JP2015012334A - Video distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To combine securing the interactive property of scroll display extending plural cameras with reduction in an amount of transmission data.SOLUTION: A video distribution system comprises: a video acquisition apparatus 110 which comprises plural video capturing units 111 to capture plural videos; a distribution server 120 which superimposes the identifiers of the video capturing units 111 on the videos, selects a video on the basis of information on a video range desired to view by a viewer, and acquires a static image from the videos; and a video presentation apparatus 130 which displays a video or a static image received from the distribution server 120. The video presentation apparatus 130 determines which of the video and the static image to display on the basis of the identifier of a video capturing unit superimposed on the received video and the information on the video range desired to view by the viewer.

Description

  The present invention relates to a video distribution system, and more particularly to a video distribution system in which a viewer selects his / her favorite place from videos that are constantly photographed over a wide area and views the video live.

  Conventionally, viewers in remote locations away from event venues can select their favorite range from the video shot at the event venue and watch them live using the viewer's television or mobile terminal Various systems have been proposed (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

  For example, as a method of viewing a live video in a desired direction of the viewer, there is a method in which the viewer remotely operates the camera platform using a web camera having a remotely operable camera platform and points the web camera in a desired direction. It is known (for example, Non-Patent Document 2).

  There is also known a method in which live video is captured in a wide range in advance, and a portion desired by the viewer is cut out and distributed. In this case, a method of shooting a wide range of live video by combining videos shot by a plurality of cameras, a method of shooting a wide range of live video with a single camera capable of shooting a wide range with high resolution, and Is known (for example, Non-Patent Document 3).

  In addition, a technique for displaying only a part from a high-definition video is a conventionally known technique, and a technique for reconstructing a high-definition video including a wide range by combining videos shot by a plurality of cameras (for example, It is known that a wide range can be easily scrolled by combining with Patent Document 1).

  For reducing the amount of transmission, a method of encoding video by tiling (for example, Patent Document 2), a method of encoding by dividing a plurality of resolutions and regions (for example, Patent Document 3), and the like have been proposed. ing.

JP 2011-2111556 A JP2011-217345A JP 2012-249025 A

Hideaki Kimata, Daisuke Ochi, Akio Kameda, Hajime Noto, Katsuhiko Fukazawa, and Akira Kojima, “Mobile and Multi-device Interactive Panorama Video Distribution System”, IEEE GCCE 2012, Oct, 2012. Toshio Tanaka, “Establishing a Simple Web Camera System Made with a Low-Priced Commercial USB Camera and a Personal Computer”, Transistor Technology December 2002, p.196-197. Kazuma Yamazawa, Naokazu Yokoya, "Internet fixed point camera using omnidirectional camera and JAVA applet", FIT (Information Science and Technology Forum) 2002, I-7

  However, in the method using the pan head that can be operated remotely, while a viewer is viewing a video with the web camera pointing in his / her preferred direction, another viewer can view a video in a different direction. There was a problem that it was not possible, that is, there was a problem that a plurality of people could not watch images in different directions at the same time.

  In addition, the method of shooting a wide range of live video by combining video shot with multiple cameras and cutting out and distributing the portion requested by the viewer requires calculation costs for combining multiple videos. There was a problem that the delay of delivery became large.

  In addition, in a method of shooting a wide range of live video using a camera with a high resolution and capable of shooting a wide range, and cutting out and distributing a portion desired by the viewer, a normal camera exceeds 180 degrees. Since a wide range cannot be taken, a camera having an omnidirectional lens, a fish-eye lens, or the like is required, which increases the cost. In addition, if an omnidirectional lens or fisheye lens is used, the distortion of the image will increase, and in order to make the clipped image appear uncomfortable, it requires processing that requires computational cost of image deformation, resulting in a large delay in video distribution. There was a problem of becoming.

  In addition, the technology for reconstructing high-definition video that includes a wide range by combining video shot with multiple cameras increases the amount of video data to be transmitted, and also takes time to combine video. For this reason, there is a problem that the scenes that can be used are limited from the viewpoint of video delay and transmission bandwidth.

  As described above, in the related art, there is a problem that it is impossible to simultaneously view a plurality of viewers simultaneously viewing live video in different directions and to reduce a live video distribution delay.

  As an invention that solves the above-described problems, Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-022421 discloses that among videos shot by a plurality of cameras arranged so that the overlapping area is larger than the partial video displayed by the video presentation device. A system is presented in which one is selected and a part of the video is cut out and displayed.

  However, among the methods presented by Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-022421, the method of cutting out and distributing video on the distribution server side always sends a display position change instruction from the video presentation device to the distribution server when scrolling. Since the video whose position to be cut out is distributed by the distribution server is distributed and the image displayed on the video presentation device that receives the video is updated, the time until the image is updated due to the video transmission time in particular is updated. As a result, the interactive operation by the viewer may be hindered.

  Also, from the distribution server side, even if the entire video of the camera including the range to be displayed is distributed and the portion to be displayed on the video presentation device side is cut out, if the range is captured by the same camera, the followability Good quick scrolling is possible, but if you try to scroll beyond the range captured by the same camera, the distribution server issues a request to switch to a camera image that includes a new display location. Since the display position can be changed after the message arrives, there is a case where the interactive operation by the viewer is hindered in the same manner as when the distribution server cuts out.

