Data structure and methods for providing an interactive program guide

• US 20030208759A1
• Filed: 06/17/2003
• Published: 11/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TiVo Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sedna Patent Services LLC
• Inventors: Edmonds, Jeremy S., Gordon, Donald F., Bayrakeri, Sadik, Ludvig, Edward A., Comito, John P., Gershtein, Eugene, Wild, Joseph R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,260,147 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/577 Motion compensation with bidirectional frame interpolation, i.e. using B-pictures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23608 Remultiplexing multiplex streams, e.g. involving modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• 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 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 : Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 : Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

A data structure suited to efficiently representing a plurality of image streams including common and non-common portions. Specifically, a plurality of similar group of picture (GOP) data structures representing the corresponding plurality of image streams including common and non-common portions is adapted to provide a first encoded stream comprising only P-picture and B-picture access units of one of the similar GOP data structures, and a corresponding plurality of encoded streams comprising only respective I-picture access units of the similar GOP data structures. In this manner, the redundant P-picture and B-picture access units within the encoded streams are eliminated, thereby greatly reducing the bandwidth or memory resources needed to transmit or store the plurality of image streams.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a first compositor configured to receive a first guide region image signal;

a second compositor configured to receive a second guide region image signal;

the first compositor and the second compositor configured to receive an image region image signal;

the first compositor configured to provide a first video output stream, the first video output stream being a composition of the image region image signal and the first guide region image signal;

the second compositor configured to provide a second video output stream, the second video output stream being a composition of the image region image signal and the second guide region image signal;

an audio delay configured to receive an audio signal and provide a delayed audio signal packet alignment with the first video output stream and the second video output stream;

a data processor configured to receive an input data stream and to provide an output data stream;

a first real-time video encoder configured to receive the first video output stream and a first packet identification assignment, and to provide in response thereto a first compressed video bitstream;

a second real-time video encoder configured to receive the second video output stream and a second packet identification assignment, and to provide in response thereto a second compressed video bitstream;

a real-time audio encoder configured to receive the delayed audio signal and to provide an encoded audio stream;

a first frame isolator configured to receive the first compressed video bit steam and to isolate pictures therefrom for providing a first picture bitstream associated with the first guide region image signal and a second picture bitstream associated with the image region image signal;

a second frame isolator configured to receive the second compressed video bitstream and to produce a third picture bitstream associated with second guide region image signal;

a first packetizer configured to receive the first picture bitstream and to provide a first packetized stream in response;

a second packetizer configured to receive the second picture bitstream and to provide a second packetized stream in response;

a third packetizer configured to receive the third picture bitstream and to provide a third packetized stream in response;

a fourth packetizer configured to receive the encoded audio stream and to provide a packetized audio stream in response;

a fifth packetizer configured to receive the data output stream and to provide a packetized data stream in response; and

a multiplexer configured to receive and multiplex the first packetized stream, the second packetized stream, the third packetized stream, the packetized audio stream and the packetized data stream to provide a transport stream.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first compressed video bitstream is Moving Pictures Expert Group compliant.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the first compressed video bitstream is associated with a group of pictures structure.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the group of pictures structure comprises an I-picture followed by ten B-pictures with a P-picture separating each group of two contiguous B-pictures of the ten B-pictures.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the group of pictures is a closed group of pictures structure.

6. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the group of pictures is an open group of pictures structure.

7. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the second compressed video bitstream is associated with the group of pictures structure.

8. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the second compressed video bitstream is associated with another group of pictures structure different from the group of pictures structure.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first frame isolator is configured to identify which access units are associated with respective I-pictures, B-pictures and P-pictures.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein each of the access units is a coded representation of a video frame.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first picture bitstream comprises only I-picture access units.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the second picture bitstream comprises only P-picture access units and B-picture access units.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the third picture bitstream comprises only I-picture access units.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein an image associated with the image region image signal is overlaid a first guide image associated with the first guide region image signal.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the image is moving imagery, and the first guide image is a still imagery.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a first buffer configured to receive the first packetized stream and to buffer the first packetized stream for providing to the multiplexer;

a second buffer configured to receive the second packetized stream and to buffer the second packetized stream for providing to the multiplexer; and

a third buffer configured to receive the third packetized stream and to buffer the third packetized stream for providing to the multiplexer.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the transport stream is a Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) compliant transport stream.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the MPEG compliant transport stream represents at least a portion of an interactive electronic program guide.

19. A method for frame isolation from a video data stream provided to a frame isolator, comprising:

obtaining a first picture start code from the video data stream;

accepting data from the video data stream after obtaining the first picture frame start code until obtaining a second picture start code; and

outputting I-picture data of the data accepted from the frame isolator.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising determining whether to process non-I-picture data.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising if the step of determining is to process the non-I-picture data, providing the non-I-picture data to a packetizer.

22. The method of claim 19 further comprising if the step of determining is not to process the non-I-picture data, discarding the non-I-picture data.

23. The method of claim 19 wherein the first picture start code is a sequence header or group of pictures start code for an I-picture.

24. The method of claim 19 wherein the data accepted comprises a sequence header and an I-picture start code.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the data accepted comprises an I-picture.

26. A method for processing a group of pictures (GOP) data structure in a transport stream having multiplexed video streams, comprising:

providing a packet identification, the packet identification associated with a video stream of the multiplexed video streams;

selecting the video stream in response to the packet identification (PID), the video stream having only intra-coded information;

decoding the video stream;

decoding another video stream having only predictive-coded information; and

generating a decoded video stream from the video stream and the another video stream.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the step of selecting comprises demultiplexing the multiplexed video streams to identify the PID.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the step of generating comprises concatenating the intra-coded information with the predictive-coded information to provide a predefined group of pictures structure.