Multipoint digital video composition and bridging system for video conferencing and other applications

• US 5,835,129 A
• Filed: 10/10/1996
• Issued: 11/10/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Southwestern Bell Technology Resources, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kumar, Arun
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F.
• Application Number:
  US08/728,423
• Time in Patent Office: 761 Days
• Field of Search: 348/14-17, 379/93, 379/96-98, 379/201, 379/202
• US Class Current: 348/14.09
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4084 in the transform domain, e.g. fast Fourier transform [FFT] domain scaling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

A flexible multipoint composition and bridging system is provided for video signal composition and bridging of a plurality of geographically dispersed locations. The system includes a centrally located bridging unit that receives video, audio and data signal substreams from each of the remote locations. Based on the data substreams from each location, the bridging unit resizes, cuts and pastes the various images into separate video montage images for display at each of the locations. The system enables users to optionally display video images or signals from one or more of the other locations within separate display windows at their respective terminals. The display windows can be zoomed, panned, scaled, translated, and partially or wholly occluded depending on a user'"'"'s preferences or needs. The video images may be composed in signal space or entirely in transform space. Further, the flexible multipoint bridging system may be used for various applications, including video conferencing and broadcasting.

Claims

1. A flexible multipoint composition and bridging system for bridging a plurality of users located at different terminal end locations of a communications network, each of said locations including terminal equipment for transmitting and receiving video images and data signals, said data signals including display configuration information for video images originating from at least one of said locations, said system comprising:

means for receiving said video images and said data signals from each of said locations;

means for generating respective video montage images for each of said locations based on said data signals received by said receiving means, said generating means including means for selectively resizing said video images received by said receiving means based on said data signals, and a plurality of frame composers for composing the resized video images and for producing said respective video montage images for each of said locations based on said data signals; and

means for transmitting said respective video montage images generated by said generating means to each of said locations so that said respective video montage images may be displayed by a display device provided at each of said locations,

whereby each of said terminal end location users may optionally and individually configure the respective video montage image displayed at their location based on said data signals transmitted from their location.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said generating means further comprises inverse transform means for performing an inverse transform operation to convert received video images represented in transform space to video images represented in signal space, and wherein said resizing means comprises means for selectively resizing said video images while said video images are represented in signal space.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein said inverse transform means comprises means for performing an Inverse Blocked Discrete Cosine Transform.

4. The system according to claim 2, wherein said generating means further comprises transform means for performing a transform operation to convert said video montage images represented in signal space into video montage images represented in transform space.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein said transform means comprises means for performing a Blocked Discrete Cosine Transform.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein said resizing means comprises means for selectively resizing said video images while said video images are represented in signal space.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein said resizing means comprises means for selectively resizing said video images while said video images are represented in transform space.

8. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for selectively inputting display configuration information which defines the manner in which said video montage images are displayed by said display device provided at each of said locations.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein said display configuration information comprises information regarding the position, on said display device, of a display window provided for components of each video montage image.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein said display configuration information comprises information regarding the relative depth, on said display device, of a display window provided for components of each video montage image.

11. The system according to claim 8, wherein said display configuration information comprises information regarding the size, on said display device, of a display window provided for components of each video montage image.

12. The system according to claim 8, wherein said display configuration information comprises information regarding the position, the relative depth, and the size, on said display device, of a display window provided for components of each video montage image.

13. The system according to claim 8, wherein said display configuration information comprises information for zooming, on said display device, components of said video montage image.

14. The system according to claim 8, wherein said display configuration information comprises information for panning, on said display device, components of said video montage image.

15. The system according to claim 1, further comprising said terminal equipment, wherein said terminal equipment at each of said locations comprises means for capturing video and audio teleconferencing information for transmission to other ones of said locations.

16. The system according to claim 1, wherein said terminal equipment at each of said locations comprises means for selectively inputting display configuration information which defines the manner in which components of each of said video montage images is displayed by a display device provided at said terminal equipment.

17. The system according to claim 1, wherein said generating means further comprises means for generating said respective video montage images in signal space.

18. The system according to claim 1, wherein said generating means further comprises means for generating said respective video montage images in transform space.

41. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for enabling different video montage images to be generated for each of said locations based on said data signals received by said receiving means.

19. A method for bridging a plurality of users located at different terminal end locations of a communications network, each of said locations including terminal equipment for transmitting and receiving video images and data signals, said data signals including display configuration information for video images originating from one or more of said locations, said method comprising:

receiving said video images and said data signals from each of said locations;

generating respective video montage images for each of said locations based on said data signals received, said generating including selectively resizing the received video images based on said data signals, and composing the resized video images in order to produce said respective video montage images for each of said locations based on said data signals; and

transmitting said respective video montage images to each of said locations so that said respective video montage images may be displayed by a display device provided at each of said locations,

whereby each of said terminal end location users may optionally and individually configure the respective video montage image displayed at their location based on said data signals transmitted from their location.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein generating said respective video montage images further comprises performing an inverse transform operation to convert received video images represented in transform space to video images represented in signal space, and wherein said resizing comprises selectively resizing said video images while said video images are represented in signal space.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein said performing of an inverse transform operation comprises performing an Inverse Blocked Discrete Cosine Transform.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein said generating further comprises performing a transform operation to convert said video montage images represented in signal space into video montage images represented in transform space.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein said performing of a transform operation comprises performing a Blocked Discrete Cosine Transform.

