Systems, methods, and media for providing cascaded multi-point video conferencing units
View Patent ↗Systems, methods, and media for providing cascaded multi-point video conferencing units are provided. In some embodiments, systems for providing cascaded multi-point conference units are provided, the systems comprising: at least one encoder that encodes a video signal into representations using a scalable video protocol based on required configurations of parameters for a first multi-point conferencing unit (MCU) and a second MCU; and at least one interface that distributes a first one of the representations to the first MCU and a second one of the representations to the second MCU without distributing the first one of the representations to the second MCU.
1. A system for providing cascaded multi-point conference units, comprising:
at least one encoder that encodes a video signal into representations using a scalable video protocol based on required configurations of parameters for a first multi-point conferencing unit (MCU) and a second MCU; and
at least one interface that distributes a first one of the representations to the first MCU and a second one of the representations to the second MCU without distributing the first one of the representations to the second MCU.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the parameters include at least one of bit rate, frame rate, and resolution.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one interface is part of a master MCU, the first MCU is a slave MCU, and the second MCU is a slave MCU.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one encoder is in a third, slave MCU, the at least one interface is in a master MCU, the first MCU is a slave MCU, and the second MCU is a slave MCU.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one encoder is in a third MCU, and the first MCU, the second MCU, and the third MCU are arranged in a full mesh configuration.
6. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a transcoder and/or decoder that transcodes and/or decodes at least one of the representations into a resulting signal.
7. The system of claim 6 , further comprising an interface that sends the resulting-signal to an endpoint.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein, the scalable video, protocol is implemented using the Scalable Video Coding (SVC) protocol defined by the Scalable Video Coding Extension of the H.264/AVC Standard.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the representations are layers in a layered video stream.
10. A method for providing cascaded multi-point conference units, comprising:
encoding a video signal into representations using a scalable video protocol based on required configurations of parameters for a first multi-point conferencing unit (MCU) and a second MCU; and
distributing a first one of the representations to the first MCU and a second one of the representations to the second MCU without distributing the first one of the representations to the second MCU.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the parameters include at least one of bit rate, frame rate, and resolution.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the distributing is performed from a master MCU, the first MCU is a slave MCU, and the second MCU is a slave MCU.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the encoding is performed in a third, slave MCU, the distributing is performed in a master MCU, the first MCU is a slave MCU, and the second MCU is a slave MCU.
14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the encoding is performed in a third MCU, and the first MCU, the second MCU, and the third MCU are arranged in a full mesh configuration.
15. The method of claim 10 , further comprising transcoding and/or decoding at least one of the representations into a resulting signal.
16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising sending the resulting signal to an endpoint.
17. The method of claim 10 , wherein the scalable video protocol is implemented using the Scalable Video Coding (SVC) protocol defined by the Scalable Video Coding Extension of the 1.264/AVC Standard.
18. The method of claim 10 , wherein the representations are layers in a layered video stream.
19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for providing cascaded multi-point conference units, the method comprising:
encoding a video signal into representations using a scalable video protocol based on required configurations of parameters for a first multi-point conferencing unit (MCU) and a second MCU; and
distributing a first one of the representations to the first MCU and a second one of the representations to the second MCU without distributing the first one of the representations to the second MCU.
20. The non-transitory medium of claim 19 , wherein the parameters include at least one of bit rate, frame rate, and resolution.
21. The non-transitory medium of claim 19 , wherein the distributing is performed from a master MCU, the first MCU is a slave MCU, and the second MCU is a slave MCU.
22. The non-transitory medium of claim 19 , wherein the encoding is performed in a third, slave MCU, the distributing is performed in a master MCU, the first MCU is a slave MCU, and the second MCU is a slave MCU.
23. The non-transitory medium of claim 19 , wherein the encoding is performed in a third MCU, and the first MCU, the second MCU, and the third MCU are arranged in a full mesh configuration.
24. The non-transitory medium of claim 19 , wherein the method further comprises transcoding and/or decoding at least one of the representations into a resulting signal.
25. The non-transitory medium of claim 24 , wherein the method further comprises sending the resulting signal to an endpoint.
26. The non-transitory medium of claim 19 , wherein the scalable video protocol is implemented using the Scalable Video Coding (SVC) protocol defined by the Scalable Video Coding Extension of the H.264/AVC Standard.
27. The non-transitory medium of claim 19 , wherein the representations are layers in a layered video stream.