SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VIDEO STREAMING AND DISPLAY

• US 20090300692A1
• Filed: 06/02/2008
• Published: 12/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Original Assignee: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Inventors: Mavlankar, Aditya A., Girod, Bernd, Baccichet, Pierpaolo, Noh, Jeonghun
• Application Number:
  US12/131,622
• Publication Number:
  US 20090300692A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/94
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/119 Adaptive subdivision aspects, e.g. subdivision of a picture into rectangular or non-rectangular coding blocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/134 characterised by the element, parameter or criterion affecting or controlling the adaptive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/146 Data rate or code amount at the encoder output
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/162 User input
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/17 the unit being an image region, e.g. an object
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/174 the region being a slice, e.g. a line of blocks or a group of blocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/20 using video object coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/33 in the spatial domain
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/54 using feature points or meshes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/59 involving spatial sub-sampling or interpolation, e.g. alteration of picture size or resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234318 by decomposing into objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4728 for selecting a Region Of Interest [ROI], e.g. for requesting a higher resolution version of a selected region
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8453 by locking or enabling a set of features, e.g. optional functionalities in an executable program

Abstract

For display of, at a user device, a region of interest within video images and associated applications. In a particular example embodiment, a streaming video source provides streaming data to a user device, with the streaming data being representative of a sequence of images, and each image including a plurality of individually decodable slices. At the user device and for a particular image and a corresponding subset region of the image, less than all of the plurality of individually decodable slices are displayed in response to a current input indicative of the subset region. Future input indicative of a revised subset region is then predicted in response to images in the image sequence that have yet to be displayed and to previously received input. In other embodiments, multicasting methods, systems or arrangements provide streaming video to one or more user devices.

Claims

1. A method for use with a streaming video source, the video source providing streaming data to a user device, the streaming data representative of a sequence of images, each image including a plurality of individually decodable slices, the method comprising:

at the user device and for a particular image and a corresponding subset region of the image, displaying less than all of the plurality of individually decodable slices in response to a current input indicative of the subset region; and

predicting future input indicative of a revised subset region in response to images in the image sequence that have yet to be displayed and to previously received input.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the current input indicative of the subset region includes a user selection via a graphical interface, and before the step of predicting future input, further including the step of buffering the images in the image sequence that have yet to be displayed.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the current input indicative of the subset region is in response to data indicative of a tracked object.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the images in the image sequence that have yet to be displayed include thumbnail images.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the streaming data to a user device includes data representing a thumbnail version of the sequence of images and data representing a higher resolution version of the corresponding subset region of the image.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the thumbnail version is used for display of the subset region in response to at least one of the prediction of the future input being incorrect and data corresponding to the subset region not arriving on time.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of predicting future input includes the use of motion information obtained from the images in the image sequence that have yet to be displayed.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of predicting future input includes computing a median of multiple predictions obtained through multiple motion vectors.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein predicting future input includes the use of three distinct motion prediction algorithms, each motion prediction algorithm providing a predicted motion.

10. A method for use with a streaming video source that provides an image sequence, the video source providing low-resolution image frames and sets of higher-resolution image frames, each of the higher-resolution image frames corresponding to a respective subset region that is within the low-resolution image frames, the method comprising:

receiving input indicative of a subset region of an image to be displayed;

displaying the indicated subset region using the higher-resolution image frames; and

predicting future input indicative of a revised subset region of the low-resolution image sequence in response to image frames not yet displayed and to previous input indicative of a subset region of the low-resolution image sequence.

11. A method for providing streaming video to a plurality of user devices, the streaming video portioned into a plurality of individually decodable slices, the method comprising:

providing less than all of the individually decodable slices to a particular peer, the provided less than all of the individually decodable slices corresponding to a region of interest;

displaying the region of interest at the particular peer;

receiving input indicative of a change in the region of interest;

responsive to the input, generating a list of video sources that provide at least one slice of the changed region of interest; and

responsive to the list of video sources, connecting the particular peer to one or more of the video sources to receive a slice of the subset of the plurality of slices.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the list of video sources include at least one dedicated server and one peer.

13. A user device for use with a streaming video source, the video source providing streaming data to a user device, the streaming data representative of a sequence of images, each image including a plurality of individually decodable slices, the user device comprising:

a display for, at the user device and for a particular image and a corresponding subset region of the image, displaying less than all of the plurality of individually decodable slices in response to a current input indicative of the subset region; and

a processor arrangement for predicting future input indicative of a revised subset region in response to images in the image sequence that have yet to be displayed and to previously received input.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the current input indicative of the subset region includes a user selection via a graphical interface, and further includes a memory arrangement for buffering the images in the image sequence that have yet to be displayed.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein the processor arrangement uses the current input in response to data indicative of a tracked object.

16. The device of claim 13, wherein the images in the image sequence that have yet to be displayed include thumbnail images.

17. The device of claim 13, wherein the streaming data to the user device includes data representing a thumbnail version of the sequence of images and data representing a higher resolution version of the corresponding subset region of the image.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the thumbnail version is used for display of the subset region in response to at least one of the prediction of the future input being incorrect and data corresponding to the subset region not arriving on time.

19. The device of claim 13, wherein the processor arrangement is adapted to use multiple and distinct motion prediction algorithms.

20. A user device for use with a streaming video source that provides an image sequence, the video source providing low-resolution image frames and sets of higher-resolution image frames, each of the higher-resolution image frames corresponding to a respective subset region that is within the low-resolution image frames, the user device comprising:

a display device for displaying, in response to input indicative of a subset region of an image to be displayed, the indicated subset region using the higher-resolution image frames; and

a data processing arrangement for predicting future input indicative of a revised subset region of the low-resolution image sequence in response to image frames not yet displayed and to previous input indicative of a subset region of the low-resolution image sequence.

21. A user device for providing streaming video to a plurality of user devices, the streaming video portioned into a plurality of individually decodable slices, the user device comprising:

a network-communication computer-based module for serving a particular network peer with less than all of the individually decodable slices, said served individually decodable slices corresponding to a region of interest;

a display arrangement for displaying the region of interest at the particular peer;

a data processor arrangement for

generating, in response to receiving input indicative of a change in the region of interest, a list of video sources that provide at least one slice of the changed region of interest; and

connecting, in response to the list of video sources, the particular peer to one or more of the video sources to receive a slice of the subset of the plurality of slices.

22. A computer readable medium containing data that when executed by a processor performs a method for use with a streaming video source, the video source providing streaming data to a user device, the streaming data representative of a sequence of images, each image including a plurality of individually decodable slices, the method comprising:

at the user device and for a particular image and a corresponding subset region of the image, displaying less than all of the plurality of individually decodable slices in response to a current input indicative of the subset region; and

predicting future input indicative of a revised subset region in response to images in the image sequence that have yet to be displayed and to previously received input.

23. A computer readable medium containing data that when executed by a processor performs a method for providing streaming video to a plurality of user devices, the streaming video portioned into a plurality of individually decodable slices, the method comprising:

providing less than all of the individually decodable slices to a particular peer, the provided less than all of the individually decodable slices corresponding to a region of interest;

displaying the region of interest at the particular peer;

receiving input indicative of a change in the region of interest;

responsive to the input, generating a list of video sources that provide at least one slice of the changed region of interest; and

responsive to the list of video sources, connecting the particular peer to one or more of the video sources to receive a slice of the subset of the plurality of slices.