Multi-program viewing in a wireless apparatus

• US 8,330,866 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2007
• Issued: 12/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Walker, Gordon Kent, Raveendran, Vijayalakshmi R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harold, Jefferey
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAIEM, SEAN N
• Application Number:
  US11/622,899
• Publication Number:
  US 20070195203A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,160 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 348/565
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/26 Arrangements for switching distribution systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 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 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4621 Controlling the complexity of the content stream or additional data, e.g. lowering the resolution or bit-rate of the video stream for a mobile client with a small screen arrangements for using the results of monitoring on user's side in broadcast systems H04H60/65; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• 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 7/52 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

This disclosure describes a number of techniques for processing multimedia data that can improve multi-program “picture-in-picture” viewing, particularly in a wireless mobile apparatus setting. In one example, a method includes receiving multiple channels of the multimedia data, decoding frames associated with two or more of the channels, presenting first frames of a first channel at a first frame rate, and presenting second frames of a second channel at a second frame rate while presenting the first frames, wherein the second frame rate is lower than the first frame rate. In another example, method includes receiving multiple channels of the multimedia data, receiving channel switch frames (CSFs) associated with the multiple channels, and simultaneously presenting the CSFs associated with two or more of the multiple channels to a user.

Claims

1. A method of processing multimedia data, the method comprising:

receiving multiple channels of the multimedia data;

decoding frames associated with two or more of the channels;

presenting first frames of a first channel at a first frame rate; and

presenting second frames of a second channel at a second frame rate while presenting the first frames, wherein the second frame rate is lower than the first frame rate,

wherein decoding the frames comprises;

decoding substantially all received frames associated with the first channel; and

decoding channel switch frames (CSFs) associated with the second channel,

wherein each individual channel switch frame (CSF) is a non-predictive frame.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the first and second frames comprises presenting the first and second frames within a common display of a wireless apparatus.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising decoding the frames with a single decoder within the wireless apparatus.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising defining relative positions of the first frames relative to the second frames within the common display based on user input.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

swapping the relative positions of the first frames relative to the second frames;

presenting the first frames at the second frame rate; and

presenting the second frames at the first frame rate.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the second frames comprises presenting the second frames within the first frames in a picture-in-picture format.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting a plurality of frames around a periphery of the first frames, wherein the second frames are included within the plurality of frames around the periphery.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first frame rate is approximately 30 frames per second and the second frame rate is approximately 1 frame per second.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting third frames of a third channel at the second frame rate while presenting the first frames.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein decoding the frames comprises:

decoding substantially all received frames associated with the first channel; and

decoding a subset of received frames associated with the second channel.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein decoding the CSFs comprises accessing pointers from a media logical channel (MLC) to the CSFs within the second channel and acquiring the CSFs from the second channel based on the pointers.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein decoding the CSFs comprises acquiring the CSFs associated with the second channel from a media logical channel (MLC).

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising accessing pointers from the MLC to the CSFs, the CSFs being within the MLC.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein decoding the CSFs comprises acquiring the CSFs from the second channel.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second channels comprise two different views associated with a common broadcast.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting the second frames at a lower resolution than the first frames.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the first frames are encoded at the first frame rate and the second frame are encoded at the second frame rate.

54. The method of claim 1, wherein each CSF is received via a multicast.

18. An apparatus that processes multimedia data comprising:

a receiver that receives multiple channels of the multimedia data;

one or more decoders that decode frames associated with two or more of the channels, wherein the one or more decoders;

decode substantially all received frames associated with the first channel, and

decode channel switch frames (CSFs) associated with the second channel; and

a display, wherein the display presents first frames of a first channel at a first frame rate and presents second frames of a second channel at a second frame rate while presenting the first frames, wherein the second frame rate is lower than the first frame rate, wherein each individual channel switch frame (CSF) is a non-predictive frame that is configured to be individually displayed in response to a channel change request.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the apparatus comprises a wireless apparatus.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more decoders comprises a single decoder that performs decoding associated with the two or more of the channels.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the apparatus receives user input and defines relative positions of first frames relative to the second frames within the display based on the user input.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the apparatus:

swaps the relative positions of the first frames relative to the second frames on the display;

presents the first frames at the second frame rate on the display; and

presents the second frames at the first frame rate on the display.

23. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the second frames are presented on the display within the first frames as a picture-in-picture.

24. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the display presents a plurality of frames around a periphery of the first frames, wherein the second frames are included within the plurality of frames around the periphery.

25. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first frame rate is approximately 30 frames per second and the second frame rate is approximately 1 frame per second.

26. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the display presents third frames of a third channel at the second frame rate while presenting the first frames.

27. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more decoders:

decode substantially all received frames associated with the first channel; and

decode a subset of received frames associated with the second channel.

28. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more decoders access pointers from a media logical channel (MLC) to the CSFs within the second channel and acquire the CSFs from the second channel based on the pointers.

29. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more decoders acquire the CSFs associated with the second channel from a media logical channel (MLC).

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the one or more decoders acquire pointers from the MLC to the CSFs, the CSFs being within the MLC.

31. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more decoders acquire the CSFs from the second channel.

32. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first and second channels comprise two different views associated with a common broadcast.

33. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the display presents the second frames at a lower resolution than the first frames.

34. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first frames are encoded at the first frame rate and the second frame are encoded at the second frame rate and wherein the decoder decodes the first and second frames according to their respective encoding rates to present the first and second frames on the display.

55. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein each CSF is received via a multicast.

35. An apparatus comprising

means for receiving multiple channels of multimedia data;

means for decoding frames associated with two or more of the channels;

means for presenting first frames of a first channel at a first frame rate; and

means for presenting second frames of a second channel at a second frame rate while presenting the first frames, wherein the second frame rate is lower than the first frame rate,

wherein the means for decoding the frames;

decodes substantially all received frames associated with the first channel; and

decodes channel switch frames (CSFs) associated with the second channel,

wherein each individual channel switch frame (CSF) is a non-predictive frame.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the apparatus comprises a wireless apparatus, and the means for presenting the first frames and the means for presenting the second frames comprises a common display of the wireless apparatus.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the means for decoding comprises a single decoder within the wireless apparatus.

38. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising means for defining relative positions of first frames relative to the second frames based on user input.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, further comprising:

means for swapping the relative positions of the first frames relative to the second frames;

means for presenting the first frames at the second frame rate; and

means for presenting the second frames at the first frame rate.

40. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the means for presenting presents the second frames within the first frames in a picture-in-picture format.

41. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the means for presenting presents a plurality of frames around a periphery of the first frames, wherein the second frames are included within the plurality of frames around the periphery.

42. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the first frame rate is approximately 30 frames per second and the second frame rate is approximately 1 frame per second.

43. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising means for presenting third frames of a third channel at the second frame rate while presenting the first frames.

44. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the means for decoding the frames:

decodes substantially all received frames associated with the first channel; and

decodes a subset of received frames associated with the second channel.

45. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the means for decoding accesses pointers from a media logical channel (MLC) to the CSFs within the second channel and acquires the CSFs from the second channel based on the pointers.

46. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the means for decoding acquires the CSFs associated with the second channel from a media logical channel (MLC).

47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the means for decoding accesses pointers from the MLC to the CSFs, the CSFs being within the MLC.

48. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the means for decoding acquires the CSFs from the second channel.

49. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the first and second channels comprise two different views associated with a common broadcast.

50. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising means for presenting the second frames at a lower resolution than the first frames.

51. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the first frames are encoded at the first frame rate and the second frame are encoded at the second frame rate.

56. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein each CSF is received via a multicast.

52. A computer program product for processing multimedia data comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that upon execution cause a computer to;

receive multiple channels of the multimedia data;

decode frames associated with two or more of the channels, by decoding substantially all received frames associated with the first channel, and decoding channel switch frames (CSFs) associated with the second channel, wherein each individual channel switch frame (CSF) is a non-predictive frame;

present first frames of a first channel at a first frame rate; and

present second frames of a second channel at a second frame rate while presenting the first frames, wherein the second frame rate is lower than the first frame rate.

57. The computer program product of claim 52, wherein each CSF is received via a multicast.

59. The computer program product of claim 52, wherein to present the first and second frames comprises to present the first and second frames within a common display of a wireless apparatus.

60. The computer program product of claim 59, further comprising to decode the frames with a single decoder within the wireless apparatus.

61. The computer program product of claim 59, further comprising to define relative positions of the first frames relative to the second frames within the common display based on user input.

