noise, and therefore to improve the visual quality, noise reduction may be needed. Digital video may be received through broadcast, cable, satellite, Internet, and video discs. Digital video may be corrupted by noise, which may include coding artifacts, and to improve the visual quality and coding gain, noise reduction may be beneficial. Various noise filters have been utilized in video communication systems such as set top boxes. However, inaccurate noise characterization, especially during scenes with motion, may result in artifacts caused by the filtering, which are more visually detrimental than the original noise. 
     In video system applications, random noise present in video signals, such as National Television System(s) Committee (NTSC) or Phase Alternating Line (PAL) analog signals, for example, may result in images that are less than visually pleasing to the viewer and the temporal noise may reduce the video encoder coding efficiency. As a result, the temporal noise may affect the video quality of the encoded video stream with a given target bitrate. To address this problem, spatial and temporal noise reduction (NR) operations may be utilized to remove or mitigate the noise present. Traditional NR operations may use either infinite impulse response (IIR) filtering based methods or finite impulse response (FIR) filtering based methods. Temporal filtering may be utilized to significantly attenuate temporal noise. However, temporal filtering may result in visual artifacts such as motion trails, jittering, and/or wobbling at places where there is object motion when the amount of filtering is not sufficiently conservative. Spatial filtering may attenuate significantly high frequency noise or some narrow pass disturbing signals. However, spatial filtering may also attenuate the content spectrum, which may introduce blurriness artifacts in the active spatial filter areas. 
     Color information carried by a composite television (TV) signal may be modulated in quadrature upon a subcarrier. The subcarrier may have a frequency corresponding to the line scan frequency in a manner that may interleave the color information about the subcarrier between energy spectra of the luminance baseband signal. In color television systems such as NTSC and PAL, the color information comprises luminance (Y) and chrominance (C) information sharing a portion of the total signal bandwidth. Thus, a Y/C separation procedure in the receiving end may be required to extract the luminance and chrominance information individually. The luminance and chrominance information of some image areas, especially in image areas such as a motion edge of high frequency luminance, may not be distinguishable due to imperfect encoding techniques. For example, a television demodulator may incorrectly demodulate high frequency luminance information as chrominance information, causing color artifacts on vertical edges. These color artifacts may include, for example, color ringing, color smearing, and the display of color rainbows in place of high-frequency gray-scale information. 
     Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A system and/or method is provided for an advanced motion detection and decision mechanism for a comb filter in an analog video decoder, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims. 
     These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the present invention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, will be more fully understood from the following description and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an exemplary video processing system, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating exemplary consecutive video pictures for Y/C separation operations, in connection with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3A  is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a distribution of NTSC composite video baseband pixels in spatial and temporal domains, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3B  is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a distribution of NTSC composite video baseband pixels in spatial and temporal domains with one frame delay, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3C  is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a distribution of PAL composite video baseband pixels in spatial and temporal domains, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram of an exemplary spatial comb filter for Y/C separation operations, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram of an exemplary 3D motion adaptive temporal comb filter for Y/C separation operations, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram of an exemplary advanced motion detection system for Y/C separation operations, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram of an exemplary advanced motion detection and decision mechanism for a comb filter in an analog video decoder for Y/C separation operations, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for an advanced motion detection and decision mechanism for a comb filter in an analog video decoder for Y/C separation operations, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and system for an advanced motion detection and decision mechanism for 3D comb filter in an analog video decoder. In various embodiments of the invention, a spatial luma component and a spatial chroma component of a current pixel of a composite video baseband signal may be determined by a spatial comb filter. A temporal luma component and a temporal chroma component of the current pixel of the composite video baseband signal may be determined by one or more temporal comb filters. A motion level of the current pixel may be generated based on one or more video characteristics. A luma component and a chroma component of the current pixel of the composite video baseband signal may be generated based on the generated motion level, and determined spatial luma component, determined spatial chroma component, determined temporal luma component, and determined temporal chroma component of the current pixel of the composite video baseband signal. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an exemplary video processing system, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a video processing block  102 , a processor  104 , a memory  106 , and a data/control bus  108 . The video processing block  102  may comprise registers  110  and filter  116 . In some instances, the video processing block  102  may also comprise an input buffer  112  and/or an output buffer  114 . The video processing block  102  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to filter pixels in a video picture from a video input stream to separate luma (Y) and chroma (C) components. For example, video frame pictures may be utilized in video systems with progressive video signals while video field pictures may be utilized in video systems with interlaced video signals. Video fields may alternate parity between top fields and bottom fields. A top field and a bottom field in an interlaced system may be deinterlaced or combined to produce a video frame. 
     The video processing block  102  may be operable to receive a video input stream and, in some instances, to buffer at least a portion of the received video input stream in the input buffer  112 . In this regard, the input buffer  112  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to store at least a portion of the received video input stream. Similarly, the video processing block  102  may be operable to generate a filtered video output stream and, in some instances, to buffer at least a portion of the generated filtered video output stream in the output buffer  114 . In this regard, the output buffer  114  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to store at least a portion of the filtered video output stream. 
