Temporal slice persistence method and apparatus for delivery of interactive program guide

• US 9,042,446 B2
• Filed: 02/19/2010
• Issued: 05/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: TiVo Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Gordon, Donald F., Bayrakeri, Sadik, Edmonds, Jeremy S., Comito, John P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rao, Andy
• Application Number:
  US12/708,696
• Publication Number:
  US 20100146554A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,922 Days
• Field of Search: 37524001-24029
• US Class Current: 375/240.11
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/577 Motion compensation with bidirectional frame interpolation, i.e. using B-pictures
• 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 21/234318 by decomposing into objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23608 Remultiplexing multiplex streams, e.g. involving modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26216 involving the channel capacity, e.g. network bandwidth admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a schedule or organising the servicing of application requests taking into account QoS H04L67/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• 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 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• 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 21/4351 involving reassembling additional data, e.g. rebuilding an executable program from recovered modules
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 : Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/658 : Transmission by the client directed to the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8146 : involving graphical data, e.g. 3D object, 2D graphics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/816 : involving special video data, e.g 3D video
• 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 5/45 : Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• 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 7/17336 : Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

Techniques to efficiently deliver interactive program guide (IPG) to a number of terminals. Each IPG page can be decomposed into a guide portion that is specific to each IPG page and a background portion that is common for all IPG pages. The background portion can be further decomposed into a time-varying video portion and other static portions. One method includes receiving a viewer selection for imagery, where the imagery includes at least one intracoded slice and at least one predictively coded slice, and each of the intracoded and predictively codes slices are associated with respective bitstreams. Packets from the at least one bitstream corresponding to the at least one intracoded slice of the selected imagery are extracted, and packets from the at least one bitstream corresponding to the at least one predictively coded slice of the selected imagery are also extracted. The payload portions of the extracted packets are then arranged to form the selected imagery.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

memory storing machine executable instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to;

receive a selection of a program guide page, the program guide page including intracoded slices and predictively coded slices, the intracoded slices and predictively coded slices being received in different bitstreams;

extract payload portions of packets from the different bitstreams; and

input, to a decoder, the payload portions of the packets as a recombined video stream of the program guide page.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the program guide page comprises a sequence of image frames forming a group of pictures, the group of pictures comprising a first frame formed from the intracoded slices and a plurality of subsequent frames formed from the predictively coded slices.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the program guide page includes a guide portion and a video portion.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the different bitstreams includes packets identified with different respective packet identifiers.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising:

the decoder, which is configured to decode the recombined video stream.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the machine executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to:

modify the different respective packet identifiers identifying the packets from the different bitstreams to a predetermined packet identifier value prior to the extracting of the payload portions of the packets, wherein the extracting is based on the packets having the predetermined packet identifier value.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the different respective packet identifiers are modified to a packet identifier value equal to a lowest packet identifier value associated with the program guide page.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the machine executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to:

set a discontinuity indicator in a header of a first one of the packets having a first packet identifier modified to the predetermined packet identifier value, wherein extraction of a payload portion of the first one of the packets immediately follows extraction of a payload portion of a second one of the packets having a second packet identifier modified to the predetermined packet identifier value, the discontinuity indicator being set based on the first packet identifier being different from the second packet identifier prior to the modifying of the first and second packet identifiers.

9. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the machine executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to extract the payload portions of the packets from the different bitstreams by:

extracting payload portions of packets having one of the packet identifiers that is associated with the intracoded slices until a field in a header of the packets having the packet identifier associated with the intracoded slices is determined to have a predetermined value; and

in response to the field having the predetermined value, extracting payload portions of packets having another one of the packet identifiers that is associated with the predictively coded slices.

10. A method comprising:

receiving a selection of a program guide page, the program guide page including intracoded slices and predictively coded slices, the intracoded slices and predictively coded slices being received in different bitstreams;

extracting payload portions of packets from the different bitstreams; and

inputting, to a decoder, the payload portions of the packets as a recombined video stream of the program guide page.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the program guide page comprises a sequence of image frames forming a group of pictures, the group of pictures comprising a first frame formed from the intracoded slices and a plurality of subsequent frames formed from the predictively coded slices.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the program guide page includes a guide portion and a video portion.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the different bitstreams includes packets identified with different respective packet identifiers.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

decoding the recombined video stream.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

modifying the different respective packet identifiers to a predetermined packet identifier value prior to the extracting of the payload portions of the packets, wherein the extracting is based on the packets having the predetermined packet identifier value.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the modifying includes changing the different respective packet identifiers to a packet identifier value equal to a lowest packet identifier value associated with the program guide page.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

setting a discontinuity indicator in a header of a first one of the packets having a first packet identifier modified to the predetermined packet identifier value, the extraction of the payload portion for the first one of the packets immediately following the extraction of a payload portion of a second one of the packets having a second packet identifier modified to the predetermined packet identifier value, the discontinuity indicator being set based on the first packet identifier being different from the second packet identifier prior to the modifying of the different respective packet identifiers.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

extracting payload portions of packets having one of the packet identifiers that is associated with the intracoded slices until a field in a header of the packets having the packet identifier associated with the intracoded slices is determined to have a predetermined value; and

in response to the field having the predetermined value, extracting payload portions of packets having another one of the packet identifiers that is associated with the predictively coded slices.

19. A system, comprising:

a terminal including a processor and memory storing machine executable instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the terminal to;

receive a selection of a program guide page, the program guide page including intracoded slices and predictively coded slices, the intracoded slices and predictively coded slices being received in different bitstreams;

extract payload portions of packets from the different bitstreams; and

input, to a decoder, the payload portions of the packets as a recombined video stream of the program guide page; and

a delivery apparatus including;

a multiplexer configured to combine the different bitstreams into one or more transport streams, and

a modulator configured to transmit the one or more transport streams to the terminal.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein:

the delivery apparatus is configured to assign different packet identifiers to the packets from the different bitstreams, respectively; and

the machine executable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal to extract the packets from the different bitstreams further cause the terminal to;

extract payload portions of packets having one of the packet identifiers that is associated with the intracoded slices until a field in a header of the packets having the packet identifier associated with the intracoded slices is determined to have a predetermined value; and

in response to the field having the predetermined value, extract payload portions of packets having another one of the packet identifiers that is associated with the predictively coded slices.

21. A method, comprising:

receiving a selection of program guide data, the program guide data including intracoded slices and predictively coded slices received in different bitstreams;

extracting payload portions from the different bitstreams; and

coupling the payload portions as a recombined video stream of the program guide data.