Display control device and method, and program

Abstract

The present technology relates to a display control device and a display control method, and a program that make it possible to reduce light leakage without compromising the overall brightness. This display control device: detects a flare risk area, which is an area with a high risk of flare occurrence, on the basis of a lighting level and a lighting level difference, the lighting level being a luminance level at which lights of an adjacent block adjacent to each block forming a backlight is lit, the lighting level difference being a difference in the lighting level between each block and the adjacent block; and adjusts the lighting level for each block on the basis of the flare risk area. The present technology can be applied to a display device including a liquid crystal display panel that uses a small-sized LED backlight.

Description

Display control device, method, and program

[0001] The present technology relates to a display control device, method, and program, and more particularly to a display control device, method, and program that can reduce light leakage without impairing overall brightness.

[0002] In recent years, mini LED backlights using small LEDs (light-emitting diodes) with a diameter of approximately 100 μm to 200 μm have been increasingly adopted.

[0003] Mini LED backlights allow for more precise local dimming control than conventional direct LEDs, but because the distance between the LCD panel and the backlight is short, the light spread is narrow, resulting in a blocky appearance of the light leakage (flare) that can be perceived even when the LCD is closed, making the flare look worse than when conventional-sized LEDs are used.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for controlling the brightness to be reduced so that flare generated from a backlight is made invisible by simulating the flare.

[0005] Special Publication No. 2011-511306

[0006] However, Patent Document 1 only describes a general method of reducing the overall brightness of the backlight, which results in the overall reduction in brightness of the backlight, making the screen dark.

[0007] The present technology has been made in view of such circumstances, and makes it possible to reduce light leakage without impairing overall brightness.

[0008] A display control device according to one aspect of the present technology includes: a danger area detection unit that detects a flare danger area, which is an area with a high risk of generating a flare, based on a lighting level, which is a brightness level at which lights of adjacent blocks adjacent to each block constituting a backlight are turned on, and a lighting level difference, which is a difference between the lighting level of each block and the adjacent block; and a lighting level adjustment unit that adjusts the lighting level for each block based on the flare danger area.

[0009] In one aspect of the present technology, a flare danger area, which is an area with a high risk of generating a flare, is detected based on a lighting level, which is a luminance level at which lights of an adjacent block adjacent to each block constituting a backlight are turned on, and a lighting level difference, which is a difference between the lighting level of each block and the adjacent block, and the lighting level is adjusted for each block based on the flare danger area.

[0010] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a display device according to an embodiment of the present technology. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the video display processing unit of FIG. 1 together with a display unit. FIG. 3 is a diagram explaining flare danger area detection processing. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of flare danger area detection processing when the flare danger level is determined to be high. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of flare danger area detection processing when the flare danger level is determined to be low. FIG. 6 is a diagram explaining lighting area determination processing. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of lighting area determination processing when the size of the lighting area is large. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of lighting area determination processing when the size of the lighting area is small. FIG. 9 is a flowchart explaining an example of backlight control processing. FIG. 10 is a flowchart explaining another example of backlight control processing. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the effect of the present technology. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a computer.

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present technology will be described. The description will be made in the following order: 1. Configuration 2. Details of each process 3. Operation 4. Other

[0012] <1. Configuration> <Device Configuration> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a display device according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0013] The display device 1 in FIG. 1 is configured to include a tuner 11 , an HDMI (registered trademark) receiver 12 , a video distribution application 13 , a selector 14 , a video display processing unit 15 , and a display unit 16 .

[0014] The tuner 11 acquires a desired video signal (stream) from a broadcast wave received by an antenna (not shown), and outputs the signal to the selector 14 .

[0015] The HDMI receiver 12 is an interface that receives a video signal supplied from an external device (not shown) such as a personal computer, a game device, etc. The HDMI receiver 12 outputs the received video signal to the selector 14.

[0016] The video distribution application 13 receives a desired video signal from a video distribution server via a network, and outputs the received video signal to the selector 14 .

