Patent Publication Number: US-8120710-B2

Title: Interlaced video field motion detection

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation application and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/999,395, filed Nov. 29, 2004; which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/388,686, filed Mar. 14, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,859,237, entitled “Film source video detection,” issued Feb. 22, 2005; which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/780,057, filed Feb. 9, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,580,463, entitled “Film source video detection,” issued Jun. 17, 2003; which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/440,678, filed Nov. 16, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,577, entitled “Film source video detection,” issued Mar. 13, 2001; which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/948,841, filed Oct. 10, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,182, entitled “Film source video detection,” issued Jan. 11, 2000, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to television signal processing. More particularly, the present invention relates to improved signal processing apparatus and methods for detecting motion picture film sources in television signals. 
     DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
     In accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,976, it is known to detect that a 60 Hz NTSC television signal has as its source a 24 frame/second motion picture film. A 24 frame/second film is applied to and synchronized with 60 Hz NTSC video by using a 3-2 film pull-down ratio such that three video fields come from one film frame and the subsequent two video fields come from the next film frame (e.g., AABBBCCDDDEE, etc., where “A,” “B,” etc., are successive film frames). Video fields of the same parity in adjacent video frames are compared. When motion is present, a distinctive repeating pattern is obtained only if the video source is film (i.e., 1101111011, etc., where “1” indicates motion and “0” indicates no motion). 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,280 discloses an arrangement for detecting a 30 Hz progressive scan source, which may be a video camera or film, in a 60 Hz progressively scanned non-interlaced television system. In the presence of motion from frame-to-frame within the 30 Hz progressively scanned video image sequences, when the video sequences in adjacent video fields are compared, a 010101, etc., pattern results, indicating a 30 Hz progressively scanned source. Comparison of every second video field, to yield a 111111, etc., pattern, further confirms the 30 Hz progressive scan source. In order to operate, the arrangement relies on the spatial coincidence of pixels in the successive identical pairs of fields of the progressive scan television signal. 
     Published International Patent Application WO 91/30006 discloses apparatus for detecting twenty-five frame per second motion picture film sources in 50 Hz television signals, such as PAL, SECAM, 50 Hz NTSC, 50 Hz HDTV, and 50 Hz monochrome television signals. The detection scheme looks for differences in motion between a field and the previous field, on one hand, and between the same field and the subsequent field, on the other hand. 
     The detection of motion picture film sources in television signals is useful in various environments, for example, a line doubler, a television standards converter, a television slow motion processor, and a video information compressor. 
     A well-known “line-doubling” technique employs the conversion of an interlaced television signal (such as employed in the NTSC, PAL and SECAM systems), in which two time consecutive interleaved fields of scan lines represent a frame, to a non-interlaced or progressively scanned television signal, in which all of the scan lines in the frame are scanned out sequentially. The result, in the case of NTSC, is that 525 scan lines are presented every one-sixtieth of a second rather than 262.5 scan lines, thus potentially doubling the vertical resolution to the full frame resolution of 525 lines. Typically, line doublers employ, at least part of the time, field merging or inter-field interpolation, which provides a full doubling of the vertical resolution. Pairs of fields are combined to form a single progressively scanned frame. Such arrangements are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,876,956; 4,967,271; 4,982,280; 4,989,090; 5,159,451; and 5,291,280. 
     One problem resulting from field merging is that there is a time difference between fields in the interlaced television signal. Thus, a moving object may be in different locations from field to field and, if two such fields are combined to form a single frame, the vertical and diagonal edges of objects moving horizontally or diagonally appear as ragged sawtooths rather than smooth curves. Line doubling is lost along such transitions. The sawtooth effect is exacerbated if the reproduction system employs vertical enhancement. A sawtooth pattern is an artifact created by the incorrect interleaving of two fields arising from different film frames. Visually what should be a continuous vertical or diagonal line will appear as a zigzag on the edge. 
     One solution to this problem is to employ some type of scan line or intra-field interpolation in regions of the television picture display in which movement is occurring. An improved technique for providing intra-field interpolation in areas of the picture having motion is set forth in said U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,090. 
     A potential problem with switchable inter-field/intra-field interpolation line doublers is that motion may not be properly detected at all times, thus allowing the above mentioned jagged vertical or diagonal transition artifacts to appear briefly and intermittently. Such arrangements may have particular difficulty in consistently switching correctly between operating regimes when operating on an interlaced television signal that has been subject to data compression or standards conversion (as from PAL to NTSC, for example). 
     Another known solution to the problem is to recognize when the source of the interlaced television signal is a motion picture film. As mentioned above, in the United States, 24 frame per second motion picture films are applied to the 30 frame per second NTSC television signal by means of a “3-2 pulldown ratio,” such that a patterned sequence of 3 film frames, 2 film frames, 3 film frames, etc. are carried by consecutive television fields. By identifying pairs of interlaced fields carrying the same film frame, the pairs may be merged to generate essentially perfect line doubled progressively scanned frames, each representing a motion picture frame. Such techniques are described in said U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,876,596, 4,982,280 and 5,291,280. 
     However, the motion picture film detection arrangement is also subject to problems. For example, a video edit (rather than a film edit) may disrupt the 3-2 pulldown ratio, causing merged television fields to be derived from different film frames. Thus, until the film pulldown ratio detection circuitry resynchronizes itself (typically one to four fields of the input interlaced television signal), the ragged sawtooth transition artifacts, described above, may appear at the edges of moving objects. Although the undesired effect is fleeting, it is perceptible to the eye, occasionally disturbing an otherwise near perfect line doubling arrangement. 
     The last discussed problem may also arise in the motion picture film source line doubling arrangement when the input interlaced television signal fades from a film source to a video source. In that case, the system, as described, for example, in said U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,280, continues to operate in its “film mode” for a few fields before recognizing the loss of the 3-2 pull down pattern and switching to an inter field/intra-field interpolation arrangement of the sort described above. During those few fields before changeover from the film mode of operation, the same sort of ragged sawtooth artifacts may be generated if there is motion between the fields. In addition, the problem may also arise when the interlaced television signal derived from a motion picture source has been imperfectly data compressed or standards converted. 
     One solution to the problem of video edits disrupting the 3-2 pulldown ratio is set forth in said U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,280. The solution employs a field motion detector and includes circuitry to “look ahead” for video edits. However, as is explained in connection with the various aspects of the present invention, there are shortcomings in said U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,280 and in other prior art such that there is still a need to provide a better film motion detector for use in line doublers and in other applications as mentioned above. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram showing an overall view of the present invention, including its various aspects. 
         FIG. 2  is a quasi-three-dimensional representation of three consecutive interlaced scan television fields, showing relative pixel locations within the respective fields. 
         FIG. 3  is a functional block diagram showing an interlace to line doubled progressive scan converter environment in which the present invention or aspects thereof may be employed. 
         FIG. 4  is a functional block diagram showing details of the field motion detector of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 5A-F  are a series of idealized diagrams showing pixel amplitudes in video streams for the case of a prior art field motion detector having a high-frequency (sharp) vertical transition with no motion. 