     The filter  116  in the video processing block  102  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to perform comb and/or notch filtering operations on a current pixel in a video picture to separate Y and C components. In this regard, the filter  116  may be operable to operate in a plurality of filtering modes, where each filtering mode may be associated with one of a plurality of supported filtering operations. The filter  116  may utilize video content, filter coefficients, threshold levels, and/or constants to generate the filtered video output stream in accordance with the filtering mode selected. In this regard, the video processing block  102  may generate blending factors to be utilized with the appropriate filtering mode selected. The registers  110  in the video processing block  102  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to store information that corresponds to filter coefficients, threshold levels, and/or constants, for example. Moreover, the registers  110  may be operable to store information that correspond to a selected filtering mode. 
     The processor  104  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to process data and/or perform system control operations. The processor  104  may be operable to control at least a portion of the operations of the video processing block  102 . For example, the processor  104  may generate at least one signal to control the selection of the filtering mode in the video processing block  102 . Moreover, the processor  104  may be operable to program, update, and/or modify filter coefficients, threshold levels, and/or constants in at least a portion of the registers  110 . For example, the processor  104  may generate at least one signal to retrieve stored filter coefficients, threshold levels, and/or constants that may be stored in the memory  106  and transfer the retrieved information to the registers  110  via the data/control bus  108 . The memory  106  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to store information that may be utilized by the video processing block  102  to separate Y and C components in the video input stream. The memory  106  may be operable to store filter coefficients, threshold levels, and/or constants, for example, to be utilized by the video processing block  102 . 
     In operation, the processor  104  may program the appropriate values for the filter coefficients, threshold levels, and/or constants into the registers  110  in accordance with the selected filtering mode. The video processing block  102  may receive the video input stream and may filter pixels in a video picture. In some instances, the video input stream may be stored in the input buffer  112  before processing. The video processing block  102  may generate the appropriate blending factors needed to perform the Y/C separation filtering operation selected by the processor  104 . The video processing block  102  may generate the filtered video output stream after performing the Y/C separation filtering operation. In some instances, the filtered video output stream may be stored in the output buffer  114  before being transferred out of the video processing block  102 . 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating exemplary consecutive video pictures for Y/C separation operations, in connection with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a current video picture  204 , a previous video picture  202 , and a next video picture  206 . The current video picture  204  or PICTURE n may correspond to a current picture being processed by the video processing block  102  in  FIG. 1 . The previous video picture  202  or PICTURE (n−1) may correspond to an immediately previous picture to the current video picture  204 . The next video picture  206  or PICTURE (n+1) may correspond to an immediately next picture to the current video picture  204 . The previous video picture  202 , the current video picture  204 , and/or the next video picture  206  may be processed directly from the video input stream or after being buffered in the video processing block  102 , for example. The current video picture  204 , the previous video picture  206 , and the next video picture  208  may comprise luma (Y) and/or chroma (Cb, Cr) information. In embodiments of the invention, where video fields are utilized as pictures, the previous video picture  202  may refer to the previous field of the same parity as the current video picture  204 , and the next video picture  206  may refer to the next field of the same parity as the current picture  204 . The previous, current and next video fields of the same parity may be referred to as consecutive video pictures. 
     Pixels in consecutive video pictures are said to be collocated when having the same picture location, that is, . . . , P n−1 (x,y), P n (x,y), P n+1 (x,y), . . . , where P n−1  indicates a pixel value in the previous video picture  202 , P n  indicates a pixel value in the current video picture  204 , P n+1  indicates a pixel value in the next video picture  206 , and (x,y) is the common picture location between pixels. As shown in  FIG. 2 , for the picture location, (x,y) is such that x=0, 1, . . . , W−1 and y=0, 1, . . . , H−1, where W is the picture width and H is the picture height, for example. 
     Operations of the video processing block  102  in  FIG. 1  need not be limited to the use of exemplary consecutive video pictures as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . For example, the video processing block  102  may perform filtering operations on consecutive video fields of the same parity, that is, on consecutive top fields or consecutive bottom fields. When performing noise reduction operations on consecutive video fields of the same parity, pixels in the video processing block  102  are said to be collocated when having the same picture location, that is, . . . , P n−1 (x,y), P n (x,y), P n+1 (x,y), . . . , where P n−1  indicates a pixel value in a previous video field, P n  indicates a pixel value in a current video field, P n+1  indicates a pixel value in a next video field, and (x,y) is the common picture location between pixels. 
       FIG. 3A  is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a distribution of NTSC composite video baseband pixels in spatial and temporal domains, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 3A , there is shown a plurality of pixels, pixel alpha, pixel A, pixel B, pixel C, pixel gamma, pixel F, and pixel H of a composite video baseband signal in spatial and temporal domains for the NTSC standard. 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the luma component (Y) and the chroma component (C) of a current pixel of a composite video baseband signal, for example, pixel B may be generated. The plurality of pixels, pixel B, pixel alpha, pixel gamma and pixel H may be in-phase, for example. The plurality of pixels, pixel A, pixel C and pixel F may be out of phase, for example. Pixel F may correspond to a pixel from a previous frame, and Pixel H may correspond to a pixel from two frames previous to the current frame of the composite video baseband signal, for example. 
       FIG. 3B  is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a distribution of NTSC composite video baseband pixels in spatial and temporal domains with one frame delay, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 3B , there is shown a plurality of pixels, pixel alpha, pixel A, pixel B, pixel C, pixel gamma, pixel F, and pixel K of a composite video baseband signal in spatial and temporal domains for the NTSC standard. 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the luma component (Y) and the chroma component (C) of a current pixel of a composite video baseband signal, for example, pixel B may be generated using one or more future frames. The plurality of pixels, pixel B, pixel alpha, and pixel gamma may be in-phase, for example. The plurality of pixels, pixel A, pixel C, pixel F and pixel K may be out of phase, for example. Pixel F may correspond to a pixel from a previous frame, and Pixel K may correspond to a pixel from a next frame of the composite video baseband signal, for example. 
