JP5570348B2 - Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for displaying a plurality of images photographed by continuously changing a photographing distance.

  In recent years, the continuous shooting speed of a digital camera has improved, and it has become possible to capture several tens of still images per second. Further, the ultrasonic motor can drive the focus ring of the lens at high speed. In view of the above, in the future, an imaging method that performs high-speed continuous imaging while continuously changing the imaging distance to the focus position from the shortest imaging distance of the lens to infinity can be considered. With this photographing method, it is possible to view image data continuously photographed while switching the photographing distance after photographing with a viewer. In particular, in an image with a shallow depth of field, it is possible to enjoy a sense of blur and a sense of depth by continuously switching the shooting distance of displayed image data.

  A group of image data continuously shot while changing the shooting distance is defined as an MFP (multi-focus photo) here. A conceptual diagram of the MFP is shown in FIG. In FIG. 20, the image data is continuously arranged from the shortest shooting distance to infinity, and the closest sunflower 421 is in focus at the shortest shooting distance, and the sunflower 422 in the back is in focus. Image data 402, the image data 403 in focus on the two sunflowers 423, and the image data 404 in focus on the innermost sunflower 424. In the image data 401, the in-focus position 411 is in focus, in the image data 402, the in-focus position 412 is in focus, in the image data 403, the in-focus position 413 is in focus, and in the image data 404, in-focus. The focus position 414 is in focus. The image data group of the MFP also includes image data 405 that is not in focus anywhere. In MPF, by switching such a plurality of image data, the user can switch the shooting distance in a pseudo manner after shooting.

  However, there is a problem that when the user switches the shooting distance in the viewer and enjoys it, if the number of image data included in the MFP is large, it takes a long time to switch the shooting distance. . For example, if the user attempts to switch from the first image data to the next five image data when the MFP contains 10 sheets of image data, at least the first image data is necessary for switching the shooting distance. Therefore, it is necessary to decode the image data of 5 sheets ahead, and depending on the image data of the switching destination, it is necessary to decode the image data of 10 sheets at the maximum. Due to the accumulation of the decoding times of the plurality of pieces of image data, the user waits until the switching operation becomes possible.

  On the other hand, when the number of image data to be displayed by the viewer is large, there is a technique of displaying high-resolution image data after displaying low-resolution image data in order to display image data quickly. For example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when displaying high-resolution image data, low-resolution image data is displayed first, and when decoding of the original-size image data is completed, the display is displayed with high-resolution image data. The technique of replacing with is disclosed.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for determining whether television-sized thumbnail image data is included in an image in a digital television. According to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3, when television-size thumbnail image data is included in an image, the thumbnail image data is displayed, and then the original-size image data is decoded and displayed.

  In addition, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 4, a compressed image that can be displayed quickly in order to reduce the time taken to display the image data without reducing the resolution of the point of interest of the image data in a medical image or the like. Display data. After that, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 4 displays partial image data of a point of interest, and finally decodes and displays the entire original size image data.

JP 2007-328353 A JP 2004-361814 A JP 2009-038607 A JP 2009-047873 A

  However, when only one piece of image data included in the MFP is to be displayed quickly, the low resolution image data as described above may be displayed and replaced with the original size image data. This is not suitable for quickly viewing a focused image in which the subject is in focus. For example, the MFP includes blurred image data in which the subject is not in focus, and it may take a decoding time to display the blurred image data at a high resolution. When the conventional technique is applied in such a case, there is a problem that it takes time to display the attention image at a high resolution, and the attention image in focus on the subject in the image data of the MFP cannot be quickly viewed.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to shorten the waiting time until a switching operation of a plurality of images taken by continuously changing the shooting distance is possible, and to display a noticed image quickly and with high resolution. is there.

The image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a reading unit that reads out an image from a recording medium in which a plurality of images shot at different shooting distances are encoded and recorded, and focusing on each of the plurality of images. An acquisition unit that acquires region information, a first decoding unit that reads and decodes an image from the recording medium, and a subject of the image is in focus based on the focused region information acquired by the acquisition unit. judging means for judging whether or not there, the image is determined that focus is achieved on the subject by the determination unit, and priority over image determined as out of focus on the subject by the determination means sequentially And control means for controlling the decoding by the first decoding means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to shorten a waiting time until a switching operation of a plurality of images taken by continuously changing a shooting distance is possible, and it is possible to quickly display a noticed image with high resolution.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the video display apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen of a touchscreen. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of a video memory. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a recording format of an MFP on a recording medium. It is a figure which shows the live view image | video of a digital camera when image | photographing one image | photograph of several tens of image data. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the video display apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of eight original-size image data included in an MFP. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the video display apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the video display apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the trimming area | region in image data. It is a figure which shows an example of the thumbnail list screen displayed on the display of a video display apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of CPU in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the depth of field of each image data contained in MFP. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the video display apparatus which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a difference in display order of image data included in an MFP between a conventional technique and an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the setting method of the display priority in the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the setting method of the display priority in the 6th Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a display example of image data of an MFP according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. 18 is a flowchart illustrating display processing of image data included in an MFP according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram conceptually illustrating a general MFP.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments to which the invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, after the thumbnail image data with low resolution is decoded, the decoded thumbnail image data is replaced with image data with an original size with high resolution. At this time, in the present embodiment, replacement is performed preferentially from image data including a subject in focus.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a video display apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a recording medium 104 is an HDD (hard disk drive) or a flash memory, and can record multimedia contents. Image data taken by a digital camera can be recorded on the recording medium 104. In this embodiment, image data of an MFP (multifocus photo) is recorded. The recording format of the MFP will be described later. The video display device 100 is a configuration that is an application example of the image processing device of the present invention.

  In the ROM 103, program code for executing the characteristic processing of the present embodiment is written. The CPU 101 reads a program code from the ROM 103 when the video display device 100 is turned on, and develops it in the RAM 102. The CPU 101 can execute processing to be described later by executing the program code expanded in the RAM 102.

  The decoder 105 reads thumbnail image data and encoded JPEG format image data from the recording medium 104 according to a command from the CPU 101 and decodes them. The video memory 107 is a memory that can read and write RGB format bitmap data composed of three color components of red, green, and blue. The image data decoded by the decoder 105 is expanded in the video memory 107 as RGB format bitmap data.

