JP3985803B2 - Image playback device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reproducing apparatus such as a DVD player.

  Conventionally, in a so-called HDMI output device (for example, a DVD (digital versatile disc) player) compliant with, for example, the HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) standard, a so-called HDMI repeater device or HDMI compliant with the HDMI standard connected thereto. In some cases, a plurality of resolutions can be set based on a user operation corresponding to a sink device (for example, a display device).

  Some display devices have a predetermined resolution of input images or can process a plurality of resolutions. Usually, the resolution of images that can be processed is different for each display device. . Therefore, in the DVD player, a plurality of resolutions can be set in order to correspond to the resolutions of those display devices.

  This resolution is usually set by the user displaying a resolution change setting screen of the setup menu of the DVD player and selecting an arbitrary resolution from a plurality of resolutions displayed on the resolution change setting screen. In a DVD player, the resolution displayed on the resolution change setting screen may not be able to specify a connected display device. Therefore, it is assumed that the display device can process the resolution, and a resolution that is generally used is set in advance. ing.

  On the other hand, in a display device, a resolution that can be converted with respect to input image data is set in advance, and is stored in an internal ROM or the like as EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) information (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-15425

  In the DVD player, when the display device is connected, the EDID information (including resolution information) stored in the ROM of the display device is read. In the conventional DVD player, the read EDID information is set to the resolution change setting. It is not displayed as the type of resolution displayed on the screen. Therefore, even if the EDID information does not include a resolution that can be set by the user in the DVD player, the user can select a resolution that is not included, and the resolution selection operability is good. I could not say.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 8, resolutions that can be set in the DVD player (see column A) are a, b, c, d, and e (where a, b, c, d, and e are vertical X pixels). And the resolution of the horizontal Y pixel respectively)), and the resolution (see column B) included in the EDID information is a, b, c, for example, the resolution d or e is set in the DVD player. Then, since the resolution d or e is not supported by the display device, the image is not displayed on the display device, or the image is distorted.

  Therefore, the resolutions d and e read from the display device and displayed on the resolution change setting screen of the setup menu have no meaning. However, since they are displayed on the resolution change setting screen, the user can If you select them by mistake, you have to set them again.

  The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances described above, and provides an image reproducing device capable of improving the operability when a user selects a resolution that can be processed by a display device. Is the issue.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention takes the following technical means.

An image reproduction device provided by the present invention stores a type of resolution at which image data can be output, and a display device capable of displaying image data of any one of a plurality of stored resolutions. An image reproduction apparatus comprising output means for outputting predetermined image data, wherein the resolution conversion means converts the resolution of image data input from the outside, and the resolution conversion means converts the image data input from the outside. Storage means for storing possible resolution types, read-out means for reading out resolution types stored in the display device and capable of output processing from the display device, resolution types stored in the storage means, and the readout collating the resolution of the type which is read by means, only stored in said storage means Recognizing the type of a first resolution that the type of the storage means and said display device a second resolution which is stored in both, and the type of the third resolution that only stored in the display device The first to third discriminating means, the first discriminating means for discriminating the resolution of the image data inputted from the outside, and the resolutions discriminated by the first discriminating means are recognized by the collating means. A second discriminating unit for discriminating which of the resolution types is included, and when the resolution discriminated by the first discriminating unit is included in the second resolution type, the resolution by the resolution converting unit And prohibiting means for prohibiting the conversion of (1).

According to the present invention, the type of resolution stored in the storage unit and the type of resolution read out by the reading unit and stored in the display device and capable of being processed by the display device are collated by the collating unit. The first resolution type stored only in the storage device, the second resolution type stored in both the storage means and the display device, and the third resolution type stored only in the display device. Be recognized. When the resolution of the image data input from the outside is included in the second resolution type, the resolution conversion means prohibits the conversion of the resolution of the image data, so the image quality of the image displayed on the display device Can be prevented .

According to a preferred embodiment, when the resolution determined by the first determining means is included in the first or third resolution type, the first or third resolution based on a predetermined priority order. The resolution converting means may convert the resolution of the image data input from the outside based on the resolution selected by the selecting means (claim 2).

According to another preferred embodiment, guidance display means for guiding and displaying only the type of the second resolution recognized by the collating means, and the output means among the resolutions guided and displayed by the guidance display means And setting input means for setting the resolution of the image data to be output to the display device .

