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•

Digital TV
and Wireless Multimedia
Communication
13th International Forum, IFTC 2016
Shanghai, China, November 9–10, 2016
Revised Selected Papers

123
Editors
Xiaokang Yang Guangtao Zhai
Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Shanghai
China China

ISSN 1865-0929 ISSN 1865-0937 (electronic)

Communications in Computer and Information Science
ISBN 978-981-10-4210-2 ISBN 978-981-10-4211-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4211-9

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 Preface

The present book includes extended and revised versions of papers selected from the
13th International Forum of Digital TV and Wireless Multimedia Communication
(IFTC 2016), held in Shanghai, China, during November 9–10, 2016.
IFTC is a summit forum in the field of digital TV and multimedia communication.
The 2016 forum was co-hosted by SIGA, the China International Industry Fair 2016
(CIIF 2016), and co-sponsored by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), IEEE BTS
Chapter of Shanghai Section, Shanghai Institute of Communication, and the Shanghai
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SSMPTE). IFTC serves as an
international platform for exchanging the latest research advances in digital TV and
wireless communication around the world as well as the relevant policies of industry
authorities. The forum also aims to promote technology, equipment, and applications in
the field of digital TV and multimedia by comparing the characteristics, frameworks,
significant techniques and their maturity, analyzing the performance of various appli-
cations in terms of scalability, manageability, and portability, and discussing the
interfaces among varieties of networks and platforms.
The conference program included invited talks delivered by seven distinguished
speakers from China, France, and the USA, as well as oral sessions of ten papers and a
poster session of 28 papers. The topics of these papers range from image processing
and audio processing to image and video compression as well as telecommunications.
This book contains 38 papers selected from IFTC 2016. We would like to thank the
authors for contributing their novel ideas and visions that are recorded in this book.

November 2016 Xiaokang Yang

Ping An
Weisi Lin
Guangtao Zhai
Jia Wang
Jiantao Zhou
Kai Li
 Organization

General Co-chairs
Xiaokang Yang Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Ping An Shanghai University, China
Weisi Lin Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Program Chairs
Guangtao Zhai Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Jia Wang Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Jiantao Zhou University of Macau, Macau, SAR China
Kai Li Shanghai University, China

International Liaisons
Patrick Le Callet Nantes University, France
Soren Forchhammer Denmark Technical University, Denmark
Nam Ling Santa Clara University, USA

Finance Chairs
Yi Xu Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Lianghui Ding Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

Publications Chairs
Yue Lu Eastern China Normal University, China
Qiudong Sun Shanghai Secondary Polytechnic University, China

Publicity Chairs
Xiangyang Xue Fudan University, China
Dingxiang Lin Shanghai Institute of Visual Art, China
Byeungwoo Jeion Sungkyunkwan University, Korea

Industrial Program Chairs

Yijun Zhang SSV Co. Ltd, China
Shengjun Jin Digi-Graphic Co. Ltd, China
Guang Tian Bocom Co. Ltd, China
VIII Organization

Local Arrangements Chairs

Cheng Zhi Shanghai Image and Graphics Association, China
Jun Zhou Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
 Contents

Image Processing

Color Constancy Using Illuminant-Invariant LBP Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Yan Xia and Chen Yao

A New Source-Side De-interlacing Method for High Quality

Video Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Yulai Bi, Xiaoyun Zhang, and Zhiyong Gao

Accelerating Digital Watermarking Algorithm Based on SOC. . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Jing Chen, Hong Fan, Yanzi Sun, and Haiquan Ma

Scrolling Subtitle Processing of Frame Rate Up-Conversion Based

on Global Text Motion Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Guirui Li, Xiaoyun Zhang, and Zhiyong Gao

Liver Segmentation in Ultrasound Images by Using FCM and Mean Shift . . . 44

Hong Ding, Huiqun Wu, Nianmei Gong, Jun Wang, Shi Chen,
and Xiaofeng Zhang

A Modified Joint Trilateral Filter for Depth Image Super Resolution . . . . . . . 53

Shengqian Zhang, Wei Zhong, Long Ye, and Qin Zhang

A Modified Just Noticeable Depth Difference Model for 3D Displays . . . . . . 63

Chunhua Li, Ping An, Liquan Shen, Kai Li, and Jian Ma

A Joint Spatial-Temporal 3D Video Stabilization Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Jie Zhou, Zhixiang You, Ping An, Xinliang Wu, and Tengyue Du

Enhanced SURF-Based Image Matching Using Pre- and Post-processing . . . . 83

Chenfei Zhang, Yaozu Wu, Ning Liu, and Chongyang Zhang

Stereoscopic Image Quality Assessment Using Wavelet Decomposition

and Natural Scene Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Xianqiu Geng, Liquan Shen, Yang Yao, and Ping An

Combining Visual Saliency and Binocular Energy for Stereoscopic Image

Quality Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Yang Yao, Liquan Shen, Xianqiu Geng, and Ping An

An Effective Crowd Property Analysis System for Video

Surveillance Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Shuying Yang, Hua Yang, Jijia Li, and Ji Zhu
X Contents

Webpage Image Saliency Prediction via Adaptive SVM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Wei Shan, Guangling Sun, and Zhi Liu

Face Recognition Based on Weighted Multi-order Feature Fusion

of 2D-FrFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Xu Wang, Lin Qi, Yun Tie, and Enqing Chen

Parallel-Friendly Frame Rate Up-Conversion Algorithm Based

on Patch Match. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Xu Jiang, Li Chen, Zhiyong Gao, and Xiaoyun Zhang

Automatic Exudate Detection in Color Fundus Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Fucong Qi, Guo Li, and Shibao Zheng

View-Specific Based Error Concealment Scheme for Multi-view

Plus Depth Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Ran Ma, Xiangyu Hu, Deyang Liu, Yu Hou, and Ping An

Mesh Denoising with Local Guided Normal Filtering

and Non-local Similarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Wenbo Zhao, Xianming Liu, Jiantao Zhou, Debin Zhao, and Wen Gao

BD_CNN Based Pedestrians and Vehicle Recognition

in Video Surveillance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Xueqin Zhang, Ting Fang, and Qiuchen Gu

The Subway Pantograph Detection Using Modified Faster R-CNN . . . . . . . . 197

Ruimin Ge, Yu Zhu, Yuling Xiao, and Zhihua Chen

Multi-scale Deep Residual Networks for Fine-Grained Image Classification . . . 205

Xiangyang Wang, Yusu Jin, Zhi Liu, Yadong Zhao, Xiaoqiang Zhu,
and Juan Zhang

Cross-Media Retrieval by Multimodal Representation Fusion

with Deep Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Jinwei Qi, Xin Huang, and Yuxin Peng

Audio Processing

Blind Estimation of Spectral Standard Deviation from Room Impulse

Response for Reverberation Level Recognition Based
on Linear Prediction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Sai Ma and Xi Xie

Deep Learning Based Language Modeling for Domain-Specific

Speech Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Jing Zhu, Xinwei Gong, and Guilin Chen
 Contents XI

Image and Video Compression

Fast Intra Encoding Decisions Based on Horizontal-Vertical Progressive

Gradient Accumulation for HEVC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Zhenglong Yang, Guozhong Wang, Tao Fan, and Guowei Teng

An Efficient Optimization of Real-Time AVS+ Encoder in Low

Bitrate Condition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Li Cao, Xiaoyun Zhang, and Zhiyong Gao

An Improved 3D Holoscopic Image Coding Scheme Using HEVC

Based on Gaussian Mixture Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Deyang Liu, Ping An, Tengyue Du, Ran Ma, and Liquan Shen

A Novel Image Coding Framework Based on Content Similarity Analysis . . . 286

Qianhan Liu, Long Ye, Jingling Wang, and Qin Zhang

Block of Interest Based AVS to HEVC Transcoding

with Resolution Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Malik Asfandyar, Mehmood Nawaz, Xie Rong, Liang Zhang,
and Muddsser Hussain

Fast Intra Coding in an Efficient HEVC Multi-rate Encoding System

Based on x265 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Dongbin Cheng, Xiaoyun Zhang, and Zhiyong Gao

3D Holoscopic Images Coding Scheme Based on Viewpoint

Image Rendering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Ling Yang, Ping An, Deyang Liu, and Ran Ma

A Fast Inter-frame Prediction Algorithm for AVS2 Based

on Mode Complexity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Fang Chen, Guoping Li, Guozhong Wang, and Haiwu Zhao

