Method and apparatus for buffering streaming media

• US 20050132417A1
• Filed: 12/14/2003
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: RealNetworks, Inc.
• Inventors: Chasen, Jeffrey M., Bobrovskiy, Stanislav M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,558,806 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/134
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4332 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. local EPG data repository interfaces, Database management systems or updating for information retrieval G06F16/23; details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video database G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4335 Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; unloading stored programs G06F9/445; storage management in file systems G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4392 involving audio buffer management
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer

Abstract

A method and apparatus for buffering streamed presentation data within a container file includes receiving one or more data streams from each of one or more presentation sources within the presentation, creating within the container file a virtual file for each of the one or more presentation sources, temporarily storing first data associated with a first data stream of a first presentation source in association with a first virtual file corresponding to the presentation source, determining a container file size, and temporarily storing additional data from the first data stream in place of at least a portion of the first data if the container file size is within a predetermined range of an identified maximum buffer size.

Claims

1. A method of storing streamed presentation data within a container file, the method comprising:

receiving one or more data streams from each of one or more presentation sources within the presentation;

creating within the container file, a virtual file for each of the one or more presentation sources;

temporarily storing first data associated with a first data stream of a first presentation source in association with a first virtual file corresponding to the presentation source;

determining a container file size;

temporarily storing additional data from the first data stream in place of at least a portion of the first data if the container file size is within a predetermined range of an identified maximum buffer size.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional data from the first data stream is stored in place of at least a portion of the first data if the container file size is equal to or exceeds the identified maximum buffer size.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

temporarily storing second data associated with a second data stream of the first presentation source in association with the first virtual file; and

temporarily storing additional data from the second data stream in place of at least a portion of the second data stored in association with the first virtual file if the container file size is within the predetermined range of the identified maximum buffer size.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

rendering one of the first and second data streams in real-time contemporaneous with the storing of at least one of the first and second data streams.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

temporarily storing data associated with a third data stream of a second presentation source in association with a second virtual file; and

temporarily storing additional data from the third data stream in place of at least a portion of the data stored in association with the second virtual file if the container file size is within the predetermined range of the identified maximum buffer size.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the maximum buffer size is proportional to an amount of time indicated via a user interface.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the maximum buffer size is dynamically increased during the storing of data from the first data stream.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data and additional data are stored in a native packet format prior to a decoding process.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein each virtual file comprises:

at least a first data block; and

a file descriptor block containing at least a seek index and a seek index granularity, wherein the seek index indicates a plurality of equally distributed data blocks within the corresponding virtual file and the granularity indicates a size for each of the data blocks.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the additional data is stored in place of the first data beginning with the first data block and continuing with successive data blocks of the first virtual file.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein if the container file size is within the predetermined range of the identified maximum buffer size, the seek index granularity is increased so as to increase data block size without changing the number of seek index entries.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a user indication identifying a location corresponding to a time (T) within the presentation;

identifying a seek position for each virtual file, wherein each seek position is determined by dividing time (T) by the seek granularity for the corresponding virtual file; and

contemporaneously rendering in real-time, data stored in each virtual file at the respective seek positions.

13. A machine readable medium having stored thereon machine executable instructions, which when executed operate to implement a method comprising:

receiving one or more data streams from each of one or more presentation sources within a presentation;

creating within a container file, a virtual file for each of the one or more presentation sources;

temporarily storing first data associated with a first data stream of a first presentation source in association with a first virtual file corresponding to the presentation source;

determining a container file size;

temporarily storing additional data from the first data stream in place of at least a portion of the first data if the container file size is within a predetermined range of an identified maximum buffer size.

14. The machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the additional data from the first data stream is stored in place of at least a portion of the first data if the container file size is equal to or exceeds the identified maximum buffer size.

15. The machine readable medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions to

temporarily store second data associated with a second data stream of the first presentation source in association with the first virtual file;

and

temporarily store additional data from the second data stream in place of at least a portion of the second data stored in association with the first virtual file if the container file size is within the predetermined range of the identified maximum buffer size.

16. The machine readable medium of claim 15, further comprising instructions to

render one of the first and second data streams in real-time contemporaneous with the storing of at least one of the first and second data streams.

17. The machine readable medium of claim 15, further comprising instructions to:

temporarily store data associated with a third data stream of a second presentation source in association with a second virtual file; and

temporarily store additional data from the third data stream in place of at least a portion of the data stored in association with the second virtual file if the container file size is within the predetermined range of the identified maximum buffer size.

18. The machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the maximum buffer size is proportional to an amount of time indicated via a user interface.

19. The machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the maximum buffer size is dynamically increased during the storing of data from the first data stream.

20. The machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the first data and additional data are stored in a native packet format prior to a decoding process.

21. The machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein each virtual file comprises:

at least a first data block; and

a file descriptor block containing at least a seek index and a seek index granularity, wherein the seek index indicates a plurality of equally distributed data blocks within the corresponding virtual file and the granularity indicates a size for each of the data blocks.

22. The machine readable medium of claim 21, wherein the additional data is stored in place of the first data beginning with the first data block and continuing with successive data blocks of the first virtual file.

23. The machine readable medium of claim 21, wherein if the container file size is within the predetermined range of the identified maximum buffer size, the seek index granularity is increased so as to increase data block size without changing the number of seek index entries.

24. The machine readable medium of claim 21, further comprising instructions to

receive a user indication identifying a location corresponding to a time (T) within the presentation;

identify a seek position for each virtual file, wherein each seek position is determined by dividing time (T) by the seek granularity for the corresponding virtual file; and

contemporaneously render in real-time, data stored in each virtual file at the respective seek positions.