Digital Image Processing Introduction

Digital image processing is, to a large extent, the key to the entire digital video technology. Using DSP algorithms, digital image processing can achieve very high quality. With increasingly powerful coding technology, digital image processing technology can use the actual communication bandwidth more effectively, and based on a variety of other digital technologies, digital image processing technology can also provide some unique and valuable features (on-screen menu overlay, interactive functions, etc.) .

Almost all digital video products use some form of image processing at the core, and the trend is that the key technology of digital image processing is playing an increasingly important role.

Digital image processing includes a large number of functions that can be applied to the processing of digital video content to help create the desired product. These capabilities properly perform data formatting, data protection, and data enhancements for targeted markets, regions, and technologies. One of the common features of these functions is that they often require a large amount of computational processing at the video data rate, and they vary greatly depending on the region, and the standards on which they are based are usually still evolving. Please visit the Digital Processing Presentation (363KB) to learn about the scope and challenges involved in digital image processing technology.

Digital Image Processing Technology

Digital image processing includes many aspects, and each application has its own unique requirements. However, in general, the technologies involved in digital image processing can generally be divided into the following categories.

File Encoding/Decoding Each digital file must be processed in a specific format. The challenge for video and image processing is that there are many formats to choose from, including: MPEG2, MPEG4, JPEG, MJPEG, TIFF, and more. To make matters even more complicated, many systems in medical, scientific, and industrial applications employ proprietary formats for a variety of reasons, and the challenge is even more severe. Finally, to ensure the integrity of many content protection mechanisms, error detection and correction are increasingly important.

File Encryption/Decryption With the boom and development of digital video technology, there is an increasing demand for content protection. However, without a uniform standard, any content protection solution is subject to the long-term threat of compromise between various factors when designing the system. For a successful digital video product, it is extremely important to adopt a high-performance flexible content protection architecture.

Zoom, Image Enhancement, and DSP
Each digital product adjusts its data for its specific application. In digital video applications, image scaling, image enhancement, and DSP are used to handle different formats and display standards, technology-related special color performance, user viewing preferences, and many other issues. However, although the design should be as simple as possible in principle, realizing these tasks at the video data rate in real time (usually almost all need parallel processing) does mean a great challenge.

Digital Image Processing Product Applications
There are a variety of products that fall within the scope of digital image processing applications, including digital scanners, VCRs, set-top boxes, plasma displays, video conferencing, information systems, and GPS navigation. For an in-depth look at each of the different digital acquisition product applications, such as technology and market introductions, as well as design solutions and resources such as system block diagrams, please visit the Digital Image Processing Product Applications page.

Digital Image Processing System Design
Today, designing a digital image processing system is an increasingly challenging task. New products must be brought to market faster, and at the same time they must have higher quality, higher resolution, more features, and support for more formats than ever before. This section explains how programmable logic solutions can help you meet these challenges. For more information, please visit the Digital Image Processing System Design page.