Temporal slice persistence method and apparatus for delivery of interactive program guide

• US 6,754,271 B1
• Filed: 10/10/2000
• Issued: 06/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: TiVo Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: DIVA Systems Corporation
• Inventors: Edmonds, Jeremy S, Gordon, Donald F., Bayrakeri, Sadik, Comito, John P.
• Primary Examiner(s): PHILIPPE, GIMS S
• Application Number:
  US09/686,739
• Time in Patent Office: 1,351 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240.01, 375/240.24, 348/385.1, 348/473, 709/249, 370/498, 370/473, 370/487, 725/43, 725/66, 725/68, 725/132, 725/138, 725/140
• US Class Current: 375/240.12
• 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. In one method for regenerating a selected IPG page, packets with a first PID for a first sequence of pictures having included therein one or more slices defined for at least a time-varying portion (e.g., the video portion) retrieved and decoded. Packets with a second PID for a second sequence of pictures having included therein one or more slices defined for at least a portion specific to the selected IPG page (e.g., the guide portion) are also retrieved and decoded. The second sequence can be coded with one I, P, or B picture for each GOP, and can be combined as and replaces an I, P, or B picture, respectively, in the first sequence or the last picture in the GOP. The second sequence can also be coded as a one-picture GOP that can replace a B-picture, or be inserted between pair of pictures, in the first sequence.

Claims

1. A method for providing interactive program guide (IPG) to a plurality of terminals, the method comprising:

coding a first sequence of pictures having included therein a time-varying portion;

defining one or more slices for the time-varying portion in each coded picture in the first sequence;

assigning the coded first sequence with a first packet identifier (PID);

coding one or more second sequences of pictures, wherein each second sequence of pictures includes a portion specific to the sequence;

defining one or more slices for the sequence-specific portion in each coded picture in each second sequence; and

assigning each coded second sequence with a respective second PID;

multiplexing packets with the first PID with packets with the second PIDs to generate one or more transport streams.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the time-varying portion in the first sequence corresponds to a video.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion specific to each second sequence corresponds to a program guide listing for a group of channels.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

coding a third sequence of pictures having included therein a background portion common to the one or more second sequences of pictures, wherein the coded third sequence includes header information used to initiate decoding of the coded pictures; and

assigning the coded third sequence with a third PID, and

wherein packets with the third PID are multiplexed with packets with the first and second PIDs to generate the one or more transport streams.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a first picture in each group of pictures (GOP) for the first sequence further includes a background portion common to the one or more second sequences.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the coded first sequence comprises a sequence of I, P, and B pictures for each group of pictures (GOP).

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the coded first sequence comprises a sequence of I and P pictures for each group of pictures (GOP).

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each coded second sequence comprises one P picture for each group of pictures (GOP), and wherein the P picture for the second sequence comprises intra-coded information.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the P picture for each second sequence is sent as a last picture in the GOP.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein each coded second sequence comprises one B picture for each group of pictures (GOP), and wherein the B picture for the second sequence comprises intra-coded information.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the B picture for each second sequence is sent at a time index corresponding to a B picture in the first sequence.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the B picture for each second sequence is sent at a time index corresponding to a last picture in the GOP.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the B picture for each second sequence is time stamped between a pair of pictures in the first sequence.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the B picture for a particular second sequence is sent as soon as possible in response to a request for a particular IPG page.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the coded first sequence comprises a sequence of I pictures for each group of pictures (GOP).

16. The method of claim 15, wherein each coded second sequence comprises one I picture for each GOP.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein each second sequence is coded as a one-picture GOP (group of pictures) having one I picture for each GOP.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein each one-picture GOP for each second sequence includes header information used by the terminals to decode the one-picture GOP.

19. A method for providing a selected interactive program guide (IPG) page, the method comprising:

retrieving packets with a first packet identifier (PID) for a first sequence of pictures, wherein each coded picture in the first sequence includes one or more slices for at least a time-varying portion for the selected IPG page;

decoding the retrieved packets with the first PID to regenerate at least the time-varying portion for the selected IPG page;

retrieving packets with a second PID for a second sequence of pictures, wherein each coded picture in the second sequence includes one or more slices for at least a portion specific to the selected IPG page; and

decoding the retrieved packets with the second PID to regenerate at least the portion specific to the selected IPG page.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

recombining packets with the second PID with packets with the first PID in accordance with a picture-level recombination scheme.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the recombining is performed using a splicing syntax defined by MPEG-2 standard.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

retrieving packets with a third PID for a third sequence of pictures, wherein each coded picture in the third sequence includes one or more slices for at least a background portion for the selected IPG page; and

decoding the packets with the third PID to regenerate at least the background portion for the selected IPG page.

23. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

after retrieving packets with the second PID for one coded picture in the second sequence, continuing to retrieve packets with the first PID for pictures in the first sequence.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the first sequence includes I and P coded pictures for each group of pictures (GOP), and wherein the second sequence includes one P picture for each GOP and sent as a last picture in the GOP.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the first sequence includes I, P, and B pictures for each group of pictures (GOP), and wherein the second sequence includes one B picture for each GOP and sent at a time index corresponding to a B picture in the first sequence.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein the second sequence is coded as a one-picture GOP (group of pictures) for each GOP.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the one-picture GOP for the second sequence replaces a B picture of the first sequence.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the one-picture GOP for the second sequence replaces a last picture in the GOP of the first sequence.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the one-picture GOP for the second sequence is decoded between a pair of pictures in the first sequence.

30. The method of claim 19, wherein the second sequence is coded as a group of pictures (GOP) and includes sequence header information, and wherein packets with the second PID is retrieved and decoded independent of packets with the first PID.

31. The method of claim 19, wherein only one picture of the second sequence is retrieved and decoded for the selected IPG page.

32. A system operative to provide interactive program guide, comprising:

at least one video encoder operative to encode a first sequence of pictures, wherein each coded picture in the first sequence includes one or more slices defined for at least a time-varying portion of the picture, and to further encode one or more second sequences of pictures, wherein each coded picture in each second sequence includes one or more slices defined for at least a portion specific to the second sequence;

a transport multiplexer coupled to the video encoder and operative to receive and multiplex packets with a first packet identifier (PID) assigned to the first sequence with packets with one or more second PIDs assigned to the one or more second sequences to generate one or more transport streams; and

a modulator coupled to the transport multiplexer and operative to receive the transport stream and generate an output signal suitable for transmission.

33. A set top terminal (STT) operative to provide a selected interactive program guide (IPG) page, the STT comprising:

a demodulator operative to receive a modulated signal and generate a transport stream;

a transport de-multiplexer coupled to the demodulator and operative to receive and process the transport stream to provide packets with a first packet identifier (PID) for a first sequence of pictures, wherein each coded picture in the first sequence includes one or more slices for at least a time-varying portion for the selected IPG page, and to further provide packets with a second PID for a second sequence of pictures, wherein each coded picture in the second sequence includes one or more slices for at least a portion specific to the selected IPG page; and

a video decoder coupled to the transport de-multiplexer and operative to decode the packets with the first and second PIDs to regenerate the selected IPG page.