         FIGS. 6A-F  are a series of idealized diagrams showing pixel amplitudes in video streams for the case of a prior art field motion detector having a high-frequency (sharp) vertical transition with motion. 
         FIGS. 7A-F  are a series of idealized diagrams showing pixel amplitudes in video streams for the case of a prior art field motion detector having a low-frequency (broad) vertical transition with no motion. 
         FIGS. 8A-H  are a series of idealized diagrams showing pixel amplitudes in video streams for the case of a field motion detector according to an aspect of the present invention having a high-frequency (sharp) vertical transition with no motion. 
         FIGS. 9A-H  are a series of idealized diagrams showing pixel amplitudes in video streams for the case of a field motion detector according to an aspect of the present invention having a high-frequency (sharp) vertical transition with no motion. 
         FIGS. 10A-H  are a series of idealized diagrams showing pixel amplitudes in video streams tot the case of a field motion detector according to an aspect of the present invention having a high-frequency (sharp) vertical transition with motion. 
         FIG. 11  is a functional block diagram showing details of the frame motion detector of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 12  is a functional block diagram showing details of the NTSC film detector of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 13  is a functional block diagram showing details of the PAL film detector of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 14  is a functional block diagram showing details of the sawtooth detectors of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 15A-D  are idealized representations of correctly and incorrectly interleaved scan lines, the incorrectly interleaved scan lines displaying the sawtooth artifact. 
         FIG. 16  is a functional block diagram showing details of the sawtooth based edit detector of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE 
     Each of the following United States patents, mentioned in the present application, are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,876,596; 4,967,271; 4,982,280; 4,989,090; 5,159,451; 5,291,280; 5,488,422; and  5 , 625 , 421 . 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Except as noted herein, practical embodiments of the invention may be implemented using analog, digital (including digital signal processing with software), or hybrid analog/digital techniques. The equivalency of analog and digital implementations in most contexts is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. 
     Throughout this document, for simplicity, signal inputs and outputs are drawn as single points and signal carrying lines are drawn as single lines, It wilt be understood that, in practice, more than one input or output point and more than one signal carrying line may be required, depending on the format of the signals and the manner in which the practical embodiments of the invention are physically constructed. 
     It should also be understood that functions shown separately may be combined with others in whole or in part. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that, in practice, switches shown throughout the various figures will be implemented electronically or in software rather than mechanically. 
     The invention or aspects of the invention may be advantageously employed in connection with an interlace to line doubled progressive scan converter which, for example, precedes a video data compressor or a standards converter. Both video compression and standards conversion are more accurately and easily accomplished when operating on a progressively scanned television signal rather than an interlaced television signal. By employing the present invention in a progressive scan converter preceding such video compression or standards conversion, such processes are assured to be operating on a more optimum signal source. 
     An overall view of the present invention, including its various aspects is shown in  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 3 , described below, shows an interlace to line doubled progressive scan converter environment in which the present invention or aspects thereof may be employed. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a signal Y in  is applied to an array of field and line memories  102 . The signal Y in  may be a monochrome video signal or the luminance components of a component color video signal. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that a component video signal may comprise analog or digital components such as RGB (from which luminance and chrominance components may be derived), Y/I/Q, Y/U/V, Y/R-Y/B-Y, Y/Cr/Cb, etc. Furthermore, in the case of digital components, the received digital component video signal may be in any of a number of compressed or uncompressed formats, including, for example, various ones of the digital component video formats in accordance with the recommendations, standards or compression algorithms of the CCIR (International Radio Consultative Committee) (such as the hierarchy of digital video coding formats under CCIR Recommendation 601, the 4:2:2 format often being referred to as a CCIR  601  video signal), ISO/MPEG (the Motion Picture Experts Group of the International Standards Organization), SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers), EBU (European Broadcasting Union), and/or the recommendations or standards of other industry, governmental or quasi-governmental bodies. 
     The array of memories  102  provides five outputs comprising time-delayed versions of Y in , which, along with Y in , itself, provides six time-spaced versions of the input luminance signal: two in a first television field F 0 , two in a second television field F 1  and two in a third television field F 2 . 
     The time-spacing of the six signal streams with respect to the spatial location of pixels (television picture elements) in the three consecutive fields may be better understood by reference to the representation of  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  is a quasi-three-dimensional representation in which the vertical and horizontal dimensions lie in the plane of a television picture field such that the vertical axis is the vertical direction of a television picture field, perpendicular to the scan lines, the horizontal axis is the horizontal direction of the television picture field, parallel to the scan lines, and the direction perpendicular to the plane of each field is a quasi-time axis in which each consecutive field is shown at a discrete time. At some arbitrary time during the active picture information of a television field, a pixel may be represented as point P(F 0 −1H) in field F 0 . That pixel is shown in  FIG. 2  as a point in a horizontal scan line. A second pixel in field F 0 , pixel PF 0 , occurring one line later in time, is directly below pixel P(F 0 −1H) vertically and is shown as a point in the next lower horizontal scan line. A first pixel in field F 1 , occurring 262 lines (in the case of NTSC, for PAL, 312 lines) after pixel P(F 0 ), and a second pixel in field F 1 , occurring 263 lines (in the case of NTSC, for PAL 313 lines) after pixel P(F 0 ), may be referred to as pixel P(F 1 −½H) and pixel P(F 1 +½H), respectively. Pixel P(F 1 −½H), shown as a point in a first horizontal scan line, is directly above pixel P(F 1 +½H) vertically, which pixel is shown as a point in the next lower horizontal scan line. A point P(F 1 ) in field F 1 , corresponding spatially to the location in which pixel P(F 0 ) of field F 0  lies, is half way between pixel P(F 1 −½H) and pixel P(F 1 +½H) due to the interlacing offset of horizontal scan lines from field to field. Thus, pixel P(F 1 −½H) precedes, by the time of one-half line, the point P(F 1 ), while pixel P(F 1 +½H) is, by the time of one-half line, after the point P(F 1 ). The spatial point in field F 2  corresponding to F 0  and F 1  is the location of pixel P(F 2 ), occurring 525 lines, exactly one frame or two fields, after pixel P(F 0 ). Pixel P(F 2 ) is shown as a point in a horizontal scanning line in field F 2 . A second pixel in field F 2 , P(F 2 −1H), occurring one horizontal line time earlier, is shown as a point in the horizontal scan line immediately above the scan line containing pixel P(F 0 ). 
     Returning again to  FIG. 1 , wherein the details of the array of field and line memories  102  are shown, the undelayed input luminance signal stream Y in  itself provides the F 0 −1H output stream. The input luminance signal stream Y in  is applied to a first 1H (one horizontal line time) delay  104  to provide the F 0  output stream. The output of delay  104  is also applied to a first 1H delay  106  (where n is 262 lines for NTSC, 312 lines for PAL) to provide the F 1 −½H output stream. The delay  106  output is applied to a further 1H delay  108 , to provide the F 1 +½H output stream and to a further nH delay  110  (where n is 262 lines for NTSC, 312 lines for PAL) to provide the F 2 −1H output stream. The delay  110  output is also applied to yet a further 1H delay  112  to provide the F 2  output stream. The delays may be implemented by various hardware, software and hybrid hardware/software techniques well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Although the delays are shown as series delays, they may be implemented in other ways such as by a multiport random access memory in which the signal stream is read in once and read out multiple times or by other equivalent ways. 
