Cooperative transcoding to multiple streams

• US 9,386,267 B1
• Filed: 02/14/2012
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chari, Santhana
• Primary Examiner(s): Czekaj, Dave
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kalapodas, Dramos I
• Application Number:
  US13/372,995
• Time in Patent Office: 1,603 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240.01, 375/240.07, 375/240.12, 375/240.16, 375/E07.126, 375/240.02, 375/240.13, 382/232, 382/236, 709/231, 725/62
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/31 in the temporal domain
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/33 in the spatial domain
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/40 using video transcoding, i.e. partial or full decoding of a coded input stream followed by re-encoding of the decoded output stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/51 Motion estimation or motion compensation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/14 Systems for two-way working H04N7/12, H04N7/173 take precedence

Abstract

This disclosure describes cooperatively transcoding an input signal to one or more output signals. The software and/or hardware logic modules are designed to work cooperatively in ways that can reduce the number and/or complexity of logic modules implementing a plurality of related transcodings of signal formats. By advantageously determining dependencies and sub-functions in transcoding an input stream to multiple output streams, hardware and/or software logic can be reduced. Reduced logic to implement multi-format transcoding improves the costs and/or capacity of systems for transcoding large numbers of streams and signals.

Claims

1. A method of transcoding an input signal to a plurality of output signals by a transcoding system, the method comprising:

receiving an input signal;

scaling a signal associated with the input signal by a first scaling factor to generate a first scaled signal;

scaling the signal associated with the input signal by a second scaling factor to generate a second scaled signal;

computing a first partial value based on at least input of the first scaled signal, the first partial value being determined so as to provide a common computing value between an output to subsequent encode operations and to one or more lower tier motion estimators;

determining a first tier motion estimate output based on at least the first partial value, wherein the first partial value represents one or more encoding functions associated with the first scaled signal; and

determining a second tier motion estimate input based on at least the first partial value, where each successively lower tier among a plurality of tiers of motion estimators is operable to use a respective tier motion estimate input received from a higher tier motion estimator along with a respective tier scaled input to calculate a respective tier partial value to be used to generate a respective tier motion estimate output and a successively lower tier motion estimate input for providing to at least a next lower tier motion estimator.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

determining a second motion estimate output based on at least input of the second scaled signal and the second tier motion estimate input;

wherein determining the second motion estimate output based on at least input of the second scaled signal and the second motion estimate input involves less computation than determining the second motion estimate output without consideration of the second motion estimate input.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of determining a second motion estimate further comprising the steps of:

computing a second partial value based on at least input of the second scaled signal and the second motion estimate input;

determining a second motion estimate output based on at least the second partial value; and

determining a third tier motion estimate input based on at least the second partial value.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising the steps of:

performing at least one other encode operation on the first motion estimate output to generate a first encoded signal; and

performing at least one other encode operation on the second motion estimate output to generate a second encoded signal;

wherein the other encode operation is at least one operation selected from motion refinement, macroblock coding mode selection, and bit rate control.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

decoding the input signal to generate a decoded input signal; and

de-interlacing the decoded input signal to generate the signal associated with the input signal.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of:

outputting a first output signal based at least upon the first encoded signal; and

outputting a second output signal based at least upon the first encoded signal and the second encoded signal.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the input signal is a constant bit rate MPEG signal comprising at least one audio stream and at least one video stream.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the first output signal is a variable rate MPEG signal.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the second output signal is a variable rate MPEG signal.

10. A transcoding system for transcoding an input signal to a plurality of output signals, the system comprising:

first tier logic module configured to perform a first transcoding from the input signal to a first output signal;

second tier logic module configured to perform a second transcoding from the input signal to a second output signal; and

at least one interface between the first tier logic module and the second tier logic module, where each successively lower tier among a plurality of tiers of logic modules is operable to receive input from a higher tier logic module along with a respective tier scaled input to calculate a respective tier partial value to be used to generate a respective tier output and a successively lower tier logic module input for providing to at least a next lower tier logic module.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the first tier logic module comprises at least a first scaler, a first motion estimator, and a first other encode operations module and wherein the second tier logic module comprises at least a second scaler, a second motion estimator, and a second other encode operations module.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the second scaler receives information from the first scaler that reduces the computational complexity of the second scaler relative to the second scaler performing computations without the information from the first scaler.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the second motion estimator receives information from the first motion estimator that reduces the computational complexity of the second motion estimator relative to the second motion estimator performing computations without the information from the first motion estimator.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the second other encode operations module receives information from the first other encode operations module that reduces the computational complexity of the second other encode operations module relative to the second other encode operations module performing computations without the information from the first other encode operations module.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein the first other encode operations module is capable of performing at least one operation selected from first motion refinement, first macroblock coding mode selection, and first bit rate control;

and

wherein the first other encode operations module is capable of performing at least one operation selected from first motion refinement, first macroblock coding mode selection, and first bit rate control.