METHOD OF TRANSMITTING STREAMS OF VIDEO DATA, IN MULTI-LENGTH FRAMES, AT A SINGLE AVERAGE BIT RATE

摘要

Multiple digital video streams are partitioned into frames of at least two different lengths, each frame length being multiple of a minimum frame (e.g. 188 words) length. Each frame is written into a series of full cells (IFC) and one or two partial cells (PC). IFC carries the same number (48 words) of video data bits, while each PC carries video data bits and/or other overhead bits which together equal the number of video data bits in one IFC. All IFC's and PC's for the frames are sent in a time-multiplexed fashion on a communication channel at a single cell rate. The different frame lengths are such that the integer multiple of the minimun frame length, divided by the sum of IFC's and PC's per frame, is a single ratio; consequently, the video data bits in all streams have the same average bit rate, independent of the different frame lengths.