Error correction and concealment during data transmission

• US 6,357,028 B1
• Filed: 03/19/1999
• Issued: 03/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Polycom Incorporated (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Picturetel Corporation (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhu, Qin-Fan
• Primary Examiner(s): Decady, Albert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Torres, Joseph D.
• Application Number:
  US09/272,792
• Time in Patent Office: 1,089 Days
• Field of Search: 714/748, 714/750, 714/751, 714/1, 714/3, 714/4, 714/18, 714/43, 714/56, 714/746, 714/747, 714/479
• US Class Current: 714/751
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1809 Selective-repeat protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1838 for semi-reliable protocols, e.g. for less sensitive applications such as streaming video buffer level management for video bitstream receiver H04N21/44004
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0092 Error control systems characterised by the topology of the transmission link
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/89 involving methods or arrangements for detection of transmission errors at the decoder
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6377 directed to server one-way streaming services wherein the source is controlled by the destination H04L65/613
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/658 Transmission by the client directed to the server

Abstract

A transmitting terminal transmits the data to a server and the server transmits the data to a receiving terminal. The server detects transmission errors in the data. If the server detects a transmission error, the server sends a request to the transmitting terminal for data correcting the effects of the detected transmission error on data affected by the detected transmission error. The server also sends the affected data to the receiving terminal prior to receiving the correction data. In other words, the server does not wait to receive the correction data before sending the affected data to the receiving terminal. Additionally, the server modifies the data received from the transmitting terminal to conceal the detected error from the receiving terminal.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting data from a transmitting terminal to a receiving terminal through a server comprising

transmitting data from the transmitting terminal to the server via a first network operating according to a first data transmission protocol;

detecting transmission errors in the transmitted data at the server;

sending a request from the server to the transmitting terminal, if a transmission error is detected at the server, for data correcting the effects of the detected transmission error on the transmitted data affected by the detected transmission error; and

transmitting via a second network operating according to a second data transmission protocol different from the first data transmission protocol at least a portion of the affected data from the server to the receiving terminal prior to receiving the correction data.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the server is connected between the first network and the second network and transmits data from one of the networks to the other.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the data comprises a plurality of packets.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the data is digital video data.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the digital video data is compressed digital video data.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the compressed digital video data is compressed by a compression technique including motion compensation.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein the detected transmission error comprises a loss of at least one packet.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the packets are consecutive packets of data identified by sequence numbers, and detecting the loss of said at least one packet includes detecting a missing sequence number.

9. The method of claim 3 wherein the data is digital video data, the method further comprising

determining at the server pixels of at least one frame affected by a lost packet, and wherein the request identifies at least a portion of those pixels.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein each of the affected pixels is from a single frame.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the pixels are from at least two consecutive frames.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising processing the transmitted data at the server to conceal the detected error.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising transmitting the data from the server to the receiving terminal according to a predetermined syntax and wherein processing the transmitted data comprises modifying the packets such that the transmitted data conforms to the predetermined syntax.

14. The method of claims 1 further comprising:

sending, in response to the request, data to the receiving terminal to correct the effects of the detected transmission error on the data affected by the detected transmission error.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the data is compressed digital video data compressed by a prediction based compression technique, and the detected transmission error comprises loss of data during transmission, the method further comprising

compressing the digital video data, using said compression technique, without relying on video data corresponding to data lost during transmission, to provide the data sent to correct the effects of the detected transmission error on the data affected by the detected transmission error.

16. A server for receiving data transmitted by a transmitting terminal via a first network operating according to a first data transmission protocol and transmitting the data to a receiving terminal via a second network operating according to a second data transmission protocol different from the first data transmission protocol comprising:

a receiver receiving data transmitted from the transmitting terminal to the server;

a detector detecting transmission errors in the received data;

a first transmitter sending, if a transmission error is detected, a request to the transmitting terminal for data correcting the effects of the detected transmission error on the received data affected by the detected transmission error; and

a second transmitter transmitting at least a portion of the affected data from the server to the receiving terminal prior to receiving the correction data.

17. The server of claim 16 wherein the server is connected between the first network and the second network and transmits data from one of the networks to the other.

18. The server of claim 16 wherein the data comprises a plurality of packets.

19. The server of claim 18 wherein the data is digital video data.

20. The server of claim 19 wherein the digital video data is compressed digital video data.

21. The server of claim 20 wherein the compressed digital video data is compressed by a compression technique including motion compensation.

22. The server of claim 18 wherein the detector detects the transmission error by the loss of at least one packet.

23. The server of claim 22 wherein the packets are consecutive packets of data identified by sequence numbers and the detector detects loss of said at least one packet by detecting a missing sequence number.

24. The server of claim 18 wherein the data is digital video data and the server determines pixels in at least one frame affected by a lost packet, wherein the request identifies those pixels.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein each of the affected pixels is from a single frame.

26. The system of claim 24 wherein the pixels are from at least two consecutive frames.

27. The server of claim 16 further comprising a processor processing the received data, prior to transmitting to the receiving terminal, to conceal the detected error.

28. The server of claim 27 wherein the data is transmitted by the server to the receiving terminal according to a predetermined syntax and wherein the processor processes the transmitted data to modify the packets such that the transmitted data conforms to the predetermined syntax.

29. The server of claims 16 wherein the transmitting terminal, in response to the request, sends data to the receiving terminal to correct the effects of the detected transmission error on the data affected by the detected transmission error.

30. The server of claim 29 wherein the data is compressed digital video data compressed by a prediction based compression technique, and the detected transmission error comprises loss of data during transmission, and wherein the data sent by the transmitting terminal to correct the effects of the detected transmission error on the data affected by the detected transmission error comprises digital video data compressed by said compression technique, without relying on video data corresponding to the data lost during transmission.

31. A system comprising

a transmitting terminal,

a receiving terminal, and

a server,

the transmitting terminal transmitting data via a first network operating according to a first data transmission protocol to the server for processing, and

the server detecting transmission errors in the transmitted data;

sending a request to the transmitting terminal, in response to one of the detected transmission errors, for data correcting the effects of the detected transmission error on the transmitted data affected by the detected transmission error; and

transmitting via a second network operating according to a second data transmission protocol different from the first data transmission protocol at least a portion of the affected data from the server to the receiving terminal prior to receiving the correction data.

32. The system of claim 31 wherein the server is connected between the first network and the second network and transmits data from one of the networks to the other.

33. The system of claim 31 wherein the data comprises a plurality of packets.

34. The system of claim 33 wherein the data is digital video data.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein the digital video data is compressed digital video data.

36. The system of claim 35 wherein the compressed digital video data is compressed by a compression technique including motion compensation.

37. The system of claim 33 wherein the server detects a loss of at least one packet as a transmission error.

38. The system of claim 37 wherein the packets are consecutive packets of data identified by sequence numbers and the server detects the loss of said at least one packet by a missing sequence number.

39. The system of claim 33 wherein the data is digital video data and the server determines pixels of a frame affected by a lost packet, wherein the request identifies the pixels.

40. The system of claim 39 wherein each of the affected pixels is from a single frame.

41. The system of claim 39 wherein the pixels are from at least two consecutive frames.

42. The system of claims 33 wherein the transmitting terminal, in response to the request, sends data to the receiving terminal to correct the effects of the detected transmission error on the data affected by the detected transmission error.

43. The system of claim 42 wherein the data is compressed digital video data compressed by a prediction based compression technique, and the detected transmission error comprises loss of data during transmission, and wherein the data sent by the transmitting terminal to correct the effects of the detected transmission error on the data affected by the transmission error comprises digital video data compressed by said compression technique, without relying on video data corresponding to the data lost during transmission.

44. The system of claim 31 further wherein the server comprises a processor processing the received data, prior to transmitting to the receiving terminal, to conceal the detected error.

45. The system of claim 44 wherein the server transmits the data to the receiving terminal according to a predetermined syntax and wherein the processor processes the transmitted data by modifying the packets such that the transmitted data conforms to the predetermined syntax.