System and method for effectively encoding and decoding electronic information

• US 20080112489A1
• Filed: 11/09/2006
• Published: 05/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Calista Technologies, Inc (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Kumar, B. Anil, Margulis, Neal, Malladi, Krishna Mohan
• Granted Patent: US 7,460,725 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/240.22
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/12 Selection from among a plurality of transforms or standards, e.g. selection between discrete cosine transform [DCT] and sub-band transform or selection between H.263 and H.264
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/124 Quantisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/13 Adaptive entropy coding, e.g. adaptive variable length coding [AVLC] or context adaptive binary arithmetic coding [CABAC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/134 characterised by the element, parameter or criterion affecting or controlling the adaptive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/149 by estimating the code amount by means of a model, e.g. mathematical model or statistical model
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/15 by monitoring actual compressed data size at the memory before deciding storage at the transmission buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/176 the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/436 using parallelised computational arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/507 using conditional replenishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/63 using sub-band based transform, e.g. wavelets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/70 characterised by syntax aspects related to video coding, e.g. related to compression standards
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/93 Run-length coding

Abstract

A system and method for effectively encoding and decoding electronic information includes an encoding system with a tiling module that initially divides source image data into data tiles. A frame differencing module then outputs only altered data tiles to various processing modules that convert the altered data tiles into corresponding tile components. A quantizer performs a compression procedure upon the tile components to generate compressed data according to an adjustable quantization parameter. An adaptive entropy selector then selects one of a plurality of available entropy encoders to most effectively perform an entropy encoding procedure to thereby produce encoded data. The entropy encoder may also utilize a feedback loop to adjust the quantization parameter in light of current transmission bandwidth characteristics.

Claims

1. A system for utilizing an encoding system to process electronic information, comprising:

input means configured to receive source data from a data source;

a tiling module coupled to said input means for dividing said source data into data tiles;

processing means coupled to said tiling module for processing said data tiles into tile components; and

encoding means configured to encode said tile components into encoded data, said encoding means selecting an encoding mode based upon pre-determined mode selection criteria to thereby perform a data encoding procedure.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said source data from said data source includes image data that is configured in a digital image data format.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said data tiles are implemented as a group of contiguous pixel segments of said source data.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said processing means includes a frame differencing module that compares current data tiles from a current frame of said source data with similarly-located comparison tiles from a previous frame of said source data.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said frame differencing module reduces a total number of tiles that require encoding by outputting only altered tiles from said current frame that are different from said similarly-located comparison tiles from said previous frame of said source data.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein a frame reconstructor of a decoding system performs a frame reconstruction procedure to regenerate a current decoded frame that is populated with said altered tiles and with remaining unaltered tiles from a prior frame of decoded data.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein a DC shift module adds a constant DC voltage value to each pixel from said data tiles that are output from said tiling module.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein a color converter converts each of said data tiles from a first color format to said tile components in a second color format.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said color converter converts each of said data tiles from an RGB format into said tile components in a YUV format.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said source data includes multiple images, said encoding means including multiple encoders configured in a substantially parallel configuration, said encoding means allocating said multiple encoders to process respective ones of said multiple images, said multiple encoders concurrently processing said multiple images in a substantially parallel manner.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein said encoding means includes multiple encoders configured in a substantially parallel configuration, said encoding means allocating said multiple encoders to process respective ones of said data tiles, said multiple encoders concurrently processing said respective ones of said data tiles in a substantially parallel manner.

12. The system of claim 11 further comprising decoding means that includes multiple decoders configured in a substantially parallel configuration, said decoding means allocating said multiple decoders to process respective ones of said data tiles, said multiple decoders concurrently processing said respective ones of said data tiles in a substantially parallel manner.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein said source data includes multiple images, said encoding means including a single encoder that concurrently processes said multiple images to generate encoded images, said single encoder providing each of said encoded images to a different respective one of multiple decoders for performing corresponding data decoding procedures.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein a discrete wavelet transform module performs a discrete wavelet transform procedure to transform said tile components into corresponding tile subbands.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein a quantizer module performs a quantization procedure to compress said tile subbands into compressed data by reducing a compression bit rate according to a compression ratio that is specified by an adaptive quantization parameter.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein said encoding means comprises an entropy encoder that includes a high-bandwidth encoder and a low-bandwidth encoder, said high-bandwidth encoder have greater transmission bandwidth requirements than said low-bandwidth encoder.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein said high-bandwidth encoder includes a Context-Based Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding encoder that is implemented primarily as hardware circuitry according to a H.264/AVC Video Compression Standard.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein said low-bandwidth encoder includes a Run-Length Encoding system that is implemented primarily as executable software instructions.

