Spatially Varying Video Encoding for VR Bitrate Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Resource-limited devices struggle to process and decode high-resolution, high-bitrate virtual reality (VR) and panoramic video content due to inadequate energy, bandwidth, and computational capacity.
Innovation Solution
A system that transforms spherical source images into planar images using a spherical to planar transformation, applying spatial quality distribution for encoding, where portions of the image are encoded at different qualities based on the transformation, reducing the bitrate and energy consumption by prioritizing higher quality encoding for the user's viewport area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If full resolution and full frame image content are transmitted to resource-limited devices, then video quality is maintained, but energy consumption and computational load increase beyond device capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different encoding qualities to different spatial regions of the image based on distortion characteristics. Regions with high distortion (near poles) use lower encoding quality, while regions with low distortion (near equator) use higher encoding quality. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining high quality where needed while reducing energy consumption in less critical regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the encoding quality parameter spatially across the image based on the spherical-to-planar transformation distortion. By varying the quality parameter according to location, the system optimizes the balance between video quality and energy consumption, transmitting full quality only where geometric distortion is minimal.
2Manufacturing precision
If high bitrate video streams are transmitted, then video quality is improved, but network bandwidth requirements exceed available capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transmits high-quality encoded data only for regions with low distortion (near the equator), while using lower-quality encoding for regions with high distortion (near the poles). This spatially differentiated approach reduces overall bandwidth requirements while maintaining acceptable video quality in the most visually important regions.
3Manufacturing precision
If uniform high quality encoding is applied to the entire planar image, then overall video quality is maximized, but the bitrate becomes too high for resource-limited devices to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent encodes different regions of the planar image at different quality levels based on their distortion characteristics. Regions near the equator (low distortion) receive high-quality encoding, while regions near the poles (high distortion) receive lower-quality encoding. This resolves the contradiction by optimizing the trade-off between overall video quality and decoding efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies full encoding quality only to the portions of the image where it is most beneficial (low distortion regions), rather than uniformly across the entire image. This partial application of high quality encoding reduces the overall bitrate while maintaining acceptable quality where it matters most for decoding efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for providing imaging content using spatially varying encoding quality. Imaging content may be acquired using spherical lenses (e.g., fisheye). When viewing spherical imaging content, spherical to planar image transformations may be utilized. Such transformations (e.g., equirectangular) may be characterized by spatially varying image distortion. Transformed images may be encoded. Encoding process may be configured based on spatially varying encoding quality. Encoding quality may be configured based on the transformation such that portions of the transformed image characterized by greater distortion may be encoded using lower quality (e.g. greater QP values); portions of the transformed image characterized by lower distortion may be encoded using greater quality (e.g. lower QP values). Such encoding may produce a bitstream characterized by a lower bitrate for a given quality and/or better quality for a given bitrate as compared to an encoding process that may apply a uniform encoding quality.