Content Oriented Video Quality Prediction for HEVC Encoded Stream . . . . . 338
Kanghua Zhu, Yongfang Wang, Jian Wu, Yun Zhu, and Wei Zhang

Fast Mode Decision Algorithm for Quality Scalable HEVC . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Mengmeng Kang, Ran Ma, Zefu Li, Xiangyu Hu, and Ping An

A Novel Rate Control Algorithm for Low Complexity Frame

Compression System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Junqing Gong, Li Chen, Jia Wang, and Zhiyong Gao
XII Contents

Telecommunications

L-Band Land Mobile Satellite Channel Characteristic Analysis

for Geosynchronous Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Guangmin Wang, Dazhi He, Yin Xu, Yunfeng Guan, Wenjun Zhang,
and Yihang Huang

Low-Complexity Soft-Decision Decoder Architecture for BCH Code in the

BeiDou System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Chaoyi Zhang, Haiyang Liu, Songlin Ou, Jinhai Li, Jinhai Sun,
and Yuepeng Yan

Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Image Processing
 Color Constancy Using Illuminant-Invariant
LBP Features

Yan Xia and Chen Yao(&)

The Third Research Institute of Ministry of Public Security, Shanghai, China

yaochensing@126.com

Abstract. Color constancy is a problem related to how to make captured image

color closer to biological vision, which is important for a lot of vision appli-
cation including image stitching, visual tracking etc. Color constancy consists of
light source color estimation and image white balance processing. Although,
color constancy is ill-posed problem, there still are much study on it. In this
paper, we try to solve this problem from illuminant invariant pixel estimation
angle. LBP (Local Binary Pattern)-based statistical method is adopted as key
tool for light source color estimation. Finally, experimental results demonstrate
our algorithm advantage.

Keywords: Color constancy
Ill-posed
Illuminant invariant
LBP

1 Introduction

Images captured by CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) or CCD

(Charge Coupled Device) often show different color under variant light source. Color
constancy can be used to remove color cast which is resulted from different light
source. Essentially, color constancy processing is to make image color more conformed
to human biological visual system, which is also meant chromatic adaption. Color
constancy has many applications, including video surveillance, object recognition,
image stitching and visual tracking etc. [1].
Because of unknown light source in captured images, color constancy is a typical
ill-posed problem. Generally, it includes light source color estimation and canonical
image transform. Color constancy related research has been developed for many years.
For most color constancy algorithm, an assumption of image regularity is used for
illumination estimation such as gray world, average or maximum of RGB, grey edge
etc. Based on the assumption, illuminant color can be computed by the average color of
image pixels or image gradients. Concretely, generalized norms is utilized to model or
infer illuminant color. In the generalized norms, image spatial distribution and color
histograms are often used. During the inferring of key points color, PCA (Principal
Component Analysis) and ICA (Independent Component Analysis) can be used for
reasoning. Additionally, color gamut based statistical method is used for chromatic
adaption [2–5].
The above mentioned methods are all classical image statistical-based. Another
kinds of color constancy computation method are learning-based. Distribution of colors

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017

X. Yang and G. Zhai (Eds.): IFTC 2016, CCIS 685, pp. 3–11, 2017.
DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-4211-9_1
4 Y. Xia and C. Yao

are learned from training data. Generative models are all implemented in statistical and
learning methods. In learning-based methods, high-level image feature description is
used for universal illuminant estimation. Some of learning-based algorithm are more
suitable for specific scene category. These algorithms application is constrained, which
can not be applied in a wild environment. With biological-vision development, recent
advances have been made for color constancy computation. Totally, learning-based
ways are more depended on training data selection and illumination labeling [6–9].
In this paper, our method is related to statistical one. We assume that there are some
illuminant invariant pixels in image. We use a simple local LBP [10] to position
illuminant invariant pixels color and white balance image color. In the rest part of this
paper, LBP and color constancy scheme will be reviewed and introduced in Sect. 2.
Experimental results are provided in Sect. 3. And finally Sect. 4 concludes the paper.

2 Proposed Algorithm

In this paper, we assume that there exits some intrinsic illuminant-invariant pixels.
These LLP (illuminant-invariant pixels) can be used for light source color estimation.
Therefore, the key challenging problem is how to localize these pixels’ position.
Logarithmic transform, LBP statistics and local variance sorting techniques are com-
bined to find LLP in our paper.
The captured image can be described as product of the illuminant and surface
reflectance. Considering the computational convenience between neighboring pixels,
logarithmic transform is used. After logarithmic transform, differences of pixels are less
variables related. Logarithmic transform is done as following,


ILOG ¼ LOG IR;G;B : ð1Þ

Where, IR;G;B is an input image. ILOG is logarithmic transformed image. LOG is image
logarithmic operator. Then, LBP computation is performed in three different RGB
channels, which can be described as following,

ILBP ðRÞ ¼ LBPðILOG ðRÞÞ;

ILBP ðGÞ ¼ LBPðILOG ðGÞÞ; ð2Þ
ILBP ðBÞ ¼ LBPðILOG ðBÞÞ:

Where, ILOG is logarithmic transformed image. LBP is image local binary pattern
operator. In order to explain the whole algorithm more clearly, LBP image operator is
reviewed as following. The current image pixel binary-valued LBP can be described as
XP1
LBPðIC Þ ¼ i¼0
2i sgnðIi  IC Þ: ð3Þ

Where, the parameter P is the number of central pixel neighbors. Ic and Ii are the gray
level values at central pixel and its neighbors. sgn is an simple binary function for the
difference between Ic and Ii , which can be formulated as
 Color Constancy Using Illuminant-Invariant LBP Features 5


1x  0
sgnð xÞ ¼ : ð4Þ
0x\0

LBP represents similarity between central pixel and neighboring pixels. It can be a good
describer for different texture in image [10]. In our paper, we assume that illuminant
invariant points existing different texture area. Therefore, LBP is chosen for the com-
putation of illuminant invariant points. The basic LBP process is illustrated in Fig. 1.
From Fig. 1, LBP formulates a correlation between neighboring pixels. The final value
means smoothness in a patch. And, LBP computed results are shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 1. LBP computation illustration

(a) (b)

Fig. 2. LBP results (a) original image.(b) LBP results for one channel

Fig. 3. Variance statistical results

6 Y. Xia and C. Yao

After image LBP computation, we can highlight pixel difference in image. Fur-
thermore, a variance statistical method is used for narrowing LLP range, which can be
described as

2
1X LBPi  LBP
STD ¼ : ð5Þ
3 i¼R;G;B LBP
In Fig. 3, variance statistical results is obtained from LBP binary value. Next, ascent
sorting is adopted for variance analysis. We select 0.01% pixels among least variance

Table 1. Performance statistics of various methods

Method Median Mean
IICS [11] 13.6 13.6
GW [12] 6.3 6.4
WP [13] 5.7 7.5
GE [14] 4.5 5.3
Our proposed algorithm 2.8 5.1

Fig. 4. Color constancy test data. The first row are original images, the second row are ground
truth images.
 Color Constancy Using Illuminant-Invariant LBP Features 7

points. Then, image color is recomputed using the selected pixel value, which is
illustrate as
1X
Inew ¼ I
i2std R;G;B
ðiÞ:=IR;G;B : ð6Þ
n

Fig. 5. Color constancy results. The first row are our processed results, the second row are gray
world algorithm results, the last row are gray edge algorithm results.
8 Y. Xia and C. Yao

Where, IR;G;B is unprocessed image. Inew is white balanced image. The whole
algorithm procedure can be formulated as following

Step1 Read image data

Step2 Image logarithmic transform
Step3 LBP binary value statistics
Step4 Image variance computation
Step5 Key points sorting
Step6 Image white balancing

3 Experimental Results

In this section, the proposed algorithm was compared with different methods on single
illuminant dataset including 568 high dynamic linear indoor and outdoor natural images.
Four various algorithms are considered for comparison include inverse-intensity

Fig. 6. Color constancy test data. The first row are original images, the second row are ground
truth images.
 Color Constancy Using Illuminant-Invariant LBP Features 9