  In addition, if all camera videos are always distributed so as to cover the entire range that can be moved by scrolling, the scrolling operation can be performed smoothly over the entire area by switching the camera video to be displayed on the video presentation device and the cutout position. However, there is a problem that a necessary amount of video transmission increases.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention made in view of such a point is to provide a video distribution system capable of ensuring both the interactiveness (reduction of reaction delay) of scroll display across a plurality of cameras and the reduction of the amount of transmitted data. It is to provide.

  In order to solve the above problems, a video distribution system according to the present invention is a video distribution system including a video acquisition device, a distribution server, and a video presentation device, and the video acquisition device includes a plurality of video imaging units. The distribution server includes: a video input unit that receives a plurality of videos taken by the plurality of video shooting units; a video source ID superposition unit that superimposes an identifier of the video shooting unit on the video received by the video input unit; Based on the information on the video range, a still image acquisition unit that acquires a still image from the video received by the video input unit, a display instruction reception unit that receives information on a video range that the viewer desires to view, A video selection instruction unit for instructing a video to be selected from a plurality of videos on which the identifier of the video shooting unit is superimposed, and a video for selecting a video from the plurality of videos based on an instruction from the video selection instruction unit A selection unit; a video distribution unit that distributes the video selected by the video selection unit to the video presentation device; and a still image distribution unit that distributes the still image acquired by the still image acquisition unit to the video presentation device. The video presentation device includes: a display range designation unit that receives the video range desired to be viewed from a viewer; and a display instruction transmission that transmits information on the video range desired by the viewer to the distribution server. A video receiver for receiving the video selected by the video selector distributed by the distribution server, and a video for extracting an identifier of the video photographing unit superimposed on the video received by the video receiver Based on a source ID extraction unit, a still image reception unit that receives the still image distributed by the distribution server, information on the video range, and an identifier of the extracted video shooting unit Instructing a partial video to be cut out from the selected video, or selecting a still image from the acquired still image to instruct a partial still image to be cut out, and an instruction from the video cut-out instruction unit Based on the video cut out from the video selected by the video selection unit, and from the still image acquired by the still image acquisition unit based on an instruction from the video cut out instruction unit A still image cutout unit that cuts out a still image, and a video display unit that displays the partial video cut out by the video cutout unit or the partial still image cut out by the still image cutout unit, There is an overlapping area where the video shot by each video shooting unit and the video shot by the video shooting unit arranged adjacent to each other overlap, and the size of the overlapping area is , And is arranged so as to be larger than the size of the partial video.

  In order to solve the above problem, a video distribution system according to the present invention is a video distribution system including a video acquisition device, a distribution server, and a video presentation device, and the video acquisition device includes a plurality of video shootings. A video input unit that receives a plurality of videos captured by the plurality of video imaging units, and a video source ID superimposing unit that superimposes an identifier of the video imaging unit on the video received by the video input unit Based on the information on the video range, a still image acquisition unit that acquires a still image from the video received by the video input unit, a display instruction reception unit that receives information on the video range that the viewer desires to watch A video selection instruction unit for instructing a video to be selected from a plurality of videos on which the identifier of the video shooting unit is superimposed, and a video is selected from the plurality of videos based on an instruction from the video selection instruction unit A video selection unit that selects a partial video to be cut out from the selected video based on information on the video range, and the video selection unit selects based on an instruction from the video cutout instruction unit A video cutout unit that cuts out the partial video from the video, a video distribution unit that delivers the partial video cut out by the video cutout unit to the video presentation device, and the still image acquired by the still image acquisition unit. A still image distribution unit that distributes to the video presentation device, wherein the video presentation device receives a display range designation unit that receives the video range desired to be viewed from a viewer, and the video range that the viewer desires to view. And a video receiving unit that receives the partial video clipped by the video cutout unit that is distributed by the distribution server. A video source ID extraction unit that extracts an identifier of the video shooting unit superimposed on the partial video received by the video reception unit, and a still image reception unit that receives the still image distributed by the distribution server; Based on the information on the video range and the extracted identifier of the video photographing unit, select a still image from the acquired still image and instruct a partial still image to be cut out or display the received video Still image cutout instruction / display control unit for instructing to perform and still image for cutting out the partial still image from the still image acquired by the still image acquisition unit based on an instruction from the still image cutout instruction / display control unit A cutout unit; and a video display unit that displays the partial video or the partial still image received by the video reception unit. There is an overlapping area where the video to be shot and the video shot by the video shooting unit arranged adjacent to each other overlap, and the size of the overlapping area is arranged to be larger than the size of the partial video. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to ensure both the interactiveness of scroll display across a plurality of cameras and the reduction of the amount of transmitted data.

