초록 ▼

A flexible multipoint composition and bridging system is provided for video signal composition and bridging of a plurality of geographically dispersed locations. The system includes a centrally located bridging unit that receives video, audio and data signal substreams from each of the remote locati

A flexible multipoint composition and bridging system is provided for video signal composition and bridging of a plurality of geographically dispersed locations. The system includes a centrally located bridging unit that receives video, audio and data signal substreams from each of the remote locations. Based on the data substreams from each location, the bridging unit resizes, cuts and pastes the various images into separate video montage images for display at each of the locations. The system enables users to optionally display video images or signals from one or more of the other locations within separate display windows at their respective terminals. The display windows can be zoomed, panned, scaled, translated, and partially or wholly occluded depending on a user's preferences or needs. The video images may be composed in signal space or entirely in transform space. Further, the flexible multipoint bridging system may be used for various applications, including video conferencing and broadcasting.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A flexible multipoint composition and bridging system for bridging a plurality of users located at different terminal end locations of a communications network, each of said locations including terminal equipment for transmitting and receiving video images and data signal

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A flexible multipoint composition and bridging system for bridging a plurality of users located at different terminal end locations of a communications network, each of said locations including terminal equipment for transmitting and receiving video images and data signals, said data signals including display configuration information for video images originating from at least one of said locations, said system comprising:means for receiving said video images and said data signals from each of said locations;means for generating respective video montage images for each of said locations based on said data signals received by said receiving means, said generating means including means for selectively resizing said video images received by said receiving means based on said data signals, and a plurality of frame composers for composing the resized video images and for producing said respective video montage images for each of said locations based on said data signals; andmeans for transmitting said respective video montage images generated by said generating means to each of said locations so that said respective video montage images may be displayed by a display device providedat each of said locations,whereby each of said terminal end location users may optionally and individually configure the respective video montage image displayed at their location based on said data signals transmitted from their location.