Bandwidth optimization

• US 20010024239A1
• Filed: 01/25/2001
• Published: 09/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/1998
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: WebTV Networks Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Keren, Avishai, Feder, Meir, Paz, Ofir
• Application Number:
  US09/770,765
• Publication Number:
  US 20010024239A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/423.1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/409 Data transfer via television network
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/538 for performing operations on behalf of the game client, e.g. rendering
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5506 using advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/577 for watching a game played by other players
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/124 Quantisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/132 Sampling, masking or truncation of coding units, e.g. adaptive resampling, frame skipping, frame interpolation or high-frequency transform coefficient masking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/134 characterised by the element, parameter or criterion affecting or controlling the adaptive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/587 involving temporal sub-sampling or interpolation, e.g. decimation or subsequent interpolation of pictures in a video sequence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/233 Processing of audio elementary streams monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234336 by media transcoding, e.g. video is transformed into a slideshow of still pictures or audio is converted into text
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234354 by altering signal-to-noise ratio parameters, e.g. requantization
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234381 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. decreasing the frame rate by frame skipping
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23655 Statistical multiplexing, e.g. by controlling the encoder to alter its bitrate to optimize the bandwidth utilization
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2407 Monitoring of transmitted content, e.g. distribution time, number of downloads arrangements for monitoring programmes for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/241 Operating system [OS] processes, e.g. server setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/262 : Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists scheduling strategies for dispatcher in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/4881; arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/06; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a time schedule or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 : Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/274 : Storing end-user multimedia data in response to end-user request , e.g. network recorder
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 : Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/488 : Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6168 : involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6187 : involving transmission via a telephone network, e.g. POTS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 : Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 : Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 : comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 : Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8173 : End-user applications, e.g. Web browser, game
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8453 : by locking or enabling a set of features, e.g. optional functionalities in an executable program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 : using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 : by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 : Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

A computer may be remotely accessed. At a first location, display commands are generated. The display commands are covered into a compressed video data stream. Each display element (5) is checked if it is encoded (52). If object is encoded, it is transcribed into MPEG (54). The image is adjusted for display (56) and compression (58). Additional steps of motion determination (60), change detection (62), compression depth and frame determination (66, 68) are executed. Then the data is transmitted to a second location. The display commands are decompressed and displayed as an image at the second location.

Claims

1. A method of frame rate buffering comprising:

providing a source of compressed video which generates a compressed video stream having a variable frame rate;

providing a video display unit which receives said compressed video frames, decompresses said video frames and displays said video frames, wherein said unit is constrained to a fixed frame rate; and

padding said generated compressed video frames with frames which indicate that no change has occurred, to achieve said fixed frame rate.

2. A method according to

claim 1

, comprising, increasing said padding and decreasing said variable rate, to compensate for bandwidth limitation in transmission between said source and said display unit.

3. A method according to

claim 1

, comprising, increasing said padding and decreasing said variable rate, to compensate for an instantaneous resource limitation at said source.

4. A method of bandwidth allocation for a compressed video stream, comprising:

generating a plurality of display commands, by executing a computer program;

converting said display commands into a compressed video stream;

estimating a future content of said video stream; and

allocating bandwidth resources responsive to said estimate.

6. A method according to

claim 4

or

claim 5

, wherein said program comprises a WWW browser.

7. A method according to

claim 6

, wherein estimating comprises identifying a future download of complex display data.

8. A method according to

claim 6

, wherein estimating comprises identifying a future download of a continuous data stream.

5. A method of bandwidth allocation for a compressed video stream, comprising:

generating a plurality of display commands, by executing a computer program;

converting said display commands into a compressed video stream;

estimating a future content of said video stream; and

allocating CPU resources for compression responsive to said estimate.

9. A method of bandwidth allocation for transmitting video on a cable network, comprising:

providing a plurality of data sources;

differentially converting said data sources into compressed video streams, responsive to an instantaneous resource restriction; and

multiplexing said compressed video streams on a single transmission line.

10. A method according to

claim 9

, wherein said differentially converting comprises converting each data source to a different frame rate compressed video stream.

11. A method according to

claim 9

, wherein said differentially converting comprises, converting each data source to a different frame quality level.

12. A method according to

claim 9

, wherein said resource restriction comprises a bandwidth restriction.

13. A method according to

claim 9

, wherein said resource restriction comprises a computing resource restriction.

14. A method according to any of claims 9-13, wherein said data sources comprise display commands.

15. A method according to any of claims 9-13, wherein said differentially converting comprises differentially converting responsive to a content of said data sources.

16. A method according to

claim 15

, comprising providing an indication of said content with said data sources.

17. A method according to

claim 15

, comprising providing an indication of said content by analyzing display commands which are comprised in said data sources.

18. A method according to

claim 15

, comprising providing an indication of said content by a software which generates at least one of said data sources.

19. A method of bandwidth allocation, comprising:

providing a distribution network having a bandwidth;

transmitting on said network a plurality of channels, comprising Internet channels and TV channels; and

dynamically allocating bandwidth between Internet channels and TV channels.

20. A method of statistical bit multiplexing, comprising:

providing a plurality of compressed video streams to be multiplexed;

providing, for at least one of said plurality of streams, side information, indicative of a content of a frame of said stream; and

differentially dropping bits from said at least one of plurality of streams, responsive to said side information.

21. A method according to

claim 20

, wherein said side information includes a minimal quality level for said frame.