SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BALANCED USER EXPERIENCE IN A MULTIMEDIA CONFERENCING COMMUNITY

• US 20150160709A1
• Filed: 12/10/2013
• Published: 06/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: PARK, HEE JUN, Kang, Jewon
• Granted Patent: US 9,423,853 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3234 Power saving characterised by the action undertaken
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0613 The adjustment depending on the type of the information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/08 Arrangements within a display terminal for setting, manually or automatically, display parameters of the display terminal
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/045 Protection against panel overheating
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/08 Power processing, i.e. workload management for processors involved in display operations, such as CPUs or GPUs
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/022 Centralised management of display operation, e.g. in a server instead of locally
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/005 Adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

Various embodiments of methods and systems for balancing user experience in a multimedia conferencing community are disclosed. An exemplary embodiment envisions a portable computing device (“PCD”) receiving data indicative of one or more visual multimedia parameter settings in a companion PCD of the community. Based on the received data, the PCD may determine an adjustment to the settings of one or more of its own visual multimedia parameters such that a multimedia output in the form of a data packet stream is adjusted. In this way, the PCD may conserve power consumption by avoiding unnecessary multimedia workload processing for encoding a multimedia output that would not benefit the quality of service (“QoS”) delivered by the companion PCD. Additionally, by optimizing the quality of the multimedia output in view of the companion device parameter settings, the PCD may allocate more of its power budget to improving its own QoS level.

Claims

1. A method for balancing user experience in a multimedia conferencing community using intelligent multimedia-based thermal power management in a portable computing device (“

PCD”

), the method comprising;

receiving data indicative of one or more visual multimedia parameter settings in a companion PCD (“

companion parameter data”

);

based on the companion parameter data, determining an adjustment to one or more visual multimedia parameter settings in the PCD, wherein the settings of the one or more visual multimedia parameters contributes to an overall multimedia workload in the PCD;

adjusting the one or more visual multimedia parameter settings according to the determined adjustment, wherein adjusting the settings modifies a multimedia output.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring a condition in the PCD associated with power consumption;

comparing the condition to a predefined threshold associated with the condition;

based on the comparison of the condition to the predefined threshold, determining an adjustment to power consumption;

receiving data indicative of active settings of the one or more visual multimedia parameters in the PCD;

querying performance graphs for each of the visual multimedia parameters and mapping the active setting data of each visual multimedia parameter to its respective curve, wherein the active setting data defines a tangent with a slope;

comparing the tangent slopes associated with each visual multimedia parameter;

based on the comparison of tangent slopes, selecting a first visual multimedia parameter;

adjusting the active setting of the first visual multimedia parameter, wherein adjusting the active setting modifies the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is adjusted; and

sharing the adjusted active setting of the first visual multimedia parameter with one or more companion PCDs.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

determining an adjustment to power consumption comprises determining a reduction in power consumption;

selecting a first visual multimedia parameter based on the comparison of tangent slopes comprises selecting the visual multimedia parameter for which adjustment of the active setting will provide the least detrimental impact on user experience per unit reduction in power consumption; and

modifying the overall multimedia workload comprises reducing the overall multimedia workload such that the power consumption in the PCD is reduced.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

determining that an additional reduction in power consumption in the PCD is warranted;

based on the comparison of tangent slopes, selecting a second visual multimedia parameter;

adjusting the active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter, wherein adjusting the active setting modifies the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is further reduced; and

sharing the adjusted active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter with one or more companion PCDs.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein:

determining an adjustment to power consumption comprises determining an increase in power consumption;

selecting a first visual multimedia parameter based on the comparison of tangent slopes comprises selecting the visual multimedia parameter for which adjustment of the active setting will provide the most positive impact on user experience per unit increase in power consumption; and

modifying the overall multimedia workload comprises increasing the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is increased.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

determining that an additional increase in power consumption in the PCD is acceptable;

based on the comparison of tangent slopes, selecting a second visual multimedia parameter;

adjusting the active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter, wherein adjusting the active setting modifies the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is further increased; and

sharing the adjusted active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter with one or more companion PCDs.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the first visual multimedia parameter is selected from a group of parameters comprising a frame per second processing rate, a color depth setting, an image dynamics algorithm selection, a display brightness setting, image/video filtering, image/video compression method, target bit-rates, and a resolution scaling ratio.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the multimedia output is in the form of an encoded data packet stream.

9. A computer system for balancing user experience in a multimedia conferencing community using intelligent multimedia-based thermal power management in a portable computing device (“

PCD”

), the system comprising;

an intelligent multimedia thermal policy manager (“

IM-TPM”

) module configured to;

receive data indicative of one or more visual multimedia parameter settings in a companion PCD (“

companion parameter data”

);

based on the companion parameter data, determine an adjustment to one or more visual multimedia parameter settings in the PCD, wherein the settings of the one or more visual multimedia parameters contributes to an overall multimedia workload in the PCD;

adjust the one or more visual multimedia parameter settings according to the determined adjustment, wherein adjusting the settings modifies a multimedia output.

