Apparatus and methods for image encoding using spatially weighted encoding quality parameters

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10244167-B2
Application number	US-201715432700-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 14, 2017
Priority date	Jun 17, 2016
Publication date	Mar 26, 2019
Grant date	Mar 26, 2019

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for encoding and decoding image data based on one or more parameters. In one embodiment, various spatial portions or regions of image data (e.g., a still or moving image) are weighted according to the perceived or measured quality. Processing for these weighted regions can be selectively altered or adjusted so as to optimize one or more operational parameters including for example processing and/or memory requirements, or speed.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A computerized apparatus, comprising:
one or more processors in operative communication with a computer readable storage apparatus having a storage medium, the storage medium comprising one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors is configured to:
obtain visual content, the visual content comprised of a plurality of spatial portions;
encode each of the plurality of spatial portions of the visual content;
store the encoded plurality of spatial portions along with respective spatially weighted encoding quality parameters;
retrieve the stored encoded plurality of spatial portions along with the respective spatially weighted encoding quality parameters; and
encode individual spatial portions of the visual content using the respective spatially weighted encoding quality parameters;
wherein the respective spatially weighted encoding quality parameters are derived based on a spatial distortion introduced by an image capture device that describes a spatially weighted encoding quality over an image space of the visual content.

2. The computerized apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spatial distortion comprises a pre-defined spatial distortion specification associated with a lens of the image capture device.

3. The computerized apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spatial distortion comprises a user-configurable spatial distortion parameter.

4. The computerized apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the visual content comprises panoramic content that was captured using two or more image capturing devices.

5. The computerized apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the respective spatially weighted encoding quality parameters are separately retrievable so as to enable provision of the visual content to legacy display devices, the legacy display devices not being compatible with the spatially weighted encoding quality parameters.

6. The computerized apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the encoding of the individual spatial portions of the visual content using the respective spatially weighted encoding quality parameters occurs prior to provision of the visual content to a display device.

7. The computerized apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the encoding of the individual spatial portions of the visual content using the respective spatially weighted encoding quality parameters is dynamically determined based at least in part on a capability of differing display devices.

8. A computer readable storage apparatus having a storage medium, the storage medium comprising one or more computer-executable instructions which, when executed, is configured to:
retrieve visual content, the visual content comprised of a plurality of spatial portions;
retrieve stored spatially weighted encoding quality parameters, the spatially weighted encoding quality parameters associated with respective ones of the plurality of spatial portions;
encode individual spatial portions of the plurality of spatial portions of the visual content using respective ones of the spatially weighted encoding quality parameters, the encoded individual spatial portions of the visual content being based at least in part on one or more parameters associated with a display device; encode the individual spatial; and
provide the encoded individual spatial portions of the visual content to the display device.

9. The computer readable storage apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the stored spatially weighted encoding quality parameters are determined at least in part on lens parameters associated with an image capture device utilized to capture the visual content.

10. The computer readable storage apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the image capture device comprises two or more lenses configured to capture panoramic content.

11. The computer readable storage apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising one or more computer-executable instructions which, when executed, is configured to:
receive an adjusted spatially weighted encoding quality parameter from a user subsequent to the provision of the encoded individual spatial portions of the visual content to the display device;
encode at least a portion of the individual spatial portions of the visual content using the adjusted spatially weighted encoding quality parameter; and
provide the encoded at least a portion of the individual spatial portions of the visual content using the adjusted spatially weighted encoding quality parameter to the display device.

12. The computer readable storage apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the spatially weighted encoding quality parameters are separately retrievable so as to enable provision of the visual content to legacy display devices, the legacy display devices not being compatible with the spatially weighted encoding quality parameters.

13. The computer readable storage apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the encoding of the individual spatial portions of the visual content using the spatially weighted encoding quality parameters occurs prior to provision of the visual content to the display device.

14. The computer readable storage apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the encoding of the individual spatial portions of the visual content using the spatially weighted encoding quality parameters is dynamically determined based at least in part on a capability of differing display devices.

15. A method of processing digital image data, the method comprising:
encoding each of a plurality of spatial portions of captured visual content;
storing the encoded plurality of spatial portions along with respective associated spatially weighted encoding quality parameters;
determining the stored respective associated spatially weighted encoding quality parameters based at least in part on lens parameters associated with a device utilized to capture the visual content;
retrieving the stored pre-encoded plurality of spatial portions along with the respective associated spatially weighted encoding quality parameters;
encoding individual ones of the encoded plurality of spatial portions of the visual content using the respective associated spatially weighted encoding quality parameters, the spatially weighted encoding quality parameters comprising at least a first quality parameter associated with a first spatial portion of the captured visual content and a second quality parameter associated with a second spatial portion of the captured visual content, each of the first and second quality parameters comprising information identifying computing resources required for processing the first and second spatial portions, respectively.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the encoding of the each of the plurality of spatial portions comprises compressing at least one of the plurality of spatial portions.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the captured visual content comprises capturing areas of differing measurable qualities, the plurality of spatial portions each comprising respective ones of the differing measurable qualities.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein:
the encoding of the individual ones of the encoded plurality of spatial portions comprises encoding based at least in part on one or more parameters associated with a display device; and
the method further comprises providing the encoded individual ones of the pre-encoded plurality of spatial portions of the visual content to the display device.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the encoding of the individual spatial portions of the visual content using the respective spatially weighted encoding quality parameters occurs prior to provid

Assignees

• Gopro Inc

Inventors

• Adsumilli Balineedu Chowdary
• Abbas Adeel
• Chawla Sumit

Classifications

• H04N19/597 Primary

  specially adapted for multi-view video sequence encoding · CPC title

• H04N23/698 Primary

  for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture · CPC title

• H04N19/115

  Selection of the code volume for a coding unit prior to coding · CPC title

• H04N19/122

  Selection of transform size, e.g. 8x8 or 2x4x8 DCT; Selection of sub-band transforms of varying structure or type · CPC title

• H04N19/57

  Motion estimation characterised by a search window with variable size or shape · CPC title