Fig. 7. Color constancy results. The first row are our processed results, the second row are gray
world algorithm results, the last row are gray edge algorithm results.
10 Y. Xia and C. Yao

chromaticity space (IICS) [11], Grey world (GW) [12], White patch (WP) [13] and
Grey edge (GE) [14]. Meanwhile, angular error is chosen as error metric, which is
formulated as

e ¼ arccosððINEW
IGT Þ=ðk INEW k
k IGT kÞÞ: ð7Þ

Where, INEW
IGT is the dot product of light source color estimation INEW and the
ground truth illumination IGT . k
k is Euclidean norm of a vector. Median and mean
angular error are adopted for final algorithm evaluation.
In Table 1, our proposed algorithm is compared with method [11–14]. The median
and mean angular error are shown in Table 1. From the results, we can find that our
proposed algorithm demonstrates superior performance over traditional methods. In
this comparison, statistical-based methods are used for comparing. And, we don’t
compare with learn-based methods. We think statistical-based method has more
unconstrained than learning-based method. Especially, statistical-based way will show
better performance without training data. In order to better illustrate our advantage, we
give two results comparison in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7. In Figs. 4 and 6, the first row is input
image. The second row is ground truth image with correct light source color. In Figs. 5
and 7, the first row are our processed results and the second row are gray world
algorithm results, the last row are gray edge algorithm results. It can be shown that our
results are quite close to ground truth image. In this paper, our algorithm is more related
to single illumination color constancy. However, there are much multi-illuminant
application in practice. So, we will focus on LBP-based multi-illuminant problem
solvent. In some special application, we will try to combine learn-based method to
solve practical problem.

4 Conclusion

In this paper, we present a novel color constancy algorithm built on LBP-based illu-
minant invariant feature selection strategy. We build a sequential framework through
introducing LBP and variance statistics. Finally, best selected feature points are for-
warded into white balance computation. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and
efficiency of LBP-based color constancy algorithm.

References
1. Barnard, K., Martin, L., Coath, A., Funt, B.: A comparison of computational color constancy
algorithms. ii. experiments with image data. IEEE Trans. Image Process. 11(9), 985–996
(2002)
2. Gao, S., Yang, K., Li, C., Li, Y.: A color constancy model with double-opponency
mechanisms. In: IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision, pp. 929–936. IEEE
(2013)
3. Gao, S.-B., Yang, K.-F., Li, C.-Y., Li, Y.-J.: Color constancy using double-opponency.
IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell. 37(10), 1973–1985 (2015)
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4. Gijsenij, A., Gevers, T., Van De Weijer, J.: Computational color constancy: survey and
experiments. IEEE Trans. Image Process. 20(9), 2475–2489 (2011)
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8. Gehler, P., Rother, C., Blake, A., Minka, T., Sharp, T.: Bayesian color constancy revisited.
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9. Taskar, B., Chatalbashev, V., Koller, D., Guestrin, C.: Learning structured prediction
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10. Ojala, T., Pietikainen, M., Maenpaa, T.: Multiresolution gray-scale and rotation invariant
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24(7), 971–987 (2002)
11. Tan, R.T., Nishino, K., Ikeuchi, K.: Color constancy through inverse-intensity chromaticity
space. JOSA A 21(3), 321–334 (2004). IICS
12. Buchsbaum, G.: A spatial processor model for object colour perception. J. Franklin Inst.
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13. Land, E.H., McCann, J.J., et al.: Lightness and retinex theory. J. Opt. Soc. Am. 61(1), 1–11
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Process. 16(9), 2207–2214 (2007). GE
 A New Source-Side De-interlacing Method
for High Quality Video Content

Yulai Bi(B) , Xiaoyun Zhang, and Zhiyong Gao

Institue of Image Communication and Network Engineering,

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
yulaibi9351@gmail.com, {xiaoyun.zhang,zhiyong.gao}@sjtu.edu.cn

Abstract. Traditionally, de-interlacing is implemented at the terminal-

side as a post processing step, however this paper proposes a novel and
advanced source-side de-interlacing method for high quality video con-
tent. It is an adaptive integration of texture-based intra-interpolation
and inter-field motion compensation. Firsty, intra-interpolation based on
texture similarity is proposed for wider search scope and better recon-
struction performance. Motion compensation is strictly limited by verti-
cal motion conditions and uniform motion check. Then, adaptive intra or
inter mode decision is presented to further remove the compensated arti-
facts. Experiments show that the proposed technique can produce more
convincing de-interlaced videos with less artifacts on both subjective
and objective evaluation in comparison with other methods, including
the leading multimedia tool ffmpeg. The parallelism nature of the pro-
posed technique also makes it suitable for acceleration implementation
on GPUs and thus is applicable for real time systems.

Keywords: De-interlacing · Texture-based · Motion compensation ·

Adaptive integration

1 Introduction

Interlacing was once widely used as the standard of TVbroadcast in analog tele-
vision systems to meet the limit requests of transmission bandwidth and scan-
ning frequency. De-interlacing is thus a necessary and important technology for
displaying interlaced video on progressive scan displays without obvious visual
artifacts, such as edge flickers and jagged effects.
In digital television system, the terminal-side de-interlacing has been widely
used and implemented in the post-processing chips or set-top boxes. Due to the
cost and hardware limitation of terminal devices, most video post-process chips
in TVs make a tradeoff between computation complexity and video quality when
developing de-interlacing algorithms.
With the development of broadcasting, Internet transmission and display
technique, progressive video signal can be transmitted directly and displayed on
all kinds of progressive displays. However, there are still a great amount of legacy

c Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017
X. Yang and G. Zhai (Eds.): IFTC 2016, CCIS 685, pp. 12–23, 2017.
DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-4211-9 2
 Source-Side De-interlacing Method for HD Videos 13

interlaced video, such as 1080/50i, which are very popular and valuable content
for audience. Hence, it is essential and worthwhile to conduct a high-quality de-
interlacing process at the source-side, and the de-interlaced progressive video is
transmitted and displayed directly for consumers.
Generally, de-interlacing methods can be classified into three categories:
intra-field de-interlacing, inter-field de-interlacing, and adaptive de-interlacing.
They differ on how spatial and temporal information is exploited to calculate
the missing pixels.
The intra-field de-interlacing methods only use the information within the
current field to interpolate the missing pixels. A well-known intra-field de-
interlacing method is the edge-based line-averaging (ELA) [1], which interpo-
lates the missing pixels after a simple edge direction estimation. It generally
provides satisfactory results at the regions where edge detection can be esti-
mated accurately. Many optimized algorithms (eg. [2,3]) based on ELA have
been proposed and widely used in early digital televisions because of the low
computation. In addition, other intra-field de-interlacing methods based on edge
pattern or texture similarity (eg. [4–6]) have also been proposed.
The inter-field de-interlacing methods, also called motion compensation
methods (MC), reconstruct the image using temporal information in adjacent
fields. In these methods (eg. [7–9]), a local motion vector is first estimated. And
temporal interpolation is then performed. However, the motion compensation
methods involves a heavy calculation burden, and the quality is not robust since
it is difficult to keep the accuracy of motion estimation in rotation, zooming and
fast motion scenarios.
The adaptive de-interlacing methods can be sub-classified into two categories:
motion adaptive (MA) and motion compensated adaptive (MCA). MA methods
exploit inter-field information in static areas and intra-interpolation in moving
areas to reconstruct vertical resolution. And MCA (eg. [10–13]) further make use
of inter-field information in both statics and some specific moving areas. The key
point in adaptive methods is to obtain reliable motion vectors and make mode
decision correctly.
In this paper, we propose a novel source-side de-interlacing framework based
on software implementation and GPU acceleration for high quality video content
application, such as IP-based video on demand. In the proposed method, intra-
interpolation is based on local texture similarity, and motion compensation is
strictly limited by vertical motion conditions and uniform motion check. More
importantly, an adaptive integration based on the reliability of motion compen-
sation is used to further reduce visual artifacts. Experimental results show both
subjectively and objectively that the proposed technique can produce convincing
de-interlaced videos in comparison with other state-of-art techniques.
This paper is organized as follows. The motivation for the proposed de-
interlacing method is discussed in Sect. 2. The proposed algorithm is presented
in Sect. 3. Section 4 shows the experimental results. And Sect. 5 gives the con-
clusion.
14 Y. Bi et al.

