Encoding and decoding selectively retrievable representations of video content

A system for processing compressed video data, the system comprising:

• a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the system to:
• access a plurality of encoded video frames, each video frame comprising a plurality of data components each associated with a different one of a plurality of available image resolutions such that the video frame can be displayed at one image resolution of the plurality of available image resolutions in part by combining all of a subset of data components associated with an image resolution that is equal to or less than the one image resolution, each of the subset of data components comprising a data size that is equal to or less than that associated with the one image resolution, such that the subset of data components comprises data sufficient to reconstruct the video frame at a corresponding one of the plurality of image resolutions;
• identify a hardware display communicatively coupled to the system;
• determine an available bandwidth between the system and the hardware display;
• select one image resolution from the plurality of available image resolutions based on the determined available bandwidth;
• for each video frame of the plurality of video frames:
• select a subset of data components of the video frame, the selected subset of data components comprising all of the data components associated with the image resolution selected from the plurality of available image resolutions, said all of the data components associated with the image resolution being equal to or less than the selected one image resolution;
• and
• transmit the selected subset of data components to the hardware display.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable computer instructions for processing compressed video data that when executed by a processor of a computer system, causes the processor to:

• access a plurality of encoded video frames, each video frame comprising a plurality of data components each associated with a different one of a plurality of available image resolutions such that the video frame can be displayed at a selected one image resolution of the plurality of available image resolutions in part by combining all of a subset of data components associated with an image resolution that is equal to or less than the one image resolution, each of the subset of data components comprising a data size that is equal to or less than that associated with the selected one image resolution, such that the subset of data components comprises data sufficient to reconstruct the video frame at a corresponding one of the plurality of available image resolutions;
• identify a hardware display communicatively coupled to the computer system;
• determine an available bandwidth between the computer system and the hardware display;
• select one image resolution from the plurality of available image resolutions based on the determined available bandwidth;
• for each video frame of the plurality of video frames:
• select one or more data components of the video frame, the selected one or more data components comprising all of the data components of the video frame associated with the image resolution that is equal to or less than the one image resolution selected from the plurality of available image resolutions;
• and
• transmit the selected one or more data components to the hardware display.

A method for processing compressed video data, the method comprising:

• receiving, by a computer system, a plurality of data components, each of the data components associated with a different one of a plurality of accessible image resolutions of a video frame;
• decoding the received plurality of data components corresponding to the video frame to produce a plurality of decoded data components corresponding to the video frame;
• combining all of a subset of decoded data components that are associated with an image resolution that is equal to or less than a display resolution of the video frame such that the subset of decoded data components comprises data sufficient to reconstruct the video frame at the display resolution, the display resolution being one of a plurality of accessible image resolutions;
• and
• displaying the video frame at the display resolution.

A method for providing compressed video data, the method comprising:

• accessing, by a computer system, a plurality of video frames;
• identifying a hardware display communicatively coupled to the computer system;
• determining an available bandwidth between the computer system and the hardware display;
• selecting a desired image resolution out of one or more usable image resolutions based on the determined available bandwidth;
• for each video frame of the plurality of video frames:
• iteratively encoding the video frame into a plurality of data components associated with a plurality of respective image resolutions;
• wherein each iteration of the iterative encoding process comprises separating a component of the plurality of data components into (i) one or more low pass components associated with a lower image resolution, and (ii) one or more high pass components associated with a higher image resolution;
• and
• transmitting, to the hardware display, all of the data components of the plurality of data components that have an image resolution that is equal to or lower than the one selected image resolution.