Video Encoding for Legacy 3D Decoder Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current set-top boxes are unable to decode Multi-view Compression (MVC) coded video, limiting the delivery of full resolution 3D video while also needing to support legacy 2D and 3D video, requiring an upgrade path that is not backward compatible with existing HD capable devices.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that encode and broadcast video content, allowing receivers to decode either half resolution split screen stereo video, full resolution 2D video, or full resolution stereo video, by transmitting a full resolution left view image and a merged image at half resolution, enabling compatibility with both legacy and advanced 3D displays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If MVC compression is adopted for 3D video broadcasting, then full resolution 3D video delivery is improved, but compatibility with legacy set-top boxes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The video stream is segmented into multiple layers: a base layer containing 2D video encoded with H.264 that legacy decoders can process, and enhancement layers containing 3D information (left and right view images) encoded with MVC. This segmentation allows different decoder types to selectively process appropriate layers, resolving the contradiction between full resolution 3D delivery and legacy compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution implements a nested structure where the 2D base layer is embedded within the same bitstream container as the 3D enhancement layers. Legacy set-top boxes can decode and display the nested 2D base layer, while advanced 3D-capable set-top boxes can extract and process the nested MVC enhancement layers to achieve full resolution 3D video output.
2Adaptability or versatility
If half resolution split-screen encoding is used for 3D video, then legacy decoder compatibility is improved, but video resolution deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of transmitting only the reduced resolution split-screen 3D content, the system transmits the full resolution left and right view images in addition to the base layer. Advanced 3D-capable decoders can utilize this excessive information to reconstruct full resolution 3D video, while legacy decoders simply ignore the enhancement layers and display the base 2D layer, thus resolving the resolution loss for advanced users while maintaining compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the resolution parameter of the transmitted video streams. The base layer maintains standard definition or HD resolution for legacy compatibility, while the enhancement layers contain full resolution left and right view images. This parameter differentiation allows the same broadcast to serve both legacy and advanced decoders at their respective optimal resolutions.
3Manufacturing precision
If full resolution left view image and merged image are transmitted, then full resolution 3D video output is improved, but data transmission volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary compression of the left and right view images using MVC (Multi-View Video Coding) technology before transmission. This preliminary action exploits the temporal and spatial redundancy between the two views, significantly reducing the data volume required to represent full resolution 3D content compared to transmitting two independent full resolution video streams.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution merges the left and right view images into a single interleaved bitstream using MVC, rather than transmitting them as separate independent video streams. This merging combines the data representation efficiently, reducing overall bandwidth requirements while preserving full resolution for both views in 3D-capable decoders.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and low bandwidth methods to encode and broadcast a video multiplex that allows a receiving device, e.g., a set-top box, to select and decode reduced resolution stereoscopic three-dimensional video, full resolution two-dimensional video and full resolution stereoscopic three-dimensional video is provided. The systems and methods provide for receiving a data signal (702), the data signal including a first video signal representing a two-dimensional image at a first video resolution and a second video signal representing a three-dimensional image at a second resolution, decoding (706) the first video signal if an output display type is a two-dimensional display type, decoding (704) the second video signal if the output display type is a first three-dimensional display type, and decoding (706, 704) the first video signal and second video signal simultaneously if the output display type is a second three-dimensional display type.