       FIG. 3C  is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a distribution of PAL composite video baseband pixels in spatial and temporal domains, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 3C , there is shown a plurality of pixels, pixel alpha, pixel A, pixel B, pixel C, pixel gamma, pixel F, pixel H, pixel I and pixel J of a composite video baseband signal in spatial and temporal domains for the PAL standard. 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the luma component (Y) and the chroma component (C) of a current pixel of a composite video baseband signal, for example, pixel B may be generated. The plurality of pixels, pixel B and pixel J may be in-phase, for example. The plurality of pixels, pixel alpha, pixel gamma and pixel H may be out of phase, for example. The plurality of pixels, pixel A, pixel C, pixel F and pixel I may be vertical flip (V-flip) pixels, for example. Pixel F may correspond to a pixel from a previous frame, Pixel H may correspond to a pixel from two frames previous to the current frame, Pixel I may correspond to a pixel from three frames previous to the current frame, and Pixel J may correspond to a pixel from four frames previous to the current frame of the composite video baseband signal, for example. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram of an exemplary spatial comb filter for Y/C separation operations, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 4 , there is shown an exemplary spatial comb filter  400 . The spatial comb filter  400  may comprise a plurality of line delays  402  and  404 , a plurality of summers  406 ,  10 , and  414 , a divider  408  and a bandpass filter  412 . 
     The bandpass filter  412  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to allow a specific set of frequencies and attenuate a remaining set of frequencies. The plurality of line delays  402  and  404  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to delay a sample of the received composite video baseband signal by a time period. 
     In operation, the composite video baseband signal may be input to a first line delay  402  and a summer  406 . The output of first line delay  402  may pass to a second line delay  404  and the summers  410  and  414 . The output of the second line delay  404  may pass to the input of the summer  406 . The summer  406  may be operable to generate a double-amplitude composite video baseband signal since the subcarriers are in-phase. A divider  408  (i.e., 0.5 multiplier) may be used to normalize the signal, which may be then input to the negative input of summer  410 . Since a 180° phase difference exists between the output of summer  406  and the one line-delayed composite video signal, most of the luminance may be canceled by the invert adder  410 , leaving the chrominance. The output of the summer  410  may be input to the bandpass filter  412 . The bandpass filter  412  may be operable to generate the chroma component of the composite video baseband signal. The summer  414  may be operable to receive the line delayed composite video baseband signal and subtract the generated chroma component of the composite video baseband signal to generate the luma component of the composite video baseband signal. Notwithstanding, the invention may not be so limited and other architectures may be utilized for spatial comb filtering operations without limiting the scope of the invention. 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the spatial comb filter  400  may be operable to receive pixels of current frame video lines of a composite video baseband signal and utilize the received pixels to generate a spatial luma component (Y — 2D_comb) and a spatial chroma component (C — 2D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram of an exemplary 3D motion adaptive temporal comb filter for Y/C separation operations, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 5 , there is shown an exemplary temporal 3D_comb filter  500 . The temporal 3D_comb filter  500  may comprise an inter-field Y/C separator  502 , a motion detector  504 , an inter-field Y/C separator  506 , a plurality of multipliers  508 ,  510 ,  512 , and  514 , and a plurality of summers  516  and  518 . 
     The inter-field Y/C separator  502  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive a composite video baseband signal and perform 3D comb filtering operations for Y/C separation for still areas, or for video signals without motion, for example. The inter-field Y/C separator  502  may be operable to receive the composite video baseband signal and generate the luma component Y 1  and the chroma component C 1  of the composite video baseband signal. The intra-field Y/C separator  506  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive a composite video baseband signal and perform 2D comb filtering operations for Y/C separation for areas of the picture that may contain motion, or for video signals with motion, for example. The intra-field Y/C separator  506  may be operable to receive the composite video baseband signal and generate the luma component Y 2  and the chroma component C 2  of the composite video baseband signal. 
     The motion detector  504  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive a composite video baseband signal and generate a motion signal value (K), where K is in the range [0-1]. The motion detector  504  may be operable to allow the luminance and chrominance signals from the inter-field Y/C separator  502  and the inter-field Y/C separator  506  to be proportionally mixed. 
     The multiplier  508  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive as inputs, the luma component Y 1  and the motion signal value K and generate an output KY 1  to the multiplier  512  and the summer  516 . The multiplier  512  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive as inputs, the chroma component C 1  and the output of the multiplier  508 , KY 1  and generate an output KY 1 C 1  to the summer  518 . 
     The multiplier  510  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive as inputs, the luma component Y 2  and the motion signal value (1−K) and generate an output (1−K)Y 2  to the multiplier  514  and the summer  516 . The multiplier  514  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive as inputs, the chroma component C 2  and the output of the multiplier  510 , (1−K)Y 2  and generate an output (1−K)Y 2 C 2  to the summer  518 . 
     The summer  516  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive as inputs, the output of the multiplier  508 , KY 1  and the output of the multiplier  510 , (1−K)Y 2  to generate the luma component Y of the composite video baseband signal. 
     The summer  518  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive as inputs, the output of the multiplier  512 , KY 1 C 1  and the output of the multiplier  514 , (1−K)Y 2 C 2  to generate the chroma component C of the composite video baseband signal. 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the temporal 3D comb filter  500  may be operable to receive pixels of previous frame, current frame, and future frame video lines of a composite video baseband signal and utilize the received pixels to generate a temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb) and a temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. 
       FIG. 6  is a block diagram of an exemplary advanced motion detection system for Y/C separation operations, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 6 , there is shown an exemplary motion detection system  600 . The motion detection system  600  may comprise a raw motion field calculation block  602 , a motion map decision block  604 , a memory  606 , a motion hysteretic analysis block  608 , a block based motion component pre-processor  610 , a video analyzer  612 , an adaptive parameter based motion level adjustment block  614 , a spatial similarity detector, and a motion error post-processor  618 . 
     The raw motion field calculation block  602  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive pixels of current frame video lines and previous frames&#39; video lines of a composite video baseband signal. The low pass frequency luminance value (LP_dif) may be calculated between a current pixel, for example, Pixel B and a previous frame pixel, for example, Pixel F or Pixel H. The raw motion field calculation block  602  may be operable to generate the low pass frequency luminance value (LP_dif) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal based on the following equations: 
       For the NTSC standard, LP —   Dif ( n )=∥ B   LP ( n )− F   LP ( n )∥ 2   FILT  
 