[0017] The selector 14 selects one of the video signals supplied from the tuner 11, the video signal supplied from the HDMI receiver 12, and the video signal supplied from the video distribution application 13, and outputs the selected video signal to the video display processing unit 15.

[0018] The video display processing unit 15 performs processing such as frame rate conversion on the video signal, and controls the display unit 16 based on the processing results.

[0019] The display unit 16 is configured to include a liquid crystal display panel 21 and a backlight 22 .

[0020] The liquid crystal display panel 21 drives the liquid crystal display elements to modulate the light emitted from the backlight 22, thereby performing display.

[0021] The backlight 22 is configured using, for example, small LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) of about 100 μm to 200 μm, conventional sized LEDs, or CCFLs (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps), and emits surface-emitted light toward the liquid crystal display panel 21.

[0022] Although the example in FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a display device including a display unit, the present technology can also be applied to a display control device that does not include a display unit as a component.

[0023] <Configuration of Video Display Processing Unit> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the video display processing unit in FIG. 1 together with a display unit.

[0024] The video display processing unit 15 in FIG. 2 is configured to include a display control unit 31 and a backlight control unit 32 .

[0025] The video signal from the selector 14 is supplied to a display control unit 31 and a backlight control unit 32 .

[0026] Based on the supplied video signal, the display control unit 31 controls the display of the liquid crystal display panel 21. Specifically, the display control unit 31 performs predetermined image processing such as gamma processing and overdrive processing on the video signal, and outputs a liquid crystal display control signal to the liquid crystal display panel 21.

[0027] Based on the supplied video signal, the backlight control unit 32 controls the lighting of the backlight 22. Specifically, based on the supplied video signal, the backlight control unit 32 generates a backlight control signal and outputs the generated backlight control signal to the backlight 22.

[0028] Backlight control unit 32 is configured to include an illumination level calculation unit 51, a flare danger area detection unit 52, an illumination area size determination unit 53, an illumination level reduction area setting unit 54, and an illumination level adjustment unit 55. Note that backlight 22 is configured to be divided into a plurality of blocks, each consisting of one or more lights, and processing within backlight control unit 32 is performed in block units, for example, starting from the top left of the screen.

[0029] Based on the supplied video signal, lighting level calculation unit 51 calculates the lighting level of the lights in each block that constitutes backlight 22, and outputs the calculated lighting levels to flare danger area detection unit 52, lighting area size determination unit 53, and lighting level adjustment unit 55. The lighting level refers to the luminance level at which the lights are turned on.

[0030] Flare danger region detection unit 52 detects a flare danger region, which is a region with a high flare risk indicating the risk of flare occurrence, using the lighting level supplied from lighting level calculation unit 51. Specifically, flare danger region detection unit 52 detects the flare danger region based on the lighting levels of adjacent blocks adjacent to a processing target block, which is a processing target block in backlight 22, and the lighting level difference between the processing target block and the adjacent block. Flare danger region detection unit 52 outputs information indicating the detected flare danger region to lighting level reduction region setting unit 54.

[0031] The lighting area size determination unit 53 determines the size of a lighting area, which is an area consisting of one or more blocks where lights are turned on, using the lighting levels supplied from the lighting level calculation unit 51. Specifically, when the target block to be processed is included in the lighting area in the backlight 22 (i.e., the light of the target block to be processed is turned on), the lighting area size determination unit 53 determines the size of the lighting area including the target block based on the lighting levels of the blocks surrounding the target block. The lighting area size determination unit 53 outputs lighting area information regarding the size of the lighting area including the target block to the lighting level reduction area setting unit 54.

[0032] The lighting level reduction area setting unit 54 sets a lighting level reduction area, which is an area in which the lighting level is reduced, based on information indicating the flare danger area supplied from the flare danger area detection unit 52 and lighting area information supplied from the lighting area size determination unit 53.

