Paul N Vlahos, Age 411847 Hunt Dr, Burlingame, CA 94010

6361173, Mar 26, 2002

Feb 16, 2001

09/788026

Paul Vlahos - Tarzana CA
Petro Vlahos - Lake Hughes CA

iMatte, Inc. - Chatsworth CA

G03B 2100

353 97, 353122

A video projector shows the desired scene on a projection screen. An infrared source close to the video projector uniformly floods the projection screen with non-visible infrared radiation. An infrared sensitive camera, also close to the video projector, observes the projection screen and sees only the uniform infrared illumination of the screen. Upon entry of a subject into the projected video image, the infrared reflected from the subject will not match that of the projection screen and thus the subject area is identified. All pixels of the projected scene, in the area occupied by the subject, are inhibited before reaching the video projector. The subject may then look directly at an audience without being blinded by the projector.

6363526, Mar 26, 2002

Apr 3, 1998

09/054955

Paul Vlahos - Tarzana CA
Arie Berman - Chatsworth CA

Ultimatte Corporation - Chatsworth CA

G06K 936

725 37, 348606, 348627, 348630, 348661, 382163, 382266, 382270

An objectionable outlining effect, seen as dark edges and white edges outlining everything in a scene, is eliminated by clipping or limiting the spikes generated by excessive enhancement. Specifically, a method is used for improving the quality of an enhanced video image, while simultaneously maintaining or improving image sharpness, by clipping the RGB levels of the enhanced video image, at the points of enhancement, to upper and lower level bounds representing the signal levels of the video signal prior to its enhancement.

6454415, Sep 24, 2002

Jan 2, 2002

10/038229

Paul Vlahos - Tarzana CA

imatte, Inc. - Chatsworth CA

G03B 2100

353 30, 353121, 348586, 348590, 348 141

A teleconferencing system in which the video image of a subject in front of a selected background scene is extracted from that scene and transmitted to other locations where selected backgrounds are stored. By compositing the subject and background images at each remote location, both image elements, being originals, will show no loss of detail when projected. For a front projection screen, the projector is inhibited from illuminating a presenter.

6538396, Mar 25, 2003

Sep 24, 2001

09/963147

Paul Vlahos - Tarzana CA
Allen Dadourian - Northridge CA
Joseph T. Parker - Los Angeles CA
Petro Vlahos - Redway CA

Ultimatte Corporation - Chatsworth CA

H04N 974

315292, 348586

A method for automatically implementing and coordinating the techniques of creating the illusion of illumination changes on a foreground subject that should occur when the subject moves throughout the various illumination levels on the background of a composite image.

6616281, Sep 9, 2003

Aug 7, 2002

10/214851

Paul Vlahos - Tarzana CA
Petro Vlahos - Redway CA

iMatte, Inc. - Chatsworth CA

G06K 900

353 28, 348586, 348587, 382162, 382163

A video signal is generated representative of a background scene, such as a weather map, which provides an outline of all the detail in the map. This outline detail is made visible to a foreground subject by projecting it onto a white screen behind the subject in a selected color such as green. The projector is selectively inhibited so as to prevent the background detail from projecting onto the foreground subject. The white screen and the green detail lines are removed and replaced by the background scene by an image compositing process. Prompts are visible to the foreground subject, but not visible to a home viewing audience.

6646687, Nov 11, 2003

Apr 16, 1999

09/293746

Paul Vlahos - Tarzana CA

Ultimatte Corporation - Chatsworth CA

H04N 974

348586, 348587, 348591, 348590, 348239, 345640, 345632

The present invention is a method and apparatus for automatically defocusing a background scene as the background scene is being composited with a foreground subject during the photography of the subject, where the background scene becomes increasingly defocused as the subject appears to approach the camera. A source of background image signals is connected to a background input of a compositing device capable of averaging a selected group of background pixels. A source of foreground image signals is connected to a foreground input of the compositing device. A matte signal generated by the compositing device is accessed and the matte signal is used to determine the ratio of foreground subject area to image frame area. The area ratio is then used to select, for each pixel in said background image, a number of adjacent pixels to be averaged to form an average pixel level. The signal levels at each pixel in the background scene are replaced with the average pixel level.

6667774, Dec 23, 2003

Nov 2, 2001

10/008868

Arie Berman - Chatsworth CA
Paul Vlahos - Tarzana CA

iMatte, Inc. - Chatsworth CA

H04N 5272

348584, 348586, 348598, 382167

Changes in a current image frame from variations in room light level, and automatic camera adjustments, are determined and incorporated into a clear (reference) frame, thereby resulting in a zero difference in the background region when the clear frame and a current frame are subtracted. Any deviation from zero defines the beginning edge of a transition from background to subject. The location of the outer edge of a transition area is further refined by subtracting derivatives of the RGB signals in each frame, and by the use of a fourth color channel when available. The difference of derivitives (d -d ) identifies the subject to background transition area, whose edges define the inner and outer boundary lines. Shadow areas on the backing are retained and may be transferred to the inserted background scene. Small areas on the backing having the same color and luminance as the subject are prevented from printing through the subject by a second âderivativeâ alpha channel for the small areas.

6860604, Mar 1, 2005

Jan 9, 2004

10/754147

Paul Vlahos - Tarzana CA, US

Imatte, Inc. - Chatsworth CA

G03B021/26
G03B021/14
G03B021/00

353 28, 353 94, 353 97, 353122

A method for projecting an image onto a front projection screen without the image being projected onto a presenter and without the presenter casting a shadow. Left and right rectilinear corrections of an image are simultaneously projected onto the screen from each of two positions that are off-axis on opposite sides of the centerline of the screen such that both projections register as a single image. A center of mass of the presenter's silhouette is generated. A vertical join line is located on the screen directly behind said presenter's center of mass. The portion of the projected image from the left projector that extends to the right of the join-line is inhibited. The portion of the projected image from the right projector that extends to the left of the join-line is also inhibited thereby providing the full projected image on the screen from the left and right image segments, without either segment projecting said image onto the presenter, and without casting the presenter's shadow onto the screen.