Signaling coding and display options in entry point headers

• US 7,924,921 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2004
• Issued: 04/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wu, Shuo-Jen, Regunathan, Shankar, Liang, Jie, Holcomb, Thomas W., Onders, Timothy E., Crinon, Regis J., Lin, Chih-Lung
• Primary Examiner(s): Ustaris; Joseph G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Werner; David N
• Application Number:
  US10/989,845
• Publication Number:
  US 20050123274A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,339 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240.16, 375/240
• US Class Current: 375/240.16
• 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 19/70 characterised by syntax aspects related to video coding, e.g. related to compression standards
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream

Abstract

A decoder receives an entry point header comprising plural control parameters for an entry point segment corresponding to the entry point header. The entry point header is in an entry point layer of a bitstream comprising plural layers. The decoder decodes the entry point header. The plural control parameters can include various combinations of control parameters such as a pan scan on/off parameter, a reference frame distance on/off parameter, a loop filtering on/off parameter, a fast chroma motion compensation on/off parameter, an extended range motion vector on/off parameter, a variable sized transform on/off parameter, an overlapped transform on/off parameter, a quantization decision parameter, and an extended differential motion vector coding on/off parameter, a broken link parameter, a closed entry parameter, one or more coded picture size parameters, one or more range mapping parameters, a hypothetical reference decoder buffer parameter, and/or other parameter(s).

Claims

1. In a computing device that implements a video encoder, the computing device including a processor and memory, a method comprising:

with the computing device that implements the video encoder, in a bitstream comprising plural layers, inserting plural different entry point segment control parameters in an entry point header below sequence layer but above picture layer in the bitstream, each of the plural different entry point segment control parameters affecting decoding or display of one or more pictures in an entry point segment of the bitstream, wherein the plural different entry point segment control parameters comprise;

a pan scan on/off parameter that indicates whether pan scan information is present,

a reference frame distance on/off parameter that indicates whether a reference frame distance syntax element is present in respective picture headers for selected types of pictures within the entry point segment,

a loop filtering on/off parameter that indicates whether loop filtering is enabled,

a fast chroma motion compensation on/off parameter that controls rounding of chroma motion vectors,

an extended range motion vector on/off parameter that indicates whether extended range motion vectors are enabled,

a variable sized transform on/off parameter that indicates whether variable sized transform coding is enabled,

an overlapped transform on/off parameter that indicates whether overlapped transforms are used,

a quantization decision parameter that indicates whether quantization step size is variable within a picture, and

an extended differential motion vector coding on/off parameter that indicates whether use of extended range coding of differential motion vector information is signaled for selected types of pictures within the entry point segment; and

with the computing device that implements the video encoder, outputting the entry point header as part of the bitstream.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the plural layers comprise an entry point layer, and wherein the entry point header is in the entry point layer.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the entry point segment comprises an entry point key frame, and wherein the entry point key frame is a P/I-frame.

4. In a computing device that implements a video decoder, the computing device including a processor and memory, a method comprising:

receiving, at the computing device that implements the video decoder, an entry point header comprising plural control parameters for an entry point segment corresponding to the entry point header, wherein the entry point header is in an entry point layer of a bitstream comprising plural layers, the plural layers also including sequence layer and picture layer, and wherein the plural control parameters include;

a pan scan on/off parameter that indicates whether pan scan information is present,

a reference frame distance on/off parameter that indicates whether a reference frame distance syntax element is present in respective picture headers for selected types of pictures within the entry point segment,

a loop filtering on/off parameter that indicates whether loop filtering is enabled,

a fast chroma motion compensation on/off parameter that controls rounding of chroma motion vectors,

an extended range motion vector on/off parameter that indicates whether extended range motion vectors are enabled,

a variable sized transform on/off parameter that indicates whether variable sized transform coding is enabled,

an overlapped transform on/off parameter that indicates whether overlapped transforms are used,

a quantization decision parameter that indicates whether quantization step size is variable within a picture,

a quantizer type parameter that indicates a quantizer used, and

an extended differential motion vector coding on/off parameter that indicates whether use of extended range coding of differential motion vector information is signaled for selected types of pictures within the entry point segment;

with the computing device that implements the video decoder, decoding the entry point header; and

with the computing device that implements the video decoder, decoding one or more pictures in the entry point segment based at least in part on the plural control parameters.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the plural control parameters further comprise a broken link parameter.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the plural control parameters further comprise a closed entry parameter.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein the quantization decision parameter indicates one or more layers of signaling for quantization step sizes.

8. The method of claim 4 wherein the quantization type parameter indicates a quantizer type for frames in the entry point segment.

9. The method of claim 4 wherein the plural control parameters further comprise one or more coded picture size parameters.

10. The method of claim 4 wherein the plural control parameters further comprise one or more range mapping parameters indicating how to scale samples of the one or more pictures in the entry point segment after decoding.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the one or more range mapping parameters comprise a luma range mapping parameter indicating how to scale luma samples of the one or more pictures in the entry point segment after decoding.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the one or more range mapping parameters comprise a chroma range mapping parameter indicating how to scale chroma samples of the one or more pictures in the entry point segment after decoding.

13. The method of claim 4 wherein the plural control parameters further comprise a hypothetical reference decoder buffer parameter.

14. In a computing device that implements a video decoder, the computing device including a processor and memory, a method comprising:

receiving, at the computing device that implements the video decoder, an entry point header comprising plural control parameters for an entry point segment corresponding to the entry point header, the entry point segment comprising plural frames, wherein the entry point header is signaled in a bitstream at entry point layer below sequence layer but above frame layer that includes frame layer syntax elements for the plural frames; and

with the computing device that implements the video decoder, decoding the entry point header;

wherein the plural control parameters comprise at least;

a reference frame distance on/off parameter that indicates whether a reference frame distance syntax element is present per frame for selected types of frames within the entry point segment;

a loop filtering on/off parameter that indicates whether loop filtering is enabled;

a fast chroma motion compensation on/off parameter that controls rounding of chroma motion vectors;

an extended range motion vector on/off parameter that indicates whether extended range motion vectors are enabled;

a variable sized transform on/off parameter that indicates whether variable sized transform coding is enabled;

an overlapped transform on/off parameter that indicates whether overlapped transforms are used; and

a quantization decision parameter that indicates whether quantization step size is variable within a picture.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the plural control parameters further comprise an extended differential motion vector coding on/off parameter that indicates whether use of extended range coding of differential motion vector information is signaled for selected types of frames within the entry point segment.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the plural control parameters further comprise a pan scan on/off parameter that indicates whether pan scan information is present in headers for frames within the entry point segment.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the plural control parameters further comprise a flag indicating whether a range mapping parameter is present in the entry point header.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the range mapping parameter is a luma range mapping parameter that indicates how to scale luma samples of the one or more frames in the entry point segment after decoding.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the range mapping parameter is a chroma range mapping parameter that indicates how to scale chroma samples of the one or more frames in the entry point segment after decoding.

20. The method of claim 14 wherein, for a current frame of the plural frames in the entry point segment, the reference frame syntax element indicates a distance between the current frame and a reference frame.

21. The method of claim 14 wherein the selected types of frames for which the reference frame distance syntax element is present are I/I, I/P, P/P and P/I type frames in the entry point segment.