AUTOMATIC DETECTION OF FLUORESCENT FLICKER IN VIDEO IMAGES

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect the presence of flicker in video images by obtaining luminance data from sampled image fields and analyzing the luminance data to obtain a digital number characterizing the luminance of the luminance data. SOLUTION: In the method for automatically detecting fluorescent flicker, frequency analysis is performed on a time-series of digital numbers collected over multiple sampled image fields to provide a signal indicative of the spectral energy at a flicker frequency band and a signal indicative of the spectral energy at a non-flicker frequency band. A ratio of the two spectral energy signals is computed as the flicker detect indicator. Multiple flicker detect indicators are accumulated to generate a flicker present signal. In one embodiment, the flicker detect indicator is accumulated only when the ratio has a value greater than a first threshold and the flicker present signal is asserted only when the number of flicker detect indicator signals accumulated exceeds an entry value. COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI