Dynamic rate optimization for an ensemble of video encoders
AssigneeDivicom, Inc.
InventorsMichael Perkins, David Arnstein
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a method for dynamically allocating bandwidth to each encoder in an ensemble of video encoders whose output bit streams share a single communications channel. In accordance with the present invention, the channel bandwidth is allocated to the individual encoders in the ensemble in such a way that differences in a quality measure among the decoders are reduced. The quality measure includes a term that behaves like a peak-signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and a term that measures the "masking effect" in a video signal. The "masking effect" results because an encoded frame with a high visual complexity masks coding artifacts from the viewer when it is decoded and displayed.
Claims9
A method for dynamically allocating bandwidth to each of a plurality of video encoder systems which share a single transmission channel comprising the steps of:
- at a controller, generating for each individual encoder system a quality measure which takes into account a measure of quantization used by each individual encoder system and a measure of visual complexity of a video signal being encoded by the individual encoder system,
- at said controller, determining for each individual encoder system, a deviation of the quality measure of each individual encoder system from an average quality measure taken over all of said encoder systems, and
- adjusting a fraction of a bandwidth of said channel allocated to each individual encoder system in such a way that said deviations in the quality measure among said individual encoders are reduced.
A method for dynamically allocating bandwidth to each of a plurality of video encoder systems which share a single transmission channel comprising the steps of:
- at a controller, generating for each individual encoder system a quality measure which takes into account a measure of quantization used by each individual encoder system and a measure of visual complexity of a video signal being encoded by the individual encoder system;
- at said controller, determining for each individual encoder system, a variation of the quality measure of each individual encoder system from an average quality measure taken over all of said encoder systems, and
- adjusting a fraction of a bandwidth of said channel allocated to each individual encoder system in such a way that said variations in the quality measure among said individual encoders are reduced.
A method for dynamically allocating bandwidth to each of a plurality of video encoder systems which share a single transmission channel comprising the steps of:
- at a controller, generating for each individual encoder system a quality measure which takes into account a measure of quantization used by each individual encoder system and a measure of visual complexity of a video signal being encoded by the individual encoder system;
- at said controller, determining for each individual encoder system, a deviation of the quality measure of each individual encoder system from an average quality measure taken over all of said encoder systems, and
- adjusting a fraction of a bandwidth of said channel allocated to each individual encoder system in such a way that said deviations in the quality measure among said individual encoders are reduced;
- wherein said measure of complexity for each individual encoder system is obtained by generating differences between pairs of adjacent pixels within the same picture, summing a set of numbers each of which is derived from a corresponding one of said differences, and averaging the sum over one or more pictures.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.