Method and apparatus for altering the picture updating frequency of a compressed video data stream

• US 6,683,987 B1
• Filed: 03/08/2000
• Issued: 01/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: JVC Kenwood Corporation
• Original Assignee: Victor Company of Japan Limited (JVC Kenwood Corporation)
• Inventors: Sugahara, Takayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Couso, Jose L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dang, Duy M.
• Application Number:
  US09/521,662
• Time in Patent Office: 1,420 Days
• Field of Search: 382/235, 382/236, 382/238, 382/239, 382/232, 358/539
• US Class Current: 382/235
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/132 Sampling, masking or truncation of coding units, e.g. adaptive resampling, frame skipping, frame interpolation or high-frequency transform coefficient masking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/156 Availability of hardware or computational resources, e.g. encoding based on power-saving criteria
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/172 the region being a picture, frame or field
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/176 the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/40 using video transcoding, i.e. partial or full decoding of a coded input stream followed by re-encoding of the decoded output stream
• 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

A method and apparatus for altering the picture updating frequency within an MPEG compressed video data stream replaces the data of each of successive predictively encoded pictures of that data stream, such as all of the B-picture or all of the B-pictures and all of the P-pictures, with copy data which have been stored beforehand in a memory and which designate all of the macroblocks of each such replaced picture as being skipped macroblocks with respect to a corresponding reference picture, thereby ensuring that each such replaced picture will be decoded as a copy of the corresponding reference picture by a MPEG decoder apparatus. Alteration of the picture updating frequency of the stream of pictures expressed by the MPEG data stream can thereby be achieved very simply, while in addition the overall amount of MPEG data can be substantially reduced.

Claims

1. A compressed data processing method for reducing a picture updating frequency of a stream of picture data sets expressing respective compression-encoded pictures, said stream including picture data sets each containing prediction information expressing a compression-encoded picture as being predictively encoded with respect to a predetermined corresponding other one of said compression-encoded pictures as a reference picture, the method comprising:

preparing beforehand a copy data set whose contents indicate a compression-encoded picture as being identical to said corresponding reference picture, and

processing said stream of picture data sets to insert said copy data set to replace said prediction information in each of periodically occurring ones of said predictively encoded compression-encoded pictures, wherein

said stream is an MPEG compressed video data stream in which each of said reference pictures is an I-picture or a P-picture and each of said predictively encoded pictures is a P-picture or a B-picture, each of said pictures for which prediction information is replaced is a B-picture, and wherein said copy data set includes motion vector information indicating that an overall amount of picture motion of a B-picture with respect to a corresponding temporally preceding reference picture or with respect to a corresponding temporally succeeding reference picture is zero and motion compensated prediction error information indicating that respective amounts of motion compensated prediction error for all macroblocks of said B-picture are zero, to thereby specify all macroblocks of said B-picture as being skipped macroblocks.

2. A compressed data processing method for reducing a picture updating frequency of a stream of picture data sets expressing respective compression-encoded pictures, said stream including picture data sets each containing prediction information expressing a compression-encoded picture as being predictively encoded with respect to a predetermined corresponding other one of said compression-encoded pictures as a reference picture, the method comprising:

preparing beforehand a copy data set whose contents indicate a compression-encoded picture as being identical to said corresponding reference picture, and

processing said stream of picture data sets to insert said copy data set to replace said prediction information in each of periodically occurring ones of said predictively encoded compression-encoded pictures, wherein

said stream is an MPEG compressed video data stream in which each of said reference pictures is an I-picture or a P-picture and each of said predictively encoded pictures is a P-picture or a B-picture, each of said pictures for which prediction information is replaced is a P-picture, and wherein said copy data set includes motion vector information indicating that an overall amount of picture motion of a P-picture with respect to a corresponding temporally preceding reference picture is zero and motion compensated prediction error information indicating that respective amounts of motion compensated prediction error for all macroblocks of said P-picture are zero, to thereby specify all macroblocks of said P-picture as being skipped macroblocks.