       For the PAL standard, LP —   Dif ( n )=∥ B   LP ( n )− H   LP ( n )∥ 2   FILT  
 
     where B LP (n), F LP (n) and H LP (n) are low pass filtered outputs of Pixel B, Pixel F and Pixel H respectively. 
     The high pass energy value (HP_err) may be calculated as a difference in sensitivities of the high pass portions of current pixel, for example, Pixel B and out of phase pixels, for example, Pixel F or Pixel H. The raw motion field calculation block  602  may be operable to generate the high pass energy value (HP_err) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal based on the following equations: 
       For the NTSC standard, HP_err( n )=min{∥ B   HP ( n )− F   HP ( n )∥ 2   ,∥B   HP ( n )+ F   HP ( n )∥ 2 } FILT  
 
       For the PAL standard, HP_err( n )=min{∥ B   HP ( n )− H   HP ( n )∥ 2   ,∥B   HP ( n )+ H   HP ( n )∥ 2 } FILT  
 
     where B HP (n), F HP (n) and H HP (n) are high pass filtered outputs of Pixel B, Pixel F and Pixel H respectively. 
     The phase difference value (Inphase_dif) may be calculated as an in-phase frame pixel difference between a current pixel, for example, Pixel B and another in-phase pixel, for example, Pixel F or Pixel J. The raw motion field calculation block  602  may be operable to generate the phase difference value (Inphase_dif) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal based on the following equations: 
       For the NTSC standard, Inphase_dif( n )=∥ B ( n )− F ( n )∥ 2   FILT  
 
       For the PAL standard with 4 frame delay, Inphase_dif( n )=∥ B ( n )− J ( n )∥ 2   FILT  
 
       For the PAL standard with 3 frame delay, Inphase_dif( n )=∥ B ( n )+ H ( n )− F ( n )− I ( n )∥ 2   FILT  
 