1 is a block diagram of a video distribution system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the flow of a process of the video delivery system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the video delivery system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the other example of operation | movement of the video delivery system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is an example of arrangement | positioning of the video imaging | photography part in the video delivery system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows a mode that the 0 degree direction is seen in the arrangement | positioning of FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the viewing direction is scrolled from the 0 degree direction to the 15 degree direction in the arrangement of FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a viewing direction is scrolled from a 0 degree direction to a 30 degree direction in the arrangement of FIG. 5. It is a figure which shows the example in case the block coding order of a moving image coding moves the scanning of a horizontal direction from the top to the bottom. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of arrange | positioning an image in the fixed order and combining an image. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of arranging an image centering on the image of a viewing direction, and synthesize | combining an image. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of making the definition of a still image variable. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of making the definition of a still image variable, and also putting together a still image. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of dropping the time resolution of a still image, so that it goes to the periphery. The vicinity is a diagram illustrating an example in which a moving image is also sent. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of connecting the moving image of a vicinity, and making it one moving image. It is a block diagram of the video delivery system which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a video distribution system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The video distribution system according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a video acquisition device 110, a distribution server 120, and a video presentation device 130. In addition, although the structure provided with one image | video presentation apparatus is shown in FIG. 1, this is an example and two or more image | video presentation apparatuses may be sufficient.

  The video acquisition device 110 includes a video shooting unit 111 (111a, 111b).

  The video imaging unit 111 captures a video and transmits the captured video to the distribution server 120. The video shooting unit 111 has an overlapping area where the video shot by the video shooting unit 111a and the video shot by the video shooting unit 111b arranged adjacent to the video shooting unit 111a overlap, and the size of the overlapping area is large. It arrange | positions so that it may become larger than the magnitude | size of the partial video displayed on the video presentation apparatus 130. FIG. Note that FIG. 1 shows a case where the video photographing unit 111 is composed of two video photographing units 111a and 111b, but this is an example, and the video photographing unit 111 is composed of three or more. Also good. The video photographing unit 111 is, for example, a camera. In the present application, the case where the video photographing unit 111 is a camera will be described as an example as necessary.

  The distribution server 120 includes a display instruction receiving unit 121, a video selection instruction unit 122, a video input unit 123 (123a, 123b), a video source ID superimposing unit 124 (124a, 124b), a video selection unit 125, a video distribution unit 126, An image acquisition unit 127 (127a, 127b) and a still image distribution unit 128 (128a, 128b) are provided.

  The display instruction receiving unit 121 receives information on the video range that the viewer desires to view from the video presentation device 130. The information received by the display instruction receiving unit 121 may be only the information of the video source (video shooting unit 111) including the video range that the viewer desires to view, and further, which video part in the video source is cut out. It may be information including information about the above.

  The video selection instruction unit 122 assigns an identifier for each video source (video shooting unit 111) to the video selection unit 125 by the video source ID superimposing unit 124 based on the information received from the video presentation device 130 by the display instruction receiving unit 121. A video to be selected from a plurality of superimposed videos is designated.

  The video input unit 123 receives the video shot by the video shooting unit 111. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the video input unit 123 includes two video input units 123a and 123b, and the video shooting unit 111 includes two video shooting units 111a and 111b. The video input units 123a and 123b receive the videos shot by the video shooting units 111a and 111b, respectively.

  The video source ID superimposing unit 124 receives video from the video input unit 123 and superimposes an identifier (ID) associated with the video photographing unit 111 for each video source as an image watermark. The identifier is, for example, a camera ID. FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which the video source ID superimposing unit 124 includes two video source ID superimposing units 124a and 124b. The video source ID superimposing units 124a and 124b superimpose identifiers on the video received from the video input units 123a and 123b, respectively.

  Based on an instruction from the video selection instruction unit 122, the video selection unit 125 selects a video from a plurality of videos on which identifiers are superimposed for each video source by the video source ID superimposing unit 124.

  The video distribution unit 126 distributes the video selected by the video selection unit 125 to the video presentation device 130.

  The still image acquisition unit 127 acquires a still image from each video input to the video input unit 123.

  The still image distribution unit 128 distributes the still image of each video acquired by the still image acquisition unit 127 to the video presentation device 130.

  The video presentation device 130 includes a display range designation unit 131, a display instruction transmission unit 132, a video reception unit 133, a video source ID extraction unit 134, a still image reception unit 135 (135a, 135b), a video cutout instruction unit 136, and a video cutout unit. 137, a still image cutout unit 138, and a video display unit 139.

  The display range designation unit 131 receives a request from the viewer as to which video range is desired to be viewed. The display range designating unit 131 can accept a display range desired by the viewer by, for example, input via a keyboard, a remote control, a touch panel, or the like. In addition, for example, the display range specifying unit 131 includes an acceleration sensor, an orientation sensor, and the like, and the display range desired by the viewer is determined based on sensor values that these sensors acquire as needed depending on the direction in which the video presentation device 130 is directed. Can be accepted. In addition, the viewer inputs, for example, how to scroll and display the video to the display range designation unit 131.

  The display instruction transmitting unit 132 transmits to the distribution server 120 request information indicating which part of the video the display range specifying unit 131 has received from the viewer. The information transmitted by the display instruction transmission unit 132 may be only the information of the video source (video shooting unit 111) including the video range that the viewer desires to view, and further, which video part in the video source is cut out. It may be information including information about the above.

