US6510177B1
Expired / Lapsed
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System and method for layered video coding enhancement
Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC
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Filing: 2000-03-24
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Granted: 2003-01-21
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Expires: 2020-03-24
Abstract
Abstract A system and a method for encoding, transmitting, decoding and storing a high-resolution video sequence using a low-resolution base layer and a higher-resolution enhancement layer. The base layer contains low-resolution video information and is compressed in a manner such that it can be decoded independently of the enhancement layer. The base layer may be encoded in an existing standard video format (such as MPEG-2). The enhancement layer, which contains high-resolution information, provides a variable amount of enhancement to the base layer. The compressed video sequence is transmitted in two layers and uses a minimum amount of bit rate by using information transmitted in the base layer in the decoding of both the base layer and the enhancement layer. In an enhanced decoder, both the base layer and the enhancement layer use this information that has been transmitted in the base layer.
Inventors
- 👤 Jeremy De Bonet
- 👤 Gary J. Sullivan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-10 01:48
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N19/00; H04N19/85; H04N19/86; H04N19/30; H04N19/33; H04N19/50; H04N19/503; H04N19/51; H04N19/513; H04N19/517; H04N19/52
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 62
Claim 1
Independent Claim
69 words
A method for encoding a high-resolution video sequence containing low-resolution and high-resolution information, comprising: encoding the low-resolution information to create a base layer; encoding the high-resolution information to create an enhancement layer capable of enhancing the low-resolution information of the base layer; encoding base layer data within the base layer; and making the encoded base layer data available to both a base layer decoder and an enhancement layer decoder.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
69 words
A method for encoding a high-resolution video sequence containing low-resolution and high-resolution information, comprising: encoding the low-resolution information to create a base layer; encoding the high-resolution information to create an enhancement layer capable of enhancing the low-resolution information of the base layer; encoding base layer data within the base layer; and making the encoded base layer data available to both a base layer decoder and an enhancement layer decoder.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the base layer is capable of being decoded independently of the enhancement layer.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 2 , wherein the base layer is capable of being decoded using a standard decoding format.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the base layer data includes at least one of: (a) motion vector data; (b) macroblock prediction mode data; (c) quantized residual difference data including quantized discrete transform coefficient data; (d) quantized residual difference data including quantized wavelet coefficient data.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the encoding of the low-resolution information uses an existing standard encoding format.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 5 , wherein the existing standard encoding format is at least one of: (a) H.261; (b) H.263; (c) MPEG-1; (d) MPEG-2; (e) MPEG-4.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating base layer data by performing high-resolution motion estimation.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 7 , wherein the high-resolution motion estimation is performed at approximately the same resolution as the enhancement layer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 7 , wherein the high-resolution motion estimation includes a high-resolution block matching search.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 9 , wherein motion vector estimates obtained from the block matching search are scaled down to apply at the lower resolution and rounded to an accuracy supported by an encoding format of the base layer.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 10 , wherein at least one motion vector is selected from the rounded motion vector estimates based on a fidelity criterion to adjust a first block size used for the high-resolution motion estimation to a second block size used for low-resolution motion representation.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 9 , wherein motion vector estimates obtained from the block matching search are scaled down to apply at the lower resolution and further processed by a local block matching search to an accuracy supported by an encoding format of the base layer.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein encoding the high-resolution information includes performing motion compensation using motion vector values obtained by scaling up base layer motion vectors that are used to predict high-resolution motion vector values.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 13 , wherein no motion vector values are contained in the enhancement layer.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 13 , wherein any prediction differences are contained in the enhancement layer.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 13 , further comprising selecting at least one of the scaled-up base layer motion vectors to adjust a first block size used for motion compensation in the base layer to a second block size used for motion compensation in the enhancement layer.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
71 words
The method of claim 15 , further comprising: selecting at least one of the high-resolution motion vectors to adjust a first block size used for motion compensation in the base layer to a second block size used for motion compensation in the enhancement layer; and predicting the high-resolution motion vectors using at least one of: (a) the scaled-up base layer motion vectors; (b) previously-encoded motion vectors contained within the enhancement layer.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the base layer is created using overlapped block motion compensation.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the enhancement layer is created using overlapped block motion compensation.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein encoding of the high-resolution information uses at least one of: (a) discrete cosine transform; (b) scalar inverse quantization; (c) wavelet coding; (d) progressive wavelet coding.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
19 words
A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that causes a computer to perform the method of claim 1 .
