JP2002027365A - Video information printing apparatus, video information summarizing method, and computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a video information printing apparatus that can add more detailed information about a video to an index of a video recording medium and create an index that can easily and surely understand the content of the video. An input unit (104) for setting a summary condition and a print format, and a video summary creation unit (1) for summarizing video information (102) based on a video structure index (101) and a summary condition.
05, a print shaping unit 106 for shaping the summarized information based on the print format, and a printing unit 108 for outputting the summarized and shaped information as a printed matter.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video information printing apparatus, a video information summarizing method, and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, video tapes and DVDs (Digital
Recording media (video recording media) capable of recording information such as tal Versatile Discs (video) have become widespread. Such a video recording medium is generally provided with an index that allows the contents of the recorded video to be seen at a glance, and is used for organizing and managing the video recording medium.

[0003] At present, as a configuration that can easily create an index, there are described in the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-245179, the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-294080, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-93527. There is an invention. In the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-245179, a video signal is stored in a memory by pressing a freeze button, and a still image represented by the stored video signal is printed.

Further, the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-294080 discloses a method of providing an index area on a video recording medium and recording a representative screen, shooting date and time, and shooting location of video data in the index area. Create The representative screen recorded as index data can be displayed on a display screen or output on paper. At this time, the shooting date and time and the shooting location can be displayed or printed out in association with the representative screen.

The invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-93527 extracts (basically) a representative image based on a scene change in a reproduced video image, and stores the extracted representative image. Create an index. This index is a list of representative images, and can be displayed on the display unit or printed. The invention described in JP-A-6-245179, JP-A-8-245179
The invention described in JP-A-294080, JP-A-9-93
According to the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 527, the images contained in the video can be printed on paper and output.
Then, the output printed matter can be used as an index of the video recording medium.

[0006]

However, each of the above-mentioned conventional inventions mainly uses an image included in a video as an index. Although an index mainly composed of images is effective in understanding the contents of a video to some extent, there is a possibility that information essential for understanding is missing or unnecessary information is mixed.

Further, in the conventional invention, simple information such as a photographing date and time and a photographing place are added to compensate for a lack of information, or a representative image determined based on a scene change is manually replaced. There is still room for improvement in creating an index that can be fully understood.

In order to arrange the video recording medium using the index, for example, it is conceivable to directly attach the index to a case of the video recording medium or to file only the index. However, in the above-described conventional invention, the print layout when printing the created data index cannot be changed according to the method of using the index. For this reason, the user needs to process the printed index according to the method of use.

[0009] Currently, a video structuring apparatus for structuring a video in order to facilitate editing and processing of the video has been proposed. The structuring of a video refers to a process of dividing a video, for example, by detecting a change point of an image forming the video, and searching for the video in each of the divided groups.

Known examples of an image structuring apparatus for structuring an image include, for example, JP-A-8-339379 and JP-A-10-13773.
Japanese Patent Application No. 1-277361 has filed an image structuring apparatus for managing an image as a tree structure. Information indicating the content of each divided unit is added to the structured video, but a technique for printing this information and using it as an index of a video recording medium has not yet been completed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a first object of the present invention is to provide a paper output index of a video recording medium which is sufficient for understanding the contents of a video. A video information printing apparatus, a video information summarizing method, and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the method by adding information and creating an index that can easily and reliably understand the content of the video. The purpose is to provide.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a video information printing apparatus capable of determining an index layout according to a user's request and creating an index most suitable for use such as pasting to a video recording medium case or filing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a video information summarizing method and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the method.

[0013]

[MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS] To solve the above-mentioned problems,
In order to achieve the object, a video information printing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is a video information printing apparatus that summarizes information about a video and prints the summarized information,
Condition setting means for setting a summary condition which is a condition at the time of information summarization and a print format at the time of printing the summary information; and information on the video based on the video structure index representing the video structure in a tree structure and the summary condition. A video information summarizing means for summarizing, a print information shaping means for shaping information summarized by the video information summarizing means based on the print format, and a video information summarizing means by the video information summarizing means; and And a print output unit for outputting the shaped information as a printed matter.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to summarize information on a video in accordance with a summary condition by using a video structure index having a tree structure. Also, the summarized information can be printed in a print format.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the video information printing apparatus, the summarizing condition includes a ratio of an image occupied by the image and a ratio of the character occupied in the information summarized by the video information summarizing means; Accuracy, and at least one of an extraction condition of an image included in the information summarized by the video information summarizing means, and the number of images extracted according to the extraction condition, wherein the print format is used when an image is printed. It is characterized by including a layout.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the proportion occupied by the image and the proportion occupied by the character, the accuracy of summarizing the information, the conditions for extracting the image included in the summarized information, and the The information on the video can be summarized by designating at least one of the number. Further, the summarized information can be printed by designating the layout.