  The video receiving unit 133 receives the video distributed from the distribution server 120.

  The video source ID extraction unit 134 extracts the identifier of the video source superimposed as image watermark information from the video received by the video reception unit 133.

  The still image receiving unit 135 receives a still image distributed from the distribution server 120.

  The video cutout instruction unit 136 compares the video range information received by the display range specification unit 131 with the video source identifier extracted by the video source ID extraction unit 134, and cuts out and displays from either the video or the still image. When the image is cut out from the video, the video cutout unit 137 is instructed to cut out the video. When the video is cut out from the still image, the still image cutout unit 138 is instructed to cut out the still image.

  The video cutout unit 137 is a partial video obtained by cutting out a part necessary for displaying a video according to a viewer's request from the video selected by the video selection unit 125 based on an instruction from the video cutout instruction unit 136. Cut out.

  The still image cutout unit 138 cuts out a part of the still image received by the still image receiving unit 135 for display as a partial still image based on an instruction from the video cutout instruction unit 136.

  The video display unit 139 displays a partial video clipped by the video cutout unit 137 or a partial still image cut out by the still image cutout unit 138.

  Next, the flow of processing of the video distribution system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the diagram shown in FIG.

  In the image acquisition device 110, the image capturing unit 111 always captures an image (S101). The video imaging unit 111 constantly transmits the captured video to the distribution server 120 (S102).

  In the distribution server 120, the video input unit 123 always receives the video shot by the video shooting unit 111 (S103).

  The video source ID superimposing unit 124 receives the video from the video input unit 123 and superimposes an identifier associated with the video photographing unit 111 for each video source (S104).

  There are a method of superimposing the identifier on the video source as a method of superimposing it as an image watermark on the video, and a method of assigning it to another field in the video stream that can be synchronized with the video. The video source ID is not always superimposed, but is given only when the video source is switched, and a new video source ID is sent by the video cutout instruction unit 136 (or the video source ID extraction unit 134). The video source ID previously received / extracted may be stored.

  Further, independent of the superimposition of the identifier on the video, the still image acquisition unit 127 acquires a still image from each video input to the video input unit 123 (S105). The still image distribution unit 128 distributes the still image of each video acquired by the still image acquisition unit 127 to the video presentation device 130 (S106).

  For example, the still image acquisition unit 127 acquires a still image at a predetermined time interval or a method of detecting movement in a video and changing the acquisition interval according to the amount of movement. . In addition, when a video is encoded using both intra-frame encoding and inter-frame encoding, there is a method of acquiring a frame image that is intra-frame encoded as a still image. Furthermore, there is a method of acquiring frame images at predetermined intervals instead of acquiring all intra-frame encoded frame images.

  On the other hand, in the video presentation device 130, the display range designation unit 131 receives a request from the viewer as to which video range is desired to be viewed. (S107).

  The display instruction transmission unit 132 transmits request information (video source information) as to which part of the video the display range specification unit 131 accepts from the viewer (S108).

  In the distribution server 120, the display instruction receiving unit 121 receives information on the video range that the viewer desires to watch from the video presentation device 130 (S109).

  The video selection instruction unit 122 includes a plurality of videos in which identifiers are superimposed on the video source ID superimposing unit 124 by the video source ID superimposing unit 124 on the video selection unit 125 based on information received from the video presentation device 130 by the display instruction receiving unit 121. A video to be selected is designated (S110).

  Based on the instruction from the video selection instruction unit 122, the video selection unit 125 selects a video from the video on which the identifier is superimposed for each video source by the video source ID superimposing unit 124 (S111).

  The video delivery unit 126 delivers the video selected by the video selection unit 125 to the video presentation device 130 (S112).

  In the video presentation device 130, the video reception unit 133 receives the video distributed from the distribution server 120 (S113).

  The video source ID extraction unit 134 extracts the video source identifier superimposed as the image watermark information from the video received by the video reception unit 133 (S114).

  On the other hand, the still image receiving unit 135 receives the still image distributed from the distribution server 120 (S115).

  The video cutout instruction unit 136 includes information on which part of the video that has been transmitted from the display range designation unit 131 and identifier information of the video source of the currently arriving video extracted by the video source ID extraction unit 134. If the identifier of the video source of the arrived video matches the identifier of the video source to be cut out, the video cutout unit 137 is instructed to cut out. The video cutout unit 137 cuts out the partial video of the designated part. The video display unit 139 displays the clipped partial video. If the video source identifiers do not match, the video cutout instruction unit 136 instructs the still image cutout unit 138 to cut out. The still image cutout unit 138 selects a still image of the video source to be cut out from the still images of the respective video sources received by the still image receiving unit 135, and cuts out the still image of the designated portion. The video display unit 139 displays the cut out still image (S116 to S119).

  The process of S116 to S119 in FIG. 2 described above is shown in a flowchart in FIG.

  The video cutout instruction unit 136 determines whether or not the identifier of the video source of the arrived video matches the identifier of the video source to be cut out (S201).

