Video Compression
The OPTIVideo (OPTIVideo is a trademark of Optivision, Inc.)
MPEG Encoder and Decoder are two members of a family of products
developed by Optivision, Inc., Palo Alto, California to speed
up audio/video processing time and reduce costs. The encoder/decoder
products were spawned by a NASA Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR) project.
The OPTIVideo Encoder converts video tapes and discs to compressed
digital form at 30 frames a second.
Established by Congress in 1982, the SBIR program has two
major objectives: to increase participation of small businesses
in federal R&D activities, and to stimulate conversion of
government-funded research into practical products for the commercial
market.
The commercial OPTIVideo systems stemmed from a Goddard Space
Flight Center SBIR contract awarded to Optivision for development
of two PC-compatible boards (the encoder and decoder) and associated
software for realtime video compression and decompression; the
research was intended to support NASA applications in such areas
as telerobotics, telesciences and spaceborne experimentation.
The companion OPTIVideo Decoder decompresses the bit stream
to provide high quality digital playback.
While working on the Goddard contract, Optivision committed
its own internal funding to parallel development of the two commercial
products. Both the government and commercial efforts proved successful,
and Optivision introduced its first commercial MPEG encoders/decoders
in 1993-94. The company has since sold more than 600 systems
to customers in the telecommunications, cable, broadcast TV and
CD-ROM markets. They are used in such applications as television
advertisement insertion; video CD authoring; interactive video
databases; video transmission; remote learning; and video-on-demand.
The systems offer realtime encoding and decoding at 30 frames
a second. The MPEG encoder converts video source material, such
as VHS tapes and laser discs, to a manageable compressed digital
form that can be easily stored or transmitted (the MPEG refers
to the compression algorithm, the standard established by the
international Motion Picture Expert Group). The decoder decompresses
bit streams to provide high quality digital playback of full
screen video and CD quality stereo audio.
|
