Decoding apparatus using tool information for constructing a decoding algorithm

• US 6,687,409 B1
• Filed: 09/29/1999
• Issued: 02/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sato, Seiji, Uchiumi, Tadashi, Koizumi, Noritaka, Makiyama, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Boudreau, Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHERALI, ISHRAT I
• Application Number:
  US09/407,880
• Time in Patent Office: 1,588 Days
• Field of Search: 382/238-240, 382/232-233, 382/236, 358/432-433, 358/426-428, 358/430, 358/426.16, 358/426.11, 375/240, 375/240.02, 375/240.1, 375/240.16, 375/240.11, 375/240.12, 375/240.13, 375/240.25, 375/240.19, 375/240.2, 348/473, 348/14.12, 348/390--39, 348/404.1, 709/247, 370/311, 379/39
• US Class Current: 382/239
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/00 Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/12 Selection from among a plurality of transforms or standards, e.g. selection between discrete cosine transform [DCT] and sub-band transform or selection between H.263 and H.264
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/156 Availability of hardware or computational resources, e.g. encoding based on power-saving criteria
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/164 Feedback from the receiver or from the transmission channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/44 Decoders specially adapted therefor, e.g. video decoders which are asymmetric with respect to the encoder
• 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 19/51 Motion estimation or motion compensation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/523 with sub-pixel accuracy
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/82 involving filtering within a prediction loop
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25858 involving client software characteristics, e.g. OS identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2662 Controlling the complexity of the video stream, e.g. by scaling the resolution or bitrate of the video stream based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8193 dedicated tools, e.g. video decoder software or IPMP tool

Abstract

A coding and decoding apparatus is constructed so that the coding side transmits coded data together with identifying information for identifying the device of decoding the coded data, and the decoding side is capable of storing a number of decoding schemes so as to perform decoding based on one of the previously stored schemes. The apparatus further has devices for storing the received tools and tool-correspondent information which numerically represents the capacities of the tools so that it can make a comparison between the decoding capacity and the processing capacities of the tools to determine the possibility of the operations of the received tools. Further, a set of the tools are hierarchized so that the coded data produced by the n-ranked tool can be decoded by the (n+1)-ranked tool. Alternatively, the tools are defined in a hierarchical manner so that the decoding tools installed in the decoding apparatus will be able to assure the minimum quality and the requested decoding process can be performed by the received decoding tool. Further, the identification code of the decoding scheme used can be transmitted as required so that the decoding scheme can be expanded by transmitting the differential information from the basic decoding scheme.

Claims

1. A receiving and decoding apparatus of coded image data, comprising:

a receiver for receiving coded image data and tool information indicating functional tools constituting a decoding algorithm for decoding the coded image data;

a storage device for storing previously defined functional tools;

a selector for individually selecting at least one tool from the stored previously defined tools based on the tool information;

a decoder for decoding the received coded image data by applying the decoding algorithm constructed from at least one selected tool; and

a video output unit for outputting decoded image data to a display device.

3. The receiving and decoding apparatus of coded image data according to claim 1, wherein the tool information indicating functional tools for constituting the decoding algorithm is associated with supplemental information as to processing resources required for execution of the tools.

4. The receiving and decoding apparatus of coded image data according to claim 3, wherein the supplemental information as to processing resources for tools is in the form of numeric data.

2. A coded image data-decoding apparatus, comprising:

a receiver for receiving coded image data and an identifier of tools usable for constructing a decoding algorithm for decoding the coded image data;

a storage device for storing the tools and resource information representing processing resources required for execution of individual ones of the stored tools;

a selector for selecting a group of the tools to construct the decoding algorithm based on the input information indicating the tools and calculating a sum of processing resources of the group of tools and comparing the calculated sum with a decoding capacity of the decoding apparatus; and

construction means for constructing the decoding algorithm capable of being processed by the decoding apparatus, based on the comparison, and

a decoder for decoding received coded image data applying the decoding algorithm constructed by the constructing means.

5. A coded image data-decoding apparatus, comprising:

a receiver for receiving coded image data and tools constituting a decoding algorithm for decoding the coded image data and information identifying tools;

a storage device for storing functional tools;

an issuer for individually issuing a tool request for lacking tools at the coded image data decoding apparatus by comparing the input information identifying tools with stored tools; and

a decoder for constructing the decoding algorithm from at least one functional tool and decoding the coded image data by applying the constructed decoding algorithm.