  When it is determined Yes in S201, the video cutout instruction unit 136 instructs the video cutout unit 137 to cut out, and the video cutout unit 137 cuts out the video of the instructed part (S202). The video display unit 139 displays the clipped video (S203).

  If it is determined No in S201, the video cutout instruction unit 136 instructs the still image cutout unit 138 to cut out, and the still image cutout unit 138 cuts out the still image of the instructed part (S204). The video display unit 139 displays the cut out still image (S205).

  In the present embodiment, if the video of the part requested to be viewed has reached the video presentation device 130, the necessary part is cut out from the video and displayed. If not, the video is acquired from each video. The case where a necessary part is cut out from the still image and displayed is described. However, as shown in the flowchart in FIG. 4, the display range designation unit 131 also transmits information about the requested action to the video cutout instruction unit 136. Always display the still image cut out from the still image while the scroll operation is in progress, stop the scrolling operation, and when the video in the direction you want to display arrives, cut out the necessary part from the video and display it. It may be.

  In addition, when a scroll operation is requested to the display range designation unit 131, if the scroll is within the range of the video arriving at the video presentation device 130, the video is cut out from the arriving video and displayed. When a scrolling instruction exceeding that range is given, the still image is cut out and displayed, and when the video in the desired direction starts to reach, the necessary part is cut out from the video and displayed. May be used.

  In the present embodiment, encoding and decoding of video and still images are not described. However, an appropriate encoding and decoding may be performed as necessary.

  When there is a scroll operation request in the display range designation unit 131, if the scroll is within the range of the video arriving at the video presentation device 130, the video is cut out from the incoming video and displayed. When a scroll instruction exceeding the range is given, the image is cut out from the still image and displayed, and when the video in the direction to be displayed starts to reach, a necessary part may be cut out from the video and displayed. . An example of such a method will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 shows an example in which twelve cameras (cameras 1 to 12) are used as the video photographing unit 111. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the video display unit 139 displays a 2/3 range (60 degrees) of a camera with an angle of view of 90 degrees.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (a), each camera is arranged to cover 360 degrees with 12 cameras shifted by 30 degrees so that the range of 2/3 of the angle of view (60 degrees) overlaps. Has been. The camera 1 to the camera 12 are arranged in a radial manner and shifted by 30 degrees, and the shooting situation when the characters are placed in each direction is shown in the shooting ranges 521 to 521 of each camera in FIG. Shown at 532.

  FIG. 6 shows a state in which viewing is performed with the orientation shown in FIG. In this case, a moving image of the camera 1 in which a range of 60 degrees (330 ° to 360 °, 0 ° to 30 °) centered on the azimuth of 0 ° is taken, and the still images of the cameras 1 to 12 that are all the cameras. The image is distributed to the video presentation device 130. Among these, a necessary range is cut out from the moving image of the camera 1 and displayed on the video display unit 139. In this case, an identifier is superimposed on the moving image, and the still image is created from the moving image of each camera using, for example, the immediately preceding intra-frame encoded image.

  FIG. 7 shows a state where the center of the viewing direction is moved in the direction of 15 degrees from the situation of FIG. In this case, since it is still the camera 1 that is shooting the range of 60 degrees (345 ° to 360 °, 0 ° to 45 °) with the azimuth of 15 degrees as the center, the direction of 0 degrees is seen. Similarly to the case, a necessary range is cut out from the moving image of the camera 1 and displayed on the video display unit 139.

  FIG. 8 shows a case where the center of the viewing direction is further moved in the direction of 30 degrees from the situation of FIG. In this case, since it is the camera 2 that captures a range of 60 degrees (0 ° to 60 °) centered on 30 degrees in the azimuth direction, the display range designating unit 131 requests viewing by the viewer. The camera that captures the video range is identified as the camera 2, and the display instruction transmission unit 132 transmits information on the camera 2 to the distribution server 120.

  However, it takes time until the video presentation device 130 receives a new moving image of the camera 2, and until then, the moving image of the camera 1 is still received. The still image cutout unit 138 is instructed to cut out a necessary range from the still image, and the video display unit 139 displays the cut out still image. After a while, when the video receiving unit 133 starts to receive the moving image of the camera 2, the video cutting instruction unit 136 instructs the video cutting unit 137 to cut out a necessary range from the moving image of the camera 2 and displays the video. The unit 139 displays the cut out partial video. As described above, when the display center position exceeds 15 °, the video of the camera 2 is requested as a moving image. However, since there is a delay until the video can be received, a still image is used during scrolling.

  In FIG. 5, a case has been described in which the cameras are arranged in a radial pattern to acquire the entire circumference image. However, the configuration is such that only a partial radial image such as a 180 ° range is acquired instead of the entire circumference. May be. In addition, the arrangement may be such that the positions are shifted so that the optical axes are parallel and the images are taken instead of being arranged radially.

(Second Embodiment)
The configuration of the video distribution system according to the second embodiment is the same as the configuration described in FIG.

  The still image distribution unit 128 may distribute one still image obtained by arranging the still images acquired by the still image acquisition unit 127 from the video of each camera side by side and combining them. As a result, the still image cutout unit 138 does not select one piece from different still images and further cut out, but only one procedure of changing the cutout position from one large still image. It is possible to perform image selection similar to selecting and cutting out different still images.

