JPH0217778A - Moving image transmission equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To transmit a moving image in picture quality desired by an outgoing party by transmitting information via buffers provided at the outgoing party side and an incoming party side, respectively. CONSTITUTION:The information to be transmitted from the outgoing party side 150 is fetched once in the buffer 110 at the outgoing party side 150, and is sent to a transmission path 111 in the picture quality requested by the outgoing party. At the incoming party side 151, transmitted information, after being decoded, is fetched and accumulated in the buffer 110 of the incoming party side 151. The information can be outputted to a monitor 102 by operating a keyboard 105 by the incoming party at need.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a video transmission device used in a multi-functional video conference device, video phone, etc.

(Prior Art) When communicating using moving images and audio, there are monolithic video conferencing devices, video telephones, and the like.

These systems simultaneously transmit audio and images within a limited line capacity, so the information must be compressed before transmission. In particular, when transmitting moving images, significant information compression is required. Become. For this reason, the video reproduced on the receiving side suffers from problems associated with compression, such as deterioration in image quality and dropped frames, resulting in cases where information is not transmitted accurately.

If the above-mentioned problem occurs, it is possible to reconfirm the call while you are talking with the other party, but it is also possible to access the message recorded on the answering machine later. In such cases, even if the above-mentioned problems associated with compression occur, it is not possible to reconfirm on the spot, and not only does it not function as an answering machine, but in some cases, the message may be mistakenly There is also a risk that the information received may be passed on to the other party.

Therefore, there are cases where it is desired to transmit accurate information with clear image quality even if it takes a little longer to transmit.However, with conventional technology, only compressed information is transmitted in real time, so high-definition image quality is not possible. It is impossible to transmit images, especially moving images.

It was not possible to answer the above requests.

Furthermore, this kind of problem is not limited to answering machines; similar inconveniences can also occur when you simply want to transmit images from a VTR or other device over a line from one point to another without deteriorating the image quality. become.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) Such conventional video transmission devices simply transmit information compressed according to the line capacity in real time.
It has been impossible to transmit moving images with the image quality requested by callers, especially high-definition image quality. As a result, there are always problems associated with compression, such as deterioration of image quality and dropped frames, which not only prevents accurate information from being transmitted to the other party, but also causes inaccurate information when both parties are not talking at the same time. Unless the information is confirmed again, there is a risk that the other party will perceive it as incorrect information.

The present invention solves these problems and makes it possible to transmit information, especially moving images, with the image quality desired by the caller, regardless of how long the transmission time is, especially when the caller requests it. To provide a video transmission device that can avoid burden and misrecognition caused by inaccurate information on the other party by sending accurate information to the other party.

[Structure of the invention]

(Means for solving ilM) The video transmission device according to the present invention has specific buffers on the sender side and the receiver side, and information to be transmitted from one sender side is transmitted once to the sender side. After being captured in a buffer, the information is sent out to the transmission path with the image quality requested by the sender.1 The information transmitted on the destination side is also decoded and then captured once in the buffer on the destination side and stored. ,
When the caller needs it later, the information is viewed at the same quality as the caller requested, and at the same time as the caller actually attempted to transmit the information, regardless of the length of time required for transmission. It was made so that it could be done.

Moreover, the above method works only when the other party is not on the phone.

For example, it may be operated for answering machines, etc., or it may be operated when transmitting data to the other party using a part of the line during a call.

(Function) A specific buffer is provided on the sender side and the receiver side, and information is transmitted via these buffers. In other words, regardless of the size of the line capacity, by once capturing the information that a caller is trying to transmit into the buffer, it becomes possible to transmit the information to the receiver with the image quality requested by the caller. . Moreover, since a similar buffer exists on the called party's side, the information transmitted by the caller can be viewed at the desired quality and time, and when the called party desires, thereby reducing the inaccuracy of the information. This makes it possible to avoid burdens on the recipient side and erroneous recognition.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a caller side 150 and a callee side 151 in the first embodiment of the present invention.6 Normally, image and audio information are input from a camera 101 and a microphone 103, and various signals are inputted by a switch circuit 106. is identified. The mode selection switch 108 is set to the {circle around (2)} side, and these image and audio signals are compressed by the codec 109 according to the line capacity and transmitted to the called party through the transmission path 111.

On the other hand, if the other party is away and you try to send a message to the other party's answering machine, the information from the caller will be recorded in the message recording unit 112 of the other party through the above-mentioned route, unless image quality is an issue. If it is desired to transmit information with higher image quality, the user can first perform various operations using the keyboard 105 and then transmit the moving image with the image quality requested by the user.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a portion of the keyboard necessary for performing the above operations. If you wish to transmit the video information to the other party's answering machine in higher image quality, first press the button 204 for "high-definition answering machine mode" in 201.

Then, the message recording section 112 of the other party is partially stopped, and at the same time, the signal from this keyboard passes through the control circuit 107 and operates the mode selection switch 108, which is switched to the ■ side and the buffer 110 is turned on.
It will be connected to. Afterwards” S T A RT
” When the button 205 is pressed, the loading of information into the buffer 110 starts, and at the same time the time display section 20
3 shows the time at which the caller actually input the signal into the buffer. This operation is stopped by pressing the "5TOP" button 206, after which the image quality mode on the left side in 201 is selected. Here, ■～■ are in real time (2
This mode requires a transmission time longer than the time shown in 03), and ■ is a mode without compression.

