Patent ID: 7382927

Claim:
A method of constructing a mosaic image from a sequence of source frames, said method comprising: (a) constructing a sequence of encoded pixel data frames at an encoder, said sequence including at least a first pixel data frame, a second pixel data frame temporally later than said first pixel data frame, said second pixel data frame having an associated parameter indicating the global motion of the entire said second pixel data frame with respect to the entire said first pixel data frame, where said associated parameter is used as a basis upon which said second pixel data frame is encoded; (b) transmitting from said encoder said first pixel data frame, said second pixel data frame, and said associated parameter to a decoder, said decoder not used by said encoder to encode said sequence of encoded pixel data frames; (c) wherein said transmitting from said encoder does not transmit an encoded, constructed said mosaic image to said decoder; (d) constructing at said decoder said sequence of source frames including said first pixel data frame and said second pixel data frame based upon said associated parameter; (e) constructing said mosaic image at said decoder using at least said first and second pixel data frames based upon said associated parameter, wherein said mosaic image has a spatial extent greater than said first pixel data frame and greater than said second pixel data frame, wherein a portion of said mosaic image consistent with a portion of said first pixel data frame and said second pixel data frame does not exist within said encoder until after said mosaic image is first constructed by said decoder based upon said first pixel data frame and said second pixel data frame, and does not exist within said decoder until after said mosaic image is first constructed by said decoder based upon said first pixel data frame and said second pixel data frame, and includes pixels representing image information in addition to that found in either individual one of said first and second pixel data frames.