System and method for compressing video frames or portions thereof based on feedback information from a client device

• US 9,314,691 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2009
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Perlman, Stephen G., van der Laan, Roger, Cotter, Timothy, Furman, Scott, McCool, Robert, Buckley, Ian
• Primary Examiner(s): SENFI, BEHROOZ M
• Application Number:
  US12/538,054
• Publication Number:
  US 20100166063A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,447 Days
• Field of Search: 348/387.1, 348/390.1, 348/423, 348/845, 348/419, 37524001-24024, 370230-235, 370252-253, 370260-261, 370/465, 370/468, 370/477
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/25 Output arrangements for video game devices
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/335 using Internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/355 Performing operations on behalf of clients with restricted processing capabilities, e.g. servers transform changing game scene into an encoded video stream for transmitting to a mobile phone or a thin client
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/358 Adapting the game course according to the network or server load, e.g. for reducing latency due to different connection speeds between clients
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/71 using secure communication between game devices and game servers, e.g. by encrypting game data or authenticating players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/407 Data transfer via internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/534 for network load management, e.g. bandwidth optimization, latency reduction
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/535 for monitoring, e.g. of user parameters, terminal parameters, application parameters, network parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/538 for performing operations on behalf of the game client, e.g. rendering
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/552 for downloading to client devices, e.g. using OS version, hardware or software profile of the client device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/577 for watching a game played by other players
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/107 between spatial and temporal predictive coding, e.g. picture refresh
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/132 Sampling, masking or truncation of coding units, e.g. adaptive resampling, frame skipping, frame interpolation or high-frequency transform coefficient masking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/146 : Data rate or code amount at the encoder output
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/169 : characterised by the coding unit, i.e. the structural portion or semantic portion of the video signal being the object or the subject of the adaptive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/172 : the region being a picture, frame or field
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/188 : the unit being a video data packet, e.g. a network abstraction layer [NAL] unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/436 : using parallelised computational arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 : in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2343 : involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 : by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 : for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2381 : Adapting the multiplex stream to a specific network, e.g. an Internet Protocol [IP] network transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25833 : involving client hardware characteristics, e.g. manufacturer, processing or storage capabilities allocation of resources considering hardware capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5044; allocation of resources considering software capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5055
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/266 : Channel or content management, e.g. generation and management of keys and entitlement messages in a conditional access system, merging a VOD unicast channel into a multicast channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2662 : Controlling the complexity of the video stream, e.g. by scaling the resolution or bitrate of the video stream based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6377 : directed to server one-way streaming services wherein the source is controlled by the destination H04L65/613
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/658 : Transmission by the client directed to the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6583 : Acknowledgement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 : Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/106 : for domestic distribution

Abstract

A computer-implemented system and method are described for performing video compression. For example, a method according to one embodiment comprises: encoding a plurality of video frames or portions thereof according to a first encoding format; transmitting the plurality of encoded video frames or portions to a client device; receiving feedback information from the client device, the feedback information usable to determine whether data contained in the video frames or portions has not been successfully received and/or decoded; in response to detecting that a video frame or portion thereof has not been successfully received and/or decoded, encoding a video frame or portion thereof according to a second encoding format; and transmitting the video frames or portions thereof to the client device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for performing video compression comprising:

receiving control signals by a first server, the control signals received from a client device over a network to the first server, the control signals corresponding to user input from an input device of the client device being actuated by a user as the user is playing an online video game;

executing the video game on the first server at a first hosting service center in response to the received control signals to generate video output comprising sequences of video frames of the video game;

receiving feedback information by the first server, the feedback information received from the client device, the feedback information configured to be usable to determine whether data contained in the video frames or portions thereof has not been successfully received or decoded at the client device;

encoding each of the video frames or portions thereof including;

dividing each of the video frames into a plurality of tiles;

selecting one of the plurality of tiles according to the feedback information received by the first server;

encoding the selected one of the plurality of tiles using a first encoding format, the first encoding format being independent of previously encoded video frames;

encoding remaining ones of the plurality of tiles using a second encoding format, the second encoding format being dependent on a previously encoded video frame;

generating a sequence of low-latency video frames, each video frame having the encoded plurality of tiles;

transmitting the sequence of low-latency video frames or portions thereof by the first server over the network to the client device.

2. The method as in claim 1

wherein, the feedback information includes an indication whether to encode a current video frame or portion thereof in the first encoding format or the second encoding format.

3. The method as in claim 2 wherein the feedback information is further usable to identify a previous frame or portion thereof successfully received by the client, wherein a new frame is encoded according to the second encoding format to be dependent on the previous successfully received frame.

4. The method as in claim 1 wherein the feedback information comprises an indication that the previously encoded frames or portions thereof have been successfully received or decoded at the client device.

5. The method as in claim 1 wherein the feedback information comprises an indication that the previously encoded frames or portions thereof have not been successfully received or decoded at the client device.

6. The method as in claim 1 wherein the sequence of low-latency video frames comprise images of a video game displayed by the display device coupled the client device.

