Method and apparatus for transmitting images during a multimedia teleconference

A method of transmitting an image from a first processing system to a second processing system over a communication link, the image represented by a set of data, the method comprising:

• receiving an indication of a current capacity of the communication link;
• automatically selecting only a portion of the set of data representing the image, based on the indication of the current capacity of the communication link, the portion representing the image at a resolution lower than a full resolution;
• and
• transmitting the selected portion of the set of data to the second processing system over the communication link.

In a local processing system, a method of transferring an image to a remote processing system connected to the local processing system by a communication link, the local processing system including a communication device for communicating data over the communication link, the method comprising:

• receiving user input for initiating transfer of the image from the local processing system to the remote processing system;
• automatically querying the communication device for a current bandwidth of the communication link in response to the user input;
• receiving from the communication device and indication of the current bandwidth of the communication link in response to said querying;
• automatically determining an image size based on the received indication of the current bandwidth of the communication link;
• selecting only a portion of a file representing the image based on the image size, the portion corresponding to one of a plurality of resolutions associated with the image, the file including a plurality of portions each corresponding to a different one of the plurality of resolutions;
• and
• using the communication device to transmit the selected portion of the file to the remote processing system.

A processing system comprising:

• a processor;
• a communication device coupled to the processor for communicating data over a communication link;
• a first storage unit coupled to the processor, the first storage unit having stored therein an image file representing an image;
• a second storage unit coupled to the processor, the second storage unit having stored therein sequences of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processing system to:
• receive user input requesting transmission of the image from the processing system to a second processing system;
• automatically query the communication device for a current channel capacity of the communication link in response to receiving the user input;
• receive from the communication device an indication of the current channel capacity of the communication link in response to the query;
• select one of a plurality of subsets of the image file based on the indication, each of the subsets corresponding to one of a plurality of resolutions;
• and
• transmit the selected subset of the image file to a second processing system over the communication link using the communication device.

An apparatus for transmitting an image from a first processing system to a second processing system over a communication link, the image represented by a set of data, the method comprising:

• means for receiving an indication of a current bandwidth of the communication link;
• means for automatically selecting only a portion of the set of data representing the image based on the indication of the current bandwidth of the communication link, the portion representing the image at a resolution lower than a full resolution;
• and
• means for transmitting the selected portion of the set of data to the second processing system over the communication link.