  In addition, this makes it possible to perform a more efficient clipping process from a still image, and only a simple clipping display without image selection is required, so that only the simple image display function of the video presentation device 130 has a clipping display. And high-speed display is possible.

  Further, when combining still images, the images are arranged in the order of arrangement of the image data, or as shown in FIG. When moving down, the images can be arranged more efficiently by arranging the images so that the arrangement order is continuously arranged.

  If the images are combined in the direction matched to the block order, the processing can be performed at high speed. At the time of display, since it can be done only by changing the cut-out position from one image, it is possible to display at a higher speed than when switching the original image.

  Note that the arrangement order of the synthesized images may be a method in which the images are arranged in a fixed order as shown in FIG. 10, or an image in the requested viewing direction as shown in FIG. 11 is arranged near the center. It may be a method to do.

  In FIG. 10, one still image is created by connecting cameras 1 to 12 in order in the vertical direction. Also, in FIG. 11, the still images are created by arranging them so that the video of the camera (for example, camera 1) to which the moving image is currently sent is substantially centered and connected in the vertical direction.

  Note that still image synthesis in this case was performed with each camera instead of shaping and synthesizing so that still images taken with different cameras can be clearly connected, as in so-called panoramic image synthesis. Instead of processing such as cutting out still images, they are simply arranged as one image.

(Third embodiment)
The configuration of the video distribution system according to the third embodiment is the same as the configuration described in FIG.

  Reduce the amount of still image data to be transmitted by reducing the resolution of still images acquired from the video of each camera according to the distance from the current viewing direction by increasing the resolution if it is close and decreasing the resolution if it is far away. It is also possible to improve responsiveness.

  For example, in the arrangement shown in FIG. 5, when the display range specifying unit 131 has an interface for scrolling the screen by an operation of paying the screen, the amount that can be scrolled by one operation is currently displayed. The same range, that is, 60 degrees. In this case, as shown in FIG. 12, the resolution of the still image is set for two screens (for two cameras on the left and right) from the current viewing direction required when the display direction is changed by 60 degrees. Slightly drop (for example, the spatial resolution is set to 1/2 of the vertical and horizontal directions of the moving image), and the image of the camera farther than that further reduces the resolution of the still image (for example, the spatial resolution is set to 1/4 of the vertical and horizontal directions of the moving image) There is a method of.

  For example, when the moving image is 1920 × 1080 pixels Full HD, the still image with high definition may be 960 × 540 pixels, and the still image with low definition may be 480 × 270 pixels. Further, the data amount may be reduced by changing the compression rate without changing the number of pixels.

  Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, a still image is used during scrolling, and one image obtained by pasting together still images with high definition and one image obtained by combining still images with low definition are combined. You may make it use. By sticking still images in this way, switching of still images when scrolling beyond the respective ranges can be reduced, and smooth scrolling can be realized.

  Also, in this case, if there is a request for scrolling beyond the range of the moving image being sent, scroll from the still image with a slightly reduced resolution, and once the range of the still image with a slightly reduced resolution , Even if the scroll range returns to the range of the moving image that has been sent, the scroll operation using the still image of the resolution currently used is continued until the scroll operation is stopped, When the resolution exceeds the range of the still image with slightly reduced resolution, scroll display may be performed using a still image with a lower resolution.

  In this way, when scrolling with a still image is continued even when the range of the moving image is returned, as shown in FIG. 13, the still image of the moving image portion is also sent and returned. If a moving image is used when it comes, the still image of the moving image portion may not be sent. A similar method may be applied to a difference in resolution between a still image and not a moving image and a still image.

  In addition, although the case where the spatial resolution is changed has been described with reference to FIG. 12, the time resolution may be changed by changing the time interval for sending a still image as shown in FIG. For example, still images of cameras (cameras 2, 3, 11, and 12) close to the desired direction may be sent at intervals of 5 seconds, and cameras farther than them (cameras 4 to 10) may be sent at intervals of 10 seconds. Note that the time interval (frame rate) may be changed as a moving image instead of a still image.

  Also, how to reduce the resolution so that the amount of data when encoding is reduced by a method such as averaging the pixel values of several neighboring pixels without changing the number of pixels of each still image You may do. In this case, it may be further combined with a single still image so as to be combined into one still image even if the resolution is different for each still image. For example, the still image of the camera including the direction currently being viewed does not reduce the resolution, and the still images of two images on both sides use the average value as a representative value every 2 × 2 pixels, and outside that An average value may be used as a representative value for every 4 × 4 pixels.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 15, for a range that can be moved by one scroll from the camera that is currently requested to view (two cameras to the left and right), a moving image that does not reduce the spatial resolution and temporal resolution is sent. As for still images, the still images of all the cameras may be sent for scrolling to the outside.

  In the case shown in FIG. 15, as shown in FIG. 16, the moving images may be connected so that the scanning order at the time of block coding is continuous to form one moving image.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a video distribution system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The video distribution system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention includes a video acquisition device 410, a distribution server 420, and a video presentation device 440. In the video distribution system according to the fourth embodiment, the video is cut out by the distribution server 420 instead of the video presentation device 440. The following description will be focused on differences from the first embodiment, and description of common contents will be omitted as appropriate.