62. The computer program product of claim 61, further comprising:

to swap the relative positions of the first frames relative to the second frames;

to present the first frames at the second frame rate; and

to present the second frames at the first frame rate.

63. The computer program product of claim 52, wherein to present the second frames comprises to present the second frames within the first frames in a picture-in-picture format.

64. The computer program product of claim 52, further comprising to present a plurality of frames around a periphery of the first frames, wherein the second frames are included within the plurality of frames around the periphery.

65. The computer program product of claim 52, wherein the first frame rate is approximately 30 frames per second and the second frame rate is approximately 1 frame per second.

66. The computer program product of claim 52, further comprising to present third frames of a third channel at the second frame rate while presenting the first frames.

67. The computer program product of claim 52, wherein decoding the frames comprises:

to decode substantially all received frames associated with the first channel; and

to decode a subset of received frames associated with the second channel.

68. The computer program product of claim 52, wherein to decode the CSFs comprises to access pointers from a media logical channel (MLC) to the CSFs within the second channel and to acquire the CSFs from the second channel based on the pointers.

69. The computer program product of claim 52, wherein to decode the CSFs comprises to acquire the CSFs associated with the second channel from a media logical channel (MLC).

70. The computer program product of claim 69, further comprising to access pointers from the MLC to the CSFs, the CSFs being within the MLC.

71. The computer program product of claim 52, wherein to decode the CSFs comprises to acquire the CSFs from the second channel.

72. The computer program product of claim 52, wherein the first and second channels comprise two different views associated with a common broadcast.

73. The computer program product of claim 52, further comprising to present the second frames at a lower resolution than the first frames.

74. The computer program product of claim 52, wherein the first frames are encoded at the first frame rate and the second frame are encoded at the second frame rate.

53. A processor for processing multimedia data, the processor being adapted to:

receive multiple channels of the multimedia data;

decode frames associated with two or more of the channels, by decoding substantially all received frames associated with the first channel, and decoding channel switch frames (CSFs) associated with the second channel, wherein each individual channel switch frame (CSF) is a non-predictive frame;

cause a display to present first frames of a first channel at a first frame rate; and

cause a display to present second frames of a second channel at a second frame rate while presenting the first frames, wherein the second frame rate is lower than the first frame rate.

58. The processor of claim 53, wherein each CSF is received via a multicast.

75. The processor of claim 53, wherein to present the first and second frames comprises to present the first and second frames within a common display of a wireless apparatus.

76. The processor of claim 75, further comprising to decode the frames with a single decoder within the wireless apparatus.

77. The processor of claim 75, further comprising to define relative positions of the first frames relative to the second frames within the common display based on user input.

78. The processor of claim 77, further comprising:

to swap the relative positions of the first frames relative to the second frames;

to present the first frames at the second frame rate; and

to present the second frames at the first frame rate.

79. The processor of claim 53, wherein to present the second frames comprises to present the second frames within the first frames in a picture-in-picture format.

80. The processor of claim 53, further comprising to present a plurality of frames around a periphery of the first frames, wherein the second frames are included within the plurality of frames around the periphery.

81. The processor of claim 53, wherein the first frame rate is approximately 30 frames per second and the second frame rate is approximately 1 frame per second.

82. The processor of claim 53, further comprising to present third frames of a third channel at the second frame rate while presenting the first frames.

83. The processor of claim 53, wherein decoding the frames comprises:

to decode substantially all received frames associated with the first channel; and

to decode a subset of received frames associated with the second channel.

84. The processor of claim 53, wherein to decode the CSFs comprises to access pointers from a media logical channel (MLC) to the CSFs within the second channel and to acquire the CSFs from the second channel based on the pointers.

85. The processor of claim 53, wherein to decode the CSFs comprises to acquire the CSFs associated with the second channel from a media logical channel (MLC).

86. The processor of claim 85, further comprising to access pointers from the MLC to the CSFs, the CSFs being within the MLC.

87. The processor of claim 53, wherein to decode the CSFs comprises to acquire the CSFs from the second channel.

88. The processor of claim 53, wherein the first and second channels comprise two different views associated with a common broadcast.

89. The processor of claim 53, further comprising to present the second frames at a lower resolution than the first frames.

90. The processor of claim 53, wherein the first frames are encoded at the first frame rate and the second frame are encoded at the second frame rate.