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of, for example, a DVD player as an image reproducing device of the present invention and a display device connected thereto. The DVD player 1 is a so-called HDMI output device conforming to the HDMI standard, and is mainly for reproducing a DVD, but can also display an analog video signal input from an external input terminal (not shown). Has been. FIG. 1 shows only the configuration related to the image signal.

  Here, as the display device 2 connected to the DVD player 1, for example, a so-called HDMI sink device conforming to the HDMI standard is used. The display device 2 includes an HDMI control unit 3 for controlling it, an EDID ( And a memory 4 for storing (Extended Display Identification Data) information. The memory 4 stores information such as the resolution type and synchronization frequency of image data that can be processed by the display device 2. The HDMI control unit 3 has a function of performing processing for HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection).

  The DVD player 1 is roughly configured by a resolution determination unit 11, a resolution conversion unit 12, an HDMI conversion unit 13, a system control unit 14, an operation display unit 15, a memory 16, and a connector unit 17. .

  The resolution discriminating unit 11 discriminates the resolution of reproduced DVD image data or the resolution of analog image data input from an external input terminal (not shown). Image data such as a DVD discriminated by the resolution discriminating unit 11 is output to the resolution converting unit 12.

  The resolution converter 12 converts the resolution of image data such as a DVD discriminated by the resolution discriminator 11 according to a control command from the system controller 14. The image data whose resolution is converted by the resolution conversion unit 12 is output to the HDMI conversion unit 13.

  The HDMI conversion unit 13 is for converting the image data whose resolution has been converted by the resolution conversion unit 12 into HDMI standard data in accordance with a control command from the system control unit 14. The HDMI standard data converted by the HDMI conversion unit 13 is output to the connector unit 17.

  The connector unit 17 is for joining the HDMI cable 20 connected to the display device 2. The image data output from the HDMI conversion unit 13 is output to the display device 2 via the connector unit 17.

  The system control unit 14 includes a microcomputer (not shown) and the like, and comprehensively controls the resolution determination unit 11, the resolution conversion unit 12, the HDMI conversion unit 13, the operation display unit 15, and the like. An operation display unit 15 as a man-machine interface is connected to the system control unit 14, and the system control unit 14 performs predetermined operations based on operation inputs from the operation display unit 15 and control signals and data from each unit. Perform data processing.

  The system control unit 14 has a function of causing the operation display unit 15 to display a setup menu for performing various initial settings. In the setup menu, the resolution of image data can be changed by a user operation. The resolution change setting screen is included. For example, when the user performs a resolution change operation through the resolution change setting screen, the system control unit 14 sends a control signal to be converted to the resolution selected and input to the resolution conversion unit 12 to the resolution conversion unit 12. The resolution conversion unit 12 converts the resolution of the image data according to the control signal. Note that the system control unit 14 always recognizes a predetermined resolution value as a default value unless changed by the user.

  The system control unit 14 is connected to a memory 16 made of, for example, a ROM. The resolution type that can be converted by the resolution conversion unit 12 and output from the connector unit 17 to the display device 2 is stored in the memory 16. Is stored in advance. That is, in the display device 2 connected to the DVD player 1, the resolution that can be processed is set in advance, but the resolution that can be processed in each display device 2 may be different. The first memory 16 stores in advance the types of resolution that are assumed to be processable by the display device 2 and are used for general purposes.

  The system control unit 14 is provided with a data signal line 18 and a clock signal line 19 (referred to as “DDC line”) compliant with the HDMI standard, and the connector unit 17 is connected to the HDMI cable. 20 is connected to the display device 2.

  The system control unit 14 stores the types of resolutions stored in the memory 4 of the connected display device 2 and can be output by the display device 2 via the data signal line 18, the clock signal line 19, and the HDMI cable 20. It has a function of reading and collating with the resolution type that can be output and stored in the memory 16. Then, as a result of the collation, the system control unit 14 has a function of prohibiting display of the resolution that does not match the resolution stored in the memory 16 on the resolution change setting screen of the setup menu.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the types of resolutions that can be output (see column A) stored in the memory 16 of the DVD player 1 are a, b, and c, and the memory 4 of the display device 2 is used. And the resolution types that can be processed by the display device 2 (see column B) are a, b, d, and e, and the resolution c is the resolution that can be processed by the display device 2. Therefore, it is prohibited to display the resolution change setting screen of the setup menu as a resolution changeable by the user. In this case, on the resolution change setting screen of the setup menu, only resolutions a and b that can be handled by both are displayed as resolutions that can be changed by the user. Since the resolutions d and e are not resolutions that can be output by the DVD player 1, they are not displayed on the resolution change setting screen of the setup menu from the beginning.