  The video acquisition device 410 includes a video shooting unit 411 (411a, 411b).

  The distribution server 420 includes a display instruction receiving unit 421, a video selection instruction unit 422, a video cutout instruction unit 423, a video input unit 424 (424a, 424b), a video source ID superimposing unit 425 (425a, 425b), a video selection unit 426, A video cutout unit 427, a video distribution unit 428, a still image acquisition unit 429 (429a, 429b), and a still image distribution unit 430 (430a, 430b) are provided.

  The display instruction receiving unit 421 receives information on the video range that the viewer desires to view from the video presentation device 440.

  The video selection instruction unit 422 includes a plurality of videos in which identifiers are superimposed on the video source ID superimposing unit 425 on the video selection unit 426 on the basis of information received from the video presentation device 440 by the display instruction receiving unit 421. Instruct the video to be selected from.

  The video cutout instruction unit 423 instructs the video cutout unit 427 to select a partial video to be cut out from the video selected by the video selection unit 426 based on the information received from the video presentation device 440 by the display instruction receiving unit 421.

  The video input unit 424 receives the video shot by the video shooting unit 411.

  The video source ID superimposing unit 425 receives video from the video input unit 424 and superimposes an identifier (ID) associated with the video photographing unit 411 for each video source (video photographing unit 411) as an image watermark.

  Based on an instruction from the video selection instruction unit 422, the video selection unit 426 selects a video from a plurality of videos on which identifiers are superimposed for each video source by the video source ID superimposing unit 425.

  The video cutout unit 427 is a partial video obtained by cutting out a part necessary for displaying a video according to a viewer's request from the video selected by the video selection unit 426 based on an instruction from the video cutout instruction unit 423. Cut out.

  The video delivery unit 428 delivers the partial video clipped by the video cutout unit 427 to the video presentation device 440.

  The still image acquisition unit 429 acquires a still image from each video input to the video input unit 424.

  The still image distribution unit 430 distributes the still image of each video acquired by the still image acquisition unit 429 to the video presentation device 440.

  The video presentation device 440 includes a display range designation unit 441, a display instruction transmission unit 442, a video reception unit 443, a video source ID extraction unit 444, a still image reception unit 445 (445a and 445b), and a still image extraction instruction / display control unit 446. A still image cutout unit 447 and a video display unit 448.

  The display range designation unit 441 receives a request from the viewer as to which video range is desired to be viewed.

  The display instruction transmission unit 442 transmits to the distribution server 420 request information indicating which part of the video the display range specification unit 441 has received from the viewer.

  The video receiving unit 443 receives the partial video distributed from the distribution server 120.

  The video source ID extraction unit 444 extracts the identifier of the video source superimposed as image watermark information from the partial video received by the video reception unit 443.

  The still image receiving unit 445 receives a still image distributed from the distribution server 420.

  The still image cutout instruction / display control unit 446 specifies a video source including a video of a portion that the viewer wants to view based on the information of the viewer's request received by the display range specification unit 441, and determines which video source The video source ID extraction unit 444 determines which part of the video is to be cut out, displayed after being cut out from the video, or cut out from the still image for display, and cut out from the still image. In this case, the still image cutout unit 447 is instructed to cut out a still image, and the video display unit 448 is instructed to display a video or a still image.

  The still image cutout unit 447 cuts out a part of the still image received by the still image receiving unit 445 for display as a partial still image based on an instruction from the still image cutout instruction / display control unit 446.

  The video display unit 448 displays the partial video received by the video reception unit 443 or the partial still image cut out by the still image cutout unit 447.

  As described above, according to the video distribution system according to the present invention, the video acquisition device includes a plurality of video shooting units and shoots a wide area, so that a plurality of viewers can simultaneously have a desired direction. You can watch live video.

  Also, when scrolling beyond the shooting range of the camera that is currently shooting the partial video, the video can be scrolled smoothly while suppressing the amount of transmitted data by displaying still images. Can do.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can easily make various modifications and corrections based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these variations and modifications are included in the scope of the present invention.

110, 410 Video acquisition device 111, 411 Video shooting unit 120, 420 Distribution server 121, 421 Display instruction receiving unit 122, 422 Video selection instruction unit 123, 424 Video input unit 124, 425 Video source ID superimposing unit 125, 426 Video selection Unit 126, 428 Video distribution unit 127, 429 Still image acquisition unit 128, 430 Still image distribution unit 130, 440 Video presentation device 131, 441 Display range specification unit 132, 442 Display instruction transmission unit 133, 443 Video reception unit 134, 444 Video source ID extraction unit 135, 445 Still image reception unit 136, 423 Video extraction instruction unit 137, 427 Video extraction unit 138, 447 Still image extraction unit 139, 448 Video display unit 446 Still image extraction instruction / display control unit

Claims (8)