     Thus, the array of memories  102  provides six signal output streams corresponding to six pixel locations, two in each of three consecutive fields: pixels at time positions F 0 −1H and F 0  in field F 0 , pixels at time positions F 1 −½H and F 1 +½H in field F 1 , and pixels at time positions F 2 −1H and F 2  in field  2 . 
     A field motion detector  114 , described below, receives the F 0 , F 1 −½H, and F 1 +½H signal streams, signals spaced apart in time by one field minus one-half line and by one field plus one-half line. It is known to apply such inputs to field motion detectors—see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,982,280 and 5,291,280. The purpose of the field motion detector is to detect motion (having a velocity greater than, for example, one half line per field) from interlaced field to interlaced field without falsely detecting motion when a vertical transition occurs (for example, when the portion of the picture below a horizontal line is black and the portion of the picture above the line is white, or vice-versa). Although a field motion detector of the type disclosed in said U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,280 may be employed in aspects of the present invention, it is preferred to employ the improved field motion detector described below, which forms an aspect of the present invention, because of its greater resistance to false detection caused by certain types of vertical transitions. While a field motion detector such as that of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,280 may be employed in aspects of the present invention, the field motion detector of said U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,280 is preferable to that of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,280 in that the earlier patent provides no immunity to false detection resulting from vertical transitions. The output of the field motion detector  114 , F 0   mtn , is applied to an NTSC film detector  118  and to a PAL film detector  120 , each of which is described below. 
     Optionally, a second field motion detector (not shown) below may receive the F 2 , F 1 −½H and F 1 +½H signal streams, signals also spaced apart in time by one field minus one-half line and by one field plus one-half line. Such a second field motion detector could be used to provide additional redundancy or to provide increased accuracy in processing. 
     The F 0  and F 2  outputs of memories  102  are applied to a frame motion detector  114  where the two signals are compared on a pixel by pixel basis. The output of the frame motion detector, “MOTION,” is applied to the NTSC film detector  118 , the PAL film detector  120 , and to a sawtooth based edit detector  126 , described below. The MOTION signal may also be applied as an input to an interlace-to-line-doubled progressive-scan converter as shown in  FIG. 3 . Frame motion detectors receiving F 0  and F 2  signal stream inputs are known in the prior art—see, for example, said U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,280, said U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,271 and said U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,280. Various frame motion detectors, including those of said U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,280, U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,271 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,280, may be employed as the frame motion detector in aspects of the present invention. However, it is preferred to employ the improved frame motion detector, which forms an aspect of the present invention, described below. 
     The F 0 −1H, F 0 , F 1 −1H and F 1 +1H signal streams and the F 2 , F 2 −1H, F 1 −1H and F 1 +1H signal streams, respectively, are applied to an F 0  sawtooth detector  128  and an F 2  sawtooth detector  130 . Each sawtooth detector looks for the zigzag artifact that an incorrect interleaving of field  1  and field  0  or field  1  and field  2  would yield. The outputs of these two detectors, F 0   saw  and F 2   saw , respectively, are applied to the sawtooth-based edit detector  126 . Sawtooth detectors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,421. The sawtooth detection techniques forming an aspect of the present invention differ from those in said U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,421 in that the sawtooth detectors of the patent operate after interlace-to-progressive conversion (after line doubling) instead of before such conversion. 
     As explained further below, the NTSC and PAL film detectors ( 118  and  120 , respectively) examine the accumulated field motion between field  0  and field  1  and then search for the field motion film sequence pattern (a “10100” pattern in NTSC and a “10” pattern in PAL) before determining that the material is film and not video. In said U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,280, frames, instead of fields, are compared in the film detectors. The film detectors of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,280 impose a minimum size constraint instead of accumulating pixel differences. Nevertheless, a state machine as in said U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,280 may be employed in the film detectors of the present invention. The film detectors are reset by an edit Y/N (yes/no) signal when a “bad edit” is detected. A bad edit means an edit performed in video on film material when two complete film frames have not been removed, thereby breaking the 3-2 pulldown ratio. A film sequence might look like
         AAABBCCCDDEEEFF,
 
a good edit might look like
   AAABBEEEFF, and
 
a bad edit might look like
   AAACCCDDEEEFF,
 
where A, B, etc. are video fields derived from a particular motion picture frame (frame A, B, etc.).
       

     The outputs of the film detectors are two signals, a film Y/N (yes/no) signal and an F 0 /F 2  signal. The film Y/N chooses the mode under which the line doubler functions (see  FIG. 3 ). The F 0 /F 2  signal selects which field signal stream, F 0  or F 2 , for the line doubler (see  FIG. 3 ) to interleave (merge) with the F 1 −½H when the material is film. The film Y/N and F 0 /F 2  signal may be applied as inputs to an interlace-to-line-doubled progressive scan converter as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     The outputs of one of the two film detectors are selected by a double-pole double throw switch  132 . The switch is controlled by an externally supplied NTSC/PAL signal. This selects the appropriate film detector to be active dependent upon the input video format. The PAL film detector may also be employed to detect 30 frame/second sources in NTSC signals, in which case the switch  132  is placed in the PAL switch position. 
     The output of the F 0  and F 2  sawtooth detectors ( 128  and  130 ), F 0   saw  and F 2   saw  along with the motion signal, film Y/N and F 0 /F 2  signals are combined in the sawtooth based edit detector  126  to create the edit Y/N signal used for resetting the film detectors  118  and  120 . An edit Y signal immediately resets the film Y/N signal to N. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , which shows an interlace to line doubled progressive scan converter environment in which the present invention or aspects thereof may be employed, the input signal Y in , (see comments above regarding the nature of Y in ) is applied to block  302 , which includes the various functions of the  FIG. 1  arrangement. Block  302  provides a first video stream having the F 0  timing, a second video stream having the F 1 −½H timing (i.e., nominally 1 field time after the F 0  stream timing), and a third video stream having the F 2  timing (where F 0 , F 1 −½H and F 2  are as described in connection with  FIGS. 1 and 2 ). The F 1 −½H video stream provides the “direct” field Y dir  to one input of a line doubler pair  304 . The F 0  and F 2  video streams are applied to a non-film video processor  306  and a film video processor  308 . Block  302  applies its F 0 /F 2  output to the film video processor  308  and its film Y/N output to the control input of a single-pole double-throw switch  310 . The output of switch  310  provides the “interpolated” field, Y int  to the other input of the line doubler pair  304 . The outputs from the line doubler pairs  304  are combined to provide the output signal Y out . 
     In operation, scanning lines from the interpolated field Y int  are interleaved with the scanning lines from the direct field Y dir . The interpolated field scanning lines are taken either from the F 0  or the F 2  video stream, in the case of a motion picture film source, or, when the source is not motion picture film, are synthesized by any of various known techniques such as intra-field interpolation, inter-field interpolation, a combination of intra field and inter-field interpolation, or some other known technique. The example of  FIG. 3  assumes that the non-film video processor  306  operates adaptively in response to the applied motion signal such that it employs inter-field interpolation for conditions of no motion or low motion (for example, by averaging F 0  and F 2 ) and intra-field interpolation for conditions of medium to high motion. The film video processor selects either the F 0  or F 2  video stream in response to the F 0 /F 2  signal when a film source is detected, assuring that the correct field is merged with the direct field. 
     Field Motion Detector 
     Details of the field motion detector of  FIG. 1  are shown in  FIG. 4 . The field motion detector compares temporally adjacent pixel information of opposing field parity (field  0  and field  1 , for example) and differentiates field-to-field motion from vertical picture transitions to provide a field motion signal. 
     Each field motion detector includes three subtractors ( 402 ,  404  and  406 ), a keep smaller absolute value function  408 , a magnitude comparator  410 , and a motion/no-motion switch  412 . Subtractor  402  receives the F 1 −½H and F 0  signals. Subtractor  404  receives the F 0  and F 1 +½H signals. Subtractor  406  receives the F 1 −½H and F 1 +½H signals. The field motion detector described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,280 (see, e.g.,  FIG. 3 ) employs subtractors  402  and  404 , receiving the same inputs as just described, and the keep smaller absolute value function  408 . The field motion detectors of the present invention may use the same keep smaller absolute value function arrangement as in said U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,280. 
     Inter-field subtractions yield field motion but also incorrectly detect vertical transitions as motion. The keep smaller absolute value function chooses the smaller of the two inter-field subtractions and thereby differentiates high frequency vertical transitions from motion. Unfortunately low frequency vertical transitions are still detected as motion. To overcome this shortcoming, the field motion detector of the present invention adds a single line vertical differentiator (the third subtractor  406 ), whose output, a measure of vertical energy, is compared in magnitude comparator  410  to the output of the keep smaller absolute value function  408 , a measure of field motion. Subtractor  406 , functioning as a single line vertical differentiator, looks for a vertical transition within a field. If the magnitude of the vertical transition is greater than the magnitude of the field motion, then a vertical transition was incorrectly determined to be motion so the output switch goes to the NO position and no motion is detected. However, if the field motion is greater than the vertical energy, the motion value YES is output. This yields a more precise motion detection. It will be noted that sign of motion information signals from the subtractors are irrelevant in view of the keep smaller absolute value function. 
     The inability of the prior art field motion detector to differentiate between low-frequency vertical transitions and motion versus the performance of the improved field motion detector of the present invention may be better understood by reference to  FIGS. 5-10  which depict idealized representations of pixel amplitudes (in consecutive lines) (i.e., vertical pixels rather than horizontal pixels) versus time in time-spaced video streams for various signal conditions and the resulting field motion detector signal outputs.  FIGS. 5-7  relate to the prior art field motion detector as disclosed in said U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,280 (which, as noted above, forms a portion of the improved field motion detector of the present invention), while  FIGS. 8-10  relate to the improved field motion detector of the present invention. In referring to  FIGS. 5-10 , reference may be made to  FIG. 2  to appreciate more fully the relative position of the various pixels in the interlaced video fields. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5  (prior art—high-frequency vertical transition, no motion),  FIG. 5A  shows pixel amplitudes in consecutive lines in the video stream F 0 ;  FIG. 5B  shows pixel amplitudes in the video stream F 1 −½H (262 lines in time after the F 0  video stream); and  FIG. 5C  shows pixel amplitude values in the video stream F 1 +½H (263 lines in time after the F 0  video stream). Subtractor  402  produces the output shown in  FIG. 5D  (one pixel), while subtractor  404  produces the output shown in  FIG. 5E  (no pixels). The keep smaller absolute value function  408  thus produces the output shown in  FIG. 5F  (no pixels). This output, the output that would be provided by the field motion detector of said U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,280, is the correct output—the high-frequency transition in the presence of no motion results in the correct “no motion” output for each of the pixel positions. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6  (prior art—high-frequency vertical transition, motion),  FIG. 6A  shows pixel amplitudes in consecutive lines in the video stream F 0 ;  FIG. 6B  shows pixel amplitudes in the video stream F 1 −½H (262 lines in time after the F 0  video stream); and  FIG. 6C  shows pixel amplitude values in the video stream F 1 +½H (263 lines in time after the F 0  video stream). Subtractor  402  produces the output shown in  FIG. 6D  (two pixels), while subtractor  404  produces the output shown in  FIG. 6E  (three pixels). The keep smaller absolute value function  408  thus produces the output shown in  FIG. 6F  (two pixels). This output, the output that would be provided by the field motion detector of said U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,280, is the correct output—the high-frequency transition in the presence of motion results in the correct “motion” output (motion signals at pixel positions in two lines, indicating the amplitude of the relative field to field motion). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7  (prior art—low-frequency transition, no motion),  FIG. 7A  shows pixel amplitudes in consecutive lines in the video stream F 0 ;  FIG. 7B  shows pixel amplitudes in the video stream F 1 −½H (262 lines in time after the F 0  video stream); and  FIG. 7C  shows pixel amplitude values in the video stream F 1 +½H (263 lines in time after the F 0  video stream). Each shows slowly increasing pixel values such as would occur in the case of a low-frequency vertical transition (a fade from black to white). Subtractor  402  produces the output shown in  FIG. 7D  (four low level pixels), while subtractor  404  produces the output shown in  FIG. 7E  (four low level pixels). The keep smaller absolute value function  408  thus produces the output shown in  FIG. 7F  (three low level pixels). This output, shown in  FIG. 7H , the output that would be provided by the field motion detector of said U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,280, is an incorrect output—the low-frequency transition in the presence of no motion results in an incorrect “motion” output (low amplitude motion signals at pixel positions in three lines). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 8  (present invention—high-frequency vertical transition, no motion),  FIG. 8A  shows pixel amplitudes in consecutive lines in the video stream F 0 ;  FIG. 8B  shows pixel amplitudes in the video stream F 1 −½H (262 lines in time after the F 0  video stream); and  FIG. 8C  shows pixel amplitude values in the video stream F 1 +½H (263 lines in time after the F 0  video stream). Subtractor  402  produces the output shown in  FIG. 8D  (one pixel), while subtractor  404  produces the output shown in  FIG. 8E  (no pixels). The keep smaller absolute value function  408  thus produces the output shown in  FIG. 8F  (no pixels). Subtractor  406  produces the output shown in  FIG. 8G  (one pixel). Since the subtractor  406  output, indicating vertical energy, is greater than the keep smaller absolute value function  408  output, the magnitude comparator causes the switch  412  to move to its no position, resulting in no output, indicating no motion. The output, shown in  FIG. 8H , is the same as the prior art (see  FIG. 5 ). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 9  (present invention—high-frequency vertical transition, motion),  FIG. 9A  shows pixel amplitudes in consecutive lines in the video stream F 0 ;  FIG. 9B  shows pixel amplitudes in the video stream F 1 −½H (262 lines in time after the F 0  video stream); and  FIG. 9C  shows pixel amplitude values in the video stream F 1 +½H (263 lines in time after the F 0  video stream). Subtractor  402  produces the output shown in  FIG. 9D  (two pixels), while subtractor  404  produces the output shown in  FIG. 9E  (three pixels). The keep smaller absolute value function  408  thus produces the output shown in  FIG. 9F  (two pixels). Subtractor  406  produces the output shown in  FIG. 9G  (one pixel). Since the subtractor  406  output, indicating vertical energy, is less than the keep smaller absolute value function  408  output, the magnitude comparator moves the switch  412  to its yes position for two pixel times, resulting in the keep smaller absolute value output being provided as the field motion detector output, indicating motion with those amplitudes at the two pixel positions. For the remaining pixel positions, the subtractor  406  output is greater than the keep smaller absolute value function  408  output so that the magnitude comparator places the switch  412  in its no position, resulting in no output, indicating no motion. The results, shown in  FIG. 9H , are the same as the prior art (see  FIG. 6 ). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 10  (present invention—low-frequency vertical transition, no motion),  FIG. 10A  shows pixel amplitudes in the video stream F 0 ;  FIG. 10B  shows pixel amplitudes in consecutive lines in the video stream F 1 −½H (262 lines in time after the F 0  video stream); and  FIG. 10C  shows pixel amplitude values in the video stream F 1 +½H (263 lines in time after the F 0  video stream). Subtractor  402  produces the output shown in  FIG. 10D  (four low level pixels), while subtractor  404  produces the output shown in  FIG. 10E  (also four low level pixels). The keep smaller absolute value function  408  thus produces the output shown in  FIG. 10F  (four low level pixels). Subtractor  406  produces the output shown in  FIG. 10G  (four higher level pixels). Since the subtractor  406  output, indicating vertical energy, is more than the keep smaller absolute value function  408  output, the magnitude comparator moves the switch  412  to its no position, resulting in no output, indicating no motion. The output, shown in  FIG. 10H , is correct and different from the prior art (see  FIG. 8 ). Thus, the improved field motion detector of the present invention retains the ability of the prior art to differentiate high-frequency transitions from motion while adding the capability to differentiate low-frequency vertical transitions from motion. 
     Frame Motion Detector 
     The frame motion detector  124  ( FIG. 1 ), shown in detail in  FIG. 11 , compares the F 0  and F 2  video stream signals on a pixel by pixel basis to determine if the corresponding pixel in field F 1  is likely to be in motion. Many prior art frame detectors may be used in aspects of the present invention, although the improved frame motion, which is about to be described, is preferred. 
     In the frame motion detector described in said U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,280, high frequency motions are filtered out. This was done to keep any subcarrier residue from being detected as motion. The frame motion detector constituting an aspect of the present invention provides improved differentiation of motion and subcarrier signal components. 
     In the improved frame motion detector forming a part of the present invention, a frame subtraction is performed between F 0  and F 2  in subtractor  1102 . The subtractor  1102  output is then put through complementary lowpass and highpass filters created by a lowpass filter  1104  and subtractor  1106 . In a digital embodiment, the lowpass filter may be a five-tap FIR filter with a zero at the color subcarrier frequency (in a frame detector intended for use with both NTSC and PAL, the filter characteristics may be switchable in accordance with whether an NTSC or PAL signal is being processed). The horizontal lowpass filtered path (where most of the motion lies) on line  1108  is rectified in rectifier  1110 , and applied to a threshold function  1112  which removes noise components by applying a motion LPF noise threshold. In a digital implementation, the threshold  1112  may, for example, limit the signal to four bits (from, say, eight bits). The horizontal highpass filtered path on line  1114  goes into complementary vertical lowpass and highpass filters created by subtractor  1116 , adder  1118  and delay  1120  (which provides a one-line delay for NTSC and a two-line delay in PAL). These paths, vertical HPF path  1122  and vertical LPF path  1124 , are then individually rectified in rectifiers  1126  and  1128 , respectively, and have their own thresholds (threshold functions  1130  and  1132 , respectively, which remove noise components by applying a motion HHPF-VHPF Noise threshold and a motion HHPF-VLPF Noise threshold, respectively) (where HHPF is horizontal highpass filter, etc.). In a digital implementation, the thresholds  1130  and  1132  may also limit the respective signals to 4 bits. 
     Thus, three paths are provided: a horizontally lowpass filtered (HLPF) path, a horizontally highpass filtered and vertically highpass filtered (HHPF-VHPF) path, and a horizontally highpass filtered and vertically lowpass filtered (HHPF-VLPF) path. The purpose of three paths is to separate color subcarrier signal components from true motion information. The HLPF path output has substantially no subcarrier signal components as a result of the horizontal lowpass filtering action of LPF  1104 . The two HHPF paths, carrying the complement of the HLPF path, require vertical filtering to reduce the subcarrier signal components present in the high-frequency portion of the spectrum. Such components have the appearance of a vertical line pattern which may occur in real television scenes. The filtering action of the HHPF-VHPF path passes low amplitude level subcarrier signal components. By setting the HHPF-VHPF threshold sufficiently high, true motion is differentiated from the subcarrier components. The filtering action of the HHPF-VLPF path rejects subcarrier components (which have a vertical component because they are out-of-phase from line to line) but passes horizontally moving patterns of lines (referred to as “moving multiburst”) which must be detected as motion (such a pattern is rejected by the other two paths). The HHPF-VLPF path may have a lower threshold level than does the HHPF-VHPF path because the HHPF-VLPF path is not differentiating desired from undesired signal components based on amplitude. The HLPF and HHPF-VLPF threshold levels are selected for noise immunity. 
     The three differently filtered motion paths are then combined in summer  1134  and expanded in expansion function  1136 . Preferably, they are expanded horizontally by 5 pixels, temporally by 1 field and vertically by 1 line. Techniques for such horizontal, vertical and temporal expansion are known. See for example, said U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,422. The output of block  1136  is applied to one input of a keep greater value function  1138  and to a 262H/312H (262 lines for NTSC, 312 lines for PAL) delay, the output of which is applied as a second input to block  1138 , and to a 1H (one line) delay  1142 , the output of which is applied as a third input to block  1138 . Blocks  1136 - 1142  provide a temporally and vertically expanded motion signal. The purpose of the temporal and vertical expansion is twofold—to avoid the situation when a fast moving object leaves a “hole” between frames (e.g., a swinging pendulum) and, in the case of an NTSC signal, to avoid an appearance of fluttering between sharp and soft pictures when film material is not detected as film material. Also, expansion assures that the frame motion signal “surrounds” the field motion signal in the film detectors. 
