DVR Chunk Indexing for Simultaneous Program Recording
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional digital video recorders (DVRs) face limitations in simultaneously recording multiple programs due to hard disk bandwidth constraints and the need for frequent seeking between file locations, which leads to insufficient time to service all recording requests, especially when trying to record live events.
Innovation Solution
A method for broadcasting content that divides each program into chunks with fixed playback duration, creates a chunk index for each chunk, and assembles these chunks into a data stream such that no chunk from a particular content item is adjacent to another, allowing for simultaneous recording of multiple programs by transmitting chunks sequentially at a bitrate greater than the single channel, using H.264/MPEG-4 compression and ISO 14496-12 file format Movie Fragments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional DVRs record multiple programs simultaneously, then recording capacity increases, but hard disk seeking time increases and recording efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments each program into discrete chunks with fixed playback duration, where each chunk is self-contained with its own index. This segmentation allows the DVR to access individual chunks independently without seeking through entire program files, thereby reducing seeking time when recording multiple programs simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates chunk indexes in advance that map reference frames and ECM locations within each chunk. This preliminary indexing allows the DVR to directly locate and access specific chunks without performing time-consuming seeks during simultaneous recording operations, improving recording efficiency.
2Quantity of substance
If conventional DVRs record multiple programs simultaneously, then recording capacity increases, but hard disk bandwidth is exceeded
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing programs into smaller chunks with fixed duration, the system can efficiently manage hard disk bandwidth allocation. Each chunk can be written independently at optimized rates, allowing multiple programs to be recorded simultaneously without overwhelming the hard disk's total bandwidth capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of file organization from continuous program files to discrete chunks with fixed playback duration. This parameter change enables more flexible bandwidth management, where the system can control the size and timing of each chunk write operation to match hard disk bandwidth availability, thereby increasing overall recording throughput.
3Productivity
If chunks from the same content item are placed adjacently in data stream, then transmission efficiency increases, but random access performance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates comprehensive indexes for each chunk that include mappings of reference frames and ECM locations. This preliminary indexing allows the DVR to directly jump to any chunk in the data stream without sequential searching, maintaining fast random access performance even when chunks are distributed non-adjacently in the stream.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and system for broadcasting content, is described, the method and system facilitating simultaneous recording of multiple programs on a digital video recorder (DVR), the method and system including providing a plurality of content items, dividing each one of the plurality of content items into a multiplicity of chunks, each one of the chunks including at least one reference frame, for each one of the chunks determining a location of each reference frame included in the chunk, creating a chunk index of locations of each reference frame included in the chunk, creating a chunk file including the chunk and the chunk index, and inserting the chunk file in a data stream, such that no chunk file including a chunk from a particular content item is adjacent to a second chunk file including a chunk from the same particular content item, and broadcasting using a transmission bitrate greater than the bitrate of the data stream in a single channel in a multiplexed broadcast service, wherein the chunks files in the data stream are transmitted sequentially. Related systems, apparatus, and methods are also described.