A video information printing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the apparatus further comprises a registration unit for registering at least one of the summary condition and the print format.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the summary condition and the print format can be registered, and it is not necessary to input the summary condition and the print format every time the video information is printed. Further, the operator can cause the video information printing apparatus to store a new summary condition and a new print format.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the video information printing apparatus, the video information summarizing means obtains a characteristic amount of an image extracted from the video, A feature amount difference acquiring unit that acquires a difference between the feature amounts acquired by the acquiring unit, wherein a plurality of images in which the difference between the feature amounts acquired by the feature amount difference acquiring unit is equal to or less than a predetermined value are converted into one image. It is characterized by being represented by

According to the present invention, the extracted image can be represented by one image. In addition, by representing an image having a small difference in feature amount by one image, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the amount of information included in the entire extracted image.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the video information printing apparatus, the print information shaping means has a layout storage means for storing a plurality of layouts at the time of printing, and the layout stored in the layout storage means. And shaping the information summarized by the video information summarizing means.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the layout at the time of printing can be stored in advance, and it is not necessary to input the layout every time printing is performed. Further, the operator can cause the video information printing device to store the new layout.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the video information printing apparatus, the layout storage means stores a layout for an identification label of a video medium.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to print the information related to the summarized video with an optimum layout on the identification label of the video media.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image information printing apparatus further comprising: position information for adding image position information relating to a position in an image of an image included in the information shaped by the print information shaping means to the print information. The print output unit outputs the image position information as a printed matter together with the print information.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, it is possible to add information on the position of an image in a video to a printed matter.

The video information summarizing method according to the present invention is a video information summarizing method for summarizing information relating to a video and shaping it into a printable format. And a condition setting step of setting a print format at the time of printing the summary information, a video information summarizing step of summarizing information about the video based on a video structure index representing the video structure in a tree structure and the summary condition, A print information shaping step of shaping the information summarized in the information summarizing step based on the print format.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to summarize information related to a video in accordance with a summary condition by using a video structure index having a tree structure.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the video information summarizing method, the summarizing condition includes a ratio of an image and a character of the information summarized in the information summarizing step; And at least one of an extraction condition of an image included in the information summarized by the video information summarizing means, and the number of images extracted according to the extraction condition, wherein the print format is the layout at the time of printing. It is characterized by including.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the proportion occupied by the image and the proportion occupied by the character, the summarization accuracy of the information, the extraction condition of the image included in the summarized information, and the The information on the video can be summarized by designating at least one of the number.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the video information summarizing method, the information summarizing step obtains a feature amount of an image extracted from the video, and the feature amount obtaining step between the images. And a feature amount difference acquiring step of acquiring a difference between the feature amounts acquired in the step. A plurality of images in which the difference between the feature amounts acquired in the feature amount difference acquiring step is equal to or less than a predetermined value are formed as one image. It is characterized by representing.

According to the tenth aspect, the extracted image can be represented by one image. Also,
By representing an image having a small difference in feature amount by one image, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the amount of information included in the entire extracted image.

[0033] The recording medium according to the present invention can record a program for causing a computer to execute any one of the video information summarizing methods according to the above-mentioned claims.

[0034]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a video information printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the video summary referred to in the embodiments of the present specification refers to a process of extracting a frame image included in a video based on a structured video together with a document added to the frame image. .

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a video information printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The video information printing apparatus according to the present embodiment is a video information printing apparatus that creates summary information by summarizing a video (video information 102) and prints the created summary information.