2 Motivation
2.1 ELA and Its Jagged Effects
In this section, we introduce the traditional intra-interpolation algorithm, ELA.
The ELA-based algorithm is widely used because of its simple calculation. It
interpolates the missing pixels using edge directional correlations between two
neighboring lines j − 1 and j + 1. The ELA5+5 algorithm using 5 directions
is shown in Fig. 1. Pixel X(i, j) represents the missing pixel and is interpolated
along the best direction with the smallest difference.

j-1
X(i,j)
j

j+1

i-2 i-1 i i+1 i+2

Fig. 1. ELA structure

The ELA method provides a good performance in regions where the edge
direction can be detected accurately. However, interpolation errors usually exist
since it only focuses on recovering a single pixel that is the most similar to
its neighbor pixels without considering the texture structure in its region. And
wider search such as 9 directions are generally used for finer edge interpolation
in ELA, but it also tend to bring more incorrect results with visual artifacts.
Figure 2 shows a graduated black edge Fig. 10(a), and its interlaced field
Fig. 10(b). The white lines represent the missing lines of the current field. Pixel
represents the pixel to be interpolated, and a black pixel for is expected according
to the ground truth Fig. 10(a). But the ELA algorithm selects a wrong direction
along the red line and interpolates a light gray pixel for in Fig. 10(c), which we
call jagged effects.

X(i,j) X(i,j) X(i,j)

(a) Ground truth (b) Interlaced Field (c) Result of ELA

Fig. 2. Jagged effects of ELA (Color figure online)

Thus, in order to avoid jagged effects and get better edge direction estimation
with wider search area for small angle edge directions, an intra-interpolation
based on texture structural similarity is needed and will be proposed in Sect. 3.1.
 Source-Side De-interlacing Method for HD Videos 15

2.2 Artifacts Introduced by Motion Compensation

The intra-interpolation can recover the missing pixel lines using the existing pixel
lines of the current field. But it may cause blurring and distortion, especially in
static areas. Thus motion adaptive is proposed to reconstruct the real missing
information in static and slow motion areas using the neighboring fields. The key
and difficult point of motion adaptive is to decide whether motion compensation
is used. In most adaptive algorithms, the missing pixels are reconstructed by
motion compensation if the compensated information is found in the searching
scope. And in other regions, intra-interpolation is applied.
Theoretically, the adaptive method provides better performance by using
neighboring fields, especially in static and slow motion areas. However, in prac-
tice, more artifacts are caused because of the worse robustness in motion com-
pensation. Statistics show that the artifacts are related to the severity of com-
pensation conditions. If we strictly control the compensation conditions, artifacts
rate is low, but the compensated information we get is less, and the motion adap-
tive de-interlacing is basically the same with intra-interpolation de-interlacing.
On the contrary, if we relax the conditions, more compensated information can
be found, but more artifacts may be introduced. Thus, the accuracy of motion
estimation and compensation need to be improved, and a trade-off criterion is
required to integrate the intra-interpolation and compensated information adap-
tively.

3 The Proposed Method

3.1 Texture-Based Intra-interpolation
In order to improve the accuracy of edge estimation, we proposed a new intra-
interpolation method using block-based texture similarity, which was first intro-
duced by direction-oriented interpolation (DOI) algorithm [4]. DOI introduces
a spatial direction vector (SDV ) so that finer resolution and higher accuracy of
the edge-direction can be obtained. In Fig. 3, we re-illustrate the concept of SDV
and introduce the concepts of upper matching block (UMB ) and lower matching
block (LMB ).
In Fig. 3, the white pixels represent the missing lines, the black and gray
pixels represent the reference lines, and the black pixels represent the texture
structure. Pixel X(i, j) represents the current pixel to be interpolated. BX is the
local block centered at X(i, j). The blue block upon line j − 3 and j − 1, that
best matched with BX , called Upper Matching Block (UMB ). The upper SDV,
SDVU (the blue vector), is the vector that points from BX to UMB. The LMB
(the green block) and SDVL (the green vector) are defined in a similar way.
The UMB and LMB are selected according to the smallest sum of absolute
differences (SAD), and then SDVU and SDVL are calculated from the location of
UMB and LMB. In this framework, more candidate directions can be searched,
and 21 candidate directions is used in our algorithm, which can bring much
better interpolation results along small angle edges.
16 Y. Bi et al.

UMB

j-2
Bx

j
X(i,j)
j+2

LMB
i-2 i i+2

Fig. 3. Intra-texture-interpolation (Color Fig. 4. An example at the ends of a line

figure online)

In case of edge regions, there are two kinds of relationship between these
parameters. In normal edge regions like Fig. 3, the directions of SDVU and SDVL
are nearly opposite, which means the sum of these two vectors is close to 0. In
this case, the edge direction is explicitly estimated. And X(i, j) is interpolated
according to the direction via Eq. 1.
1 1 1
X(i, j) = [X(i + SDVUX , j − 1) + X(i + SDVLX , j + 1)] (1)
2 2 2
In some edge regions like Fig. 4, the current block is located near the end of
texture. In this case, only UMB (or LMB ) can be found, as shown in Fig. 4(b).
So SDVU and SDVL are absolutely not opposite. Here, we use the estimated
direction of the pixels next to it as a reference direction vector (SDVref ), shown
in Fig. 4(c). If SDVU (or SDVL ) is correlated to SDVref , we interpolate X(i, j)
using the SDVU or SDVL instead.
The edge direction estimation above is built on the hypothesis of non-
horizontal edge regions. By using the texture structural similarity, the edge
direction can be estimated more accurately, and the reconstruct performance
in non-horizontal edge regions is perfect. However, there still exist horizontal
edge regions and smooth regions. Thus, a pre-processing is needed before edge
estimation for these regions.
1
X(i, j) = [X(i, j − 1) + X(i, j + 1)] (2)
2
In edge direction estimation shown in Fig. 3, horizontal edge is ignored. And
in horizontal edge regions, no correct similar blocks can be found. So we also need
to consider horizontal edge direction before edge estimation by calculating the
SAD between current block and the left block (the right block). If SADlef t and
SADright are both small enough, then the texture is considered to be horizontal
and line averaging in Eq. 2 is applied.
 Source-Side De-interlacing Method for HD Videos 17

(a) Ground truth (b) Interlaced Field (c) Pepper noise

Fig. 5. The salt-and-pepper problem in smooth regions

For smooth regions, edge estimation may cause unwanted pepper noise. As
shown in Fig. 5, similar blocks in non-local areas may be found, then wrong edge
direction is estimated at a smooth region. In this case, unwanted pepper noise
may be interpolated, as shown in Fig. 10(c).
Thus, we calculate the variance within a local region to distinguish smooth
area. If the variance is small enough, then we consider it as a smooth region,
and X(i, j) is interpolated by region averaging in Eq. 3.
k=1
1 
X(i, j) = [X(i + k, j − 1) + X(i − k, j + 1)] (3)
6
k=−1

With the texture based framework above, the proposed methods not only
increase the accuracy of direction estimation, but also provide a good framework
for wider searching scope, which make it have better performance in both smooth
regions and edge regions (including small angle edge regions), without jagged
effects in small angle edges and pepper noise in smooth regions.

3.2 Motion Compensation

The texture based intra-interpolation performs well in reconstructing a single

interlaced image without jagged effects and pepper noise. However, the problem
of edge flickers still exists. The reason lies in the fact that different information
may be absent in neighboring odd and even fields, so the texture based intra-
interpolation may result different de-interlaced frames for the neighboring odd
and even fields. Then edge flicker is caused when watching such de-interlaced
frames continuously. Figure 6 shows an example of a stationary texture region
with edge flicker.
To solve the problem of edge flickers, motion compensation (MC) algorithm
is needed, in which motion estimation and compensation decision are two impor-
tant parts.
In order to improve the accuracy of motion estimation, many algorithms
calculate the sum of absolute difference (SAD) or the mean absolute difference
(MAD) between the current block and candidate blocks in the same parity neigh-
boring fields. Different search methods have also been proposed to decrease the
computational complexity.
18 Y. Bi et al.

odd

even

(a) Interlaced field (b) Intra-interpolation result

Fig. 6. Edge flicker in texture based intra-interpolation

In the proposed algorithm, four neighboring fields are used as reference fields
for both backward and forward motion estimations. And we choose full search
method for the best results, and the optimal matched block (OMB) in the same
parity reference field is selected by the smallest SAD.
As for compensation decision part, a check of whether the motion vector
(MV) can be used for compensation is implement. [9,10] proposed a detail analy-
sis of MC principle and we proposed a more effective version based on it, shown
in Fig. 7. Figure 7(a) shows the original object.