[0033] For example, if the processing target block is a flare risk area and the size of the lighting area is equal to or larger than a threshold, the lighting level reduction area setting unit 54 sets the processing target block as a reduction area. In this case, the lighting level adjustment unit 55 at the subsequent stage adjusts the light lighting level of the processing target block. Even if the processing target block is a flare risk area, if the size of the lighting area is smaller than a threshold, the lighting level reduction area setting unit 54 sets the processing target block as not a reduction area. In this case, the lighting level adjustment unit 55 at the subsequent stage does not adjust the light lighting level of the processing target block. Note that the lighting level reduction area may be set based on either the information indicating the flare risk area or the lighting area information.

[0034] The lighting level reduction region setting unit 54 outputs reduction region information indicating the set lighting level reduction region to the lighting level adjustment unit 55 .

[0035] The illumination level adjustment unit 55 adjusts the illumination level so as to reduce the illumination level of the blocks included in the backlight reduction area, based on the backlight illumination level supplied from the illumination level calculation unit 51 and the reduction area information supplied from the illumination level reduction area setting unit 54. The illumination level adjustment unit 55 generates a backlight control signal based on the adjusted illumination level, and outputs the generated backlight control signal to the backlight 22 to control the backlight 22.

[0036] <2. Details of Each Process> <Flare Danger Area Detection Process> FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the flare danger area detection process.

[0037] 3A, the blocks adjacent to the processing target block (x, y) are hatched. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the flare danger area detection unit 52 determines that Condition 1 is satisfied when the sum of the lighting levels of the upper left neighboring block (x-1, y-1), the immediately upper neighboring block (x, y-1), the immediately upper neighboring block (x+1, y-1), the left neighboring block (x-1, y), the right neighboring block (x+1, y), the lower left neighboring block (x-1, y+1), the immediately lower neighboring block (x, y+1), and the lower right neighboring block (x+1, y+1) of the processing target block (x, y) is equal to or less than a certain threshold value α1.

[0038] Next, as shown in B of FIG. 3, the flare danger area detection unit 52 determines that the processing target block (x, y) satisfies condition 2 when the sum of the differences in the illumination levels between the processing target block (x, y) and each adjacent block is equal to or greater than a certain threshold value α2.

[0039] If the above conditions 1 and 2 are satisfied, the processing target Block (x, y) is determined to be a block with a high risk of flare. Note that, although it is certain that both of these conditions are satisfied, it may also be determined that the risk of flare is high if at least one of Condition 1 or Condition 2 is satisfied.

[0040] This determination is performed for each block of the backlight 22, thereby detecting a flare risk area.

[0041] It is also possible to determine that the risk of flare is high if, for condition 1, the number of adjacent blocks whose lighting levels are equal to or lower than a certain threshold β1 is equal to or greater than a threshold Th1, and, for condition 2, the number of adjacent blocks whose lighting levels differ from the target block by equal to or greater than a certain threshold β2 is equal to or greater than a certain threshold Th2.

[0042] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of the flare danger area detection process when the flare danger level is determined to be high.

[0043] 4 shows some of the blocks that make up the backlight 22. Black (hatched) blocks represent blocks that are turned off (e.g., the illumination level is approximately 0), and white (unhatched) blocks represent blocks that are turned on (e.g., the illumination level is approximately 1).

[0044] 4, the upper left adjacent block (x-1, y-1), the immediately upper adjacent block (x, y-1), the upper right adjacent block (x+1, y-1), the right adjacent block (x+1, y), and the lower right adjacent block (x+1, y+1) of the target block (x, y) are turned off. On the other hand, the left adjacent block (x-1, y), the lower left adjacent block (x-1, y+1), and the immediately lower adjacent block (x, y+1) are turned on.

[0045] In this case, since there are many unlit adjacent blocks, the sum of the backlight illumination levels of the adjacent blocks is deemed to be smaller than a certain threshold value α1, and the flare danger area detection unit 52 determines that Condition 1 is satisfied.

[0046] In this case, since the processing target block is lit and many adjacent blocks are unlit, the flare danger area detection unit 52 determines that the sum of the backlight lighting level differences between the processing target block and each adjacent block is greater than a certain threshold value α2, and the flare danger area detection unit 52 determines that condition 2 is satisfied.

[0047] Since both Condition 1 and Condition 2 are satisfied, the flare danger area detection unit 52 determines that the processing target block is a block with a high risk of flare.

[0048] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of the flare danger region detection process when the flare danger level is determined to be low.

[0049] 5, like FIG. 4, some blocks constituting the backlight 22 are shown.

[0050] For example, as shown in FIG. 5, all adjacent blocks of the processing target block (x, y) are lit.

[0051] In this case, since there are many lit adjacent blocks, the sum of the backlight lighting levels of the adjacent blocks is deemed to be greater than a certain threshold value α1, and the flare danger area detection unit 52 determines that Condition 1 is not satisfied.

[0052] In this case, the processing target block is lit and all adjacent blocks are lit, so the flare danger area detection unit 52 determines that the sum of the backlight illumination level differences between the processing target block and each adjacent block is smaller than a certain threshold value α2, and the flare danger area detection unit 52 determines that condition 2 is not satisfied.

[0053] Since neither condition 1 nor condition 2 is satisfied, the flare danger area detection unit 52 determines that the processing target block is a block with a low risk of flare.

[0054] <Lighting Area Determination Process> FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the lighting area determination process.

[0055] 6 shows an example in which 24 blocks located around the processing target block (x, y) are defined as surrounding blocks. In FIG. 6, the surrounding blocks are hatched. Note that the range of the surrounding blocks is not limited to the example in FIG. 6.

[0056] That is, the surrounding blocks of the processing target block (x, y) are surrounding block (x-2, y-2), surrounding block (x-1, y-2), surrounding block (x, y-2), surrounding block (x+1, y-2), surrounding block (x+2, y-2), surrounding block (x-2, y-1), surrounding block (x-1, y-1), surrounding block (x, y-1), surrounding block (x+1, y-1), surrounding block (x+2, y-1), surrounding block (x-2, y), surrounding block Block(x-1,y), Surrounding Block(x+1,y), Surrounding Block(x+2,y), Surrounding Block(x-2,y+1), Surrounding Block(x-1,y+1), Surrounding Block(x,y+1), Surrounding Block(x+1,y+1), Surrounding Block(x+2,y+1), Surrounding Block(x-2,y+2), Surrounding Block(x-1,y+2), Surrounding Block(x,y+2), Surrounding Block(x+1,y+2), Surrounding Block(x+2,y+2).

[0057] When the target block (x, y) in the backlight 22 is a lit block, the lighting area size determination unit 53 determines whether the size of the lighting area including the target block (x, y) is larger or smaller than a predetermined threshold value by determining whether each of the surrounding blocks is a lit block or not based on the lighting levels of the surrounding blocks. The determination result is output to the lighting level reduction area setting unit 54 as lighting area information.

[0058] That is, if the size of the lighting area is smaller than a predetermined threshold, the sum of the lighting levels of the surrounding blocks is small. In this case, the lack of brightness due to the brightness reduction caused by the flare countermeasures becomes significantly noticeable (i.e., there is a concern about a drop in brightness). Therefore, the lighting level reduction area setting unit 54 performs processing to suppress the brightness reduction based on the lighting area information.

[0059] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of the lighting area determination process when the size of the lighting area is large.

[0060] 7, like FIG. 4, some of the blocks that make up the backlight 22 are shown. Black (hatched) blocks indicate blocks that are turned off, and white (no hatching) blocks indicate blocks that are turned on. In other words, the processing target Block(x, y) is a block that is turned on.

