Digital Broadcast Receiver Channel Switching Buffering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Digital broadcast systems using time division techniques experience perceptible delays when changing channels, which can be exacerbated by 'channel surfing', leading to a degraded user experience, especially on handheld devices where instant access is expected.
Innovation Solution
A digital broadcast receiving device operates in a power saving mode for the currently selected channel and switches to a channel changing mode upon user input, buffering data for multiple channels to reduce delays and display channel information, such as logos and advertisements, to mitigate the perception of delay.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the receiver operates in power saving mode processing only current channel time-slices, then power consumption is reduced, but channel change delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The receiver proactively buffers broadcast data for multiple channels in advance during power saving mode operation. When a channel change is requested, the buffered data is already available, eliminating the delay that would otherwise occur while waiting for the next time-slice. This preliminary buffering action resolves the contradiction by preparing data beforehand without requiring continuous active reception.
Solution Approach 2:
The receiver dynamically switches between power saving mode and channel changing mode based on user behavior. During normal operation, it processes only current channel time-slices to save power. Upon detecting channel change requests or channel surfing behavior, it transitions to channel changing mode where it buffers data for multiple channels, thereby adapting its operation to balance power consumption and response time.
2Speed
If the receiver buffers data for multiple channels to reduce channel change delay, then channel change speed improves, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The receiver performs preliminary buffering of multiple channel data only when channel change requests are detected or during periods when power availability allows. This selective preliminary action ensures fast channel switching when needed while avoiding continuous buffering that would waste power during stable viewing conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The receiver changes its operational parameters dynamically - switching between processing a single channel's time-slices (power saving mode) and buffering multiple channels' data (channel changing mode). This parameter change allows the system to optimize the balance between power consumption and channel change speed based on actual user needs and system state.
3Reliability
If long time slices are used for each channel, then data transmission completeness improves, but channel change delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The receiver buffers complete data sets for multiple channels in advance during power saving mode. This preliminary accumulation of complete data packets ensures that when a channel change occurs, the full data transmission is already available without requiring long waiting periods for the next time-slice, thus maintaining reliability while reducing delay.
4Loss of energy
If the receiver processes only current channel data in power saving mode, then power efficiency improves, but user perception of instant access deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The receiver performs preliminary buffering of multiple channel data in advance when power conditions permit. This creates a reservoir of ready-to-play data that enables instant channel switching from the user's perspective, while the buffering occurs during periods when power efficiency concerns are less critical or when the device is charging.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for changing digital broadcast channels. In one implementation, upon receiving a request for switching to a new channel in a digital broadcast receiving device, the device switches from a power saving mode, in which the device processes time-slices only for the currently selected broadcast channel, to a channel changing mode, in which broadcast data is buffered for more than one broadcast channels in anticipation of channel surfing. In another implementation, the user's perception of the channel change delay is mitigated by displaying channel information about the newly selected channel.