Enhanced multimedia capabilities in video conferencing

• US 8,560,641 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2011
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kjesbu, Snorre, Christensen, Espen
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Dustin
• Application Number:
  US13/016,337
• Publication Number:
  US 20110134206A1
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q

Abstract

The present invention relates to video conferencing and multimedia messaging, and takes advantage of the capabilities of the communication system to which the audio participants are connected, in order to increase the performance of all the participants in a mixed conference. In a preferred embodiment, the audio participants are provided with a MMS device, and a MMS Engine captures periodically, or at certain events, video conference data attached to MMS messages and addressed to the MMS device. In the opposite direction, the MMS device provides multimedia data to the conventional video conference participants by attaching the multimedia data to MMS messages, which are sent to the IP-addressable MMS Engine. The MMS Engine separates the multimedia data and converts it to a format compatible with the video conference. The converted multimedia data is then provided to video conference participants, and treated like any other multimedia stream included in the video conference.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a Multimedia Messaging System (MMS) Engine configured to enable MMS capabilities in a video conference, including one or more video participants associated with a respective video conferencing end point, and one or more audio participants associated with a respective MMS device,

said MMS engine including a processor that

captures an image or a sequence of video from a video stream used in the video conference at a predefined time interval or predefined event , said video stream originating from one or more video conferencing end points or Multipoint Control Units (MCUs),

converts said video conferencing data to a MMS attachable format,

attaches said converted video conferencing data to a MMS message,

inserts, into said MMS message, an address associated with the respective MMS device, and

transmits said MMS message according to said inserted address.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said predefined event occurs when a video source is changed, or when a difference between a previously captured image or a sequence of video and content generated from a data source is larger than a predefined threshold.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said predefined event occurs when a request for an updated image or a sequence of video is received from the respective MMS device.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said predefined event occurs when a video or audio participant leaves or enters the video conference.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image or the sequence of video is inserted in a corresponding MMS entry in said MMS message and said address is an address of a MMS server associated with said respective MMS device.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processor captures the image.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processor captures the video sequence.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the MMS Engine is incorporated in, or connected to, a Gateway, an MCU or an end point.

9. A method enabling Multimedia Messaging System (MMS) capabilities in a video conference including one or more video participants associated with a respective video conferencing end point, and one or more audio participants associated with a respective MMS device, comprising:

capturing, at an MMS engine, an image or a sequence of video from a video stream used in the video conference at a predefined time interval or predefined event, said video stream originating from one or more video conferencing end points or Multipoint Control Units (MCUs);

converting, at the MMS engine, said image or said sequence of video to a MMS attachable format;

attaching, at the MMS engine, said converted image or sequence of video to a MMS message;

inserting, at the MMS engine, into said MMS message an address associated with a respective MMS device; and

transmitting, at the MMS engine, said MMS message according to said inserted address.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein said step of inserting further comprises:

inserting the image or the sequence of video in a corresponding MMS entry in said MMS message, wherein

said address is an address of an MMS server associated with said respective MMS device.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein said capturing captures the image.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein said capturing captures the video sequence.

13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium encoded with instructions, which when executed by a processor of a Multimedia Messaging System (MMS) engine causes the MMS engine to execute a method enabling MMS capabilities in a video conference including one or more video participants associated with a respective video conferencing end point, and one or more audio participants associated with a respective MMS device, said method comprising:

capturing, at an MMS engine, an image or a sequence of video from a video stream used in the video conference at a predefined time interval or predefined event , said video stream originating from one or more video conferencing end points or Multipoint Control Units (MCUs);

converting, at the MMS engine, said image or said sequence of video to a MMS attachable format;

attaching, at the MMS engine, said converted image or sequence of video to a MMS message;

inserting, at the MMS engine, into said MMS message an address associated with a respective MMS device; and

transmitting, at the MMS engine, said MMS message according to said inserted address.