Stream indexing for delivery of interactive program guide

• US 6,614,843 B1
• Filed: 12/10/1999
• Issued: 09/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: TiVo Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: DIVA Systems Corporation
• Inventors: Edmonds, Jeremy S., Gordon, Donald F., Bayrakeri, Sadik, Ludvig, Edward A., Comito, John P., Gershtein, Eugene
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelley, Chris
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHILIPPE, GIMS S
• Application Number:
  US09/466,990
• Time in Patent Office: 1,362 Days
• Field of Search: 725/39, 725/40, 725/44, 725/54, 725/56, 725/57, 725/41, 725/50, 725/140, 345/327, 709/217, 709/249, 709/232, 370/487, 370/522, 370/535, 348/906, 348/7, 348/14.01, 348/14.03, 375/240.01, 375/240
• US Class Current: 375/240.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/577 Motion compensation with bidirectional frame interpolation, i.e. using B-pictures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• 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 21/4314 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 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 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 : comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0806 : the signals being two or more video signals H04N7/0803, H04N7/081 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 : Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

Stream indexing for delivery of an interactive program guide. In accordance with a first aspect, a method of stream indexing for delivery of an interactive program guide comprises: assigning a first plurality of packet identifiers to program guide content for a current time period; and assigning a second plurality of packet identifiers to program guide content for a plurality of lookahead time periods. In accordance with a second aspect, a method of stream indexing for delivery of an interactive program guide (IPG) comprises: providing a plurality of video packet identifiers; assigning each video packet identifier to a corresponding guide page; providing a plurality of data packet identifiers, where the plurality of data packet identifiers is less in number than the plurality of video packet identifiers; predetermining a prime number which is less in number than or equal in number to the plurality of video packet identifiers; dividing each video packet identifier by the prime number in order to generate a remainder; and using the remainder to assign a data packet identifier to each video packet identifier.

Claims

1. A method of stream indexing for delivery of an interactive program guide (IPG), the method comprising:

providing a plurality of video packet identifiers;

assigning each video packet identifier to a corresponding guide page;

providing a plurality of data packet identifiers, where the plurality of data packet identifiers is less in number than the plurality of video packet identifiers;

predetermining a prime number which is less in number than or equal in number to the plurality of video packet identifiers;

dividing each video packet identifier by the prime number in order to generate a remainder; and

using the remainder to assign a data packet identifier to each video packet identifier.

2. A method of stream indexing for delivery of an interactive program guide, the method comprising:

assigning a first plurality of packet identifiers to program guide content for a current time period; and

assigning a second plurality of packet identifiers to program guide content for a plurality of lookahead time periods;

wherein

said program guide content comprises imagery provided within a video signal having associated with it said packet identifiers;

wherein

the packet identifiers used to identify video streams forming the program guide are assigned in a logical manner such that the packet identifier of a video stream providing program guide imagery for a desired group of channels during a desired time period may be calculated using the packet identifier of a video stream providing program guide imagery for a known group of channels during a known time period.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein:

each of said first plurality of packet identifiers is used to identify a respective video stream providing program guide imagery for a respective group of channels within said current time period.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein:

each of said second plurality of packet identifiers is used to identify a respective video stream providing program guide imagery for a respective group of channels within said lookahead time periods.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein:

each of said first and second plurality of packet identifiers is used to identify a respective video stream providing program guide imagery for a respective group of channels during a respective time period.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein:

said program guide is logically configured as a two dimensional representation of the programming available on each of a plurality of channel groups during each of a plurality of time periods; and

each program identifier is used to identify a respective video stream providing program guide imagery for a respective group of channels during a respective time period.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

multiplexing each of said program guide representative video streams into a common transport stream.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

multiplexing each of said program guide representative video streams into one of a plurality of transport streams.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

multiplexing, into said transport stream, an audiovisual program comprising at least one program representative video stream and at least one program representative audio stream, each of said at least one program representative video and audio streams being associated with respective packet identifiers.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

multiplexing, into each of said transport streams, a common audiovisual program comprising at least one program representative video stream and at least one program representative audio stream, each of said at least one program representative video streams sharing a first common packet identifier, each of said program representative audio streams sharing a second common packet identifier.

3. A method of stream indexing for delivery of an interactive program guide, the method comprising:

assigning a first plurality of packet identifiers to program guide content for a current time period; and

assigning a second plurality of packet identifiers to program guide content for a plurality of lookahead time periods;

wherein

said program guide content comprises imagery provided within a video signal having associated with it said packet identifiers; and

wherein

said packet identifiers are determined according to the steps of;

providing a plurality of video packet identifiers;

assigning each video packet identifier to a corresponding guide page;

providing a plurality of data packet identifiers, where the plurality of data packet identifiers is less in number than the plurality of video packet identifiers;

predetermining a prime number which is less in number than or equal in number to the plurality of video packet identifiers;

dividing each video packet identifier by the prime number in order to generate a remainder; and

using the remainder to assign a data packet identifier to each video packet identifier.