Transport Stream Perfect Splicing via I-Frame Sync

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional transport stream splicing methods require complex identification and indication of splice points, leading to errors and interoperability issues, especially when dealing with diverse codecs, and often result in damage to audio elementary streams during splicing, compromising audio/video synchronization.

Innovation Solution

Generating transport streams with inherent perfect splicing properties such as identical frame rates and I-frame synchronization, along with additional properties like PES alignment and constant hyperframe bitrate, to ensure seamless splicing without modifying encoded audio streams, and including metadata to communicate these properties to splicers.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If complex identification and indication of splice points is used, then splicing capability is improved, but device complexity and error rate increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesplicing capabilityVSAvoidsplice point identification complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The transport stream is pre-configured with perfect splicing properties during generation, including I-frame synchronization between audio and video streams, identical frame rates, and constant hyperframe bitrate. This preliminary structuring eliminates the need for complex runtime splice point identification, allowing simple splicers to perform seamless splicing by basic concatenation operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Ease of operation

If conventional splicing methods are used, then splicing can be performed, but audio elementary streams are damaged and audio/video synchronization is compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesplicing operationVSAvoidaudio content integrity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The invention changes key parameters of the transport stream structure: audio and video streams are synchronized at the I-frame level with identical frame rates, and the hyperframe bitrate is maintained constant. These parameter changes ensure that splicing operations do not disrupt audio elementary streams, maintaining both audio content integrity and audio/video synchronization without requiring complex splicing procedures.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Adaptability or versatility

If diverse codecs are supported, then adaptability is improved, but interoperability issues and splicing errors increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecodec diversity supportVSAvoidsplicing interoperability
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The invention creates a universal splicing solution that works across diverse codecs by establishing codec-agnostic perfect splicing properties. The I-frame synchronization, identical frame rates, and constanthyperframe bitrate properties are defined in a way that is independent of specific audio or video codecs, allowing simple splicers to reliably splice transport streams regardless of the underlying codec diversity, thus improving interoperability while maintaining adaptability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP3105938B1Embedding encoded audio into transport stream for perfect splicing
Publication Date: 2020.12.16 DOLBY INTERNATIONAL AB
  • EP3105938B1 patent drawingFigure 1~4
  • EP3105938B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3105938B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Methods for generating a transport stream (e.g., an MPEG-2 transport stream) such that the transport stream has at least one perfect splicing property, and/or such that the transport stream is indicative of at least one audio/video program and includes metadata indicative of whether the program has a perfect splicing property. Other aspects are methods for splicing such a transport stream, audio/video processing units (e.g., splicers) configured to perform any embodiment of the inventive method, and audio/video processing units which include a buffer memory which stores at least one segment of transport stream generated in accordance with any embodiment of the inventive method.