     The frame motion detector has three adjustable parameters: the motion LPF noise threshold, the motion HHPF-VLPF noise threshold, and the motion HHPF-VHPF noise threshold. The parameters should be adjusted so as to minimize false detection of motion caused by noise and subcarrier signal components. 
     Film Detectors 
     Functionally, an NTSC film detector  118  is provided separate from a PAL film detector  120 . In practical embodiments, the two detectors are likely to share circuitry and/or functions. Both film detectors have the same purpose, to determine the onset of a film pattern, thus entering the film mode (indicated by putting the film Y/N signal in its Y (yes) condition), and, after entering the film mode, when the film pattern is broken, thus exiting the film mode (indicated by putting the film Y/N signal in its N (no) condition). A different film pattern is native to each video format (NTSC or PAL) (resulting from 24 frame/second film sources in NTSC and 25 frame/second film sources in PAL). Both film detectors share certain characteristics and principles of operation. Both receive the F 0   mtn  output of the field motion detector  114 , the motion output of the frame motion detector  124 , and the edit Y/N signal from the sawtooth based edit detector  126 . The primary input is the field motion detector&#39;s F 0   mtn  signal. The frame motion signal serves as a verification of the field motion signal. The edit Y/N signal provides an early indication, based on the detection of signal conditions that produce sawtooth artifacts, that the film pattern has been broken. 
     Typical film detectors in the prior art intended to detect 24 frame/second motion picture sources in NTSC television signals (see, e.g., said U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,280 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,280) were frame based rather than field based. However, a field based film detector for detecting 25 frame/second motion in PAL television signals is disclosed in Published International Patent Application WO 94/30006. The present NTSC and PAL film detectors are an improvement on the field based PAL film detector in said international application. Thus, for example, the frame based film pattern for NTSC is a five frame sequence—zero followed by four ones (as is well known, this pattern occurred for conditions of motion in the motion picture source, no motion caused the ones to become zeros, but the particular zero position had to remain a zero under all conditions to guarantee a film source). In the improved field based detection technique of the present invention, three zero positions must remain zero in a five field sequence under all film motion conditions (the two one positions may assume either a one or zero condition), thus allowing faster detection of a disruption in the film pattern. 
     In addition, the present film detector is responsive to an edit Y/N signal provided by the sawtooth based edit detection functions such that when the signal goes to its Y state, the film detector immediately leaves the film mode and the detector&#39;s film Y/N signal output immediately goes to N. The edit Y signal provides an indication within a field that the film sequence pattern is broken, thus providing an early indication before the film sequence pattern detector can make such a determination (the pattern detector requiring at least a field to detect an error). Thus, the edit Y/N signal provides a second way (the first being an interruption of the film pattern) to exit the film mode. 
     In frame based edit detection there is one type of edit that is not detected because the sequence is not broken (the sequence AAABB122233—see the discussion below under the heading “Sawtooth Detectors”). All edits are detected as bad edits in the field based detection (except for the one “good” edit, which is allowable—see above for example of a “good edit”). 
     NTSC Film Detector 
     The NTSC film detector  118  ( FIG. 1 ) receives the F 0   mtn  output of the field motion detector  114 , the motion output of the frame motion detector  124 , and the edit Y/N signal from the sawtooth based edit detector. NTSC film detector  118  looks for 24 frame/second sources in NTSC television signals. It examines the accumulated field motion between field  0  and field  1  and then searches for the field motion film sequence pattern “1 0 1 0 0” before determining that the material is film and not video.  FIG. 12  shows the details of the NTSC film detector. 
     The primary input to the NTSC film detector is the F 0   mtn  output of the field motion detector  114  ( FIG. 1 ). The F 0   mtn  signal is filtered in low-pass filter  1202  to remove subcarrier residue, rectified in rectifier  1204 , and blanked by film motion blanking function  1206  to keep any picture edge artifacts and subtitles from being detected as motion. The rectified and blanked motion signal is then applied to a threshold  1208  to reduce noise artifacts. The threshold is set by a fixed and predefined film noise threshold. In a parallel path the motion input from the frame motion detector is thresholded by a threshold  1210  into, in a digital implementation, a one-bit motion yes/no signal. This threshold is set by a motion threshold. The one-bit motion yes/no signal is then used to control a motion-no motion switch  1212 . The frame motion indication serves as a verification of the field motion indication—if there is no frame motion at a given pixel then there cannot be any field motion for the same pixel (the frame motion has been expanded horizontally and vertically to assure that the band of frame motion surrounds the field motion). The one-bit field motion signal from switch  1212  is then accumulated over the entire field in a field rate accumulator  1214 . 
     At the end of each field the data is latched in and the motion value is then passed into three parallel paths,  1216 ,  1218  and  1220 : 1) path  1216  to a minimum of five field detector  1222  (although a minimum of five fields is preferred to provide a safety margin, a minimum of three fields is practicable), 2) path  1218  to a three field weighted averager  1224 , and 3) path  1220  to one side of a subtractor  1226  where end-of-field calculations are performed. At the beginning of each field the accumulators are reset. 
     Because the field motion is not precise, a non-moving field might have a non zero value associated with it. The minimum of five field detector  1222  looks at five adjacent fields for the minimum motion. For film in five adjacent fields there will always be a non-moving field, and therefore the minimum motion value will correspond to it. This output provides the other input to the subtractor  1226  in order to remove the base motion value associated with a non-moving field from the accumulator  1214  output on path  1220 . The subtractor  1226  output is then passed to a variable threshold  1228  whose threshold is determined by the output of block  1224 , the weighted average of three fields. 
     Inasmuch as the motion threshold is dependent on the motion of the picture information, picture information with little motion will have a lower threshold than material with lots of motion. The minimum motion detector  1222  and the weighted averager  1224  greatly increase the sensitivity of film detection on small moving scenes and factor out computer generated material which violates the Nyquist criterion. The output of the variable threshold  1228 , a “1” for a moving field and a “0” for a non-moving field, is then fed into a state machine  1230  that looks for the recurring sequence  10100 . State machine  1230  may be of the type described in said U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,280. Once the number of film sequences detected reaches the film sequence acquisition number, the film mode is activated. The film sequence acquisition number, the number of times the pattern must repeat to indicate detection of a film sequence, is set by the system designer. For example, the number might be three for NTSC (although one might suffice) and five or six for PAL, which has a less unique film pattern. 
     The transition to video mode occurs upon either of two conditions: 1) when the film sequence is disrupted by a “0” being replaced with a “1” (note that once in film mode a “1” field can be replaced with a “0” field, as is the case of a non-moving field, but a non-moving field cannot be turned into a moving one), or 2) the edit Y/N signal goes high (yes). 
     Because the NTSC film detector of the present invention is field based, there are three places in the five field sequence that a bad edit can cause the film detector to drop out of film mode compared to the one place under the frame motion film detection scheme—01111. As explained above, a “0” cannot become a “1” but a “1” can become a “0” so the field motion sequence has three “0”s that can be used as an edit detector compared to the one “0” on the frame based film sequence. This will have the effect of minimizing the negative visual effects of bad edits. 
