Signaling for addition or removal of layers in scalable video

• US 11,178,403 B2
• Filed: 12/24/2019
• Issued: 11/16/2021
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Narasimhan, Mandayam, Luthra, Ajay K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dhillon, Peet
• Application Number:
  US16/726,716
• Publication Number:
  US 20200137397A1
• Time in Patent Office: 693 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 19/156 Availability of hardware or computational resources, e.g. encoding based on power-saving criteria
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/187 the unit being a scalable video layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/30 using hierarchical techniques, e.g. scalability H04N19/63 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/31 in the temporal domain
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/34 Scalability techniques involving progressive bit-plane based encoding of the enhancement layer, e.g. fine granular scalability [FGS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/36 Scalability techniques involving formatting the layers as a function of picture distortion after decoding, e.g. signal-to-noise [SNR] scalability
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/46 Embedding additional information in the video signal during the compression process H04N19/517, H04N19/68, H04N19/70 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/70 characterised by syntax aspects related to video coding, e.g. related to compression standards
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234327 by decomposing into layers, e.g. base layer and one or more enhancement layers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2362 Generation or processing of Service Information [SI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/238 Interfacing the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. adapting the transmission rate of a video stream to network bandwidth; Processing of multiplex streams hybrid fiber coaxial [HFC] networks for downstream channel allocation for video distribution H04L12/2801; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; real-time communication protocols in data switching networks H04L65/00; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method of signaling individual layers in a transport stream includes: determining a plurality of layers in a transport stream, wherein each layer includes a respective transport stream parameter setting; determining an additional layer for the plurality of layers in the transport stream, wherein the additional layer enhances one or more of the plurality of layers including a base layer and the respective layer parameter settings for the plurality of layers do not take into account the additional layer; and determining an additional transport stream parameter setting for the additional layer, the additional transport stream parameter setting specifying a relationship between the additional layer and at least a portion of the plurality of layers, wherein the additional transport stream parameter setting is used to decode the additional layer and the at least a portion of the plurality of layers.

Claims

1. A method of signaling individual layers in a transport stream, in response to a request from a decoder, the method comprising:

(a) determining a plurality of layers in a transport stream, wherein each layer includes a respective transport stream parameter setting, wherein said plurality of layers and respective transport stream parameter settings are pre-encoded video in said transport stream;

(b) determining an additional layer not included in said pre-encoded video in said transport stream for the plurality of layers in the transport stream, wherein the additional layer enhances one or more of the plurality of layers including a base layer and the respective layer parameter settings for the plurality of layers do not take into account the additional layer;

(c) determining an additional transport stream parameter setting for the additional layer in response to said request from said decoder indicating whether said additional layer is supported by said decoder, the additional transport stream parameter setting specifying a relationship between the additional layer and at least a portion of the plurality of layers, wherein the additional transport stream parameter setting is used to decode the additional layer;

(d) signaling in at least one descriptor carrying syntax elements in said transport stream a transport stream parameters setting for each of said plurality of layers including said additional layer;

(e) signaling in said at least one descriptor an operation point that identifies said additional layer;

(f) signaling in an extension descriptor to said at least one descriptor at least one additional transport stream setting for said additional layer, said at least one additional layer transport stream setting including a hierarchy parameter indexing a dependency between said additional layer and at least a portion of said plurality of layers.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending the additional layer and the at least a portion of the plurality of layers with each respective transport stream parameter setting and the additional transport stream parameter setting to a decoder.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional transport stream parameter setting is included in a video descriptor in the transport stream.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective transport stream parameter settings for each of the plurality of layers in the transport stream are included in a video descriptor in the transport stream.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

setting a parameter in the transport stream indicating that additional layers may be added to the at least a portion of the plurality of layers in the transport stream.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the parameter in the transport stream indicates that the additional transport stream parameter setting will be included in the transport stream.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional transport stream parameter setting specifies layer specific information for the additional layer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional transport stream parameter setting specifies layer dependent information for the additional layer and the at least a portion of the plurality of layers.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional transport stream parameter setting includes a maximum bit rate for the additional layer and the at least a portion of the plurality of layers.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional transport stream parameter setting includes a maximum buffer size for the additional layer and the at least a portion of the plurality of layers.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the transport stream comprises HEVC, scalable HEVC (SHVC), multiview HEVC (MV HEVC), or combinations thereof.