METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING DEMAND REAL-TIME TELEVISION

• US 20030163824A1
• Filed: 11/30/1998
• Published: 08/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cox Communications Incorporated (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Sedna Patent Services LLC
• Inventors: GOODE, CHRISTOPHER, GORDON, DONALD F., LUDVIG, EDWARD A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,024,678 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/114 Adapting the group of pictures [GOP] structure, e.g. number of B-frames between two anchor frames H04N19/107 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/177 the unit being a group of pictures [GOP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/587 involving temporal sub-sampling or interpolation, e.g. decimation or subsequent interpolation of pictures in a video sequence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/231 Content storage operation, e.g. caching movies for short term storage, replicating data over plural servers, prioritizing data for deletion
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234381 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. decreasing the frame rate by frame skipping
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/236 Assembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. transport stream, by combining a video stream with other content or additional data, e.g. inserting a URL [Uniform Resource Locator] into a video stream, multiplexing software data into a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Insertion of stuffing bits into the multiplex stream, e.g. to obtain a constant bit-rate; Assembling of a packetised elementary stream multiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23608 Remultiplexing multiplex streams, e.g. involving modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4344 Remultiplexing of multiplex streams, e.g. by modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/643 Communication protocols network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP], H04L65/65
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream

Abstract

A demand television system comprising a broadcast encoder and a storage encoder. The broadcast encoder encodes a real-time video frame sequence to form a broadcast bitstream and broadcasts the broadcast bitstream to a plurality of subscriber equipment, while simultaneously the storage encoder encodes the real-time video frame sequence to form a storage bitstream that is stored in an information server. The subscriber equipment decodes the broadcast bitstream to display the broadcast program. At any time, the subscriber equipment may request to review the information previously displayed in the broadcast bitstream. As such, the storage bitstream is transmitted to the subscriber equipment. The storage bitstream facilitates standard play of the previously broadcast information as well as trick play such as fast forward and fast reverse functions.

Claims

1. Apparatus for providing demand television comprising:

a broadcast encoder for encoding a video frame sequence to form a broadcast bitstream;

a storage encoder for encoding the video frame sequence to form a storage bitstream;

a transmission system for transmitting the broadcast bitstream to subscriber equipment;

a storage device for storing the storage bitstream; and

wherein the storage device stores the storage bitstream at the same time that the transmission system transmits the broadcast bitstream.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said broadcast encoder is a high data rate encoder.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said video frame sequence is a real-time video frame sequence.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said storage bitstream contains play and trick play bitstreams.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said storage encoder comprises:

a first encoder for producing a first bitstream that contains information that, when decoded, produces a standard forward play video frame sequence;

a frame subsampler;

a buffer that stores subsampled frames of the video sequence;

a second encoder for producing a second bitstream that contains information that, when decoded, produces a fast forward video frame sequence;

a third encoder for producing a third bitstream that contains information that, when decoded, produces a fast reverse video frame sequence; and

a controller that selects subsampled frames from the buffer and couples to selected frames to the second and third encoders.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said first encoder is an MPEG encoder that encodes N frames of the video sequence.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said second and third encoders are MPEG encoders that encodes N subsampled frames.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the controller multiplexes selection of the frames from the buffer to apply a plurality of subsampled frames to said second encoder to form said second bitstream and then apply a plurality of subsampled frames to said third encoder to form said third bitstream.

9. A method for providing demand television comprising the steps of:

encoding, in real-time, a broadcast video frame sequence to form a broadcast bitstream, while at the same time encoding the broadcast video frame sequence to form a storage bitstream;

broadcasting the broadcast bitstream to subscriber equipment;

storing the storage bitstream within a storage device;

upon a subscriber selecting to view information previously broadcast by the broadcast bitstream, transmitting to the subscriber the storage bitstream.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said broadcast bitstream is a high data rate bitstream.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the storage bitstream contains a play bitstream and a trick play bitstream.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein said storage bitstream encoding step comprises the steps of:

encoding said frames to form a first bitstream;

subsampling said broadcast video frames;

buffering said subsampled frames;

recalling said buffered frames in a forward time sequence order;

encoding said recalled buffered frames to form a second bitstream;

recalling said buffered frames in a reverse time sequence order;

encoding said recalled buffered frames to form a third bitstream.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said first bitstream when decoded forms a standard play frame sequence.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein said second bitstream, when decoded, forms a fast forward frame sequence.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein said third bitstream, when decoded, forms a fast reverse frame sequence.

16. The method of claim 9 wherein said storage bitstream contains a plurality of bitstream types and said storage bitstream transmitting step further comprises the steps of:

recalling from said storage device a particular bitstream in response to a request for a particular bitstream type from a subscriber terminal;

addressing the requested bitstream to said requesting subscriber;

transmitting said requested bitstream to said subscriber equipment.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said storage bitstream types include a play bitstream, a fast forward bitstream and a fast reverse bitstream.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said fast forward bitstream contains an indicator that delimits the end of available data and the method further comprises a step of switching from transmitting a fast forward bitstream to transmitting said broadcast bitstream upon reaching the indicator.

19. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of:

upon a request from a subscriber, switching from decoding said storage bitstream to decoding said broadcast bitstream.

20. A method of providing demand television comprising the steps of:

transmitting a broadcast bitstream to a plurality of subscriber equipment;

storing said broadcast bitstream as a storage bitstream while said broadcast bitstream is being transmitted;

decoding, within subscriber equipment, said video bitstream; and

upon said subscriber equipment requesting said storage bitstream to enable review of information contained in said broadcast bitstream, transmitting said storage bitstream to said subscriber having requested the storage bitstream.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein said storage bitstream comprises a play bitstream and a trick play bitstream.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein said trick play bitstream comprises a fast forward bitstream and a fast reverse bitstream.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising the step of:

upon said fast forward bitstream being exhausted of data, automatically switching from said storage bitstream to said broadcast bitstream.

24. The method of claim 20 further comprising the step of:

upon said subscriber equipment requesting said broadcast bitstream, switching from said storage bitstream to said broadcast bitstream.