Video selector

#The present invention relates to video conferencing. More precisely, it relates to a method for selecting input signals in a video conference and to a video selector applying this method.

#To the largest possible extent, a video conference should eliminate the impression of a physical separation between its participants. In addition to providing high image and sound quality, a useful video conference system should facilitate each conferee's participation by automatically pre-eliminating irrelevant information so that he or she is faced with a manageable flow and can comfortably focus on the discussion. In a real life situation, a manageable information flow is created by the participant alone by simply directing his or her eyes and ears at a speaking person, or by alternating between persons in a group currently involved in a discussion. Besides, the conferee will in most cases arrive at the meeting with an expectation of particular participants being more frequent or more interesting speakers than others, or will develop an appreciation for this in the course of the meeting. Unconsciously guided by the recent history of the conference, the conferee will direct attention to them more often.

#Bridging the gap between the extreme simplicity in selecting the focus at a natural meeting and the restricted field of view in a video conference is arguably the most challenging difficulty facing the constructor of a video conference system. Most likely, convenience for participants and the training time needed to get started are also crucial factors for the commercial success of video conferences.

#The invention will now be described in more detail and with reference to the appended drawings, of which:

#FIG. 1 is a flow chart which illustrates a process implementing the method according to a first aspect the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a video selector according to a second aspect of the present invention;

#A preferred embodiment of a video selector according to the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, which respectively show a process 100 representing a preferred embodiment of the method for selecting video signals and a video selector 200 applying this method.

#From input devices (not shown), the video selector continuously receives at an input gateway 210 input video signals i1, i2, i3, . . . , ip and input audio signals a1, a2, a3, . . . , ap, wherein each input video signal is associated with exactly one input audio signal. The number p of signals is not assumed to be constant. On the basis of at least the values of the input audio signals, the video selector 200 selects a subset of the input video signals to be transmitted to output devices (not shown) via an output gateway 220 as output video signals o1, o2, o3, . . . , op. Hence, from the point of view of the input video signals and output video signals, the video selector 200 acts as a switch that either connects or disconnects i1 to o1, i2 to o2, and so forth. It is important to note that all output video signals o1, o2, o3, . . . , op, each of which may be connected or not to the respective input video signals i1, i2, i3, . . . , ip, are provided to each output device (not shown); see FIG. 5.

#Before proceeding to the description of the components of the video selector 200, it is noted that although the preferred embodiment is illustrated by a circuit diagram, the purpose of this diagram is to explain the principles of a video selector according to the invention by way of a hardware example. The invention may equally well be implemented by means of a programmable computer system organised in a suitable, different manner. Likewise, a connection line in any of FIGS. 2-6 may represent, e.g., a metal wire, an optical fibre cable, a temporarily allocated route in the world wide web or a wireless connection. A group of parallel signals may also be transmitted over one composite line or as one data stream containing the totality of the audio or video information. We finally note that a power supply section, a clock and similar auxiliary components have been intentionally omitted from FIGS. 2-6, since their addition is considered to belong to the general knowledge of the skilled person.