24. The method according to claim 19, wherein said resizing comprises selectively resizing said video images while said video images are represented in signal space.

25. The method according to claim 19, wherein said resizing comprises selectively resizing said video images while said video images are represented in transform space.

26. The method according to claim 19, further comprising inputting display configuration information which defines the manner in which said video montage images are displayed by a display device provided at each of said locations.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein said display configuration information comprises information regarding the position, on said display device, of a display window provided for components of each video montage image.

28. The method according to claim 26, wherein said display configuration information comprises information regarding the relative depth, on said display device, of a display window provided for components of each video montage image.

29. The method according to claim 26, wherein said display configuration information comprises information regarding the size, on said display device, of a display window provided for components of each video montage image.

30. The method according to claim 26, wherein said display configuration information comprises information regarding the position, the relative depth, and the size, on said display device, of a display window provided for components of each video montage image.

31. The method according to claim 26, wherein said display configuration information comprises information for zooming, on said display device, components of said video montage image.

32. The method according to claim 26, wherein said display configuration information comprises information for panning, on said display device, components of said video montage image.

33. The method according to claim 19, further comprising capturing, at said terminal equipment, video and audio teleconferencing information for transmission to other ones of said locations.

34. The method according to claim 19, further comprising selectively inputting display configuration information at said terminal equipment at each of said locations, the input display configuration information defining the manner in which components of each of said video montage images is displayed by said display device provided at said terminal equipment.

35. The method according to claim 19, wherein said generating further comprises generating said respective video montage images in signal space.

36. The method according to claim 19, wherein said generating further comprises generating said respective video montage images in transform space.

37. A flexible multipoint composition and bridging system for bridging a plurality of users located at different terminal end locations of a communications network, each of said locations including terminal equipment for transmitting and receiving video images and data signals, said data signals including display configuration information for video images originating from at least one of said locations, said system comprising:

means for receiving said video images and said data signals from each of said locations;

means for generating respective video montage images for each of said locations based on said data signals received by said receiving means, said generating means including means for selectively resizing said video images received by said receiving means based on said data signals, and a plurality of frame composers for composing the resized video images and for producing said video montage images based on said data signals; and

means for transmitting said video montage images generated by said generating means to each of said locations so that said video montage images may be displayed by a display device provided at each of said locations,

wherein said generating means further comprises inverse transform means for performing an inverse transform operation to convert received video images represented in transform space to video images represented in signal space, and wherein said resizing means comprises means for selectively resizing said video images while said video images are represented in signal space.

38. A method for bridging a plurality of users located at different terminal end locations of a communications network, each of said locations including terminal equipment for transmitting and receiving video images and data signals, said data signals including display configuration information for video images originating from one or more of said locations, said method comprising:

receiving said video images and said data signals from each of said locations;

generating respective video montage images for each of said locations based on said data signals received, said generating including selectively resizing the received video images based on said data signals, and composing the resized video images in order to produce said video montage images based on said data signals; and

transmitting said video montage images to each of said locations so that said video montage images may be displayed by a display device provided at each of said locations,

wherein generating said respective video montage images further comprises performing an inverse transform operation to convert received video images represented in transform space to video images represented in signal space, and wherein said resizing comprises selectively resizing said video images while said video images are represented in signal space.

39. A method for bridging a plurality of users located at different terminal end locations of a communications network, each of said locations including terminal equipment for transmitting and receiving video images and data signals, said data signals including display configuration information for video images originating from one or more of said locations, said method comprising:

receiving said video images and said data signals from each of said locations;

generating respective video montage images for each of said locations based on said data signals received, said generating including selectively resizing the received video images based on said data signals, and composing the resized video images in order to produce said video montage images based on said data signals; and

transmitting said video montage images to each of said locations so that said video montage images may be displayed by a display device provided at each of said locations,

wherein said generating further comprises generating said respective video montage images in transform space.

40. A flexible multipoint composition and bridging system for bridging a plurality of users located at different terminal end locations of a communications network, each of said locations including terminal equipment for transmitting and receiving video images and data signals, said data signals including display configuration information for video images originating from at least one of said locations, said system comprising:

means for receiving said video images and said data signals from each of said locations;

means for generating respective video montage images for each of said locations based on said data signals received by said receiving means, said generating means generating said respective video montage images in transform space; and

means for transmitting said respective video montage images generated by said generating means to each of said locations so that said respective video montage images may be displayed by a display device provided at each of said locations.