Apparatus and method for combining realtime and non-realtime encoded content

• US 20050034155A1
• Filed: 09/08/2004
• Published: 02/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TiVo Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Edmonds, Jeremy S., Gordon, Donald F., Bayrakeri, Sadik, Ludvig, Edward A., Comito, John P., Gershtein, Eugene
• Granted Patent: US 7,810,116 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/39
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/593 involving spatial prediction techniques
• 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 21/426 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 21/47205 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 21/8146 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

Abstract

A terminal for decoding and presenting encoded realtime and non-realtime interactive program guide (IPG) content including a realtime video portion and a non-realtime guide graphics portion. The terminal includes a demodulator operative to receive and demodulate a modulated signal to provide a transport stream, and a transport demultiplexer coupled to the demodulator and operative to receive and process the transport stream to provide a sequence of transport packets re-timestamped to synchronize encoded realtime content and encoded non-realtime content included therein. At least one video decoder is coupled to the transport demultiplexer and operative to receive and decode the encoded realtime and non-realtime contents to recover the realtime and non-realtime contents for the user interface.

Claims

1. A terminal for decoding and presenting encoded realtime and non-realtime interactive program guide (IPG) content comprising a realtime video portion and a non-realtime guide graphics portion, the terminal comprising:

a demodulator operative to receive and demodulate a modulated signal to provide a transport stream;

a transport demultiplexer coupled to the demodulator and operative to receive and process the transport stream to provide a sequence of transport packets re-timestamped to synchronize encoded realtime content and encoded non-realtime content included therein; and

at least one video decoder coupled to the transport demultiplexer and operative to receive and decode the encoded realtime and non-realtime contents to recover the realtime and non-realtime contents for the user interface.

2. The terminal of claim 1, wherein said transport demultiplexer comprises:

means for extracting a first plurality of packets from said transport stream comprising reference picture slices identified by a guide portion slice PID and a video portion slice PID;

means for extracting a second plurality of packets from said transport stream comprising predicted picture slices identified by skipped guide slice PID and a predictive video slice PID; and

means for concatenating payloads from said first plurality of packets and payloads from said second plurality of packets.

3. The terminal of claim 2, wherein said at least one video decoder decodes the concatenated payloads to produce a video sequence associated with said program guide.

4. The terminal of claim 2 wherein said means for concatenating comprises:

means for coupling payloads from said plurality of reference picture slices and payloads for said plurality of said predicted pictures slices to the at least one video decoder in exactly the order in which said packets arrive at said demultiplexer.

5. The terminal of claim 2, wherein said payloads of said first plurality of packets contain slice-based imagery information that changes across a plurality of interactive program guides and said payloads of said second plurality of packets contain slice-based common imagery information of said plurality of interactive program guide pages.

6. The terminal of claim 1, wherein said transport demultiplexer comprises:

means for re-mapping packet identifiers of a reference slice-based stream to a pre-defined packet identifier;

means for re-mapping a packet identifier of a predicted picture slice-based stream to said pre-defined packet identifier;

means for extracting packets of a transport stream having said pre-defined packet identifier; and

coupling a payload from each of the extracted packets to said at least one video decoder.

7. The terminal of claim 6, wherein said at least one video decoder decodes the payloads to produce a video sequence associated with said program guide.

8. The terminal of claim 7, wherein said demodulator comprises:

means for conducting a query if said reference slice-based stream is desired and identifying new packet identifiers for the reference slice-based stream if a new reference slice-based stream is desired.

9. The terminal of claim 8, wherein said payloads of said packets from said reference slice-based stream contain slice-based imagery information that changes across a plurality of interactive program guides and said payloads of said packets from said predicted picture slice-based stream contain slice-based common imagery information of said plurality of interactive program guide pages.

10. The terminal of claim 1, wherein said transport demultiplexer comprises:

means for coupling a plurality of payloads of transport packets of a slice-based portion of a reference stream to said at least one video decoder, including the packet with zero splice countdown value;

means for coupling a plurality of payloads of transport packets of a next slice based portion of a reference stream to a video decoder upon receiving the previous stream packet with zero splice countdown value;

means for continuing a slice based PID switch process until all the reference stream packet payloads are coupled to a video decoder;

means for coupling a plurality of payloads of transport packets of predictive-coded slices to said at least one video decoder upon receiving a last reference stream packet with a zero splice countdown value; and

concatenating said payloads.

11. The terminal of claim 10, wherein said at least one video decoder decodes the payloads to produce a video sequence associated with said program guide.

12. The terminal of claim 11, further comprising:

a packet identifier filter for conducting a query if said reference stream is desired and identifying new packet identifiers for the reference stream packets if a new reference stream is desired.

13. The terminal of claim 11, wherein said payloads of said plurality of reference stream packets contain slice-based imagery information that changes across a plurality of interactive program guides and said payloads of said plurality of predictive stream packets contain slice-based common imagery information of said plurality of interactive program guide pages.

14. The terminal of claim 11, wherein reception of a packet containing said packet with a zero countdown value initiates immediate reprogramming of said packet identifier filter to receive said packets having said new packet identifier.

15. The terminal of claim 11, wherein said concatenating comprises coupling said payloads of said reference stream and said payloads of said predicted stream to the decoder in exactly the order in which said packets arrive at a demultiplexer.

16. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the realtime video portion includes video and audio contents.

17. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the non-realtime guide graphics portion includes guide data.