  In this way, it is possible to prevent the user from erroneously selecting the resolution c that cannot be processed by the display device 2, and it is possible to avoid performing the operation of reselecting the resolution again. It is possible to improve the performance.

  Next, the operation of the DVD player 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 and the schematic diagram shown in FIG.

  First, when the display device 2 is connected to the DVD player 1 via the HDMI cable 20 (S1: YES), the EDID information stored in the memory 4 of the display device 2 is stored by the system control unit 14 of the DVD player 1. Read (S2).

  Next, from the EDID information read out by the system control unit 14, the type of resolution that can be processed by the display device 2 (see column B in FIG. 2) is extracted, and the system control unit 14 stores it in its own memory 16. The stored resolution type (see column A in FIG. 2) that can be output to the display device 2 is read out.

Then, these resolutions are collated by the system control unit 14 (S3), and as shown in FIG. 4, each resolution is “a group of resolutions (area A that can be output by the DVD player 1 and cannot be processed by the display device 2). ₁ reference) "," is capable of outputting a DVD player 1, and reference group (region a ₂ can be processed resolution display device 2) ", and" a possible output in the DVD player 1 in the display apparatus 2 It is classified and recognized as a “processable resolution group (see area A ₃ )” (S4). According to FIG. 4, the area A ₁ includes the resolution c, the area A ₂ includes the resolutions a and b, and the area A ₃ includes the resolutions d and e.

Next, based on an operation input from the operation display unit 15 by the user, the system control unit 4 determines whether or not there is an operation for displaying the resolution setting change screen of the setup menu (S5), and changes the resolution setting. If it is determined that there is an operation for displaying the screen (S5: YES), the system control unit 14 displays a resolution setting change screen for the setup menu on the operation display unit 15 (S6). The user can select a resolution that can be processed by the display device 2 on this selection screen. On the resolution setting change screen, as a result of the above-described collation, “DVD player 1 can output and display Only the resolutions a and b of the area A ₂ included in the “resolution group that can be processed by the apparatus 2” are displayed.

"Is capable of outputting a DVD player 1, a group of processable resolution in the display apparatus 2 'by the user whether any resolution from the list only has been set changes, is determined by the system control unit 4 (S7), When an operation signal to that effect is sent to the system control unit 14 and the system control unit 4 determines that an operation input for setting change has been made (S7: YES), the system control unit 4 sets the resolution value after the change. Is recognized (S8), and a control signal for performing conversion at the recognized resolution is sent from the system control unit 14 to the resolution conversion unit 12.

If it is determined in step S7 that there is no resolution setting change operation by the user (S7: NO), a control signal for performing conversion at the resolution as the default value is sent from the system control unit 14 to the resolution conversion unit 12 . It is done.

  In the resolution conversion unit 12, the conversion processing of the resolution of the image data that has passed through the resolution determination unit 11 is performed according to the resolution sent from the system control unit 14 (S9). Then, the image data having the converted resolution is sent to the HDMI conversion unit 13.

  In the HDMI conversion unit 13, the image data having the converted resolution sent from the resolution conversion unit 12 is converted into image data in accordance with the HDMI standard by the control signal from the system control unit 14 (S 10), and the connector It is sent to the display device 2 via the unit 17.

  In the display device 2, the resolution converted by the resolution conversion unit 12 of the DVD player 1 is processed based on the image data sent from the DVD player 1, and an image is displayed on the display screen (S11).

If it is determined in step S5 that there is no operation for displaying the resolution setting change screen (S5: NO), the resolution value as the default value recognized by the system control unit 14 is “DVD player 1”. It is determined whether or not it is included in the resolution group (area A ₂ ) that can be output by the display device 2 (S 12), and the resolution value as a default value is included in the area A _2. If so (S12: YES), the process proceeds to step S9, and a conversion process is performed to obtain the resolution.

On the other hand, when the resolution value as a default value is not included in the area A _{2 as} a result of the collation processing in the system control unit 14 in step S12 (S12: NO), the resolution is included in the area A ₂ by the system control unit 14. An arbitrary resolution is selected from the resolutions to be selected (S13). In this case, a plurality of resolutions included in the area A ₂ are set in advance with a priority (for example, a rank in which the priority is higher from the lowest resolution), and the resolution is selected according to the priority. The Then, the process proceeds to step S9, and a conversion process for obtaining the resolution is performed.

  Thus, since the resolution that cannot be processed by the display device 2 is not displayed on the resolution setting change screen of the setup menu, the user has a room to select a resolution that cannot be processed by the display device 2 by mistake. Absent. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform the resolution change setting again, and the operability is improved.

Incidentally, in the DVD player 1, the resolution conversion unit 12 is provided as described above. However, when the image data is subjected to image conversion processing in the resolution conversion unit 12, the image itself may be deteriorated. . In order to suppress image degradation, it is desirable not to perform image conversion processing in the resolution conversion unit 12.

  However, in the conventional DVD player, the input image data always passes through the resolution conversion unit 12 and is sent to the HDMI conversion unit 13, so that the image is deteriorated not a little. For example, when the resolution of the image data output from the DVD player 1 is set to “1280 × 720” pixels by the operation input on the operation display unit 15 by the user, the resolution of the video signal input from the external input terminal is Even with the same “1280 × 720” pixels as the set resolution, the image data undergoes resolution conversion processing by once passing through the resolution conversion unit 12, and thus image degradation occurs.

  When a liquid crystal display device or a plasma display device is used as the display device 2, for example, the number of dots that can be displayed is set in advance, so that image data having the same resolution as the number of dots is sent from the DVD player 1. Can be displayed as it is. However, when image data having a resolution different from the number of dots is sent from the DVD player 1, the resolution must be converted from the resolution to the resolution of the number of dots that can be displayed. Accordingly, image degradation also occurs in the display device 2, and when such a display device 2 is connected to the DVD player 1, the image degradation occurs twice, which causes a problem in image quality. there were.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when there is no need for resolution conversion, the execution of the resolution conversion process is avoided, that is, the image data is prevented from passing through the resolution conversion unit 12, thereby suppressing image deterioration. Like to do. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a bypass unit 21 having a bypass path 22 that bypasses the resolution conversion unit 12 is provided between the resolution determination unit 11 and the HDMI conversion unit 13.

  More specifically, the bypass unit 21 is provided with first and second switches 23 and 24. The first switch 23 is provided between the resolution determination unit 11 and the resolution conversion unit 12. The input of the first switch 23 is connected to the resolution determination unit 11, and one output of the first switch 23 is Connected to the resolution converter 12, the other output of the first switch 23 is connected to the bypass path 22.

  The second switch 24 is provided between the resolution converter 12 and the HDMI converter 13, and one input of the first switch 23 is connected to the resolution converter 12, and the other of the first switch 23 is connected. Are connected to the bypass path 22, and the output of the first switch 23 is connected to the HDMI conversion unit 13.

The switching operation of the first and second switches 23 and 24 is controlled by a control signal from the system control unit 14. Further, as described above, the system control unit 14 reads out the type of resolution that can be processed in the display device 2 and stored in the memory 4 of the connected display device 2, and outputs it stored in the memory 16. It has a function to collate with possible resolution types. When the resolution of the image data input from the external input terminal determined by the resolution determination unit 11 is included in the overlapping resolution as a result of the collation, the system control unit 14 includes the first and second of the bypass unit 21. 2 The switches 23 and 24 are switched so that the image data from the resolution determination unit 11 reaches the HDMI conversion unit 13 via the bypass path 22. As a result, the image data bypasses the resolution conversion unit 12, and resolution conversion processing is not performed. Therefore, image degradation can be prevented. Other configurations are substantially the same as the configuration of the block configuration diagram shown in FIG.

  The operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 and the schematic diagram shown in FIG. The control in steps S21 to S24, S28, and S29 is the same as the operations shown in steps S1 to S4, S10, and S11 in FIG.

As a result of the collation in step S24, after the resolution in each of the areas A ₁ , A ₂ and A ₃ is recognized, the resolution of the input image data is determined by the resolution determination unit 11 (S25). Then, the resolution (for example, “α”) of the image data discriminated by the resolution discriminating unit 11 can be output by the area A ₂ (DVD player 1 and processed by display device 2 as shown in FIG. It is determined whether or not it is included in a group of possible resolutions (S26).

When the resolution α is included in the area A ₂ (S26: YES), the system control unit 14 switches the first and second switches 23 and 24 of the bypass unit 21 (S27). That is, the image data output from the resolution determination unit 11 bypasses the resolution conversion unit 12 while the image data output from the resolution determination unit 11 bypasses the path in which the image data output from the resolution determination unit 11 is input to the HDMI conversion unit 13 via the resolution conversion unit 12. Then, the path is switched to the path that is input to the HDMI conversion unit 13 through the bypass path 22. As a result, the image data output from the resolution determination unit 11 can be prevented from passing through the resolution conversion unit 12, and deterioration in image quality can be suppressed.

  The image data that bypasses the resolution conversion unit 12 and is input to the HDMI conversion unit 13 is converted into image data conforming to the HDMI standard by the HDMI conversion unit 13 (S28).

On the other hand, if the resolution α is not included in the area A ₂ in step S26 (S26: NO), an arbitrary resolution is selected from the other resolutions included in the area A ₂ (S30). In this case, priority is given to the resolution in advance (for example, the order in which the priority is higher from the lowest resolution), and an arbitrary resolution is selected based on the priority. Thereafter, the resolution conversion unit 12 performs resolution conversion based on the selected resolution (S31), and the converted image data is output to the HDMI conversion unit 13 (S28).

In this way, the resolution of the input image data is determined, and when the determined resolution α is included in the area A ₂ , the resolution conversion process in the resolution conversion unit 12 is performed on the image data as it is. Since it is prohibited and output to the display device 2, image data with high image quality can be displayed on the display device 2.

  In FIG. 5, the case where the first and second switches 23 and 24 are used so that the bypass unit 21 is conceptually easy to understand is described. However, the bypass process by the bypass unit 21 is replaced with this. It may be realized by software processing.

  Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the DVD player has been described as an example of the image reproducing device. However, the present invention may be applied to an image reproducing device such as an amplifier and a receiver without being limited to the DVD player. Therefore, the reproduced disc is not limited to the DVD.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the DVD player as an image reproduction apparatus of this invention, and the display apparatus connected to it. It is a figure which shows the kind of resolution which a DVD player can output, and the kind of resolution which a display apparatus can process. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the effect | action of a DVD player. It is a schematic diagram which shows a state when a some resolution is classified into each area | region. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the DVD player of a modification, and the display apparatus connected to it. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the effect | action of the DVD player of a modification. It is a schematic diagram which shows a state when the resolution discriminate | determined by the resolution discrimination | determination part was classified into each area | region. It is a figure which shows the kind of resolution which the conventional DVD player can output, and the kind of resolution which a display apparatus can process.

Explanation of symbols

1 DVD player (image playback device)
2 Display device 4 Memory (of display device)
11 Resolution determination unit 12 Resolution conversion unit 13 HDMI conversion unit 14 System control unit 15 Operation display unit 16 Memory (of DVD player)
21 Bypass section

Claims (3)

An output unit that stores the types of resolutions at which image data can be output and outputs predetermined image data to a display device that can display image data of any one of the stored resolutions. An image playback device,
Resolution conversion means for converting the resolution of image data input from the outside;
Storage means for storing the type of resolution convertible by the resolution conversion means in the image data input from the outside;
Reading means for reading out from the display device the type of resolution stored in the display device and capable of output processing;
The type of resolution stored by the storage unit and the type of resolution read by the reading unit are collated , the first resolution type stored only in the storage unit, the storage unit, and the storage unit a second type of resolution stored in both of the display device, and a collating means for recognizing a third type of resolutions only stored in the display device,
First determination means for determining the resolution of the image data input from the outside;
Second determination means for determining which of the first to third resolution types recognized by the collating means is included in the resolution determined by the first determination means;
Prohibiting means for prohibiting resolution conversion by the resolution converting means when the resolution determined by the first determining means is included in the type of the second resolution;
An image reproducing apparatus comprising: When the resolution discriminated by the first discriminating means is included in the first or third resolution type, it further comprises selection means for selecting the first or third resolution based on a predetermined priority order. ,
The image reproduction device according to claim 1 , wherein the resolution conversion unit converts the resolution of the image data input from the outside based on the resolution selected by the selection unit. Guidance display means for guiding and displaying only the type of the second resolution recognized by the verification means;
Of the resolutions displayed and guided by the guide display means, setting input means for setting the resolution of the image data output to the display device by the output means;
Further comprising, an image reproduction apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

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