     The NTSC film detector has seven parameters: a film noise threshold, a motion threshold, an NTSC film sequence acquisition number and four film blanking parameters that define the area of film motion detection in order to minimize edge effects: film blanking top line, film blanking bottom line, film blanking right side, and film blanking left side. 
     PAL Film Detector 
     The PAL film detector  120  ( FIG. 1 ) looks for 25 frame/second sources in PAL television signals and it may also look for 30 frame/second sources in NTSC television signals. It examines the accumulated field motion between field  0  and field  1  and then searches for the field motion film sequence pattern “1 0” before determining if the material is film and not video. Details of the PAL film detector are shown in  FIG. 13 . 
     The PAL film detector receives the same F 0  field motion signal F 0   mtn  at its input and performs the same pixel rate processing as the NTSC film detector  118  ( FIG. 1 ) of  FIG. 6 . In practice, the lowpass filter  1202 , the rectifier  1204 , the blanking circuit  1206 , the noise threshold  1208 , the motion threshold  1210 , the motion/no-motion switch  1212  and the field rate accumulator  1214  are common to the NTSC and PAL film detectors. Corresponding elements in the PAL film detector are assigned corresponding “13xx” reference numerals. The common element, being described in connection with the NTSC film detector of  FIG. 6 , will not be described again. 
     The end-of-field calculations performed in PAL differ from NTSC because the sequence being detected in NTSC differs from the one being detected in PAL. The PAL recurring film sequence is “1 0.” This sequence can occur on video material for a few frames in a row so care must be taken to differentiate this case. First the current field motion (B) from field rate accumulator  1314  is compared, in comparator  1340 , in magnitude with the last field motion (A), derived by delaying the field rate accumulator  1314  output in a 1 field delay  1342  (which may be implemented as a flip-flop clocked at the field rate by the vertical sync signal) to form a motion sign signal at the comparator  1340  output. 
     If the current value is greater than the previous motion value a “1” is output, conversely a “0” is output if the current value is less than or equal to the previous motion. In a parallel path the two motions, the current field motion (B) and the last field motion (A), are modified by an operator  1344  to form the ratio |(A−B)/[(A+B)/2]|. This function, the absolute value of the difference divided by the average, corresponds to an adjacent field motion ratio, which is then passed to a threshold  1346  whose output is gated in AND-gate  1348  with the motion sign signal. The introduction of the minimum motion constraint is required because the motion sign signal does not care if the difference between A and B is 1 or 1000. For video material it is not uncommon to obtain motion values such as the following: 1000, 1410, 1400 and 1510. These would yield a “0 1 0 1” from the motion sign signal—a film-like pattern. A small motion film source might have the values as follows: 6, 100, 5, 110. Thus a PAL minimum motion ratio will help differentiate between film and video. Alternatively, but less desirably, the arrangement in the NTSC film detector between the field rate accumulator ( 1214  in  FIG. 12 ,  1314  in  FIG. 13 ) and the state machine ( 1230  in  FIG. 12 ,  1350  in  FIG. 13 ) may be used. 
     If the minimum motion ratio constraint is met, then the motion sign is fed into the PAL film state machine  1350 , which may be the same type of state machine as in said U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,280. If not, a 0 is input. PAL film mode is entered once the number of film sequences reaches the PAL film sequence acquisition number. 
     As in the case of NTSC the transition to video mode occurs upon either of two conditions: 1) when the film sequence is disrupted, or 2) when the edit Y/N signal goes high. It should be noted that a single film state machine may be used for the NTSC and PAL film detectors provided that a look-up table is used appropriate for the respective video standard. 
     The PAL film detector, like the NTSC film detector, has eight adjustable parameters: a film noise threshold, a motion threshold, a PAL film sequence acquisition number, a PAL minimum motion ratio and four film blanking parameters that define the area of film motion detection: film blanking top line, film blanking bottom line, film blanking right side, film blanking left side. 
     Sawtooth Detectors 
     The sawtooth detectors  128  and  130  ( FIG. 1 ) look for the “sawtooth” artifact that an incorrect interleaving of F 1  and F 0  or F 1  and F 2  yields. Details of the sawtooth detectors are shown in  FIG. 14 . 
     A sawtooth is characterized by the even numbered lines having similar vertical content and the odd numbered lines also having similar content—the odd lines being horizontally offset from the even lines as depicted in  FIGS. 15A-15D . Sawtooth artifacts are explained further in said U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,421.  FIG. 15A  shows the displayed appearance of a vertical bar when the lines are correctly interleaved.  FIG. 15B  shows the same vertical bar when the lines are incorrectly interleaved.  FIG. 15C  shows a diagonal bar when the lines are correctly interleaved.  FIG. 15D  shows a diagonal bar when the lines are incorrectly interleaved. 
     Each sawtooth detector includes a bank of four subtractors  1402 ,  1404 ,  1406  and  1408 . For ease of understanding, assume that even numbered lines are in field  0  and odd numbered lines are in field  1  (with reference to  FIG. 2 , let the line containing pixel PF 0 − 1 H P F0-1H  be line  0 , the line containing pixel P F0  line  2 , the line containing pixel P F1−1/2  H line  1  and the line containing pixel P F1+1/2 H  line  3 ): 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Diagram 
               
               
                   
                 Subtracter 
                 Signals Subtracted 
                 Subtractions 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 Subtracter 1402 
                 (F0 − 1H) − F0 
                 Line 0 − Line 2 
               
               
                   
                 Subtracter 1404 
                 F0 − (F1 + ½H) 
                 Line 2 − Line 1 
               
               
                   
                 Subtracter 1406 
                 (F1 − ½H) − (F1 + ½H) 
                 Line 1 − Line 3 
               
               
                   
                 Subtracter 1408 
                 (F0 − 1H) − (F1 − ½H) 
                 Line 0 − Line 1 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
       FIG. 14  and the above table shows signals present in the F 0  sawtooth detector. For the F 2  sawtooth detector, substitute “F 2 −½H” for “F 0 −½H” and “F 2 ” for “F 0 .” 
     The output of subtractors  1402 - 1408  proceeds through four identical parallel paths  1410 - 1416 , each comprising four elements: a lowpass filter ( 1418 ,  1420 ,  1422  and  1424 , respectively) to remove any subcarrier residue and noise; a rectifier ( 1426 ,  1428 ,  1430  and  1432 , respectively); an edit blanker ( 1434 ,  1436 ,  1438  and  1440 , respectively) to keep any picture edge artifacts from being detected as a sawtooth, and a threshold ( 1442 ,  1444 ,  1446  and  1448 , respectively). The thresholds of the intra-field subtractions  1402  and  1406  are the same and require that the output be small thereby revealing that they align vertically. The thresholds of the inter-field subtractions  1404  and  1408  are the same and require that the output be large, indicating that there is a horizontal displacement of the transition from field to field. The outputs of the four threshold circuits are applied to an AND-gate  1450 : the outputs of thresholds  1442  and  1446  are applied through an inverting input. Thus, the four signals are combined such that when the outputs of subtractors  1402  and  1406  are below the threshold and the outputs of subtractors  1404  and  1408  are above the threshold, a sawtooth is predicted. The output of AND-gate  1450  is F 0   Saw  (F 2   Saw  from the F 2  sawtooth detector). 
