Time-Based Content Processing with Trick Play Timestamp Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional content streaming systems face challenges in maintaining accurate timestamps during multimedia content playback, particularly during trick play modes, leading to poor playback quality and inefficiencies due to high processing and memory demands.
Innovation Solution
The system processes time-based content by maintaining a constant monotonic increment of decode timestamps (DTS) and program clock reference (PCR) values by interleaving metadata that supports trick play functionality, allowing for efficient navigation and scalable streaming without deconstructing and reconstructing packetized streams, and using Private Transport Packets (PTPs) to ensure timely delivery of critical information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional stream processing techniques are used to maintain timestamps during trick play, then timestamp accuracy can be maintained, but processing and memory demands increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating and storing timestamp adjustment values in lookup tables during normal playback. When trick play is detected, the system retrieves pre-computed values from these tables rather than performing real-time complex calculations, significantly reducing processing demands while maintaining timestamp accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates copies of timestamp data and adjustment values in separate lookup tables and buffers. These copies are then used during trick play operations to maintain accurate timestamps without requiring the original complex processing operations, thereby reducing memory and processing requirements.
2Measurement precision
If content elements are separated, updated with new timestamps and recombined in real-time, then timestamp accuracy is maintained, but stream processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs timestamp updates in advance during normal playback by pre-calculating adjustment values and storing them in lookup tables. This preliminary action eliminates the need for complex real-time separation, updating, and recombination operations, thereby maintaining timestamp accuracy while improving stream processing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces lookup tables as intermediary structures that store pre-computed timestamp adjustment values. These intermediaries bridge the gap between accurate timestamp maintenance and efficient stream processing by providing quick reference data during trick play without requiring complex real-time calculations.
3Productivity
If specialized stream processors are used to assist with stream processing, then processing capability increases, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using complex specialized stream processors, the patent creates simplified copies of processing logic implemented through lookup tables and standard processing operations. These simplified implementations achieve the necessary stream processing capability while significantly reducing device complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive specialized stream processors with simpler, more economical lookup tables and standard processing operations. These cheaper alternatives provide sufficient processing capability for timestamp maintenance during trick play without the high cost and complexity of specialized hardware.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of processing time-based content includes streaming the time-based content to a receiving device in a normal mode, evaluating a numerical difference between a program clock reference timestamp and a decode timestamp in the content at a transition out of said normal mode, streaming the content to the receiving device in a trick play mode, and altering the content during the trick play mode such that a numerical difference between the timestamps at a transition back into the normal mode is substantially equal to the numerical difference between the timestamps at the transition out of said normal mode.