Methods and systems for masking multimedia data

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11368699-B2
Application number	US-202017106954-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 30, 2020
Priority date	Mar 18, 2011
Publication date	Jun 21, 2022
Grant date	Jun 21, 2022

Abstract

Several methods and systems for masking multimedia data are disclosed. In an embodiment, a method for masking includes performing a prediction for at least one multimedia data block based on a prediction mode of a plurality of prediction modes. The at least one multimedia data block is associated with a region of interest (ROI). A residual multimedia data associated with the at least one multimedia data block is generated based on the prediction. A quantization of the residual multimedia data is performed based on a quantization parameter (QP) value. The QP value is variable such that varying the QP value controls a degree of masking of the ROI.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
receiving, by at least one processor, a frame comprising a first video block and a second video block;
in response to determining that the first video block is in a first region of the frame:
selecting, by the at least one processor, a first intra-prediction mode, wherein the first intra-prediction mode is configured to be a higher loss intra-prediction mode than a second intra-prediction mode; and
performing, by the at least one processor, prediction on the first video block in accordance with the first intra-prediction mode, to produce a predicted first video block; and

in response to determining that the second video block is in a second region of the frame:
selecting, by the at least one processor, a second intra-prediction mode; and
performing, by the at least one processor, prediction on the second video block in accordance with the second intra-prediction mode, to produce a predicted second video block.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
quantizing, by the at least one processor, the first video block and the second video block to produce a quantized first block and a quantized second block;
encoding, by the at least one processor, the quantized first block and the quantized second block to produce an encoded first block and an encoded second block; and
transmitting the encoded first block and the encoded second block.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising storing the encoded first block and the encoded second block.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the frame comprises receiving the frame from a video capture device.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining at least one guard band in proximity to at least one boundary portion of a privacy mask region.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
performing prediction in the at least one guard band configured at a right-side boundary portion of the privacy mask region based on a vertical intra-prediction mode; and
performing prediction in the at least one guard band configured at a bottom boundary portion of the privacy mask region based on a horizontal intra-prediction mode.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
generating a residual block based on the predicted first video block; and
performing quantization of the residual block based on a quantization parameter (QP) value, the QP value being variable such that varying the QP value controls a degree of masking of the first region.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
rendering at least one corner pixel associated with a reference frame grey;
generating at least one padded portion in the reference frame, the at least one padded portion comprising at least one grey corner portion generated by using the at least one corner pixel; and
causing at least one motion vector to point towards the at least one grey corner portion to render the first region grey.

9. A device, comprising
one or more processors; and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program for execution by the one or more processors, the program including instructions causing the one or more processors to:
receive a frame comprising a first video block and a second video block;
in response to determining that the first video block is in a first region of the frame:
select a first intra-prediction mode, wherein the first intra-prediction mode is configured to be a higher loss intra-prediction mode than a second intra-prediction mode; and
perform prediction on the first video block in accordance with the first intra-prediction mode, to produce a predicted first video block; and

in response to determining that the second video block is in a second region of the frame:
select a second intra-prediction mode; and
perform prediction on the second video block in accordance with the second intra-prediction mode, to produce a predicted second video block.

10. The device of claim 9 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to:
quantize the first video block and the second video block to produce a quantized first block and a quantized second block;
encode the quantized first block and the quantized second block to produce an encoded first block and an encoded second block; and
transmit the encoded first block and the encoded second block.

11. The device of claim 10 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to store the encoded first block and the encoded second block in the non-transitory computer readable storage medium.

12. The device of claim 9 , further comprising a camera configured to obtain the frame.

13. The device of claim 9 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to:
determine at least one guard band in proximity to at least one boundary portion of a privacy mask region.

14. The device of claim 13 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to:
perform prediction in the at least one guard band configured at a right-side boundary portion of the privacy mask region based on a vertical intra-prediction mode; and
perform prediction in the at least one guard band configured at a bottom boundary portion of the privacy mask region based on a horizontal intra-prediction mode.

15. The device of claim 9 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to:
generate a residual block based on the predicted first video block; and
perform quantization of the residual block based on a quantization parameter (QP) value, the QP value being variable such that varying the QP value controls a degree of masking of the first region.

16. The device of claim 9 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to:
render at least one corner pixel associated with a reference frame grey;
generating at least one padded portion in the reference frame, the at least one padded generate comprising at least one grey corner portion generated by using the at least one corner pixel; and
cause at least one motion vector to point towards the at least one grey corner portion to render the first region grey.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program for execution by one or more processors, the program including instructions to cause the one or more processors to:
receive a frame comprising a first video block and a second video block;
in response to determining that the first video block is in a first region of the frame:
select a first intra-prediction mode, wherein the first intra-prediction mode is configured to be a higher loss intra-prediction mode than a second intra-prediction mode; and
perform prediction on the first video block in accordance with the first intra-prediction mode, to produce a predicted first video block; and

in response to determining that the second video block is in a second region of the frame:
select a second intra-prediction mode; and
perform prediction on the second video block in accordance with the second intra-prediction mode, to produce a predicted second video block.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to:
quantize the first video block and the second video block to produce a quantized first block and a quantized second block;
encode the quantized first block and the quantized second block to produce an encoded first block and an encoded second block; and
transmit the encoded first block and the encoded second block.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage me

Assignees

• Texas Instruments Inc

Inventors

• Dutt Yashwant
• Desappan Kumar
• Goswami Piyali

Classifications

• H04N19/103

  Selection of coding mode or of prediction mode · CPC title

• H04N19/167 Primary

  Position within a video image, e.g. region of interest [ROI] · CPC title

• H04N19/157

  Assigned coding mode, i.e. the coding mode being predefined or preselected to be further used for selection of another element or parameter · CPC title

• H04N19/176

  the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock · CPC title

• H04N19/124

  Quantisation · CPC title