7. The method as in claim 1

wherein the feedback information includes an indication that the sequence of low-latency video frames or portion thereof have been decoded at the client device and an indication that

images associated with each of the sequence of low-latency video frames or portions thereof have been displayed by a display device coupled to the client device.

8. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

determining a channel characteristic of a communication channel in the network between the first server and the client device.

9. The method as in claim 8 wherein the channel characteristic is determined from the feedback information received by the first server from the client device.

10. The method as in claim 8 wherein the channel characteristic comprises a maximum supported data rate of the communication channel.

11. The method as in claim 8 wherein the channel characteristic comprise at least one of a level of packet loss or a latency.

12. The method as in claim 8 further comprising:

dynamically adjusting at least one of the data rate or the compression ratio for the low-latency video frames based on a detected change in the channel characteristic.

13. The method as in claim 12 wherein the data rate or the compression ratio is adjusted by modifying a frame rate of the low-latency video frames.

14. The method as in claim 12 wherein the data rate or the compression ratio is adjusted by modifying an image resolution of the low-latency video frames.

15. The method as in claim 8 wherein when the image resolution is modified, the decoder on the client device scales up the image to maintain the same image size on the display device coupled to the client device.

16. The method as in claim 8 wherein when the communication channel in the network between the first server and the client device becomes inoperative, the first server pauses the video game.

17. The method as in claim 16 wherein when the communication channel becomes inoperative and the first user of the client device is playing a multiplayer video game, other users playing the multiplayer video game are notified that the first user has dropped out.

18. The method as in claim 17 wherein the multiplayer video game is paused for the other users when the first user drops out.

19. The method as in claim 8 wherein determining the channel characteristic comprises:

determining a maximum data rate capacity of the communication channel by sending an increasingly higher data rate stream to the client device until at least one of a packet loss or a higher latency indicates the maximum data rate capacity of the communication channel has been exceeded.

20. The method as in claim 19 further comprising:

determining that the maximum data rate capacity of the communication channel has decreased based on at least one of a detected increase in packet loss or an increase in latency while the low-latency video frames are being streamed to the client device; and

responsively and dynamically reducing the data rate or increasing the compression ratio of the low-latency video frames until at least one of the packet loss or latency have reached corresponding predetermined acceptable values.

21. The method as in claim 19 further comprising:

determining that the maximum data rate capacity of the communication channel has increased based on continued measurements of packet loss or latency; and

responsively and dynamically increasing the data rate or decreasing the compression ratio of the low-latency video frames until at least one of the packet loss or latency have reached a corresponding predetermined unacceptable level.

22. The method as in claim 8 wherein data packets containing the low-latency video frames are received by the client device in a different order than in which the received video frames are displayed on the display device coupled to the client device.

23. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

employing forward error correction (FEC) techniques to protect at least one of a specified low-latency video frames or portions thereof or the control signals received by the first server from the client device.

24. The method as in claim 23 where the forward error correction (FEC) techniques are only employed to the extent required based on a detected maximum data rate capacity of the communication channel between the client device and the first server.

26. The system as in claim 15 wherein, the feedback information includes an indication whether to encode a current video frame or portion thereof in the first encoding format or the second encoding format.

27. The system as in claim 26 wherein the feedback information is further usable to identify a previous frame successfully received by the client, wherein at least a portion of a new frame in the sequence of low-latency video frames is encoded according to the second encoding format to be dependent on a corresponding portion of the previous successfully received frame.

31. The system as in claim 1 wherein the feedback information includes an indication that the sequence of low-latency video frames or portion thereof have been decoded at the client device and an indication that images associated with each of the sequence of low-latency video frames or portions thereof have been displayed by a display device coupled to the client device.

25. A system for playing an online video game comprising:

a hosting service center including a plurality of servers, the plurality of servers including a first server, the first server including;

a memory system,

a processor,

a video frame encoder,

the first server hosting and executing a video game according to a control signal received by the first server from a client device, the control signal corresponding to a user input to the client device, the client device coupled to the first server by a network, the first server configured to output a sequence of video frames of the executed video game and transmit to the client device, the first server configured to receive feedback information from the client device, the video frame encoder configured for encoding the sequence of video frames transmitted to the client device according to the feedback information wherein encoding the sequences of video frames includes;

dividing each of the sequence of video frames into a plurality of tiles,

selecting one of the plurality of tiles according to the feedback information received by the first server,

encoding the selected one of the plurality of tiles using a first encoding format, the first encoding format being independent of previously encoded video frames,

encoding remaining ones of the plurality of tiles using a second encoding format the encoded plurality of tiles , the second encoding format being dependent on a previously encoded video frame, and

generating a sequence of low-latency video frames with the encoded plurality of tiles.

28. The system as in claim 25 wherein the feedback information comprises an indication that the previously encoded frames or portions thereof have been successfully received or decoded at the client device.

29. The system as in claim 25 wherein the feedback information comprises an indication that the previously encoded frames or portions thereof have not been successfully received or decoded at the client device.

30. The system as in claim 25 wherein the sequence of low-latency video frames comprise images of a video game displayed by the display device coupled to the client device.