Continuously adaptive digital video compression system and method for a web streamer

A cost effective method for compressing input color video data for moving images for the purpose of streaming a compressed output color video data stream over a packet switched network in the form of a data transmission channel having a variable bandwidth to client users having receivers that provide high quality visual images and which receive data input at different rates, which method comprises the steps of:

• compressing an input digital color video data stream having moving images at a predetermined data rate on the basis of a target bandwidth available on a data transmission channel to provide a compressed output color video data stream comprising a plurality of digital video data streams representative of various levels of resolution of a visual image represented in successive video frames and spectrally decomposing the image frames of the input color video signal into a plurality of multilevel frequency subbands and to a plurality of levels and selecting from said frequency subbands a base level digital color video raw data stream that is transmitted in the output video data stream for creation of a base level visual image and at least two additional digital color data streams to provide additional visual details of a visual image as may be desired by a client user;
• transmitting the compressed output color video data stream in packets of determinable length to at least one receiver over a data transmission channel;
• determining the present bandwidth available on the transmission channel on a frame by frame basis as the compressed output video data streams were transmitted to at least one receiver;
• adjusting the rate of compression of said input digital color video data stream in response to such determination on a frame by frame basis whereby the immediately succeeding transmission of a frame of said output digital color video data stream is commensurate with the present bandwidth available on said data transmission channel;
• and
• decompressing the output digital color video data stream at each client user to provide a color visual image having motion.

Cost effective method for compressing input color video data for moving images for the purpose of streaming a compressed output color video data stream over a packet switched network in the form of a data transmission channel having a variable bandwidth to client users having receivers that provide high quality visual images and which may receive data input at different acceptable rates, which method comprises the steps of:

• compressing an input digital color video data stream having moving images at a predetermined data rate on the basis of a target bandwidth available on a data transmission channel to provide a compressed output color video data stream comprising a plurality of digital video data streams representative of various levels of resolution of a visual image represented in successive video frames and performing scalar quantization on said additional digital color video data streams to generate quantized additional data streams, performing motion detection on said base level color video raw data stream and said quantized additional digital color video data streams and thereafter performing a loss-less compression coding routine on said quantized additional motion data streams to provide said output color video data stream comprising a motion detected base level data stream and motion detected quantized additional digital color video data streams;
• transmitting the compressed output color video data stream in packets of determinable length to at least one receiver over a data transmission channel;
• determining the present bandwidth available on the transmission channel on a frame by frame basis as the compressed output video data streams were transmitted to at least one receiver;
• adjusting the rate of compression of said input digital color video data stream in response to such determination on a frame by frame basis whereby the immediately succeeding transmission of a frame of said output digital color video data stream is commensurate with the present bandwidth available on said data transmission channel;
• and
• decompressing the output digital color video data stream at each client user to provide a color visual image having motion.