  The display control unit 108 reads the image data developed in the video memory 107 and outputs it to the display 109. The touch panel 130 is a device that combines a touch pad 121 that is an input device capable of detecting coordinates and a display 109. The user can operate the GUI by touching the display on the display 109 with a finger. When the GUI of the slider 502 is displayed superimposed on the MFP image data as shown in FIG. 2, the user touches the knob 503 and slides it to the right to display the image displayed on the screen 501. Data can be switched. At this time, image data of the shooting distance indicated by the slider 502 is displayed on the screen 501. In such GUI operation, the operation control unit 120 converts the coordinate information of the user's finger input from the touch pad 121 into a communication command that can be interpreted by the CPU 101 and notifies the CPU 101 of it.

  The light receiving unit 110 receives a signal from the remote controller 111 or a main body switch of the video display device 100 (not shown), generates a corresponding control signal, and transmits the control signal to the CPU 101 via the bus. The remote control 111 wirelessly transfers an input instruction from the user to the video display device 100. The external device I / F 106 inputs and outputs data to and from an external storage device such as a memory card or USB device connected to the video display device 100. Note that the MFP displayed on the video display device 100 may be recorded on the above-described memory card or USB device.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the video memory 107. Hereinafter, the internal configuration of the video memory 107 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The video memory 107 includes a memory area (A) 701 to a memory area (H) 708 in which image data decoded by the decoder 105 is expanded, and a frame buffer 710 in which image data of each frame displayed on the display 109 is expanded. Prepare. The display control unit 108 reads the image data developed in the frame buffer 710 and displays it on the display 109. When displaying the image data of the MFP, the display control unit 108 expands each image data included in the MFP to each memory area of the memory area (A) 701 to the memory area (H) 708 and then expands the image data. One of the image data to be displayed is selected and transferred to the frame buffer 710. As a result, the selected image data is displayed on the display 109.

  Next, the recording format of the MFP will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a recording format of the MFP in the recording medium 104. The MFP includes a plurality of original size image data and attached information associated with each image data. An MFP header 301 is defined at the top of the recording format of the MFP. The MFP header 301 stores information related to the entire MFP, such as the number of pieces of image data included in the MFP and image information of typical thumbnail image data of the MFP. Next, there is an MPF index area 302, in which the index of the start address of the information storage area (image header area + image data area) relating to each image data included in the MFP is described. The CPU 101 refers to the head address described in this index, and reads the image header and image data from the target image header area and image data area.

  In the image data areas (A) 304 and (B) 306 to (H) 308, for example, image data (A) and (B) to (H) in JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format which is a still image encoding format. Is stored. In the image header areas (A), (B) to (H) 303, 305 to 307, thumbnail image data and image data (A) obtained by reducing the resolution of the image data (A) and (B) to (H), EXIF (Exchangeable image file format) which is attached information of (B) to (H) is stored. EXIF is content information automatically recorded by the digital camera when image data is captured. That is, EXIF describes shooting information such as a camera model name at the time of shooting, shooting conditions such as a shutter speed, an aperture value, and a shooting distance, an in-focus area on an image when the AF sensor is in focus. Thus, the MFP stores high-resolution original size image data and low-resolution thumbnail image data for each of a plurality of images.

  Next, a photographing method of the MFP will be described. When the user presses the shutter button of the digital camera, the digital camera continuously changes the lens focus from the shortest shooting distance to infinity and continuously shoots several tens of image data (still image data).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a live view image of the digital camera when one of several tens of image data is captured. The live view is a function for displaying the video output from the image sensor on the display 109 in real time. Each frame indicated by a broken line 601 is an AF (autofocus) sensor region, and a contrast value is detected in each divided region. When the value reaches a peak, it is determined that each sensor region is in focus. A frame line 602 indicates an in-focus area. The determination of the peak contrast value of the in-focus area 602 is performed by comparing the contrast values of the sensor areas that are the targets of the respective image data when continuous shooting is performed, and the sensor area of the image data with the highest contrast value is matched. A focal region 602 is formed. If the contrast values of the image data are generally low when comparing the contrast values, it is determined that there is no focus anywhere. Information on the in-focus area thus detected (in-focus area information) is written as coordinate information in EXIF of each image header area in the MFP recording format.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing of the video display apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the processing of the video display apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S201, the decoder 105 acquires and decodes all thumbnail image data from the image header areas (A) 303 and (B) 305 to (H) 308 included in the MFP. The CPU 101 expands the decoded thumbnail image data in the memory area (A) 701, (B) 702 to the memory area (H) 708 of the video memory 107, respectively. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, it is assumed that the MFP includes eight original-size image data. Accordingly, in step S201, eight thumbnail image data corresponding to each original size image data are expanded in the memory area (A) 701, (B) 702 to memory area (H) 708 of the video memory 107. In the memory area (A) 701, thumbnail image data obtained by reducing the resolution of the image data (A) is developed. In the memory area (B) 702, thumbnail image data obtained by reducing the resolution of the image data (B) is developed. In the memory area (H) 708, thumbnail image data obtained by reducing the resolution of the image data (H) is developed.

  In step S <b> 202, the CPU 101 transfers thumbnail image data developed in the memory area (A) 701 to the frame buffer 710. The display control unit 108 displays on the display 109 thumbnail image data corresponding to the top image data (A) included in the MFP, developed in the frame buffer 710. Thereafter, when the user performs an image switching operation, the CPU 101 transfers the corresponding thumbnail image data to the frame buffer 710 according to the operation. As a result, it is possible to switch the MFP image corresponding to the user's operation of the slider 502. Since the decoding time of the thumbnail image data is shorter than the decoding time of the original size image data, the time until the switching operation can be shortened.

  In step S203, the CPU 101 acquires the top image data (A) included in the MFP and the EXIF of the image data (A). FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of image data included in the MFP. In the example of FIG. 7, reference numeral 801 denotes the top image data (A). In step S204, the CPU 101 acquires the AF evaluation value of the image data (A) 801. The AF evaluation value here is a value indicating the degree of focus in the MFP. If the AF evaluation value is high, it means that the subject that is in focus is included in the image data. Conversely, if the AF evaluation value is low, there is no subject that is in focus and the image data is out of focus. Means. The CPU 101 acquires information on the in-focus area from EXIF in order to calculate the AF evaluation value. The in-focus area is an area 602 having the highest contrast value when the area is divided into blocks as shown by 601 in FIG. 5 and the contrast values of the image data included in the MFP are compared. Here, the number of blocks in the focus area is used as the AF evaluation value. In the example shown in FIG. 7, for example, since there are 11 blocks in the focus area (A) of the image data (A) 801, the AF evaluation value of the image data (A) 801 is 11.