     The sawtooth detectors have six adjustable parameters: a sawtooth  2 H similarity threshold, a sawtooth  1 H difference threshold, and four edit blanking parameters that define the area of edit motion detection: edit blanking top line, edit blanking bottom line, edit blanking right side, and edit blanking left side. 
     Although the F 0   saw  and F 2   saw  signals indicate when isolated sawtooth artifact signal conditions occur, more information is required to determine that a bad edit has occurred. The purpose of the sawtooth based edit detector  126  is to process the F 0   saw  and F 2   saw  signals along with other information to identify a bad edit with reasonable reliability. 
     The sawtooth based edit detector  126  ( FIG. 1 ), receiving the F 0   saw  and F 2   saw  signals, the F 1 −½H signal and the frame motion signal, looks for predicted sawtooth artifacts on field  0  and field  2  relative to field  1 . The number of sawtooths per line are accumulated and compared with the number of moving horizontal transitions in the F 1 −½H signal. In the currently displayed field (F 1 ), if the ratio of sawtooths versus moving edges meets the minimum ratio and this ratio is met over a predefined number of adjacent lines, then an edit is detected. On the non-displayed or alternate field (F 0  or F 2 ), if there are more sawtooths than moving edges and there are sawtooths detected on the currently displayed field and this occurs over a predefined number of adjacent lines, an edit is detected. The details of the sawtooth based edit detector are shown in  FIG. 16 . 
     The sawtooth based edit detector has two distinct input portions: a moving edge detecting input portion and a sawtooth detecting input portion. The moving edge detecting input portion receives the F 1 −½H signal input and applies it to a horizontal differentiator  1602  which looks for horizontal transitions. This may be implemented by a one-clock (one pixel) delay  1604  and a subtractor  1606 . The differentiator  1602  output is then filtered by a lowpass filter  1608 , rectified by rectifier  1610 , blanked by edit blanker  1612  and applied to a threshold  1614  which provides noise thresholding under control of an H edge (horizontal edge) threshold. In a parallel path the frame motion signal is also thresholded by threshold  1616  under control of a motion threshold to form a motion yes/no signal which is then ANDed in AND-gate  1618  with the horizontal transition signal, allowing only moving horizontal edges to pass. Moving horizontal edges are applied to an H rate (horizontal rate) moving horizontal edge accumulator  1620  in which the number of distinct moving edges, determined by detecting their peaks, is accumulated over the course of one line. 
     The sawtooth detection input portion receives the F 0   saw  and F 2   saw  outputs from the F 0  sawtooth detector and the F 2  sawtooth detectors, respectively. The F 0   saw  and F 2   saw  signals are applied to respective H min (horizontal minimum) detectors  1622  and  1624 . For a sawtooth to be detected it must have a minimum horizontal duration of two pixels. The number of sawtooth instances having more than the minimum two pixel duration during the time period of each horizontal line are accumulated in respective H rate sawtooth instant accumulators  1626  and  1628 . The number of instances for the F 0  and F 2  signals are applied to two parallel paths,  1630  and  1632 , representing the currently displayed field and the alternate field, respectively. The determination of which is F 0  and which is F 2  depends on the state of the F 0 /F 2  switch in the system (as determined by the NTSC or PAL film detector). The F 0 /F 2  signal from the NTSC or PAL film detectors controls a double-pole, double-throw switch  1629  which reverses the F 0   sa , and F 2   saw  signal inputs depending on the polarity of the F 0 /F 2  signal. 
     In the currently displayed path  1630 , the number of sawtooths on the currently displayed field is divided by the number of moving edges in a divider  1634 . If the quotient is greater than the sawtooth moving edge ratio as determined by a threshold  1636 , then a counter  1638  is incremented. If the next line does not meet the same criteria, the counter  1638  is reset. Once the counter reaches the current field sawtooth V min threshold set by a threshold  1640 , an edit is detected. 
     There are certain cases when the currently displayed edit detector path  1630  fails. This is when the motion detection occurs between fields of different scenes, causing most of the field to appear to be in motion. This greatly raises the number of horizontal transitions that are seen to be moving, which has the effect of lowering the horizontal transitions to sawtooths ratio and keeping an edit from being detected. This is a problem principally when the two fields that are interleaved come from the same information—generally the post edit information (see example below). The alternate field edit detector in path  1632  addresses this problem. 
     The alternate field edit detector portion of the sawtooth based edit detector takes as its input the number of detected sawtooths from the non-currently-displayed field. The number should generally be large if the field is in motion. The signal passes through a switch  1642  controlled by the occurrence of any sawtooths in the currently displayed field. If there are none, then the switch outputs  0 , otherwise it outputs the number of sawtooths detected. This number is then compared with the number of moving edges in comparator  1644 . If it is equal to or greater than the number of moving edges, the counter  1646  is incremented. If the next line does not meet the same criteria then the counter is reset. Once the counter  1646  reaches the Alternate field sawtooth V min threshold set by a threshold  1648 , an edit is detected. The outputs of the two processing branches are applied to an OR gate  950  so that whichever branch detects an edit, that output is applied to a final switch  1652  which ensures that the edit detector only detects edits on film material. 
     In order to better understand the operation of the sawtooth based edit detector, consider the following example. A film stream with an edit might look like AAABB 122233, where the letters represent pre-edit information and the numbers represent post-edit material. Assume that the film detector interleaves  1  and  2  and there is motion between these fields. Therefore, sawtooths are visible (assume five sawtooths per line). This will also imply that there are five moving edges per line. The frame motion path subtracts B−2, so all of the field is seen as moving. Now every edge in field  1  is seen as moving. If there are twenty edges, all twenty are seen as moving. The ratio of sawtooths versus moving edges is no longer 5/5, but 5/20, which lies below the threshold, so no edit is detected. The alternate field path now is detecting sawtooths between B and 1. This will be a number generally greater than or equal to the actual number of transitions in field  1 . (Note: this is the case for moving film as well.) For our example, assume thirty sawtooths were detected per line. Thirty sawtooths is greater than twenty moving edges and there are five sawtooths on the currently displayed field, so an edit is detected. For standard film there would be no sawtooths on the currently displayed field, so no edit would be detected. Because computer generated single line material can meet these requirements, a vertical minimum threshold has been imposed. 
     The sawtooth based edit detector has nine adjustable parameters: an H edge threshold, a motion threshold, a sawtooth moving edge ratio, a current field sawtooth V min threshold, an alternate field sawtooth V min threshold and four edit blanking parameters that define the area of edit detection: edit blanking top line, edit blanking bottom line, edit blanking right side, edit blanking left side. 
     While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.