10. The computer system of claim 9, further comprising:

a power consumption and temperature (“

PCT”

) module configured to;

monitor a condition in the PCD associated with power consumption;

compare the condition to a predefined threshold associated with the condition; and

based on the comparison of the condition to the predefined threshold, determine an adjustment to power consumption;

a user experience (“

Ux”

) modeling module configured to;

receive data indicative of active settings of the one or more visual multimedia parameters in the PCD;

query performance graphs for each of the visual multimedia parameters and mapping the active setting data of each visual multimedia parameter to its respective curve, wherein the active setting data defines a tangent with a slope;

compare the tangent slopes associated with each visual multimedia parameter; and

based on the comparison of tangent slopes, select a first visual multimedia parameter; and

the IM-TPM module configured to;

adjust the active setting of the first visual multimedia parameter, wherein adjusting the active setting modifies the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is adjusted; and

share the adjusted active setting of the first visual multimedia parameter with one or more companion PCDs.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein:

determining an adjustment to power consumption comprises determining a reduction in power consumption;

selecting a first visual multimedia parameter based on the comparison of tangent slopes comprises selecting the visual multimedia parameter for which adjustment of the active setting will provide the least detrimental impact on user experience per unit reduction in power consumption; and

modifying the overall multimedia workload comprises reducing the overall multimedia workload such that the power consumption in the PCD is reduced.

12. The computer system of claim 11, further comprising:

the PCT module being configured to;

determine that an additional reduction in power consumption in the PCD is warranted;

the Ux modeling module being configured to;

based on the comparison of tangent slopes, select a second visual multimedia parameter; and

the IM-TPM module being configured to;

adjust the active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter, wherein adjusting the active setting modifies the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is further reduced; and

share the adjusted active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter with one or more companion PCDs.

13. The computer system of claim 10, wherein:

determining an adjustment to power consumption comprises determining an increase in power consumption;

selecting a first visual multimedia parameter based on the comparison of tangent slopes comprises selecting the visual multimedia parameter for which adjustment of the active setting will provide the most positive impact on user experience per unit increase in power consumption; and

modifying the overall multimedia workload comprises increasing the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is increased.

14. The computer system of claim 13, further comprising:

the PCT module being configured to;

determine that an additional increase in power consumption in the PCD is acceptable;

the Ux modeling module being configured to;

based on the comparison of tangent slopes, select a second visual multimedia parameter; and

the IM-TPM module being configured to;

adjust the active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter, wherein adjusting the active setting modifies the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is further increased; and

share the adjusted active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter with one or more companion PCDs.

15. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the first visual multimedia parameter is selected from a group of parameters comprising a frame per second processing rate, a color depth setting, an image dynamics algorithm selection, a display brightness setting, image/video filtering, image/video compression method, target bit-rates, and a resolution scaling ratio.

16. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the multimedia output is in the form of an encoded data packet stream.

17. A computer system for balancing user experience in a multimedia conferencing community using intelligent multimedia-based thermal power management in a portable computing device (“

PCD”

), the system comprising;

means for receiving data indicative of one or more visual multimedia parameter settings in a companion PCD (“

companion parameter data”

);

based on the companion parameter data, means for determining an adjustment to one or more visual multimedia parameter settings in the PCD, wherein the settings of the one or more visual multimedia parameters contributes to an overall multimedia workload in the PCD;

means for adjusting the one or more visual multimedia parameter settings according to the determined adjustment, wherein adjusting the settings modifies a multimedia output.

18. The computer system of claim 17, further comprising:

means for monitoring a condition in the PCD associated with power consumption;

means for comparing the condition to a predefined threshold associated with the condition;

based on the comparison of the condition to the predefined threshold, means for determining an adjustment to power consumption;

means for receiving data indicative of active settings of the one or more visual multimedia parameters in the PCD;

means for querying performance graphs for each of the visual multimedia parameters and mapping the active setting data of each visual multimedia parameter to its respective curve, wherein the active setting data defines a tangent with a slope;

means for comparing the tangent slopes associated with each visual multimedia parameter;

based on the comparison of tangent slopes, means for selecting a first visual multimedia parameter;

means for adjusting the active setting of the first visual multimedia parameter, wherein adjusting the active setting modifies the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is adjusted; and

means for sharing the adjusted active setting of the first visual multimedia parameter with one or more companion PCDs.