  In step S205, when acquiring the AF evaluation value, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the AF evaluation value is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value. In the present embodiment, if the AF evaluation value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, it is assumed that the subject in focus is included in the image data. Here, the threshold value of the AF evaluation value is set to 3. For example, since the AF evaluation value of the image data (A) 801 is 11, the CPU 101 determines that the AF evaluation value of the image data (A) 801 is greater than or equal to the threshold value. If it is determined that the AF evaluation value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S206. On the other hand, if it is determined that the AF evaluation value is smaller than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S207.

  In step S206, the decoder 105 decodes the original size image data (A) 801. The CPU 101 replaces the thumbnail image data with the decoded image data (A) 801 in the memory area (A) 701. Furthermore, the CPU 101 transfers the image data (A) in the memory area (A) 701 to the frame buffer 710 and causes the display 109 to display the high-resolution original size image data (A).

  In step S207, the CPU 101 sets the low priority flag of the image data (A) 801 to ON. The low priority flag is a flag for identifying blurred image data that is out of focus with the subject, and is a flag for lowering the decoding priority of original size image data.

  In step S208, the CPU 101 determines whether all image data included in the MFP has been acquired. If all the image data has not yet been acquired, the process proceeds to step S209. In step S209, the CPU 101 acquires the next image data and the EXIF of the next image data, and in step S204, acquires the AF evaluation value of the next image data. As described above, the CPU 101 acquires AF evaluation values of all image data included in the MFP, and repeatedly determines whether to replace thumbnail image data with original-size image data. On the other hand, when all the image data have been acquired, the process proceeds to step S210.

  The AF evaluation values of image data other than the image data (A) in FIG. 7 are as follows. That is, the image data (B) 802 is 1. The image data (C) 803 is 6. The image data (D) 804 is 7. Image data (E) 805 is zero. The image data (F) 806 is 4. The image data (G) 807 is 2. The image data (H) 808 is 3. Of these image data, the image data (C) 803, the image data (D) 804, the image data (F) 806, and the image data (H) 808 are determined to have an AF evaluation value equal to or greater than the threshold value. is there. Accordingly, the decoder 105 decodes the image data (C) 803, the image data (D) 804, the image data (F) 806, and the image data (H) 808 in the original size. The CPU 101 then converts the thumbnail image data into image data (C) 803, image data (D) in each of the memory area (C) 703, memory area (D) 704, memory area (F) 706, and memory area (H) 708. ) 804, image data (F) 806, and image data (H) 808. When the AF evaluation value is determined for all the image data, the process proceeds to step S210. At this time, all image data having an AF evaluation value equal to or greater than a threshold value is displayed in the original size by the user's image switching operation.

  In step S210, the CPU 101 acquires the low priority flag of the top image data (A) 801 of the MFP. In step S211, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the acquired low priority flag is ON. If the low priority flag is ON, the process proceeds to step S212. On the other hand, if the low priority flag is OFF, the process skips step S212 and proceeds to step S213. Here, since the image data (A) 801 is targeted, the process directly proceeds to step S213. That is, since the image data (A) 801 has already been decoded in the original size and expanded in the memory area (A) 701, there is no need to execute step S212.

  In step S212, the decoder 105 decodes the image data of the original size that is the target at that time. The CPU 101 performs processing for replacing thumbnail image data with original size image data in the corresponding memory area.

  In step S213, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the low priority flags of all the image data included in the MFP have been acquired. When the low priority flags of all the image data are acquired, the process ends. On the other hand, if the low priority flags for all the image data have not yet been acquired, the process proceeds to step S214. In step S214, the CPU 101 acquires a low priority flag for the next image data, and returns the process to step S211. As described above, the CPU 101 acquires the low priority flag of all the image data of the MFP and determines whether or not the low priority flag is ON. The decoder 105 decodes the image data for which the low priority flag is ON, that is, the image data having the AF evaluation value smaller than the threshold value with the original size. The CPU 101 replaces thumbnail image data with original size image data in the corresponding memory area. Here, the image data whose low priority flag is ON are image data (B) 802, image data (E) 805, and image data (G) 807. Accordingly, the decoder 105 decodes the image data (B) 802, the image data (E) 805, and the image data (G) 807. The CPU 101 replaces thumbnail image data with original size image data in the memory area (B) 702, memory area (E) 705, and memory area (G) 707, respectively. By this replacement processing, all image data is displayed in the original size by the user's image switching operation.

  In the present invention, there is no particular limitation on the decoding order of image data whose AF evaluation value is equal to or greater than a threshold value. That is, the image data may be decoded in the order of arrangement as in the present embodiment, or may be decoded in the order of higher AF evaluation values, that is, in the order of wide focus area. In addition, when the user performs an image switching operation in step S202, image data adjacent to the image data displayed on the display 109 and having an AF evaluation value equal to or greater than the threshold is decoded to the original size, and the thumbnail image data and You may make it replace.

  Further, when displaying the thumbnail image data on the display 109, the display control unit 108 may display the image by applying a blur filter process because the image becomes coarse when enlarged and displayed in accordance with the display size. The image data having an AF evaluation value smaller than the threshold value is image data having a low overall contrast compared to image data having a high AF evaluation value. Therefore, when thumbnail image data is enlarged and blur filter processing is applied, the difference between thumbnail image data corresponding to image data with a low AF evaluation value and original size image data corresponds to image data with a high AF evaluation value. This is less than the difference between the thumbnail image data and the original image data.

  Further, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the information on the focus area is included in the EXIF of each image data. However, if the information is not included, the information on the focus area may be acquired by analyzing the image data. Good. At this time, it is preferable to add a hardware block such as an LSI that compares the contrast values of the image data to calculate the in-focus area so that the image data can be analyzed in a short time.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to shorten the waiting time until the MFP switching operation is enabled by decoding the low resolution thumbnail image data. In addition, by preferentially decoding the original size image data focused on the subject of interest and replacing it with thumbnail image data, the image of interest can also be displayed quickly.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, image data to be displayed with high resolution is preferentially determined based on the AF evaluation value first, and those with a high AF evaluation value do not decode thumbnail image data with low resolution, The original size image data is decoded and displayed. Since the configuration of the video display apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the present embodiment will be described using the reference numerals in FIG. Also in this embodiment, it is assumed that the MFP includes eight pieces of image data shown in FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing of the video display apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment. Hereinafter, the processing of the video display apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S901, the CPU 101 acquires the top image data (A) 801 and the EXIF of the image data (A) 801 included in the MFP. In step S902, the CPU 101 acquires the AF evaluation value of the image data (A) 801. The AF evaluation value calculation method is the same as that in the first embodiment. Information on the in-focus area is acquired from the corresponding EXIF, the number of blocks in the in-focus area is calculated, and the numerical value is used as the AF evaluation value. For example, since the number of blocks in the focus area of the image data (A) 801 is 11, the AF evaluation value of the image data (A) 801 is 11.