3. A compressed data processing method for reducing a picture updating frequency of a stream of picture data sets expressing respective compression-encoded pictures, said stream including picture data sets each containing prediction information expressing a compression-encoded picture as being predictively encoded with respect to a predetermined corresponding other one of said compression-encoded pictures as a reference picture, the method comprising:

preparing beforehand a copy data set whose contents indicate a compression-encoded picture as being identical to said corresponding reference picture, and

processing said stream of picture data sets to insert said copy data set to replace said prediction information in each of periodically occurring ones of said predictively encoded compression-encoded pictures, wherein

said compressed video data stream is an MPEG data stream in which each of said reference pictures is an I-picture or a P-picture and each of said predictively encoded pictures is a P-picture or a B-picture, wherein a B-picture copy data set and a P-picture copy data set are respectively prepared beforehand, wherein said B-picture copy data set includes motion vector information indicating that an overall amount of motion of a B-picture with respect to a corresponding temporally preceding reference picture or with respect to a corresponding temporally succeeding reference picture is zero and prediction error information indicating that respective amounts of motion compensated prediction error for all macroblocks of said B-picture are zero, to thereby specify all macroblocks of said B-picture as being skipped macroblocks, wherein said P-picture copy data set includes motion vector information indicating that an overall amount of motion of a P-picture with respect to a corresponding temporally preceding reference picture is zero and information indicating that respective amounts of motion compensated prediction error for all macroblocks of said P-picture are zero, to thereby specify all macroblocks of said P-picture as being skipped macroblocks, and wherein a first processing mode or a second processing mode can be selectively established such that in said first processing mode each of the B-pictures of said MPEG compressed video data stream is replaced by said B-picture copy data set and in said second processing mode, each of said B-pictures of said MPEG compressed video data stream is replaced by said B-picture copy data set and each of said P-pictures of said MPEG compressed video data stream is replaced by said P-picture copy data set.

4. A compressed data processing method for processing a selected part of an MPEG compressed video data stream to produce successive overall picture displacement in a predetermined direction for a final displayed picture corresponding to said selected part, said selected part being formed of a continuous sequence of predictively encoded pictures, the method comprising:

preparing beforehand copy information which specifies one specific predictive encoding direction for a predictively encoded picture and contains information indicating a specific non-zero magnitude of a motion vector which applies to all macroblocks of said predictively encoded picture, and a specific direction of said motion vector, and information indicating that each macroblock of said predictively encoded picture has zero amount of motion compensated prediction error; and

processing each of said predictively encoded pictures in said selected part of the MPEG data stream to replace all motion vector information and motion compensated prediction error information of said each predictively encoded pictures with said copy information.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said selected part of the MPEG data stream contains a plurality of I-pictures, and wherein said method further comprises processing each of respective I-pictures which occur within said selected part of the MPEG data stream to produce a specific amount of displacement of a final displayed picture corresponding to said I-picture, with said amount of displacement being a continuation of successive amounts of final displayed picture displacement which are respectively produced as an effect of predictively encoded pictures which precede said each I-picture within a temporal sequence of the MPEG data stream.

6. A compressed data processing method for processing a selected part of an MPEG compressed video data stream to produce successive overall picture displacement in a predetermined direction for a final displayed picture corresponding to said selected part, said selected part being formed of a continuous succession of B-pictures and P-pictures, the method comprising:

preparing beforehand a P-picture copy data set which includes motion vector information for specifying a non-zero value of magnitude and a direction of a motion vector expressing an overall amount and direction of motion of a P-picture with respect to a corresponding temporally preceding reference picture, said copy data set further including motion compensated prediction error information which specifies zero amount of motion compensated prediction error for all macroblocks constituting said P-picture;

preparing beforehand a B-picture copy data set which includes motion vector information for specifying a non-zero value of magnitude and a direction of a motion vector expressing an overall amount and direction of motion of a B-picture with respect to a corresponding temporally preceding reference picture, said copy data set further including motion compensated prediction error information which specifies zero amount of motion compensated prediction error for all macroblocks constituting said B-picture; and

processing each of respective P-pictures in said selected part of the MPEG data stream to replace all motion vector information and motion compensated prediction error information of said each P-picture with said P-picture copy data set, and processing each of respective B-pictures expressed in said selected part of the MPEG data stream to replace all motion vector information and motion compensated prediction error information of said each B-picture with said B-picture copy data set.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said selected part of the MPEG data stream contains a plurality of I-pictures, and wherein said method further comprises processing each of respective I-pictures which occur within said selected part of the MPEG data stream to produce a specific amount of displacement of a final displayed picture corresponding to said I-picture, which said amount of displacement being a continuation of successive identical amounts of final displayed picture displacement which are respectively produced as an effect of B-pictures and P-pictures which precede said each I-picture within a temporal sequence of the MPEG data stream.