Patent ID: 7421027

Claim:
A frame conversion apparatus to convert a first video signal into a second video signal, comprising: a signal input means for inputting a first video signal having a first frame rate; a frame conversion means for selecting either a first conversion or a second conversion in accordance with said first video signal and for converting the first video signal using the selected conversion into a second video signal having a second frame rate that is lower than the first frame rate, wherein the frame conversion means selects the first conversion when the first video signal is a result of a frame conversion of a video signal having the second frame rate based on a 2-3 pull down technique into the first video signal, the first conversion being a frame conversion with a reverse 2-3 pull down technique, and wherein the frame conversion means selects the second conversion when the first video signal is a pure video signal, said second conversion being a frame conversion by means of a frame-based skip process according to a conversion ratio, the conversion ratio being a ratio between said second frame rate and said first frame rate; and a signal output means for outputting said second video signal generated by said frame conversion means.