Shot boundary refinement for long transition in digital video sequence

Shot boundary detection, or scene change detection, is a technique used in the initial step of video indexing. With the recent introduction of object-based shot boundary detection technique, the deficiency of traditional detection techniques in handling long transitions has been overcome. However, such a technique merely detects the existence of a transition without giving accurate positions of the transition start and end for long transitions. Shot boundary refinement fills this gap by pinpointing the exact location of the shot boundary regardless of the transition types. This paper presents the theories behind the transition and classifies existing transition types. A novel shot boundary refinement algorithm is then constructed which works independently of the contents and transition length, and is accurate under most transition types. The results of testing using different indicators and different transition types show that the boundaries of long transitions are detected with minimal errors. The success of shot boundary refinement brings us one step closer in developing an accurate, fully automatic indexing system.