Apparatus having lower data transmission rate and less degradation of image quality and method therefor

• US 6,798,915 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2001
• Issued: 09/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Yong-je, Suh, Jung-Wook
• Primary Examiner(s): Do, Anh Hong
• Application Number:
  US09/771,920
• Publication Number:
  US 20010050692A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,337 Days
• Field of Search: 382/232, 382/248, 382/249, 382/233, 380/29, 380/37, 709/201, 463/30, 345/43, 345/156, 345/157, 345/161
• US Class Current: 382/232
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/02 Handling of images in compressed format, e.g. JPEG, MPEG
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• 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 21/6377 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

An image display apparatus having a lower data transmission speed and less degradation of the image quality for displaying the image having a lower data-rate according to the state of a communications network and a method for enabling the same are provided. The apparatus, which transmits and receives data by way of the communications network, includes a screen size determiner which determines the screen size of image signals input according to control signals; an encoder which encodes the image signals according to the determined screen size; a controller which outputs control signals which determine the screen size by evaluating the state of the communications network and for transmitting the encoded image signals through the communications network; a decoder which decodes the image signals transmitted through the communications network; and a display which displays the decoded image signals.

Claims

1. An apparatus having a lower data-rate for transmitting and receiving data by way of a communications network, comprising:

a screen size determining means for determining a screen size of image signals input according to control signals;

an encoding means for encoding the image signals according to the determined screen size;

a control means for outputting the control signals which determine the screen size by evaluating a state of the communications network, and transmitting the encoded image signals through the communications network;

a decoding means for decoding the image signals transmitted through the communications network; and

a display means for displaying the decoded image signals.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control means outputs the control signals for determining a screen which is reduced in size by a prescribed multiple with respect to an initial screen size if the state of the communications network is not good.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the encoding means does not encode image signals of the screen reduced in size during the encoding.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the encoding means performs encoding in a black-and-white mode in which only a brightness signal among the image signals is encoded according to the state of the communications network.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the decoding means magnifies the image signals of the screen reduced in size during the decoding after a prescribed time has passed, and outputs the magnified image signals to the display means.

6. An apparatus having a lower data-rate for transmitting and receiving data by way of a communications network, comprising:

a screen size determining means for determining a screen size of image signals input according to control signals;

an encoding means for encoding the image signals according to the determined screen size;

a control means for outputting the control signals which determine the screen size by evaluating a state of the communications network, and transmitting the encoded image signals through the communications network by setting prescribed screen size deciding bits;

a decoding means for perceiving the existence of the setting of the prescribed screen size deciding bits, and magnifying and decoding the image signals, transmitted through the communications network, as the image signals of an initial screen; and

a display means for displaying the decoded image signals.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the encoding means does not encode the image signals of the screen reduced in size during the encoding.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the encoding means performs encoding in a black-and-white mode in which only a brightness signal among the image signals is encoded according to the state of the communications network.

9. A method for enabling a lower data-rate, comprising the steps of:

(a) determining a screen size of image signals input into a communications network;

(b) encoding the image signals according to the determined screen size, and transmitting the encoded image signals to the communications network;

(c) decoding the image signals transmitted through the communications network according to the screen size; and

(d) displaying the decoded image signals;

wherein the screen size is determined to be reduced in size by a prescribed multiple with respect to an initial screen size, if a state of the communications network is not good, and the screen size is determined to be the initial screen size, if the state of the communications network is good, in the step (a) of determining the screen size.

10. A method for enabling a lower data-rate, comprising the steps of:

(a) determining a screen size of image signals input into a communications network;

(b) encoding the image signals according to the determined screen size, and transmitting the encoded image signals to the communications network;

(c) decoding the image signals transmitted through the communications network according to the screen size; and

(d) displaying the decoded image signals;

wherein the image signals of the screen reduced in size during encoding in the step (b), are not encoded.

11. A method for enabling a lower data-rate, comprising the steps of:

(a) determining a screen size of image signals input into a communications network;

(b) encoding the image signals according to the determined screen size, and transmitting the encoded image signals to the communications network;

(c) decoding the image signals transmitted through the communications network according to the screen size; and

(d) displaying the decoded image signals;

wherein the encoding of the step (b) performs encoding in a black-and-white mode in which only a brightness signal among the image signals is encoded according to the state of the communications network.

12. A method for enabling a lower data-rate, comprising the steps of:

(a) determining a screen size of image signals input into a communications network;

(b) encoding the image signals according to the determined screen size, and transmitting the encoded image signals to the communications network;

(c) decoding the image signals transmitted through the communications network according to the screen size; and

(d) displaying the decoded image signals;

wherein the image signals of the screen reduced in size during the decoding of the step (c) are magnified after a prescribed time has passed, and decoded.

13. A method for enabling a lower data-rate, comprising the steps of:

(a) determining a screen size of image signals input into a communications network;

(b) encoding the image signals according to the determined screen size, and transmitting the encoded image signals to the communications network by setting prescribed screen size deciding bits;

(c) magnifying and decoding the image signals transmitted through the communications network as the image signals of the initial screen by evaluating the existence of the setting of the prescribed screen size deciding bits; and

(d) displaying the decoded image signals.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the image signals of the screen reduced in size during the encoding of the step (b) are not encoded.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step (b) performs encoding in a black-and-white mode in which only a brightness signal among the image signals is encoded according to a state of the communications network.

16. A method for enabling a lower data-rate, comprising the steps of:

(a) determining a screen size of image signals input into a communications network, based on a state of the communications network;

(b) encoding the image signals according to the determined screen size, and transmitting the encoded image signals to the communications network;

(c) decoding the image signals transmitted through the communications network according to the screen size; and

(d) displaying the decoded image signals.