The illustrated video information printing apparatus includes a video structure interpretation unit 103, an input unit 104, a video summary generation unit 105 having a registration unit 111, a print shaping unit 106, a print language generation unit 107, and a video reference frame extraction unit 109. , A barcode adding unit 110 and a printing unit 108. The video processed by the video information printing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a video information (video main body) 102 and a video structure index 1 attached to the video information 102 and representing the video structure in a tree structure.
01.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the video structure index 101 used in the video information printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The video structure index 101 is configured as a hierarchical tree structure. The hierarchy of the tree structure is divided according to the level of detail of the information, and the lower hierarchy holds more detailed information about the video. The illustrated tree structure represents video management data having one root directory 201 for the entire recording medium.

The video structure index 101 is data representing the video information 102 in a structured manner. Video information 102
The structuring means a process in which a video represented by video information is regarded as a continuous frame image (an image created by dividing a moving image) and the frame images are grouped into a predetermined unit.
A group of a plurality of frame images organized by structuring is called a segment. According to the video structure index 101, it is possible to obtain information indicating what kind of image each segment is composed of.

In the present embodiment, a segment is created for each photographing, and the segments compiled for each photographing are further combined for each cut / shot change point to create a segment. The cut shot change point is a recording time calculated from the start of recording a video, or a frame image arranged based on the number of recorded images, and is arranged adjacently, and a difference between feature amounts is smaller than a predetermined value. This is provided between large frame images. In addition, as the feature amount,
For example:・ Color histogram ・ Spatial color distribution ・ Spatial edge distribution ・ Spatial texture distribution ・ Object shape

In FIG. 2, X indicates environment information, Y indicates camera information, and Z indicates a still image feature amount of a representative frame. The environment information X is information on the external environment at the time of shooting, and includes information on date and time, position (latitude and longitude), altitude, temperature, and humidity. The video structuring apparatus that creates the video structure index 101 uses a clock (GMT) for acquiring such information.
Time as standard), GPS (Global Positioning Sys
tem), a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, and a humidity sensor.

The camera information Y is information such as a focal length, an aperture value, a shutter speed, and a focusing distance when a frame image (an image created by dividing a moving image) included in a certain segment is photographed. Contains.
Among such information, from the information on the focal length,
It can be inferred whether the photographing target of the frame image is a landscape, an object such as a person or an object, whether it is wide-angle photographing or telephoto photographing. Further, from the information on the aperture value, it is possible to estimate the brightness of the shooting location in addition to determining whether the shooting target is a landscape or an object.

Further, from the information on the shutter speed, it can be inferred whether the object to be photographed is stationary or moving, and further, the brightness of the photographing place. The distance between the camera part of the video recording apparatus and the object to be photographed can be roughly estimated from the information on the focusing distance. By interpreting the above information in a complex manner, for example, if the aperture value is low regardless of the shutter speed, the focusing distance is short and the focal length is long, it is highly likely that the object has been shot. Be able to guess.

Further, the still image feature amount Z is information representing the feature amount when the frame image is viewed as a still image.

The cut / shot general information 202A and the cut / shot information 203A located immediately below the root directory 201 are information common to all the video information 102. Furthermore, the cut / shot general information 202B
Is general information on the cut / shot change point of the segment managed by the cut / shot information 203A.

In the tree structure shown in FIG. 2, there are two segments for each shooting created as the shooting progresses.
Cut / shot information 2 for each of the two segments
03B and 203C are attached. Further, camera information Y is added to each of the two segments.

Further, cut / shot information 203B,
Below the segment to which 2203C is added, four cut / shot segments included in each segment are arranged. The four segments are created by dividing the segment to which the cut / shot information 203B is added at the cut / shot change point. And 4
Cut shot segments 203D, 203E, 203F, 203
G is arranged. Also, cut shot information 20
The four segments arranged below the segment to which 3C is added include cut shot information 203H and 20.
3L, 203J and 203K are added. cut·
Shot information 203D to 203G, cut shot information 20
Camera information Y is added to each of 3H to K.

Further, cut / shot information 203D-
G, cut-shot information 203H to 203K include information (representative frame information) 204A, 204 of a representative frame (also referred to as a key frame) image representing a frame image included in the segment to which each cut-shot information is added.
B, 204C, 204D and representative frame information 204
E, 204F, 204G, and 204H are respectively added. Furthermore, the representative frame information 204A to 204D and the representative frame information 204E to 204H are added with the still image feature amount Z of each representative frame.

