System, method, and apparatus for playing back a plurality of video elementary streams with one playback channel

• US 9,398,319 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2014
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom, Inc.
• Inventors: Hulmani, Girish, Thangaraj, Arul, Bhatia, Sandeep
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhao, Daquan
• Application Number:
  US14/279,873
• Publication Number:
  US 20140250483A1
• Time in Patent Office: 795 Days
• Field of Search: 386/326, 386/211, 386/214, 386/217, 386/314, 386/324, 386/330, 386/332, 370/535, 370/536, 370/537, 370/542
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10722 wherein the size of the buffer is variable, e.g. by adding additional memory cells for coping with input streams that have high bit rates
• 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 19/70 characterised by syntax aspects related to video coding, e.g. related to compression standards
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42661 for reading from or writing on a magnetic storage medium, e.g. hard disk drive
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer

Abstract

A system, method, and apparatus for playback of multiple video elementary streams is presented herein. A host processor modifies the video elementary streams to allow a transport demultiplexer to distinguish among the plurality of the video elementary streams.

Claims

1. A system for playing back multiple video elementary streams from a transport stream, the system comprising:

a memory configured to store the multiple video elementary streams from the transport stream;

a demultiplexer configured to distinguish each of the multiple video elementary streams, wherein the memory is configured to provide the multiple video elementary streams to the demultiplexer during the playback of the multiple video elementary streams, and to store the multiple video elementary streams from the demultiplexer;

a decoder configured to simultaneously decode the multiple video elementary streams, wherein the memory is configured to provide the multiple video elementary streams to the decoder;

a controller configured to determine a plurality of addresses in the memory storing each particular one of the multiple video elementary streams; and

a processor configured to fetch particular ones of the multiple video elementary streams from the memory, the processor further configured to include a plurality of identifiers in the multiple video elementary streams.

2. The system of claim 1, further configured to include the identifiers in a first byte of a plurality of transport packets.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to provide a first picture from a first one of the multiple video elementary streams, the processor further configured to provide a second picture from a second one of the multiple video elementary streams in response to providing the first picture.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the processor is further configured to align a plurality of start codes with a transport packet header.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a start code table configured to associate a start code in each of the multiple video elementary streams with a corresponding memory location.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the demultiplexer is further configured to obtain at least one transport stream and to extract the multiple video elementary streams from the at least one transport stream, wherein packets of a first of the video elementary streams are identified by a first of the plurality of identifiers and packets of a second of the video elementary streams are identified by a second of the plurality of identifiers.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the demultiplexer is further configured to provide the multiple video elementary streams to the memory prior to the multiple video elementary streams being stored in the memory.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises a plurality of buffers, wherein each of the plurality of buffers is configured to store a respective one of the multiple video elementary streams.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a playback data feeder configured to provide the multiple video elementary streams from the memory to the demultiplexer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises at least one buffer, and wherein the memory is configured to store the multiple video elementary streams from the demultiplexer to the at least one buffer by storing each of the video elementary streams in a respective buffer portion of the at least one buffer.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises a pre hard disk portion, a post hard disk portion, and a video buffer.

12. A method for playing back multiple video elementary streams from a transport stream, the method comprising:

storing, by a memory, the multiple video elementary streams from the transport stream;

distinguishing, by a demultiplexer, each of the multiple video elementary streams, wherein the memory is configured to provide the multiple video elementary streams to the demultiplexer during the playback of the multiple video elementary streams, and to store the multiple video elementary streams from the demultiplexer;

simultaneously decoding, by a decoder, the multiple video elementary streams, wherein the memory is configured to provide the multiple video elementary streams to the decoder;

determining, by a controller, a plurality of addresses in the memory storing each particular one of the multiple video elementary streams; and

fetching, by a processor, particular ones of the multiple video elementary streams from the memory, the processor configured to include a plurality of identifiers in the multiple video elementary streams.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising including the identifiers in a first byte of a plurality of transport packets.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising providing, by the processor, a first picture from a first one of the multiple video elementary streams, and providing a second picture from a second one of the multiple video elementary streams in response to providing the first picture.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising aligning, by the processor, a plurality of start codes with a transport packet header.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising associating, via a start code table, a start code in each of the multiple video elementary streams with a corresponding memory location.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising obtaining, by the demultiplexer, at least one transport stream, and extracting the multiple video elementary streams from the at least one transport stream, wherein packets of a first of the video elementary streams are identified by a first of the plurality of identifiers and packets of a second of the video elementary streams are identified by a second of the plurality of identifiers.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising providing, by the demultiplexer, the multiple video elementary streams to the memory prior to the multiple video elementary streams being stored in the memory.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the memory comprises a plurality of buffers, wherein each of the plurality of buffers is configured to store a respective one of the multiple video elementary streams.

20. The method of claim 12, further comprising providing, by a playback data feeder, the multiple video elementary streams from the memory to the demultiplexer.