Home Network GUI Encoding and Command Latency
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Home network systems face inefficiencies in displaying graphical user interfaces (GUIs) due to suboptimal video encoding, leading to unclear text data and slow response times to remote commands, as existing video encoding prioritizes motion picture quality over still text data and often results in command delays due to shared transmission slots with audio/video data.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method that uses distinct video encoding for moving video and GUI data, with GUI data encoded using a GOP structure having more frames and data in I-frames, and reserving contention-free periods for command transmission to ensure fast and prioritized response times, allowing for improved GUI picture quality and reduced command latency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If standard video encoding (MPEG) is used for GUI display, then motion picture quality is optimized, but still text data becomes unclear and GUI picture quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the video stream into two distinct encoding paths: one for motion video content and another for GUI elements. By separating GUI data from the main video stream and applying dedicated encoding parameters (higher bitrate, different GOP structure), the system ensures clear text display without compromising overall video quality. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by allowing each type of content to be optimized independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality enhancement by allocating higher encoding quality specifically to GUI regions where text and interface elements are displayed. The system dynamically adjusts encoding parameters based on content type, applying more bits and better compression ratios to GUI frames containing text data, while maintaining efficient encoding for motion-heavy video portions. This localized quality adjustment ensures text clarity without unnecessarily increasing overall bandwidth consumption.
2Productivity
If remote commands are transmitted in shared time slots with audio/video data, then network resource utilization is maximized, but command response time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-allocating specific time slots within the MPEG transport stream structure exclusively for command transmission. These reserved slots are established in advance during stream initialization, ensuring that command data always has a guaranteed transmission path without waiting for available bandwidth in shared slots. This preliminary resource reservation eliminates command delays while maintaining efficient network utilization through structured time multiplexing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism in the form of a command buffer and priority handling layer that sits between the remote control input and the network transmission layer. This intermediary captures commands, buffers them appropriately, and injects them into reserved time slots in the transport stream, ensuring timely transmission regardless of video data timing. The intermediary layer mediates between high-priority command traffic and best-effort video traffic, preventing command delays without requiring dedicated physical channels.
3Device complexity
If a single video encoding is used for both moving video and GUI data, then system complexity is reduced, but GUI text display becomes unclear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves universality by using a single integrated encoding system that handles both video and GUI content through a unified MPEG encoder framework. The encoder can dynamically switch between different encoding modes and parameters based on the input content type, maintaining a single codebase and system architecture while delivering optimized output for different content types. This multi-functional approach reduces system complexity compared to having separate encoding systems, while still achieving high text clarity through parameter adjustment.
Data Source
AI summary
GUI presentation in a home network is improved by using a video encoding tailored for GUI, while using normal video encoding for video presentation. Also, GUI command response time is shortened by reserving, for transmission of commands originated by a user input device, a time slot in a contention free period (CFP) of a transmission cycle between a client device receiving the commands and a server executing them.