(b)

(c)

(a)

(d)

n-2 n-1 n n+1 n+2

Fig. 7. A detail analysis of MC principle

Another random document with
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Europe. He could have given authentic pictures of the laws and
customs of the Goths, Franks, and Burgundians ... a full portraiture
of the great apostle of the Germanic races, Ulfilas, and the secret
causes of his and their devotion to the Arian form of Christianity; and
he could have recorded the Gothic equivalents of the mythological
tales in the Scandinavian Edda and the story of the old Runes and
their relation to the Mœso-Gothic alphabet. All these details and a
hundred more, full of interest to science, to art, to literature, Sidonius
might have preserved for us had his mind been as open as was that
of Herodotus to the manifold impressions made by picturesque and
strange nationalities.”
It was doubtless fortunate for the literary reputation of Sidonius
that his father-in-law, Avitus, came to be emperor. The reign of Avitus
was short, but he had time to give to his brilliant son-in-law a position
as Court poet or poet-laureate, while it was probably due to the
imperial influence that the Senate decreed the erection (during the
lifetime of the poet) of the brass statue of Sidonius, which was
placed between the two libraries of Trajan. These libraries,
containing the one Greek and the other Latin authors, stood between
the column of Trajan and the Basilica Ulpia. Sidonius describes his
statue as follows:

Cum meis poni statuam perennem

Nerva Trajanus titulis videret,
Inter auctores utriusque fixam Bibliothecæ.
(Sidonius, Ex., ix., 16.)

Nil vatum prodest adjectum laudibus illud

Ulpia quod rutilat porticus ære meo.
(Sidonius, Carm., viii., 7, 8.)[6]

(Since Nerva Trajanus decreed the erection of a permanent

statue, which is inscribed with the records of my honours, and is
placed between the authors of the two libraries.
The fact that the entrance to the Ulpian Library is aglow with the
bronze of my statue, can add nothing to the laurels of other poets.)
 In the opinion of Hodgkin, the books in these two collections in the
Bibliotheca Ulpia may very well have been of more importance to
later generations than those of the library of Alexandria. The books
from Trajan’s libraries were, according to Vopiscus, transported in all
or in part to the Baths of Diocletian. Hodgkin understands that,
between 300 and 450, they were restored to their original home.[7]
In the year 537 a.d., the rule of the Goths in Italy, which had been
established by Theodoric in 493, was practically brought to a close
by the victories of Belisarius, the general of the Eastern Empire, and,
thirty years later, the destruction of the Gothic State was completed
by the invasion of the Lombards. With the Lombards in possession
of Northern Italy, and the Vandals, in a series of campaigns against
the armies from Constantinople, overrunning the southern portions of
the peninsula, the social organisation of the country must have been
almost destroyed, and the civilisation which had survived from the
old Empire, while never entirely disappearing, was doubtless in large
part submerged. A certain continuity of Roman rule and of Roman
intellectual influence was, however, preserved through the growing
power of the Church, which was already claiming the inheritance of
the Empire, and which, as early as 590, under the lead of Pope
Gregory the Great, succeeded in making good its claims to
ecclesiastical supremacy throughout the larger part of Europe. In its
control of the consciences of rulers, the Church frequently, in fact,
secured a domination that was by no means limited to things
spiritual.
The history of books in manuscript and of the production and
distribution of literature in Europe from the beginning of the work of
S. Benedict to the time when the printing-press of Gutenberg
revolutionised the methods of book-making, a period covering about
nine centuries, may be divided into three stages. During the first, the
responsibility for the preservation of the old-time literature and for
keeping alive some continuity of intellectual life, rested solely with
the monasteries, and the work of multiplying and of distributing such
books as had survived was carried on by the monks, and by them
only. During the second stage, the older universities, the
organisation of which had gradually been developed from schools
(themselves chiefly of monastic origin), became centres of
intellectual activity and shared with the monasteries the work of
producing books. The books emanating from the university scribes
were, however, for the most part restricted to a few special classes,
classes which had, as a rule, not been produced in the monasteries,
and, as will be noted in a later chapter, the university booksellers
(stationarii or librarii) were in the earlier periods not permitted to
engage in any general distribution of books. With the third stage of
manuscript literature, book-producing and bookselling machinery
came into existence in the towns, and the knowledge of reading
being no longer confined to the cleric or the magister, books were
prepared for the use of the larger circles of the community, and to
meet the requirements of such circles were, to an extent increasing
with each generation, written in the tongue of the people.
The first period begins with the foundation by S. Benedict, in 529,
of the monastery of Monte Cassino, and by Cassiodorus, in 531, of
that of Vivaria or Viviers, and continues until the last decade of the
twelfth century, when we find the earliest record of an organised
book-business in the universities of Bologna and Paris. The
beginning of literary work in the universities, to which I refer as
indicating a second stage, did not, however, bring to an end, and, in
fact, for a time hardly lessened, the production of books in the
monasteries.
The third stage of book-production in Europe may be said to begin
with the first years of the fifteenth century, when the manuscript trade
of Venice and Florence became important, when the book-men or
publishers of Paris, outside of the university, had developed a
business in the collecting, manifolding, and selling of manuscripts,
and when manuscripts first find place in the schedules of the goods
sold at the fairs of Frankfort and Nordlingen. The costliness of the
skilled labour required for the production of manuscripts, and the
many obstacles and difficulties in the way of their distribution,
caused the development of the book-trade to proceed but slowly. It
was the case, nevertheless, and particularly in Germany, that a very
considerable demand for literature of certain classes had been
developed among the people before the close of the manuscript
period, a demand which was being met with texts produced in
constantly increasing quantities and at steadily lessening cost. When
the printing-press arrived it found, therefore, already in existence a
wide-spread literary interest and a popular demand for books, a
demand which, with the immediate cheapening of books, was, of
course, enormously increased. The production of books in
manuscript came to a close, not with the invention of the printing-
press in 1450, but with the time when printing had become generally
introduced, about twenty-five years later.
It was in the monasteries that were preserved such fragments of
the classic literature as had escaped the general devastation of Italy;
and it was to the labours of the monks of the West, and particularly
to the labours of the monks of S. Benedict, that was due the
preservation for the Middle Ages and for succeeding generations of
the remembrance and the influence of the literature of classic times.
For a period of more than six centuries, the safety of the literary
heritage of Europe, one may say of the world, depended upon the
scribes of a few dozen scattered monasteries.
The Order of S. Benedict was instituted in 529, and the monastery
of Monte Cassino, near Naples, founded by him in the same year,
exercised for centuries an influence of distinctive importance upon
the literary interests of the Church, of Italy, and of the world. This
monastery (which still exists) is not far from Subiaco, the spot
chosen by S. Benedict for his first retreat. It was in the monastery of
Subiaco (founded many years afterwards) that was done, nearly a
thousand years later, the first printing in Italy. The Rule of S.
Benedict, comprising the regulations for the government of his Order,
contained a specific instruction that a certain number of hours in
each day were to be devoted to labour in the scriptorium. The monks
who were not yet competent to work as scribes were to be instructed
by the others. Scribe work was to be accepted in place of an equal
number of hours given to manual labour out-of-doors, while the
skilled scribes, whose work was of special importance as instructors
or in the scriptorium, were to be freed from a certain portion of their
devotional exercises or observances. The monasteries of the
Benedictines were for centuries more numerous, more wealthy, and
more influential than those of any other Order, and this provision of a
Rule which directed the actions, controlled the daily lives, and
inspired the purposes of thousands of earnest workers among the
monks of successive generations, must have exercised a most
noteworthy influence on the history of literary production in Europe. It
is not too much to say that it was S. Benedict who provided the
“copy” which a thousand years later was to supply the presses of
Gutenberg, Aldus, Froben, and Stephanus.
I have not been able to find in the narratives of the life of S.
Benedict any record showing the origin of his interest in literature, an
interest which was certainly exceptional for an ecclesiastic of the
sixth century. It seems very probable, however, that Benedict’s
association with Cassiodorus had not a little to do with the literary
impetus given to the work of the Benedictines. Cassiodorus, who, as
Chancellor of King Theodoric, had taken an active part in the
government of the Gothic kingdom, passed the last thirty years of his
life first as a monk and later as abbot in the monastery of Vivaria, or
Viviers, in Calabria, which he had himself founded in 531.
Cassiodorus is generally classed by the Church chronicles as a
Benedictine, and his monastery is referred to by Montalembert as
the second of the Benedictine foundations. Hodgkin points out,
however, that the Rule adopted by the monks of Viviers, or
prescribed for them by its founder, was not that of S. Benedict, but
was drawn from the writings of Cassian, the founder of western
monachism, who had died a century before.[8] The two Rules were,
however, fully in accord with each other in spirit, while for the idea of
using the convent as a place of literary toil and theological training,
Benedict was indebted to Cassiodorus. “At a very early date in the
history of their Order,” says Hodgkin, “the Benedictines, influenced
probably by the example of the monastery of Vivaria, commenced
that long series of services to the cause of literature which they have
never wholly intermitted. Instead of accepting the ... formula from
which some scholars have contended that Cassiodorus was a
Benedictine, we should perhaps be rather justified in maintaining that
Benedict, or at least his immediate followers, were Cassiodorians.”[9]
 It was the fortune of Cassiodorus to serve as a connecting link
between the world of classic Rome and that of the Middle Ages. He
saw the direction and control of the community pass from the
monarchs and the leaders of armies to the Church and to the
monasteries, and he was himself an active agent in helping to bring
about such transfer. Born in 479, only three years after the overthrow
of the last of the Emperors of the West, he grew up under the rule of
Odovacar, the Herulian. While still a youth, he had seen the Herulian
kingdom destroyed by Theodoric, and he had lived to mourn over the
ruins of the realm founded by the Goth, which he had himself helped
to govern. He saw his beloved Italy taken possession of by the
armies of Narses and Belisarius from the east, and a little later
overrun by the undisciplined hordes of the Lombards from the north.
The first great schism between the Eastern and the Western
Churches began during his boyhood and terminated before, as
Abbot of Vivaria, it became necessary for him to take a decided part
on the one side or the other. A Greek by ancestry, a Roman by
training, the experience of Cassiodorus included work and
achievements as statesman, orator, scholar, author, and ecclesiastic.
He had witnessed the extinction of the Roman Senate, of which both
his father and himself had been members; the practical abolition of
the Consulate, an honour to which he had also attained; and the
close of the schools of philosophy in Athens, with the doctrines of
which he, almost alone in his generation of Italians, was familiar. He
had done much to maintain in the Court and throughout the kingdom
of Theodoric, such standard of scholarly interests and of literary
appreciation as was practicable with the resources available; and, in
like manner, he brought with him to his monastery a scholarly
enthusiasm for classic literature, of which literature he may not
unnaturally have felt himself to be almost the sole surviving
representative. It is difficult to over-estimate the extent of the service
rendered by Cassiodorus to literature and to later generations in
initiating the training of monks as scribes, and in putting into their
hands for their first work in the scriptorium the masterpieces of
classic literature. He belonged both to the world of ancient Rome,
which he had outlived, and to that of the Middle Ages, the thought
and work of which he helped to shape. With the close of the official
career of Cassiodorus as Secretary of State for the Gothic kingdom
of Italy, the history of ancient Europe may, for the purpose of my
narrative, be considered to end. With the consecration of
Cassiodorus, as Abbot of the monastery of Vivaria, (which took place
about 550, when he was seventy years of age), and the instituting by
him of the first European scriptorium, I may begin the record of the
production of books during the Middle Ages.
 CHAPTER I.
THE MAKING OF BOOKS IN THE MONASTERIES.

