Processing and managing splice points for the concatenation of two video streams

• US 8,804,843 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2012
• Issued: 08/12/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tech 5 SAS
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rodriguez, Arturo A., Au, James, De Lameillieure, Jan, Beheydt, Samie
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Jr., Gilberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cribbs, Malcolm
• Application Number:
  US13/443,580
• Publication Number:
  US 20120263228A1
• Time in Patent Office: 854 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 375/240.25
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/44 Decoders specially adapted therefor, e.g. video decoders which are asymmetric with respect to the encoder
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/46 Embedding additional information in the video signal during the compression process H04N19/517, H04N19/68, H04N19/70 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/70 characterised by syntax aspects related to video coding, e.g. related to compression standards
• 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 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• 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 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8451 using Advanced Video Coding [AVC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments

Abstract

Receiving a video stream in a transport stream comprising a plurality of compressed pictures, wherein information in the video stream includes plural data fields comprising: a first data field corresponding to a location in the video stream of a potential splice point, wherein the first data field identifies a location in the video stream after the location of the received information; a second data field corresponding to decompressed pictures yet to be output (DPYTBO) by a video decoder at the identified potential splice point (IPSP) when the video decoder decompresses the video stream, wherein the second data field is a number corresponding to the DPYTBO by the video decoder at the IPSP; and a third data field corresponding to pictures with contiguous output times (WCOT), wherein the third field corresponds to a set of pictures WCOT of the DPYTBO by the video decoder at the IPSP.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a plurality of video streams, comprising at least a first video stream and a second video stream;

receiving a first message in the plurality of video streams, the message including a first data element and a second data element, wherein the first data element corresponds to a location in the first video stream of a potential splice point in the first video stream, wherein the second data element corresponding to decompressed pictures yet to be output (DPYTBO) by a video decoder, wherein the value of the second data element is a number corresponding to the DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point, and wherein the first message further comprises a third data element corresponding to pictures with contiguous output times (WCOT), wherein the value of the third element corresponds to a set of pictures WCOT of the DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point, wherein the value of the third data element represents element output times, wherein the first message further comprises of a plurality of fifth data elements, wherein each of the plurality of fifth data elements corresponds to a respective DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point, wherein the number of fifth data elements in the plurality of fifth data element equals to the value of the second data element, and wherein the value of each of the fifth data elements indicates whether the output of each DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point or a portion thereof is to be repeated; and

producing a third video stream comprising a portion of the first video stream and the second video stream, wherein the portion of the first video stream in the third video stream terminates at the location indicated by the first element, wherein the third video stream has an overlap transition period equal to the time to output the DPYTBO.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message further comprises of a plurality of fourth data elements, wherein each of the plurality of fourth data elements corresponds to a respective DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point, wherein the number of fourth data elements in the plurality of fourth data elements equals to the value of the second data element, and wherein the value of each of the fourth data elements indicates whether the respectively corresponding DPYTBO is a picture WCOT.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message further comprises one or more fourth data elements, and wherein pictures WCOT at the potential splice point can be determined by the video decoder from the one or more fourth data elements.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the value of the third data element represents a number of pictures.

5. The method of claim 1, the first message further comprises of a sixth data element, wherein the value sixth data element identifies the last picture in the set of pictures WCOT of the DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message further comprises of a seventh data element, wherein the value of the seventh data element provides an initial delay of a compressed picture buffer at the potential splice point when the video decoder decompresses the video stream.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message further comprises of an eighth data element, wherein the value of the eighth data element provides an output picture delay of a decoded picture buffer at the potential splice point when the video decoder decompresses the video stream.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the first message further comprises of a eighth data element, wherein the value of the eighth data element provides an output picture delay of a decoded picture buffer at the potential splice point when the video decoder decompresses the video stream.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message in the video stream is provided in a message in the video stream.

10. A method, comprising:

receiving a first message in a plurality of video streams, the message including a first data element, a second data element, a third data element, and a plurality of fourth data elements,

wherein the first data element corresponds to a location in the first video stream of a potential splice point in the first video stream,

wherein the second data element corresponds to decompressed pictures yet to be output (DPYTBO) by a video decoder, wherein the value of the second data element is a number corresponding to the DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point,

wherein the third data element corresponds to pictures with contiguous output times (WCOT), wherein the value of the third element corresponds to a set of pictures WCOT of the DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point, wherein the value of the third data element represents element output times,

wherein each of the plurality of fourth data elements corresponds to a respective DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point, wherein the number of fourth data elements in the plurality of fourth data elements equals to the value of the second data element, and wherein the value of each of the fourth data elements indicates whether the output of each DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point or a portion thereof is to be repeated.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first message further comprises of a plurality of fifth data elements, wherein each of the plurality of fifth data elements corresponds to a respective DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point, wherein the number of fifth data elements in the plurality of fifth data elements equals to the value of the second data element, and wherein the value of each of the fifth data elements indicates whether the respectively corresponding DPYTBO is a picture WCOT.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first message further comprises one or more fifth data elements, and wherein pictures WCOT at the potential splice point can be determined by the video decoder from the one or more fifth data elements.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the value of the third data element represents a number of pictures.

14. The method of claim 10, the first message further comprises of a sixth data element, wherein the value sixth data element identifies the last picture in the set of pictures WCOT of the DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the first message further comprises of a seventh data element, wherein the value of the seventh data element provides an initial delay of a compressed picture buffer at the potential splice point when the video decoder decompresses the video stream.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the first message further comprises of an eighth data element, wherein the value of the eighth data element provides an output picture delay of a decoded picture buffer at the potential splice point when the video decoder decompresses the video stream.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the first message in the video stream is provided in a message in the video stream.

18. A system, comprising:

a memory; and

a processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory, the instructions comprising;

receiving a plurality of video streams, comprising at least a first video stream and a second video stream;

receiving a first message in the plurality of video streams, the message including a first data element and a second data element, wherein the first data element corresponds to a location in the first video stream of a potential splice point in the first video stream, wherein the second data element corresponding to decompressed pictures yet to be output (DPYTBO) by a video decoder, wherein the value of the second data element is a number corresponding to the DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point, and wherein the first message further comprises a third data element corresponding to pictures with contiguous output times (WCOT), wherein the value of the third element corresponds to a set of pictures WCOT of the DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point, wherein the value of the third data element represents element output times, wherein the first message further comprises of a plurality of fifth data elements, wherein each of the plurality of fifth data elements corresponds to a respective DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point, wherein the number of fifth data elements in the plurality of fifth data element equals to the value of the second data element, and wherein the value of each of the fifth data elements indicates whether the output of each DPYTBO by the video decoder at the potential splice point or a portion thereof is to be repeated; and

producing a third video stream comprising a portion of the first video stream and the second video stream, wherein the portion of the first video stream in the third video stream terminates at the location indicated by the first element, wherein the third video stream has an overlap transition period equal to the time to output the DPYTBO.