     where B(n), F(n), H(n) and J(n) are the FIR filtered outputs of Pixel B, Pixel F, Pixel H and Pixel J respectively to remove the high frequency interference. 
     The block based motion component pre-processor  610  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive the generated low pass frequency luminance value (LP_dif), a high pass energy level value (HP_err), and a phase difference value (Inphase_dif) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. The block based motion component pre-processor  610  may be operable to filter the received low pass frequency luminance value (LP_dif), a high pass energy level value (HP_err), and a phase difference value (Inphase_dif) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal to remove noise and interference, for example. 
     The video analyzer  612  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive a plurality of video characteristics, such as a high pass energy level, a chroma bandwidth, temporal domain motion history, a texture, a color level, an intensity, a brightness, and/or a saturation of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B and one or more previous pixels, for example, Pixel F and/or Pixel H of the composite video baseband signal. The video analyzer  612  may be operable to generate a quantized output D(n) of the plurality of video characteristics to the adaptive parameter based motion level adjustment block  614  and the motion hysteretic analysis block  608 . 
     The spatial similarity detector  616  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive the current frame video lines of the composite video baseband signal and generate spatial similarity level (sim_spatial) to the adaptive parameter based motion level adjustment block  614  and the motion error post-processor  618 . 
     The adaptive parameter based motion level adjustment block  614  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive the filtered low pass frequency luminance value (LP_dif), a high pass energy level value (HP_err), and a phase difference value (Inphase_dif) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. 
     The adaptive parameter based motion level adjustment block  614  may be operable to generate an adaptive motion level (adaptive_motion_level) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal based on the generated low pass frequency luminance value(LP_dif), high pass energy level value (HP_err), and the phase difference value (Inphase_dif), and the one or more video characteristics of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the adaptive motion level (adaptive_motion_level) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal may be generated according to the following equation: 
       adaptive_motion_level( n )= F 4 {G 1( n )* F 1(LP_Dif( n ), C 1( n ))+ G 2( n )* F 2(HP_err( n ), C 2( n ))+ G 3( n )* F 3(Inphase_dif( n ), C 3( n ))} 
     where, G 1 ( n ), G 2 ( n ) and G 3 ( n ) are adaptive programmable parameters that may be tuned, C 1 ( n ), C 2 ( n ) and C 3 ( n ) are adaptive components calculated by the video analyzer  612  based on the plurality of video characteristics. For example, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, in instances where the content of an image has a higher level of detail or texture, the contents are with a lot of details/texture, the video analyzer  612  may be operable to increase the value of C 3 ( n ) to reduce the sensitivity of the adaptive_motion_level to the Inphase_dif value. The components C 1 ( n ), C 2 ( n ) and C 3 ( n ) may be calculated according to the following equations: 
         C 1( n )= F 1 —   c{D ( n )}; C 2( n )= F 2 —   c{D ( n )}; C 3( n )= F 3 —   c{D ( n )}. 
     The parameters G 1 ( n ), G 2 ( n ) and G 3 ( n ) may be calculated according to the following equations: 
         G 1( n )= F 1 —   g{D ( n )}; G 2( n )= F 2 —   g{D ( n )}; G 3( n )= F 3 —   g{D ( n )}. 
     where F 1 ˜F 3  are programmable functions. For example, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, in instances where the Inphase_dif value is lesser than a threshold value, the functions, F 3 _c and F 3 _g may be set to zero. 
     For the NTSC standard, the function F 1  may be calculated according to the following equations: 
         F 1 —   c{D ( n )}= K 11*max{0,min{∥ B   HP ( n )+ F   HP ( n )∥ 2   LPF   ,∥H   HP ( n )+ F   HP ( n )∥ 2   LPF   }−Th 11}+ K 12*max{0,∥ B   HP ( n )∥ 2   LPF   −Th 12 }+K 13*max{0,min{∥ B ( n )−alpha( n )∥ 2   LPF   ,∥B ( n )−gamma( n )∥ 2   LPF   }−Th 13}
 
         F 1(LP_Dif( n ), C 1( n ))=∥LP_Dif( n )− F 1 —   c{D ( n )}∥ 2   LPF  
 
     where K 11 , K 12 , and K 13  are programmable scaling factors and Th 11 , Th 12  and Th 13  are programmable threshold values. 
     Similarly, for the NTSC standard, the function F 2  may be calculated according to the following equations: 
         F 2 —   c{D ( n )}= K 21 *∥B   HP ( n )+ F   HP ( n )∥ 2   LPF   +K 22*sim — 2 D;  
 
         F 2(HP_err( n ), C 2( n ))=∥HP_err( n )− F 2 —   c{D ( n )}∥ 2   LPF  
 
     where K 21  and K 22  are programmable scaling factors. 
     For the NTSC standard, the function F 3  may be calculated according to the following equations: 
         F 3 —   c{D ( n )}=min{[ K 31*max{0,min{∥ B   HP ( n )+ F   HP ( n )∥ 2   LPF   ,∥H   HP ( n )+ F   HP ( n )∥ 2   LPF   }−Th 31 }+K 32*max{0 ,∥B   HP ( n )∥ 2   LPF   −Th 32 }],K 33*max{0,min{∥ B ( n )−alpha( n )∥ 2   LPF   ,∥B ( n )−gamma( n )∥ 2   LPF   }−Th 33}}
 
         F 3(Inphase_dif( n ), C 3( n ))=∥max{Inphase_dif( n )− F 3 —   c{D ( n )},0}∥ 2   LPF  
 
