Methods and apparatus for the encoding of audio and/or video data

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11483365-B2
Application number	US-202017427578-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 30, 2020
Priority date	Jan 31, 2019
Publication date	Oct 25, 2022
Grant date	Oct 25, 2022

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are disclosed for selecting an encoding specification for encoding audio and/or video data to be streamed between a user-device (11) and a remote device (28), where the user-device is operable to communicate with the remote device via a digital subscriber line (DSL, 13) for a portion of a path (29) between the user-device and the remote device, the DSL portion (13) extending between a user-side DSL modem device (22) and a DSL aggregation transceiver device (24). The method comprises: at the user-side DSL modem device (22) and/or the DSL aggregation transceiver device (24), collecting performance data in respect of data communications on the DSL portion (13); in dependence on the performance data collected, determining one or more data communication characteristics in respect of data communications on the DSL portion (13); and selecting an encoding specification for encoding the data to be streamed, the selection being made in dependence on the determined data communication characteristics.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of selecting an encoding specification for encoding audio and/or video data to be streamed between a user-device and a remote device, the user-device being operable to communicate with the remote device via a digital subscriber line for a portion of a path between the user-device and the remote device, said portion extending between a user-side digital subscriber line modem device and a digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device, the method comprising:
at either or both of said user-side digital subscriber line modem device and said digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device, measuring digital subscriber line performance data in respect of data communications at a plurality of different times on the digital subscriber line between the user-side digital subscriber line modem device and the digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device;
in dependence on the digital subscriber line performance data measured in respect of data communications at said plurality of different times on the digital subscriber line between the user-side digital subscriber line modem device and the digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device, determining one or more data communication characteristics in respect of data communications over a monitoring period including said plurality of different times on the digital subscriber line between the user-side digital subscriber line modem device and the digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device; and
selecting an encoding specification for encoding said data to be streamed between said user-device and said remote device, the selection of said encoding specification being made in dependence on the data communication characteristics determined in respect of data communications over said monitoring period on the digital subscriber line.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the selection step is performed at the user-side digital subscriber line modem device and/or at the digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein the one or more data communication characteristics in respect of data communications on the digital subscriber line between the user-side digital subscriber line modem device and the digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device are provided by the user-side digital subscriber line modem device and/or by the digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device to a remote service optimisation processor for use in the selection step.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the one or more data communication characteristics in respect of data communications on the digital subscriber line between the user-side digital subscriber line modem device and the digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device are provided to the user-device and/or to the remote device by the user-side digital subscriber line modem device and/or by the digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device for use in the selection step.

5. A method according to claim 3 wherein the selected encoding specification and/or an indication thereof is provided to said user-device and/or said remote device.

6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of selecting an encoding specification comprises selecting a coding technology.

7. A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of selecting an encoding specification comprises selecting one or more encoding parameters for use in encoding audio and/or video data using a selected coding technology, said one or more encoding parameters controlling or affecting one or more of bit-rate, packet loss concealment or forward error correction for the streaming of said audio and/or video data.

8. A method according to claim 1 wherein the method further comprises selecting a decoding specification for decoding audio and/or video data that has been streamed between said user-device and said remote device.

9. A method according to claim 8 wherein the decoding specification is selected in dependence on the encoding specification selected for encoding said audio and/or video data to be streamed between said user-device and said remote device.

10. A method according to claim 1 wherein the method further comprises using the selected encoding specification at said user-device and/or said remote device to encode said data to be streamed between said user-device and said remote device.

11. A method according to claim 10 wherein the method further comprises streaming the encoded data between said user-device and said remote device via the digital subscriber line.

12. A method according to claim 1 wherein the communication characteristics in respect of data communications on the digital subscriber line between the user-side digital subscriber line modem device and the digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device include one or more characteristics selected from the following:
characteristics associated with communication speed;
characteristics associated with communication delay and/or delay variation;
characteristics associated with reliability;
characteristics associated with data loss;
characteristics associated with communications quality.

13. A method according to claim 1 wherein the user-device is located in a local area network and the remote device is located in an external communications network outside said local area network, the user-device being operable to communicate via at least one local area network gateway device with the remote device.

14. A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of measuring digital subscriber line performance data comprises measuring physical layer performance data.

15. A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of selecting an encoding specification for a communication session is performed prior to the initiation of that communication session.

16. A system for selecting an encoding specification for encoding audio and/or video data to be streamed between a user-device and a remote device, the user-device being operable to communicate with the remote device via a digital subscriber line for a portion of a path between the user-device and the remote device, said portion extending between a user-side digital subscriber line modem device and a digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device, the system comprising:
a computer processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer program code such that when the computer program code is executed by the computer processor, the system is configured to:
at either or both of said user-side digital subscriber line modem device and said digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device, measure digital subscriber line performance data in respect of data communication at a plurality of different times on the digital subscriber line between the user-side digital subscriber line modem device and the digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device;
in dependence on the digital subscriber line performance data measured in respect of data communications at said plurality of different times on the digital subscriber line between the user-side digital subscriber line modem device and the digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device, determine one or more data communication characteristics in respect of data communications over a monitoring period including said plurality of different times on the digital subscriber line between the user-side digital subscriber line modem device and the digital subscriber line aggregation transceiver device; and
select an encodin

Assignees

• British Telecomm

Inventors

• Bull Nicola
• Humeida Yousif
• Gedge Richard

Classifications

• H04L65/70 Primary

  Media network packetisation · CPC title

• H04L65/764

  at the destination  (reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355) · CPC title

• H04L65/1026

  at the edge · CPC title

• H04M11/062 Primary

  using different frequency bands for speech and other data · CPC title

• H04L65/765

  intermediate · CPC title