Multipoint digital video communication system
First Claim
1. A multipoint video communication system operable to support multiple window video environment, the system comprising:
- a) a plurality of video transmission nodes, at least one of which includes a multipoint encoder circuit, the multipoint encoder circuit comprisinga source of digital video data;
means for generating digital video data comprising a plurality of resolution levels from a video signal connected to the source of video data; and
an encoding device;
b) one or more video receiving nodes for receiving video data comprising a plurality of video sequences from a plurality of video transmission nodes, each video sequence comprising macroblocks of video data and further including distinct context information, the receiving node comprisinga decoder circuit operable to decode received macroblocks of video data;
means for providing to the decoder circuit context information corresponding to the video sequence of which each macroblock is part;
a display controller connected to the decoder circuit for driving a video display device; and
c) means for controllably connecting the plurality of video transmission nodes to one or more video receiving nodes.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The described video communication system incorporates multiple window display. One or more video transmission nodes provide macroblocks of video data available in a plurality of resolution levels. The transmission node encodes the macroblocks and assigns macroblock identifiers (IDs) to each macroblock. A receiving node receives a plurality of video sequences from a plurality of transmission nodes through a communication network. The receiving node thereafter eliminates macroblocks of video data that will not be displayed, such as in the case of portions of video that are hidden or overlapped. A macroblock translator also transforms the macroblock ID to a new macroblock ID which reflects the macroblock'"'"'s position on the display screen as dictated by the user'"'"'s window configuration. A decoder thereafter decompresses the video data one macroblock at a time, and provides the decompressed macroblock to a frame buffer. The frame buffer provides the window configured video data to a display.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A multipoint video communication system operable to support multiple window video environment, the system comprising:
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a) a plurality of video transmission nodes, at least one of which includes a multipoint encoder circuit, the multipoint encoder circuit comprising a source of digital video data; means for generating digital video data comprising a plurality of resolution levels from a video signal connected to the source of video data; and an encoding device; b) one or more video receiving nodes for receiving video data comprising a plurality of video sequences from a plurality of video transmission nodes, each video sequence comprising macroblocks of video data and further including distinct context information, the receiving node comprising a decoder circuit operable to decode received macroblocks of video data; means for providing to the decoder circuit context information corresponding to the video sequence of which each macroblock is part; a display controller connected to the decoder circuit for driving a video display device; and c) means for controllably connecting the plurality of video transmission nodes to one or more video receiving nodes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A multipoint decoder circuit operable to receive compressed video data corresponding to a plurality of video sequences to be displayed simultaneously in a windows format, each of the plurality of video sequences including context information, said context switchable decoder comprising:
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input means for receiving video data corresponding to a plurality of video sequences; a decoding means for decompressing the received video data; and means for providing video context information to the decoding means, the context information contained in the video sequence corresponding to the video data being decoded. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A video display system operable to receive packets of compressed video data, composed of frames, to be displayed in a windows environment, said video display system comprising:
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a depacketizer operable to receive packets of compressed video data corresponding to a plurality of video sequences and further operable to produce a stream of compressed video data corresponding to the plurality of video sequences, each video sequence comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of macroblocks, the macroblocks including a macroblock identifier representative of the macroblock'"'"'s location within the a frame of a video sequence; a macroblock eliminator connected to the depacketizer, said macroblock eliminator including means for eliminating video data corresponding to hidden portions of the plurality of video sequences; a macroblock translation means connected to the macroblock eliminator for translating the macroblock identifier into a new macroblock identifier representative of the macroblock'"'"'s location within the display corresponding to a user-defined windows configuration; and a context switchable decoding means connected to the macroblock eliminator, said context switchable decoding including means for decompressing the video data. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A multipoint video encoder circuit operable to produce compressed video data corresponding to a plurality of video sequences, each video sequence representing a different resolution level of one original video sequence, the multipoint video encoder circuit comprising:
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a source of digital video data constituting the original video sequence; means for filtering a digital signal connected to the source of digital video data; means for sub-sampling a digital signal connected to the digital signal filtering means; an encoding device; and means for preparing packets of encoded video data for transmission.
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28. A multipoint video encoder circuit operable to produce compressed video data corresponding to a plurality of video sequences, each video sequence representing a different resolution level of one original video sequence, the multipoint video encoder circuit comprising:
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a source of digital video data constituting the original video sequence; a first anti-aliasing filter connected to the source of video data; a first write controllable strip memory coupled to the first anti-aliasing filter; a second write controllable strip memory coupled to the source of video data; an encoding device; and means for preparing packets of encoded video data for transmission. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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30. A method of receiving video data corresponding to a plurality of video sequences, each video sequence comprising a plurality macroblocks and further comprising distinct context information, the video sequences to be displayed simultaneously in a windows format, the method comprising:
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a) receiving video data corresponding to a plurality of video sequences; b) employing a decoding device to decode one of the plurality of macroblocks from one of the plurality of sequences within the received video data; c) providing the decoder with context information that corresponds to the video sequence of which the macroblock being decoded is part; and d) repeating steps b) and c) for a plurality of macroblocks; and e) displaying the plurality of decoded macroblocks on a display device. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification