Method and system for low-latency transfer protocol

Abstract

A method and system for providing computer-generated output and in particular graphical output. An output capturing and encoding engine is configured to intercept graphical output from an application on a server, organize the output into regions having similar motion and/or graphical characteristics, and convert the data from each region into a format suitable to balance transmission efficiencies versus display quality or capability at the receiving end.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 a server in communication with a client over a digital computer network; and   an application program executable by the server, wherein the application provides computer-generated output, wherein the server is configured to
 intercept the computer-generated output from the application program; 
 convert the computer-generated output into at least one of graphical commands and video codec data; and 
 transmit the converted output over the network; and 
   wherein the client is configured to
 execute, decode, and render graphics and video; 
 render the graphical output in response to receiving transmitted converted output; 
 intercept user inputs; and 
   transmit the intercepted user inputs to the server over the network.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is further configured to convert the graphical output into at least one of picture codec data and pass-through data. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the server is further configured to
 divide the graphical output into a plurality of regions;   convert graphical output associated with each region, and   smooth a border area between a plurality of regions.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the graphical output includes full-motion video, wherein the full-motion video is enclosed within one of the plurality of regions. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical commands are represented by a universal intermediary graphical command language. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is further configured to
 receive the intercepted user inputs from the client, and   provide the intercepted user inputs to the application for processing.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the network is unreliable and transmissions over the network are non-guaranteed. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is further configured to convert the graphical output into the video codec data utilizing at least one of a localized motion detection routine and a motion estimation routine, wherein the server divides the graphical output into a plurality of region sets, each region set sharing similar motion characteristics. 
     
     
         9 . The systems of  claim 8 , wherein the server is configured to compute a motion score for each region set, wherein the motion scores represent motion characteristics. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is further configured to pre-process the graphical output before converting by selecting regions with graphical activity for processing. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the pre-processing further includes overlaying a mask on the graphical output to obscure static regions. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is further configured to encode the graphical output into the video codec data with at least one of a standards-based encoding core and a proprietary encoding core including a region history associated with each region. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is further configured to
 receive RGB image data;   execute a wavelet transform on the RGB image data;   split the transformed data into a first series including LL-sub-band data and a second series including HI sub-band data, LH sub-band data, and HH sub-band data;   transmit the first series to the receiver after compression; and   subsequent to transmitting the first series, transmitting the second series to the receiver after compression.   
     
     
         14 . A system, comprising:
 server in communication with a plurality of clients over a digital computer network; and   an application program executable by the server, wherein the application generates computer-generated graphical output, wherein the server is configured to
 intercept the computer-generated graphical output from the application program; 
 convert the intercepted output into at least one of graphical commands and video codec data; and 
 transmit the converted output over the network; and wherein each client is configured to 
 execute, decode, and render graphics and video; 
 render the graphical output in response to receiving transmitted converted output; 
 intercept user inputs; and 
 transmit the intercepted user inputs to the server over the network. 
   
     
     
         15 . A system, comprising:
 server in communication with a client over a digital computer network; and   an application program executable by the server wherein the application generates computer-generated graphical output, wherein the server is configured to
 intercept the computer-generated output from the application; 
 convert the computer-generated output into a plurality of data streams, and 
 transmit the converted output over the network; and wherein the client is configured to 
 decode and render graphics and video; 
 render the computer-generated output in response to receiving the transmitted converted output; 
 intercept user inputs; and 
 transmit the intercepted user inputs to the server. 
   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the network operates on a UDP protocol. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the server is further configured to execute a congestion control module for minimizing latency and optimizing use of available bandwidth. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the server is further configured to execute a network feedback unit for adjusting FEC parameters responsive to current network congestion levels. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the server intercepts the computer-generated output with an interceptor module, wherein the computer-generated output is at least one of: audio signals, computer data, USB interface signals, and a print spool.