STANDARDIZED HOT-PLUGGABLE TRANSCEIVING unit WITH BANDWIDTH OPTIMIZATION FUNCTIONALITIES

Abstract

A standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit implementing bandwidth optimization functionalities. The transceiving unit comprises a first connector receiving a signal comprising a source video payload. The transceiving unit comprises a processing unit performing a scaling of the source video payload. The scaling consists in generating a scaled video payload by applying a scaling ratio to the source video payload. The transceiving unit comprises a second connector outputting an IP flow transporting the scaled video payload. In an alternative bandwidth optimization implementation, the first connector receives a plurality of source IP flows each transporting a source video payload. The processing unit selects one among the plurality of source IP flows, and generates outbound IP packets of an outbound IP flow based on stored characteristics of the outbound IP flow. The outbound IP packets transporting the source video payload of the selected source IP flow are outputted by the second connector.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit comprising:
 a housing having standardized dimensions and adapted to being inserted into a chassis of a hosting unit;   a first connector for receiving a signal comprising a source video payload;   a processing unit in the housing for performing a scaling of the source video payload, the scaling consisting in generating a plurality of scaled video payloads based on the same source video payload by applying different scaling ratios to the same source video payload to generate the plurality of scaled video payloads having respectively the different scaling ratios; and   a second connector for outputting a plurality of scaled video Internet Protocol (IP) flows for respectively transporting the plurality of scaled video payloads having the different scaling ratios.   
     
     
         2 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 1 , wherein the source video payload comprises a plurality of source images and each scaled video payload comprises a corresponding plurality of scaled images, the generation of each scaled video payload comprising generating the plurality of scaled video images by applying one among the different scaling ratios to the corresponding plurality of source images. 
     
     
         3 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 2 , wherein the different scaling ratios consist of one of the following: a single ratio applied to both the length and the width of the plurality of source images, and a combination of a horizontal ratio and a vertical ratio applied respectively to the length and the width of the plurality of source images. 
     
     
         4 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 1 , wherein the first connector is a connector located on a front panel of the housing receiving a source Internet Protocol (IP) flow transporting the source video payload, and the second connector is one of the following: a rear connector located on a back panel of the housing, another connector located on the front panel of the housing, and the first connector. 
     
     
         5 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 1 , wherein the first connector is a rear connector located on a back panel of the housing receiving a source IP flow transporting the source video payload, and the second connector is one of the following: a connector located on a front panel of the housing, and the first connector. 
     
     
         6 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 1 , wherein the first connector is a Serial Digital Interface (SDI) connector located on a front panel of the housing, and the received signal is an SDI signal comprising the source video payload. 
     
     
         7 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 6 , wherein the second connector is one of the following: another connector located on a front panel of the housing, and a rear connector located on a back panel of the housing. 
     
     
         8 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of outputted scaled video IP flows is a multicast IP flow. 
     
     
         9 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first connector receives a plurality of signals, each signal comprising a source video payload; and   the processing unit performs a scaling of each one of the source video payloads of the plurality of signals.   
     
     
         10 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 1 , wherein the source video payload is interlaced and the plurality of scaled video payloads is de-interlaced, the processing unit further performing a de-interlacing of the source video payload to generate the plurality of de-interlaced scaled video payloads. 
     
     
         11 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 1 , wherein the received signal further comprises an additional source payload, the additional source payload comprising at least one of an audio payload and a metadata payload, and the plurality of outputted scaled video IP flows further transports the additional payload. 
     
     
         12 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 11 , wherein the additional source payload comprises a metadata payload, the metadata payload comprising at least one of the following: closed caption text, subtitle text, and rating text. 
     
     
         13 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 11 , wherein the additional source payload comprises an audio payload, the processing unit further determines a peak audio level of the audio payload, and the peak audio level is transported in the plurality of outputted scaled video IP flows. 
     
     
         14 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 1 , wherein the scaling is a temporal scaling for generating a plurality of scaled video payloads having a frame rate lower than the source video payload. 
     
     
         15 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 1 , wherein the transceiving unit receives a control message transported via the IP protocol from a third party computing device, the control message comprising the different scaling ratios and an identification of the source video payload. 
     
     
         16 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 15 , wherein the control message further comprises characteristics of the plurality of outputted scaled video IP flows transporting the corresponding plurality of scaled video payloads. 
     
     
         17 . The standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 1  consisting of a Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) unit, wherein the housing has standardized SFP dimensions. 
     
     
         18 . A system comprising:
 a chassis adapted for receiving at least one standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit, the chassis comprising at least one processing unit; and   the standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit of  claim 1  inserted into the chassis.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the standardized hot-pluggable transceiving unit comprises a rear connector on a back panel of the housing for exchanging data with the processing unit of the chassis. 
     
     
         20 . A method for implementing a video scaling functionality, the method comprising:
 receiving via a communication interface of a computing device a signal comprising a source video payload;   performing by a processing unit of the computing device a scaling of the source video payload, the scaling consisting in generating a plurality of scaled video payloads based on the same source video payload by applying different scaling ratios to the same source video payload to generate the plurality of scaled video payloads having respectively the different scaling ratios; and   outputting by the processing unit of the computing device a plurality of scaled video Internet Protocol (IP) flows for respectively transporting the plurality of scaled video payloads having the different scaling ratios, the outputting being performed via the communication interface of the computing device or another communication interface of the computing device.