The representative frame information 204A to 204D and the representative frame information 204E to 204H include a document describing each representative frame in addition to the still image feature amount Z of each representative frame. The document describing the representative frame is a document created by the operator when the video structure index 101 is created, or a sample document automatically added according to the feature amount. In the video structure index 101, the representative frame information 204A to 204D including the document describing each representative frame, and the representative frame information 204E to 204H
Are printable information.

The input unit 104 of the video information printing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a summary condition (denoted as condition A in the figure) which is a condition used for summarization by the video summary generation unit 105, A print format (referred to as condition B in the figure) used for shaping is input. The input summary condition and print format are set in the video information printing apparatus. Also, the video structure interpretation unit 103 interprets the structure of the video structure index 101. The video summary generation unit 105 and the video reference frame extraction unit summarize the video information 102 based on the video structure index 101 interpreted by the video structure interpretation unit 103 and the summarization condition. The print shaping unit 106 converts the information (video summary) generated by summarizing the video information 102 by the video summary generation unit 105 and the video reference frame extraction unit 109 into a printable format based on a print format (shaping).

In this embodiment, the summarization conditions include the proportion of the image and the proportion of the character in the video summary, the precision at the time of summarization, and the reference frame (frame to be printed) performed by the video reference frame extraction unit 109. image)
And the number of reference frames to be extracted are set.
In addition, a layout at the time of printing is set as a print format. The summary condition and the print format can be input from the input unit 104 or can be registered in the registration unit 111 of the video summary generation unit 105 in advance.

Among the summarization conditions described above, the accuracy at the time of summarization is set by designating the hierarchy of the tree structure.
The extraction condition of the reference frame is determined by the keyword or image input by the operator to the input unit 104 or the registration unit 1.
11 is set by a keyword or an image registered.

The set keywords and images are input to the video reference frame extraction unit 109 via the video summary generation unit 105. The video reference frame extraction unit 109 searches for a frame image (representative frame is assumed in the present embodiment) based on the keyword, and extracts a corresponding representative frame. Alternatively, an image similar to the image set in the extraction condition is extracted. If the number of extracted images is larger than the number of reference frames in the summary condition, the video reference frame extraction unit 109 narrows down the representative frames by the method shown in FIG.

That is, according to FIG. 3, when seven representative frames a, b, c, d, e, f, and g are extracted at the initial stage of extraction, each of the representative frames a to g Compare similarities. This similarity may be determined by, for example, a feature amount. As a result of the similarity comparison, when it is determined that the representative frame a and the representative frame e are similar (for example, the difference in the feature amount is smaller than a preset reference), the video reference frame extraction unit 109 sets the representative frame Frame a
Alternatively, only one of the representative frames e is left. The remaining representative frame a or e becomes the representative frame h. That is, the representative frame h represents the representative frames a and e. Similarly, when it is determined that the representative frame c and the representative frame f are similar, the representative frame c and the representative frame f are represented by the representative frame j by leaving only one of the representative frame c and the representative frame f. By the above processing, the seven representative frames a to g are
The representative frames h, i, j, k, and l are narrowed down to five.

Further, the video reference frame extracting section 109
Represents a representative frame a for five representative frames h to l.
To g, the same processing as the narrowing-down processing performed on the representative frames h to l is applied to the representative frames m, n, and
We narrow down to three of o. If the number 3 matches the number of reference frames to be extracted set as the summary condition,
The video reference frame extraction unit 109 calculates the representative frames m to o
Is output to the video summary generation unit 105 and the print shaping unit 106.

The video summary generation unit 105 generates the representative frame m
Then, the amount of the document ｏo and the amount of the document attached to the representative frame mo is compared with the ratio occupied by the image and the ratio occupied by the characters set as the summary conditions. The amounts of the representative frames m to o and the documents attached to the representative frames m to o are obtained by, for example, simulating an area ratio occupied by a reference frame and an area ratio occupied by characters in a printed image. It may be. At this time, the ratio occupied by the image and the ratio occupied by the characters set as the summary conditions are set based on the area ratio occupied by the image and the area ratio occupied by the characters in the printed image.