     where K 31 , K 32 , and K 33  are programmable scaling factors and Th 31 , Th 32  and Th 33  are programmable threshold values. 
     Accordingly, the adaptive motion level may calculated according to the following equation: 
       adaptive_motion_level( n )=0 for still pictures; 
       adaptive_motion_level( n )=255 or maximum value for motion pictures; and 
       adaptive_motion_level( n )= K 4*{( G 1( n )* F 1(LP_Dif( n ), C 1( n ))+ G 2( n )*( F 2(HP_err( n ), C 2( n ))+ G 3( n )*( F 3(Inphase_dif( n ), C 3( n ))} for other pictures. 
     where K 4  may be a programmable scaling factor that may be calculated according to the following equation: 
         K 4=min{max( G 41*sim — 2 D−Th 41,0) LPF +offset41, limit41}. 
     The motion map decision block  604  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive the generated low pass frequency luminance value (LP_dif), a high pass energy level value (HP_err), and a phase difference value (Inphase_dif) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. The motion map decision block  604  may be operable to generate motion_map value to the memory  606 . The motion map decision block  604  may be operable to generate the motion_map value according to the following equation: 
       motion_map(n)=Inphase_dif(n)&gt;[ F 3 —   c {D (n)}+offset05], where offset05 is a programmable offset parameter. 
     The memory  606  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to store the received motion_map value from the motion map decision block  604  for the current pixel, for example, Pixel B and one or more previous pixels, for example, Pixel F and/or Pixel H of the composite video baseband signal. The memory  606  may be operable to store the temporal domain motion history of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B and one or more previous pixels, for example, Pixel F and/or Pixel H of the composite video baseband signal. 
     The motion hysteretic analysis block  608  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive the stored motion_map values from the memory  606 . The motion hysteretic analysis block  608  may be operable to receive the generated low pass frequency luminance value (LP_dif), a high pass energy level value (HP_err), and a phase difference value (Inphase_dif) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal from the block based motion component pre-processor  610 . The motion hysteretic analysis block  608  may be operable to receive the quantized video characteristics from the video analyzer  612 . 
     The motion hysteretic analysis block  608  may be operable to generate a motion confidence value (motion_confidence) based on the temporal domain motion history of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B and one or more previous pixels, for example, Pixel F and/or Pixel H of the composite video baseband signal, the plurality of quantized video characteristics and the generated low pass frequency luminance value (LP_dif), a high pass energy level value (HP_err), and a phase difference value (Inphase_dif) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. The motion hysteretic analysis block  608  may be operable to bias the generated adaptive motion level by forcing the adaptive_motion_level(n) value to zero or a maximum value. For example, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, in instances where a previous field or frame is with motion, and if the current frame does not detect any motion, it may be assumed that the current pixel, for example, Pixel B is with motion. Similarly, if a previous field or frame is detected without any motion and in instances where the current frame&#39;s Inphase_dif is less than a threshold value, and if the current motion_level value is higher than a threshold value, the motion_level value may be set to zero. 
     The motion error post-processor  618  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive the motion confidence value (motion_confidence) from the motion hysteretic analysis block  608 . The motion error post-processor  618  may be operable to receive the adaptive motion level value (adaptive_motion_level) from the adaptive parameter based motion level adjustment block  614 . The motion error post-processor  618  may be operable to receive the spatial similarity level (sim_spatial) from the spatial similarity detector  616 . The motion error post-processor  618  may be operable to generate the motion level (motion_level) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal based on the generated adaptive motion level (adaptive_motion_level), the generated motion confidence value (motion_confidence) and a generated spatial similarity level (sim_spatial) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. For example, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, if the generated spatial similarity level (sim_spatial) is higher than a threshold value, the motion_level(n) may be biased towards a non-zero level. 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram of an exemplary advanced motion detection and decision mechanism for a comb filter in an analog video decoder for Y/C separation operations, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 7 , there is shown an exemplary video decoder  700 . The video decoder  700  may comprise a spatial comb filter  702 , a video content based motion detection block  708 , a plurality of temporal comb filters  710  and  712 , and a decision matrix  714 . The decision matrix  714  may comprise a look-up table  716 , a filter  718 , a blending logic block  720 , a low pass comb decision block  722  and a MUX/blender  724 . 
     The spatial comb filter  702  may comprise a 2D comb filter  704  and a spatial similarity detector  706 . The 2D comb filter  704  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive pixels of current frame video lines of a composite video baseband signal and utilize the received pixels to generate a spatial luma component (Y — 2D_comb) and a spatial chroma component (C — 2D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. 
     The spatial similarity detector  706  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive the current frame video lines of the composite video baseband signal and generate a spatial similarity level (sim_spatial) to the video content based motion detection block  708  and the decision matrix  714 . 
     The video content based motion detection block  708  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive the current frame video lines and previous frames&#39; video lines of the composite video baseband signal and the spatial similarity level (sim_spatial) from the spatial similarity detector  706 . The video content based motion detection block  708  may be operable to generate the motion level (motion_level) and the quantized video characteristics. The video content based motion detection block  708  may be similar to the motion detection system  600  and substantially as described in  FIG. 6 . 
     The temporal comb filter  710  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive pixels of previous, current and future frames of video lines of a composite video baseband signal and utilize these pixels to generate temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb 1 ) and temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb 1 ) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. The temporal comb filter  710  may be similar to the temporal 3D comb filter mode  500  and substantially as described in  FIG. 5 . The temporal comb filter  710  may comprise a low pass filter, for example. The temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb 1 ) may be generated according to the following equations: 
       For the NTSC standard,  Y   — 3 D _comb 1   =B ( n )+ F ( n ) 
       For the PAL standard,  Y   — 3 D _comb 1   =B ( n )+ H ( n ) 
     The temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb 1 ) may be generated according to the following equations: 
       For the NTSC standard,  C   — 3 D _comb 1   =B ( n )− F ( n )
 
