Patent Grant
8055974
The present invention relates to a technology for content distribution via a network, and more particularly to a method for performing transmission of encoded data over a transmission path so as to have the tolerance for data-loss, a method for storing data in a recording device so as to have the tolerance, an encoded data reception and decoding method, and an apparatus, system, and program therefor.
Recently, the widespread use of the Internet makes content distribution more popular where content, including moving pictures and audios, is distributed and played back via an IP (Internet Protocol) network. In the distribution of this kind, in order to improve the transmission efficiency of for example moving pictures, highly efficient compression encoding scheme based on the inter-frame prediction is used in many cases. In those schemes, predictive parameters, acquired by predicting the encoded images from the temporally preceding and following frames, and predictive residual image data are encoded to reduce the amount information of temporally correlated moving picture data. In addition, the high compression and encoding of predictive residual image data through transform-coding and quantization enables content data to be transmitted using a small amount of transmission bandwidth.
Typical exemplary transmissions use compression and encoding schemes such as MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group)-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4. In those compression encoding schemes, inter-frame prediction is performed for an input image frame for each fixed-size rectangular area, called a macro block, through motion compensation, and the obtained motion vectors and the signal data, generated by compressing the predictive residual image data through the two-dimensional discrete cosine transform and quantization, are subjected to variable-length coding.
Effective compression encoding schemes based on the inter-frame prediction, such as AAC (Advanced Audio Codec), are also available for audios to enable content distribution that uses the transmission bandwidth efficiently.
Encoded data encoded by an encoder is stored in a storage device in a file format described in Non-Patent Document 2 or Non-Patent Document 3 that will be described later. The encoded data is converted to packets by the distribution server using a method such as RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol) described in Non-Patent Document 1, which will be described later, for distribution to a client via an IP network. The client obtains the encoded data from the received packets and decodes the data to reproduce videos and audios.
On an IP network, there is a possibility that distributed packets are lost. In particular, the possibility of packet loss is higher when the network is wireless.
And, when even a part of content data is lost, a client cannot completely decode videos and audios with the result that the videos or audios are disturbed by interferences or noises or sometimes cannot be reproduced at all. This effect is particularly obvious in encoded data based on the inter-frame prediction, and interferences or noises propagate in the time direction.
To restore lost packets, the following methods are used.
Retransmission is a method for requesting the distribution side to redistribute a packet, which is lost on the client side, to re-distribute the packet. Note that the retransmission cannot be used on a transmission line that has no uplink.
The FEC is a technique in which the distribution side transmits encoded data and the FEC data (error correction data) in advance and, when a packet is lost, the FEC data is calculated to restore the lost packet.
The multiple-packet transmission is a method in which a packet containing the same information is transmitted multiple times to reduce the probability of packet loss.
Another known configuration is that multiple encoders are used to generate the encoded data of audio data at different compression rates at the same time for transmission over a packet-based network such as an IP network (for example, Patent Document 1 that will be described later).
Conventionally, when the FEC is used for content distribution, the distribution server is required to generate FEC data in real time at the time of transmission. The problem with this technique is that, when the number of clients is increased, the computation resources are used up for generating FEC data.
In addition, through there are many schemes for generating FEC data, which scheme to use is fixed because it is dependent on the distribution server. This results in the decrease of flexibility to make it difficult to change the FEC scheme according to the characteristics of the transmission line.
On the other hand, the multiple-packet transmission requires the distribution server to copy packets and, though less computation resources are used as compared with the FEC, this method requires a large amount of bandwidth of the transmission line.
Accordingly, it is a major object of the present invention to provide a content encoding scheme, a reception and reproduction method, a distribution method, a device, and a program that minimize serious disturbances in reproduced content on the reception side, caused by a transmission error of encoded data, without sending feedback information from the reception side to the transmission side.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method, a device, and a program for achieving the major object described above without depending on a particular content distribution server.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method, a device, and a program for achieving the major object described above without placing an extra calculation load on a content distribution server.
To solve the above problems, the invention disclosed in this application is configured generally as described below.
According to the present invention, when an encoder encodes content, the encoder creates plural items of encoded data, each of which has a different compression rate, at the same time or creates FEC (Forwards Error Correction) data of the encoded data at the same time. The created encoded data or FEC data is stored in a storage device preferably as a single file. When the data is stored in the file, an identifier is added to each item of encoded data and FEC data and the data is stored as if it was one item of coded data (continuous encoded data).
A method according to one aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of creating N items (where, N is a positive integer equal to or greater than 2) of encoded data from one received content; and
consolidating the N items of encoded data into at least one file as a single item of encoded data.
