Frame identification

• US 8,989,280 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2011
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories Incorporated
• Inventors: Burt, Donald V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Torrente, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): SUH, JOSEPH JINWOO
• Application Number:
  US13/173,303
• Publication Number:
  US 20130003869A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,363 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240.26, 375/240.06, 370/400, 386/95, 713/320, 713/143, 713/189, 713/324, 348/143, 707/3, 725/139, 455/438
• US Class Current: 375/240.26
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4344 Remultiplexing of multiplex streams, e.g. by modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/643 Communication protocols network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP], H04L65/65
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream

Abstract

An unbound, out-of-band identification concept for identifying video frames and/or other data sets within a transport stream. The identification may include the use of reference markers to identify the video frames independently of a transmission protocol used to facilitate the transport stream. This type of ubiquitous generation of reference markings may allow the reference markers to be easily propagated and used with disparate transmission protocols and transport streams.

Claims

1. A method of identifying video frames carried within transport packets of a Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) transport stream, the transport packets including a random access indicator (RAI) bit value of one of 0 and 1, the RAI bit value being set to 1 when indicating the corresponding transport packet contains a complete or a beginning of a new video frame and set to 0 when indicating the corresponding transport packet contains a partial video frame, the method comprising:

associating video frames with a reference marker, each reference marker including a corresponding signature and a corresponding count value, the signature identifying a preceding transport packet having a RAI bit value of 1, the count value identifying video frame positioning relative to the signature of the preceding transport packet;

generating the signatures by separately hashing fields included in a header of the corresponding transport packet, including generating the signatures without hashing any portion of a video frame at least partially included in a payload of the corresponding transport packet, including zeroing at least a continuity counter and a presentation timestamp (PTS) included as at least part of the fields;

representing the count value as a numerical value indicative of a number of video frames from which the corresponding video frame is spaced from the preceding transport packet having the related signature;

storing each reference marker, including each signature and count value, in a signature table and subsequently transmitting the signature table separately from the transport stream to a device processing the transport stream for output to a display;

determining an advertisement avail schedule, the advertisement avail schedule specifying advertisement avails within the MPEG transport stream relative to the signatures;

determining the advertisement avails to include an offset value, the offset value specifying a number of video frames from the related signature at which the corresponding advertisement avail begins;

facilitating use of the advertisement avail schedule with a dynamic advertisement insertion application operating on a device used to decode the MPEG transport stream for playback, the dynamic advertisement insertion application relying on the advertisement avails specified in the advertisement avail schedule to schedule advertisement insertion during playback of the MPEG transport stream; and

generating the signatures for the transport packets having the RAI bit value of 1 and not for the transport packets having the RAI bit value of 0.

2. A method of defining a video frame location for video frames carried within a plurality of transport packets of a Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) transport stream, each of the plurality of transport packets including a random access indicator (RAI) bit value of one of 0 and 1, the RAI bit value being set to 1 when indicating the corresponding transport packet contains a complete or a beginning of a new video frame and set to 0 when indicating the corresponding transport packet contains a partial video frame, the method comprising:

processing the transport packets to identify the video frames included therein;

identifying a portion of the plurality of transport packets to be signature packets;

generating a first signature for each of the signature packets;

defining a video frame location for each of the plurality of video frames relative to the first signatures;

identifying the signature packets as the portion of the plurality of transport packets having the RAI bit value of 1, and not the transport packets having the RAI bit value of 0, such that the transport packets having the RAI bit value of 0 are not identified as signature packets

defining the video frame location within a signature table by relating each video frame to the first signature of a preceding one of the signature packets, the signature table being stored separately and independently from the transport stream such that access to the signature table is required in order to determine the video frame location;

defining the video frame location within the signature table to include an offset value, the offset value specifying a number of video frames separating the corresponding video frame from the corresponding first preceding signature packet;

relating advertisement avails to a plurality of the video frames identified in the signature table by identifying a beginning video frame location for each advertisement avail according to the related first signature and the offset value of the corresponding one of the video frames; and

instructing a device to time advertisement insertion during one or more of the advertisement avails relative to selected ones of the video frame locations, the device being transmitted the signature table and configured to process the MPEG transport stream for output to a display, the device separately and independently generating a second signature for the signature packets and determining the selected ones of the video frame locations for advertisement insertion to correspond with those listed in the signature table where the second signatures match with a corresponding of the first signatures.

3. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having non-transitory instructions operable with a processor to facilitate inserting advertisements during playback of video frames carried within a plurality of transport packets of a Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) transport stream, each of the plurality of transport packets including a random access indicator (RAI) bit value of one of 0 and 1, the RAI bit value being set to 1 when indicating the corresponding transport packet contains a complete or a beginning of a new video frame and set to 0 when indicating the corresponding transport packet contains a partial video frame, the non-transitory instructions being sufficient for:

identifying a portion of the plurality of transport packets to be signature packets, the signature packets being identified as the portion of the plurality of transport packets having the RAI bit value of 1, and not the transport packets having the RAI bit value of 0, such that the transport packets having the RAI bit value of 0 are not identified as signature packets, a first signature having been previously associated with each of the signature packets;

determining a video frame location for each of the plurality of video frames relative to the first signatures, the video frame location being defined within a signature table sufficient to relate each video frame to the first signature of a preceding one of the signature packets, the signature table being stored separately and independently from the transport stream;

determining the video frame location within the signature table to include an offset value, the offset value specifying a number of video frames separating the corresponding video frame from the corresponding first preceding signature packet;

relating advertisement avails to a plurality of the video frames identified in the signature table by identifying a beginning video frame location for each advertisement avail according to the related first signature and the offset value of the corresponding one of the video frames; and

timing advertisement insertion during one or more of the advertisement avails relative to selected ones of the video frame locations, including separately and independently generating a second signature for the signature packets when processing the MPEG transport stream for output to a display, including determining the selected ones of the video frame locations for advertisement insertion to correspond with those listed in the signature table where the second signatures match with a corresponding one of the first signatures.