Patent ID: 7145947

Claim:
A video data processing apparatus for processing video data obtained from a plurality of cameras which are positioned in such a manner that the visual directions thereof are set at a predetermined angular interval on one horizontal plane so as to shoot ambient pictures from one viewpoint in the space, said apparatus comprising: means for generating video images of a first rectangular plane by sequentially pasting the video data from the individual cameras in accordance with the camera positioning order; means for generating a second rectangular plane by equally dividing said first rectangular plane into segments and then arranging the segments sequentially from top; means for generating a third rectangular plane by duplicating a region of a predetermined area from the left or right edge of each segment at the edge of the other segment to be connected to the relevant one edge; means for generating a fourth rectangular plane by reducing said third rectangular plane to a size adapted to be contained in a predetermined encoding format; and means for generating a fifth rectangular plane by attaching dummy data to an unused region so that said fourth rectangular plane conforms with said predetermined picture compression format.