The method of the present invention may comprise the steps of creating N items (where, N is a positive integer equal to or greater than 2) of encoded data from one received content;
merging the N items of encoded data on a frame basis; and
storing the N merged items of encoded data into at least one file as a single track.
In the present invention, the method may comprise the steps of merging the N items of encoded data on a frame basis with the N items of encoded data shifted with each other by a predetermined length of time; and
storing the N merged items of encoded data into at least one file as a single track.
In the present invention, the content may be encoded in such a way that the encoded data can be decoded even if the same part of the content is exchanged among the N items of encoded data on a per-encoding basis. In the present invention, an identifier of the same number may be added to encoding units of the same part of the N items of encoded data as a header.
A method according to another aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of creating encoded data from a received content; creating error correcting code (FEC) data from the encoded data; and
consolidating the encoded data and the Forward Error Correction data into at least one file as a single item of encoded data.
The method of the present invention may comprise the steps of creating encoded data from a received content;
creating error correcting code (FEC) data from the encoded data; and
merging the encoded data and the Forward Error Correction data on a frame basis with the encoded data and the Forward Error Correction data shifted with each other by a predetermined length of time and storing the encoded data and the Forward Error Correction data into at least one file as a single track.
An encoding apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention comprises means for creating N items (where, N is a positive integer equal to or greater than 2) of encoded data from one received content; and means for consolidating the N items of encoded data into at least one file as a single item of encoded data.
The encoding apparatus of the present invention may comprise means for creating N items (where, N is a positive integer equal to or greater than 2) of encoded data from one received content; means for merging the N items of encoded data on a frame basis; and means for storing the N merged items of encoded data into at least one file as one item of continuous encoded data.
The encoding apparatus of the present invention may comprise means for merging the N items of encoded data on a frame basis with the N items of encoded data shifted with each other by a predetermined length of time; and means for storing the N merged items of encoded data into at least one file as a single track.
A program according to another aspect of the present invention causes a computer, which constitutes an encoding apparatus that receives a content for encoding, to:
create N items (where, N is a positive integer equal to or greater than 2) of encoded data from one received content; and
consolidate the N items of encoded data into at least one file as a single item of encoded data.
The program of the present invention may cause a computer, which constitutes an encoding apparatus that receives a content for encoding, to:
create N items (where, N is a positive integer equal to or greater than 2) of encoded data from one received content;
merge the N items of encoded data on a frame basis; and
store the N merged items of encoded data into at least one file as a single track.
A content reception/reproduction method according to another aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of receiving data created by merging plural items of encoded data;
identifying each item of encoded data from the received data on a per-encoding basis;
separating the received data into items of encoded data on a per-encoding basis; and
decoding the separated encoded data for output.
A client apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention comprises means for receiving data created by merging plural items of encoded data; means for identifying each of plural items of encoded data from the received data on a per-encoding basis; means for separating the received data into items of encoded data on a per-encoding basis; and means for decoding the separated encoded data for output.
A system according to another aspect of the present invention comprises an encoder that encodes content data or input data received from an image signal input device, such as a camera, and records the data to a file; a distribution server that distributes the data, recorded in the file, to a client apparatus over a network; and a client apparatus that selects the data, sent from the distribution server and received via the network, and decodes the selected data for display and reproduction. The encoder preferably comprises a data input unit that receives content data or input data of the image input device; first to Nth encoding units that encode the input data and outputs N items (N is a positive integer equal to or greater than 2) of encoded data; a merge unit that merges the N items of encoded data into one item of continuous encoded data; and a file output unit that outputs the one item of continuous encoded data and information on the continuous encoded data to the file. The client apparatus preferably comprises a reception unit that receives a packet from the distribution server via the network; a data processing unit that restores the received packet to continuous encoded data; a data reconstruction unit that reconstructs the continuous encoded data to one item of encoded data and, for a part where plural items of encoded data are present, discards data of a relatively higher compression rate to eliminate data duplication in the same frame or the same part; a decoding unit that decodes the reconstructed encoded data; and a reproduction unit that reproduces and displays the decoded data.
According to the present invention, though standard RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) packets are distributed at data distribution time, plural items of encoded data are distributed and/or FEC data is also distributed at the same time because data is stored as described above. The reception side selects encoded data, which has the lowest compression-rate and better image/audio quality, from the received encoded data on a frame basis and decodes the selected encoded data. Alternatively, the reception side decodes and reproduces encoded data, which could not be received, using the received FEC data. As a result, the probability of losing packets is reduced and thereby the object of the present invention described above is achieved.
According to the present invention, serious disturbances in reproduced content on the reception side, caused by a transmission error of encoded data, can be reduced.
