Content streaming with client device trick play index

• US 9,247,317 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2013
• Issued: 01/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonic IP Incorporated (Endeavor Group Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sonic IP Incorporated (Endeavor Group Holdings Inc.)
• Inventors: Shivadas, Abhishek, Bramwell, Stephen R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bruckhart, Benjamin R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huang, Jen-Shi
• Application Number:
  US13/905,804
• Publication Number:
  US 20140359679A1
• Time in Patent Office: 971 Days
• Field of Search: 386/52, 386/68
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• 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 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments

Abstract

An apparatus downloads files of encoded video including interspersed key frames over a communication network. The apparatus plays back video from the downloaded files and creates a trick play index based on the downloaded files. The trick play index indicates network locations of the key frames in the encoded video files. When the apparatus receives a trick play request, such as rewind or fast forward, the client device downloads the key frames from the indicated network locations, and plays back video from the downloaded key frames.

Claims

1. A method of video playback with trick play, the method performed by a playback device, the method comprising:

streaming video at a playback device, wherein streaming video comprises;

downloading, at the playback device, blocks of encoded video including a plurality of interspersed key frames, wherein the blocks of encoded video are downloaded from a remote content source over a communication network,

playing back video from the downloaded blocks of encoded video at the playback device; and

incrementally creating a trick play index as each block of encoded video is downloaded at the playback device by identifying network locations of the downloaded blocks of encoded video and parsing each downloaded block of encoded video to determine an offset from the beginning of the downloaded block to a key frame within the downloaded block of encoded video;

storing the created trick play index at the playback device, wherein the stored trick play index indicates the network locations of the downloaded blocks of encoded video and the offsets for the key frames within the downloaded blocks of encoded video; and

receiving a trick play request at the playback device and, in response to the trick play request;

downloading, at the playback device, key frames using the network locations and the offsets indicated in the previously stored trick play index, and

playing back video from the downloaded key frames at the playback device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the encoded video comprises successive encoded video frames, including:

non-key frames each encoded based on one or more other video frames of the encoded video; and

the key frames interspersed among the non-key frames, each of the key frames encoded independent of other video frames of the encoded video, and thereby capable of being decoded independent of the other video frames.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the key frames include intra-coded I-frames and the non-key frames include inter-coded P-frames.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the playing back video from the downloaded blocks of encoded video includes;

decoding the non-key frames and the key frames in the downloaded blocks of encoded video to recover the video encoded therein, and

presenting the recovered video; and

the playing back video from the downloaded key frames includes;

decoding the downloaded key frames to recover the video encoded therein, and

presenting the recovered video.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to the downloading the blocks of encoded video, receiving a playlist over the communication network, the playlist listing network addresses where the blocks of encoded video are accessible; and

wherein downloading the blocks of encoded video includes downloading the blocks of encoded video from the network addresses listed in the playlist.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the creating the trick play index includes, for each downloaded block of encoded video:

determining a size of the key frame within the downloaded block; and

storing, in the index, the offset and the size of the key frame,

wherein the network address of the block of encoded video and the offset of the key frame together represent one of the indicated network locations within the trick play index.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the downloaded as blocks of encoded video, and correspondingly the key frames interspersed therein, are associated with successive time codes;

the playing back video from the downloaded blocks of encoded video includes playing back the video from the downloaded blocks of encoded video in a forward direction of increasing time codes; and

the playing back in response to the trick play request includes playing back the downloaded key frames in a rewind direction of decreasing time codes.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving a subsequent trick play request and, in response thereto;

downloading further key frames from network addresses indicated in the stored trick play index; and

playing back video from the downloaded further key frames in the forward direction of increasing time codes.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after creating the trick play index and before receiving the trick play request, uploading the trick play index to a particular network address; and

after receiving the trick play request and before downloading the key frames, downloading the trick play index from the particular network address.

