Electronic Program Guide Title Compression for Memory Constraints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Integrated receiver/decoders have limited memory, making it challenging to store detailed electronic program guide data for an increasing number of channels without increasing costs, as random access memory is expensive and bandwidth is limited.
Innovation Solution
An algorithm is applied at the broadcast site to select appropriately sized titles for the program guide, varying the time and descriptive information dimension on a per-channel basis using a priority ranking system, allowing the guide to fit within the receiver's memory constraints by selectively storing and displaying titles, and relocating excess information to an on-demand stream.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the number of channels is increased to provide more programming options, then the program guide contains more data, but the receiver memory becomes insufficient to store all the data
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the program guide data size by selecting appropriate title lengths based on available memory. The algorithm modifies the quantity parameter (title length) to fit the constrained memory space while maintaining acceptable programming information quality.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of storing complete program guide data for all channels, the system stores only the necessary portion (partial action) by selecting titles that fit within memory constraints. This allows the receiver to handle more channels than traditional fixed-size approaches would permit.
2Loss of information
If detailed program information is provided to consumers, then the program guide is more informative, but the memory required to store the information increases
Solution Approach 1:
The algorithm changes the parameter of title length to balance information detail with memory constraints. By selecting appropriate title lengths, the system maintains sufficient program information while staying within the fixed memory allocation of the receiver.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different title length selections to different channels based on their priority or importance. High-priority channels receive more detailed title information while lower-priority channels use shorter titles, optimizing the distribution of memory resources.
3Adaptability or versatility
If random access memory is increased to store more program guide data, then the receiver can handle more channels, but the cost of the receiver increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the software parameter of title length selection to achieve higher channel capacity without hardware changes. This allows the same fixed-memory receiver to handle more channels by optimizing how data is stored and selected.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates multiple versions of the program guide with different data densities. By copying and selecting appropriate versions based on memory availability, the receiver can adapt to different channel counts without requiring proportional increases in memory hardware.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention enables a broadcaster to vary the time and the descriptive information in a program guide on a per-channel basis. A priority ranking system of the channels allows the preparation of multiple versions of a program guide in order to fit the guide into the memory space allocated in a receiver. When constructing the program guide, the algorithm of the present invention fits the longest title variation allowed while still keeping the total size of the guide product within space constraints supported by the receiver.