19. The system of claim 16 wherein said entropy encoder includes an adaptive entropy selector that monitors available transmission bandwidth for said entropy encoder, said adaptive entropy selector dynamically selecting between said high-bandwidth encoder and said low-bandwidth encoder based upon a current amount of said available transmission bandwidth.

20. The system of claim 16 wherein said entropy encoder includes an adaptive entropy selector that determines whether said high-bandwidth encoder is supported in associated encoding and decoding systems, said adaptive entropy selector dynamically selecting said low-bandwidth encoder if said high-bandwidth encoder is not supported in said associated encoding and decoding systems.

21. The system of claim 16 further comprising a decoding system that comprises an entropy decoder that includes a high-bandwidth decoder and a low-bandwidth decoder, said entropy decoder dynamically selecting between said high-bandwidth decoder and said low-bandwidth encoder based upon an corresponding encoding format of said encoded data.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein said high-bandwidth decoder includes a Context-Based Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding system that is implemented primarily as hardware circuitry according to a H.264/AVC Video Compression Standard.

23. The system of claim 21 wherein said low-bandwidth decoder includes a Run-Length Encoder decoding system that is implemented primarily as executable software instructions.

24. The system of claim 1 wherein said encoding means comprises an entropy encoder that includes a rate controller that monitors quality characteristics of said encoded data, said rate controller responsively providing an adjustable quantization parameter to a quantizer via a feedback loop to thereby dynamically control compression characteristics of said encoded data.

25. The system of claim 1 wherein said encoding means comprises an entropy encoder that is configured according to an encoder configuration procedure to facilitate said entropy encoder to be implemented as a standard commercially-available component, said encoder configuration procedure being performed to allow said entropy encoder to successfully process one or more non-standard data formats.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein said entropy encoder includes a Context-Based Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding system that is implemented primarily as hardware circuitry according to a H.264/AVC Video Compression Standard.

27. The system of claim 25 wherein said encoder configuration procedure causes tile information to be encoded according to programmable encoder configuration parameters, said tile information including quantized coefficients, tile size, and a quantization parameter, said encoder configuration procedure defining each of said data tiles as a slice, said encoder configuration procedure grouping all sub-bands of said data tiles together into a sub-band grouping with a data size that is identical to said data tiles, said encoder configuration procedure causing said sub-band grouping to be divided into macroblocks that are compatible with said entropy encoder.

28. The system of claim 25 wherein said encoder configuration procedure defines programmable encoder configuration parameters that include sequence header parameters for groups of frames of input data, picture header parameters for individual frames of input data, slice header parameters for individual tiles of input data, and macroblock header parameters for individual macroblocks, said macroblock header parameters including a coded-block pattern parameter that is programmed to allow separately encoding YUV components, said macroblock header parameters further including a MB type parameter that is programmed to specify that only I frames are encoded as macroblocks.

29. The system of claim 1 further comprising a decoding system that performs a decoding procedure upon said encoded data, said decoding system reversing individual process steps performed by said encoding system to thereby regenerate said source data.

30. The system of claim 1 wherein said encoding system is implemented in a System-On-Chip (SOC) device that also includes a Central Processing Unit and/or a Graphics Processing Unit, said Graphics Processing Unit programmatically performing a Discrete Waveform Transform analysis function to feed subbands to a quantizer, said Graphics Processing Unit also include a CABAC encoder for generating encoded data from compressed data received from said quantizer.

31. A System-On-Chip (SOC) device, comprising:

a decoding system that includes a CABAC decoder that participates in a wavelet-based decoding process of said decoding system; and

an H.264 Integer Transform decoder that is configured to share said CABAC decoder with said decoding system, said CABAC encoder operating under program control to process wavelet-based tiles in a Discrete Wavelet Transform mode, said CABAC decoder alternately processing a separate video bitstream in an H.264 Integer Transform mode.