System and method for processing multiple broadcast multimedia streams

• US 8,675,675 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2011
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Perlman, Stephen G., Sleator, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Liu, Jung-Jen
• Application Number:
  US13/338,067
• Publication Number:
  US 20120096494A1
• Time in Patent Office: 812 Days
• Field of Search: 370/203, 370204-215, 370229-240, 370310-394, 370/395.1, 370/395.3, 370/395.4, 370/395.41, 370/395.42, 370/395.5, 370/395.52, 370/395.53, 370412-421, 370431-529
• US Class Current: 370/429
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91364 the video signal being scrambled
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2347 involving video stream encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• 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 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 for scrambling ; for copy protection
• 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 7/1675 : Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 : involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 : involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

A computer-implemented method is disclosed including: receiving a broadcast signal containing a set of multiplexed multimedia channels; storing said multiplexed multimedia channels in a temporary storage buffer on a mass storage device; determining a point in said temporary storage buffer to begin demultiplexing and decoding a first channel responsive to a user request to view a particular program on said first channel in its entirety, said point indicating the start of said program on said first channel; and demultiplexing and decoding said first channel of said set of multiplexed multimedia channels from said point within said temporary storage buffer.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a broadcast signal containing a set of multiplexed multimedia channels;

storing said multiplexed multimedia channels in a temporary storage buffer on a mass storage device;

determining a point in said temporary storage buffer to begin demultiplexing and decoding a first channel responsive to a user request to view a particular program on said first channel in its entirety, said point indicating the start of said program on said first channel;

demultiplexing and decoding said first channel of said set of multiplexed multimedia channels from said point within said temporary storage buffer; and

removing a particular program from among a plurality of programs included in the stored multiplexed multimedia channels from said mass storage device when a content provider stops broadcasting the particular program.

2. The method as in claim 1 wherein each multimedia channel in said set is comprised of packets of multimedia content.

3. The method as in claim 2 wherein said packets are identified as containing data for a particular multimedia channel by way of a unique packet identification (“

PID”

) code.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining said point in said temporary storage buffer comprises:

receiving with said multiplexed multimedia channels an index comprising a pointer to an address within said multiplexed multimedia channels to begin demultiplexing and decoding said first channel in order to view said program in its entirety.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining said point in said temporary storage buffer comprises:

generating, as said multiplexed multimedia channels are received, an index comprising a pointer to an address in said multiplexed multimedia channels to begin demultiplexing and decoding said first channel in order to view said program in its entirety.

6. The method as in claim 1 wherein said buffer is configured to store a specified block of time of said multiplexed multimedia channels.

7. A system comprising:

tuning means to receive a broadcast signal containing a set of multiplexed multimedia channels;

storage means to store said multiplexed multimedia channels in a temporary storage buffer on a mass storage device; and

selection means to select a first channel of said multiplexed multimedia channels in said set stored on said mass storage device responsive to a user request to view multimedia content contained in said first multimedia channel;

playback point determination means for determining a point in said temporary storage buffer to begin demultiplexing and decoding said first multimedia channel responsive to a user request to view a particular program on said first multimedia channel in its entirety, said point indicating the start of said program on said first multimedia channel; and

demultiplexing and decoding means to demultiplex and decode said first channel from said point within said temporary storage buffer; and

deleting a buffered program from among a plurality of programs included in the stored multiplexed multimedia channels from said mass storage device when a content provider stops broadcasting the buffered program.

8. The system as in claim 7 wherein each multimedia channel is comprised of packets of multimedia content.

9. The system of claim 7, further index generation means to generate, as said multiplexed multimedia channels are received, an index comprising a pointer to an address in said multiplexed multimedia channels to begin demultiplexing and decoding said first channel in order to view said program in its entirety.

10. The method as in claim 7 wherein said buffer is configured to store a specified block of time of said multiplexed multimedia channels.

