Interactive video distribution systems – User-requested video program system – Video-on-demand
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-20
2003-01-28
Faile, Andrew (Department: 2611)
Interactive video distribution systems
User-requested video program system
Video-on-demand
C725S095000, C725S090000, C725S098000, C725S118000, C725S148000, C348S400100, C348S402100, C348S407100, C375S240280, C375S240120, C375S240130, C382S236000, C382S238000, C386S349000, C386S349000, C358S296000, C358S438000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06513162
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dynamic video communication evaluation equipment, and more particularly to a dynamic video communication evaluation equipment for evaluating dynamic video code and protocol used to transmit and receive digital dynamic video data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, wide area computer networks such as Internet have been developed, through which various types of data have been exchanged in a large scale. Conventionally, due to the bottleneck of computer processing speed and lower network throughput, only character information or compressed still video image having comparatively less amount of information were allowed to be exchanged.
However, thanks to recent rapid enhancement of the computer processing speed and enhanced network speed, dynamic video image having a large amount of information have become exchanged. Hereafter, it is unavoidable that the dynamic video image will be generally transferred without an analog signal via a TV set, etc. but with a digital data which can be processed by computers, which is however not limited to the above mentioned Internet, through various networks.
Under the background, it is very important to estimate the quality such as transfer speed of dynamic video data on the network for efficient use of the network resources.
An apparatus for evaluating the dynamic video code and protocol in a dynamic video communication has been proposed by the same inventor, for example, as disclosed in application Ser. No. 09/216,814 filed Aug. 11, 1997 (and corresponding U.S. Ser. No. 09/132,403 filed Aug. 11, 1998), the technology of which will be described hereinafter.
First of all, technical terms used in this application will be defined as follows
A communication protocol is a protocol on communication which is also used in a communication other than a dynamic video such as UDP/IP(User Diagram Protocol/Internet Protocol), and also includes a communication for performing a negotiation before data is transmitted and received between a transmitter and a receiver.
A dynamic video coding method is a protocol relating to a dynamic video code and it includes transmission/reception, decoding indication intended for communication of the dynamic video, and regulations which have determined between network equipment.
For example, there are MPEG (ISO/IEC-11172), MPEG-2 ISO/IEC-13818), MPEG-4 (ISO/IEC-14496), in accordance with ISO (International Organization for Standardization), IEC (International Electromechanical Commission), and ITU (International Telecommunication Union) recommendations H. 320, H. 324, H. 261, and H. 263.
The standardization and recommendations set forth above describe a combination of multiple dynamic video coding methods. For example, there is a dynamic coding method such as a directional estimation method and a unidirectional estimation method wherein they are used commonly to the MPEG, MPED-2, MPED-4 and H. 263.
Further, a dynamic video communication protocol is a protocol for use in a dynamic video communication and it is used for a combination of the dynamic video coding method and the communication protocol. For example, it is such a case that a data stream produced in accordance with the MPEG is transmitted with packet conforming to the UDP/IP.
Then uses of the dynamic video communication protocol will now be described. In the. dynamic video communication protocol, the optimum protocol is diversified depending on the utilization object or the utilization condition of the dynamic video communication. There are various types such as a method that is high in coding rate with small coding amount, a method that is short in coding processing delay time, and a method that is unsusceptible to the influence of the transmission error.
A processing of the dynamic video communication protocol including coding/decoding processing in the transmitter and receiver of the dynamic video communication enables a software processing because a processing speed of a CPU (central processing unit) provided in the equipment such as transmitter/receiver is improved. Further, since the software is easily distributed via a network, the dynamic video communication protocol can be easily changed by the transmitter/receiver.
Under the circumstances, it is important to select and utilize a dynamic video communication protocol in accordance with a utilization object and a utilization network among various dynamic video communication protocols. Accordingly, there is “a dynamic video communication control equipment” as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 09-216814 by the same inventor of this application as an example for providing means for selecting a dynamic video communication protocol for evaluating a dynamic image quality in a receiver or a relay to assure high quality. The dynamic video communication control equipment includes means for obtaining various hierarchy and kinds of information from the receiver or the relay, and executes analysis processing to calculate the dynamic video image quality parameters.
The communication protocol video image quality parameters calculate values indicating 5 categories, however in this application, a conventional technique will be explained while dynamic video communication control equipment is arranged for simplification and the dynamic video communication protocol video image quality parameters are served as a single image quality evaluation value with a simplified construction.
FIG. 7
is a block diagram showing the construction of a conventional dynamic video communication control equipment.
As shown in
FIG. 7
, in the dynamic video communication control equipment, a dynamic video code transmitter
10
and a dynamic video code receiver
30
are respectively connected to a network
20
, and a dynamic video communication analysis equipment
40
is connected to the dynamic video code receiver
30
.
The dynamic video code transmitter
10
transmits a dynamic video code to the dynamic video code receiver
30
via the network
20
. The dynamic video code and a communication protocol received by the dynamic video code receiver
30
influence image quality in the dynamic video code receiver
30
. The dynamic video code receiver
30
transmits dynamic video code and the communication protocol data that are received thereby to the dynamic video communication analysis equipment
40
as quality data in view of evaluating quality of received code and data.
The dynamic video communication analysis equipment
40
comprises multiple analysis processing parts
42
a
,
42
b
, . . . of different types of methods. Respective analysis processing parts
42
a
,
42
b
, . . . receive quality data outputted from the dynamic video code receiver
30
, and analyze based on this quality data, and then output the analysis result as an image evaluation value.
There is a case where all the analysis processing parts
42
a
, . . . receive common quality data, and there is another case where the respective analysis processing parts
42
a
,
42
b
, . . . receive different image quality data.
There are provided image quality evaluation value memories
44
a
,
44
b
, . . . at the rear stages of respective analysis processing parts
42
a
, . . . The image quality evaluation value memories
44
a
,
44
b
, . . . respectively temporality store image evaluation values outputted from the analysis processing parts
42
a
,
42
b
, . . . There is provided an indication part
46
at the rear stages of the image quality evaluation value memories
44
a
,
44
b
, . . . The indication part
46
has an indication unit such as a display and indicates image evaluation values respectively outputted from the image quality evaluation value memories
44
a
,
44
b, . . .
The problems of the conventional technique will be now described although the dynamic video communication control equipment has been described above.
Described next is a case where the transmission timing is controlled under the condition that where a real time communication of a dynamic video code, namely, a c
Ando Electric Co. Ltd.
Faile Andrew
Flynn ,Thiel, Boutell & Tanis, P.C.
Salce Jason
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