Lifesize Communications, Inc.

Lifesize, Inc.

Keith C King

Wayne E Mock

Ashish Goyal

Stefan F Slivinski

Binu Kaiparambil Shanmukhadas

Vivek Wamorkar

Boby Skaria Pullamkottu

Raphael Anuar

Sunil George

Matthew K Brandt

Hrishikesh G Kulkarni

A videoconference may be initiated between a plurality of endpoints. At least one of the endpoints may be coupled to a recording server, which may be configured to record the videoconference. A configuration may be selected (e.g., automatically or manually) for performing the recording. The endpoint (e.g., acting as an MCU) may transmit information to endpoints and may transmit recording information to the recording server. The recording information may be different from the videoconference information. For example, it may be in a 'streaming friendly' format, at a different bit rate, encoded differently, have different inputs, etc. The manner in which the videoconference is stored and/or recorded may be based on the selected configuration. Clients may be configured to receive and display the videoconference from the recording server and may be configured to change the provided layout to different layouts, e.g., based on user input.

Recording a videoconference using separate video

Recording a videoconference using video different from the videoconference

Recording a videoconference using a recording server

Supporting a plurality of videoconferencing streams in a videoconference. The method may include receiving the plurality of videoconferencing streams and may include decoding a first videoconferencing stream of the plurality of videoconferencing streams. The method may also include selecting, for decoding, a second videoconferencing stream of the plurality of videoconferencing streams. The second videoconferencing stream may not be the first videoconferencing stream. The method may further include decoding, in response to said selecting, the second videoconferencing stream of the plurality of videoconferencing streams.

Supporting multiple videoconferencing streams in a videoconference

Initiating a conference in a conferencing system (e.g., a videoconferencing or audioconferencing system). Input may be received to the conferencing system from a mobile communication device. The input may specify one or more participants in the videoconference, e.g., by selecting from contact information stored on the mobile communication device. Accordingly, the conferencing system may initiate the conference based on the received input. The videoconference may include the one or more participants selected from the contact information stored on the mobile communication device.

Using a touch interface to control a videoconference

In some embodiments, a primary endpoint may receive a request from an endpoint to begin a videoconference and/or may be managing a videoconference with an endpoint. The primary endpoint may determine whether to switch or direct conference communications from one or more endpoints in the videoconference or attempting to connect to the videoconference to a secondary endpoint and may communicate the instructions to the endpoint and/or secondary endpoint. In some embodiments, the primary endpoint may seamlessly pass one or more of the endpoints to the secondary endpoint such that participants in the videoconference may not be aware that a switch has been performed. In some embodiments, the primary endpoint may contact the secondary endpoint and may then pass endpoints to the secondary endpoint. The primary endpoint may also pass configuration information for the endpoints to the secondary endpoint.

Videoconferencing endpoint extension

In some embodiments, a spatially multiplexed output decoder may spatially multiplex video packets received in a time multiplexed video stream. A video stream with video packets from two or more sources may be received along with metadata. In some embodiments, a decoder may organize the video packets into respective buffers (e.g., each buffer including video packets for a respective video image). The spatially multiplexed output decoder may spatially multiplex the video images (which are made up of data from the respective video packets) into a video frame to be outputted (e.g., to a separate buffer). The video images in the video frame may then be demultiplexed in other parts of the system (e.g., in a virtual decoder) using information provided about the video frame (e.g., in metadata formed with the video frame).

Video decoder which processes multiple video streams

In various embodiments, a Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) or another video conferencing device (e.g., an endpoint) may generate a video frame that includes video images of two or more video conferencing endpoints. The video frame may then be sent to another video conferencing device that may receive the video frame and separate the two or more video images into separate video images. In some embodiments, the video frame may be separated into its separate images using, for example, metadata sent along with the video frame. The metadata may include video image identifiers and location information (e.g., coordinates in the video frame) of the video images. In some embodiments, the separated video images may be provided to a compositor that may composite the separated video images, for example, into a new layout.

Video conferencing system which allows endpoints to perform continuous presence layout selection

Initiating a conference in a conferencing system (e.g., a videoconferencing or aduioconferencing system). Input may be received to the conferencing system from a mobile communication device. The input may specify one or more participants in the videoconference, e.g., by selecting from contact information stored on the mobile communication device. Accordingly, the conferencing system may initiate the conference based on the received input. The videoconference may include the one or more participants selected from the contact information stored on the mobile communication device.

Conferencing system utilizing a mobile communication device as an interface

A virtual distributed multipoint control unit in a videoconference may be implemented using a master endpoint, one or more facilitator endpoints, and one or more leaf endpoints. The facilitator endpoint(s) may receive video and/or audio from the leaf endpoints (which may provide/receive videoconference audio and video to one or more local participants). The master endpoint may receive video and/or audio from one or more facilitator endpoints (which may include cumulative video stream from multiple leaf endpoints) and/or directly from one or more leaf endpoints. The master endpoint may arrange received video and/or audio and provide cumulative video and/or audio streams to the leaf endpoints (e.g., directly and/or through the facilitator endpoints). The virtual distributed multipoint control unit may support a conference with more leaf endpoints than the master endpoint has input ports and/or decoders.

Virtual distributed multipoint control unit

In various embodiments, a video conferencing device (e.g., an endpoint) may generate a video frame that includes video images of two or more video conferencing endpoints. The video frame may then be sent to a video conferencing device that may receive the video frame and separate the two or more video images into separate video images. In some embodiments, coordinate information sent along with the video frame (e.g., in metadata) may be used by the video conferencing endpoint to determine the locations of the video images in the video frame to facilitate separation of the video images. By transmitting and receiving video frames with multiple video images (from different video conferencing endpoints), multiple video conferencing endpoints can implement a multi-way video conference call without using an MCU.

Video conferencing device which performs multi-way conferencing

In various embodiments, a multipoint control unit (MCU) may arrange incoming video images into a composite video image and define their respective coordinate information including the size of the original composite video image. The MCU may subsequently scale the composite video image. The coordinate information for the scaled composite video image may be reformatted for the resized video images. When the endpoint receives the scaled composite video image, the endpoint may detect the actual size of the scaled composite video image and may determine the new coordinates of the video images in the scaled composite video image using a ratio of the size of the original composite video image to the actual size detected by the endpoint. These new coordinates may then be used to separate the images in the scaled composite video image to use in compositing a new composite video image.

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Keith C King