Advanced Video Frame Rate Conversion via Object-based Motion-compensated Interpolation

By Andre Vincent, Demin Wang

February 26, 2007

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The convergence between broadcasting, telecommunication, and Internet has created a proliferation of the number of video formats and increased the need for high quality frame rate conversions. Frame rate represents the number of frames (images) per second of a video or film material. For example, 35mm film has a frame rate of 24 frames per second (fps), television has a frame rate of 30 fps in North America and 25 fps in Europe, while computer monitors work at 60, 75, or even higher frame rates. With the convergence, users require that a single display device be able to display high quality video at various frame rates coming from different sources.

Thanks to advances in IC technology, video display devices can include a variety of image quality enhancement and format conversion capabilities. Digital noise reducers, coding artefact reducers, and de-interlacers have been built in high-end display devices and significantly improve the video quality. Frame rate conversion may be the next technology to be integrated into modern video displays.

High-quality frame rate conversion is, however, one of the most challenged processes in image and video processing. Simple techniques, such as frame repetition and temporal filtering, often result in motion judder or blurred images.

A more complicated technology, called motion-compensated frame interpolation (MCFI), estimates motion trajectories and interpolates new images along the motion trajectories. This may yield high quality conversion if the true motion trajectories are accurately estimated and the occlusion areas caused by motion are properly processed. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to accurately estimate the true motion and to properly process motion-occluded areas.

We have developed an advanced frame rate converter, called CRC-FRC, for high quality video and film frame rate conversion. At the core of this converter are an object-based motion-compensated frame interpolation (object-based MCFI) method and a mechanism to measure motion field reliability.

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