  In step S903, when acquiring the AF evaluation value, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the AF evaluation value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. If the AF evaluation value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, it is assumed that a subject in focus is included in the image data. Again, the threshold value of the AF evaluation value is 3. For example, since the AF evaluation value of the image data (A) 801 is 11, the CPU 101 determines that the AF evaluation value of the image data (A) 801 is greater than or equal to the threshold value. If it is determined that the AF evaluation value is the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S904. On the other hand, if it is determined that the AF evaluation value is smaller than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S905.

  In step S904, the decoder 105 decodes the original size image data (A) 801 and develops it in the memory area (A) 701. In step S905, the CPU 101 turns on the low priority flag of the image data. In step S906, the decoder 105 decodes thumbnail image data corresponding to the image data.

  In step S907, the CPU 101 determines whether all image data included in the MFP has been acquired. If all the image data included in the MFP has not yet been acquired, the process proceeds to step S908. On the other hand, when all the image data included in the MFP has been acquired, the process proceeds to step S909.

  In step S908, the CPU 101 acquires the next image data and the EXIF of the next image data, and in step S902 acquires the AF evaluation value of the next image data. As described above, the CPU 101 acquires AF evaluation values of all image data included in the MFP, and repeatedly determines whether to decode original-size image data or thumbnail image data.

  In the example of FIG. 7, image data (A) 801, image data (C) 803, image data (D) 804, image data (F) 806, and image data (H) 808 whose AF evaluation value is greater than or equal to the threshold value. Is decoded in its original size. These are expanded into a memory area (A) 701, a memory area (C) 703, a memory area (D) 704, a memory area (F) 706, and a memory area (H) 708, respectively. In addition, the low priority flag of each of the image data (B) 802, the image data (E) 805, and the image data (G) 807 in which the AF evaluation value is smaller than the threshold value is set to ON. Then, thumbnail image data corresponding to the image data (B) 802, the image data (E) 805, and the image data (G) 807 are decoded, and the memory area (B) 702, the memory area (E) 705, and the memory area ( G) Expanded to 707.

  As described above, when the decoding of the thumbnail image data or the original size image data for all of the image data (A) 801 to the image data (H) 808 in FIG. 7 is completed, the process proceeds to step S909.

  In step S909, the CPU 101 transfers the first original size image data (A) 801 included in the MFP to the frame buffer 710. As a result, the original size image data (A) 801 is displayed on the display 109. Thereafter, when an image switching operation is performed by the user, the CPU 101 transfers image data or thumbnail image data of the corresponding original size to the frame buffer 710 according to the operation. As a result, the MFP image can be switched by the user's operation of the slider 502.

  As in the first embodiment, when thumbnail image data is displayed on the display 109, if the image is enlarged as it is according to the display size, the image becomes rough.

  In step S910, the CPU 101 acquires the low priority flag of the top image data (A) 801 of the MFP. In step S911, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the acquired low priority flag is ON. If the low priority flag is ON, the process proceeds to step S912. On the other hand, if the low priority flag is OFF, the process skips step S911 and proceeds to step S913. Here, since the image data (A) 801 is the target, the process directly proceeds to step S913. That is, since the image data (A) 801 has already been decoded in the original size and expanded in the memory area (A) 701, there is no need to execute step S912.

  In step S912, the decoder 105 decodes the image data of the original size that is the target at that time. The CPU 101 performs processing for replacing thumbnail image data with original size image data in the corresponding memory area.

  In step S913, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the low priority flags of all the image data included in the MFP have been acquired. When the low priority flags of all the image data are acquired, the process ends. On the other hand, if the low priority flags for all the image data have not yet been acquired, the process proceeds to step S914. In step S914, the CPU 101 acquires the low priority flag of the next image data, and returns the process to step S911. As described above, the CPU 101 acquires the low priority flag of all the image data of the MFP and determines whether or not the low priority flag is ON. The decoder 105 decodes the image data for which the low priority flag is ON, that is, the image data having the AF evaluation value smaller than the threshold value with the original size. The CPU 101 replaces thumbnail image data with original size image data in the corresponding memory area. Here, the image data whose low priority flag is ON are image data (B) 802, image data (E) 805, and image data (G) 807. Accordingly, the decoder 105 decodes the image data (B) 802, the image data (E) 805, and the image data (G) 807. The CPU 101 replaces thumbnail image data with original size image data in the memory area (B) 702, memory area (E) 705, and memory area (G) 707, respectively. By this replacement processing, all image data is displayed in the original size by the user's image switching operation.

  It should be noted that the timing at which the MFP switching operation can be performed may be the time when the decoding of the image data with the AF evaluation value equal to or greater than the threshold is completed at the original size, and the decoding of all the image data is not necessarily completed. Absent. In other words, when the MFP switching operation becomes possible, only the image data including the in-focus subject is displayed in the original size, and then the remaining thumbnail image data is displayed sequentially, and the image data in the original size is displayed. May be displayed.

  In the present embodiment, the display of thumbnail image data corresponding to image data including the subject in focus is omitted. As a result, the image data of the MFP can be switched in a shorter time while displaying the image data including the subject in focus at a high resolution. This embodiment is particularly suitable when the decoding time of each original size image data included in the MFP and the decoding time of thumbnail image data are not so different.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, when the reproduction is performed by designating the trimming area when viewing the MFP, only the in-focus area in the trimming area is set as the evaluation target of the AF evaluation value. Since the configuration of the video display apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the present embodiment will be described using the reference numerals in FIG. Also in this embodiment, it is assumed that the MFP includes eight pieces of image data shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing of the video display apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the processing of the video display apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S1001, the decoder 105 acquires and decodes all thumbnail image data from the image header areas (A) 303 and (B) 305 to (H) 308 included in the MFP. The CPU 101 expands the decoded thumbnail image data in the memory area (A) 701, (B) 702 to the memory area (H) 708 of the video memory 107, respectively.