10. An apparatus for video playback with trick play, comprising:

a processor;

a memory storing an application;

wherein the application directs the processor to;

download blocks of encoded video including a plurality of interspersed key frames, wherein the blocks of encoded video are downloaded from a remote content source over a communication network;

play back video from the downloaded blocks of encoded video;

incrementally create a trick play index as each block of encoded video is downloaded at the apparatus for video playback by identifying network locations of the downloaded blocks of encoded video and parsing each downloaded block of encoded video to determine an offset from the beginning of the downloaded block to a key frame within the downloaded block;

store the created trick play index, wherein the stored trick play index indicates the network locations of the downloaded blocks of encoded video and the offsets for the key frames within the downloaded blocks of encoded video; and

receive a trick play request and, in response to the trick play request;

download key frames using the network locations and the offsets indicated in the previously stored trick play index, and

play back video from the downloaded key frames.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the encoded video comprises successive encoded video frames, including:

non-key frames each encoded based on one or more other video frames; and

the key frames interspersed among the non-key frames, each of the key frames encoded independent of other video frames, and thereby capable of being decoded independent of the other video frames.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the key frames include intra-coded I-frames and the non-key frames include inter-coded P-frames.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the application further directs the processor:

prior to when the blocks of encoded video are downloaded, receive a playlist over the communication network, the playlist listing network addresses where the blocks of encoded video are accessible; and

wherein the application further directs the processor to download the blocks of encoded video from the network addresses listed in the playlist.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the application further directs the processor to, for each downloaded block of encoded video:

determine a size of the key frame within the downloaded block; and

store, in the index, the offset and the size of the key frame,

wherein the network address of the block of encoded video and the offset of the key frame together represent one of the indicated network locations within the trick play index.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the downloaded blocks of encoded video, and correspondingly the key frames interspersed therein, are associated with successive time codes;

the application further directs the processor to play back the video from the downloaded blocks of encoded video in a forward direction of increasing time codes; and

the application further directs the processor to play back the downloaded key frames in a reverse direction of decreasing time codes in response to the trick play request.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the application further directs the processor to:

receive a subsequent trick play request and, in response thereto;

download further key frames from network addresses indicated in the stored trick play index, and

play back video from the downloaded further key frames in the forward direction of increasing time codes.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

a communication system to communicate with the communication network;

a user interface system; and

a housing to house the processor system, the communication system, and the user the interface system.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein:

the communication system includes a wireless communication system; and

the housing includes a mobile hand-held housing to house the processor system, the communication system, the user interface system, and a battery.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a computer program including instructions to cause a processor of a playback device to:

stream video, wherein the instructions to stream video further comprise instructions to;

download blocks of encoded video including a plurality of interspersed key frames, wherein the blocks of encoded video are downloaded from a remote content source over a communication network;

play back video from the downloaded blocks of encoded video;

during execution of the instructions to stream video, incrementally create a trick play index as each block of encoded video is downloaded by identifying network locations of the downloaded blocks of encoded video and parsing each downloaded block of encoded video to determine an offset from the beginning of the downloaded block to a key frame within the downloaded block;

store the created trick play index, wherein the stored trick play index indicates the network locations of the downloaded blocks of encoded video and the offsets for the key frames within the downloaded blocks of encoded video; and

receive a trick play request and, in response to the trick play request;

downloading key frames using the network locations and the offsets indicated in the previously stored trick play index, and

playing back video from the downloaded key frames.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the encoded video comprises successive encoded video frames, including:

non-key frames each encoded based on one or more other video frames of the encoded video; and

the key frames interspersed among the non-key frames, each of the key frames encoded independent of other video frames of the encoded video, and thereby capable of being decoded independent of the other video frames.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the key frames include intra-coded I-frames and the non-key frames include inter-coded P-frames.

22. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the instructions further include instructions to cause the processor to:

prior to the downloading the blocks of encoded video, receive a playlist over the communication network, the playlist listing network addresses where the blocks of encoded video are accessible; and

wherein the instruction to cause the processor to download the blocks of encoded video further include instructions to cause the processor to download the blocks of encoded video from the network addresses listed in the playlist.

23. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the instruction to cause the processor to create the trick play index further include instructions to cause the processor to, for each downloaded block of encoded video:

determine a size of the key frame within the downloaded block; and

store, in the index, the offset and the size of the key frame,

wherein the network address of the block of encoded video and the offset of the key frame together represent one of the indicated network locations within the trick play index.

24. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein:

the downloaded as blocks of encoded video, and correspondingly the key frames interspersed therein, are associated with successive time codes;

the instructions to cause the processor to playback video from the downloaded blocks of encoded video further include instructions to cause the processor to playback the video from the downloaded blocks of encoded video in a forward direction of increasing time codes; and

the instructions to cause the processor to playback in response to the trick play request further include instructions to cause the processor to playback the downloaded key frames in a rewind direction of decreasing time codes.

25. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the instructions further include instructions to cause the processor to:

receive a subsequent trick play request and, in response thereto,

download further key frames from network addresses indicated in the stored trick play index; and

play back video from the downloaded further key frames in the forward direction of increasing time codes.