BACKWARD-COMPATIBLE AGGREGATION OF PICTURES IN SCALABLE VIDEO CODING

Abstract

An indirect aggregator NAL unit for the SVC file format and RTP payload format for video coding. The indirect aggregator NAL unit of the present invention enables easy identification of scalability dependencies within a bit stream, thereby enabling fast and efficient stream manipulation. Furthermore, the indirect aggregator NAL unit of the present invention ensures that a base layer of the streams can still be processed with a H.264/AVC decoder, AVC file format parser, and H.264/AVC RTP payload parser.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the circuitry included in an electronic device that is capable of serving as an encoder or decoder to implement the functionality of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a generic multimedia communications system for use with the present invention; and

FIG. 3 shows an IP multicasting arrangement where each router can strip the bitstream according to its capabilities.

Claims

1. A method for encapsulating a scalable coded video signal including a base layer of a picture being decodable according to a first algorithm and at least one enhancement layer of the picture being decodable according to a second algorithm, comprising: encoding the base layer and the at least one enhancement layer into an access unit, the access unit including: at least one elementary data unit used for decoding, anda scalability information elementary data unit associated with at least a portion of the access unit,wherein the scalability information elementary data unit is configured to be ignored during decoding according to the first algorithm.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the scalability information elementary data unit is associated with a picture in the access unit.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the scalability information elementary data unit comprises information related to at least a portion of the access unit.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the information is selected from the group consisting of priority, temporal level, dependency order indicator, an indicator of whether elementary data units associated with a higher dependency order indicator require the at least a portion of the access unit for decoding, an indicator of whether the at least part of the access unit is a layer switching point wherein a different layer can switch to the current layer, and combinations thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising encapsulating the scalable coded video signal into a file.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the scalable coded video signal is encapsulated into the file according to at least one file format of an ISO base media file format, AVC file format, SVC file format, 3GP file format, and 3G2 file format.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising encapsulating the scalable coded video signal into a packet stream.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the packet stream comprises an RTP stream.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the scalability information elementary data unit is configured to be ignored by at least one of a H.264/AVC decoder, an AVC file parser, a H.264/AVC RTP depayloadizer, and a SVC decoder.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing the associated portion of the access unit from the coded video signal based upon the scalability information elementary data unit.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising stopping the processing of the associated portion of the access unit from the coded video signal based upon the scalability information elementary data unit.

12. A computer program product encoded on a computer-readable medium for encapsulating a scalable coded video signal including a base layer of a picture being decodable according to a first algorithm and at least one enhancement layer of the picture being decodable according to a second algorithm, comprising: computer code for encoding the base layer and the at least one enhancement layer into an access unit, the access unit including: at least one elementary data unit used for decoding, anda scalability information elementary data unit associated with at least a portion of the access unit,wherein the scalability information elementary data unit is configured to be ignored during decoding according to the first algorithm.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the scalability information elementary data unit is associated with a picture in the access unit.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the scalability information elementary data unit comprises information related to at least a portion of the access unit.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the information is selected from the group consisting of priority, temporal level, dependency order indicator, an indicator of whether elementary data units associated with a higher dependency order indicator require the at least a portion of the access unit for decoding, an indicator of whether the at least part of the access unit is a layer switching point wherein a different layer can switch to the current layer, and combinations thereof.

16. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising encapsulating the scalable coded video signal into a file.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the scalable coded video signal is encapsulated into the file according to at least one file format of the group consisting of ISO base media file format, AVC file format, SVC file format, 3GP file format, and 3G2 file format.

18. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising encapsulating the scalable coded video signal into a packet stream.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the packet stream comprises a RTP stream.

20. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the scalability information elementary data unit is configured to be ignored by at least one of a H.264/AVC decoder, an AVC file parser, a H.264/AVC RTP depayloadizer, and a SVC decoder.

21. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising removing the associated portion of the access unit from the coded video signal based upon the scalability information elementary data unit.

22. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising stopping the processing of the associated portion of the access unit from the coded video signal based upon the scalability information elementary data unit.

23. An electronic device, comprising: a processor; anda memory unit communicatively connected to the processor and including a computer program product for encapsulating a scalable coded video signal including a base layer of a picture being decodable according to a first algorithm and at least one enhancement layer of the picture being decodable according to a second algorithm, comprising: computer code for encoding the base layer and the at least one enhancement layer into an access unit, the access unit including: at least one elementary data unit used for decoding, anda scalability information elementary data unit associated with at least a portion of the access unit,wherein the scalability information elementary data unit is configured to be ignored during decoding according to the first algorithm.

24. An encapsulated scalable coded video signal, comprising: an access unit including an encoded base layer of a picture being decodable according to a first algorithm and at least one enhancement layer of the picture being decodable according to a second algorithm, the access unit comprising: at least one elementary data unit used for decoding, anda scalability information elementary data unit associated with at least a portion of the access unit,wherein the scalability information elementary data unit is configured to be ignored during decoding according to the first algorithm.

25. A method for decoding an encapsulated scalable coded video signal including a base layer of a picture being decodable according to a first algorithm and at least one enhancement layer of the picture being decodable according to a second algorithm, comprising: decoding the base layer and the at least one enhancement layer from an access unit, the access unit including: at least one elementary data unit used for decoding, anda scalability information elementary data unit associated with at least a portion of the access unit,wherein the scalability information elementary data unit is configured to be ignored during decoding according to the first algorithm.