Display of Multiple Video Windows for Personal Conferencing

Display of Multiple Video Windows for Personal Conferencing

      Disclosed is a technique by which one or more video images can
be displayed on the screen of a Graphical User Interface (GUI)
windowing system for personal video conferencing.  Each image
displayed corresponds to a party in P2P conference call.  All images
from a conference call are within a single window, allowing easier
manipulation of the conference by a user.  Action Media II support
within the IBM P2P by RPQ embodies this scheme.

      Person-to-Person conferencing (P2P) represents the covergence
of high performance communication channels (e.g., LAN, ISDN) with
advanced workstation and multi-media technologies (e.g., video
compression), to provide interactive communication of data, voice and
video between desktop workstations.  Like teleconferencing, it
permits collaboration without the users having to be in the same
place at the same time.  Once of the types of data which is
communicated between P2P users is motion video that requires a piece
of hardware, such as the Intel/IBM ActioMedia II (AMII) card set, to
capture, compress, decompress and display full duplex motion video
information streams.  For personal video conferencing, a user
requires a video adapter such as ActionMedia II which performs
delivery functions including:

1.  Transfer of compressed video information from the host personal
    computer or workstation (PC/WS).
2.  Decompression of video information.
3.  Display of the decompressed video image in a window on the PC/WS
    main display.
4.  Sealing, clipping and windowing of the displayed image.

      In addition, the video adapter may optionally have a capability
which allows it to perform capture functions including.

1.  Analogue-to-digital conversion of an incoming video signal from a
    TV camera pointing at the local user...