Hughes Electronics Corporation

He Holdings, Inc.

Ram Nagarajan

Peter H Au

Donald C Mead

Ronnie R Burns

A system and method for reducing the amount of decoder memory and the number of transformation calculations used in generating a plurality of frames of a video sequence includes separating the video object into a plurality of blocks, storing those blocks in decoder memory, transforming and displaying blocks as a sequence of frames, determining blocks that will no longer be required to display future frames, and removing these blocks from memory.

Memory management techniques for large sprite objects

A method for displaying a video sequence depicting motion of at least one video object by sequential presentation of a plurality of frames includes storing a low resolution representation of the video object, generating and displaying a first frame of the sequence based on the low resolution representation, updating the low resolution representation, and generating and displaying a subsequent frame of the sequence based on the updated representation. The method may include calculating a quality metric to determine when updating is necessary.

Hierarchical low latency video compression

A method for compressing the bit data of an alpha mask image frame composed of an array of pixels having bit data indicative of a level of brightness includes selecting a modifying function identifier which represents a mathematical transformation, applying a threshold function to the alpha mask image frame to generate a binary image frame, and encoding the binary image frame and the modifying function identifier for transmission. The method may include receiving an encoded signal containing the binary image frame and the modifying function identifier, decoding the encoded signal to extract the binary image frame and the modifying function identifier, selecting the mathematical transformation represented by the modifying function identifier, and then transforming the bit data of at least one pixel in accordance with the mathematical transformation.

Efficient representation of texture for gray scale alpha maps

A method is provided for reducing the number of data bits required for storage or transmission of the data representing the alpha masks of objects in a single image or frame of a video sequence by jointly encoding overlapping boundaries between two adjacent objects within the image and by avoiding redundant encoding and transmission of an alpha mask which can be reconstructed from other encoded alpha mask data.

Method for reducing alpha plane bit mask size

A method for residual coding of model failure regions in compressed video sequences in which a database of residuals for previous model failures is maintained at both the encoder and the decoder. The residuals for each determined model failure regions are compared with the residuals for previous model failures for the same region. In the event a current residual is identified in the database, only the index to the residual in the database needs to be sent. An additional residual taken after the model failure region has been partially corrected with a current residual identified in the database may also be transmitted. This mode provides increased quality at reduced bit rates by maximizing the utilization of previously transmitted or stored data. The process continuously updates the database at both the encoder and decoder when the current residual is not found. The process uses residuals of residuals to provide increased quality of reduced bit rates.

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Los Angeles, CA, United States of America

Ram Nagarajan