Region-based cadence detector

1. A method, comprising:

for each current field in the image sequence, comparing each pixel in a group of pixels in the current field to at least one pixel in at least one previous field;

assigning to each pixel in the group of pixels in the current field a pixel motion phase value as a function of the result of said at least one comparison;

for each block of pixels in a group of blocks of pixels in the current field, determining a block motion phase value from the motion phase values of the pixels in said block;

segmenting the current field into at least one region, where each region comprises a whole number of blocks, as a function of at least the determined block motion phase values; and

assigning to each region a region motion phase value based on the block motion phase values of the blocks in said region.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein segmenting is performed using at least one region obtained during a segmentation performed on a previous field.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein segmenting is performed using at least one region motion phase value obtained for a previous field.

4. The method according to claim 1 , additionally comprising:

for at least one region, updating a history of the region using the value of the region motion phase of said region, and

searching the history for a cadence pattern.

5. The method according to claim 4 , additionally comprising, if a same cadence pattern and a same cadence phase are detected for two separate regions, merging said regions into a single region.

6. The method according to claim 4 , comprising detecting a break in the cadence if a film still picture phase is attributed to the region when a film motion phase was expected.

7. A cadence detection device, comprising:

a pixel motion phase detector configured to compare the pixels of a group of pixels in each current field in the sequence of images to at least one pixel in at least one previous field, and assign to each pixel in the group of pixels in the current field a pixel motion phase value as a function of the result of said at least one comparison;

a block statistical filter configured, for each block of pixels in a group of blocks of pixels in the current field, to determine a block motion phase value based on the motion phase values for the pixels in said block;

a segmentation unit configured to segment the current field into at least one region as a function of at least the determined block motion phase values, with each region comprising a whole number of blocks; and

a calculation unit configured to assign a region motion phase value to each region based on the block motion phase values of the blocks in said region.

8. The cadence detection device according to claim 7 , additionally comprising a region map memory configured to store the parameters of at least one region obtained during a segmentation performed on a previous field, with said memory connected to the segmentation unit.

9. The cadence detection device according to claim 8 , additionally comprising:

for at least one region, means for updating a history of the region using the region motion phase value of said region, and

means for searching the history for a cadence pattern.

10. A processing system for processing a sequence of images, comprising:

a cadence detection device, comprising:

a pixel motion phase detector configured to compare the pixels of a group of pixels in each current field in the sequence of images to at least one pixel in at least one previous field, and assign to each pixel in the group of pixels in the current field a pixel motion phase value as a function of the result of said at least one comparison;

a block statistical filter configured, for each block of pixels in a group of blocks of pixels in the current field, to determine a block motion phase value based on the motion phase values for the pixels in said block;

a segmentation unit configured to segment the current field into at least one region as a function of at least the determined block motion phase values, with each region comprising a whole number of blocks; and

a calculation unit configured to assign a region motion phase value to each region based on the block motion phase values of the blocks in said region, and

a processing device connected to the cadence detection device.

11. The processing system according to claim 10 , wherein the processing device comprises a deinterlacing device.

12. The processing system of claim 10 wherein the processing system is a component of a television set.

13. The processing system of claim 10 wherein the processing system is a component of a digital television decoder.

14. The processing system according to claim 10 , wherein the cadence detection device further comprises:

for at least one region, means for updating a history of the region using the region motion phase value of said region, and

means for searching the history for a cadence pattern.

15. A method for cadence detection, comprising:

receiving current and previous image fields of a video input, each field being divided into a plurality of blocks;

determining a block motion phase value for each block in the current image field in comparison to the previous field;

segmenting each current field into at least one region as a function of the determined block motion phase values, each region including a plurality of blocks;

assigning to each region a region motion phase value as a function of the block motion phase values of the blocks included within the region;

assembling from the region motion phase values associated with consecutive image fields of each region a history of region motion phase values for that region; and

processing the history of region motion phase values for that region to identify cadence patterns in the video input.

16. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising, if a same cadence pattern and a same cadence phase are detected for two separate regions, merging said regions into a single region.

17. A cadence detector, comprising:

a motion detector configured to receive current and previous image fields of a video input, each field being divided into a plurality of blocks, the motion detector further configured to determine a block motion phase value for each block in the current image field in comparison to the previous field;

a region processor configured to segment each current field into at least one region as a function of the determined block motion phase values, each region including a plurality of blocks, the region processor further configured to assign to each region a region motion phase value as a function of the block motion phase values of the blocks included within the region, the region motion phase values associated with consecutive image fields of each region being processed to assemble a history of region motion phase values for that region; and

a detector configured to process the history of region motion phase values for that region to identify cadence patterns in the video input and output a signal indicative of same.