Bandwidth consumption is a perennial concern in delivering information over communications networks. In order to conserve bandwidth information is typically compressed prior to transmission. The compressed information is transmitted as one or more packets over a communication network and decompressed by the receiver. Impairments in communications networks can prevent the one or more packets of the compressed information from reaching the receiver. For example, interference or network congestion can prevent one or more packets of the compressed information from reaching the receiver. Depending upon the type of compression technique employed, the information may not be able to be decompressed by the receiver when less than all of the packets are received.
In order to improve the likelihood of reception of packets in communications networks, error correction coding, error protection coding and/or retransmission techniques may be employed. However, error correction coding and error protection coding decrease the amount of information in each packet, and thus increases bandwidth consumed by transmitting information. Similarly, retransmission techniques increase bandwidth consumed in the transmission of information.
The present invention addresses the above-identified and other deficiencies of conventional information transmission techniques. In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention, particular video frames of a video stream are assigned a higher priority level than other video frames of the video stream. The priority level is included in a network transport packet which carries a video frame. Accordingly, transport networks do not need to be aware of the particular type of information in the packet, only that a network transport packet has a particular priority level. Network transport packets with a higher priority level will be granted a higher quality of service (QoS) by the network, increasing the likelihood that these packets will be delivered to the receiver.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Encoder 110 receives a plurality of video frames of a video stream 105. When encoder 110 encodes video according to the Motion Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) Group of Pictures (GOP) structure, video is encoded into three different types of frames, I-frames, P-frames and B-frames. I-frames include all of the visual information in a video frame, analogous to a JPEG picture. An I-frame is created when major new content is encoded, such as a scene change. P-frames and B-frames are designed to reduce the amount of information required to encode/decode an acceptable image. Accordingly, P-frames and B-frames only include information describing how one particular frame differs from another. P-frames include data providing information about changes in motion (such as motion, color, texture and the like) from the previous frame. B-frames rely on the frames preceding and following them and contain only the data that have changed from the preceding or are different from the data in the next frame.
Due to the GOP structure, loss of an I-frame is more severe than loss of a P-frame or B-frame. Specifically, P-frames and B-frames may be lost with an almost imperceptible effect on picture quality. However, without the I-frame, all references in the subsequent P-frames and B-frames are meaningless. A lost I-frame results in a black screen or freeze frame for the period of time until a new I-frame is received to resume normal video transmission. Because of the importance of I-frames, the standards require I-frames to be periodically inserted into a video stream, regardless of whether any changes occur, in order to limit the duration of any interruption. The repetition of I-frames with the same information unnecessarily consumes bandwidth in order to reduce the effects of transport network impairments because I-frames average two times the number of bytes needed for P-frames and five times the number of bytes needed for B-frames.
Conventionally, I-frames, P-frames and B-frames are transported over networks with the same network paths and quality of service. Accordingly, these frames are equally affected by the same channel conditions, including any channel impairments. If there is any loss of an I-frame packet, the quality of the entire video stream is effected, however, the loss of a P-frame or B-frame does not cause as severe of a degradation to the reproduced video.
Recognizing the different effects of loss of I-frames, P-frames and B-frames to the reproduced video, the present invention provides higher quality of service to I-frames than to P-frames and B-frames using a priority indication in the network transport packet. Accordingly, the encoded video frames from encoder 110 are provided to video frame type detector 115. Video frame type detector determines the type of video frame, i.e., whether the frame is an I-frame, P-frame or B-frame, and creates a header or flag indicating that this packet should be provided with a higher quality of service. Data transport device 120 receives the packets from video frame type detector and forms a network transport packet with a quality of service indicated in the network transport packet according to the particular network transport protocol.
Returning now to
After applying error correction coding to the second priority level video frame (step 430) or after assigning a first priority level to a video frame (step 420), then a network transport packet is formed including the video frame and the determined priority level (step 435). The system then determines whether a predetermined number of frames X of the video stream, i.e., a block of frames, have been received (step 440). When the predetermined number of frames have not been received (“No” path out of decision step 440), then the system receives the next video frame (step 405). If, however, a predetermined number of video frames X have been received (“Yes” path out of decision step 440), then the packets are combined into a stream of network transport packets (step 445) and transmitted to the destination over the transport network (step 450).
The present invention, by providing the higher quality of service to I-frames can be used to reduce the I-frame repetition in a video stream. This will in turn reduce the bandwidth consumed by a particular video stream.
Although exemplary embodiments have been described above in connection with a particular type of video encoding, the present invention is equally applicable to other types of video encoding.
The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
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