Switching content

• US 10,313,035 B1
• Filed: 10/14/2015
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Conviva Inc.
• Original Assignee: Conviva Inc.
• Inventors: Hu, Ningning, Heffner, John W., Lu, Mei-Hsuan, Ganjam, Aditya Ravikumar, Stoica, Ion
• Primary Examiner(s): Shepard, Justin E
• Application Number:
  US14/883,532
• Time in Patent Office: 1,329 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/10 Arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or the distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/20 Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234 Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing of video streams or manipulating encoded video stream scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/40 Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4302 Content synchronisation processes, e.g. decoder synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/631 Multimode Transmission, e.g. transmitting basic layers and enhancement layers of the content over different transmission paths or transmitting with different error corrections, different keys or with different transmission protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/268 Signal distribution or switching

Abstract

Displaying video on a video display device is disclosed. A first video stream from a first video streaming source is displayed on the display device. A second video stream from a second video streaming source is processed on the display device without displaying the second video stream. Displaying the first video stream is ceased and instead the second video stream is displayed. Supporting operations on a video stream is also disclosed. At least one video chunk is received at a first granularity. A determination is made that an operation is to be performed at a different granularity. At least one video chunk is requested at the different granularity.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

one or more computer processors configured to;

receive, from a first source comprising a first node in a content delivery network, at least one video chunk associated with a content item, wherein the received at least one video chunk is of a first predetermined length of time, wherein a first copy of the content item is stored using video chunks of the first predetermined length of time, and wherein a second copy of the content item is stored using video chunks of a second predetermined length of time that is different from the first predetermined length of time;

subsequent to receiving the at least one video chunk of the first predetermined length of time, determine, based at least in part on an operation to be performed, that a video chunk of the second predetermined length of time should be requested;

request at least one video chunk of the second predetermined length of time;

perform the operation at least in part by switching from a video chunk of the first predetermined length of time to the requested at least one video chunk of the second predetermined length of time; and

subsequent to performing the operation, revert to receiving video chunks of the first predetermined length of time, wherein the reverting comprises switching at a position in the content item at which an end of a video chunk of the second predetermined length of time corresponds to a start of a video chunk of the first predetermined length of time; and

a memory coupled to the one or more computer processors and configured to provide the one or more computer processors with instructions.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the requested at least one video chunk of the second length of time is also requested from the first source.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the requested at least one video chunk of the second length of time is requested from a second source comprising a second node that is different from the first node.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the operation includes adjusting a bitrate.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the operation includes performing a switch from the first source to another source.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the video chunk of the first length of time includes a same content as a plurality of chunks of the second length of time.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the operation to be performed comprises seeking to a time point in the content item.

8. A method, comprising:

receiving, from a first source comprising a first node in a content delivery network, at least one video chunk associated with a content item, wherein the received at least one video chunk is of a first predetermined length of time, wherein a first copy of the content item is stored using video chunks of the first predetermined length of time, and wherein a second copy of the content item is stored using video chunks of a second predetermined length of time that is different from the first predetermined length of time;

subsequent to receiving the at least one video chunk of the first predetermined length of time, determining, based at least in part on an operation to be performed and using one or more computer processors, that a video chunk of the second predetermined length of time should be requested;

requesting at least one video chunk of the second predetermined length of time;

performing the operation at least in part by switching from a video chunk of the first predetermined length of time to the requested at least one video chunk of the second predetermined length of time; and

subsequent to performing the operation, reverting to receiving video chunks of the first predetermined length of time, wherein the reverting comprises switching at a position in the content item at which an end of a video chunk of the second predetermined length of time corresponds to a start of a video chunk of the first predetermined length of time.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the requested at least one video chunk of the second length of time is requested from the first source.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the requested at least one video chunk of the second length of time is requested from a second source comprising a second node that is different from the first node.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the operation includes adjusting a bitrate.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the operation includes performing a switch from the first source to another source.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein the video chunk of the first length of time includes a same content as a plurality of chunks of the second length of time.

14. The method of claim 8 wherein the operation to be performed comprises seeking to a time point in the content item.

15. A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising instructions for:

receiving, from a first source comprising a first node in a content delivery network, at least one video chunk associated with a content item, wherein the received at least one video chunk is of a first predetermined length of time, wherein a first copy of the content item is stored using video chunks of the first predetermined length of time, and wherein a second copy of the content item is stored using video chunks of a second predetermined length of time that is different from the first predetermined length of time;

subsequent to receiving the at least one video chunk of the first predetermined length of time, determining, based at least in part on a type of operation to be performed and using one or more computer processors, that a video chunk of the second predetermined length of time should be requested;

requesting at least one video chunk of the second predetermined length of time;

performing the operation at least in part by switching from a video chunk of the first predetermined length of time to the requested at least one video chunk of the second predetermined length of time; and

subsequent to performing the operation, reverting to receiving video chunks of the first predetermined length of time, wherein the reverting comprises switching at a position in the content item at which an end of a video chunk of the second predetermined length of time corresponds to a start of a video chunk of the first predetermined length of time.