Patent · US Expired

Data compression method and apparatus

US6091773A · kind A · utility

15Cited by
32References
91Claims
0Family size

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateNov 12, 1997
Grant dateJul 18, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 12, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N19/80
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method and apparatus for measuring the "perceptual distance" between an approximate, reconstructed representation of a sensory signal (such as an audio or video signal) and the original sensory signal is provided. The perceptual distance in this context is a direct quantitative measure of the likelihood that a human observer can distinguish the original audio or video signal from the reconstructed approximation to the original audio or video signal. The method described herein applies to noisy compression techniques; the method provides the ability to predict the likelihood that the reconstructed noisy representation of the original signal will be distinguishable by a human observer from the original input representation. The method can be used to allocate bits in audio and video compression algorithms such that the signal reconstructed from compressed representation is perceptually similar to the original input signal when judged by a human observer. The method is based on a theory of the neurophysiological limitations of human sensory perception. Specifically, a "neural encoding model" (NEM) summarizes the manner in which sensory signals are represented in the human brain. The …

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.