Donald B Swicker

US Patent:

54812976, Jan 2, 1996

Filed:

Feb 25, 1994

Appl. No.:

8/201871

Inventors:

Glenn L. Cash - Matawan NJ
Mehmet R. Civanlar - Red Bank NJ
Robert D. Gaglianello - Little Silver NJ
Donald B. Swicker - Wall NJ

Assignee:

AT&T Corp. - Murray Hill NJ

International Classification:

H04N 724

US Classification:

348 13

Abstract:

The described video communication system incorporates multiple window display. One or more video transmission nodes provide macroblocks of video data available in a plurality of resolution levels. The transmission node encodes the macroblocks and assigns macroblock identifiers (IDs) to each macroblock. A receiving node receives a plurality of video sequences from a plurality of transmission nodes through a communication network. The receiving node thereafter eliminates macroblocks of video data that will not be displayed, such as in the case of portions of video that are hidden or overlapped. A macroblock translator also transforms the macroblock ID to a new macroblock ID which reflects the macroblock's position on the display screen as dictated by the user's window configuration. A decoder thereafter decompresses the video data one macroblock at a time, and provides the decompressed macroblock to a frame buffer. The frame buffer provides the window configured video data to a display.