Multimedia Encoding Quality Control via Content Classification

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current multimedia encoding techniques fail to maintain consistent perceived quality across varying content types, as the same encoding parameters can result in different quality experiences due to content-specific properties, such as motion and texture, leading to suboptimal quality adjustments.

Innovation Solution

The proposed solution involves a method where multimedia data is classified into content classes based on perceived quality metrics, and encoding parameters are dynamically adjusted to achieve a desired constant perceptual quality. This includes re-encoding segments using adjusted parameters to refine the quality metric, ensuring that the encoded segments converge to a target quality level.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If the same encoding parameters are used for all content types, then the encoding process is simple and fast, but the perceived quality varies across different content types

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveencoding speedVSAvoidperceived quality consistency
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The encoding parameters are made dynamic rather than static. The system continuously monitors perceived quality metrics during encoding and adjusts parameters in real-time based on content characteristics, allowing the encoding process to adapt to different content types while maintaining consistent quality

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

A feedback loop is implemented where the encoded output is evaluated against target quality metrics, and the results are used to adjust encoding parameters for subsequent segments. This closed-loop control ensures quality consistency across varying content types

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Manufacturing precision

If encoding parameters are dynamically adjusted for each content type, then perceived quality consistency is improved, but the encoding process becomes more complex and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveperceived quality consistencyVSAvoidencoding process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The video sequence is divided into segments that are processed individually with content-specific parameters. By segmenting the content based on characteristics like motion and texture, the system can apply targeted encoding strategies without needing to complexly analyze the entire sequence at once

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes encoding parameters such as quantization step size, block size, and transformation type based on detected content characteristics. These parameter adjustments are made systematically according to content classifications, managing complexity through structured parameter variation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Manufacturing precision

If encoding parameters are dynamically adjusted for each content type, then perceived quality consistency is improved, but the computational time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveperceived quality consistencyVSAvoidencoding time
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Content classification and initial parameter selection are performed before the main encoding process. By pre-analyzing content characteristics and determining appropriate parameters in advance, the system avoids time-consuming adjustments during the actual encoding of each segment

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies full dynamic parameter adjustment only to segments where it is most needed based on content characteristics. For segments with uniform or less sensitive content, simpler encoding strategies are used, reducing overall computational time while maintaining quality consistency where it matters most

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP2153657B1Methods and systems for quality controlled encoding
Publication Date: 2019.06.19 QUALCOMM INC
  • EP2153657B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2153657B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP2153657B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

This disclosure describes techniques for controlling a perceived quality of multimedia sequences to try to achieve a desired constant perceptual quality regardless of the content of the sequences. In particular, an encoding device may implement quality control techniques to associate a sequence segment with a content "class" based on the content of the segment, determine a perceptual quality metric of the sequence segment, and adjust at least one encoding parameter used to encode the segment is encoded such that for the perceptual quality of the sequence segment converges to the desired quality.