A video distribution system comprising a video acquisition device, a distribution server, and a video presentation device,
The video acquisition device includes a plurality of video shooting units,
The distribution server
A video input unit for receiving a plurality of videos taken by the plurality of video shooting units;
A video source ID superimposing unit that superimposes an identifier of the video photographing unit on the video received by the video input unit;
A still image acquisition unit that acquires a still image from the video received by the video input unit;
A display instruction receiving unit that receives information on a video range that the viewer desires to view;
A video selection instruction unit for instructing a video to be selected from a plurality of videos on which the identifier of the video shooting unit is superimposed based on the information of the video range;
A video selection unit that selects a video from the plurality of videos based on an instruction from the video selection instruction unit;
A video delivery unit that delivers the video selected by the video selection unit to the video presentation device;
A still image distribution unit that distributes the still image acquired by the still image acquisition unit to the video presentation device;
The video presentation device includes:
A display range designating unit for receiving the video range desired to be viewed from a viewer;
A display instruction transmission unit for transmitting information on the video range that the viewer desires to view to the distribution server;
A video receiving unit that receives the video selected by the video selection unit distributed by the distribution server;
A video source ID extracting unit for extracting an identifier of the video photographing unit superimposed on the video received by the video receiving unit;
A still image receiving unit for receiving the still image distributed by the distribution server;
Instructing a partial video to be cut out from the selected video based on the information on the video range and the extracted identifier of the video shooting unit, or selecting and cutting out a still image from the acquired still image A video cutout instruction unit for instructing a still image;
Based on an instruction from the video cutout instruction unit, a video cutout unit that cuts out the partial video from the video selected by the video selection unit;
Based on an instruction from the video cutout instruction unit, a still image cutout unit that cuts out the partial still image from the still image acquired by the still image acquisition unit;
A video display unit for displaying the partial video cut out by the video cutout unit or the partial still image cut out by the still image cutout unit;
Each of the video shooting units has an overlapping area where a video shot by each of the video shooting units and a video shot by a video shooting unit arranged adjacent to each other overlap, and the size of the overlapping area is the portion A video distribution system characterized by being arranged to be larger than the size of the video. A video distribution system comprising a video acquisition device, a distribution server, and a video presentation device,
The video acquisition device includes a plurality of video shooting units,
The distribution server
A video input unit for receiving a plurality of videos taken by the plurality of video shooting units;
A video source ID superimposing unit that superimposes an identifier of the video photographing unit on the video received by the video input unit;
A still image acquisition unit that acquires a still image from the video received by the video input unit;
A display instruction receiving unit that receives information on a video range that the viewer desires to view;
A video selection instruction unit for instructing a video to be selected from a plurality of videos on which the identifier of the video shooting unit is superimposed based on the information of the video range;
A video selection unit that selects a video from the plurality of videos based on an instruction from the video selection instruction unit;
A video cutout instruction unit for instructing a partial video to be cut out from the selected video based on the video range information;
Based on an instruction from the video cutout instruction unit, a video cutout unit that cuts out the partial video from the video selected by the video selection unit;
A video delivery unit that delivers the partial video clipped by the video cutout unit to the video presentation device;
A still image distribution unit that distributes the still image acquired by the still image acquisition unit to the video presentation device;
The video presentation device includes:
A display range designating unit for receiving the video range desired to be viewed from a viewer;
A display instruction transmission unit for transmitting information on the video range that the viewer desires to view to the distribution server;
A video receiving unit for receiving the partial video clipped by the video cutout unit distributed by the distribution server;
A video source ID extracting unit for extracting an identifier of the video photographing unit superimposed on the partial video received by the video receiving unit;
A still image receiving unit for receiving the still image distributed by the distribution server;
Based on the video range information and the extracted identifier of the video shooting unit, select a still image from the acquired still image and instruct a partial still image to be cut out or display the received video A still image cutting instruction / display control unit for instructing
A still image cutout unit that cuts out the partial still image from the still image acquired by the still image acquisition unit based on an instruction from the still image cutout instruction / display control unit;
A video display unit for displaying the partial video or the partial still image received by the video receiving unit;
Each of the video shooting units has an overlapping area where a video shot by each of the video shooting units and a video shot by a video shooting unit arranged adjacent to each other overlap, and the size of the overlapping area is the portion A video distribution system characterized by being arranged to be larger than the size of the video.   3. The video distribution system according to claim 1, wherein a still image acquired from the video is combined into a single image and distributed.   4. The video distribution system according to claim 3, wherein the still image combined with the one image has a sequence of image data or a block arrangement sequence when the still image is block-encoded. A video distribution system characterized by being arranged.   4. The video distribution system according to claim 3, wherein the still image distribution unit changes a data amount of the still image based on a position of each of the video photographing units.   6. The video distribution system according to claim 5, wherein the still image distribution unit changes a data amount of the still image based on a range that can be moved by one scroll operation.   3. The video distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the video display unit displays the partial still image while a screen scroll operation is performed on the display range specification unit. 4. Distribution system.   3. The video distribution system according to claim 1, wherein when the video source instructed by the display range specifying unit is a video source indicated by the video source identifier extracted by the video source ID extracting unit, the video display is performed. The display unit displays the partial video.

Images