Multiple video content in a composite video stream

• US 9,154,813 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2011
• Issued: 10/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TiVo Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Gilson, Ross
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Nathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Marandi, James R
• Application Number:
  US13/156,716
• Publication Number:
  US 20120317598A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,580 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234309 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 or from Quicktime to Realvideo conversion of standards in analog television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234345 the reformatting operation being performed only on part of the stream, e.g. a region of the image or a time segment
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• 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 5/445 for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen

Abstract

A request for a first video may be received from an end user device. A video size for the requested first video may be determined. An unused onscreen location to place the requested first video, within one of a plurality of composite mosaic video streams, may be determined. The unused onscreen location may correspond to a location for insertion of video content for output to an onscreen location of an output device. Information identifying the unused onscreen location may be transmitted to a content source of the requested first video. The requested first video based upon the unused onscreen location information may be received from the content source. The requested first video then may be placed with at least one second video into a composite video stream based upon the unused onscreen location, and the composite video stream may be transmitted to the end user device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a location within a composite video stream, based upon a first video size, to place a first video associated with a first service, the determined location within the composite video stream corresponding to a location for insertion of video for output to an onscreen location of an output device;

placing the first video, based at least upon the determined location, with at least one second video associated with a second service into the composite video stream, the first service and the second service being different services, wherein the at least one second video of the composite video stream is configured to be masked when the first video of the composite video stream is displayed on the output device;

transmitting the composite video stream to a device associated with the output device;

receiving a request prompting an adjustment of the first video from the first video size to a second video size;

responsive to a determination that at least one third video in the composite video stream is the first video adjusted to the second video size, outputting the at least one third video to the device; and

responsive to a determination that at least one third video in the composite video stream is not the first video adjusted to the second video size, encoding a size-adjusted version of the first video into a second composite video stream and transmitting the second composite video stream to the device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the composite video stream comprises a video image of a mosaic of multiple distinct videos positioned at different locations corresponding to onscreen locations of the output device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request for the first video from the device; and

determining the first video size for the requested first video.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

transmitting information indicating the determined location to a content source of the requested first video; and

receiving, from the content source, the requested first video based upon the determined location information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the composite video stream and the second composite video stream comprises a high definition composite video stream.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the location is based upon a pixel designation.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein encoding the size-adjusted version of the first video comprises:

determining a new unused location, within one of a plurality of composite video streams, based upon the second video size, to place the size-adjusted version of the first video;

transmitting information indicating the new unused location to a content source of the size-adjusted version of the first video; and

receiving, from the content source, the size-adjusted version of the first video based upon the information indicating the new unused location.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising placing the size-adjusted version of the first video into the second composite video stream based upon the new unused location.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining a location comprises determining an unused location.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first video and the second video are videos of different size.

11. A method comprising:

determining an unused location, within one of a plurality of composite mosaic video streams, based upon a determined first video size, to encode a requested first video associated with a video service, the unused location corresponding to a location for insertion of video content for output to an onscreen location of an output device associated with a device;

encoding the requested first video at the unused location in the one of the plurality of composite mosaic video streams, wherein the one of the plurality of composite mosaic video streams also comprises at least one second video associated with the video service;

causing transmission of the one of the plurality of composite mosaic video streams to the device;

receiving a request prompting an adjustment of the requested first video from the determined first video size to a requested video size;

responsive to a determination that at least one third video of the plurality of composite mosaic video streams is the requested first video adjusted to the requested video size, outputting the at least one third video to the device; and

responsive to a determination that at least one third video of the plurality of composite mosaic video streams is not the requested first video adjusted to the requested video size, encoding a size-adjusted version of the requested first video into a second composite mosaic video stream and causing a transmission of second composite mosaic video stream to the device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the one of the plurality of composite mosaic video streams comprises a video image of a mosaic of multiple distinct videos positioned at different locations corresponding to onscreen locations of the output device.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving a request for the requested first video from the device; and

determining the first video size for the requested first video.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transmitting information indicating the unused location to a content source of the requested first video; and

receiving, from the content source, the requested first video based upon the unused location information.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the unused location is based upon a pixel designation.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the encoding the size-adjusted version of the requested first video comprises:

determining a new unused location, within the second composite mosaic video stream, based upon the requested video size;

transmitting information indicating the new unused location to a content source of the size-adjusted version of the first video; and

receiving, from the content source, the size-adjusted version of the requested first video based upon the information indicating the new unused location.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one composite video stream of the plurality of composite mosaic video streams is a high definition composite video stream.

18. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory having stored therein machine executable instructions, the at least one memory and the machine executable instructions configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to;

determine a location within a composite video stream, based upon a first video size, to place a first video associated with a first service, the determined location within the composite video stream corresponding to a location for insertion of video for output to an onscreen location of an output device;

place the first video, based at least upon the determined location, with at least one second video associated with a second service into the composite video stream, the first service and the second service being different services, wherein the at least one second video of the composite video stream is configured to be masked when the first video of the composite video stream is displayed on the output device;

transmit the composite video stream to a device associated with the output device;

receive a request prompting an adjustment of the first video from the first video size to a second video size;

responsive to a determination that at least one third video in the composite video stream is the first video adjusted to the second video size, output the at least one third video to the device; and

responsive to a determination that at least one third video in the composite video stream is not the first video adjusted to the second video size, encode a size-adjusted version of the first video into a second composite video stream and transmit the second composite video stream to the device.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the encoding the size-adjusted version of the first video comprises:

determining a new unused location, within the second composite video stream, based upon the second video size, to place the size-adjusted version of the first video;

transmitting information indicating the new unused location to a content source of the size-adjusted version of the first video;

receiving, from the content source, the size-adjusted version of the first video based upon the information indicating the new unused location; and

placing the size-adjusted version of the first video into the second composite video stream based upon the new unused location.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the composite video stream comprises a video image of a mosaic of multiple distinct videos positioned at different locations corresponding to onscreen locations of the output device.