Broadcast Data Recording Without Pre-Indexing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital video recorder (DVR) systems require intensive processing and memory to store and index broadcast data for trick-play modes, which can be inefficient and costly, especially since not all recorded content is played back in non-standard modes.
Innovation Solution
The method involves eliminating unnecessary parsing and indexing before storage by using statistical and probabilistic algorithms to efficiently handle and search for broadcast data during input and presentation, employing a single buffer for data transfer to storage and dynamically determining skip, seek, and read values for trick-play operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If intelligent parsing and indexing are performed before storage to enable trick-play modes, then trick-play functionality is improved, but processing power and memory requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by collecting statistical data during the recording phase (I-frame spacing, frame rates, group of pictures sizes) and stores this metadata alongside the video content. This preliminary statistical collection enables efficient trick-play operations later without requiring intensive real-time processing during playback, thus resolving the contradiction between trick-play functionality and processing power requirements.
2Ease of operation
If intelligent parsing and indexing are performed before storage to enable trick-play modes, then trick-play functionality is improved, but memory requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential statistical metadata (I-frame spacing, frame rates, GOP sizes) from the video stream during recording and stores this compact representation alongside the content. This extracted statistical information is sufficient to enable trick-play functionality without requiring storage of complete frame indices or extensive metadata, thereby reducing memory requirements while maintaining operational capability.
3Device complexity
If brute-force search is used without indexing to perform trick-play operations, then system complexity is reduced, but search time and efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces the mechanical brute-force search approach with a statistical calculation-based method. Instead of sequentially scanning through stored video data to find I-frames or key points, the system uses pre-collected statistical metadata (I-frame spacing, frame rates) to directly calculate the position and timing of required frames. This substitution of statistical computation for mechanical searching reduces both system complexity and search time simultaneously.
4Productivity
If statistical and probabilistic algorithms are used instead of indexing, then processing efficiency is improved, but measurement precision for locating exact frames may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs feedback mechanisms where the statistical metadata is continuously refined and updated based on actual video stream characteristics during recording. The probabilistic algorithms use this feedback-adjusted statistical information to improve frame location accuracy, ensuring that even though the method is statistical rather than deterministic, the precision remains sufficient for accurate trick-play operation while maintaining high processing efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for improved digital recording and presentation of broadcast information is disclosed. Received broadcast data, which may include video, audio, private, or other data, relating to one or more particular content programs, is presented from an input section to a buffer and recorded directly onto a storage device without any intelligent parsing, such as indexing, and without any manipulation by intermediate hardware or software functions. Upon normal presentation, statistics may be generated to determine the ideal number of frames to skip, the number of bytes to seek, and the size of data files to read from the storage device during time-shifted presentation. Algorithms and processes are provided to dynamically optimize time-shifted presentation. In this way, data may be captured to the storage device more efficiently and economically, and the time-shifted presentation operations may be performed in a smoother, more nuanced manner with the application of appropriate probabilistic algorithms.