I HAVE used for the heading of the chapter the term “the making of
books” rather than “literary work,” because the service rendered
by the earlier monastic scribes (a service of essential importance for
the intellectual life of the world) consisted chiefly, as has been
indicated, not in the production of original literature, but in the
reproduction and preservation of the literature that had been
inherited from earlier writers,—writers whose works had been
accepted as classics. While it was the case that in this literary labour
it was the Benedictines who for centuries rendered the most
important service, the first of the European monasteries in which
such labour was carried on as a part of the prescribed routine or rule
of the monastic life was that of Vivaria or Viviers, founded by
Cassiodorus, which was never formally associated with the
Benedictine Order, and which had, in fact, adopted, in place of the
Benedictine Rule, a rule founded on the teachings of Cassian, who
had died early in the fifth century. The work done, under the
instructions of Cassiodorus, by the scribes of Viviers, served as an
incentive and an example for Monte Cassino, the monastery founded
by S. Benedict, while the scriptorium instituted in Monte Cassino was
accepted as a model by the long series of later Benedictine
monasteries which during the succeeding seven centuries became
centres of literary activity.
After the destruction of the Gothic kingdom of Italy, it was with
these monasteries that rested the intellectual future of Europe.
Mankind was, for the time at least, to be directed and influenced, not
so much by royal chancellors or prætorian guards, as by the monks
preaching from their cells and by the monastic scribes distributing
the world’s literature from the scriptorium.
 Cassiodorus and S. Benedict.—In the literary history
of Europe, the part played by Cassiodorus was so important and the
service rendered by him was so distinctive, that it seems pertinent
for the purposes of this story to present in some detail the record of
his life and work. As is indicated by the name by which he is known
in history, Cassiodorus was of Greek lineage, his family belonging to
the Greek city of Scyllacium in Southern Italy. His full name was
Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator. His ancestors had, for
several generations, held under the successive rulers of Italy
positions of trust and honour, and the family ranked with the
patricians. The father of the author and abbot, usually referred to as
Cassiodorus the third, was finance minister under Odovacar, and
when the Herulian King had been overcome and slain by Theodoric,
the minister was skilful enough to make himself necessary to the
Gothic conqueror, from whom he received various important posts,
and by whom he was finally appointed Prætorian Prefect. The
Cassiodorus with whom this study is concerned, known as
Cassiodorus the fourth, was born about 479, or three years after the
Gothic conquest.[10] He began his official career as early as twenty,
and it was while holding, at this age, the position of Consilarius, that
he brought himself to the favourable attention of Theodoric by means
of an eloquent panegyric spoken in praise of that monarch.
Theodoric appointed him Quæstor, an office which made him the
mouth-piece of the sovereign. To the Quæstor belonged the duty of
conducting the official correspondence of the Court, of receiving
ambassadors, and of replying in fitting harangues to their addresses,
so that he was at once foreign secretary and Court orator. He also
had the responsibility of giving a final revision to all the laws which
received the signature of the King, and of seeing that these were
properly worded and did not conflict with previous enactments.[11]
Theodoric, who had received what little education he possessed
from Greek instructors in Constantinople, was said never to have
mastered Latin, and he doubtless found the services of his eloquent
and scholarly minister very convenient.
 It was the contention of Theodoric that his kingdom represented
the natural continuation of the Roman Empire, and that he was
himself the legitimate successor of the emperors. He took as his
official designation not Rex Italiæ, but Gothorum et Romanorum
Rex. This contention was fully upheld by the Quæstor, who felt
himself to be the representative at once of the official authority of the
new kingdom and of the literary prestige of the old Empire, and who
did what was in his power to preserve in Ravenna the classical
traditions of old Rome and to make the Court the centre of literary
influence and activity. Theodoric and his Goths had accepted the
creed of the Arians, but the influence of his minister, who was a
Christian of the Athanasian or Trinitarian faith, was sufficient to
preserve a spirit of toleration throughout the kingdom. It is to
Cassiodorus that is due what was probably the first official utterance
of toleration that Europe had known, an utterance that in later
European history was to be so largely set at nought: Religionem
imperare non possumus, quia nemo cogitur ut credat invitus.[12] [We
must not enforce (acceptance of) a creed, since no one can think or
can believe against his will.] It is not one of the least of the services
of Cassiodorus that he should at this early date, when the bitterness
of controversy was active in the Church, have been able to set a
standard of wise and Christian toleration. His action had a good
effect later in his own monastery and in the monasteries whose work
was modelled on that of Viviers. It was only in monastic centres like
Viviers and Monte Cassino, where Christian influence and
educational work were held to be of more importance than
theological issues, that literary activity became possible, and it was
only in such monasteries that labour was expended in preserving the
writings of “pagan” (that is, of classic) authors.
In 514, Cassiodorus became Consul, a title which, while no longer
standing for any authority, was still held to be one of the highest
honours, and in 515 he received the title of patrician. In 519, he
published, under the title of Chronicon, an abstract of history from
the deluge to the year 519. Hodgkin points out that in his record of
events of the fifth century, a very large measure of favourable, or
rather of partial attention is given to the annals of the Goths. Shortly
after the publication of the Chronicon, Cassiodorus began work on
his History of the Goths, which was finally completed in twelve
books, and the chief purpose of which was to vindicate the claims of
the Goths to rank among the historic nations of antiquity, by bringing
them into connection with Greece and Rome, and by making the
origin of Gothic history Roman. This history of Cassiodorus is known
only by tradition, not a single copy of it having been preserved. The
system of scribe-work in the monasteries, to which we owe nearly all
of the old-world literature that has come down to us, did not prove
adequate to preserve the greatest work of its founder. A treatise on
the origin of the Goths by a later writer named Jordæus, concerning
whom little is known, is avowedly based upon the history of
Cassiodorus, and is the principal source of information concerning
the character of this history.
At the time of the death of Theodoric, Cassiodorus was holding the
important place of Master of the Offices, a post which combined
many of the duties that would to-day be discharged by a Home
Secretary, a Secretary of War, and a Postmaster-General. Under the
regency of Queen Amalasuentha, Cassiodorus received his final
official honour in his appointment as Prætorian Prefect. In the
collection of letters published under the title of Variæ, Cassiodorus
gives accounts of the work done by him in these various official
stations, and these letters present vivid and interesting pictures of
the methods of the administration of the kingdom, and also throw
light upon many of its relations with foreign powers.
Cassiodorus continued to do service as minister for the
successors of Amalasuentha, Athalaric, Theodadad, and Witigis, and
retired from official responsibility only a few months before the
capture of Ravenna by Belisarius, in 540, brought the Ostrogothic
monarchy to an end. At the time of the entry of the Greek army,
Cassiodorus, now a veteran of sixty years, was in retirement in his
monastery in Bruttii (the modern Calabria). It was doubtless because
of the absence of Cassiodorus from the capital, that no mention is
made of him in the narrative of the campaign written by Procopius
the historian, who, as secretary to Belisarius, entered Rome with the
latter after the victories over Witigis.
 Cassiodorus must have possessed very exceptional adaptability of
character, not to say elasticity of conscience, to be able, during a
period extending over nearly half a century, to retain the favour of so
many of the successive rulers of Italy and apparently to make his
services necessary to each one of them. It is certain, however, that
