Advanced trick mode

• US 7,797,720 B2
• Filed: 10/22/2004
• Issued: 09/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Gopalakrishnan, Palamalai, Knowlton, Christopher G., Raman, Ravi, O'Rourke, Bret P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirl; Joseph P
• Assistant Examiner(s): RABOVIANSKI, JIVKA A
• Application Number:
  US10/970,938
• Publication Number:
  US 20060090009A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,153 Days
• Field of Search: 725/88, 725/94
• US Class Current: 725/88
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/613 for the control of the source by the destination control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components specially adapted for selective content distribution H04N21/637
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/756 adapting media to device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

An implementation of trick mode methodology receives a first request to stream media for presentation at a first normal playback rate; streams a first media stream configured to the first normal playback rate; receives a second request to stream the media for presentation at a second greater playback rate; and performs one of the following responsive to receiving the second request: switching from streaming the first media stream to streaming from an appropriate position in a second media stream that corresponds to the second greater playback rate; or in an event that a second media stream corresponding to the second greater playback rate is not available, then streaming the first media stream at a higher bit rate in an attempt to comply with the second request.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a processor;

memory;

a downstream component configured to present multimedia media streams to a user in response to user input;

an upstream component configured to;

stream a first media stream from a first media file to the downstream component, the first media stream being received by the downstream component for presentation to the user at a first playback rate; and

,

upon request for a faster playback rate, switch from the first media stream to a rate-appropriate point in a second media stream from a second media file configured for presentation at the faster playback rate,

wherein a presentation time of the second media stream is modified, chronologically corresponding the presentation time of the second media stream to a presentation time of the first media stream, such that the downstream component and the user are unaware of the existence of more than one media stream, and

wherein the second media file is streamed by the upstream component at a same bit rate to the first media file, and wherein the second media file is read by the downstream component at a same bit rate to the first media file.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second media streams contain headers relating to presentation times and wherein the upstream component is configured to alter the presentation times in the second media stream such that the first presentation time of the second media stream chronologically follows the last presentation time of the first media stream.

3. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the first and second media files are configured to be streamed at a predetermined average bit rate.

4. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the upstream component comprises a media server.

5. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the upstream component is configured to access a configuration file associated with the user input and wherein the configuration file identifies a location and a relative playback rate of at least two media files associated with the user input.

6. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the upstream component comprises a trick mode parser configured to access a configuration file associated with the user input and wherein the configuration file identifies a location and relative playback rate of at least two media files associated with the user input.

7. A system as recited in claim 6, wherein the trick mode parser is further configured to access the at least two media files associated with the user input and to cause a media parser to be created for individual media files.

8. A network hardware device, comprising:

a first component configured to be communicably coupled to a network, the first component being configured to access and stream multiple data formats over the network; and

,

a second component operatively associated with the first component, the second component configured to receive the multiple data formats from the first component and being configured to receive a first client request to stream media data for presentation to a client at a first playback speed and to cause data of a first media stream to be streamed to the client in response to the first client request, the second component further being configured to stream the client-requested media data to the client from an appropriate point in a second different media stream from a second media file having a second greater playback speed corresponding to a second client request,

wherein the second media stream is streamed by the second component at a same bit rate to the first media stream.

9. A network device as recited in claim 8, wherein the first component comprises a general purpose media server.

10. A network device as recited in claim 8, wherein the second component comprises a plug-n-play software component which is added to the first component.

11. A network device as recited in claim 8, wherein the multiple formats comprise one or more of JPEG, MPEG, and MP3.

12. A network device as recited in claim 8, wherein the data streamed in response to the first client request and the data streamed in response to the second client request are streamed at generally equivalent average bit rates.

13. A network device as recited in claim 8, wherein the first and second data streams contain individual packets of data and wherein individual packets contain information relating to a chronological presentation time of the individual packet relative to an overall presentation time for the data and wherein the component is further configured to begin streaming the second media stream from an appropriate point which chronologically follows the chronological presentation time of the data at the end of the first media stream.

14. A network device as recited in claim 13, wherein the second component is further configured to adjust the chronological presentation times of the second data stream to correspond to the chronological presentation times of the first data stream.

15. A network device as recited in claim 13, wherein the first component is configured for use on multiple types of networks.

16. A network device as recited in claim 13, wherein the second component comprises a sub-component of the first component.

17. A method implemented on a computing device, the method comprising:

receiving a first request to stream media for presentation at a first normal playback rate;

streaming a first media stream to a client device, from a first media file, configured to the first normal playback rate;

receiving a second request to stream the media for presentation at a second greater playback rate; and

performing one of the following responsive to receiving the second request;

switching from streaming the first media stream to streaming to the client device from an appropriate position in a second media stream from a second media file that corresponds to the second greater playback rate,

wherein the second media stream is streamed at a same bit rate to the first media stream;

or

in an event that a second media stream corresponding to the second greater playback rate is not available, then streaming the first media stream to the client device at a higher bit rate in an attempt to comply with the second request.

18. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein the first and second media streams are streamed at a same average bit rate.

19. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein said streaming comprises accessing a configuration file which identifies a location and a corresponding playback rate of each of multiple versions of a first media file, each of the multiple versions of the first media file having a distinctly different playback rate from the first media file and any other of the multiple versions of the first media file when read at a same bit rate to a bit rate of the first media file.

20. A method as recited in claim 19 further comprising causing a media parser to be created for the multiple versions of the first media file.

21. A method as recited in claim 19 further comprising causing a media parser to be created for each of the multiple versions of the first media file.

22. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein said streaming a first media stream comprises causing an individual media parser associated with a media file having the normal playback rate to stream media from the media file.

23. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein the first media stream comprises a first data format and the second media stream comprises a second different data format.

24. One or more computer readable storage media comprising computer executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computing device to perform the method of claim 17.