       For the PAL standard,  C   — 3 D _comb 1   =B ( n )− H ( n )
 
     The temporal comb filter  712  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive pixels of previous, current and future frames of video lines of a composite video baseband signal and utilize these pixels to generate temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb 2 ) and temporal chroma component (C 3D_comb 2 ) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. The temporal comb filter  712  may be similar to the temporal 3D comb filter mode  500  and substantially as described in  FIG. 5 . The temporal comb filter  712  may not comprise a low pass filter, for example. The temporal luma component (Y 3D_comb 2 ) may be generated according to the following equations: 
       For the NTSC standard,  Y   — 3 D _comb 2   =B   LP ( n )+ B   HP ( n )+ F   HP ( n ) 
       For the PAL standard,  Y   — 3 D _comb 2   =B   LP ( n )+ B   HP ( n )+ H   HP ( n ) 
     The temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb 2 ) may be generated according to the following equations: 
       For the NTSC standard,  C   — 3 D _comb 2   =B   HP ( n )− F   HP ( n )
 
       For the PAL standard,  C   — 3 D _comb 2   =B   HP ( n )− H   HP ( n )
 
     The low pass comb decision block  722  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive the generated motion level and the quantized video characteristics from the video content based motion detection block  708  and generate a first coefficient (coef — 1). The value of coef — 1 may be calculated according to the following equations: 
       coef — 1=0, if Inphase_dif( n )&gt; Th 61, or motion_level( n )&gt; Th 62 
       coef — 1=256 or a maximum value, if motion_level( n )&gt; Th 63 
       coef — 1= K 6*motion_level( n ), otherwise, 
     where K 6  is a programmable scaling factor and Th 61 , Th 62 , and Th 63  are programmable threshold values. 
     The MUX/blender  724  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive the generated first coefficient (coef — 1) from the low pass comb decision block  722 . The MUX/blender  724  may be operable to receive the generated temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb 1 ) and temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb 1 ) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal from the temporal comb filter  710 . The MUX/blender  724  may be operable to receive the generated temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb 2 ) and temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb 2 ) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal from the temporal comb filter  712 . 
     The MUX/blender  724  may be operable to generate a temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb) and a temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal based on selecting one of the luma components, for example, Y — 3D_comb 1  and Y — 3D_comb 2  and the corresponding chroma components, for example, C — 3D_comb 1  and C — 3D_comb 2  corresponding to the generated first coefficient (coef — 1). 
     In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the MUX/blender  724  may be operable to generate a temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb) and a temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal based on blending the luma components, for example, Y — 3D_comb 1  and Y — 3D_comb 2  and the corresponding chroma components, for example, C — 3D_comb 1  and C — 3D_comb 2  with the generated first coefficient (coef — 1). For example, temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb) and a temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal may be generated according to the following equation: 
         Y/C   — 3 D ={coef — 1*( Y/C   — 3 D _comb 2 )+(256−coef — 1)*( Y/C   — 3 D _comb 1 )}/256
 
