System and method for associating presented digital content within recorded digital stream and method for its playback from precise location

• US 7,394,974 B2
• Filed: 04/22/2004
• Issued: 07/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Chen, Shyh-Jye Anthony, Kosugi, Takuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Thai
• Assistant Examiner(s): DUNN, MISHAWN N
• Application Number:
  US10/830,996
• Publication Number:
  US 20050163476A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,531 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/83, 386/95, 386109-113, 386124-126
• US Class Current: 386/248
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

To avoid discontinuities when resuming play of a video stream that was paused while being viewed live and being simultaneously recorded, the timestamp and video stream time base discontinuity count associated with the last-viewed frame are used to access the frame in storage that has the same discontinuity count (indicating that it is in the same segment as the last-viewed frame) and a timestamp one greater than the timestamp of the last-viewed frame.

Claims

1. A television system, comprising:

at least one processor associating at least one timestamp of at least one digital data element with at least one discontinuity count;

at least one display for presenting digital data streams from the processor; and

at least one storage for storing digital data, wherein

the timestamp and discontinuity count are used by the processor for resuming play, using data in the storage, of a digital data stream that was paused and/or bookmarked during live play of the stream, wherein video frames in the storage are associated with respective timestamps and video stream discontinuity counts, wherein if a frame comes unaccompanied by an associated timestamp, a timestamp is calculated for the frame, and further comprising a record discontinuity counter in a recording path and a decode discontinuity counter in a decoding path, and the counters are synchronized with each other.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is associated with a personal video recorder.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital data element includes at least one video frame, and the processor uses the timestamp and discontinuity count of a last-presented video frame in a live video stream to resume play using video data in the storage.

4. A method for providing for smooth resumption of play of a digital stream, comprising:

receiving the stream;

sending the stream along a decoding path to a decoder for display of the stream on a display;

sending the stream along a recording path to a storage for storage of the stream, frames of the stream sent to the storage being associated with respective timestamps and digital stream discontinuity counts;

receiving at least one command representing at least one command in the group of;

“

pause”

, and “

bookmark”

;

recording a timestamp and discontinuity count of a paused and/or bookmarked frame;

receiving a “

resume play”

command;

using the timestamp and discontinuity count of the paused and/or bookmarked frame, retrieving a frame from the storage at least partially based on the frame having a discontinuity count matching the discontinuity count of the paused and/or bookmarked frame and

synchronizing a discontinuity count in the recording path with a discontinuity count in the decoding path.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising retrieving a frame from the storage based on the frame having a timestamp that matches the timestamp of the paused frame.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising retrieving a frame from the storage based on the frame having a timestamp that is the next sequential timestamp after the timestamp of the paused frame.

7. The method of claim 4, comprising using a personal video recorder to execute at least some of the method acts.

8. The method of claim 4, comprising generating a timestamp for a frame arriving without a timestamp.

9. A television system, comprising:

at least one TV display;

at least one decoder driving the display;

means for sending a received digital stream having time base discontinuities through the decoder for presentation thereof on the display;

means for pausing and/or bookmarking the display;

means for sending a recorded version of the received digital stream through the decoder for presentation thereof on the display upon resumption of play, the means for sending a recorded version accounting for time base discontinuities in the stream; and

a record discontinuity counter in a recording path and a decode discontinuity counter in a decoding path, the counters being synchronized with each other.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the means for sending a recorded version operates based at least in part on at least one timestamp of at least one frame of the digital stream.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein at least the means for sending a received digital stream and the means for sending a recorded version are embodied by at least one processor.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is associated with a personal video recorder.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor uses the timestamp and discontinuity count of a last-presented frame in a live video stream to resume play using video data in a storage local to the processor.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein video frames in the storage are associated with respective timestamps and digital stream discontinuity counts.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein if a frame comes unaccompanied by an associated timestamp, a timestamp is calculated for the frame.