Techniques for managing visual compositions for a multimedia conference call

• US 10,187,608 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2017
• Issued: 01/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Barkley, Warren V., Chou, Philip A., Crinon, Regis J., Moore, Tim
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramakrishnaiah, Melur
• Application Number:
  US15/464,462
• Publication Number:
  US 20170324934A1
• Time in Patent Office: 672 Days
• Field of Search: 348 1401- 1416, 375270
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/187 the unit being a scalable video layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/14 Systems for two-way working H04N7/12, H04N7/173 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

Techniques for managing visual compositions for a multimedia conference call are described. An apparatus may comprise a processor to allocate a display object bit rate for multiple display objects where a total display object bit rate for all display objects is equal to or less than a total input bit rate, and decode video information from multiple video streams each having different video layers with different levels of spatial resolution, temporal resolution and quality for two or more display objects. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving encoded video information in at least one video stream having different video layers with different levels of spatial resolution, temporal resolution, and quality, wherein a first layer comprises a base layer and a second layer is associated with digital rights for accessing the second layer;

providing credentials to selectively access the second layer based on the digital rights; and

selectively accessing the second layer based on the provided credentials.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising processing parameters for a portion of a video stream that is signaled at an entry point level.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the entry points are adjacent to, or adjoining, one or more subsequences or groups of pictures of the video sequence that begins with an intra-coded frame.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising controlling access to each layer of the different video layers.

5. The method of claim 4, comprising using at least one of an encryption technique or a digital right to authorize access to each layer of the different video layers.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising performing at least one of increasing or decreasing a level of spatial resolution or a level of temporal resolution based on at least one of a type of video source, a type of video compression technique, a bandwidth or protocol available for a communication link, processing or memory resources available for a given receiving device, or a type of display device used to reproduce the digital video.

7. The method of claim 1 comprising coding the level of coding resolution in the sequence header of the video bitstream.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising determining a total input bit rate for multiple display objects in which the encoded video information comprises parameters that specify dimensions of display resolution within a video stream of the multiple video streams.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising allocating a plurality of display object bit rates corresponding to the multiple display objects where a total display object bit rate for the plurality of object bit rates is equal to or less than said total input bit rate.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

decoding video information for each of the multiple display objects in accordance with their corresponding display object bit rate; and

rendering the multiple display objects in accordance with the decoded video information.

11. The method of claim 1, comprising decoding video information from said different video layers for multiple display objects in accordance with a display object bit rate where a total display object bit rate for all display objects is equal to or less than a total input bit rate for said display objects.

12. A method, comprising:

receiving encoded video information in at least one video stream having different video layers with different levels of spatial resolution, temporal resolution and quality, wherein a first layer comprises a base layer and a second layer is associated with digital rights for accessing the second layer;

providing credentials to selectively access the second layer based on the digital rights; and

selecting accessing the second layer based on the provided credentials.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising:

allocating a display object bit rate to multiple display objects; and

decoding video information from said different video layers for said display objects in accordance with said allocations.

14. The method of claim 12, comprising sending a subscription message to a conferencing server to subscribe to said different video layers for a conference call.

15. The method of claim 12, comprising modifying a display object bit rate for a display frame based on a size for said display frame or a location of said display frame on a display or based on an instantaneous channel capacity for a communications link.

16. The method of claim 12, comprising rendering said decoded video information in each display frame to create a visual composition for a conference call.

17. The method of claim 12, comprising receiving said encoded video information in said video streams with different video layers for a conference call at a client terminal.

18. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor to;

receive encoded video information in at least one video stream having different video layers with different levels of spatial resolution, temporal resolution, and quality, wherein a first layer comprises a base layer and a second layer is associated with digital rights for accessing the second layer;

provide credentials to selectively access the second layer based on the digital rights; and

selectively access the second layer based on the provided credentials.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, said processor to determine a total input bit rate for multiple display objects in which the encoded video information comprises parameters that specify the dimensions of the display resolution within the video stream, and decode the video information according to a display object bit rate for the multiple display objects where a total display object bit rate for all display objects is equal to or less than the total input bit rate, the video information in the multiple video streams each having different video layers with different levels of spatial resolution, temporal resolution and quality.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, comprising an encoder to encode the video information in said video streams, each video stream having different video layers including a base layer having a first level of spatial resolution and a first level of temporal resolution, and an enhancement layer increasing said first level of spatial resolution or said first level of temporal resolution.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, comprising an encoder to indicate when a group of one or more pictures following an entry point in a video bitstream is coded at a lower resolution using a defined flag or start code in an entry point header, said encoder to code a coded size in the entry point header if the flag indicates a lower or higher coding resolution.