  In step S1002, the CPU 101 acquires a trimming area 1101 during reproduction as shown in FIG. When the user enlarges and views part of the image data, the image data trimming area 1101 is designated. At this time, when an image switching operation of the MFP is performed, image data corresponding to the shooting distance designated by the user with the slider 502 is displayed while the trimming area 1101 is held.

  If the image data of the MFP initially displayed on the display 109 is image data (A) 801, in step S1003, the CPU 101 converts the image data (A) 801 developed in the memory area (A) 701 into a frame. Transfer to buffer 710. Here, since the user designates the trimming area 1101, the CPU 101 cuts out the trimming area 1101 from the image data developed in the memory area (A) 701 and transfers it to the frame buffer 710. By such processing, the user can perform an image switching operation specifying the trimming area 1101.

  Next, steps S1004 to S1007 described later are repeatedly executed for the number of image data. That is, in step S1004, the CPU 101 counts the number of blocks in the focus area in the trimming area 1101 acquired in step S1002 to obtain an AF evaluation value. In the example in FIG. 10, the number of blocks in the focusing area of the entire image data is 6, but the focusing area in the trimming area 1101 is three blocks of the evaluation target focusing area 1102. In the present embodiment, the other three blocks are not included in the AF evaluation value determination as the non-evaluation target focusing area 1103. That is, in this embodiment, the AF evaluation value in the example of FIG. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 7, the evaluation value of the image data (A) 801 is 0. The evaluation value of the image data (B) 802 is 0. The evaluation value of the image data (C) 803 is 3. The evaluation value of the image data (D) 804 is 7. The evaluation value of the image data (E) 805 is 0. The evaluation value of the image data (F) 806 is 4. The evaluation value of the image data (G) 807 is 0. The evaluation value of the image data (H) 808 is 3.

  In step S1005, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the AF evaluation value in the trimming area 1101 is greater than or equal to a threshold value. In the present embodiment, the threshold value of the AF evaluation value is 1. In this embodiment, since the AF evaluation value calculation target area is limited to the trimming area 1101, the AF evaluation value calculation target area is narrower than those in the first and second embodiments. For this reason, it is preferable that the threshold value of the AF evaluation value in the present embodiment be smaller than the threshold value of the AF evaluation value in the first and second embodiments. Alternatively, the AF evaluation value may be calculated by fixing the threshold value of the AF evaluation value and reducing the size of each focal region. Also in this case, when the AF evaluation value is equal to or larger than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S1006, and when the AF evaluation value is smaller than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S1007.

  In step S1006, the decoder 105 decodes the original size image data (C) 803, image data (D) 804, image data (F) 806, and image data (H) 808. Then, the CPU 101 cuts out the portion corresponding to the trimming area 1101 from each decoded image data, and replaces the thumbnail image data with the cut-out original size image data in each memory area.

  In step S1007, the CPU 101 turns on the low priority flag of each image data that has been determined that the AF evaluation value is smaller than the threshold value. As described above, the processes in steps S1004 to S1007 are repeatedly executed for the number of image data. When the AF evaluation value determination processing is completed for all image data, all image data having an AF evaluation value equal to or greater than the threshold value is displayed in the original size by the user's image switching operation.

  Next, the process of decoding the original size image data based on the low priority flag shown in steps S1008 to S1010 described later is repeatedly executed for the number of image data. That is, in step S1008, the CPU 101 acquires a low priority flag of image data. In step S1009, the CPU 101 determines whether the acquired low priority flag is ON or OFF. If the low priority flag is ON, the process proceeds to step S1010. On the other hand, if the low priority flag is OFF, the process returns to step S1008.

  In step S1010, the decoder 105 determines that the image data for which the low priority flag is ON, that is, the image data (A) 801, the image data (B) 802, the image data ( E) 805 and image data (G) 807 are sequentially decoded in the original size. Then, the CPU 101 cuts out the portion corresponding to the trimming area 1101 from each decoded image data, and replaces the thumbnail image data with the cut-out original size image data in each memory area.

  As described above, by repeatedly executing the processing of steps S1008 to S1010 for the number of image data, all image data is displayed in the original size by the user's image switching operation.

  In the present embodiment, the attention area (trimming area) of the user in the image data is used as the AF evaluation value calculation target area, so that the portion corresponding to the attention area of the user can be quickly displayed with high-resolution image data. .

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the configuration of the video display apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the present embodiment will be described using the reference numerals shown in FIG. In the following, a case where image data included in an MFP recorded in an external storage device such as a memory card or a USB driver is displayed as a list on the video display device 100 will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a thumbnail list screen displayed on the display 109 of the video display device 100. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the CPU 101 in the present embodiment.

  The connected device detection unit 1302 detects that an external storage device such as a memory card or a USB device is connected to the external device I / F 106. The image determination unit 1303 determines whether image data to be displayed is stored in the external storage device. As a result of the determination, if image data to be displayed is stored, the control unit 1301 acquires thumbnail image data from the image header corresponding to each image data, and causes the decoder 107 to decode it.

  The decoded thumbnail image data is temporarily expanded in the RAM 102 and then transferred to the screen configuration unit 1304 by the control unit 101. The screen configuration unit 1304 configures the thumbnail list screen so that thumbnail image data is displayed at the corresponding location. The above processing is repeated for the maximum number of images that can be displayed on the thumbnail list screen (in the example of FIG. 11, a total of 35 images, 7 in the horizontal direction and 5 in the vertical direction), thereby completing the thumbnail list screen shown in FIG.

  Further, the control unit 1301 displays a GUI indicated by 1201 in FIG. 11 so that the user can identify the thumbnail image data included in the MFP on the thumbnail list screen so that the user can identify it. At this time, the control unit 1301 acquires GUI data for displaying the GUI 1201 from the ROM 103, temporarily expands it in the RAM 103, and then transfers the GUI data to the screen configuration unit 404 to display the GUI 1201.

  Reference numeral 1202 in FIG. 11 indicates that the image data is JPEG format data included in the MFP. Reference numeral 1203 in FIG. 11 is a focus display for designating image data to be selected by the user. When the light receiving unit 104 receives a user operation signal from the remote controller 111, the control unit 1301 switches the position of the focus display 1203. When the user selects viewing of the image data by operating the remote controller 111, the decoder 105 decodes the image data, and the decoded image data is displayed on the display 109.

  In this embodiment, the decoding order and display order of the image data included in the MFP are determined based on the depth of field of each image data. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the depth of field of each image data included in the MFP. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the MFP includes five pieces of image data A to E for simplification of description.