[0061] For example, in the case of Figure 7, surrounding Block (x-2, y-2), surrounding Block (x-1, y-2), surrounding Block (x, y-2), surrounding Block (x+1, y-2), and surrounding Block (x+2, y-2) are determined to be blocks that will be turned off. On the other hand, surrounding Block(x-2,y-1), surrounding Block(x-1,y-1), surrounding Block(x,y-1), surrounding Block(x+1,y-1), surrounding Block(x+2,y-1), surrounding Block(x-2,y), surrounding Block(x-1,y), surrounding Block(x+1,y), surrounding Block(x+2,y), surrounding Block(x-2,y+1), surrounding Block(x-1,y+1), surrounding Block(x,y+1), surrounding Block(x+1,y+1), surrounding Block(x+2,y+1), surrounding Block(x-2,y+2), surrounding Block(x-1,y+2), surrounding Block(x,y+2), surrounding Block(x+1,y+2), and surrounding Block(x+2,y+2) are determined to be lit blocks.

[0062] That is, in this case, the lighting area is the processing target block (x, y), surrounding block (x-2, y-1), surrounding block (x-1, y-1), surrounding block (x, y-1), surrounding block (x+1, y-1), surrounding block (x+2, y-1), surrounding block (x-2, y), surrounding block (x-1, y), surrounding block (x+1, y), surrounding block (x+2, y), surrounding The area consists of Block(x-2,y+1), surrounding Block(x-1,y+1), surrounding Block(x,y+1), surrounding Block(x+1,y+1), surrounding Block(x+2,y+1), surrounding Block(x-2,y+2), surrounding Block(x-1,y+2), surrounding Block(x,y+2), surrounding Block(x+1,y+2), and surrounding Block(x+2,y+2).

[0063] For example, if the predetermined threshold for determining whether a lighting area is large is the size of four blocks, lighting area size determination unit 53 determines that the size of the lighting area including target block Block(x, y) is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold (e.g., the size of four blocks), and outputs the determination result of the size of the lighting area to lighting level reduction area setting unit 54 as lighting area information.

[0064] That is, in the case of FIG. 7, the lighting area including the processing target Block(x, y) is large, so the lighting level reduction area setting unit 54 adjusts the brightness based on the lighting area information.

[0065] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of the lighting area determination process when the size of the lighting area is small.

[0066] 8, like FIG. 7, some of the blocks that make up the backlight 22 are shown. Black blocks indicate blocks that are turned off, and white blocks indicate blocks that are turned on. In other words, the processing target Block(x, y) is a block that is turned on.

[0067] 8, for example, surrounding Block (x-2, y-2), surrounding Block (x-1, y-2), surrounding Block (x, y-2), surrounding Block (x+1, y-2), surrounding Block (x+2, y-2), surrounding Block (x-2, y-1), surrounding Block (x-1, y-1), surrounding Block (x, y-1), surrounding Block (x+1, y-1), surrounding Block (x+2, y-1), surrounding Block (x-2, y), surrounding Block (x-1, y), surrounding Block (x+1, y), surrounding Block (x+2, y), surrounding Block (x-2, y+1), and surrounding Block (x-1, y+1) are determined to be unlit blocks. On the other hand, surrounding Block (x, y+1) is determined to be lit.

[0068] 7 , for example, it is assumed that the predetermined threshold for determining whether the lighted area is large or small is the size of four blocks. In this case, lighted area size determination unit 53 determines that the size of the lighted area including target block Block(x, y) is smaller than the predetermined threshold (e.g., the size of four blocks), and outputs the determination result of the size of the lighted area to light level reduction area setting unit 54 as lighted area information.

[0069] That is, in the case of FIG. 8, the lighting area including the processing target Block(x, y) is small, so the lighting level reduction area setting unit 54 does not perform brightness adjustment based on the lighting area information.

[0070] 3. Operation FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of backlight control processing by the backlight control unit 32.

[0071] In step S11 , the lighting level calculation unit 51 acquires the video signal supplied from the selector 14 .

[0072] In step S12, lighting level calculation unit 51 calculates the lighting level of the lights of each block that constitutes backlight 22 based on the acquired video signal, and outputs the calculated lighting levels to flare danger area detection unit 52, lighting area size determination unit 53, and lighting level adjustment unit 55.

