System and method for fine granular scalable video with selective quality enhancement

• US 6,263,022 B1
• Filed: 07/06/1999
• Issued: 07/17/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Philips Electronics North America Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Chen, Yingwei, Radha, Hayder, van der Schaar, Mihaela
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelley, Chris
• Assistant Examiner(s): WONG, ALLEN C
• Application Number:
  US09/347,882
• Time in Patent Office: 742 Days
• Field of Search: 348/397, 348/398, 348/405, 348/408, 375/240, 382/232
• US Class Current: 375/240.03
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/126 Details of normalisation or weighting functions, e.g. normalisation matrices or variable uniform quantisers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/29 involving scalability at the object level, e.g. video object layer [VOL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/34 Scalability techniques involving progressive bit-plane based encoding of the enhancement layer, e.g. fine granular scalability [FGS]

Abstract

There is disclosed an adaptive quantization controller for use in a video encoder comprising a base layer circuit for receiving an input stream of video frames and generating compressed base layer video frames suitable for transmission to a streaming video receiver and an enhancement layer circuit for receiving the input stream of video frames and a decoded version of the compressed base layer video frames and generating enhancement layer video data associated with, and allocated to, corresponding ones of the compressed base layer video frames. The adaptive quantization controller receives at least one quantization parameter from the base layer circuit and, in response thereto, determines a corresponding shifting factor for shifting a bit plane associated with the enhancement layer video data. The adaptive quantizaion controller also modifies a data field in the enhancement layer video data to cause the video streaming receiver to assign a higher decoding priority to the shifted bit plane.

Claims

1. For use in a video encoder comprising:

1) a base layer circuit capable of receiving an input stream of video frames and generating therefrom compressed base layer video frames suitable for transmission to a streaming video receiver, and

     2) an enhancement layer circuit capable of receiving said input stream of video frames and a decoded version of said compressed base layer video frames and performing bit-plane coding to generate therefrom enhancement layer video data associated with, and allocated to, corresponding ones of said compressed base layer video frames, an adaptive quantization controller capable of receiving at least one quantization parameter from said base layer circuit and, in response thereto, determining a corresponding shifting factor for shifting at least one bit plane associated with said enhancement layer video data and modifying a data field in said enhancement layer video data to cause said video streaming receiver to assign a higher decoding priority to said shifted at least one bit plane.

2. The adaptive quantization controller set forth in claim 1 wherein said at least one bit plane comprises an N×

M block of said enhancement layer video data.

3. The adaptive quantization controller set forth in claim 2 wherein said adaptive quantization controller modifies said data field to include said shifting factor and a mode indicator indicating that said shifting factor corresponds to said N×

M block of said enhancement layer video data.

4. The adaptive quantization controller set forth in claim 3 wherein said shifting factor is in the range from 0 to 2 bit planes.

5. The adaptive quantization controller set forth in claim 1 wherein said at least one bit plane comprises a plurality of related N×

M blocks of said enhancement layer video data.

6. The adaptive quantization controller set forth in claim 5 wherein said adaptive quantization controller modifies said data field to include said shifting factor and a mode indicator indicating that said shifting factor corresponds to said plurality of N×

M blocks of said enhancement layer video data.

7. The adaptive quantization controller set forth in claim 6 wherein said shifting factor is in the range from 0 to 7 bit planes.

8. The adaptive quantization controller set forth in claim 1 wherein said adaptive quantization controller modifies said data field to include a mode indicator indicating that no bit plane associated with said enhancement layer video data is being shifted.

9. A video encoder comprising:

a base layer circuit capable of receiving an input stream of video frames and gene rating therefrom compressed base layer video frames suitable for transmission to a streaming video receiver;

an enhancement layer circuit capable of receiving said input stream of video frames and a decoded version of said compressed base layer video frames and performing bit-plane coding to generate therefrom enhancement layer video data associated with, and allocated to, corresponding ones of said compressed base layer video frames; and

an adaptive quantization controller capable of receiving at least one quantization parameter from said base layer circuit and, in response thereto, determining a corresponding shifting factor for shifting at least one bit plane associated with said enhancement layer video data and modifying a data field in said enhancement layer video data to cause said video streaming receiver to assign a higher decoding priority to said shifted at least one bit plane.

10. The video encoder set forth in claim 9 wherein said at least one bit plane comprises an N×

M block of said enhancement layer video data and said adaptive quantization controller modifies said data field to include said shifting factor and a mode indicator indicating that said shifting factor corresponds to said N×

M block of said enhancement layer video data.

11. The video encoder set forth in claim 9 wherein said at least one bit plane comprises a plurality of related N×

M blocks of said enhancement layer video data and said adaptive quantization controller modifies said data field to include said shifting factor and a mode indicator indicating that said shifting factor corresponds to said plurality of N×

M blocks of said enhancement layer video data.

12. The video encoder set forth in claim 9 wherein said adaptive quantization controller modifies said data field to include a mode indicator indicating that no bit plane associated with said enhancement layer video data is being shifted.

13. A video decoder comprising processing circuitry capable of receiving from a streaming video transmitter a streaming video signal comprising compressed base layer video frames and enhancement layer video previously bit-plane coded data associated with, and allocated to, corresponding ones of said compressed base layer video frames, wherein said processing circuitry is further capable of detecting in said streaming video signal a data field for shifting at least one bit plane associated with said enhancement layer video data and, in response to said detection, assigning a higher decoding priority to said shifted at least one bit plane.

14. The video decoder set forth in claim 13 wherein said at least one bit plane comprises an N×

M block of said enhancement layer video data and said data filed comprises a shifting factor and a mode indicator indicating that said shifting factor corresponds to said N×

M block of said enhancement layer video data.

15. The video decoder set forth in claim 13 wherein said at least one bit plane comprises a plurality of related N×

M blocks of said enhancement layer video data and said data field comprises a shifting factor and a mode indicator indicating that said shifting factor corresponds to said plurality of N×

M blocks of said enhancement layer video data.

16. The video decoder set forth in claim 13 wherein said data field comprises a mode indicator indicating that no bit plane associated with said enhancement layer video data is being shifted.

17. For use in a video encoder comprising:

1) a base layer circuit capable of receiving an input stream of video frames and generating therefrom compressed base layer video frames suitable for transmission to a streaming video receiver, and

     2) an enhancement layer circuit capable of receiving the input stream of video frames and a decoded version of the compressed base layer video frames and performing bit-plane coding to generate therefrom enhancement layer video data associated with, and allocated to, corresponding ones of the compressed base layer video frames, a method of modifying an allocation of the enhancement layer video data among the corresponding ones of the compressed base layer video frames, the method comprising the steps of;

receiving at least one quantization parameter from the base layer circuit;

determining a corresponding shifting factor for shifting at least one bit plane associated with the enhancement layer video data; and

modifying a data field in the enhancement layer video data to cause the video streaming receiver to assign a higher decoding priority to the shifted at least one bit plane.

18. The method set forth in claim 17 wherein the at least one bit plane comprises an N×

M block of the enhancement layer video data.

19. The method set forth in claim 18 wherein the adaptive quantization controller modifies the data field to include the shifting factor and a mode indicator indicating that the shifting factor corresponds to the N×

M block of the enhancement layer video data.

20. The method set forth in claim 19 wherein the shifting factor is in the range from 0 to 2 bit planes.

21. The method set forth in claim 17 wherein the at least one bit plane comprises a plurality of related N×

M blocks of the enhancement layer video data.

22. The method set forth in claim 21 wherein the adaptive quantization controller modifies the data field to include the shifting factor and a mode indicator indicating that the shifting factor corresponds to the plurality of N×

M blocks of the enhancement layer video data.

23. The method set forth in claim 22 wherein the shifting factor is in the range from 0 to 7 bit planes.

24. The method set forth in claim 17 wherein the adaptive quantization controller modifies the data field to include a mode indicator indicating that no bit plane associated with the enhancement layer video data is being shifted.