Information stream syntax for indicating the presence of a splice point

• US 6,038,000 A
• Filed: 12/23/1997
• Issued: 03/14/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Invidi Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: Sarnoff Corporation (SRI International, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hurst, Robert Norman Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): BRITTON, HOWARD W
• Application Number:
  US08/996,871
• Time in Patent Office: 812 Days
• Field of Search: 348/845, 348/845.3, 348/423, 348/705
• US Class Current: 375/240.26
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/142 Detection of scene cut or scene change
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/179 the unit being a scene or a shot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/87 involving scene cut or scene change detection in combination with video compression
• 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 21/2662 Controlling the complexity of the video stream, e.g. by scaling the resolution or bitrate of the video stream based on the client capabilities
• 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 5/265 Mixing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/52 Systems for transmission of a pulse code modulated video signal with one or more other pulse code modulated signals, e.g. an audio signal or a synchronizing signal assembling of a multiplex stream by combining a video stream with other content or additional data, remultiplexing of multiplex streams, insertion of stuffing bits into the multiplex stream, assembling of a packetised elementary stream at server side H04N21/236; disassembling of a multiplex stream, remultiplexing of multiplex streams, extraction or processing of Service Information, disassembling of packetised elementary stream at client side H04N21/434

Abstract

A method and apparatus for splicing a first compressed digital information stream into a second compressed digital information stream. The first information stream includes at least one entrance indicium identifying an appropriate stream entrance point, the second information stream includes at least one exit indicium identifying an appropriate stream exit point. A controller monitors the two streams until the appropriate points are found and, in response to a control signal, splices the first stream into the second stream.

Claims

1. A method for identifying one of entrance indicium and exit indicium in an MPEG-like transport packet, said entrance indicium being associated with a transport packet suitable for use as a first packet in a splicing segment, said exit indicium being associated with a transport packet suitable for use as a last packet in a splicing segment, said method comprising the steps of:

examining a valid splice_-- countdown field within a portion of a transport packet;

wherein;

said entrance indicium is identified by said splice countdown field being equal to a first value; and

said exit indicium is identified by splice countdown field being equal to a second value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said first value is negative one and said second value is zero.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said splice countdown field is only valid if a splice point flag within said portion of said transport packet is equal to a third value.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said third value is one.

5. A method for identifying one of entrance indicium and exit indicium in an MPEG-like transport packet, said entrance indicium being associated with a transport packet suitable for use as a first packet in a splicing segment, said exit indicium being associated with a transport packet suitable for use as a last packet in a splicing segment, said method comprising the steps of:

examining a splice point flag within a header portion of said transport packet; and

in the case of said splice point flag being set to a first value, examining a splice countdown field in said header portion of said transport packet;

wherein;

said entrance indicium comprises said splice countdown field being equal to a second value; and

said exit indicium comprises said splice countdown field being equal to a third value.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said first value is one, said second value is negative one, and said third value is zero.

7. In a system for generating an MPEG-like transport bitstream in response to one or more elementary streams, a method for including one of an entrance indicium and exit indicium in one or more MPEG-like transport packets, said entrance indicium being associated with a transport packet suitable for use as a first packet in a splicing segment, said exit indicium being associated with a transport packet suitable for use as a last packet in a splicing segment, said method comprising the steps of:

identifying packets suitable for use as first or last packets in a splicing segment; and

setting to a first value a splice point flag within a header portion of each of said identified packets to include said entrance or exit indicium; and

setting to a second value a splice countdown field within said header portion of said identified packets to include said entrance indicium, and setting to a third value said splice countdown field within said header portion of identified packets to include said exit indicium.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said first value is one, said second value is negative one, and said third value is zero.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein said entrance indicium is associated with a packet the precedes a sequence header that immediately precedes, in the case of a video stream, an I-frame.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said entrance indicium is associated with a packet the precedes a sequence header that immediately precedes, in the case of a video stream, an I-frame.

11. A method for splicing bitstreams, said bitstreams comprising a plurality of information segments representative of a sequence of information frames, said method comprising the steps of:

monitoring a first bitstream to detect an exit indicium, said first bitstream being coupled to an output and including at least one of said exit indicium, said exit indicium indicative of an appropriate last information segment of a splicing segment;

providing a second bitstream, said second bitstream including at least one entrance indicium, said entrance indicium indicative of an appropriate first information segment of a splicing segment; and

coupling said second bitstream to said output in response to a control signal, a detection of said exit indicium in said first bitstream and a detection of said entrance indicium in said second bitstream;

wherein

said exit indicium comprises a valid splice countdown field in said header portion of said information segment being set to a first value.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said first value is zero.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said entrance indicium comprises a valid splice countdown field in said header portion of said transport packe being set to a second value.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said second value is negative one.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein said step of monitoring said first bitstream comprises the steps of:

examining a splice point flag within a header portion of each information segment; and

in the case of said splice point flag being set to a third value, examining said splice countdown field in said header portion of said information segment, said entrance indicium comprising said splice countdown field being equal to a second value.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein said second value is negative one.