Intelligent Broadcaster App Unload on Channel Change
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current digital television systems, particularly those based on ATSC 3.0, face inefficiencies in switching between services as they often require reloading and unloading broadcaster applications, which can lead to delays and increased resource usage, especially during channel surfing or service changes.
Innovation Solution
A digital television apparatus with a processor that identifies and prefetches the broadcaster application associated with a new service based on user input, channel change direction, or past behavior, allowing for seamless transitions without the need to unload the current application until a different one is required, utilizing a secondary tuner or broadband sources for efficient content delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the broadcaster application is unloaded from memory during service change, then memory resources are freed for other uses, but service switching speed decreases due to reload delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by prefetching the next broadcaster application into memory before the current service change is complete. The processor identifies the context ID of the incoming service, retrieves the corresponding application from storage, and loads it into memory in advance, so that when the service change occurs, the application is already ready for immediate execution, eliminating reload delays
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the state of the broadcaster application from unloaded to preloaded by modifying the memory management parameters. Instead of following the traditional unload-reload cycle, the system maintains applications in memory with updated context identifiers, changing the parameter from 'application lifecycle state' to 'application readiness state', allowing faster service switching while managing memory resources efficiently
2Speed
If the broadcaster application remains loaded in memory during service change, then service switching speed improves, but memory resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by selectively loading only the specific broadcaster application needed for the incoming service into memory, rather than loading all possible applications. The processor identifies the exact context ID match required and prefetches only that specific application, ensuring memory resources are consumed only where necessary for the upcoming service change
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic memory management where the broadcaster application's presence in memory is not static but adapts based on service change predictions. The application is loaded into memory dynamically when a service change is anticipated and unloaded when no longer needed, creating a dynamic balance between service switching speed and memory resource consumption
3Loss of time
If the system prefetches the broadcaster application before service change, then service transition time is reduced, but system complexity increases due to additional processing logic
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring service change commands and context ID signaling from the broadcaster. The processor receives feedback about incoming services, identifies the required application context ID, and triggers the prefetch operation accordingly. This feedback loop enables intelligent prefetching that reduces service transition time while managing complexity through event-driven processing
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are described for expanding and/or improving the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) 3.0 television protocol in robustly delivering the next generation broadcast television services. Upon channel change, the existing broadcaster application for the service being tuned away from is unloaded only responsive to a determination that the new service being tuned to requires a different broadcaster app.