This is because the present invention sends plural items of encoded data or sends FEC data to reduce the probability of a data loss caused by a transmission error.
According to the present invention, means for achieving the effect described above depends only on the encoder, and the client and the distribution server can have a usual standard configuration.
This is because plural items of encoded data or FEC data is stored as one file, an intermediate distribution server is not affected.
According to the present invention, the effect described above can be achieved without adding an extra calculation load to the distribution server.
This is because packets are copied or FEC data is created at encoding time in the present invention and, at distribution time, the data is already stored in a file.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described more in detail below with reference to the attached drawings.
The encoder 103 encodes the data of original content 101 or input data (digital signal data) from a camera (CCD camera, etc.) 102 and records the encoded data in a file 104. The input data is moving picture data, or moving picture data and audio data.
The distribution server 105 distributes data, recorded in the file 104, to the client 106 via an IP (Internet Protocol) network 107.
The client 106 selects data from the data received from the distribution server 105 via the IP network 107, decodes the data, and displays and reproduces the decoded data on an output device.
With reference to
Next, the first encoding unit 205 to the Nth encoding unit 207 encode moving picture and audio data and output N items of encoded data. In this case, the parameters used by N encoding units, 205-207, may be set individually and compression rates may be set individually. N items of encoded data are encoded so that they can be decoded even when data is exchanged among plural items on a per-encoding basis. The encoding unit is a frame or, for MPEG-4 encoding, a video packet is or a macro block.
Next, the N items of encoded data are reconstituted by the merge unit 208 into one item of continuous encoded data.
Next, the constituted continuous data is output by the file output unit 209 into at least one file. At this time, not only the continuous encoded data but also information on the continuous encoded data itself is output.
Referring to
The data divided into transmission units by the file analysis unit 304 is encapsulated into a packet for transmission by the packet generation unit 306.
The packets created by the packet generation unit 306 are distributed by the distribution unit 307 to the client 106 via the IP network 107.
The call processing unit 305 performs information transfer, information exchange with the client 106 based on the information obtained by the file analysis unit 304.
Because N items of encoded data are configured in a bunch in the file 301, the distribution unit 307 distributes entire packets of the N items of encoded data.
With reference to
The reception unit 403 receives packets from the distribution server 105 via the IP network 107.
The packets received by the reception unit 403 are changed by the data processing unit 404 back into continuous encoded data using the information from the call processing unit 402. Note that the data of the packets lost during the transmission over the IP network 107 is not present.
Next, the data reconstruction unit 405 reconstructs the continuous encoded data into one item of original encoded data. To eliminate the data duplication of the same encoding unit, the data of higher compression rate is discarded from a part where there are two or more items of encoded data.
Next, the decoding unit 406 uses the information from the call processing unit 402 to decode the data, reconstructed by the data reconstruction unit 405, into the original moving picture or audio data, which is then reproduced or displayed by the reproduction unit 407.
The following describes the operation effect of the first embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to
As a result, the client 106 can avoid the deterioration of the image quality and the audio quality as compared when the client does not use the method of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the compression rate of encoded data is varied and, therefore, the transmission bandwidth used can be reduced as compared when the same data is simply transmitted multiple times.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. The second embodiment of the present invention differs from the first embodiment of the present invention in the configuration of the encoder 103. That is, the configuration of the encoder 103 in the first embodiment of the present invention shown in
Referring to
Next, the following describes the operation of the encoder 703. First, moving picture data and/or audio data are input from the original content 701 or the camera 702 to the data input unit 704.
Next, the moving picture data and audio data are encoded by the encoding unit 705. At the same time, FEC data is generated by the FEC unit 706 using the encoded data.
Next, the encoded data and the FEC data are reconstituted by the merge unit 707 into one item of continuous encoded data.
Next, the constituted continuous data is output by the file output unit 708 into at least one file 709. At this time, not only the continuous encoded data but also information on the continuous encoded data itself is output.
In the present embodiment, the distribution server 105 in
In the present embodiment, the client 106 in
The following describes the operation effect of the second embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to
Next, the first embodiment, described above with reference to
Referring to
The encoder 603 operates as follows.
First, moving picture data and/or audio data are input from original content 601 or a camera 602 to the data input unit 604.
Next, the first encoding unit 605 and the second encoding unit 606 encode moving pictures using an encoding scheme such as MPEG-4, and audios using an encoding scheme such as AAC (Advanced Audio Codec) or AMR (Adaptive Multi Rate), and output them as encoded data. At this time, the parameters used for the two encoding units 605 and 606, can be set to any values, and the compression rate may be set to any rate. Note that, for moving picture, the encoding scheme, the frame configuration, the frame rate, the intra-frame interval, and the image size must be equal between the two items of encoded data; for audios, the encoding scheme, the frame configuration, and the sampling rate must be equal between the two items of encoded data. The two items of encoded data are encoded so that they can be decoded even if the data is exchanged in the same encoding unit. Here, the encoding unit is a frame, a video packet, or a macro block.
