Playback Apparatus Stream Selection via Playlist Intermediary
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current DVD video standards limit users to selecting only audio and subtitle streams that are multiplexed into the currently playing program stream, restricting extensibility and making it difficult to switch to streams with different content, such as video, which could be a future requirement.
Innovation Solution
A playback apparatus and method that include obtaining and managing playback information for main and sub-streams, allowing selection and playback of streams from different files, with the ability to synchronize and multiplex streams, enabling the playback of various content types alongside the main AV stream.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users select only from audio and subtitle streams multiplexed into the currently playing program stream, then the system maintains simple stream management and synchronization, but user flexibility and extensibility are restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the stream selection system into main program streams and additional selectable streams (alternative audio, subtitle, and video streams). Each stream type is managed separately with dedicated data structures, allowing users to select from multiple streams without requiring the system to manage all streams as a single complex entity. This segmentation enables flexible stream switching while maintaining manageable complexity through modular organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal stream management framework that handles multiple stream types (audio, subtitle, video) through common data structures and selection mechanisms. The same playlist and stream information structures are used across different stream types, allowing the system to provide consistent multi-functionality for selecting and switching between various content streams regardless of their specific type.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the system supports playback of streams from different files with synchronized timing, then content extensibility is improved, but data structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces playlist data structures as intermediaries between the physical file storage and the playback system. The playlist contains stream information that references streams from different files and establishes their temporal relationships through timing parameters. This intermediary layer abstracts the complexity of multi-file synchronization, allowing the playback system to work with standardized stream references rather than directly managing complex multi-file coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses timing parameters (such as presentation timestamps and synchronization information) to dynamically coordinate streams from different files. By changing and adjusting these temporal parameters, the system can synchronize alternative audio, subtitle, and video streams with the main program stream without requiring permanent structural changes to the data organization, thus managing complexity through parameter control rather than structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A playback apparatus includes an obtaining unit obtaining playback management information including a main playback path of a main stream set, a first sub playback path of a first sub-stream set, and a second sub playback path of a second sub-stream set. The first and second sub playback paths are allowed for a predetermined category. A selection-receiver receives a selection of streams as a first combination or a second combination. A reading unit reads the corresponding stream sets according to whether the first or second combination is selected. A playback unit plays back the main stream set and the first or second sub-stream set. The number of files that are readable at one time is predetermined. The sub playback paths are determined so that the number of the files that are readable at one time does not exceed the predetermined number.