Video Frame Encoding with Long-Term Reference for Bandwidth Shortage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bandwidth shortages during the transmission of encoded video frames can cause delays and frame losses, leading to decoder failures and management system timeouts, particularly in applications like surveillance using wireless communication.
Innovation Solution
Creating a long term reference frame at the sending device that indicates bandwidth shortage, and sending inter encoded frames with empty or skip blocks during periods of insufficient bandwidth, ensuring the bit rate aligns with available bandwidth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If encoded video frames are sent using standard encoding principles, then video quality is maintained, but bandwidth consumption exceeds available bandwidth during shortage periods
Solution Approach 1:
The video frame is segmented into multiple blocks, where some blocks are transmitted with full encoding detail and others are set as empty blocks. This segmentation allows the system to adaptively allocate bandwidth resources across different spatial regions of the frame, maintaining critical visual information while reducing overall bit rate to match available bandwidth during shortage conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The encoding parameters are dynamically changed based on bandwidth availability. During bandwidth shortage, the system changes the encoding state of specific blocks from containing pixel information to empty blocks, effectively adjusting the bit rate parameter to match the constrained bandwidth while maintaining the inter-encoded frame structure for continuous playback.
2Quantity of substance
If frame transmission is reduced during bandwidth shortage, then bandwidth consumption is reduced, but frame loss and delays increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous frame transmission during bandwidth shortage by sending inter-encoded frames with empty blocks at the same frame rate as normal operation. This continuity prevents decoder timeouts and maintains synchronous operation between sending and receiving devices, while the empty blocks reduce the bit rate to match available bandwidth without reducing transmission frequency.
3Quantity of substance
If inter-encoded frames are used during bandwidth shortage, then bandwidth consumption is reduced, but video quality and information completeness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Different blocks within the same frame are assigned different quality levels. Critical blocks that contain essential visual information are transmitted with full encoding detail, while non-critical blocks are set as empty blocks. This local quality differentiation allows the system to maintain acceptable overall video quality while significantly reducing the total information content to match constrained bandwidth availability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for handling bandwidth shortage for transmission of encoded video frames. In a sending device, a long term reference frame which indicates bandwidth shortage is created. During a first time period, the reference frame is sent to the receiving device for storage. During a subsequent second time period, bandwidth shortage is determined in the sending device, wherein the bandwidth during the second time period is insufficient if the encoded video frames are encoded according to an encoding principle used at times without bandwidth shortage. During the second time period, inter encoded frames referencing the long term reference frame are sent, wherein each frame includes encoded blocks, and at least a subset of the blocks of the inter encoded frames are empty blocks such that the bit rate of the inter encoded frames is lower or equal to the bandwidth during the second time period.