Abstract: A device may receive an indication of a multi-cluster switchover from a first cluster to a second cluster associated with the device, and may generate, based on the multi-cluster switchover, a heartbeat request that includes an information element to be utilized by a user plane device to associate with the device. The user plane device may be associated with the first cluster prior to the multi-cluster switchover. The device may provide the heartbeat request and the information element to the user plane device, and may receive, from the user plane device, a heartbeat response based on the heartbeat request and the information element. The device may establish a secure session with the user plane device based on the heartbeat response.

Abstract: A first device may establish a connection with a second device, and may provide a connection check RPC message to the second device. The first device may receive a verification RPC message from the second device, and may provide, to the second device, a sync domains RPC request that includes a first list of active domains with associated address pools. The first device may receive, from the second device, a sync domains RPC response that includes threshold values for the active domains included in the first list of active domains, and may provide, to the second device, a sync pools RPC request that includes a first list of address pools associated with the active domains. The first device may receive, from the second device, a sync pools RPC response that includes confirmation of the first list of address pools, and may allocate addresses of an address pool to a CPE.

Abstract: A network device may maintain, for a user device, a pool domain into which address prefixes are allocated from a partition of an address pool management (APM) device, and may estimate, based on pool domain data, an average subscriber login rate for the pool domain by the user device. The network device may estimate, based on the pool domain data, an average response latency per apportionment alarm, and may calculate a dynamic apportionment threshold based on the average subscriber login rate for the pool domain and the average response latency per apportionment alarm. The network device may utilize the dynamic apportionment threshold for the user device.

Abstract: A first device may establish a connection with a second device, and may provide a connection check RPC message to the second device. The first device may receive a verification RPC message from the second device, and may provide, to the second device, a sync domains RPC request that includes a first list of active domains with associated address pools. The first device may receive, from the second device, a sync domains RPC response that includes threshold values for the active domains included in the first list of active domains, and may provide, to the second device, a sync pools RPC request that includes a first list of address pools associated with the active domains. The first device may receive, from the second device, a sync pools RPC response that includes confirmation of the first list of address pools, and may allocate addresses of an address pool to a CPE.

Abstract: A first device may establish a connection with a second device, and may provide a connection check RPC message to the second device. The first device may receive a verification RPC message from the second device, and may provide, to the second device, a sync domains RPC request that includes a first list of active domains with associated address pools. The first device may receive, from the second device, a sync domains RPC response that includes threshold values for the active domains included in the first list of active domains, and may provide, to the second device, a sync pools RPC request that includes a first list of address pools associated with the active domains. The first device may receive, from the second device, a sync pools RPC response that includes confirmation of the first list of address pools, and may allocate addresses of an address pool to a CPE.

Abstract: A predictive coder, e.g., a hybrid DCT interframe predictive video decoder, reduces the tendency of long-term bias error in the decoded difference signal to accumulate in a predictor (7) by periodically alternating the polarity of the bias error relative to the contents of the predictor. Inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT) stage (6) in a receiver is bracketed by switchable invertors (9a,9b) which, when operating, invert the signal into IDCT stage (6) and then reinvert the signal, plus error, out of IDCT stage (6), thereby inverting the error relative to the difference signal. Control means (10), e.g., a pseudo-random number generator, switches the invertors (9a,9b) in and out periodically such that, over several frames, each block spends an equal amount of time in "normal" and "inverted" modes.

Abstract: The current frame of the picture is compared block-by-block with the previous frame to identify changed picture elements (pixels). The resulting matrix is matched ("vector quantized") to one of a set of standard matrices ("VQ shapes"). Only those pixels flagged by the selected VQ shape are transmitted plus a "VQ shape code". This technique is modified in that the current frame is also compared with a "background" frame stored at the transmitter and at the receiver. Where, for any block, all the pixels flagged by the VQ shape are indicated by the second comparison as being the same as the background, the pixels are not sent--instead a shape code plus a "copy background" instruction is transmitted.

Abstract: The present invention relates to signal coding, and particularly, though not exclusively, to coding of video signals, especially using conditional replenishment coding, where information is transmitted only in respect of elements of a frame of the picture which have changed relative to the previous frame; the transmitted data being used at a receiver to update a stored version of the picture. According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of coding a set of values comprising selecting that one of a plurality of possible sequences of the values which has the highest correlation between successive values in the sequence, and supplying representations of those values to an output; wherein some of the representations are the differences between the relevant value and a prediction based on at least the immediately preceding value in the selected sequence. Although the method is applicable to other forms of signal, it finds particular application in video coding.

Abstract: An analog-to-digital converter 2 for video signals has a sensitivity (reference) input 4 controlled by a controller 10 in response to the converter's digital output so as to maintain the grey level with a predetermined range. Preferably the controller employs an irregular subsampling of the digital values, and responds differently to extreme and mid-range samples. A scale factor may be forwarded to a digital-to-analog converter for reconversion.

Abstract: A television picture transmission system using conditional replenishment employs a scanning rate at the transmitter which differs (for asynchronous operation, slightly; or for operation between systems using different standards, considerably) from the scanning standard at the the receiver. The frame rate conversion is effected by the updating loops at the transmitter or receiver by, respectively, periodically stopping the coding loop for a field or frame so that no data is produced to produce a lower frame rate or periodically repeating a field or frame in the loop without adding any updating data so as to produce a higher frame rate. Resulting variations in data rate are accommodated by utilizing the buffering inherent in conditional replenishment systems.

Abstract: A conditional replenishment video data transmission system involves the transmission of digital values representing the brightness changes at picture elements of a raster scanned image since the previous frame. Since nothing is transmitted for those picture elements without a significant brightness change, the amount of data to be transmitted will depend on the extent of movement in the image, and buffer stores are provided to allow the use of a constant transmission rate. If the extent of movement in the image is very high the buffer store at the receiver will tend to fill up and might overflow. In order to avoid this occurring, reduction of the amount of data to be transmitted by element subsampling has been proposed in which in a cluster of changing elements data relating to only some, for example alternate ones, of the elements are transmitted, and interpolation is used at the receiver to calculate the brightness change data for the omitted elements.