Multimedia resources: An information model and its application to an MPEG2 video codec

Still today, diagnosing a problem with multimedia resources, such as video and sound cards, is insufficiently automated. These resources therefore cannot be accurately managed. One reason for this is the lack of their thorough modeling. In this paper, we fulfill this need, by proposing a generic information model, which we further apply to an MPEG2 video codec. We highlight the main characteristics of this kind of codec, identify parameters that influence these characteristics, and reveal some of the trade-offs that the application developer can consider in order to design efficient software for MPEG2 codecs. In addition to the benefits of this modeling for the user and the application developer, we also show how useful it could be for the providers of distribution services, such as live video transmission. These providers can use our model to achieve resource management on an end-to-end basis

Platforms for handling and development of audiovisual data

Estágio realizado na MOG Solutions e orientado por Vítor TeixeiraTese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informátca e Computação. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

End to end Multi-Objective Optimisation of H.264 and HEVC Codecs

All multimedia devices now incorporate video CODECs that comply with international video coding standards such as H.264 / MPEG4-AVC and the new High Efficiency Video Coding Standard (HEVC) otherwise known as H.265. Although the standard CODECs have been designed to include algorithms with optimal efficiency, large number of coding parameters can be used to fine tune their operation, within known constraints of for e.g., available computational power, bandwidth, consumer QoS requirements, etc. With large number of such parameters involved, determining which parameters will play a significant role in providing optimal quality of service within given constraints is a further challenge that needs to be met. Further how to select the values of the significant parameters so that the CODEC performs optimally under the given constraints is a further important question to be answered. This thesis proposes a framework that uses machine learning algorithms to model the performance of a video CODEC based on the significant coding parameters. Means of modelling both the Encoder and Decoder performance is proposed. We define objective functions that can be used to model the performance related properties of a CODEC, i.e., video quality, bit-rate and CPU time. We show that these objective functions can be practically utilised in video Encoder/Decoder designs, in particular in their performance optimisation within given operational and practical constraints. A Multi-objective Optimisation framework based on Genetic Algorithms is thus proposed to optimise the performance of a video codec. The framework is designed to jointly minimize the CPU Time, Bit-rate and to maximize the quality of the compressed video stream. The thesis presents the use of this framework in the performance modelling and multi-objective optimisation of the most widely used video coding standard in practice at present, H.264 and the latest video coding standard, H.265/HEVC. When a communication network is used to transmit video, performance related parameters of the communication channel will impact the end-to-end performance of the video CODEC. Network delays and packet loss will impact the quality of the video that is received at the decoder via the communication channel, i.e., even if a video CODEC is optimally configured network conditions will make the experience sub-optimal. Given the above the thesis proposes a design, integration and testing of a novel approach to simulating a wired network and the use of UDP protocol for the transmission of video data. This network is subsequently used to simulate the impact of packet loss and network delays on optimally coded video based on the framework previously proposed for the modelling and optimisation of video CODECs. The quality of received video under different levels of packet loss and network delay is simulated, concluding the impact on transmitted video based on their content and features

Digital Video Concepts, Methods, and Metrics: Quality, Compression, Performance, and Power Trade-off Analysis

Digital Video Concepts, Methods, and Metrics: Quality, Compression, Performance, and Power Trade-off Analysis is a concise reference for professionals in a wide range of applications and vocations. It focuses on giving the reader mastery over the concepts, methods and metrics of digital video coding, so that readers have sufficient understanding to choose and tune coding parameters for optimum results that would suit their particular needs for quality, compression, speed and power. The practical aspects are many: Uploading video to the Internet is only the beginning of a trend where a consumer controls video quality and speed by trading off various other factors. Open source and proprietary applications such as video e-mail, private party content generation, editing and archiving, and cloud asset management would give further control to the end-user. Digital video is frequently compressed and coded for easier storage and transmission. This process involves visual quality loss due to typical data compression techniques and requires use of high performance computing systems. A careful balance between the amount of compression, the visual quality loss and the coding speed is necessary to keep the total system cost down, while delivering a good user experience for various video applications. At the same time, power consumption optimizations are also essential to get the job done on inexpensive consumer platforms. Trade-offs can be made among these factors, and relevant considerations are particularly important in resource-constrained low power devices. To better understand the trade-offs this book discusses a comprehensive set of engineering principles, strategies, methods and metrics. It also exposes readers to approaches on how to differentiate and rank video coding solutions

DEVELOPMENT OF VIDEO CONFERENCE USING JMF

Video Conferencing is well-planned to offer high quality ofreal time video and audio transmission. Video Conferencing has added extra flavors to students and lecturers interaction inUTP by having stable communication channel via real time video. Live feed from the media file and captured video can bebroadcasted through the thousand ofuniversity's population innetwork by concentrating in reserving the quality ofthe video while at the same time reducing the cost of bandwidth. It's always great compromise in maintaining the quality ofvideo with the cost bandwidth. Here it goes the need of good compression technique as compression will cause the data to lose some of the information and degrade the quality. The tolerable degradation is always at the author's spotlight. The student has undergone 3 significant phases of system development which are Analysis, Design, and Coding. The critical function ofJava Video Conferencing has been successfully implemented. Open the media file, capture the real time video, transmit the file, transmit the real time captured video, open the file in another computer, broadcast to the network attached computers and view the real time broadcasted video in the network attached computers. Communicating in text mode is an added feature in the Video Conferencing. This Video Conferencing has a room for improvement in achieving the best interaction mode in Information Communication Award. Video Conferencing is seen to have a bright future in realizing the need of Virtual Learning in UTP