Then, when the ratio occupied by the representative frame (hereinafter referred to as a reference frame) extracted as a reference frame and the ratio occupied by characters do not match the summarization condition, the video summary generation unit 105 determines that the reference frame is Adjust so that the occupation ratio and the character occupation ratio match the summary condition. This adjustment is performed by, for example, deleting the extracted reference frame and assigning the space to a character, or deleting information represented by a character. When deleting text information, the video summary generation unit 105 extracts an important phrase from text information, for example. Then, it may be determined that a document containing many important phrases has higher importance, and a document having less important words has lower importance, and the document determined as having lower importance may be preferentially deleted.

Further, the video summary generation unit 105 outputs the information on the reference frame and the document whose ratio has been adjusted as described above to the print shaping unit 106. Print shaping unit 10
6 arranges the reference frame and the document in accordance with a layout set as a print format, and
7 is output. At this time, the print shaping unit 106 outputs the position in the video of the reference frame to the barcode adding unit 110 from the information on the reference frame. The barcode adding unit 110 converts the position of the reference frame in the video into information representing a barcode, and
Output to The position of the reference frame in the video indicates the position of the reference frame in the frame image constituting the video or the number of minutes (seconds) after the start of the reproduction of the video. Time position.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are diagrams illustrating layouts set as print formats. FIG.
(A) is an image-based layout mainly including an image. (B) is an image / character mixed layout in which images and documents are distributed at a relatively close ratio. Also,
(C) is a character-based layout mainly of a document.

The image information printing apparatus according to the present embodiment
Are stored in, for example, the print shaping unit 106. At this time, in the present embodiment, the layout for the identification label (sticky note) of a video medium such as a video tape or a DVD is also stored in the print shaping unit 106. When a print format is input, a layout list is displayed on a display unit (not shown), and the operator specifies an arbitrary layout. Further, the layout is not limited to the layout stored in advance, and the operator can register the layout in the registration unit 111.

The reference form and the document printed and shaped according to the layout are output from the print shaping unit 106 to the print language generating unit 107. Also, the barcode adding unit 11
0 outputs the position in the video of the reference frame converted to the barcode to the print language generation unit 107. The print language generation unit 107 converts the print-shaped reference form, document, and barcode into the print language used by the print unit 108 and outputs the print language to the print unit 108. Printing unit 108
Prints and outputs a reference form, a document, and a barcode on the same sheet. At this time, an area dedicated to the barcode may be provided in the layout.

Next, the processing performed by the video information printing apparatus described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The processing shown in FIG. 5 includes the video information summarizing method according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the video information printing apparatus according to the present embodiment inputs a summary condition and a print format by displaying a screen for inputting a summary condition and a print format on a display unit (not shown) (step S501). ).

At this time, the video information printing apparatus determines whether the operator has specified a summary condition (keyword or the like) or a print format (layout or the like) registered in the registration unit 111 (step S502). Is specified (step S502: Yes), the registration unit 11
The registration data is read out from No. 1 (step S510). If the registration data is not specified (step S502: No), the structure of the video represented by the video information 102 is interpreted based on the video structure index 101 (step S503).

Next, the video information printing apparatus executes a video summary creation subroutine (step S504). The video summary creation subroutine is a process performed in the video summary generation unit 105 and the video reference frame extraction unit 109.
The process includes a process of extracting a reference frame according to the summary condition, a process of adjusting the ratio of a document added to the extracted reference frame to the reference frame, and a process of specifying the position of the reference frame in the video.

Next, the video information printing apparatus arranges the reference frame and the document obtained by the processing of the video summarization subroutine in the layout based on the print format, and shapes the reference frame and the document into a printing style (step S).
505). Further, the information relating to the position of the reference frame is converted into a barcode by the barcode addition unit 110 and is added to the reference frame and the document (step S50).
6). Then, the reference frame, the document, and the barcode, which are formatted in the format at the time of printing, are converted into a language used by the printing unit 108 to generate a printing language (step S50).
7) Printing is performed by the printing unit 108 (step S508).

Further, the video information printing apparatus according to the present embodiment judges whether or not the operator registers the summary condition and the print format used this time (step S509), and if they are registered (step S509: Yes). ), The summary condition and the print format are registered in the registration unit 111 (step S51).
1). If not registered (step S509:
No), the process ends without performing the registration.

