# US 10,320,500 B2 · Method and apparatus to enable fast channel switching with limited DVB receiver memory > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,320,500 B2 - Document ID: US10320500B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 12/212,375 - Filed: 2008-09-17 - Published: 2009-03-19 - Granted: 2019-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2007-09-18 - Assignees: QUALCOMM Incorporated - Applicants: Sandeep Singhai; Sivaramakrishna Veerepalli - Inventors: Sandeep Singhai; Sivaramakrishna Veerepalli - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10320500B2 ## CPC - H04H 20/26: Arrangements for switching distribution systems - H04H 20/42: Arrangements for resource management - H04N 7/17318: {Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests} - H04N 21/426: Internal components of the client {; Characteristics thereof} (H04N5/44 takes precedence) - H04N 21/42692: {for reading from or writing on a volatile storage medium, e.g. Random Access Memory [RAM]} - H04N 21/4384: {involving operations to reduce the access time, e.g. fast-tuning for reducing channel switching latency} - H04N 21/6131: {involving transmission via a mobile phone network (wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006)} - H04N 21/64315: {DVB-H} - H04N 21/6547: comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup - H04H: BROADCAST COMMUNICATION (multiplex communication H04J; pictorial communication aspects of broadcast systems H04N) - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION ## Abstract An apparatus and method for channel switching comprising encapsulating a plurality of IP datagrams associated with a plurality of real time audio/visual (A/V) streams or a plurality of file objects onto a plurality of MPE sections; inserting the plurality of MPE sections into one of a plurality of elementary streams; and multiplexing the plurality of elementary streams associated with the plurality of real time A/V streams or the plurality of file objects into a plurality of non-consecutive bursts, wherein the plurality of elementary streams are adjacent in a channel line-up. In one aspect, the plurality of non-consecutive bursts is transmitted to a DVB-H receiver with a limited memory size for enabling fast channel switching. In one aspect, the channel line-up is presented in an electronic service guide (ESG). ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for channel switching, comprising: encapsulating a plurality of user datagram protocol (UDP) over Internet protocol (IP) datagrams associated with a plurality of real time audio/visual (A/V) streams or a plurality of file objects onto a plurality of multi-protocol encapsulation (MPE) sections; inserting each of the plurality of MPE sections into one of a plurality of elementary streams; multiplexing, by a transmitter, the plurality of elementary streams into a plurality of bursts, wherein each MPE section in a burst includes a relative time offset to a start of a next burst for an elementary stream, wherein multiplexing comprises unequally spacing bursts containing adjacent programs in a channel line-up apart in time such that a receiver has sufficient time to perform forward error correction (FEC) processing and to drain a buffer of a first burst before a second burst containing an adjacent program in the channel line-up arrives, wherein the adjacent programs correspond to three consecutively numbered channels including a first channel, a second channel, and a third channel, wherein the first burst corresponds to the first channel, the second burst corresponds to the second channel, and a third burst corresponds to the third channel, wherein the first burst is a nearest burst of the first channel to the second burst and the third burst is a nearest burst of the third channel to the second burst, wherein the first channel is adjacent to the second channel and lower in channel number than the second channel in the channel line-up, and the second channel is adjacent to the third channel and lower in channel number than the third channel in the channel line-up, and wherein a first number of bursts between the first burst and the second burst is unequal to a second number of bursts between the second burst and the third burst; and transmitting the plurality of bursts using a same burst size and a same burst bandwidth for each of the plurality of elementary streams. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the plurality of bursts comprises transmitting the plurality of bursts to the receiver with a limited memory size for enabling channel switching. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein the receiver is a digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H) receiver. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of elementary streams comprises a plurality of transport stream packets in a time sliced manner. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of transport stream packets include at least one fixed length packet, a packet with a fixed length of 188 bytes or a packet associated with a packet identifier (PID). ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of real time A/V streams includes at least one of a digital television (TV) program or a digitally encoded movie. ### Claim 7 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, wherein the time sliced manner is characterized by a burst bit rate being higher than an average bit rate of an A/V stream within the elementary stream. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of file objects includes at least one of an extensible markup language (XML) fragment, a data file, program information, an audio-visual file, a picture, a logo or a gaming/interactivity application. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of MPE sections includes at least one FEC section. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one FEC section is based on Reed-Solomon encoding. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the channel line-up is presented on an electronic service guide (ESG), and wherein the bursts are in a multiplexed order of skipping at least one real time A/V stream of the plurality of real time A/V streams that are consecutively presented on the ESG. ### Claim 12 A transmitting device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory containing program code executable by the processor for performing the following: encapsulating a plurality of user datagram protocol (UDP) over Internet protocol (IP) datagrams associated with a plurality of real time audio/visual (A/V) streams or a plurality of file objects onto a plurality of multi-protocol encapsulation (MPE) sections; inserting each of the plurality of MPE sections into one of a plurality of elementary streams; multiplexing the plurality of elementary streams into a plurality of bursts, wherein each MPE section in a burst includes a relative time offset to a start of a next burst for an elementary stream, wherein multiplexing comprises unequally spacing bursts containing adjacent programs in a channel line-up apart in time such that a receiver has sufficient time to perform forward error correction (FEC) processing and to drain a buffer of a first burst before a second burst containing an adjacent program in the channel line-up arrives, wherein the adjacent programs correspond to three consecutively numbered channels including a first channel, a second channel, and a third channel, wherein the first burst corresponds to the first channel, the second burst corresponds to the second channel, and a third burst corresponds to the third channel, wherein the first burst is a nearest burst of the first channel to the second burst and the third burst is a nearest burst of the third channel to the second burst, wherein the first channel is adjacent to the second channel and lower in channel number than the second channel in the channel line-up, and the second channel is adjacent to the third channel and lower in channel number than the third channel in the channel line-up, and wherein a first number of bursts between the first burst and the second burst is unequal to a second number of bursts between the second burst and the third burst; and transmitting the plurality of bursts using a same burst size and a same burst bandwidth for each of the plurality of elementary streams. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The transmitting device of claim 12, wherein the program code for transmitting the plurality of bursts comprises program code for transmitting the plurality of bursts to the receiver with a limited memory size for enabling channel switching. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The transmitting device of claim 13, wherein the receiver is a digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H) receiver. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The transmitting device of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of elementary streams comprises a plurality of transport stream packets in a time sliced manner. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The transmitting device of claim 15, wherein the plurality of transport stream packets include at least one fixed length packet, a packet with a fixed length of 188 bytes or a packet associated with a packet identifier (PID). ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The transmitting device of claim 15, wherein the plurality of real time A/V streams includes at least one of a digital television (TV) program or a digitally encoded movie. ### Claim 18 (depends on 12) The transmitting device of claim 12, wherein the plurality of file objects includes at least one of an extensible markup language (XML) fragment, a data file, program information, an audio-visual file, a picture, a logo or a gaming/interactivity application. ### Claim 19 (depends on 12) The transmitting device of claim 12, wherein the plurality of MPE sections includes at least one FEC section. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The transmitting device of claim 19, wherein the at least one FEC section is based on Reed-Solomon encoding. ### Claim 21 (depends on 12) The transmitting device of claim 12, wherein the channel line-up is presented on an electronic service guide (ESG), and wherein the bursts are in a multiplexed order of skipping at least one real time A/V stream of the plurality of real time A/V streams that are consecutively presented on the ESG. ### Claim 22 A device for enabling a receiver to optimize channel switching time comprising: means for encapsulating a plurality of user datagram protocol (UDP) over Internet protocol (IP) datagrams associated with a plurality of real time audio/visual (A/V) streams or a plurality of file objects onto a plurality of multi-protocol encapsulation (MPE) sections; means for inserting each of the plurality of MPE sections into one of a plurality of elementary streams; means for multiplexing the plurality of elementary streams into a plurality of bursts, wherein each MPE section in a burst includes a relative time offset to a start of a next burst for an elementary stream, wherein multiplexing comprises unequally spacing bursts containing adjacent programs in a channel line-up apart in time such that a receiver has sufficient time to perform forward error correction (FEC) processing and to drain a buffer of a first burst before a second burst containing an adjacent program in the channel line-up arrives, wherein the adjacent programs correspond to three consecutively numbered channels including a first channel, a second channel, and a third channel, wherein the first burst corresponds to the first channel, the second burst corresponds to the second channel, and a third burst corresponds to the third channel, wherein the first burst is a nearest burst of the first channel to the second burst and the third burst is a nearest burst of the third channel to the second burst, wherein the first channel is adjacent to the second channel and lower in channel number than the second channel in the channel line-up, and the second channel is adjacent to the third channel and lower in channel number than the third channel in the channel line-up, and wherein a first number of bursts between the first burst and the second burst is unequal to a second number of bursts between the second burst and the third burst; and means for transmitting the plurality of bursts using a same burst size and a same burst bandwidth for each of the plurality of elementary streams. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The device of claim 22, wherein the means for transmitting the plurality of bursts comprises means for transmitting the plurality of bursts to the receiver. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The device of claim 23, wherein the receiver is a digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H) receiver with a limited memory size. ### Claim 25 (depends on 22) The device of claim 22, wherein each of the plurality of elementary streams comprises a plurality of transport stream packets in a time sliced manner. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The device of claim 25, wherein the plurality of transport stream packets include at least one fixed length packet, a packet with a fixed length of 188 bytes or a packet associated with a packet identifier (PID). ### Claim 27 (depends on 25) The device of claim 25, wherein the plurality of real time A/V streams includes at least one of a digital television (TV) program or a digitally encoded movie. ### Claim 28 (depends on 22) The device of claim 22, wherein the plurality of file objects includes at least one of an extensible markup language (XML) fragment, a data file, program information, an audio-visual file, a picture, a logo or a gaming/interactivity application. ### Claim 29 (depends on 22) The device of claim 22, wherein the plurality of MPE sections includes at least one FEC section. ### Claim 30 (depends on 29) The device of claim 29, wherein the at least one FEC section is based on Reed-Solomon encoding. ### Claim 31 (depends on 22) The device of claim 22, wherein the channel line-up is presented on an electronic service guide (ESG), and wherein the bursts are in a multiplexed order of skipping at least one real time A/V stream of the plurality of real time A/V streams that are consecutively presented on the ESG. ### Claim 32 A non-transitory computer-readable medium including program codes stored thereon, comprising: program codes for causing a computer to encapsulate a plurality of user datagram protocol (UDP) over Internet protocol (IP) datagrams associated with a plurality of real time audio/visual (A/V) streams or a plurality of file objects onto a plurality of multi-protocol encapsulation (MPE) sections; program codes for causing the computer to insert each of the plurality of MPE sections into one of a plurality of elementary streams; program codes for causing the computer to multiplex the plurality of elementary streams into a plurality of bursts, wherein each MPE section in a burst includes a relative time offset to a start of a next burst for an elementary stream, wherein multiplexing comprises unequally spacing bursts containing adjacent programs in a channel line-up apart in time such that a receiver has sufficient time to perform forward error correction (FEC) processing and to drain a buffer of a first burst before a second burst containing an adjacent program in the channel line-up arrives wherein the adjacent programs correspond to three consecutively numbered channels including a first channel, a second channel, and a third channel, wherein the first burst corresponds to the first channel, the second burst corresponds to the second channel, and a third burst corresponds to the third channel, wherein the first burst is a nearest burst of the first channel to the second burst and the third burst is a nearest burst of the third channel to the second burst, wherein the first channel is adjacent to the second channel and lower in channel number than the second channel in the channel line-up, and the second channel is adjacent to the third channel and lower in channel number than the third channel in the channel line-up, and wherein a first number of bursts between the first burst and the second burst is unequal to a second number of bursts between the second burst and the third burst; and program codes for causing the computer to transmit the plurality of bursts using a same burst size and a same burst bandwidth for each of the plurality of elementary streams. ### Claim 33 (depends on 32) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the program codes for causing the computer to transmit the plurality of bursts comprise program codes for causing the computer to transmit the plurality of bursts to the receiver with a limited memory size for enabling channel switching. ### Claim 34 (depends on 33) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein the receiver is a digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H) receiver. ### Claim 35 (depends on 32) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein each of the plurality of elementary streams comprises a plurality of transport stream packets in a time sliced manner. ### Claim 36 (depends on 35) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein the plurality of transport stream packets include at least one fixed length packet, a packet with a fixed length of 188 bytes or a packet associated with a packet identifier (PID). ### Claim 37 (depends on 35) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein the plurality of real time A/V streams includes at least one of a digital television (TV) program or a digitally encoded movie. ### Claim 38 (depends on 32) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the plurality of file objects includes at least one of an extensible markup language (XML) fragment, a data file, program information, an audio-visual file, a picture, a logo or a gaming/interactivity application. ### Claim 39 (depends on 32) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the plurality of MPE sections includes at least one FEC section. ### Claim 40 (depends on 39) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein the at least one FEC section is based on Reed-Solomon encoding. ### Claim 41 (depends on 32) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the channel line-up is presented on an electronic service guide (ESG), and wherein the bursts are in a multiplexed order of skipping at least one real time A/V stream of the plurality of real time A/V streams that are consecutively presented on the ESG.