Abstract: Systems and methods of transcoding video bitstreams that employ look-ahead approaches to enhance the overall perceptual quality of transcoded video information, communications, and entertainment delivered to an end user. The disclosed systems and methods of transcoding video bitstreams take into account the scene characteristics and the local coding complexity of video frames in a video sequence before performing bit allocations for the video frames, thereby significantly improving the perceptual quality of transcoded video delivered to the end user.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for real-time communication (e.g., fax, voice, video) via an IP Network even if a firewall or other restriction element is present or encountered. The real-time nature of the communication is ensured by preestablishing a communication session between a transfer client and a transfer server, between which the firewall or other restriction element is located. Following the preestablishment of the communication session, transmission control messages are exchanged between the transfer server and the transfer client via the preestablished communication session. The preestablished communication session prevents the firewall or other restriction element from blocking or delaying traffic (e.g., fax, voice, video traffic). The preestablished communication session establishes a full duplex communication link without restriction of or by the firewall or other communication restriction element.

Abstract: Systems and methods of measuring a temporal offset between audio content and video content that employ audio fingerprints from an audio signal in the audio content, and video fingerprints from video frames in the video content. The systems obtain reference audio and video fingerprints prior to transmission of video over a media channel, and obtain target audio and video fingerprints subsequent to transmission of the video over the media channel. Each fingerprint has an associated time stamp. Using the reference and target audio fingerprints and their associated time stamps, the systems determine an audio time stamp offset. Using the reference and target video fingerprints and their associated time stamps, the systems determine a video time stamp offset. Using the audio and video time stamp offsets, the systems determine a temporal offset between the video content and the audio content introduced by the media channel.

Abstract: A facility for customizable routing in a modularized routing environment is provided, where the complexities of routing functionality are not exposed to an application program. An identifier associated with a routing policy of an application program is used to configure a route table and to obtain routing instructions from the route table that are associated with the identifier. Routing is performed according to a message routing protocol, such as the Diameter protocol, for example. An interface between the facility and the application program may be implemented with an API that provides a relatively simple interface.

Abstract: An application programming interface (API) provides telecommunication services in the form of a resource modeled as an object, which object can be essentially any coherent and meaningful concept that may be addressed. The API model permits simpler and more intuitive invocation and usage of the API. The object model for the API avoids having to understand service infrastructure for proper API invocation and tends to increase the usability of the service represented by the API. With the object-modeled resource, the device can be made to appear to an application programmer as a webpage, so that interacting with the device is the same as interacting with a webpage, such as by utilizing HTTP requests and responses. The object-model API can increase the ease with which an application programmer can utilize the services offered, as well as increase the ease with which the API may be integrated into an overall communication system.

Abstract: A user interface and gateway can be synchronized with each other by maintaining a sequential synchronization parameter in the network gateway, which value is retrieved from the network gateway and compared against a stored value in the user interface. If the retrieved synchronization value is other than expected in comparison with the stored synchronization value, the user interface is reloaded from the network gateway. The synchronization parameter may be a counter that is incremented based on the occurrence of a given event, such as a request provided by the user interface. The user interface may intermittently request retrieval of the synchronization parameter to verify synchronization between the user interface and the network gateway. The synchronization mechanism can operate in unidirectionally triggered communication protocol environments, as may be implemented in web 2.0 applications with pull technology.

Abstract: Systems and methods of adjusting synchronization of audio media streams and video media streams in 3G mobile communications systems that can mitigate the effects of temporal skew due to intervening processing elements associated with media channels carrying the respective media streams. The systems and methods are operative to adjust the synchronization of audio media streams and video media streams by receiving control messages that report delays due to such intervening processing elements, calculating a relative amount of delay using the reported delays for each media channel, and applying a delay factor based on the relative amount of delay to the faster media channel to place the audio media streams and the video media streams in proper temporal alignment. The delay factor is applied to the faster media channel at those locations within the mobile communications systems where the audio and video media streams are combined and/or separated for subsequent transmission.

Abstract: A video transcoding system and method employing an improved rate control algorithm. A plurality of frames in an input video bitstream are received by the system, in which each frame is in a first coding format. Each frame in the input bitstream is decoded, and complexity information indicating the complexity of the frame after decoding is obtained. An estimated number of bits to allocate for the respective frame is calculated. Using a rate estimation model that employs the complexity information for the respective frame, a picture cost for the frame is calculated based on the estimated number of bits allocated to encode the frame, and a parameter of the rate estimation model. A target cost for the respective frame is calculated based at least in part on the picture cost and the complexity information for the frame.

Abstract: A facsimile system and method provides authentication of transmitted image information, which authentication may be in the form of a signature page. An authentication device computes authentication information at a sending device, a receiving device, both, or at a remote location during transmission. The signature page may also be transmitted with the document. The sending and receiving devices may each generate signature pages or acknowledgement of receipt in response to receiving a signature page. The authentication information may be encrypted with a public/private key pair. The authentication information may be in the form of a checksum, and may be prepared based on separate regions of the document. A previously generated signature page is compared to a newly generated signature page to verify the document content or authenticity. Document authentication signatures may include machine-readable symbols to represent the authentication information.

Abstract: Communication network components can be synchronized for facsimile transmissions in the communication network. The synchronization may compensate for variations in transmission rates among the different network components or different paths taken by portions of the facsimile transmission. The synchronization may involve modulating an adaptive jitter buffer or an effective packet rate to compensate for clock skew that may occur between network components. The compensation to obtain synchronization can be achieved to avoid causing interruptions or distortions in the facsimile transmission data. By applying the compensation at specific points or intervals in a facsimile transmission, synchronization can be achieved to obtain an overall quality improvement in facsimile transmissions in a packet switched network.

Abstract: A call routing device in a communication network is re-entrant to permit a set of call routing rules to be applied more than once. A routing table in the routing device has entries to indicate that an incoming call should be rerouted to the routing device to permit additional call routing rule(s) to be applied to the incoming call. A routing table is provided with entries to indicate when an incoming call should be rerouted to the routing device and how call attributes should be created/modified to achieve call routing in one or more iterations of call routing processing using the routing table. The re-entrant routing device and routing table permits a wide variety of call attributes to be used to direct call routing processing using a routing table that can have a reduced number of entries. The re-entrant routing device and routing table permits a flexible configuration for call routing in communication networks while conserving routing device resources.

Abstract: Dynamic animated avatars selectively morph to reveal or depict the user's identity while simultaneously emulating or tracking active movements associated with the user's verbal stream or perceived movements of the user. A user elects morphing to transition the rendered avatar to another, more revealing avatar, for example from a cartoon caricature to a posed photographic image. Animation processing identifies active movements derived from an input stream to compute animations of the mouth and profile based on speech, text, or captured video from the user. The computed animations appear as active movements to the currently rendered avatar, and emulate the user speaking or moving according to text, audio or video being transmitted. A user maintains an anonymous or posed identity with respect to the receiving party, and chooses to reveal a different avatar depicting a truer identity at the user's discretion, while continuing to display active movements paralleling the user's verbal activities.

Abstract: Systems and methods of performing quantitative measurements of image blur in digital images and digital image sequences that are computationally efficient, and that employ no reference information in the measurement process. Each of the image blur measurements is performed using a Markov Chain, where a gradient image array is calculated for a pixel array derived from a given digital image, and a transition probability matrix is constructed for the transition probabilities between adjacent elements in the gradient image array. The transition probability data contained in the transition probability matrix can be pooled or otherwise accumulated to obtain a quantitative measurement of image blur in the given digital image.

Abstract: Systems and methods of routing data units such as data packets or data frames that provide improved system performance and more efficient use of system resources. The disclosed systems and methods employ memory mapping approaches in conjunction with transaction ID tag fields from the respective data units to assign each tag value, or at least one range of tag values, to a specified address, or at least one range of specified addresses, for locations in internal memory that store corresponding transaction parameters. The disclosed systems and methods can also apply selected bits from the transaction ID tag fields to selector inputs of one or more multiplexor components for selecting corresponding transaction parameters at data inputs to the multiplexor components. The disclosed systems and methods may be employed in memory-read data transfer transactions to recover the transaction parameters necessary to determine destination addresses for memory locations where the memory-read data are to be transmitted.

Abstract: A wireless communication device can send and receive realtime facsimile transmissions over a data channel available to the device. The device can implement a real time facsimile protocol over the data channel, which can generally be a packet switched network connection, such as an IP connection. An image capture device can be employed to obtain an image of a document that can be facsimile transmitted from the wireless device over the data channel. The document image may be converted to a format generally usable with facsimile transmissions. The wireless device can be configured to transmit immediately following image capture, or after a desired number of images are captured. A contact list that may be included with the wireless device may be used to select a destination address for facsimile transmission. A printing device can be the destination address to permit wireless or mobile printing.

Abstract: A system and method of perceptual quality assessment for multimedia content in a communications network employing digital watermarking. A content preparer prepares content for quality assessment by embedding digital watermarks into the multimedia data, each watermark having a different level of robustness with respect to a specified type of potential degradation introduced during content transmission. A quality assessor provides an assessment of the quality of the transmitted content by attempting to detect the presence of at least one watermark, and calculating a quality assessment score based on the level(s) of robustness of the detected watermark(s) with respect to the specified type of potential degradation. The quality assessment score can be calculated based on the level of robustness of the least robust watermark whose presence was successfully detected by the quality assessor.

Abstract: Systems and methods of performing quantitative measurements of blocking artifacts in digital images and digital image sequences that are computationally efficient, and that employ no reference information in the measurement process. At least one normalized gradient image array is calculated, with reference to at least one specified gradient direction, from image pixel data contained in an image pixel array derived from a given digital image. The calculated results are accumulated into at least one profile array, and the data contained in the respective profile array is analyzed in the frequency domain to obtain a quantitative measurement of blockiness in the given digital image.

Abstract: In a system for providing user input information to multiple independent, concurrent applications, the applications send subscription messages to a device receiving user input such as a telephone receiving key presses from a keypad. Each subscription message identifies a pattern of user input that the application is to be notified of. The device monitors the user input to identify the occurrence of the identified patterns. When a specified pattern of user input is detected, the device notifies the corresponding application via a signaling channel linking the application with the device. The subscription messages use regular expressions including various formats to specify the patterns of interest, such as a single digit (explicitly or wildcard), one of a set of digits, a range of digits, and a repeating pattern of digits.

Abstract: A video messaging service is compatible with multiple transport technologies (such as 2G and 3G networks), and operable to render an integrated video message having voice and corresponding video in a matter consistent with the capabilities of the recipient device. The video messaging service receives a voice (audio) and identifies a video component, computes a video format compatible with an intended recipient device, and generates an integrated video message renderable on the recipient device. The video messaging service identifies the initiator and recipient as 2G or 3G network conversant, and identifies the rendering capabilities of the recipient device, such as memory and mailboxes. The system employs MMS (Multimedia Message Service) to encapsulate independent audio and video components as an integrated message including a voice message and a video source. Depending on the capabilities of the recipient device, a .gif ( ) video rendering or a so-called 3GP rendering is also provided.

Abstract: A Media Resource Routing module for a VoIP network having a Host Media Processing and a Media Resource Board. The Media Resource Routing module includes a status list module indicating available resources of the Host Media Processing and available channels on the Media Resource Board and switches for routing communications based on data in the status list so that resources are used efficiently.