     The look-up table  716  may comprise information that may be stored in memory  106  and may receive as inputs, the spatial similarity level (sim_spatial) and the motion level of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. The processor  104  may be operable to utilize the stored similarity levels in the look-up table  716  to generate a corresponding coefficient, for example, coef_LUT. 
     The filter  718  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive the generated coefficient (coef_LUT) from the look-up table  716 . The filter  718  may be operable to low pass filter the generated coefficient (coef_LUT) to generate a second coefficient (coef — 2). 
     The blending logic block  720  may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to receive the generated second coefficient (coef — 2) from the filter  718 . The blending logic block  720  may be operable to receive the generated spatial luma component (Y — 2D_comb) and the generated spatial chroma component (C — 2D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal from the spatial comb filter  702 . The blending logic block  720  may be operable to receive the generated temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb) and the generated temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal from the MUX/blender  724 . The blending logic block  720  may be operable to generate the luma component (Y) and the chroma component (C) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal based on blending the generated second coefficient (coef — 2) with the determined spatial luma component (Y — 2D_comb), the determined spatial chroma component (C — 2D_comb), the determined temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb), and the determined temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the blending logic block  720  may comprise one or more fuzzy logic circuits that may be operable to blend non-linear values of the determined spatial luma component (Y — 2D_comb), the determined spatial chroma component (C — 2D_comb), the determined temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb), and the determined temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal with the generated second coefficient (coef — 2). 
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for a generalized multi-dimensional filter device for Y/C separation operations, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 8 , exemplary steps may begin at step  802 . In step  804 , a plurality of previous, current, and future samples of the composite video baseband signal may be received. In step  806 , a spatial luma component (Y — 2D_comb) and a spatial chroma component (C — 2D_comb) of a current pixel, for example, Pixel B of a composite video baseband signal may be determined. In step  808 , a temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb) and a temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal may be determined. In step  810 , a low pass frequency luminance value (LP_dif), a high pass energy level value (HP_err), and a phase difference value (Inphase_dif) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal may be generated. In step  812 , an adaptive motion level (adaptive_motion_level) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal may be generated based on the generated low pass frequency luminance value(LP_dif), high pass energy level value (HP_err), and the phase difference value (Inphase_dif), and the one or more video characteristics of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. The video characteristics may comprise one or more of a high pass energy level, a chroma bandwidth, temporal domain motion history, a texture, a color level, an intensity, a brightness, and/or a saturation of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B and one or more previous pixels, for example, Pixel F and/or Pixel H of the composite video baseband signal. 
     In step  814 , a motion confidence value (motion_confidence) may be generated based on the temporal domain motion history of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B and one or more previous pixels, for example, Pixel F and/or Pixel H of the composite video baseband signal. In step  816 , a motion level (motion_level) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal may be generated based on the generated adaptive motion level (adaptive_motion_level), the generated motion confidence value (motion_confidence) and a generated spatial similarity level (sim — 2D) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. In step  818 , a first coefficient (coef — 1) may be generated based on the one or more video characteristics and the generated motion level (motion_level) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. In step  820 , the temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb) and the temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) may be determined based on the generated first coefficient (coef — 1). In step  822 , a second coefficient (coef — 2) may be generated based on the generated spatial similarity level (sim_spatial) and the generated motion level (motion_level) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal by utilizing a look-up table  716 . In step  824 , a luma component (Y) and a chroma component (C) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal may be generated based on blending the generated second coefficient (coef — 2) with the determined spatial luma component (Y — 2D_comb), the determined spatial chroma component (C — 2D_comb), the determined temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb), and the determined temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. Control then passes to end step  826 . 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a method and system for an advanced motion detection and decision mechanism for a comb filter in an analog video decoder may comprise one or more processors and/or circuits, for example, a spatial comb filter  702  that may be operable to determine a spatial luma component (Y — 2D_comb) and a spatial chroma component (C — 2D_comb) of a current pixel, for example, Pixel B of a composite video baseband signal. The one or more processors and/or circuits, for example, the temporal comb filters  710  and  712  may be operable to determine a temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb) and a temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. The one or more processors and/or circuits, for example, the motion detection system  600  may be operable to generate a motion level (motion_level) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B based on one or more video characteristics. The video characteristics may comprise one or more of a high pass energy level, a chroma bandwidth, temporal domain motion history, a texture, a color level, an intensity, a brightness, and/or a saturation of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B and one or more previous pixels, for example, Pixel F and/or Pixel H of the composite video baseband signal. 
     The one or more processors and/or circuits, for example, the video decoder  700  may be operable to generate a luma component (Y) and a chroma component (C) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal based on the generated motion level (motion_level), and the determined spatial luma component (Y — 2D_comb), determined spatial chroma component (C — 2D_comb), determined temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb), and determined temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. 
     The one or more processors and/or circuits, for example, the motion detection system  600  may be operable to generate a low pass frequency luminance value (LP_dif), a high pass energy level value (HP_err), and a phase difference value (Inphase_dif) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. The one or more processors and/or circuits for example, the motion detection system  600  may be operable to generate an adaptive motion level (adaptive_motion_level) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal based on the generated low pass frequency luminance value(LP_dif), high pass energy level value (HP_err), and the phase difference value (Inphase_dif), and the one or more video characteristics of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. 
     The one or more processors and/or circuits, for example, the motion detection system  600  may be operable to generate a motion confidence value (motion_confidence) based on the temporal domain motion history of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B and one or more previous pixels, for example, Pixel F and/or Pixel H of the composite video baseband signal. The one or more processors and/or circuits, for example, the motion detection system  600  may be operable to generate the motion level (motion_level) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal based on the generated adaptive motion level (adaptive_motion_level), the generated motion confidence value (motion_confidence) and a generated spatial similarity level (sim_spatial) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. 
     The one or more processors and/or circuits, for example, the video decoder  700  may be operable to generate a first coefficient (coef — 1) based on the one or more video characteristics and the generated motion level (motion_level) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. The one or more processors and/or circuits, for example, the video decoder  700  may be operable to determine the temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb) and the temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) based on the generated first coefficient (coef — 1). The one or more processors and/or circuits, for example, the video decoder  700  may be operable to generate a second coefficient (coef — 2) based on the generated spatial similarity level (sim_spatial) and the generated motion level (motion_level) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal by utilizing a look-up table  716 . The one or more processors and/or circuits, for example, the video decoder  700  may be operable to generate the luma component (Y) and the chroma component (C) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal based on blending the generated second coefficient (coef — 2) with the determined spatial luma component (Y — 2D_comb), the determined spatial chroma component (C — 2D_comb), the determined temporal luma component (Y — 3D_comb), and the determined temporal chroma component (C — 3D_comb) of the current pixel, for example, Pixel B of the composite video baseband signal. 
     Another embodiment of the invention may provide a machine and/or computer readable storage and/or medium, having stored thereon, a machine code and/or a computer program having at least one code section executable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machine and/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for an advanced motion detection and decision mechanism for 3D comb filter in an analog video decoder. 
     Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware or a combination of hardware and software. The present invention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least one computer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware and software may be a general-purpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein. 
     The present invention may also be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the present context means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different material form. 
     While the present invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.