Video Processing Power Management via Priority-Based Decoding

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Solution Overview

Problem

Video processing in devices such as cellular phones and laptops demands significant power and computational resources due to large amounts of digital information, necessitating techniques for power and computational load management.

Innovation Solution

An apparatus and method that prioritizes power management sequences of decodable units in a bitstream based on projections of power and computational loading, allowing selective decoding in low power modes to optimize power consumption and processing efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If video data is processed completely to maintain high video quality, then video quality is improved, but power consumption and computational load increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevideo qualityVSAvoidpower consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the video bitstream into priority-based groups (intra-coded frames, inter-coded frames, etc.) and processes them selectively according to available power and computational resources. This allows the system to maintain video quality by processing high-priority segments while skipping lower-priority ones when resources are constrained.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies different processing quality levels to different portions of the video stream based on their priority classification. High-priority segments receive full processing to maintain quality, while lower-priority segments may be processed with reduced quality or skipped entirely, optimizing the overall power-quality tradeoff.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Loss of information

If all decodable units in the bitstream are processed, then video completeness is improved, but computational load increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevideo completenessVSAvoidprocessing efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary analysis of the bitstream to identify and prioritize decodable units before actual decoding. By pre-classifying frames and segments into priority groups, the system can make informed decisions about which units to process, avoiding unnecessary computational work on low-priority content while maintaining video completeness for high-priority segments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements partial processing of the bitstream by selectively decoding only the necessary portion of decodable units based on priority and resource availability. This partial action approach maintains acceptable video completeness by ensuring high-priority content is processed while accepting that some lower-priority content may be skipped under computational constraints.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Use of energy by moving object

If high priority decodable units are processed selectively, then power consumption is reduced, but video quality may deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepower consumptionVSAvoidvideo quality

Core Design Contradiction:

Use of energy by moving objectVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor available power and computational resources, dynamically adjusting the processing of decodable units. The system continuously evaluates resource availability and adapts its processing strategy, ensuring that video quality is maintained within the constraints of available power by selectively processing high-priority units when resources permit.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

4Use of energy by moving object

If video processing operations are reduced to save power, then power consumption is reduced, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepower consumptionVSAvoidprocessing time

Core Design Contradiction:

Use of energy by moving objectVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements periodic evaluation of resource availability and dynamic adjustment of processing priorities. By periodically reassessing power and computational conditions, the system can optimize the balance between power consumption and processing time, processing high-priority units efficiently when resources are available and reducing processing intensity when resources are constrained.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Data Source

PatentUS8948270B2Power and computational load management techniques in video processing

Publication Date: 2015.02.03 QUALCOMM INC

AI summary

Techniques for power and computational load management in video processing and decoding are provided. In one configuration, an apparatus comprising a processor having a set of instructions operative to extract and compile information from a data stream having video is provided. The processor is operative to prioritize a set of parsing or decoding operations to process the data stream referred to as power management (PM) sequences based on the information and calculate projections of at least one of power and computational loading for each of the prioritized PM sequences.