The video information summarizing method described in the present embodiment can be realized by executing a prepared program on a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. This program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a hard disk, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, and a DVD, and is executed by being read from the recording medium by the computer. Further, this program can be distributed via a network such as the Internet as a transmission medium or via the recording medium.

The video information printing apparatus according to the present embodiment described above efficiently retrieves video information by extracting images and documents representing video from the video information using the video structure index, and searches for a reference frame. Can be extracted. Further, a document for explaining the reference frame can be acquired relatively easily.

Further, by summarizing the video image according to the summarization condition set by the operator and printing the image according to the print format set by the operator, the purpose and preference of the user can be reflected on the selection of the reference frame and the document. it can. In addition, the purpose and preference of the user can be reflected in the layout when printing the reference frame and the document. Furthermore, by registering the summary condition and the print format by the operator, the reference frame and the document extracted according to the arbitrary summary condition can be printed with an arbitrary layout. If a printed matter is used as an index of a video recording medium, an original index can be created for each user.

The video information printing apparatus according to the present embodiment outputs information summarizing video information on paper,
Video information can be viewed on paper. In addition, since the summary information of the video can be saved and managed on paper, it is convenient when, for example, cooking recipes are stored in a cooking program.

[0070]

As described above, the invention according to claim 1 summarizes information about a video using a video structure index having a tree structure, so that sufficient information for understanding the content of the video is obtained. A video information printing device that can be obtained can be provided. In addition, since the information about the video can be summarized according to the summary condition, it is possible to provide a video information printing apparatus capable of obtaining the summary information of the content according to the purpose. Furthermore, since the summary information can be printed according to the print format, it is possible to provide a video information printing apparatus capable of outputting sufficient information for understanding the content of the video on paper. Further, it is possible to provide a video information printing apparatus which determines an index layout according to a user's request, and can create an index optimal for a usage such as pasting to a video recording medium case or filing. Embodiment 1
According to the invention described in (1), information including a video summary can be listed on paper, and the processing of video information can be conveniently performed on paper (can be viewed anywhere, can be viewed without a special device such as a playback device) Etc.) can be provided. Further, it is possible to provide a video information printing apparatus capable of converting a video into a document.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the ratio of the image occupied by the characters and the ratio of the characters occupied in the summarized information, the summarization accuracy of the information, the extraction condition of the image included in the summarized information, and Thus, it is possible to provide a video information printing apparatus capable of designating at least one of the number of images to be printed and obtaining a summary of the contents according to the purpose.
Further, it is possible to provide a video information printing apparatus capable of designating a layout at the time of printing a summary and creating an index according to the purpose of use of the user.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the summary condition and the print format can be registered, it is not necessary to input the summary condition and the print format every time the video information is printed, so that the operability is improved. An apparatus can be provided. Further, by registering a summary condition and a print format reflecting the user's preference by the operator, it is possible to provide a video information printing apparatus capable of obtaining an index reflecting the user's preference.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the extracted image can be represented by one image, and the extracted images can be narrowed down according to the required number of images. For this reason,
A video information printing apparatus capable of extracting an arbitrary number of images from information representing a video can be provided.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a video information printing apparatus with high operability which does not require a layout to be input each time printing is performed. Further, by registering a layout reflecting the user's preference by the operator, it is possible to provide a video information printing apparatus capable of obtaining an index printed in a layout reflecting the user's preference.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to print the information relating to the summarized video in an optimal layout for the identification label of the video media, and to obtain a printed material optimal for the identification label of the video media. An information printing device can be provided.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, information on the position of an image in a video can be added to a printed matter, and the content indicated by the image can be easily searched from the video. Therefore, it is possible to provide a video information printing apparatus capable of obtaining an index convenient for processing and editing video.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since information relating to a video is summarized using a video structure index having a tree structure, a video information summarizing method capable of obtaining sufficient information for understanding the content of the video. Can be provided. In addition, since the information about the video can be summarized according to the summary condition, it is possible to provide a video information summarizing method capable of obtaining information of the summary of the content according to the purpose.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the ratio of an image occupied by characters and the ratio of characters occupied in summarized information, the accuracy of information summarization, the conditions for extracting images included in the summarized information, and Thus, it is possible to provide a video information summarizing method capable of designating at least one of the number of images to be obtained and obtaining a summary of the contents more in line with the purpose.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the extracted image can be represented by one image, and the extracted images can be narrowed down according to the required number of images. Therefore, it is possible to provide a video information summarizing method capable of extracting an arbitrary number of images from information representing a video.