[0073] 3 and 4, flare danger region detection unit 52 detects a flare danger region, which is a region made up of blocks with a high flare danger level, using the lighting level supplied from lighting level calculation unit 51. Flare danger region detection unit 52 outputs information indicating the detected flare danger region to lighting level reduced region setting unit 54.

[0074] 6 to 8, if the target block is a lit block, the lighting area size determination unit 53 determines the size of the lighting area including the target block, using the backlight lighting level supplied from the lighting level calculation unit 51. The lighting area size determination unit 53 outputs lighting area information related to the lighting area to the lighting level reduction area setting unit 54.

[0075] In step S15, lighting level reduction area setting unit 54 sets a lighting level reduction area, which is an area in which the lighting level is reduced, as described above with reference to Fig. 2, based on the information indicating the flare danger area supplied from flare danger area detection unit 52 and the lighting area information supplied from lighting area size determination unit 53. Lighting level reduction area setting unit 54 outputs reduction area information indicating the set lighting level reduction area to lighting level adjustment unit 55.

[0076] In step S16, the lighting level adjustment unit 55 adjusts the lighting level based on the lighting level supplied from the lighting level calculation unit 51 and the reduction area information supplied from the lighting level reduction area setting unit 54, so as to reduce the lighting level of the blocks included in the lighting level reduction area.

[0077] In step S17 , the lighting level adjustment unit 55 generates a backlight control signal based on the adjusted lighting level, and outputs the generated backlight control signal to the backlight 22 to control the backlight 22 .

[0078] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the backlight control process of the backlight control unit 32.

[0079] Steps S31 to S36 in FIG. 10 differ in that the order of step S33, which corresponds to the lighting area determination process in step S14, and step S34, which corresponds to the flare danger area detection process in step S13, is reversed; otherwise, steps S31 to S36 are the same as steps S11, S12, S14, S13, S15, and S16 in FIG. 1.

[0080] That is, either the lighting area determination process or the flare danger area detection process may be performed first, or, although not shown, they may be performed in parallel.

[0081] 4. Others Effects of the Present Technology FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the effects of the present technology.

[0082] Fig. 11A is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed using conventional technology, Fig. 11B is a diagram showing an example of an image in which blocks with a high risk of flare detected using the present technology are clearly indicated, and Fig. 11C is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed using the present technology.

[0083] Conventionally, as shown by arrow P in A of FIG. 11, a block-like appearance occurs in the flare that occurs in the dark part located on the boundary with the bright part of the image displayed on the liquid crystal panel using conventional technology.

[0084] In the present technology, flare danger area detection detects flare danger areas as shown by the blocks hatched with dotted patterns in B of FIG. 11 , and adjustment is made to reduce the lighting level only in areas where the risk of flare is high.

[0085] As a result, as shown in FIG. 11C, the blockiness that occurs in the flare indicated by the arrow P in FIG. 11A is suppressed.

[0086] As described above, in the present technology, a flare danger area, which is an area with a high risk of generating a flare, is detected based on the lighting level, which is the brightness level at which lights of adjacent blocks adjacent to each block constituting the backlight are turned on, and the lighting level difference, which is the difference between the lighting level of each block and the adjacent block, and the lighting level of the backlight is adjusted based on the flare danger area.

[0087] This reduces light leakage without impairing overall brightness.

[0088] Furthermore, in the present technology, when each block is included in a lighting area, which is an area consisting of blocks where lights are turned on, the size of the lighting area is determined, and the lighting level is adjusted for each block based on the size of the flare danger area and the lighting area.

[0089] This prevents the brightness of the small lit area from being reduced, thereby preventing the reduction in brightness from being too noticeable.

[0090] <Example of Computer Configuration> The above-described series of processes can be executed by hardware or software. When the series of processes is executed by software, the program constituting the software is installed from a program recording medium into a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware, or into a general-purpose personal computer, etc.