Next, the merge unit 607 configures the two items of encoded data into one item of continuous encoded data. The following describes an example of the configuration of continuous encoded data, which is configured as described above, with reference to
Encoded data A 501 is data encoded by the first encoding unit 605, while encoded data B 502 is data encoded by the second encoding unit 606. Each of encoded data is arranged in time sequence on a frame basis. These two items of encoded data configure continuous encoded data 503.
The continuous encoded data 503 is composed of the encoded data A 501 and the encoded data B 502 that are arranged alternately on a frame basis. At this time, the encoded data A 501 and the encoded data B 502 are shifted by M frames with each other so that the data of the same frame are not arranged adjacently, where M is an integer.
A header 504 is inserted at the start of each frame.
For the encoded data of a video, the header is also inserted at the start of each video packet.
This header includes an identifier indicating which encoded data, A 501 or B 502, follows this frame or video packet, the length of the frame or video packet, and the sequence number.
Next, the constituted continuous encoded data is output by the file output unit 608 into a file, such as MP4, as one track. At this time, not only the continuous encoded data but also information on the continuous encoded data and the RTP header information are output. The RTP header is output for each frame or video packet, and is transmitted by the distribution server 105 (see
In the present embodiment, the distribution server 105 in
The divided data is encapsulated by the packet generation unit 306 into a RTP packet.
The RTP packets are distributed by the distribution unit 307 to the client 106 in
The call processing unit 305 communicates information with the client 106, based on the information obtained by the file analysis unit 304, using RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) and SDP (Session Description Protocol).
Because the data in the file 301 is configured like the continuous encoded data 503 shown in
Because the continuous encoded data 503 is configured by the encoded data A 501 and the encoded data B 502 that are shifted by M frames with each other, they are also shifted in time by M frames with each other when distributed.
The client 106 has the configuration shown in
The call processing unit 402 communicates information with the distribution server 105 using RTSP or SDP to obtain information on the data to be distributed.
The reception unit 403 receives RTP packets from the distribution server 105.
The data processing unit 404 removes the RTP header from the received RTP packets to restore them to the original continuous encoded data 503 (see
Next, to delete a duplicate part, the data reconstruction unit 405 checks the header 504 (see
Next, the header 504 (see
Next, the second embodiment described above will be described using a specific embodiment. As shown in
The encoder 703 in
Next, the encoding unit 705 encodes moving pictures using an encoding scheme such as MPEG-4, encodes audios using an encoding scheme such as AAC or AMR, and outputs encoded data. Next, the FEC unit 706 creates FEC data using the encoded data. Although many types of FEC are known, the present invention is not concerned with the type of FEC.
Next, the encoded data and the FEC data are configured by the merge unit 707 into one item of continuous encoded data. The following describes an example of the configuration of this continuous encoded data with reference to
Encoded data 801 is data encoded by the encoding unit 705. The encoded data is composed of data arranged in time sequence on a frame basis. This encoded data is configured into continuous encoded data 802. The continuous encoded data 802 is composed of the encoded data 801 and FEC data 803 that are arranged alternately on a frame basis or, for moving picture data, on a video packet basis. A header 804 stores information on the following frame or video packet. This information contains the length of the following frame or video packet and the sequence number.
Next, the constituted continuous encoded data is output by the file output unit 708 into at least one file (such as MP4), for example, as one track.
The information that is output at this time is not only the continuous data but also information on the continuous data itself and the RTP header information. This information includes the size of each frame or each video packet including the header in the continuous data. Although the information is output to one MP4 file in this example, it is of course possible to output the information into multiple divided files.
In the present embodiment, the distribution server 105 in
The client 106 has the configuration shown in
While the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments above, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiments above and that modifications and changes that may be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention are included.
The present invention is applicable to a program and a device that distribute, or receive the distribution of, videos and audios over an IP network. The present invention is also applicable to a program and a device that encode videos and audios.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-020124 | Jan 2004 | JP | national |
This is a continuation application of Ser. No. 10/587,712, filed Jul. 28, 2006 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,856,585, issued on Dec. 21, 2010, which is a National stage application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT/JP04/18574, filed Dec. 13, 2004, which claims priority to Japanese application No. 2004-020124, filed Jan. 28, 2004, each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20110055658 A1 | Mar 2011 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10587712 | US | |
| Child | 12943073 | US |
