Abstract: A method and apparatus for finding an estimate of the delay of a signal travelling between two points. A quantity is evaluated from the signal at a final number of time instants, at both a reference point and a reception point. The values are quantized by comparison with a threshold adapted to a typical magnitude of the quantity. If the quantized values from the reception point are shifted back by the true delay with respect to the quantized values from the reference point, then certain co-occurrences of quantized values have very low probability. Hence, the best delay estimate is that shift which yields the least number of low-probability co-occurrences.

Abstract: Implementations of independent temporally concurrent video stream coding may include generating a sequence of encoded frames by encoding a plurality of input frames, wherein encoding the plurality of input frames may include generating a first plurality of encoded frames based on the plurality of input frames, the first plurality of encoded frames including a first plurality of intra-coded frames and a first plurality of inter-coded frames, and independently generating a second plurality of encoded frames based on the plurality of input frames, wherein the second plurality of encoded frames includes a second plurality of intra-coded frames and a second plurality of inter-coded frames, such that the first plurality of encoded frames and the second plurality of encoded frames are temporally concurrent, and such that the intra-coded frames from the second plurality of intra-coded frames are temporally nonconcurrent with the intra-coded frames from the first plurality of intra-coded frame.

Abstract: A system for transmitting data packets representing a source signal across a packet data network is provided. Additionally provided are methods and an apparatus for encoding parameters representing the source signal and also decoding these parameters. The system allows adaptation to the loss scenario of data packets transmitted across the packet data network. A redundancy encoding is generated with a bit rate continuously scalable, the bit rate being provided by a bit rate controller that uses input from the network and packet-loss rate information. The specification can be changed for each coding block. At the decoder, recovery is performed by a parameter estimator based on a dynamically generated statistical model of the effect of the quantizers. The method may be added to existing lossy source coding systems or may be used to enhance the quality of the reconstructed source signal even in scenarios without packet loss.

Abstract: The invention relates to methods and apparatuses for encoding and decoding of a video sequence. In connection with encoding/decoding a video sequence it is desirable to increase the video quality without having to increase the bit-rate for the encoded video too much, thereby still providing a bit-efficient representation of the video. If multiple descriptions of the video sequence is used the invention improves the video quality without any increase of the bit-rate. According to the invention, this is achieved by using two or more coding units for encoding the same video sequence, wherein the encoding units perform their encoding operations displaced in time in relation to each other. Correspondingly, two or more decoding units are used for decoding the same video sequence, wherein the decoding units perform their decoding operations displaced in time in relation to each other.

Abstract: A system for transmitting data packets representing a source signal across a packet data network is provided. Additionally provided are methods and an apparatus for encoding parameters representing the source signal and also decoding these parameters. The system allows adaptation to the loss scenario of data packets transmitted across the packet data network. A redundancy encoding is generated with a bit rate continuously scalable, the bit rate being provided by a bit rate controller that uses input from the network and packet-loss rate information. The specification can be changed for each coding block. At the decoder, recovery is performed by a parameter estimator based on a dynamically generated statistical model of the effect of the quantizers. The method may be added to existing lossy source coding systems or may be used to enhance the quality of the reconstructed source signal even in scenarios without packet loss.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for finding an estimate of the delay of a signal travelling between two points. A quantity is evaluated from the signal at a final number of time instants, at both a reference point and a reception point. The values are quantized by comparison with a threshold adapted to a typical magnitude of the quantity. If the quantized values from the reception point are shifted back by the true delay with respect to the quantized values from the reference point, then certain co-occurrences of quantized values have very low probability. Hence, the best delay estimate is that shift which yields the least number of low-probability co-occurrences.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods and devices for encoding and decoding digital audio signals, e.g. a speech signal. An audio coder and a decoder are provided wherein a modeller adds a first distribution model obtained from model parameters of past segments of the digital audio signal and a fixed distribution model, each of the models being multiplied by a weighting coefficient, for obtaining a combined distribution model. The weighting coefficients are selected to minimize a code length of a current segment of the digital audio signal. As the combined distribution model is a sum of several distribution models, wherein at least some of the models is based on the model parameters, flexibility is introduced in the signal model used to encode the digital audio signal. Thus, an audio coder and decoder providing a low bit rate in average, low bit rate variations and low error propagation are provided.

Abstract: Systems and methods for using distributed processing in conjunction with blind source separation techniques for signal processing and acquisition in sensor network environments are provided. In the distributed blind source separation framework, sensors each perform some processing of sensor signals rather than transmitting such signals over long distances, and/or outside of the sensor network, to be processed at a central location. Sensors attempt to own a source signal, and a source signal can only be owned by one active sensor. Sensors that own a source signal broadcast the source signal directly or indirectly so that it is perceived by users. Sensors receive information from other sensors in their sensor neighborhood, including the observed signals of the other sensors and the estimated source signals of the sources owned by the other sensors.

Abstract: A system for transmitting data packets representing a source signal across a packet data network is provided. The encoder comprises a first encoder (110) and a redundancy encoder (120). The redundancy encoding is generated with a bit rate continuously scalable, the bit rate being provided by a bit rate controller (142) that uses input from the network (130) and packet-loss rate information. At the decoder, recovery is performed by a parameter estimator based in part on information transmitted from the first encoder using information from previous and/or future blocks and in addition on redundant information. The method may be added to existing lossy source coding systems or may be used to enhance the quality of the reconstructed source signal even in scenarios without packet loss.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method, device and computer-program product for suppression of undesired temporal variations, notably flicker, in a sequence of video frames. Histogram-based and similar approaches generally do not remove all flicker. Features that are resolved only in portions of the flicker cycle will manifest themselves as residual flicker. This effect is near-universal in bright regions of a scene. The inventive solution is a mapping that aims to resolve in the output only those features that are resolved in all frames of the flicker cycle. Use of time-maximal quantile values may preserve non-resolution of such image features that are unresolved due to intermittent bright saturation. Thus, in one embodiment, a reduction of resolution is attained by means of a pixel-value mapping based on selecting, over a time window, maximal and minimal quantile values, with maximal values being used for bright spatial regions and minimal values for dark spatial regions.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for finding an estimate of the delay of a signal travelling between two points. A quantity is evaluated from the signal at a final number of time instants, at both a reference point and a reception point. The values are quantized by comparison with a threshold adapted to a typical magnitude of the quantity. If the quantized values from the reception point are shifted back by the true delay with respect to the quantized values from the reference point, then certain co-occurrences of quantized values have very low probability. Hence, the best delay estimate is that shift which yields the least number of low-probability co-occurrences.

Abstract: Systems and methods for using distributed processing in conjunction with blind source separation techniques for signal processing and acquisition in sensor network environments are provided. In the distributed blind source separation framework, sensors each perform some processing of sensor signals rather than transmitting such signals over long distances, and/or outside of the sensor network, to be processed at a central location. Sensors attempt to own a source signal, and a source signal can only be owned by one active sensor. Sensors that own a source signal broadcast the source signal directly or indirectly so that it is perceived by users. Sensors receive information from other sensors in their sensor neighborhood, including the observed signals of the other sensors and the estimated source signals of the sources owned by the other sensors.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method, device and computer-program product for detection of undesired temporal variations (flicker) in a sequence of video frames. In one embodiment, frame-wise luminance means are compared with a reference level and the crossing frequency is compared with expected variation frequencies, such as frequencies associated with an illumination frequency through aliasing. The crossings count can be refined by introducing a latency zone around the reference level. In case of a positive detection of an undesired temporal variation, there is further provided a correction method, device and computer-program product using cumulated distribution functions. The visual detriment of flicker-induced saturation of pixels is alleviated either by brightening non-saturated pixels or by replacing the saturated pixels by randomly sampled values in accordance with a reference cumulated distribution function. The invention provides embodiments suitable for real-time processing of streamed video sequences.

Abstract: Systems and methods for using distributed processing in conjunction with blind source separation techniques for signal processing and acquisition in sensor network environments are provided. In the distributed blind source separation framework, sensors each perform some processing of sensor signals rather than transmitting such signals over long distances, and/or outside of the sensor network, to be processed at a central location. Sensors attempt to own a source signal, which can only be owned by one active sensor. Sensors owning a source signal broadcast the signal directly or indirectly so it is perceived by users. Sensors receive information from other sensors in their sensor neighborhood, including observed signals of the other sensors and the estimated source signals of sources owned by the other sensors. This allows owning sensors to extract the respective source signals of the sources they own and all redundant sensors to check for any non-owned source signals present.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for finding an estimate of the delay of a signal travelling between two points. A quantity is evaluated from the signal at a final number of time instants, at both a reference point and a reception point. The values are quantized by comparison with a threshold adapted to a typical magnitude of the quantity. If the quantized values from the reception point are shifted back by the true delay with respect to the quantized values from the referenced point, then certain co-occurrences of quantized values have very low probability. Hence, the best delay estimate is that shift which yields the least number of low-probability co-occurrences.

Abstract: Methods and devices for encoding and decoding are provided. A source signal value is encoded by a quantization index determined using a partition into quantization cells. Decoding of the quantization index takes place by sampling a reconstruction probability distribution, thereby obtaining a reconstructed signal value, such that the reconstructed signal value lies in the same quantization cell as the source signal value. In one embodiment, encoding and decoding are such that their succession preserves the source signal distribution. In another embodiment, the partition and the reconstruction probability distribution are determined in such manner that the quantization error is minimized subject to a constraint on the relative entropy between the source signal and the reconstructed signal.

Abstract: A non-intrusive signal quality assessment apparatus includes a feature vector calculator that determines parameters representing frames of a signal and extracts a collection of per-frame feature vectors (?;(n)) representing structural information of the signal from the parameters. A frame selector preferably selects only frames (?\with a feature vector (?;(n)) lying within a predetermined multi-dimensional window (?). Means determine a global feature set (?) over the collection of feature vectors (?;(n)) from statistical moments of selected feature vector components ((1^,02, . . . O11). A quality predictor predicts a signal quality measure (Qj from the global feature set (?)).

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for finding an estimate of the delay of a signal travelling between two points. A quantity is evaluated from the signal at a final number of time instants, at both a reference point and a reception point. The values are quantized by comparison with a threshold adapted to a typical magnitude of the quantity. If the quantized values from the reception point are shifted back by the true delay with respect to the quantized values from the referenced point, then certain co-occurrences of quantized values have very low probability. Hence, the best delay estimate is that shift which yields the least number of low-probability co-occurrences.

Abstract: The invention relates to methods and apparatuses for encoding and decoding of a video sequence. In connection with encoding/decoding a video sequence it is desirable to increase the video quality without having to increase the bit-rate for the encoded video too much, thereby still providing a bit-efficient representation of the video. If multiple descriptions of the video sequence is used the invention improves the video quality without any increase of the bit-rate. According to the invention, this is achieved by using two or more coding units for encoding the same video sequence, wherein the encoding units perform their encoding operations displaced in time in relation to each other. Correspondingly, two or more decoding units are used for decoding the same video sequence, wherein the decoding units perform their decoding operations displaced in time in relation to each other.

Abstract: A system for transmitting data packets representing a source signal across a packet data network is provided. Additionally provided are methods and an apparatus for encoding parameters representing the source signal and also decoding these parameters. The system allows adaptation to the loss scenario of data packets transmitted across the packet data network. A redundancy encoding is generated with a bit rate continuously scalable, the bit rate being provided by a bit rate controller that uses input from the network and packet-loss rate information. The specification can be changed for each coding block. At the decoder, recovery is performed by a parameter estimator based on a dynamically generated statistical model of the effect of the quantizers. The method may be added to existing lossy source coding systems or may be used to enhance the quality of the reconstructed source signal even in scenarios without packet loss.