Fujitsu Laboratories, known for its HD plasma displays, has developed core video compression and decompression technology that preserves image quality when a video program is recorded or displayed on small, battery-powered portable devices.
The new technology enables extended recording of high-quality video on gadgets that use flash memory or hard-disk drives for storage, including digital cameras and video camcorders, and it conforms to the latest H.264 international standard for video compression.
Rather than searching an entire moving image for changes from frame to frame, Fujitsu has developed an algorithm that determines image changes by searching compressed versions of the picture in stages. This method requires minimal calculation volume, which is ideal for use in large-scale integrated circuits, and enables real-time H.264 compression of standard television images using less than 100 milliwatts of power, according to the company.
Fujitsu’s algorithm enables precise control of compression levels so that images for which image degradation is particularly obvious to human sight-such as faces or slow-moving objects-are continuously tracked. Those parts of the image are maintained at high resolution and remain uncompressed.
The company is planning to achieve volume production of the technology by the end of 2006. It will then explore next-stage core circuitry research and development for use in next-generation HDTVs. Stay tuned.