TS Packet Header Compression for Broadcasting Overhead Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current broadcasting communication systems face inefficiencies in data transmission, particularly in handling MPEG-2 transport stream packets, which require improved methods to enhance performance and reduce overhead, especially in digital broadcasting services.
Innovation Solution
A transmitting apparatus and method that generate packets with a base header indicating packet type and number of TS packets, including an additional header for deleted null packets, allowing for efficient signal processing and overhead reduction by deleting null packets and applying TS header compression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If null packets are transmitted in the transport stream, then packet continuity is maintained, but transmission overhead increases and data processing efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes null packets from the transport stream before transmission. The packet generator identifies consecutive null packets and excludes them from the output packet stream, thereby reducing transmission overhead while maintaining efficiency. This is achieved by taking out the harmful null packets that otherwise would occupy transmission bandwidth without carrying useful data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent discards null packets at the transmitter side and recovers them at the receiver side through header information. The base header contains fields indicating the number of deleted null packets, allowing the receiver to reconstruct the original transport stream by inserting the appropriate number of null packets at the correct positions, thus maintaining stream continuity without transmitting the actual null packet data.
2Loss of information
If complete TS packet headers are transmitted for each packet, then packet information is complete, but header overhead increases transmission bandwidth consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple TS packet headers into a single base header structure. Instead of transmitting separate complete headers for each TS packet, the invention combines the header information into a unified base header that contains fields indicating packet type, number of TS packets, and number of deleted null packets. This merging reduces header overhead while preserving all necessary packet information.
Solution Approach 2:
The base header serves multiple functions simultaneously: it identifies packet type, indicates the number of TS packets contained in the payload, and specifies the number of deleted null packets. This multi-functional header design eliminates the need for separate header structures for different purposes, reducing overall overhead while maintaining information completeness.
3Stability of the object's composition
If all TS packets including null packets are mapped to physical layer, then stream continuity is preserved, but data processing efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary removal of null packets at the packet generator stage, before physical layer mapping. By proactively eliminating null packets during the packet generation phase and recording their counts in the base header, the system prepares the streamlined packet stream for efficient physical layer processing while maintaining the ability to restore stream continuity at the receiver.
Solution Approach 2:
The base header acts as an intermediary that carries information about deleted null packets between the transmitter and receiver. The header fields indicating the number of deleted null packets serve as a mediator that enables the receiver to reconstruct the original stream continuity without requiring the actual null packets to be transmitted through the physical layer.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a transmitting apparatus which includes: a packet generator generating a packet including a header and a payload from an input stream including a plurality of transport stream (TS) packets; and a signal processor signal-processing the packet, wherein the header includes a base header including a first field indicating a packet type which is the TS packets, and a second field indicating a number of TS packets included in the payload, wherein the base header further includes a third field set to a first value indicating that there is no additional header or a second value indicating that there is an additional header, wherein, when the third field is set to the second value, the additional header includes a fourth field indicating a number of deleted null packets with respect to each of at least one TS packet group including consecutive TS packets, and wherein the null packets deleted with respect to each of the TS packet group precede a first TS packet or follow a last TS packet included in each of the TS packet group.