Method And Apparatus For Digitizing And Compressing Remote Video Signals

Abstract

A method and apparatus for digitizing and compressing video signals for transmitting the signals between a remotely located computer and a host or local computer. The digitization and compression method and apparatus is capable of dividing frame buffers into cells and comparing image data from previously captured frame buffers to create synchronized video signals and transmit the video signals over an extended range by limiting the portions of the transmission bandwidth of pixel data transferred between the remote computer and the local computer. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, a keyboard video mouse switch is disposed between the remotely located computer and the local computer.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention is directed generally to the field of the compression and digitization of analog video. More particularly, this invention relates to a method of effectively digitizing and compressing the video output of a computer such that it may be monitored and controlled from a remote location.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The trend towards distributed computing, coupled with the pervasiveness of the Internet, has led to a decentralization of resources, such as files and programs, for users and system administrators. As this trend of decentralization continues, user information and data has the potential of being stored on servers and computers remotely located all over the world. As this decentralization expands, system administrators have the task of monitoring and updating computers spread over great distances. The task of monitoring and maintaining these computers is physically trying, if not impossible without a method of easil...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides an improved video compression algorithm that offers efficient bandwidth usage and accurate video transmission. The algorithm allows for platform independent communication between computers, regardless of the operating system used. The invention can be used with various computer platforms, such as Windows, Mac, and Sun. The invention also includes a noise reduction technique that eliminates the noise introduced by the A / D conversion process. The noise reduction algorithm uses a histogram analysis to identify and eliminate the noise introduced by the A / D converter. The invention can be used with a keyboard, video, and mouse control system, as well as a KVM switch. The invention also integrates the pixel conversion methods with a color conversion via a color look-up table, which simultaneously eliminates noise and efficiently compresses color video."

Problems solved by technology

Most systems employed in the art for compressing and digitizing video signals fail to efficiently transmit synchronized video data.

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