Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing – Local trick play processing – With randomly accessible medium
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-30
2001-05-22
Tran, Thai (Department: 2615)
Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing
Local trick play processing
With randomly accessible medium
C386S349000, C375S240010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06236805
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for storing, searching and playing back audiovisual information and data files. In particular, the invention relates to a multi-media memory device.
Storing and playing back items of multimedia information (video, audio, data, control information) on digital storage media (e.g., CD-ROM, optically writable hard disk, magnetic hard disk) is one of the most important functions in multimedia systems.
Although the capacity to store items of information on digital storage media is constantly growing, the large amount of data of multimedia information continues to present a massive storage problem.
A standardized method under ISO/IEC 11172 (also known as MPEG-1) enables storage of approximately one hour of audiovisual information on CD-ROM with data streams of 1.5 Mbits/s. Other, non-standardized audiovisual compression methods commonly used in PC applications also enable approximately one hour of stored audiovisual program, albeit with a worse image and tone quality.
In relation to these known methods characterized in Table 1 below, an arrangement according to the present invention enables considerably higher compression, more effective multiplexing, and more effective controlling of multimedia data streams.
TABLE 1
Examples of playback time for multimedia memory
solutions based on ITU H.324
Playback time
Playback time
Playback time
at 32 kbit/s
at 128 kbit/s
at 512 kbit/s
QCIF
CIF
ITU-R 601
(180 × 144)
(360 × 288)
(720 × 576)
Image
Image
Image
resolution at
resolution at
resolution at
Memory
H.263; G.723;
H.263;
H.263;
Volume
G4kbit/s
G.723; G.728;
G.728, G.729;
Medium:
(MByte):
audio
G.729 audio
G.722 audio
Diskette:
1.4
About 6
—
—
minutes
CD-ROM
660
about 46
about 11
about 2.5
hours
hours
hours
Example
10
about 41
about 10
—
Data
minutes
minutes
File:
Hard
—
about 240
about 1
about 4
Disk/
kbyte/min.
Mbyte/min
mbte/min
Minute
Example
540
about 38
about 9 hours
about 2.25
Hard
hours
hours
Disk:
The quality of MPEG-1 Video and MPEG-1 Audio is indeed as a rule better than the other methods listed in Table 1, but there are numerous applications in which a reduced video and audio quality is completely sufficient (e.g. multimedia mail, video images with head and shoulders, multimedia lexicons).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for the storing, searching and playback of audiovisual data files.
To that end, in an embodiment, the invention provides a method for storing, searching and playback of highly compressed audiovisual items of information and data files of a multimedia memory device, using a multimedia multiplexing and multimedia control protocol, with the following steps:
a) controlling multimedia streams of information in a first separate virtual control channel according to ITU-T H.245 in order to enable flexible allocation and simultaneous processing of several audio/speech, video and data channels for multimedia communication;
b) multiplexing, or, respectively, demultiplexing video items of information and/or audio/speech items of information and/or data items of information and/or control information according to ITU-T H.223 in order to enable flexible allocation of channel capacities corresponding to the current needs of the channels allocated in the preceding step;
c) compressing and coding, or, respectively, decompressing or decoding video signals according to ITU-T H.263;
d) compressing, or, respectively, decompressing the audio or, respectively, speech signals using a high-compression speech compression algorithm; and
e) controlling the multimedia storage device via a second separate virtual control channel.
In an embodiment, the invention provides an apparatus for storing, searching and playing back of highly compressed audiovisual items of information and data files of a multimedia memory apparatus, using a multimedia multiplexing and multimedia control protocol, comprising: an information stream control for controlling the multimedia information streams in a separate virtual control channel according to ITU-T H.245, thereby enabling a flexible allocation and the simultaneous processing of several audio/speech channels, video channels and data channels for multimedia communication; a multiplexer and demultiplexer for multiplexing or, respectively, demultiplexing of video items of information and/or audio/speech items of information and/or data items of information and/or control information according to ITU-T H.223, thereby enabling a flexible allocation of channel capacities corresponding to the current needs of the channels allocated by the named controlling; a video compression and coding means for the compression and coding of video signals, and with a video decompression and decoding means for the decompressing and decoding of video signals; an audio/speech compression and audio/speech decompression means for the compression or, respectively, decompression of audio signals or, respectively, speech signals with a high-compression speech compression algorithm; and a device control for controlling the multimedia memory device via a further separate logical control channel.
In an embodiment, the invention provides an apparatus in which the second separate virtual control channel is an additionally opened virtual data channel according to ITU-T H.245.
In an embodiment, the invention provides an apparatus in which the audio-speech compression and audio/speech decompression means can be operated at least with a speech compression algorithm according to ITU-T G.723.1, ITU-T G.729, ITU-T G.728, ITU-T G.722, ISO/IEC 11172-3, or according to ITU-T G.4 kbit/s.
In an embodiment, the invention provides an apparatus in which the multimedia storage device is realized by a computer with a magnetic hard disk memory.
In an embodiment, the invention provides an apparatus in which the multimedia memory device is a computer with a read-only optical memory means.
In an embodiment, the invention provides an apparatus in which the multimedia storage device is a computer with a write/read optical memory means.
Depending on the individual embodiments and special features, the invention makes use as needed of the following information technology standards and/or communication technology standards:
The present standardization of speech coders in the ITU-T with very low bit rates for videotelephony (ITU-T G.723) in the public telephone dialing network (GSTN) leads to qualitatively good speech coders (approximating the quality of the recommendation CCITT G.726), with a transmission speed of 5.3 to 6.3 kbit/s. The ITU-T G.729 speech coder also enables digital speech transmission with a speed of 8 kbit/s. In the future, a 4 kbit/s coder will also be standardized (ITU-T G.4 kbit/s). The codecs are currently the most efficient speech codecs.
The present ITU-T standardization of moving image coders with very low bit rates, e.g., for videotelephony in the public telephone dialing network (ITU-T H.263), leads to qualitatively good moving image coders (QCIF resolution 180×144 and lower) with the minimum required transmission speed of 8-24 kbit/s (or higher), which require a secured type of transmission (e.g., with ITU-T H.223). An increase in the image resolution via the values defined in the standard, e.g., to CIF (360×288) or ITU-T 601 (720×576) enables the transmission of moving images with television images or, respectively, moving images according to the resolution of the digital studio standard ITU-R 601.
The present standardization in the ITU-T of multiplexing of audiovisual types of data with very low bit rates, e.g., for videotelephony in the public telephone dialing network with a transmission speed of 9.6-32 kbit/s (and higher), which enables a secured type of transmission (according to ITU-T H.223). This principle can also be used for memory systems.
The present ITU-T standardization (ITU-T H.245) relating to the control of audiovisual types of data with very low bit rates, e.g., for videotelephony in the public telephone dialing net
Schiff & Hardin & Waite
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Tran Thai
LandOfFree
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