Claim 23
Independent Claim
78 words
A method of compressing high-resolution video frames containing low-resolution frames and high-resolution frames, comprising: generating a base layer containing the low-resolution frames that is capable of being decompressed into a low-resolution video representation; generating an enhancement layer containing the high-resolution frames that is capable of being decompressed into a high-resolution video representation; placing compressed base layer data into the base layer; and providing the compressed base layer data to a base layer decompressor and an enhancement layer decompressor.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
78 words
A method of compressing high-resolution video frames containing low-resolution frames and high-resolution frames, comprising: generating a base layer containing the low-resolution frames that is capable of being decompressed into a low-resolution video representation; generating an enhancement layer containing the high-resolution frames that is capable of being decompressed into a high-resolution video representation; placing compressed base layer data into the base layer; and providing the compressed base layer data to a base layer decompressor and an enhancement layer decompressor.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 22 , wherein the base layer data includes at least one of: (a) motion vector data; (b) macroblock prediction mode data; (c) quantized residual difference data.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 22 , wherein the base layer data is also capable of being used in the decompression of the base layer.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
66 words
A method of decoding an encoded high-resolution video sequence containing a base layer and an enhancement layer, comprising: decoding the base layer to generate a decoded low-resolution representation of the high-resolution video sequence; extracting encoded base layer data from the base layer; and decoding the enhancement layer using the encoded base layer data and the decoded low-resolution representation to provide enhancement to the decoded low-resolution representation.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
66 words
A method of decoding an encoded high-resolution video sequence containing a base layer and an enhancement layer, comprising: decoding the base layer to generate a decoded low-resolution representation of the high-resolution video sequence; extracting encoded base layer data from the base layer; and decoding the enhancement layer using the encoded base layer data and the decoded low-resolution representation to provide enhancement to the decoded low-resolution representation.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 25 , wherein the base layer data includes motion vector data that was encoded within the base layer.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 26 , wherein the base layer data includes at least one of: (a) macroblock prediction mode data; (b) quantized residual difference data; (c) quantized discrete cosine transform coefficient data.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 26 , wherein the base layer data includes quantized residual difference data and quantized wavelet coefficient data.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 28 , wherein a residual encoding format for the enhancement layer uses at least one of: (a) discrete cosine transform; (b) scalar inverse quantization; (c) wavelet coding; (d) progressive wavelet coding.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 25 , wherein the base layer is decoded independently of the enhancement layer.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 30 , wherein a motion compensation process for the enhancement layer uses motion vectors obtained by scaling up base layer motion vectors and rounding them to an accuracy appropriate for use in the enhancement layer.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 25 , wherein the enhancement layer is decoded using base layer motion vectors to predict enhancement layer motion vectors.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 32 , wherein the enhancement layer motion vectors are obtained by scaling up the base layer motion vectors and rounding them to an accuracy suitable for use with the enhancement layer.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
91 words
The method of claim 33 , wherein the base layer data includes at least one of the following: (a) information used to select from a plurality of predicted enhancement layer motion vectors so as to adjust a first block size in a motion compensation process; (b) information used to determine whether to perform a prediction of the enhancement layer motion vectors using scaled-up base layer motion vectors; (c) information used to determine whether to perform a prediction of the enhancement layer motion vectors using prior-encoded motion vectors within the enhancement layer.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 25 , wherein the base layer was encoded using overlapped block motion compensation.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 25 , wherein the enhancement layer was encoded using overlapped block motion compensation.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 25 , wherein the base layer was previously encoded using a standard compression format.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 37 , wherein the standard compression format is at least one of: (a) H.261; (b) H.263; (c) MPEG-1; (d) MPEG-2; (e) MPEG-4.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
19 words
A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that causes a computer to perform the method of claim 25 .