When any of the buttons ① to ③ is pressed, information is sent from the buffer 110 to the codec 109, where it is encoded to have the selected image quality and transmitted to the receiving side. In this mode, even if the data in the buffer is finished and the handset is returned to its original position, the line remains in a talking state until the information is completely transmitted to the other party.

On the other hand, as another method of use, after pressing 204, it is also possible to press any of the mode selection buttons ■ to ■, and then press the 5TART button to transmit information for a certain period of time from the transmitting side. In this case, the information is loaded into the buffer with the transmission mode already determined, so even while the information is being loaded into the buffer, the information is being transmitted to the receiving side in the determined mode. . In this case as well, the line remains busy until all information has been transmitted to the other party. An E"ffD (End of Data) signal is added to the end of the information to be transmitted (it is added by pressing the STOP button), and the line is turned off when both the transmitting and receiving sides find this EσD signal.

On the receiving side 151, after decoding at 109, the buffer 11
0, and is recorded in the message recording unit 112 through the switch 108 which is set to the ■ side. The other party can learn the information later through the monitor 102 and speaker 104.

As an example in the case of an answering machine, a method is shown in which a portion of the data is captured in the buffer 110 and then passed through the codec 109, but it is also possible to capture the coded data by the codec 109 in the buffer 110 and then transmit it sequentially.

FIG. 3 shows a part of the caller side (first part) of another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG.

If the information to be transmitted to the other party is prepared in advance on a VTR or the like and you want to accurately transmit it to the other party, send that information to the other party using the same method as transmitting a facsimile, in addition to the method used with the answering machine above. be able to. In this case, VTR 301 is connected to buffer 110,
After starting a conversation with the other party using the keyboard 105 (
(108 in 151 is also connected to the ■ side) The VTR 301 is operated.

On the receiving side, moving image information without deterioration is recorded in the message recording section 112 through the switch 108 connected to the ■ side.

Alternatively, if a certain degree of deterioration is allowed, as long as the amount of information generated is within a predetermined range, the number of frames and image quality above a certain level are transmitted to the other party regardless of the amount of information generated. - It can be viewed as moving image information with a frame rate and image quality that is higher than that of a standard video camera.

Note that the other party can view the transmitted video at any time after the maximum delay time in the above system (even during transmission) with a delay within the maximum delay time.

FIG. 4 shows a part of the caller side (first part) of another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG.

If you want to transmit only a certain amount of information as a high-definition video while talking with the other party, use part 5 of the keyboard shown in Figure 5.
After pressing the "5TART" button 504 in 01, the camera 101 captures the image data into the buffer 110, and capture continues until the "5TOP" button 505 is pressed. After that, by pressing the "high-definition image multiplexing mode" button 503, the image currently captured from the camera is passed through the codec 109 through the codec 405.
On the other hand, the image that has been loaded into the buffer 110 in advance through 406 and that you want to transmit in high definition is sent to a low compression circuit (or a circuit that does not compress).
402, multiplexed in a multiplexing circuit 403, and transmitted to the receiving side. On the receiving side, only the high-definition transmission image portion is taken into a buffer, and the moving image can be viewed on the receiving side after all the high-definition transmission image information has been transmitted. Note that once all of these high-definition transmission images have been transmitted to the receiving side, the line will automatically return to normal transmission mode.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to transmit a moving image to the called party via a buffer with the image quality requested by the calling party,
The recipient side can see the image as the same image quality and time information as requested by the caller, so there is no need to worry about the psychology of the recipient side due to image quality deterioration or inaccurate information such as dropped frames as in the past. This makes it possible to prevent financial burden or misrecognition of information, and enables more accurate information transmission.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a block diagram of the sender side and the called party side in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are part of the sender side in another embodiment of the present invention. 2 and 5 are diagrams showing a part of the keyboard. 201... High-definition answering machine mode operation part within the keyboard. 204...High-definition answering machine mode selection button, 50
1... High-definition image multiplexing mode operation part in the keyboard, 503... High-definition image multiplexing mode selection button, 10
8...Mode selection switch. Figure 2 Agent Patent Attorney Nori Ken Ken Yudo Matsuyama Mitsuyuki Figure 5 Figure / ρzo Figure

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) Each has a buffer on the sending side and receiving side,
The transmitting side captures the signal to be transmitted for a certain period of time into the transmitting side's buffer, then encodes it at a fixed compression rate or a compression rate set by the sender and transmits it, and then the transmitted signal is transferred to the receiving side's buffer. 1. A moving image transmission device characterized in that by once capturing information into a buffer and then extracting the information from within the buffer, the information can be viewed at a frame rate different from the transmission frame rate. (2) If the receiving side has a message recording unit and a message containing an image is transmitted to this recording unit, after the sending side has captured a certain amount of messages into the sending side buffer, the sending side can import the video. The line remains in a busy state until all of the above messages have been transmitted to the receiving side, with the device returned to its original state, and then the line is automatically turned off when all messages have been transmitted. The moving image transmission device according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a function of: . (3) When the amount of information generated exceeds a certain value, the time required to transmit that part of the information is increased as long as it is within the predetermined amount of generation, and the receiving side 2. The moving image transmission device according to claim 1, wherein all information portions within a range of 2 are displayed as moving images with a frame rate and image quality above a certain level.