The recording medium according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention can record a program for causing a computer to execute any one of the video information summarizing methods according to the eighth to tenth aspects. Any one of the video information summarizing methods described in any one of Items 8 to 10 can be executed by a computer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a video information printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a video structure index used in the video information printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing narrowing down of reference frames.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a layout set as a print format according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a video information summarizing method according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 Video structure index 102 Video information 103 Video structure interpretation unit 104 Input unit 105 Video summary generation unit 106 Print shaping unit 107 Print language generation unit 108 Printing unit 109 Video reference frame extraction unit 110 Barcode addition unit 111 Registration unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B075 ND12 NK10 NS01 PQ02 PQ03 5C052 AA00 DD04 EE02 FA03 FB01 FB05 FC00 FD06 FD09 FE01 5C053 FA04 FA09 GB06 GB40 JA16 KA01 LA03

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An image information printing apparatus for summarizing information relating to an image and printing the summarized information, wherein a condition setting means for setting a summarizing condition as a condition for summarizing information and a printing format for summarizing information printing. Image information summarizing means for summarizing information about the image based on an image structure index representing the structure of the image in a tree structure and the summarizing condition; and information summarized by the image information summarizing means in the print format. Print information shaping means for shaping the information based on the print information, and print output means for outputting as a printed matter the information summarized by the image information summarizing means and shaped by the print information shaping means. Printing device. 2. The summarizing condition includes a ratio of an image occupied by characters and a ratio of characters occupied in the information summarized by the video information summarizing means, a summarization accuracy of the information, and information summarized by the video information summarizing means. 2. The printing method according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of an image extraction condition and a number of images extracted according to the extraction condition, wherein the print format includes a layout at the time of printing the image. Video information printing device. 3. The video information printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a registration unit for registering at least one of the summary condition and the print format. 4. The video information summarizing means obtains a feature quantity of an image extracted from a video, and obtains a difference between the feature quantities obtained by the feature quantity obtaining means between the images. 4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising a feature amount difference acquiring unit, wherein a plurality of images in which a difference between the feature amounts acquired by the feature amount difference acquiring unit is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value are represented by one image. The video information printing device according to any one of the above. 5. The print information shaping means has a layout storage means for storing a plurality of layouts at the time of printing, and is summarized by the video information summarization means using a layout stored in the layout storage means. The video information printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is shaped. 6. The video information printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the layout storage unit stores a layout for an identification label of the video media. 7. A printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: position information adding means for adding image position information relating to a position of an image included in the information shaped by said print information shaping means in the image to said print information. The image information printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image position information is output as a printed matter together with information. 8. A video information summarizing method for summarizing information relating to a video and shaping it into a printable format, comprising: setting a summary condition as a condition for summarizing information and a print format for printing the summary information. And an image information summarizing step of summarizing information about the image based on an image structure index and the summarizing condition, which represent the structure of the image in a tree structure, and the information summarized in the information summarizing step in the print format. And a print information shaping step of shaping based on the video information. 9. The summarizing condition includes a ratio of an image occupied by characters and a ratio of characters occupied in the information summarized in the information summarizing step, a summarization accuracy of the information, and information summarized by the video information summarizing means. 9. The printing method according to claim 8, wherein the printing format includes at least one of an extraction condition of an included image and the number of images extracted according to the extraction condition, and the print format includes a layout at the time of printing. Video information summarization method. 10. The information summarizing step includes: acquiring a feature amount of an image extracted from a video; and acquiring a difference between the feature amounts acquired in the feature amount acquiring step between the images. 10. A method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of: obtaining a plurality of images in which the difference between the feature amounts obtained in the feature amount difference obtaining step is equal to or less than a predetermined value. The described video information summarization method. 11. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute any one of the video information summarizing methods according to claim 8 is recorded.