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
84 words
A layered video encoder for encoding a high-resolution video sequence, comprising: a base layer module that encodes at least a portion of a low-resolution video sequence to create a base layer, the low-resolution video sequence obtained from the high-resolution video sequence; an enhancement layer module that encodes at least a portion of the high-resolution video sequence to create an enhancement layer that enhances the base layer; and encoded base layer data that is used by an enhancement layer decoder to decode the enhancement layer.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
84 words
A layered video encoder for encoding a high-resolution video sequence, comprising: a base layer module that encodes at least a portion of a low-resolution video sequence to create a base layer, the low-resolution video sequence obtained from the high-resolution video sequence; an enhancement layer module that encodes at least a portion of the high-resolution video sequence to create an enhancement layer that enhances the base layer; and encoded base layer data that is used by an enhancement layer decoder to decode the enhancement layer.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
22 words
The layered video encoder of claim 40 , wherein the base layer is capable of being decoded independently of the enhancement layer.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
27 words
The layered video encoder of claim 41 , wherein the encoded base layer data can be used to decode both the base layer and the enhancement layer.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
39 words
The layered video encoder of claim 40 , wherein the base layer module further comprises a downsample module that generates downsampled low-resolution motion vectors from high-resolution motion vectors, the high-resolution motion vectors being calculated from the high-resolution video sequence.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
75 words
A computer-readable medium having computer-executable modules, comprising: a base layer module that creates a low-resolution video sequence from a high-resolution video sequence and generates a base layer from the low-resolution video sequence; an enhancement layer module that encodes at least a portion of the high-resolution video sequence to generate an enhancement layer; and encoded base layer data that is contained in the base layer and is used by a decoder to decode the enhancement layer.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
75 words
A computer-readable medium having computer-executable modules, comprising: a base layer module that creates a low-resolution video sequence from a high-resolution video sequence and generates a base layer from the low-resolution video sequence; an enhancement layer module that encodes at least a portion of the high-resolution video sequence to generate an enhancement layer; and encoded base layer data that is contained in the base layer and is used by a decoder to decode the enhancement layer.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
78 words
A layered video decoder that decodes an encoded high-resolution video sequence containing a base layer and an enhancement layer, comprising: a base layer decoder module that decodes the base layer to produce a decoded low-resolution representation of the video sequence; an enhancement layer decoder module that decodes the enhancement layer to produce a high-resolution enhancement to the decoded low-resolution representation; and motion vector data that is used along with the decoded low-resolution representation to decode the enhancement layer.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
78 words
A layered video decoder that decodes an encoded high-resolution video sequence containing a base layer and an enhancement layer, comprising: a base layer decoder module that decodes the base layer to produce a decoded low-resolution representation of the video sequence; an enhancement layer decoder module that decodes the enhancement layer to produce a high-resolution enhancement to the decoded low-resolution representation; and motion vector data that is used along with the decoded low-resolution representation to decode the enhancement layer.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
24 words
The layered video decoder of claim 45 , wherein the high-resolution enhancement can be varied to produce a desired enhancement to the low-resolution representation.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
19 words
The layered video decoder of claim 45 , wherein the base layer data is encoded in the base layer.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
53 words
The layered video decoder of claim 45 , wherein the enhancement layer decoder module includes a P-frame decoder module capable of determining at least one of: (a) whether to predict enhancement layer motion vectors using base layer motion vectors; (b) whether to predict enhancement layer motion vectors using prior-encoded enhancement layer motion vectors.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 45 , wherein the base layer decoder module decodes the base layer independently of the enhancement layer.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 45 , wherein the enhancement layer decoder module uses base layer motion vectors to predict enhancement layer motion vectors.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 45 , wherein the base layer was encoded using overlapped block motion compensation.
Claim 58
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 45 , wherein the enhancement layer was encoded using overlapped block motion compensation.
Claim 59
Independent Claim
64 words
A method for encoding a high-resolution video sequence, comprising: computing a set of high-resolution motion vectors corresponding to the high-resolution video sequence; downsampling the set of high-resolution motion vectors to generate a set of downsampled motion vectors; downsampling the high-resolution video sequence to create a low-resolution video sequence; and generating a base layer by encoding the low-resolution video sequence using the downsampled motion vectors.
Claim 60
Independent Claim
64 words
A method for encoding a high-resolution video sequence, comprising: computing a set of high-resolution motion vectors corresponding to the high-resolution video sequence; downsampling the set of high-resolution motion vectors to generate a set of downsampled motion vectors; downsampling the high-resolution video sequence to create a low-resolution video sequence; and generating a base layer by encoding the low-resolution video sequence using the downsampled motion vectors.
Claim 61
Independent Claim
68 words
A method for encoding a high-resolution video sequence having low-resolution information and high-resolution information, comprising: performing high-resolution motion estimation on the high-resolution video sequence to generate motion estimation results; creating a base layer containing the low-resolution information using the motion estimation results; creating an enhancement layer containing the high-resolution information; and incorporating motion vector data within the base layer for use in the decoding of the enhancement layer.
Claim 62
Independent Claim
68 words
A method for encoding a high-resolution video sequence having low-resolution information and high-resolution information, comprising: performing high-resolution motion estimation on the high-resolution video sequence to generate motion estimation results; creating a base layer containing the low-resolution information using the motion estimation results; creating an enhancement layer containing the high-resolution information; and incorporating motion vector data within the base layer for use in the decoding of the enhancement layer.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-01-20 | 2006-07-22 | 2007-01-21 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-01-20 | 2010-07-22 | 2011-01-21 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-01-20 | 2014-07-22 | 2015-01-21 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |