Stuart T. Laney

Bio: Stuart T. Laney is an academic researcher from Microsoft. The author has contributed to research in topics: Video compression picture types & Display device. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 7 publications receiving 385 citations.

Method and system for compressing video data

Abstract: A method for compressing video movie data to a specified target size using intraframe and interframe compression schemes. In intraframe compression, a frame of the movie is compressed by comparing adjacent pixels within the same frame. In contrast, interframe compression compresses by comparing similarly situated pixels of adjacent frames. The method begins by compressing the first frame of the video movie using intraframe compression. The first stage of the intraframe compression process does not degrade the quality of the original data, e.g., the method uses run length encoding based on the pixels' color values to compress the video data. However, in circumstances where lossless compression is not sufficient, the method utilizes a threshold value, or tolerance, to achieve further compression. In these cases, if the color variance between pixels is less than or equal to the tolerance, the method will encode the two pixels using a single color value--otherwise, the method will encode the two pixels using different color values. The method increases or decreases the tolerance to achieve compression within the target range. In cases where compression within the target range results in an image of unacceptable quality, the method will split the raw data in half and compress each portion of data separately. Frames after the first frame are generally compressed using a combination of intraframe and interframe compression. Additionally, the method periodically encodes frames using intraframe compression only in order to enhance random frame access.

Digital video data compression technique

Abstract: A technique for compressing digital video data provides improved compression over conventional block compression techniques. In this technique, image data is broken down into cells and iteratively compressed. The cells are compressed using compression formats that are most appropriate for the contents of the cells. A determination is first made whether a cell is substantially identical to a succeeding cell in a previous frame. If the cell is substantially identical to the cell in the previous frame, the cell is encoded in compressed form as a duplicate of the previous cell. Moreover, solid-color compression approaches, two-color compression approaches and eight-color compression approaches may be integrated into the compression technique.

Allocating display information

Abstract: To provide an expanded computer desktop working area, a forking driver is removably inserted logically between a graphical device interface program and a plurality of display device driver programs driving a plurality of computer monitor display screens. When inserted, the forking driver configures parameters for the screens to recognize capabilities common to the screens while also preserving significant capabilities of one of the screens representing a primary screen. The forking driver intercepts a function call directed to the device driver program corresponding to the primary screen and processes the function call to cause one or more of the device driver programs to change one or more screens in a manner consistent with the expanded working area.

Method and system for automatically running a program

Abstract: A method and system for automatically running a program stored on a medium upon detection of insertion of the medium into a drive are provided. The operating system periodically polls the drive regarding the status of the drive. After receiving a response from the drive regarding the drive's status, the operating system determines whether the drive's status has changed. If the drive's status has changed, the operating system broadcasts a message indicating the change in the drive's status. When the shell receives a message from the operating system indicating a change in the drive's status, the shell determines whether the change in the drive's status indicates that a medium has been inserted into the drive. If the change in the drive's status indicates that a medium has been inserted into the drive, the shell searches for a predefined file on the medium. The shell then runs a program stored on the medium that is specified in the predefined file. Thus, the running of the program on the medium is performed without any action being required on the part of a user.

System provided child window controls

Abstract: New varieties of child window controls are provided as system resources that application programs may exploit. The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a dynamic link library (DLL) for implementing the new child window controls as part of an operating system. The new child window controls include a header bar control for providing header bars in application programs. The new controls also include a hot key control that allows a user to view and edit hot key combinations. The new controls further include a tab control for establishing tabs that differentiate amongst pages in user interfaces provided by application programs. An image list data type is defined and functions are provided for manipulating the image list data type. Image lists include multiple like-sized images that are stored efficiently in a single bitmap.

System for distributing and controlling color reproduction at multiple sites

Abstract: The system provides for controlling color reproduction of input color image data representing one or more pages or page constituents in a network having nodes (or sites). Each one of the nodes comprises at least one rendering device. The system distributes the input color image data from one of the nodes to other nodes, and provides a data structure (virtual proof) in the network. This data structure has components shared by the nodes and other components present only at each node. Next, the system has means for providing color calibration data at each node characterizing output colors (colorants) of the rendering device of the node, and means for producing at each node, responsive to the color calibration data of the rendering device of the node, information for transforming the input color image data into output color image data at the rendering device of the node. The information is then stored in the data structure in different ones of the shared and other components. Means are provided in the system for transforming at each node the input color image data into output color image data for the rendering device of the node responsive to the information in the data structure. The rendering device of each node renders a color reproduction of the page constituents responsive to the output color image data, wherein colors displayed in the reproduction at the rendering device of each node appear substantially the same within the output colors attainable by the rendering devices. The system further has means for verifying at each node that the information for the rendering device of the node properly transformed the input color image data into the output color image data, and means for revising the information stored in the data structure at the node responsive to results of the verifying means. Shared components of the data structure may also store color preferences selected by a user. The information producing means of the system may further operate responsive to both the color calibration data and the color preferences. The rendering devices in the system can provide color reproductions having three or four colorants, and may provide more than four output colors (color inks).

Object-oriented system, method and article of manufacture for a client-server session WEB access in an interprise computing framework system

Abstract: An interprise computing manager in which an application is composed of a client (front end) program which communicates utilizing a network with a server (back end) program. The client and server programs are loosely coupled and exchange information using the network. The client program is composed of a User Interface (UI) and an object-oriented framework (Presentation Engine (PE) framework). The UI exchanges data messages with the framework. The framework is designed to handle two types of messages: (1) from the UI, and (2) from the server (back end) program via the network. The framework includes a component, the mediator which manages messages coming into and going out of the framework. The system includes software for a client computer, a server computer and a network for connecting the client computer to the server computer which utilize an execution framework code segment configured to couple the server computer and the client computer via the network, by a plurality of client computer code segments resident on the server, each for transmission over the network to a client computer to initiate coupling; and a plurality of server computer code segments resident on the server which execute on the server in response to initiation of coupling via the network with a particular client utilizing the transmitted client computer code segment for communicating via a particular communication protocol. Communication is initiated utilizing the network to acquire characteristics of the client from the network.

Skip macroblock coding

Abstract: Various techniques and tools for encoding and decoding (e.g., in a video encoder/decoder) binary information (e.g., skipped macroblock information) are described. In some embodiments, the binary information is arranged in a bit plane, and the bit plane is coded at the picture/frame layer. The encoder and decoder process the binary information and, in some embodiments, switch coding modes. For example, the encoder and decoder use normal, row-skip, column-skip, or differential modes, or other and/or additional modes. In some embodiments, the encoder and decoder define a skipped macroblock as a predicted macroblock whose motion is equal to its causally predicted motion and which has zero residual error. In some embodiments, the encoder and decoder use a raw coding mode to allow for low-latency applications.

Systems and Methods for Accelerated Loading of Operating Systems and Application Programs

Abstract: Systems and methods for providing accelerated loading of operating system and application programs upon system boot or application launch are disclosed. In one aspect, a method for providing accelerated loading of an operating system comprises the steps of: maintaining a list of boot data used for booting a computer system; preloading the boot data upon initialization of the computer system; and servicing requests for boot data from the computer system using the preloaded boot data. In another aspect, a method for providing accelerated launching of an application program comprises the steps of: maintaining a list of application data associated with an application program; preloading the application data upon launching the application program; and servicing requests for application data from a computer system using the preloaded application data.

Spatial extrapolation of pixel values in intraframe video coding and decoding

Abstract: Techniques and tools for spatial extrapolation of pixel values in intraframe video encoding and/or decoding are described. For example, to predict the pixel values for a block of pixels, a video encoder or decoder uses spatial extrapolation from the pixel values of pixels in a causal neighborhood for the block of pixels.