  In FIG. 13, 1401 to 1405 indicate the depth of field in the image data A to E, and the focus positions A to E indicate the focus positions of the image data A to E. Reference numerals 1406 and 1407 denote areas where the depths of field of the image data B and the adjacent image data (image data A and image data C) overlap. Similarly, reference numerals 1408 and 1409 denote areas where the depth of field of the image data D and its adjacent image data (image data C and image data E) overlap. Taking such an MFP as an example, the processing of the video display apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing processing of the video display apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14 is started from a thumbnail list screen as shown in FIG. The user moves the focus display 1203 using the remote controller 105 and performs an operation of selecting image data. In step S1501, the control unit 1301 selects image data to be displayed based on a user operation signal from the remote controller 105 received by the light receiving unit 110.

  In step S1502, the image determination unit 1303 determines whether the selected image data is image data included in the MFP. This determination is made based on whether or not the image data is stored in the MFP format as shown in FIG. If the image data is not included in the MFP, the process proceeds to step S1503. On the other hand, if the image data is included in the MFP, the process proceeds to step S1504.

  In step S1503, the control unit 1301 decodes the image data using the decoder 107, transfers the decoding result to the frame buffer 108, and displays it on the screen.

On the other hand, in step S1504, the following process is executed. That is, the control unit 1301 requests the priority setting unit 1305 for a display priority indicating the order in which each image data included in the MFP is displayed. In response to this request, the priority setting unit 1305 requests the depth of field calculation unit 1306 to calculate the depth of field of each image data in order to determine the display priority. A depth-of-field calculating unit 1306 refers to the head address recorded in the MFP index area 302 and acquires EXIF from each image header area. Then, the depth of field calculation unit 1306 calculates the depth of field of each image data based on each acquired EXIF. The following formulas 1 to 3 are used to calculate the depth of field.
Depth of field = Front depth of field + Back depth of field ... (Formula 1)
Front depth of field = (Allowable circle of confusion x F value x Subject distance ² ) / (Focal distance ² + Allowable circle of confusion x F value x Subject distance) (Equation 2)
Back depth of field = (Allowable confusion circle diameter x F value x Subject distance ² ) / (Focal distance ² -Allowable circle of confusion x F value x Subject distance) (Equation 3)

  The focal length and subject distance are in mm and are obtained from EXIF. The permissible circle of confusion is obtained from the diagonal distance (in mm) of the image sensor / allowable circle of confusion diameter (1300), and the diagonal distance of the image sensor is obtained from EXIF in the same manner.

  The depth of field calculation unit 1306 calculates the depth of field of each image data using the above Equations 1 to 3. Thereby, the positional relationship of the depth of field of each image data as shown in FIG. 13 is acquired. Note that the in-focus position in FIG. 13 is obtained by focal length + subject distance.

  The priority setting unit 1305 sets display priority for each image data based on the positional relationship of the depth of field of each image data calculated as described above. That is, in step S1505, the priority setting unit 1305 acquires the INDEX number of the MFP representative image data from the MPF header area 201. The priority setting unit 1305 sets the display priority to 1 as image data to be displayed first for the representative image data. Note that the display priority indicates a higher priority as the numerical value is smaller.

  In step S1506, the priority setting unit 1305 calculates the overlapping depth of the depth of field between the priority-set image data and the other image data, and compares the overlapping amounts. The image data for which priority is set at this time is only representative image data. In the example of FIG. 13, the priority setting unit 1305 calculates the amount of overlap between the image data B to the image data E with respect to the image data A (representative image data), and compares them. In step S1507, the priority setting unit 1305 extracts image data with the smallest amount of overlap as a candidate for image data having the next highest display priority based on the comparison result in step S1506.

  In step S1508, the priority setting unit 1305 determines whether image data with the same overlap amount exists as a result of the comparison in step S1506. If there is no image data with the same overlap amount, the process skips steps S1501 and S1511 described later, and proceeds to step S1509. On the other hand, if image data with the same overlap amount exists, the process proceeds to step S1510.

  In step S1510, the priority setting unit 1305 compares the shooting distances of the image data. In step S1511, the priority setting unit 1305 extracts, as a result of the comparison in step S1510, image data with the closest shooting distance (the closest in-focus position is close to the camera) as image data with the next highest display priority. In step S <b> 1509, the priority setting unit 1305 sets the display priority of the image data extracted in step S <b> 1511 to a display priority value plus 1 determined so far. On the other hand, when the process directly proceeds from step S1508 to step S1509, the priority setting unit 1305 sets the display priority of the image data to the current display priority so that the image data extracted in step S1507 is the next highest display priority. It is assumed that the display priority value determined so far is plus one.

  In the example of FIG. 13, the display priority of the image data A (representative image data) is set to 1, and then the amount of overlap with each image data is compared. As shown in FIG. 13, the image data with the minimum amount of overlap with the image data A is image data C, image data D, and image data E (all without overlap). Is the image data C, the image data C is selected as the next image data to be displayed, and the display priority is set to 2.

  In step S <b> 1512, the priority setting unit 1305 determines whether there is one remaining image data for which display priority is not set. If there is one remaining image data for which display priority is not set, the process proceeds to step S1513. On the other hand, if there is not one remaining image data for which display priority is not set, that is, if there are a plurality of image data for which display priority is not set, the process returns to step S1506.

  In the example of FIG. 13, image data A and image data C have already been set for display priority. Accordingly, in step S1506 that is repeated, the overlapping amounts of the image data A and C and the other image data are compared. In the image data B, the two image data (image data A and image data C) and the areas 1406 and 1407 overlap, and in the image data D, the areas of the image data C and 1408 overlap. On the other hand, the image data E does not overlap with either of the two image data. As a result, since the image data E is the image data with the smallest amount of duplication, it is set as image data with the next highest display priority in step S1509.

  When the processing as described above is repeated and there is one remaining image data whose display priority is not determined, in step S1513, the priority setting unit 1305 sets the display priority of the last image data as the current display priority. Value plus one. Thus, display priority is set for all image data. Note that, in the image data B and the image data D shown in FIG. 13, the overlapping amounts with the image data with priority set are 1406 + 1407 and 1408 + 1409, respectively. As a result, since the image data B has a smaller amount of duplication than the image data D, the priority D is set for the image data B and the display priority 5 is set for the image data D.

  Next, a process in step S1514 described later is repeatedly executed for all image data. That is, in step S1514, the control unit 1301 acquires the display priority set by the priority setting unit 1305. Then, the control unit 1301 refers to the head address of the image data to be displayed from the MFP index area 202 according to the acquired display priority, and acquires the image data. Then, the control unit 1301 causes the decoder 107 to decode the acquired image data. The screen configuration unit 1304 scales the decoded bitmap data so as to be suitable for the display area, and transfers it to the frame buffer 108. As a result, the image data is displayed on the display 109. By repeating the above processing for all image data, each image data is displayed on the display 109 based on the set display priority.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a difference in display order of each image data included in the MFP between the related art and the present embodiment. FIG. 15A shows an example of the display order of image data in the prior art, and FIG. 15B shows an example of the display order of image data in this embodiment. An icon 1600 is an icon indicating that the image data has not been decoded and displayed. Further, image data indicated by 1601 to 1605 indicate image data corresponding to the image data A to image data E in FIG.

  In the prior art shown in FIG. 15A, each image data is decoded and displayed according to the display order recorded in the MFP index area 302, regardless of the depth of field. It is conceivable that the display order recorded in the MFP index area 302 is usually the order of shooting times. Accordingly, the image data 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604, and 1605 are displayed in order from the upper side to the lower side in FIG. 15A, in the order of shooting from the shortest shooting distance to infinity. The image data is displayed. That is, the image data A, image data B, image data C, image data D, and image data E are displayed in this order.

  On the other hand, the display order of the image data in this embodiment is determined according to the overlapping amount of the depth of field of each image data as described above. That is, image data A → image data C → image data E → image data so that image data 1601, 1603, 1605, 1602, and 1604 are displayed in order from the top to the bottom of FIG. The images are displayed in the order of B → image data D.

  When the user selects viewing of the image data included in the MFP, in the conventional display order, for example, until the person focused on the image data E can be confirmed, Decoding and display time is required. On the other hand, according to the display order in the present embodiment, it is possible to confirm by decoding and display time of image data for three images. In the present embodiment, in the case of image data included in the MFP, the fact that continuous image data is expected to be relatively close image data due to overlapping depth of field is used.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the user can check the entire image data included in the MFP without waiting. Although the description has been made using five pieces of image data here, it is conceivable that tens of pieces of image data are actually included in the MFP, and in this case, the effect of the present embodiment is more prominent.

  In this embodiment, when there are a plurality of pieces of image data having the same overlap amount, priority is given to image data with a short shooting distance. However, priority is given to image data with a long shooting distance. It is also possible to prioritize data.

  In the present embodiment, values described in EXIF are used for the subject distance and the diagonal distance of the image sensor. However, the depth of field may be calculated using values input by the user separately.

  Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, when setting the display priority for each image data included in the MFP, processing different from that in the fourth embodiment is executed. In the following, parts different from the fourth embodiment will be mainly described. Since the configuration of the video display apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 12, the present embodiment will be described using the reference numerals shown in FIGS.

  This embodiment has a feature different from that of the fourth embodiment in data used as an index for setting display priority. That is, in the fourth embodiment, the priority setting unit 1305 preferentially decodes image data with a small cumulative amount of duplication. In the example shown in FIG. 16, in order to set the display priority of the image data B and the display priority of the image data D, the distance of 1706 + 1707 and the distance of 1708 + 1709 are calculated in the fourth embodiment. I was comparing. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the overlap ratio of the depth of field between the image data for which display priority has been set and other image data is calculated, and image data with a lower overlap ratio is calculated as image data with a higher display priority. The process is performed. Note that the overlap rate is calculated from (cumulative total of overlap (unit: mm) / depth of field (unit: mm)). Explaining this by taking the image data B and the image data D in FIG. 16 as an example, the overlapping rate of the image data B with the image data (image data A, image data C, image data E) for which the display priority has been set. Is calculated from (1706 + 1707) / 1702. On the other hand, similarly, the overlapping rate of the image data D with the priority-set image data (image data 1, image data C, image data E) is calculated from (1708 + 1709) / 1704. The priority setting unit 1305 compares these values, and sets image data with a lower duplication rate as image data with higher priority.

  According to the present embodiment, by determining the priority according to the overlap rate, it is possible to display in advance image data in which an area that does not overlap with other image data exists, and the user includes the MFP. The entire image data can be quickly grasped.

  Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, when setting the display priority for each image data included in the MFP, processing different from that in the fourth and fifth embodiments is executed. Hereinafter, parts different from the fourth and fifth embodiments will be mainly described. Since the configuration of the video display apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 12, the present embodiment will be described using the reference numerals shown in FIGS.

  The present embodiment has a feature that is different from the fourth and fifth embodiments in data used as an index for determining display priority. That is, in the fourth embodiment, the priority setting unit 1305 displays with priority from image data with a small cumulative amount of overlap, and with the fifth embodiment, displays with priority from image data with a low overlap rate. It is. In contrast, the present embodiment preferentially decodes image data having a large non-overlapping amount of depth of field.

  The priority setting unit 1305 in this embodiment sets the priority of the representative image data (image data A), and then does not overlap the depth of field of the representative image data with the depth of field of the other image data. Calculate the magnitude of the quantity. In the example of FIG. 17, none of the image data C, the image data D, and the image data E overlap with the image data A, but the image data E is the image data having the deepest depth of field. As a result, the image data with the largest non-overlapping amount is obtained, and the display priority is set to 2 for the image data E. Image data C is set to display priority 3 by the same processing. The non-overlapping amounts of the image data B and the image data D are indicated by 1706 and 1707, respectively. In the example of FIG. 17, since 1706> 1707, the image data B is set to display priority 4, and the image data D is set to display priority 5.

  Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following, parts different from the fourth to sixth embodiments will be mainly described. Since the configuration of the video display apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 12, the present embodiment will be described using the reference numerals shown in FIGS.

  This embodiment has a different feature in the method of presenting each image data included in the MFP after the user selects the MFP in the state where the thumbnail list is displayed as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, when the user selects the MFP, the image data included in the MFP is displayed on the entire display 1901 as shown in FIG. The image data is displayed.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing display processing of image data included in the MFP in the present embodiment. The image data display process in this embodiment is the same as that in the fourth to sixth embodiments until the display priority setting process. Accordingly, the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 19 is started from the state of step S1513 in FIG. 14 in which all display priorities of the image data included in the MFP are set.

  In step S2001, the control unit 1301 determines whether or not the light receiving unit 110 has received a display image switching request signal output from the remote control 111 by a user input operation. If the switching request signal has not been received, the process proceeds to step S2002. On the other hand, when the switching request signal is received, the process proceeds to step S2006. In step S2002, the control unit 1301 determines whether there is image data that has not been decoded yet. If there is image data that has not been decoded yet, the process proceeds to step S2003. On the other hand, if all the image data has been decoded, the process ends.

  In step S2003, the control unit 1301 determines image data to be decoded according to the display priority set by the priority setting unit 1305, and causes the decoder 107 to execute decoding. Bitmap data that is decoded image data is temporarily stored in the RAM 103. In step S2004, the control unit 1301 determines whether image data is currently displayed on the display 109 or not. If image data has already been displayed, the process skips step S2005 and proceeds to step S2001. On the other hand, if the image data has not yet been displayed immediately after the selection of the MFP, the process proceeds to step S2005. In step S2005, the control unit 1301 obtains bitmap data, which is the image data decoded in step S2003, from the RAM 103. Then, the screen configuration unit 1304 scales the image data acquired by the control unit 1301, and then transfers the image data to the frame buffer 710. As a result, the image data is displayed on the display 109 as shown in FIG.

  If it is determined in step S2001 that there is no image switching request, the decoder 107 continues to decode image data that has not been decoded according to the processing in steps S2002 and S2003 according to the display priority. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2001 that an image switching request has been made, the process proceeds to step S2006. In step S2006, the control unit 1301 determines whether the image data that is the image switching destination in response to the request has already been decoded. If the image data that is the image switching destination has already been decoded, the process proceeds to step S2009. The control unit 1301 acquires decoded data from the RAM 103 and causes the display 109 to display image data via the screen configuration unit 1304 and the frame buffer 710. On the other hand, if the image data as the image switching destination has not been decoded yet, the process proceeds to step S2007. Since it takes time to decode and display the image data as the image switching destination, in step S2007, the control unit 1301 temporarily displays the icon being decoded. In step S2008, the control unit 1301 decodes the image data that is the image switching destination. After the decoding is completed, in step S2009, the control unit 1301 overwrites the decoded bitmap data in the frame buffer 710, thereby displaying the image data that is replaced with an icon and is the image switching destination.

  In the present embodiment, by performing the control as described above, even when each image data of the selected MFP is displayed on the entire screen, the decoding order is determined according to the overlapping information of the subject depth of the image data. Therefore, image data with higher priority has already been decoded, and it is possible to shorten the time for grasping the entire MFP.

  The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

  100: Video display device, 101: CPU, 102: RAM, 103: ROM, 104: Recording medium, 105: Decoder, 106: External device I / F, 107: Video memory, 108: Display control unit, 109: Display, 110: light receiving unit, 111: remote control, 121: touch pad, 130: touch panel

Claims (12)

A reading means for reading out images from a recording medium in which a plurality of images photographed by continuously changing the photographing distance are encoded and recorded;
Obtaining means for obtaining in-focus area information for each of the plurality of images;
First decoding means for reading and decoding an image from the recording medium;
Determining means for determining whether or not the subject of the image is in focus based on the focus area information acquired by the acquiring means;
The first decoding unit decodes an image determined to be in focus by the determination unit in priority order over an image determined to be out of focus by the determination unit. An image processing apparatus comprising: control means for controlling. Display control means for displaying the decoded image on the display unit;
And second decoding means for decoding an image having a lower resolution than the image decoded by the first decoding means,
The control means converts the low resolution image decoded by the second decoding means to an image determined to be in focus by the determination means after being displayed on the display unit by the display control means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a corresponding low-resolution image is displayed by being replaced with an image decoded by the first decoding unit. Wherein, the plurality of the corresponding to each image after the low-resolution image is displayed on the display unit under the control of the pre-Symbol display control means, said low-resolution image of the first decoding means The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image processing apparatus is displayed by replacing the decoded image with the image.   4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first decoding unit sequentially decodes from a high-resolution image corresponding to an image having a wide in-focus area indicated by the in-focus area information. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second decoding unit applies a blur filter to the decoded low-resolution image . The acquisition unit acquires in-focus area information corresponding to the cutout area of the image, and the determination unit determines whether the image is in focus on the subject based on the in-focus area information corresponding to the cutout area. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image processing apparatus determines whether or not A calculating means for calculating the depth of field of a plurality of images shot by continuously changing the shooting distance;
By using the depth of field calculated by the calculating means to determine the overlap between the depth of field of each image of the plurality of images and the depth of field of another image, the display priority of each image A setting means for setting
Decoding means for decoding each image according to the order of display priority set by the setting means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: control means for displaying an image decoded by the decoding means . The setting means determines at least one of an overlap rate, an overlap amount, and a non-overlap amount between the depth of field of the image and the depth of field of another image. 8. The image processing apparatus according to 7 . An image processing method executed by an image processing apparatus,
A reading step of reading out an image from a recording medium in which a plurality of images captured by continuously changing the shooting distance are encoded and recorded;
An acquisition step of acquiring in-focus area information for each of the plurality of images;
A first decoding step of reading and decoding an image from the recording medium;
A determination step of determining whether the subject of the image is in focus based on the focus area information acquired by the acquisition step;
And a control step for controlling to decode the image determined to be in focus by the determination step in a priority order over the image determined to be out of focus by the determination step. An image processing method. An image processing method executed by an image processing apparatus,
A calculation step for calculating a depth of field of a plurality of images shot by continuously changing the shooting distance ;
By using the depth of field calculated in the calculating step, determining the overlap between the depth of field of each image of the plurality of images and the depth of field of another image, the display priority of each image A setting step to set
A decoding step for decoding each image according to the order of display priority set in the setting step;
A control step of displaying the image decoded by the decoding step . A reading step of reading out an image from a recording medium in which a plurality of images captured by continuously changing the shooting distance are encoded and recorded;
An acquisition step of acquiring in-focus area information for each of the plurality of images;
A first decoding step of reading and decoding an image from the recording medium;
A determination step of determining whether the subject of the image is in focus based on the focus area information acquired by the acquisition step;
A control step for controlling to decode the image determined to be in focus by the determination step in a priority order over the image determined to be out of focus by the determination step. A program to make it run. A calculation step for calculating a depth of field of a plurality of images shot by continuously changing the shooting distance;
A setting step for setting the display priority of each image based on overlapping information between the depth of field of each image of the plurality of images and the depth of field of another image;
A decoding step for decoding each image according to the order of display priority set in the setting step;
A program for causing a computer to execute a control step of displaying an image decoded by the decoding step .

Images