Provision of video conferencing services using reflector multipoint control units (MCU) and transcoder MCU combinations

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a first protocol connector module of a video conference system, information on multi-data stream composition capabilities of a client application for a participant endpoint device of a video conference;

receiving session state information for creation of a composite of received video conference data streams for presentation at the client application; and

selectively sending instructions for handling media processing for each of the received video conference data streams from other participant devices based on the received multi-data stream composition capabilities information of the client application, wherein the selective sending of instructions for a received data stream comprises:

(1) if the client application is capable of multi-data stream composition for a communication protocol of the received data stream, the first protocol connector module sends state information to a respective other protocol connector module receiving the data stream from the other participant device; and

the first protocol connector module sends instructions to a reflector multipoint control unit to forward the received data stream to the client application for creation of the composite of video conference data streams;

(2) Otherwise, the first protocol connector module sends instructions to a transcoder multipoint control unit, the instructions comprising at least one of:

a) transcode the received data stream in accordance with the state information and transcode the received data stream into a communication protocol the client application is capable of processing for creation of the composite; and send the transcoded data stream to the client application; and

b) transcode the received data stream for creation of the composite of video data streams by the video conference system in accordance with the state information; and send the composite of the video data streams to the client application.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving information on a failure of at least one of the reflector multipoint control unit and the transcoder multipoint control unit and updating the state information;

instantiating at least one of a new reflector multipoint control unit module and a new transcoder multipoint control unit module; and

sending the updated state information to each respective other protocol connector module for the other participant devices of the video conference.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the state information is at least one of information on jitter, bandwidth, and packet loss, and the state information is stored in the first protocol connector module and not the reflector multipoint control unit.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving state information on an optimal bandwidth for the client application; and

sending the optimal bandwidth information to each respective other protocol connector of the other endpoint devices, wherein each respective other protocol connector for the other endpoint device instructs a transcoder multipoint control unit to encode a bit stream with the optimal bandwidth before forwarding the data stream to the client application.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

selectively sending multiple data streams between the reflector multipoint control unit and transcoder multipoint control unit for data streams of endpoints that have been selected to be at least one of visible and audible on the video conference.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reflector multipoint control module is a stateless packet switch, the state information is stored in data storage separate from the reflector multipoint control module, and the first protocol connector module retrieves the state information from data storage and sends instructions to the reflector multipoint control module to forward data packets to at least one of: one or more of the other protocol connector modules, a second reflector multipoint control unit, and the transcoder multipoint control unit or a second transcoder multipoint control unit.

7. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which instructions when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform steps comprising:

receive, at a first protocol connector module of a video conference system, information on multi-data stream composition capabilities of a client application for a participant endpoint device of a video conference;

receive session state information for creation of a composite of received video conference data streams for presentation at the client application; and

selectively send instructions for handling media processing for each of the received video conference data stream from other participant devices based on the received multi-data stream composition capabilities information of the client application, wherein the selective sending of instruction for a received data stream comprises:

(1) if the client application is capable of multi-data stream composition for a communication protocol of the received data stream, the first protocol connector module sends state information to a respective other protocol connector module receiving the data stream from the other participant device; and

the first protocol connector module sends instructions to a reflector multipoint control unit to forward the received data stream to the client application for creation of the composite of video conference data streams;

(2) Otherwise, the first protocol connector module sends instructions to a transcoder multipoint control unit, the instructions comprising at least one of:

a) transcode the received data stream in accordance with the state information and transcode the received data stream into a communication protocol the client application is capable of processing for creation of the composite; and send the transcoded data stream to the client application; and

b) transcode the received data stream for creation of the composite of video data streams by the video conference system in accordance with the state information; and send the composite of the video data streams to the client application.

8. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

receive information on a failure of at least one of the reflector multipoint control unit and the transcoder multipoint control unit and update the state information;

instantiate at least one of a new reflector multipoint control unit module and a new transcoder multipoint control unit module; and

send the updated state information to each respective other protocol connector module for the other participant devices of the video conference.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the state information is at least one of information on jitter, bandwidth, and packet loss and the state information is stored in the first protocol connector module and not the reflector multipoint control unit.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

receive state information on an optimal bandwidth for the client application; and

send the optimal bandwidth information to each respective other protocol connector of the other endpoint devices, wherein each respective other protocol connector for the other endpoint device instructs a transcoder multipoint control unit to encode a bit stream with the optimal bandwidth before forwarding the data stream to the client application.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

selectively send multiple data streams between the reflector multipoint control unit and transcoder multipoint control unit for data streams of endpoints that have been selected to be at least one of visible and audible on the video conference.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the reflector multipoint control module is a stateless packet switch, the state information is stored in data storage separate from the reflector multipoint control module, and the first protocol connector module retrieves the state information from data storage and sends instructions to the reflector multipoint control module to forward data packets to at least one of: one or more of the other protocol connector modules, a second reflector multipoint control unit, and the transcoder multipoint control unit or a second transcoder multipoint control unit.

13. A video conference system comprising:

a first protocol connector for managing a video conference session for an endpoint device, and sending instructions to at least one of a reflector multipoint control unit and a transcoder multipoint control unit to handle data streams received for the video conference, wherein:

the reflector multipoint control unit forwards one or more data streams in accordance with received instructions from the first protocol connector; and

a processor configured to:

receive, at the first protocol connector module, information on multi-data stream composition capabilities of a client application for a participant endpoint device of a video conference;

receive session state information for creation of a composite of received video conference data streams for presentation at the client application; and

selectively send instructions for handling media processing for each of the received video conference data stream from other participant devices based on the received multi-data stream composition capabilities information of the client application, wherein the selective sending of instruction for a received data stream comprises:

(1) if the client application is capable of multi-data stream composition for a communication protocol of the received data stream, the first protocol connector module sends state information to a respective other protocol connector module receiving the data stream from the other participant device; and

the first protocol connector module sends instructions to the reflector multipoint control unit to forward the received data stream to the client application for creation of the composite of video conference data streams;

(2) Otherwise, the first protocol connector module sends instructions to the transcoder multipoint control unit, the instructions comprising at least one of:

a) transcode the received data stream in accordance with the state information and transcode the received data stream into a communication protocol the client application is capable of processing for creation of the composite; and send the transcoded data stream to the client application; and

b) transcode the received data stream for creation of the composite of video data streams by the video conference system in accordance with the state information; and send the composite of the video data streams to the client application.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive information on a failure of at least one of the reflector multipoint control unit and the transcoder multipoint control unit and update the state information;

instantiate at least one of a new reflector multipoint control unit module and a new transcoder multipoint control unit module; and

send the updated state information to each respective other protocol connector module for the other participant devices of the video conference.

15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the state information is at least one of information on jitter, bandwidth, and packet loss and the state information is stored in the first protocol connector module and not the reflector multipoint control unit.

16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive state information on an optimal bandwidth for the client application; and

send the optimal bandwidth information to each respective other protocol connector of the other endpoint devices, wherein each respective other protocol connector for the other endpoint device instructs a transcoder multipoint control unit to encode a bit stream with the optimal bandwidth before forwarding the data stream to the client application.

17. The system of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

selectively send multiple data streams between the reflector multipoint control unit and transcoder multipoint control unit for data streams of endpoints that have been selected to be at least one of visible and audible on the video conference.

18. The system of claim 13 , wherein the reflector multipoint control module is a stateless packet switch, the state information is stored in data storage separate from the reflector multipoint control module, and the first protocol connector module retrieves the state information from data storage and sends instructions to the reflector multipoint control module to forward data packets to at least one of: one or more of the other protocol connector modules, a second reflector multipoint control unit, and the transcoder multipoint control unit or a second transcoder multipoint control unit.