System and methods for video and audio data distribution

• US 8,929,442 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2013
• Issued: 01/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Realtime Adaptive Streaming LLC (Realtime Data Compression Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Realtime Data LLC (Realtime Data Compression Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fallon, James J., McErlain, Stephen J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bocure, Tesfaldet
• Application Number:
  US14/134,933
• Publication Number:
  US 20140105271A1
• Time in Patent Office: 383 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240, 375/240.01, 375/240.02, 375/240.25, 375/E7.014, 341/51, 382/232, 382/166, 709/247, 710/68, 711/E2.001, 711/154, 370/477, 345/547, 345/555, 358/1.1, 386/E5.007, 386/555, 708/203, 713/100, 707/E17.001, 707/736
• US Class Current: 375/240.1
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 7/30 Compression speech analysis-synthesis for redundancy reduction G10L19/00; for image communication H04N; Expansion; Suppression of unnecessary data, e.g. redundancy reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 7/3084 using adaptive string matching, e.g. the Lempel-Ziv method
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 7/6094 according to reasons other than compression rate or data type
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/103 Selection of coding mode or of prediction mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/164 Feedback from the receiver or from the transmission channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/176 the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock

Abstract

Data compression and decompression methods for compressing and decompressing data based on an actual or expected throughput (bandwidth) of a system. In one embodiment, a controller tracks and monitors the throughput (data storage and retrieval) of a data compression system and generates control signals to enable/disable different compression algorithms when, e.g., a bottleneck occurs so as to increase the throughput and eliminate the bottleneck.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

decompressing at least a portion of a compressed data block that was selected from among a plurality of compressed data blocks,

wherein at least a portion of a data block having video or audio data was compressed with one or more compression algorithms selected from among a plurality of compression algorithms based upon a throughput of a communication channel and a parameter or an attribute of the at least the portion of the data block to create one or more of the plurality of compressed data blocks; and

storing at least a portion of the decompressed data block.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of compression algorithms is asymmetric.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving the at least the portion of the compressed data block over the communication channel.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein prior to decompressing, the at least the portion of the compressed data block was retrieved,

wherein the retrieval was based upon the throughput of the communication channel, and

wherein a portion of the at least retrieved portion of the compressed data block was transmitted.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least the portion of the compressed data block was retrieved and the at least retrieved portion of the compressed data block was transmitted in real-time.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein prior to decompressing, the at least the portion of the compressed data block was retrieved further based upon a user command, a number of pending access requests, a utilization of a buffer, a utilized capacity of a portion of a memory device, or a utilized capacity of one or more central processing units (CPUs).

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least the portion of the compressed data block was compressed, prior to decompression, based upon a user command.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a data decompression system configured to decompress a compressed data block; and

a storage medium configured to store at least a portion of the decompressed data block,

wherein at least a portion of a data block having video or audio data was compressed with one or more compression algorithms selected from among a plurality of compression algorithms based upon a throughput of a communication channel and a parameter or an attribute of the at least the portion of the data block to create at least the compressed data block, and

wherein at least one of the plurality of compression algorithms is asymmetric.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the data decompression system is further configured to receive at least a portion of the compressed data block over the communication channel.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein prior to decompressing, at least a portion of the compressed data block was retrieved based upon the throughput of the communication channel and at least a portion of the retrieved portion of the compressed data block was transmitted.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least the portion of the compressed data block was retrieved and the at least the portion of the retrieved portion of the compressed data block was transmitted in real-time.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein prior to decompressing, the at least the portion of the compressed data block was retrieved further based upon a user command, a number of pending access requests, a utilization of a buffer, a utilized capacity of a portion of a memory device, or a utilized capacity of one or more central processing units (CPUs).

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein at least a portion of the compressed data block was compressed, prior to decompression upon a user command.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the data decompression system is configured to decompress the compressed data block in real-time.

15. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein each of the plurality of compression algorithms is asymmetric.

16. A method, comprising:

decompressing a compressed data block,

wherein at least portion of a first data block having video or audio data was compressed with one or more compression algorithms selected from among a plurality of compression algorithms based upon a frequency of access of at least a portion of a second compressed or uncompressed data block to create at least the compressed data block, and

wherein at least one of the plurality of compression algorithms is asymmetric; and

storing at least a portion of the decompressed data block.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving at least a portion of the compressed data block over a communication channel.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more compression algorithms were selected from among the plurality of compression algorithms based upon a throughput of a communication channel.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein prior to decompressing, at least a portion of the compressed data block was retrieved based upon the throughput of the communication channel, and

wherein at least a portion of the retrieved portion of the compressed data block was transmitted.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein prior to decompressing, the at least the portion of the compressed data block was retrieved further based upon a user command, a number of pending access requests, a utilization of a buffer, a utilized capacity of a portion of a memory device, or a utilized capacity of one or more central processing units (CPUs).

21. The method of claim 16, wherein at least a portion of the compressed data block was compressed, prior to decompression, based upon a user command.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least the portion of the compressed data block was retrieved and the at least the portion of the retrieved portion of compressed data block was transmitted in real-time.

23. An apparatus, comprising:

a data decompression system configured to decompress a compressed data block,

wherein at least a portion of a first data block having video or audio data was compressed with one or more compression algorithms selected from among a plurality of compression algorithms based upon a frequency of access of at least a portion of a second compressed or uncompressed data block to create at least the compressed data block, and

wherein at least one of the plurality of compression algorithms is asymmetric; and

a storage medium configured to store at least a portion of the decompressed data block.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the data decompression system is further configured to receive the at least a portion of the compressed data block over the communication channel.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the one or more compression algorithms were selected from among the plurality of compression algorithms based upon a throughput of a communication channel.

26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein prior to decompressing, at least a portion of the compressed data block was retrieved based upon the throughput of the communication channel, and

wherein at least a portion of the retrieved portion of the compressed data block was transmitted.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the at least the portion of the compressed data block was retrieved and the at least the portion of the retrieved portion of the compressed data block was transmitted in real-time.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein prior to decompressing, the at least the portion of the compressed data block was retrieved further based upon a user command, a number of pending access requests, a utilization of a buffer, a utilized capacity of a portion of a memory device, or a utilized capacity of one or more central processing units (CPUs).

29. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein at least a portion of the compressed data block was compressed, prior to decompression, based upon a user command.