Italy benefited largely by the fact that through the various contests
and changes of monarchs, it had been possible to preserve a certain
continuity of executive policy and of administrative methods. The
further fact that the “perpetual” or at least the continuing minister was
at once a Greek and a Roman, and not only a statesman but a
scholar, and that he had succeeded in preserving through all the
devastations of civil wars and of foreign invasions a great collection
of classic books and a persistent (even though restricted) interest in
classic literature, exercised an enormous influence upon the culture
of Europe for centuries to come. The career of Cassiodorus had, as
we have seen, been varied and honourable. It was, however, his
exceptional fortune to be able to render the most important and the
most distinctive service of his life after his life’s work had apparently
been completed.
Shortly after his withdrawal to Bruttii, and when, as said, he was
already more than sixty years old, he retired to his monastery,
Vivaria, and during the thirty-six years of activity that remained for
him, he not only completed a number of important literary
productions of his own, but he organised the literary work of the
monastery scriptorium, which served as a model for that of Monte
Cassino, and, through Monte Cassino, for the long series of
Benedictine monasteries that came into existence throughout
Europe. It was the hand of Cassiodorus which gave the literary
impetus to the Benedictine Order, and it was from his magnificent
collection of manuscripts, rescued from the ruins of the libraries of
Italy, that was supplied material for the pens of thousands of
monastic scribes.
After his retirement to Bruttii, Cassiodorus founded a second
monastery, known as Mons Castellius, the work of which was
planned for a more austere class of hermits than those who had
associated themselves together at Vivaria. Of both monasteries he
retained the practical control, and, according to Trithemius (whose
opinion is accepted by Montalembert) of Vivaria he became
abbot.[13] Hodgkin, while himself citing the extract from Trithemius,
thinks it possible that Cassiodorus never formally became abbot, but
says that the direction and supervision of the work of the two
monasteries rested in any case in his hands.[14]
His treatise on the Nature of the Soul (De Anima) was probably
completed just before he began his monastic life, and was itself an
evidence of the change in the direction of his thoughts and of his
ideals. Cassiodorus had now done with politics. As Hodgkin points
out, the dream of his life had been to build up an independent Italian
State, strong with the strength of the Goths, and wise with the
wisdom of the Romans. It is evident that he also felt himself charged
with a special responsibility in preserving for later generations the
literature and the learning of the classic world. With the destruction
of the Gothic kingdom, that dream had been scattered to the winds.
The only institutions which retained a continuity of organisation were
those belonging to the Church, and it was through the Church that
must be preserved for later generations the thought and the
scholarship of antiquity. It was with a full understanding of this
change in the nature of his responsibilities, that Cassiodorus decided
to consecrate his old age to religious labours and to a work even
more important than any of his political achievements: the
preservation, by the pens of monastic copyists, of the Christian
Scriptures, of the writings of the early Fathers, and of the great
works of classical antiquity.
Some years before his retirement from Ravenna, Cassiodorus had
endeavoured to induce Pope Agapetus (535-536) to found a school
of theology and Christian literature at Rome, modelled on the plan of
the schools of Alexandria and Nisibis. The confusion consequent on
the invasion of Italy by Belisarius had prevented the fulfilment of this
scheme. The aged statesman was now, however, planning to
accomplish, by means of his two monasteries, a similar educational
work.
 Hodgkin summarises the aims of earlier monasticism, (aims which
were most fully carried out in the monasteries of the East and of
Africa,) as follows: In the earlier days of monasticism, men like the
hermits of the Thebaïd had thought of little else but mortifying the
flesh by vigils and fastings, and withdrew from all human voices in
order to enjoy an ecstatic communion with their Maker. The life in
common of monks like those of Nitria and Lerinum had chastened
some of the extravagances of these lonely enthusiasts, while still
keeping in view their main purpose. S. Jerome, in his cell at
Bethlehem, had shown what great results might be obtained for the
Church of all ages from the patient literary toil of one religious
recluse. And finally, S. Benedict, in that Rule of his, which was for
centuries to be the code of monastic Christendom, had sanctified
work as one of the most effectual preservatives of the bodily and
spiritual health of the ascetic.
“It was the glory of Cassiodorus,” says Hodgkin,[15] “that he first
and pre-eminently insisted on the expediency of including intellectual
labour in the sphere of monastic duties.... This thought [may we not
say this divinely suggested thought?] in the mind of Cassiodorus was
one of infinite importance to the human race. Here, on the one hand,
were the vast armies of monks, whom both the unsettled state of the
times and the religious ideas of the age were driving irresistibly into
the cloister; and who, when immured there with only theology to
occupy their minds, became, as the great cities of the East knew
only too well, preachers of discord and mad fanaticism. Here, on the
other hand, were the accumulated stores of two thousand years of
literature, sacred and profane, the writings of Hebrew prophets,
Greek philosophers, Latin rhetoricians, perishing for want of men
with leisure to transcribe them. The luxurious Roman noble with his
slave amanuenses multiplying copies of his favourite authors for his
own and his friends’ libraries, was an almost extinct existence. With
every movement of barbarian troops over Italy, whether those
barbarians called themselves the men of Witigis or of Justinian,
some towns were being sacked, some precious manuscripts were
perishing from the world. Cassiodorus perceived that the boundless,
the often wearisome leisure of the convent might be profitably spent
in arresting this work of denudation, in preserving for future ages the
intellectual treasure which must otherwise inevitably have perished.
That this was one of the great services rendered by the monasteries
to the human race, the most superficial student has learned, but not
all who have learned it know that the monks’ first decided impulse in
this direction was derived from Cassiodorus.”
The German biographer of Cassiodorus, Franz, uses similar
language:
Das Verdienst, zuerst die Pflege der Wissenschaften in den
Bereich der Aufgaben des Klosterlichen Lebens aufgenommen zu
haben, kann man mit vollem Rechte für Cassiodorus in Anspruch
nehmen.[16]
In the account given by Cassiodorus of the scriptorium of his
monastery, he describes, with an enthusiasm which ought to have
been contagious, the noble work done there by the antiquarius[17]:
“He may fill his mind with the Scriptures while copying the sayings of
the Lord; with his fingers he gives life to men and arms against the
wiles of the devil. As the antiquarius copies the words of Christ, so
many wounds does he inflict upon Satan. What he writes in his cell
will be scattered far and wide over distant provinces. Man multiplies
the words of Heaven, and, if I may dare so to speak, the three
fingers of his right hand are made to express the utterances of the
Holy Trinity. The fast travelling reed writes down the holy words and
thus avenges the malice of the Wicked One, who caused a reed to
be used to smite the head of the Saviour.” The passage here quoted
refers only to the work of the copyists of the Christian Scriptures.
There are other references, however, in the same work to indicate
that the activity of the scriptorium was not confined to these, but was
also employed on secular literature.[18]
The devotion and application of the monks produced in the course
of years a class of scribes whose work in the transcribing and
illuminating of manuscripts far surpassed in perfection and beauty
the productions of the copyists of classic Rome. In the monasteries
north of the Alps the work of the scribes was, for the earlier
centuries, devoted principally to the production of copies of missals
and other books of devotion and of portions of the Scriptures. In Italy,
however, where classical culture never entirely disappeared,
attention continued to be given to the transcription of the Latin texts
of which any manuscripts had been preserved, and it was these
transcripts of the monks of Cassiodorus and S. Benedict that gave
the “copy” for the first editions of Cicero, Virgil, and the other classic
writers, produced by the earliest printers of Germany and Italy.
Cassiodorus took pains to emphasise the importance of binding
the sacred codices in covers worthy of the beauty of their contents,
following the example of the householder in the parable, who
provided wedding garments for all who came to the supper of his
son. One pattern volume had been prepared containing samples of
various sorts of covers, from which the scribe might choose that
which pleased him best. The abbot had also provided, to help the
nightly toil of the scriptorium, mechanical lamps of some ingenious
construction which appears to have made them self-trimming and to
have insured a continuously sufficient supply of oil. The labour of the
scribes was regulated on bright days by sun-dials, and on cloudy
days and during the hours of the night by water-clocks.
In order to set an example of literary diligence to his monks, and to
be able to sympathise with the difficulties of scribe work,
Cassiodorus himself transcribed (probably from the translation of
Jerome) the Psalter, the Prophets, and the Epistles. In addition to his
labours as a transcriber, Cassiodorus did a large amount of work as
an original author and as a compiler. According to the judgment of
Migne, Franz, and Hodgkin, the importance of his original writings
varied very considerably, and is by no means to be estimated in
proportion to their bulk. One of the most considerable of these was
his great commentary on the Psalms, in the text of which he was
able to discover refutations of all the heresies that had thus far
racked the Church, together with the rudiments of all the sciences
which had become known to the world. This was followed by a
commentary on the Epistles and by a history of the Church, the latter
having been undertaken in co-operation with his friend Epiphanius.
This history, known as the Historia Tripartita, is said to have had a
larger circulation than any other of the author’s works. A fourth work,
which gives more of the personality of the writer, was an educational
treatise entitled, Institutiones Divinarum et Humanarum Lectionum.
In the first part of this treatise, which bore the title of De Institutione
Divinarum Litterarum, the author gives an account of the
organisation of his scriptorium. In the second division of the treatise,
entitled De Artibus ac Disciplinis Liberalium Litterarum, the author
states his view of the relative importance of the four liberal arts,
Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, and Mathematics, the last named of
which he divides into the four “disciplines” of Arithmetic, Geometry,
Music, and Astronomy. Geometry and Astronomy occupy together
one page, Arithmetic and Music each two pages, Grammar two
pages, Rhetoric six pages, while to Logic are devoted eighteen
pages. The final production of his industrious life was a treatise
called De Orthographia, which was completed when its author was
ninety-three years old, and which was planned expressly to further
the work of the monastic scribes in collecting and correcting the
codices of ancient books.
The death of Cassiodorus occurred in 575, in the ninety-sixth year
of his age. An inheritor of the traditions of imperial Rome,
Cassiodorus had been able, in a career extending over nearly a
century, to be of signal service to his country under a series of
foreign rulers. He had succeeded, through his personal influence
with these rulers, in maintaining for Italy an organisation based on
Roman precedents, and in preserving for the society of the capital an
interest in the preservation and cultivation of classic literature. When
the political institutions of Italy had been shattered and the very
existence of civilisation was imperilled, he had transferred his
services to the Church, recognising, with the adaptability which was
the special characteristic of the man, that with the Church now
rested the hopes of any continuity of organised society, of intellectual
interest, of civilisation itself. He brought to the Church the advantage
of exceptional executive ability and of long official experience, and
he also brought a large measure of scholarship and an earnest zeal
for literary and educational interests. It is not too much to say that
the continuity of the thought and civilisation of the ancient world with
that of the Middle Ages was due, more than to any other one man, to
the life and labours of Cassiodorus.
 S. Benedict.—The Life of S. Benedict, written by Pope Gregory I.
(who was born in 543, the year of the death of the saint), was for
centuries one of the most popular books circulated in Europe. The
full title is: Vita et Miracula Venerabilis Benedicti conditoris, vel
Abbatis Monasterii; quod appellatur arcis Provinciæ Campaniæ.
“The Life and Miracles of the Venerable Benedict, Founder and
Abbot of the Monastery which is called (of) the Citadel of the
Province of Campania.” This biography was, later, translated by
Pope Zacharias from the original Latin into Greek.
The great achievement of Benedict was the one literary product of
his life, the Regula. It comprises seventy-three short chapters,
probably not designed by the author for use beyond the bounds of
the communities under his own immediate supervision. It proved to
be the thing for which the world of religious and thoughtful men was
then longing, a complete code of monastic duty. By a strange
parallelism, almost in the very year in which the great Emperor
Justinian was codifying the results of seven centuries of Roman
secular legislation for the benefit of the judges and the statesmen of
the new Europe, Benedict, on his lonely mountain top, was
composing his code for the regulation of the daily life of the great
civilisers of Europe for seven centuries to come.
The Rule of S. Benedict, Chap. 48. Concerning Daily Manual
Labour.—“Idleness is the enemy of the soul: hence brethren ought at
certain seasons to occupy themselves with manual labour, and again
at certain hours with holy reading. Between Easter and the calends
of October let them apply themselves to reading from the fourth hour
until the sixth hour.... From the calends of October to the beginning
of Lent, let them apply themselves to reading until the second hour.
During Lent, let them apply themselves to reading from morning until
the end of the third hour, and in these days of Lent, let them receive
a book apiece from the library and read it straight through. These
books are to be given out at the beginning of Lent.”[19]
This simple regulation, uttered by one the power and extent of
whose far-reaching influence have rarely been equalled among men,
gave an impulse to study that grew with the growth of the Order, and
that secured a continuity of intellectual light and life through the dark
ages, the results of which have endured to modern times. “Wherever
a Benedictine house arose, or a monastery of any one of the Orders,
which were but offshoots from the Benedictine tree, books were
multiplied and a library came into existence, small indeed at first, but
increasing year by year, till the wealthier houses had gathered
together collections of books that would do credit to a modern
university.”[20]
It was, of course, the case that the injunction to read, an injunction
given at a time when books were very few and monks were
becoming many, carried with it an instruction for writing until copies
of the books prescribed should have been produced in sufficient
numbers to meet the requirements of the readers. The armaria could
be filled only through steady and persistent work in the scriptoria,
and, as we shall see later, such scribe-work was accepted not only
as a part of the “manual labour” prescribed in the Rule, but not
infrequently (in the case of the skilled scribes) in lieu of some portion
of the routine of religious observance. Benedict would not have his
monks limit themselves to spiritual labour, to the action of the soul
upon itself. He made external labour, manual or literary, a strict
obligation of his Rule. The routine of the monastic day was to include
seven hours for manual labour, two hours for reading.[21] In later
years, the Benedictine monasteries became centres of instruction,
supplying the place, as far as was practicable, of the educational
system of the departed empire. As Order after Order was founded,
there came to be a steady development of interest in books and an
ever increasing care for their safe-keeping. S. Benedict had
contented himself with general directions for study; the Cluniacs
prescribed the selection of a special officer to take charge of the
books, with an annual audit of them and the assignment to each
brother of a single volume.
“The followers of the Saint continued in their patient labour,
praying, digging, and transcribing. The scriptoria of the Benedictine
monastery will multiply copies not only of missals and theological
treatises, but of the poems and histories of antiquity. Whatever may
have been the religious value or the religious dangers of the
monastic life, the historian at least is bound to express his gratitude