Method for providing variable bit rate in streaming service

• US 7,054,365 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2000
• Issued: 05/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Uniloc 2017 LLC (FIG LLC (d/b/a Fortress Investment Group LLC))
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Hwang, Seung-Ku, Kim, Doo-Hyeon, Kang, Min-Gyu, Ahn, Sung-Ho, Kim, Hyung-Chul
• Primary Examiner(s): DIEP, NHON THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/752,667
• Publication Number:
  US 20020036704A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,979 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240.03, 375/240.04, 375/240.13, 375/240.16, 375/240.2, 375/240.23, 375/240.24, 375/240.28, 348/390.1, 348/410.1, 348/419.1, 382/232, 382/248, 382/250
• US Class Current: 375/240.2
• 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 19/159 Prediction type, e.g. intra-frame, inter-frame or bidirectional frame prediction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/164 Feedback from the receiver or from the transmission channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/176 the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/18 the unit being a set of transform coefficients
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/184 the unit being bits, e.g. of the compressed video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/59 involving spatial sub-sampling or interpolation, e.g. alteration of picture size or resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234309 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 or from Quicktime to Realvideo conversion of standards in analog television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234381 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. decreasing the frame rate by frame skipping
• 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 21/4143 embedded in a Personal Computer [PC]

Abstract

In the method for managing a variable bit rate so as to provide a streaming service and in the record medium capable of being read through a computer having a record of a program to realize the inventive method, a frame rate controlling system through a removal of a frame and a fidelity controlling system are used to change a bit rate of multimedia video data and thereby provide a multimedia streaming service based on the various bit rates according to a bandwidth change of a communication network, the fidelity controlling system being gotten by differently providing selection ranges for discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients in a unit of a block within a frame. This inventive method comprises a first step of decomposing an original video bit stream stored already, into a file type capable of supporting the variable bit rate, and then storing it; a second step of merging data based on the decomposed type by considering a traffic state of a communication network; and a third step of providing the streaming service by using the video bit stream merged, whereby effectuating in a use of an information communication system etc.

Claims

1. A method for providing a variable bit rate for a streaming service in an information communication system, comprising the steps of:

a) decomposing a stored original video bit stream into a plurality of files of a plurality of file types, and then storing the files, wherein each of the plurality of file types is defined by at least a picture type of a frame and a discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficient group;

b) merging selective files of the plurality of files and selective frames based on the decomposed file types by considering a traffic state of a communication network; and

c) providing the streaming service by using the video bit stream merged.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step a) decomposing the original video bit stream is gained by applying a frame rate controlling system through a frame removal and a fidelity controlling system in which selection ranges for a discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficient are differently provided in a unit of a block within a frame.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step a) includes the steps of:

a1) reading a bit column of a bit stream in a video data file stored at an original video storage;

a2) storing the bit column in case that the bit column is header information, after that, re-executing from the step a1);

a3) checking the picture type of the frame into which the bit column is contained in case that the bit column is data information;

a4) classifying the picture type into each of I picture type, P picture type and B picture according to the checking result of the step a3); and

a5) determining respective files on the bases of a group into which the DCT coefficient of the bit column is contained according to each picture type, and storing the bit column at the file of the group into which the DCT coefficient of the bit column contained.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the bit column of the step a2) is stored at the file of the I picture type at which minimum information capable of reproducing the original video bit stream is stored.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said step b) includes the steps of:

b1) reading the files stored in the step a);

b2) storing the file as a bit stream file in case that the file is a sequence end code, and checking whether or not the file is a picture start code in case that the file is not the sequence end code;

b3) checking whether or not the file is a sequence start code, in case that the file is not the picture start code in the checking result of said step b2);

b4) recording sequence header information at a generation bit stream in case that the file is the sequence start code in the checking result of said step b3), and re-executing from said step b1);

b5) deciding a quality of service in the communication network to which the bit stream is transmitted, in case that the file is not the sequence start code in the checking result of said step b3), and selecting a transmittable frame type and the DCT coefficient group; and

b6) generating the bit stream for the bit column contained into the picture type and the DCT coefficient group which are selected in said step b5), in case that the file is the picture start code in the checking result of said step b3).

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein said step b6) includes:

b6-1) checking whether there is a change in the quality of service of the communication network to which the bit stream is transmitted, in case that a granularity is 10;

b6-2) selecting the picture type and the DCT coefficient group corresponding to such a case that there is the change in the quality of service, after that, recording the header information, and re-executing from said step b1); and

b6-3) recording the header information in case that there is no the change in the quality of service or the granularity is not 10, and re-executing from said step b1).

7. A computer readable record medium storing instructions for executing a method for providing a variable bit rate for a streaming service in an information communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

a) decomposing a stored original video bit stream into a plurality of files of a plurality of file types, and then storing the files, wherein each of the plurality of file types is defined by at least a picture type of a frame and a discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficient group;

b) merging selective files of the plurality of files and selective frames based on the decomposed file types by considering a traffic state of a communication network; and

c) providing the streaming service by using the video bit stream merged.