Hardware accelerated real-time Linux video anonymizer

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica Industrial e ComputadoresOs Sistemas Embebidos estão presentes atualmente numa variada gama de equipamentos do quotidiano do ser humano. Desde TV-boxes, televisões, routers até ao indispensável telemóvel. O Sistema Operativo Linux, com a sua filosofia de distribuição ”one-size-fits-all” tornou-se uma alternativa viável, fornecendo um vasto suporte de hardware, técnicas de depuração, suporte dos protocolos de comunicação de rede, entre outros serviços, que se tornaram no conjunto standard de requisitos na maioria dos sistemas embebidos atuais. Este sistema operativo torna-se apelativo pela sua filosofia open-source que disponibiliza ao utilizador um vasto conjunto de bibliotecas de software que possibilitam o desenvolvimento num determinado domínio com maior celeridade e facilidade de integração de software complexo. Os algoritmos deMachine Learning são desenvolvidos para a automização de tarefas e estão presentes nas mais variadas tecnologias, desde o sistema de foco de imagem nosmartphone até ao sistema de deteção dos limites de faixa de rodagem de um sistema de condução autónoma. Estes são algoritmos que quando compilados para as plataformas de sistemas embebidos, resultam num esforço de processamento e de consumo de recursos, como o footprint de memória, que na maior parte dos casos supera em larga escala o conjunto de recursos disponíveis para a aplicação do sistema, sendo necessária a implementação de componentes que requerem maior poder de processamento através de elementos de hardware para garantir que as métricas tem porais sejam satisfeitas. Esta dissertação propõe-se, por isso, à criação de um sistema de anonimização de vídeo que adquire, processa e manipula as frames, com o intuito de garantir o anonimato, mesmo na transmissão. A sua implementação inclui técnicas de Deteção de Objectos, fazendo uso da combinação das tecnologias de aceleração por hardware: paralelização e execução em hardware especial izado. É proposta então uma implementação restringida tanto temporalmente como no consumo de recursos ao nível do hardware e software.Embedded Systems are currently present in a wide range of everyday equipment. From TV-boxes, televisions and routers to the indispensable smartphone. Linux Operating System, with its ”one-size-fits-all” distribution philosophy, has become a viable alternative, providing extensive support for hardware, debugging techniques, network com munication protocols, among other functionalities, which have become the standard set of re quirements in most modern embedded systems. This operating system is appealing due to its open-source philosophy, which provides the user with a vast set of software libraries that enable development in a given domain with greater speed and ease the integration of complex software. Machine Learning algorithms are developed to execute tasks autonomously, i.e., without human supervision, and are present in the most varied technologies, from the image focus system on the smartphone to the detection system of the lane limits of an autonomous driving system. These are algorithms that, when compiled for embedded systems platforms, require an ef fort to process and consume resources, such as the memory footprint, which in most cases far outweighs the set of resources available for the application of the system, requiring the imple mentation of components that need greater processing power through elements of hardware to ensure that the time metrics are satisfied. This dissertation proposes the creation of a video anonymization system that acquires, pro cesses, and manipulates the frames, in order to guarantee anonymity, even during the transmis sion. Its implementation includes Object Detection techniques, making use of the combination of hardware acceleration technologies: parallelization and execution in specialized hardware. An implementation is then proposed, restricted both in time and in resource consumption at hardware and software levels

A Hybrid voice/text electronic mail system: an application of the integrated services digital network

The objective of this thesis is to present a useful application for the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) that is expected to one day replace the analog phone system in use today. ISDN itself and its continuing evolution are detailed. The system developed as a part of this thesis involved the creation of an inexpensive phone terminal that can serve as an ISDN terminal and also as a bridge to a Local Area Network (LAN). The phone terminal provides a hybrid electronic mail system that allows the attachment of speech to text within a message. Messages created with this phone terminal could theoretically be sent locally using the LAN interface and globally using ISDN to other users with either phone terminals or multimedia personal computers. For this project, the two phone terminals created were interconnected via an Ethernet and using an 80486 PC to act as a Central Office System. This Central Office System provides speech/message storage for the phone terminals. It makes use of speech compression techniques to minimize the storage requirements. The speech compression techniques used as well as the field of speech coding in general are discussed

Study and simulation of low rate video coding schemes

The semiannual report is included. Topics covered include communication, information science, data compression, remote sensing, color mapped images, robust coding scheme for packet video, recursively indexed differential pulse code modulation, image compression technique for use on token ring networks, and joint source/channel coder design