19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein:

means for determining an adjustment to power consumption comprises determining a reduction in power consumption;

means for selecting a first visual multimedia parameter based on the comparison of tangent slopes comprises selecting the visual multimedia parameter for which adjustment of the active setting will provide the least detrimental impact on user experience per unit reduction in power consumption; and

means for modifying the overall multimedia workload comprises reducing the overall multimedia workload such that the power consumption in the PCD is reduced.

20. The computer system of claim 19, further comprising:

means for determining that an additional reduction in power consumption in the PCD is warranted;

based on the comparison of tangent slopes, means for selecting a second visual multimedia parameter;

means for adjusting the active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter, wherein adjusting the active setting modifies the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is further reduced; and

means for sharing the adjusted active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter with one or more companion PCDs.

21. The computer system of claim 18, wherein:

means for determining an adjustment to power consumption comprises determining an increase in power consumption;

means for selecting a first visual multimedia parameter based on the comparison of tangent slopes comprises selecting the visual multimedia parameter for which adjustment of the active setting will provide the most positive impact on user experience per unit increase in power consumption; and

means for modifying the overall multimedia workload comprises increasing the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is increased.

22. The computer system of claim 21, further comprising:

means for determining that an additional increase in power consumption in the PCD is acceptable;

based on the comparison of tangent slopes, means for selecting a second visual multimedia parameter;

means for adjusting the active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter, wherein adjusting the active setting modifies the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is further increased; and

means for sharing the adjusted active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter with one or more companion PCDs.

23. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the first visual multimedia parameter is selected from a group of parameters comprising a frame per second processing rate, a color depth setting, an image dynamics algorithm selection, a display brightness setting, image/video filtering, image/video compression method, target bit-rates, and a resolution scaling ratio.

24. A computer program product comprising a computer usable device having a computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for balancing user experience in a multimedia conferencing community using intelligent multimedia-based thermal power management in a portable computing device (“

PCD”

), said method comprising;

receiving data indicative of one or more visual multimedia parameter settings in a companion PCD (“

companion parameter data”

);

based on the companion parameter data, determining an adjustment to one or more visual multimedia parameter settings in the PCD, wherein the settings of the one or more visual multimedia parameters contributes to an overall multimedia workload in the PCD;

adjusting the one or more visual multimedia parameter settings according to the determined adjustment, wherein adjusting the settings modifies a multimedia output.

25. The computer program product of claim 24, further comprising:

monitoring a condition in the PCD associated with power consumption;

comparing the condition to a predefined threshold associated with the condition;

based on the comparison of the condition to the predefined threshold, determining an adjustment to power consumption;

receiving data indicative of active settings of the one or more visual multimedia parameters in the PCD;

querying performance graphs for each of the visual multimedia parameters and mapping the active setting data of each visual multimedia parameter to its respective curve, wherein the active setting data defines a tangent with a slope;

comparing the tangent slopes associated with each visual multimedia parameter;

based on the comparison of tangent slopes, selecting a first visual multimedia parameter;

adjusting the active setting of the first visual multimedia parameter, wherein adjusting the active setting modifies the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is adjusted; and

sharing the adjusted active setting of the first visual multimedia parameter with one or more companion PCDs.

26. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein:

determining an adjustment to power consumption comprises determining a reduction in power consumption;

selecting a first visual multimedia parameter based on the comparison of tangent slopes comprises selecting the visual multimedia parameter for which adjustment of the active setting will provide the least detrimental impact on user experience per unit reduction in power consumption; and

modifying the overall multimedia workload comprises reducing the overall multimedia workload such that the power consumption in the PCD is reduced.

27. The computer program product of claim 26, further comprising:

determining that an additional reduction in power consumption in the PCD is warranted;

based on the comparison of tangent slopes, selecting a second visual multimedia parameter;

adjusting the active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter, wherein adjusting the active setting modifies the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is further reduced; and

sharing the adjusted active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter with one or more companion PCDs.

28. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein:

determining an adjustment to power consumption comprises determining an increase in power consumption;

selecting a first visual multimedia parameter based on the comparison of tangent slopes comprises selecting the visual multimedia parameter for which adjustment of the active setting will provide the most positive impact on user experience per unit increase in power consumption; and

modifying the overall multimedia workload comprises increasing the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is increased.

29. The computer program product of claim 28, further comprising:

determining that an additional increase in power consumption in the PCD is acceptable;

based on the comparison of tangent slopes, selecting a second visual multimedia parameter;

adjusting the active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter, wherein adjusting the active setting modifies the overall multimedia workload such that power consumption in the PCD is further increased; and

sharing the adjusted active setting of the second visual multimedia parameter with one or more companion PCDs.

30. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the first visual multimedia parameter is selected from a group of parameters comprising a frame per second processing rate, a color depth setting, an image dynamics algorithm selection, a display brightness setting, and a resolution scaling ratio.