11. The method as in claim 7 wherein said buffer is configured to store a specified amount of multimedia content.

12. A system for processing a plurality of multimedia streams comprising:

a tuner to receive a multimedia signal at a specified frequency and convert said multimedia signal to a baseband multimedia signal;

a demodulator to demodulate said baseband multimedia signal to produce a plurality of multiplexed multimedia streams;

a mass storage device for storing said multiplexed multimedia streams;

selection logic for selecting one of said multimedia streams from said mass storage device to render on a display responsive to a user command and for determining a point in said temporary storage buffer to begin demultiplexing a first stream responsive to a user request to view a particular program within said first stream in its entirety, said point indicating the start of said program within said first stream;

a multi-stream PID filter module to demultiplex said multimedia stream prior to rendering said multimedia stream on said display from said beginning point; and

wherein a first program from among a plurality of programs included in the multiplexed multimedia stream is effectively removed from said mass storage device when a content provider stops broadcasting said first program.

13. The system as in claim 12 wherein each of said multimedia streams are logically separated into a series of programs.

14. The system as in claim 13 wherein said multi-stream PID filter continues to store a first program of a first one of said multimedia streams as long as said first program in said first stream is being broadcast by a cable or satellite provider.

15. The system as in claim 14 wherein said multi-stream PID filter begins storing a second program of said one multimedia stream to said mass storage device responsive to said cable or satellite provider transmitting said second program.

16. The system as in claim 14 wherein, responsive to a user request to view said first program in said one stream, said selection logic selects said first program to be decoded and rendered on said display from the start of said first program.

17. The system as in claim 12 further comprising:

a long term storage buffer configured on said mass storage device for recording one or more of said streams for an indefinite period of time responsive to a user request to record said one or more programs.

18. The system as in claim 12 further comprising:

a graphical user interface displaying a list of program entries from which a user may select, said program entries corresponding to one or more entire programs transmitted within said multimedia streams.

19. The system as in claim 18 wherein said graphical user interface further comprises selection regions associated with each of said program entries and wherein, responsive to a user selection of one or more of said selection regions, said programs associated with said selection regions are stored in a long term storage buffer configured on said mass storage device.

20. The system as in claim 18 wherein said program entries include a video portion for displaying a video relating to said one or more programs.

21. The system as in claim 20 wherein said program entries further include an information portion for displaying information related to said one or more programs.

22. The system as in claim 21 wherein said information portion is comprised of one or more uniform resource locators (“

URLs”

).

23. The system as in claim 20 wherein said program entries are grouped into one or more categories.

24. The system of claim 12, wherein said selection logic is further to receive with said multiplexed multimedia streams an index comprising a pointer to an address in said multiplexed multimedia streams to begin demultiplexing and decoding said first stream in order to view said program in its entirety.

25. The system of claim 12, further comprising index generation logic to generate, as said multiplexed multimedia streams are received, an index comprising a pointer to an address in said multiplexed multimedia streams to begin demultiplexing and decoding said first stream in order to view said program in its entirety.

26. A system comprising:

a wideband tuner to receive two or more groups of multiplexed multimedia channels at a specified frequency range;

a wideband demodulator to demodulate said two or more groups of multiplexed multimedia channels;

a wideband multi-channel PID filter module to filter certain multimedia channels from said two or more groups of multimedia channels and to store said filtered multimedia channels to a mass storage device; and

selection logic for selecting one or more of said filtered multimedia channels from said mass storage device to render on a display, wherein said selection logic is further to determine a point in said mass storage device to begin decoding a first channel responsive to a user request to view a particular program on said first channel in its entirety, said point indicating the start of said program on said first channel; and

wherein a first program is effectively removed from said mass storage device when a content provider stops broadcasting said first program.

27. The system as in claim 26 wherein a first channel of said filtered channels is logically separated into a series of programs.

28. The system as in claim 27 wherein said wideband multi-channel PID filter continues to store a first program of said first channel to said mass storage device as long as said first program in said first channel is being broadcast by a cable or satellite provider.

29. The system as in claim 28 wherein said wideband multi-channel PID filter begins storing a second program to said mass storage device responsive to said cable or satellite provider transmitting said second program.

30. The system as in claim 28 wherein, responsive to a user request to view said first program, said selection logic selects said first program to be decoded and rendered on said display from the start of said first program.

31. The system as in claim 27 further comprising:

a long term storage buffer configured on said mass storage device for recording one or more programs for an indefinite period of time responsive to a user request to record said one or more programs.

32. The system as in claim 26 wherein said two or more groups of multiplexed multimedia channels comprise all channels broadcast by a cable or satellite provider.