Cisco Technology, Inc.

Murthy V Atmakuri

Vijayaraghavan R Triplicane

Krutarth M Shah

Rajah K V R Kalipatnapu

Rajesh Velliyatt

Khoa T Tran

A plurality of multipoint conference units (MCUs) may optimize bandwidth by selecting particular video streams to transmit to endpoints and/or other MCUs participating in a video conference. An endpoint may generate video streams and audio streams and transmit these streams to its managing MCU. During the video conference, an endpoint may also receive and display different video streams and different audio streams. In a particular embodiment, a controlled MCU receives video streams from its managed endpoints, selects potential video streams based upon the maximum number of video streams that any endpoint can display concurrently, and transmits those potential video streams to a master MCU. The master MCU may also receive video streams from its managed endpoints and may select active video streams for transmission to its managed endpoints and to the controlled MCU, which transmits selected streams to its managed endpoints.

Optimizing bandwidth in a multipoint video conference

A method includes receiving a plurality of audio signals. Each of the plurality of audio signals includes audio packets, wherein one or more audio packets from each of the plurality of audio signals is coded with an audiometric, the audiometric including an acoustic measurement from a conference site. The method further includes, for each of the plurality of audio signals, extracting an audiometric from one or more audio packets and selecting an active audio signal based on the extracted audiometrics. In addition, the method includes determining a change in the active audio signal and in response to determining a change in the active audio signal, updating a media forwarding table, the media forwarding table including a directory for routing one or more of the plurality of audio signals. The method further includes distributing audio packets to one or more conference sites in accordance with the media forwarding table.

Media detection and packet distribution in a multipoint conference

A method for distributing media packets in a multipoint conference includes receiving a plurality of audio signals. Each of the plurality of audio signals includes audio packets, wherein one or more audio packets from each of the plurality of audio signals is coded with an audiometric, the audiometric including an acoustic measurement from a conference site. The method further includes, for each of the plurality of audio signals, extracting an audiometric from one or more audio packets and selecting an active audio signal based on the extracted audiometrics. In addition, the method includes determining a change in the active audio signal and in response to determining a change in the active audio signal, updating a media forwarding table, the media forwarding table including a directory for routing one or more of the plurality of audio signals. The method further includes distributing audio packets to one or more conference sites in accordance with the media forwarding table.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Murthy V Atmakuri