[0091] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a computer that executes the above-described series of processes by a program.

[0092] The CPU 301 , ROM 302 , and RAM 303 are connected to one another via a bus 304 .

[0093] An input / output interface 305 is also connected to the bus 304. An input unit 306 including a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and an output unit 307 including a display, a speaker, etc. are connected to the input / output interface 305. In addition, a storage unit 308 including a hard disk, a nonvolatile memory, etc., a communication unit 309 including a network interface, etc., and a drive 310 that drives removable media 311 are also connected to the input / output interface 305.

[0094] In a computer configured as described above, the CPU 301 loads a program stored in the storage unit 308 into the RAM 303 via the input / output interface 305 and the bus 304 and executes the program, thereby performing the above-described series of processes.

[0095] The program executed by the CPU 301 is installed in the storage unit 308 by being recorded on, for example, a removable medium 311 or provided via a wired or wireless transmission medium such as a local area network, the Internet, or digital broadcasting.

[0096] The program executed by the computer may be a program that processes in chronological order according to the order described in this specification, or may be a program that processes in parallel or at the required timing, such as when called.

[0097] In this specification, a system refers to a collection of multiple components (devices, modules (components), etc.), regardless of whether all of the components are contained in the same housing. Therefore, multiple devices housed in separate housings and connected via a network, and a single device housed in a single housing with multiple modules, are both systems.

[0098] Furthermore, the effects described in this specification are merely examples and are not limiting, and other effects may also be present.

[0099] The embodiments of the present technology are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present technology.

[0100] For example, the present technology can be configured as a cloud computing system in which a single function is shared and processed collaboratively by a plurality of devices via a network.

[0101] Furthermore, each step described in the above flowchart can be executed by one device, or can be shared and executed by a plurality of devices.

[0102] Furthermore, when one step includes multiple processes, the multiple processes included in that one step can be executed by one device or can be shared and executed by multiple devices.

[0103] <Examples of Combinations of Configurations> The present technology may also be configured as follows. (1) A display control device including: a danger area detection unit that detects a flare danger area, which is an area with a high risk of flare occurrence, based on a lighting level, which is a brightness level at which lights of adjacent blocks adjacent to each block constituting a backlight are turned on, and a lighting level difference, which is a difference between the lighting level of each block and the adjacent block, and an lighting level adjustment unit that adjusts the lighting level for each block based on the flare danger area. (2) The display control device described in (1), in which the danger area detection unit detects, as the flare danger area, an area including blocks where a sum of the lighting levels of the adjacent blocks is equal to or less than a threshold value α1 and where a sum of the lighting level differences from the adjacent blocks is equal to or greater than a threshold value α2. (3) The display control device described in (1), in which the danger area detection unit detects, as the flare danger area, an area including blocks where the number of the adjacent blocks whose lighting level is equal to or less than a threshold value β1 is equal to or greater than a threshold value Th1 and where the number of the adjacent blocks whose lighting level difference is equal to or greater than a threshold value β2 is equal to or greater than a threshold value Th2. (4) The display control device according to any one of (1) to (3), further comprising a lighting area size determination unit that determines a size of the lighting area when each of the blocks is included in a lighting area that is an area made up of blocks where the lights are turned on, and the lighting level adjustment unit adjusts the lighting level for each of the blocks based on the sizes of the flare danger area and the lighting area. (5) The display control device according to (4), wherein the lighting level adjustment unit adjusts the lighting level of the block when the block is the flare danger area and the size of the lighting area is equal to or larger than a threshold. (6) The display control device according to (4), wherein the lighting level adjustment unit does not adjust the lighting level of the block when the size of the lighting area is smaller than a threshold even if the block is the flare danger area. (7) The display control device according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the lighting level adjustment unit adjusts the lighting level for each of the blocks to reduce it based on the flare danger area.(8) The display control device according to any one of (1) to (7), further comprising a display unit including the backlight. (9) The display control device according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein the backlight uses a small LED (light-emitting diode). (10) A display control method in which the display control device detects a flare danger area, which is an area with a high risk of flare occurrence, based on an illumination level, which is a luminance level at which lights of adjacent blocks adjacent to each block constituting the backlight are turned on, and an illumination level difference, which is a difference between the illumination levels of each block and the adjacent block, and adjusts the illumination level for each block based on the flare danger area. (11) A program causing a computer to function as: a danger area detection unit that detects a flare danger area, which is an area with a high risk of flare occurrence, based on an illumination level, which is a luminance level at which lights of adjacent blocks adjacent to each block constituting the backlight are turned on, and an illumination level difference, which is a difference between the illumination level of each block and the adjacent block; and an illumination level adjustment unit that adjusts the illumination level for each block based on the flare danger area.

