Temporal Slice Persistence Method and Apparatus for Delivery of Interactive Program Guide

• US 20100146554A1
• Filed: 02/19/2010
• Published: 06/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TiVo Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Edmonds, Jeremy S., Gordon, Donald F., Bayrakeri, Sadik, Comito, John P.
• Granted Patent: US 9,042,446 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/577 Motion compensation with bidirectional frame interpolation, i.e. using B-pictures
• 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 21/234318 by decomposing into objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• 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 21/26216 involving the channel capacity, e.g. network bandwidth admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a schedule or organising the servicing of application requests taking into account QoS H04L67/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• 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 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4351 involving reassembling additional data, e.g. rebuilding an executable program from recovered modules
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 : Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/658 : Transmission by the client directed to the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8146 : involving graphical data, e.g. 3D object, 2D graphics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/816 : involving special video data, e.g 3D video
• 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 7/165 : Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 : Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

Techniques to efficiently deliver interactive program guide (IPG) to a number of terminals. Each IPG page can be decomposed into a guide portion that is specific to each IPG page and a background portion that is common for all IPG pages. The background portion can be further decomposed into a time-varying video portion and other static portions. One method includes receiving a viewer selection for imagery, where the imagery includes at least one intracoded slice and at least one predictively coded slice, and each of the intracoded and predictively codes slices are associated with respective bitstreams. Packets from the at least one bitstream corresponding to the at least one intracoded slice of the selected imagery are extracted, and packets from the at least one bitstream corresponding to the at least one predictively coded slice of the selected imagery are also extracted. The payload portions of the extracted packets are then arranged to form the selected imagery.

Claims

1-22. -22. (canceled)

23. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

memory storing machine executable instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform operations, said operations including;

receiving a selection of a program guide page, said program guide page including intracoded slices and predictively coded slices, said intracoded and predictively coded slices being received in different bitstreams;

extracting packets from the different bitstreams; and

coupling payload portions of the extracted packets to a decoder in a recombined video stream of the program guide page.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein said selected program guide page comprises a sequence of image frames forming a group of pictures, said group of pictures comprising a first frame formed from the intracoded slices and a plurality of subsequent frames formed from the predictively coded slices.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein said program guide page includes a guide portion and a video portion.

26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein each of said different bitstreams includes packets identified with different respective packet identifiers.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising:

said decoder, wherein said operations further include decoding said recombined video stream.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein said operations further include:

modifying the packet identifiers associated with said different bitstreams to a predetermined packet identifier value prior to said extracting of packets, wherein said extracting is based on said packets having said predetermined packet identifier value.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein said modified packet identifiers are changed to a packet identifier value equal to a lowest packet identifier value associated with said selected program guide page.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein said operations further include:

setting a discontinuity indicator in a header of a packet to be extracted immediately following a packet which had a different packet identifier prior to the modifying of the packet identifier.

31. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein said extracting further includes:

extracting packets having the packet identifier associated with the intracoded slices until a field in a header of the extracted packets having the packet identifier associated with the intracoded slices is determined to have a predetermined value; and

in response to the field having the predetermined value, extracting packets having the packet identifier associated with the predictively coded slices.

32. A memory storing machine executable instructions that when executed by a processor, cause an apparatus to perform operations, said operations including:

receiving a selection of a program guide page, said program guide page including intracoded slices and predictively coded slices, said intracoded and predictively coded slices being received in different bitstreams;

extracting packets from the different bitstreams; and

coupling payload portions of the extracted packets to a decoder in a recombined video stream of the program guide page.

33. The memory of claim 32, wherein said selected program guide page comprises a sequence of image frames forming a group of pictures, said group of pictures comprising a first frame formed from the intracoded slices and a plurality of subsequent frames formed from the predictively coded slices.

34. The memory of claim 32, wherein said program guide page includes a guide portion and a video portion.

35. The memory of claim 32, wherein each of said different bitstreams includes packets identified with different respective packet identifiers.

36. The memory of claim 35, further comprising:

said decoder, wherein said operations further include decoding said recombined video stream.

37. The memory of claim 35, wherein said operations further include:

modifying the packet identifiers associated with said different bitstreams to a predetermined packet identifier value prior to said extracting of packets, wherein said extracting is based on said packets having said predetermined packet identifier value.

38. The memory of claim 37, wherein said modified packet identifiers are changed to a packet identifier value equal to a lowest packet identifier value associated with said selected program guide page.

39. The memory of claim 37, wherein said operations further include:

setting a discontinuity indicator in a header of a packet to be extracted immediately following a packet which had a different packet identifier prior to the modifying of the packet identifier.

40. The memory of claim 35, wherein said extracting further includes:

extracting packets having the packet identifier associated with the intracoded slices until a field in a header of the extracted packets having the packet identifier associated with the intracoded slices is determined to have a predetermined value; and

in response to the field having the predetermined value, extracting packets having the packet identifier associated with the predictively coded slices.

41. A system, comprising:

a terminal including a processor and memory storing machine executable instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the terminal to perform operations, said operations including;

receiving a selection of a program guide page, said program guide page including intracoded slices and predictively coded slices, said intracoded and predictively coded slices being received in different bitstreams;

extracting packets from the different bitstreams; and

coupling payload portions of the extracted packets to a decoder in a recombined video stream of the program guide page; and

a delivery apparatus including;

a multiplexer configured to combine the different bitstreams into one or more transport streams, and

a modulator configured to transmit the one or more transport streams to the terminal.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein:

the delivery apparatus is configured to assign different packet identifiers to packets included in the respective bitstreams, respectively; and

the extracting operations performed by the terminal further include;

extracting packets having the packet identifier associated with the intracoded slices until a field in a header of the extracted packets having the packet identifier associated with the intracoded slices is determined to have a predetermined value; and

in response to the field having the predetermined value, extracting packets having the packet identifier associated with the predictively coded slices.