Method And Apparatus For Capturing Digital Video

What is this patent about?

’961 is related to the field of digital image processing, specifically addressing the problem of image distortion caused by relative motion between a camera and its subject. Traditional methods for correcting blur often involve increasing sharpness or contrast, which can lead to data loss and altered image characteristics. The patent aims to provide a technique that corrects blur without significantly impacting image quality or requiring expensive hardware solutions like built-in image stabilization.

The underlying idea behind ’961 is to selectively blur the background of a video while keeping the main subject in focus. This is achieved by capturing a sequence of images and then combining them in a way that emphasizes the sharpness of the subject while intentionally blurring the background. The process leverages the fact that motion affects different parts of the scene differently, allowing for a targeted blurring effect.

The claims of ’961 focus on a method, an apparatus, and a processor for capturing digital video. The core elements involve displaying a preview, capturing a sequence of images, identifying a main subject and background, creating modified images by combining multiple source images to keep the subject sharp and the background blurred, assembling the final video, storing it, and displaying it to the user.

In practice, the invention captures multiple images in rapid succession. It then analyzes these images to differentiate between the main subject and the background. By intelligently combining pixel data from different frames, the system constructs a final video where the subject remains sharp, effectively canceling out any motion blur affecting it, while the background exhibits a controlled blur. This creates a visual effect similar to a shallow depth of field, emphasizing the subject.

This approach differs from prior art methods that attempt to remove blur uniformly across the entire image. Instead, ’961 selectively applies blur to the background, creating a more visually appealing and focused final video. This selective blurring is achieved without requiring complex optical stabilization systems or computationally intensive deconvolution algorithms, offering a simpler and more efficient way to enhance video quality.