Media Buffer Segmentation for Seamless Trick Play
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current media devices have limitations in managing content buffers, preventing seamless use of presentation trick play functions when switching between media content events, as only one event can be buffered at a time, and previous portions of events are not retained for rewind or review.
Innovation Solution
A media content buffer management system with multiple tuner systems that allow simultaneous buffering and management of multiple media content streams, enabling users to access and manipulate buffered content across different events, including rewind and pause functions, by using a primary content buffer and tuner buffers to store and stream media content efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single content buffer is used to store media content events, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ability to perform trick play functions when switching between events is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer system is segmented into multiple tuner buffers (first tuner buffer, second tuner buffer, etc.) that can independently store different media content events. This segmentation allows the system to maintain multiple buffered events simultaneously, enabling trick play functions to be performed on any buffered event regardless of which tuner originally received it.
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer management system is designed to be universal by allowing any buffered media content event from any tuner to be accessed and played back through any output channel. The system can switch between buffered events from different tuners and perform trick play operations on any of them, making the buffer system multi-functional and event-agnostic.
2Quantity of substance
If only one media content event is buffered at a time, then the memory requirements are reduced, but the user cannot access previously broadcasted portions for rewind or review
Solution Approach 1:
The buffering capability is segmented across multiple independent tuner buffers, each capable of storing a complete media content event. This allows the system to maintain multiple buffered events simultaneously, providing both increased buffered content volume and the flexibility to access any previously broadcasted portion for rewind or review operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary buffering of media content events in the tuner buffers before they are presented to the user. By pre-buffering multiple events in advance across the tuner buffers, the system enables users to perform trick play operations like rewind and review on any buffered event without requiring additional real-time buffering capacity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple tuner systems are implemented to buffer multiple media content streams simultaneously, then the trick play functionality is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into multiple independent tuner systems, each with its own tuner buffer, allowing simultaneous buffering of multiple media content events. This segmentation provides the multi-event buffering capability while keeping each tuner system relatively simple and modular.
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer management system acts as an intermediary that coordinates between multiple tuner systems and the output presentation. It manages the tuner buffers, determines which buffered event to present, and handles trick play operations, thereby simplifying the overall architecture by providing a centralized control layer rather than requiring complex direct interactions between multiple tuner systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Media content presentation systems and methods are operable to present media content received by a media device, wherein the media device comprises a plurality of tuner systems. An exemplary embodiment tunes the plurality of tuners to receive different broadcasting media content streams each comprising a streaming media content event; communicates the streaming media content events from the receiving tuner to a corresponding tuner buffer of the tuner system; and stores a portion of the streaming media content events into the corresponding tuner buffers. When a user selection is received for presentation of one of the streaming media content events, the selected one of the streaming media content events are presented to a user of the media device.