Compressing high resolution images in a low resolution video

• US 8,019,167 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2007
• Issued: 09/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Human Monitoring Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Human Monitoring Ltd.
• Inventors: Dvir, Ira, Rabinowitz, Nitzan
• Primary Examiner(s): Couso; Jose
• Application Number:
  US11/882,811
• Publication Number:
  US 20080159639A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,499 Days
• Field of Search: 382/232, 382/236, 382239-240, 382/248, 382/250, 382/238, 341 50- 51, 37524002-24003, 375/240.1, 375/240.11, 375/240.13, 375/240.16, 375/240.18, 375/240.2, 375/240.24, 375/240.12, 348/390.1, 348/404.1, 348/407.1, 348/416.1, 348/420.1, 348/424.1, 348/430.1, 348/431.1, 348/394.1, 715723-726, 715/799, 725/38
• US Class Current: 382/232
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/119 Adaptive subdivision aspects, e.g. subdivision of a picture into rectangular or non-rectangular coding blocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/126 Details of normalisation or weighting functions, e.g. normalisation matrices or variable uniform quantisers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/14 Coding unit complexity, e.g. amount of activity or edge presence estimation H04N19/146 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/17 the unit being an image region, e.g. an object
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/176 the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/187 the unit being a scalable video layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/194 involving only two passes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/423 characterised by memory arrangements H04N19/433 takes precedence
• 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 19/60 using transform coding
• 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

Abstract

A method for compressing an image as a sequence of video frames, comprising dividing the image into a plurality of tiles and compressing a tile, or part thereof, as a frame in the video sequence.

Claims

1. A computerized method for compressing a still image as a sequence of video frames using a processor, comprising:

(a) providing a still image which is not part of a sequence of video frames;

(b) dividing the still image into a plurality of tiles;

(c) compressing each tile of said plurality of tiles, or part thereof, as a separate frame;

(d) generating a sequence of video frames wherein each of the plurality of tiles is set as a separate video frame; and

(e) outputting the video sequence from the processor.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the compression comprises a spatial and/or temporal and/or motion compression.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the compression is responsive to the geometry and/or entropy and/or entropy deficiency of a tile or part thereof.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein different tiles of said plurality of tiles are compressed in different compression levels.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the compression comprises:

(a) dividing a tile into a plurality of blocks;

(b) compressing a one or more blocks in a frame;

wherein

(c) a block size and/or shape is responsive to the compression level of a tile and/or compression ratio and/or required bit-rate and/or contents of the still image or part thereof.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein a block extent parallel to the still image dimension comprises at least one of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 pixels.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the video sequence comprises metadata comprising information on the correspondence between a frame and a tile in the still image.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the compression uses an existing equipment and/or software.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the equipment comprises a chip-set.

10. A method according to claim 8, wherein the equipment comprises a standard codec or part thereof.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the codec is compatible with a standard video format.

12. A method of decoding the still image compressed according to claim 1, comprising:

(a) decoding frames of the video sequence as tiles of the still image; and

(b) combining the tiles according to their relative positions in the still image.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the decompression uses an existing equipment and/or software.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the equipment comprises a standard codec or part thereof.

15. A method according to claim 10, wherein the codec is compatible with a standard video format.

16. A computerized method of using a processor for a scalable compression of a still image in a sequence of video frames, comprising:

(a) providing a still image which is not part of a sequence of video frames;

(b) dividing the still image into a plurality of tiles;

(c) compressing a plurality of duplicate tiles each of another of said plurality of tiles, or part thereof,

(d) generating a sequence of video frames wherein each duplicate tile of said plurality of duplicate tiles is set as a separate video frame in a video sequence; and

(e) outputting the video sequence from the processor.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein duplicate tiles are compressed as an I-frame and at least one P-frame which comprises a spatial and/or temporal compression of a difference between a duplicate tile and a decoded I-frame or a difference between a duplicate tile and a combination of preceding reconstructed frames.

18. A method according to claim 16, wherein the video sequence comprises metadata comprising information on the correspondence between a frame and a tile in the still image.

19. A method according to claim 16, wherein the compression uses an existing equipment and/or software.

20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the equipment comprises a chip-set.

21. A method according to claim 19, wherein the equipment comprises a standard codec or part thereof.

22. A method of decoding the still image compressed according to claim 16, comprising:

(a) decoding frames of the video sequence as tiles of the still image; and

(b) combining the tiles according to their relative positions in the still image.

23. A method according to claim 22, wherein the still image is decompressed responsive to the compression levels of a plurality of compressed duplicate tiles, comprising

(a) determining frames or combination of frames that provide an acceptable or available compressed details;

(b) decoding the determined frames or frames as a tile of the still image; and

(c) combining the tile according to its relative position in the still image.

24. A method according to claim 22, wherein metadata is used to locate the relative position of a tile in the still image.

25. A method according to claim 16, wherein the decompression uses an existing equipment and/or software.

26. A method according to claim 25, wherein the equipment comprises a standard codec or part thereof.

27. A computerized method of using a processor for an intermittent compression of a still image in a sequence of video frames, comprising:

(a) determining a row or a column of pixels in a still image which is not part of a sequence of video frames;

(b) generating a sequence of a plurality of video frames by wherein the row or the column of pixels is compressed in a different video frame of said plurality of video frames; and

(c) outputting the video sequence from the processor.

28. A method according to claim 27, wherein a row or column comprises one or more rows or columns or part thereof.

29. A method according to claim 27, wherein the compression is carried out synchronously with a piece-wise acquisition of the still image.