System and method for compressing portions of a media signal using different codecs

A media compression method comprising:

• using a computer to perform the steps of:
• providing a library of codecs, at least one codec having an associated licensing cost;
• obtaining a media signal to be communicated to a destination system;
• identifying, by an identification module, a plurality of scenes within the media signal;
• automatically selecting different codecs, by a selection module, from the codec library to respectively compress at least two of the scenes, wherein the codecs are automatically selected produce a highest compression quality at the lowest licensing cost for the respective scenes according to a set of criteria without exceeding a target data rate;
• compressing, by a compression module, the scenes using the automatically selected codecs;
• and
• delivering, by an output module, the compressed scenes to the destination system with an indication of which codec was used to compress each scene.

A method for communicating a media signal comprising:

• using a computer to perform the steps of:
• selectively compressing, by a compression module, at least two scenes of a media signal using different codecs from a codec library, wherein the codecs are automatically selected, by a selection module, to produce a highest compression quality for the respective scenes according to a set of criteria without exceeding a target data rate;
• and
• delivering, by an output module, each compressed scene to a destination system with an indication of which codec was used to compress each scene.

A media compression system comprising:

• an input module to obtain a media signal to be communicated to a destination system;
• an identification module to identify a plurality of scenes within the media signal;
• a selection module to automatically select different codecs from a codec library to respectively compress at least two of the scenes, wherein the codecs are automatically selected to produce a highest compression quality for the respective scenes according to a set of criteria without exceeding a target data rate;
• a compression module to compress the scenes using the automatically selected codecs;
• and
• an output module to deliver the compressed scenes to the destination system with an indication of which codec was used to compress each scene.

A media compression system comprising:

• a library of codecs, at least one codec having an associated licensing cost;
• an input module to obtain a media signal to be communicated to a destination system;
• an identification module to identify a plurality of scenes within the media signal;
• a selection module to automatically select different codecs from the codec library to respectively compress at least two of the scenes, wherein the codecs are automatically selected to produce a highest compression quality at the lowest licensing cost for the respective scenes according to a set of criteria without exceeding a target data rate;
• a compression module to compress the scenes using the automatically selected codecs;
• and
• an output module to deliver the compressed scenes to the destination system with an indication of which codec was used to compress each scene.

A computer-readable medium storing a computer program comprising program code for causing a computer to perform the steps of:

• obtaining a media signal to be communicated to a destination system;
• identifying, by an identification module, a plurality of scenes within the media signal;
• automatically selecting different codecs, by a selection module, from a codec library to respectively compress at least two of the scenes, wherein the codecs are automatically selected to produce a highest compression quality for the respective scenes according to a set of criteria without exceeding a target data rate;
• compressing, by a compression module, the scenes using the automatically selected codecs;
• and
• delivering, by an output module, the compressed scenes to the destination system with an indication of which codec was used to compress each scene.

A media compression apparatus comprising:

• means for obtaining a media signal to be communicated to a destination system;
• means for identifying a plurality of scenes within the media signal;
• means for automatically selecting different codecs from a codec library to respectively compress at least two of the scenes, wherein the codecs are automatically selected to produce a highest compression quality for the respective scenes according to a set of criteria without exceeding a target data rate;
• means for compressing the scenes using the automatically selected codecs;
• and
• means for delivering the compressed scenes to the destination system with an indication of which codec was used to compress each scene.

A media compression method comprising:

• using a computer to perform the steps of:
• obtaining a media signal to be communicated to a destination system;
• identifying, by an identification module, a plurality of scenes within the media signal;
• automatically selecting different codecs, by a selection module, from a codec library to respectively compress at least two of the scenes, wherein the codecs are automatically selected to produce a highest compression quality for the respective scenes according to a set of criteria without exceeding a target data rate;
• compressing, by a compression module, the scenes using the automatically selected codecs;
• delivering, by an output module, the compressed scenes to the destination system with an indication of which codec was used to compress each scene;
• receiving each compressed scene and indication of a codec at the destination system;
• decompressing, by a decompression module, each compressed scene using the indicated codec;
• and
• presenting the decompressed scenes to a user of the destination system.