[0104] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 display device, 11 tuner, 12 HDMI receiver, 13 video distribution application, 14 selector, 15 video display processing unit, 16 display unit, 21 liquid crystal display panel, 22 backlight, 31 display control unit, 32 backlight control unit, 51 lighting level calculation unit, 52 flare danger area detection unit, 53 lighting area size determination unit 53, 54 lighting level reduction area setting unit 54, 55 lighting level adjustment unit

Claims

1. A display control device comprising: a danger area detection unit that detects a flare danger area, which is an area with a high risk of generating a flare, based on a lighting level, which is a luminance level at which lights of adjacent blocks adjacent to each block that constitutes a backlight are turned on, and a lighting level difference, which is the difference between the lighting levels of each block and the adjacent block; and a lighting level adjustment unit that adjusts the lighting level for each block based on the flare danger area.

2. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein the danger area detection unit detects, as the flare danger area, an area consisting of blocks in which the sum of the lighting levels of the adjacent blocks is equal to or less than a threshold value α1 and the sum of the lighting level differences from the adjacent blocks is equal to or greater than a threshold value α2.

3. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein the danger area detection unit detects, as the flare danger area, an area consisting of blocks in which the number of adjacent blocks whose lighting level is equal to or lower than threshold value β1 is equal to or greater than threshold value Th1 and the number of adjacent blocks whose lighting level difference is equal to or greater than threshold value β2 is equal to or greater than threshold value Th2.

4. The display control device according to claim 1, further comprising a lighting area size determination unit that determines the size of the lighting area when each of the blocks is included in a lighting area, which is an area consisting of blocks in which the lights are turned on, and the lighting level adjustment unit adjusts the lighting level for each of the blocks based on the size of the flare danger area and the lighting area.

5. The display control device according to claim 4, wherein the lighting level adjustment unit adjusts the lighting level of the block when the block is the flare danger area and the size of the lighting area is equal to or larger than a threshold value.

6. The display control device according to claim 4, wherein the lighting level adjustment unit does not adjust the lighting level of the block when the size of the lighting area is smaller than a threshold value even if the block is in the flare danger area.

7. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting level adjustment unit adjusts the lighting level for each of the blocks based on the flare danger area so as to reduce the lighting level.

8. The display control device according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit including the backlight.

9. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein the backlight uses a small LED (light-emitting diode).

10. A display control method in which a display control device detects a flare danger area, which is an area with a high risk of generating a flare, based on a lighting level, which is a luminance level at which lights of adjacent blocks adjacent to each block constituting a backlight are turned on, and a lighting level difference, which is the difference between the lighting levels of each block and the adjacent block, and adjusts the lighting level for each block based on the flare danger area.

11. A program that causes a computer to function as a danger area detection unit that detects a flare danger area, which is an area with a high risk of generating a flare, based on a lighting level, which is a luminance level at which lights of adjacent blocks adjacent to each block constituting a backlight are turned on, and a lighting level difference, which is the difference between the lighting levels of each block and the adjacent block, and a lighting level adjustment unit that adjusts the lighting level for each block based on the flare danger area.

Images