Method and apparatus for encoding or decoding audio or video frame data

• US 6,487,528 B1
• Filed: 01/06/2000
• Issued: 11/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sunflower Licensing LLC (IP Edge LLC)
• Original Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt Gmbh (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Vössing, Walter, Schreiber, Ulrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Dorvil, Richemond
• Application Number:
  US09/478,635
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• Field of Search: 704/500, 704/501, 704/502, 704/503, 704/504, 704/230, 704/201, 704/200, 704/229, 704/224, 381/307, 381/22, 381/23, 381/80
• US Class Current: 704/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/124 Quantisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/147 according to rate distortion criteria rate-distortion as a criterion for motion estimation H04N19/567
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/152 by measuring the fullness of the transmission buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/172 the region being a picture, frame or field
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/196 being specially adapted for the computation of encoding parameters, e.g. by averaging previously computed encoding parameters processing of motion vectors H04N19/513
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/46 Embedding additional information in the video signal during the compression process H04N19/517, H04N19/68, H04N19/70 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/70 characterised by syntax aspects related to video coding, e.g. related to compression standards

Abstract

For broadcasting purposes a multi-channel audio encoder board has been designed. A requirement for such encoders is that they are able to operate with different encoding parameters. It may happen that encoding parameters change during encoding operation. In order to avoid the output of invalid data the encoding parameters required for a specific processing path are added to the input streams for the audio channels and become linked with the associated audio data and are stored in various buffers together with its audio data, i.e. the corresponding encoding parameters are kept linked with the audio data to be encoded throughout the encoding processing.

Claims

1. Method for encoding at least one of audio and video frame data for which encoding parameters are required, including the following steps:

linking the required encoding parameters at the input of the processing with frames of said at least one of audio and video data to be encoded;

keeping the required encoding parameters linked throughout different subsequent stages in the encoding processing, wherein in each of theses stages the corresponding encoding parameters linked with current frame data to be processed are regarded in order to allow switching of the encoding parameters for any frame thereby avoiding encoding of invalid output data without reset.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the required encoding parameters become converted to a different format before being linked to the frames of said at least one of audio and video data to be encoded or decoded.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein to each stage an asynchronous buffer is assigned to an input of the stage and wherein the asynchronous buffer contains data fields including said at least one of audio and video frame data and the required encoding parameters.

4. Method according to claim 2, wherein to each stage an asynchronous buffer is assigned to an input of the stage and wherein the asynchronous buffer contains data fields including said at least one of audio and video frame data and the required encoding parameters.

5. Method for decoding at least one of audio and video frame data for which decoding parameters are required, including the following steps:

linking the required decoding parameters at the input of the processing with frames of said at least one of audio and video data to be decoded;

keeping the required decoding parameters linked throughout different subsequent stages in the decoding processing, wherein in each of theses stages the corresponding decoding parameters linked with current frame data to be processed are regarded in order to allow switching of the decoding parameters for any frame thereby avoiding decoding of invalid output data without reset.

6. Method according to claim 5, wherein the required decoding parameters become converted to a different format before being linked to the frames of said at least one of audio and video data to be encoded or decoded.

7. Method according to claim 5, wherein to each stage an asynchronous buffer is assigned to an input of the stage and wherein the asynchronous buffer contains data fields including said at least one of audio and video frame data and the required decoding parameters.

8. Method according to claim 6, wherein to each stage an asynchronous buffer is assigned to an input of the stage and wherein the asynchronous buffer contains data fields including said at least one of audio and video frame data and the required decoding parameters.

9. Apparatus for encoding at least one of audio and video frame data for which encoding parameters are required, and including:

means for linking the required encoding parameters with frames of said at least one of audio and video data, said linking means being arranged near the input of the apparatus;

means for converting time domain samples into frequency domain coefficients, to the input of which means buffer means are assigned;

means for calculating masking properties from said time domain samples, to the input of which means buffer means are assigned;

means for performing bit allocation and quantisation of the coefficients under the control of the output of said masking calculating means, to the input of which bit allocation and quantisation means buffer means are assigned,

wherein in said conversion means, in said masking calculating means and in said bit allocation and quantisation means the corresponding encoding parameters linked with current frame data to be processed are regarded in order to allow switching of the encoding parameters for any frame thereby avoiding encoding of invalid output data without reset.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the required encoding parameters become converted to a different format before being linked to the frames of said audio or video data to be encoded or decoded.

11. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said buffer means contain data fields including said at least one of audio and video frame data and the required encoding parameters.

12. Apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said buffer means contain data fields including at least one of audio and video frame data and the required encoding parameters.