Real-Time Desktop Sharing via Selective Video Encoding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing collaboration systems face challenges in easily sharing desktop content, particularly multimedia content, due to high bandwidth requirements and latency issues associated with multipoint control units (MCUs), as well as inefficiencies in screen capture and sharing methods.
Innovation Solution
A real-time desktop sharing method that encodes video content using compression techniques, reducing bandwidth usage and processing resources, and eliminates the need for MCUs by utilizing a video application server and network apparatus, allowing seamless sharing of desktop content among participants without relying on screen capture techniques.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If screen capture techniques are used to share desktop content, then content sharing is achieved, but bandwidth usage increases and sharing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential video content from the desktop display for sharing, rather than capturing and transmitting the entire screen. The system identifies and shares only the active video content area, reducing the amount of data transmitted while maintaining content sharing reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The desktop sharing process is segmented into distinct components: video content identification, selective area capture, encoding, and transmission. This segmentation allows the system to optimize each component independently, particularly by applying compression specifically to the identified video content rather than the entire screen
2Loss of information
If full screen video is transmitted for desktop sharing, then complete content is shared, but bandwidth requirements increase and network performance is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different quality and compression settings to different areas of the screen based on their importance. Video content areas receive optimized compression tailored to their specific characteristics, while other areas are either excluded or given lower priority, ensuring complete video content is shared while minimizing overall bandwidth consumption
3Adaptability or versatility
If multipoint control units (MCUs) are used for video conferencing, then video conference functionality is provided, but encoding/decoding resources increase and latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a specialized video sharing server as an intermediary between the presenter and participants. This server handles the encoding and distribution of video content directly, eliminating the need for traditional MCUs and their associated encoding/decoding operations at each participant endpoint, thereby reducing latency while maintaining video conference functionality
4Adaptability or versatility
If MCUs are deployed for collaboration systems, then video conferencing is enabled, but system cost increases and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses software-based video sharing solutions that replicate the functionality of expensive hardware MCUs through software encoding and distribution. The video content is captured and encoded once at the presenter's system, then distributed to multiple participants through standard network infrastructure, eliminating the need for costly MCU hardware while maintaining collaboration functionality
Data Source
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Figure 3
AI summary
A network apparatus in a collaboration system with a plurality of participants, the apparatus comprising: a processing structure; and a memory including computer program code, wherein the memory and the computer program code are configured, with the processing structure, to cause the network apparatus to at least: present content on a display coupled to the processing structure; select a portion of the display for sharing, the portion having the shared content; simultaneously send said shared content to said display and to an encoder for encoding; automatically discover a network server configured to distribute the shared content with the plurality of participants; couple the apparatus to the network server and transmit the shared content to the network server for distribution to at least one of the plurality of participants, such that the shared content is encoded and decoded, and displayed in real-time.