Method and system for selectively viewing participants of a multimedia network conference
First Claim
1. A system for conducting a multimedia conference, comprising:
- a plurality of participants each providing multimedia conferencing data including a video signal and an audio signal;
a client in conference with the plurality of participants, the client capable of receiving the video signal corresponding to one of the plurality of participants at a time;
a participant selection control parameter stored in a memory for tuning a video switching stream behavior, wherein the participant selection control parameter affects an outcome of a weight computation, said participant selection control parameter received when the multimedia conference is set up, said participant control selection parameter having a static display constraint on a selection of a video signal;
a participant state table stored in a memory and indicating an activity state variable for each of the plurality of participants, said activity state variable including values and statistics associated with each of the plurality of participants'"'"' video signal and audio signal; and
a bridge server connected to the plurality of participants through a network and having a point-to-point connection with the client, the bridge server assigning a predetermined weight to at least one of the plurality of participants for a duration specified by the static display constraint, receiving simultaneously the multimedia conferencing data including the video signal from each of the plurality of participants, updating the activity state variable stored in the memory for each of the plurality of participants in the participant state table according to changes in a data information and a control information of each of the plurality of participants'"'"' video signal and audio signal, periodically computing a weight of said each of the plurality of participants based on the activity state variable of said each of the plurality of participants and the participant selection control parameter, identifying a participant having a highest weight among the plurality of participants, and selecting from the received multimedia conferencing data the video signal corresponding to the identified participant having the highest weight for transmission to the client for viewing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a network multimedia conference, a bridge service that functions as a proxy for a client to join the conference dynamically selects a video stream from multiple video streams originating from the other participants of the conference and sends the selected video stream to the client for viewing. The bridge service monitors conferencing events of each participant and updates conferencing activity state variables of the participant, such as whether the participant is being shown to the client, whether the participant is talking, how long the participant has been shown or not shown, etc. Periodically, a weight assigned to each of the participants is computed based on the state variables, and the video stream of the participant with the highest weight is then selected for viewing by the client.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for conducting a multimedia conference, comprising:
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a plurality of participants each providing multimedia conferencing data including a video signal and an audio signal; a client in conference with the plurality of participants, the client capable of receiving the video signal corresponding to one of the plurality of participants at a time; a participant selection control parameter stored in a memory for tuning a video switching stream behavior, wherein the participant selection control parameter affects an outcome of a weight computation, said participant selection control parameter received when the multimedia conference is set up, said participant control selection parameter having a static display constraint on a selection of a video signal; a participant state table stored in a memory and indicating an activity state variable for each of the plurality of participants, said activity state variable including values and statistics associated with each of the plurality of participants'"'"' video signal and audio signal; and a bridge server connected to the plurality of participants through a network and having a point-to-point connection with the client, the bridge server assigning a predetermined weight to at least one of the plurality of participants for a duration specified by the static display constraint, receiving simultaneously the multimedia conferencing data including the video signal from each of the plurality of participants, updating the activity state variable stored in the memory for each of the plurality of participants in the participant state table according to changes in a data information and a control information of each of the plurality of participants'"'"' video signal and audio signal, periodically computing a weight of said each of the plurality of participants based on the activity state variable of said each of the plurality of participants and the participant selection control parameter, identifying a participant having a highest weight among the plurality of participants, and selecting from the received multimedia conferencing data the video signal corresponding to the identified participant having the highest weight for transmission to the client for viewing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for selecting one video signal from a plurality of video signals for forwarding to a client, each video signal corresponding to a participant of multiple participants of a multimedia conference, said method comprising:
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when the multimedia conference is being set up, receiving a participant selection control parameter for the multimedia conference, said participant selection control parameter having a static display constraint of selecting the one video signal; assigning a predetermined weight to at least one of the multiple participants for a duration specified by the static display constraint; receiving simultaneously a multimedia conferencing data from the multiple participants, the multimedia conferencing data including the plurality of video signals from the multiple participants; monitoring participant events of the multimedia conference, said participant events associated with the multimedia conferencing data of the multiple participants, said participant events being generated in response to changes in a data information and a control information of the multimedia conferencing data received from the multiple participants; providing a participant state table associated with the multimedia conference indicating an activity state variable for each participant of the multimedia conference, said activity state variable including values and statistics associated with the participant'"'"'s multimedia conference data; updating at least one of the activity state variables in the participant state table according to the participant events; periodically computing a weight for each of the multiple participants based on the activity state variable of said each participant and the participant selection control parameter; identifying a participant having a highest weight among the multiple participants; and selecting from the received multimedia conferencing data the one video signal corresponding to the identified participant having the highest weight for viewing by the client. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification