Devices and methods for switched digital video systems

A second device for switched digital video (SDV) systems, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory coupled to the processor and including executable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by the processor, cause the second device to perform the following operations:
• receiving a list of opened channels from the first device, wherein the list of opened channels includes at least one data field associated with one or more channels, each data field including a channel identifier and an encoding format identifier, wherein the channel identifier identifies a channel, and the encoding format identifier identifies the encoding format, from among a plurality of encoding formats, of a content stream for the channel identified by the channel identifier;
• and
• comparing, for each data field of the at least one data field, the encoding format corresponding to the encoding format identifier of the data field with the decoding capability of the second device, and retaining the data field in response to the encoding format matching the decoding capability, while removing from the list the data field in response to the encoding format that not matching the decoding capability;
• and
• periodically updating the list of opened channels according to the second device's past and current selections.

A method for a first device in a switched digital video (SDV) system, comprising:

• generating a list of opened channels, wherein the list of opened channels includes at least one data field associated with one or more channels, each data field including a channel identifier and an encoding format identifier, wherein the channel identifier identifies a channel, and the encoding format identifier identifies the encoding format, from among a plurality of encoding formats, of a content stream for the channel identified by the channel identifier;
• and
• sending the list of opened channels to a second device, so that for each data field, the encoding format corresponding to the encoding format identifier of the data field is compared with the decoding capability of the second device, and the data field is retained in response to the encoding format matching the decoding capability, while the data field is removed from the generated list in response to the encoding format not matching the decoding capability;
• and
• periodically updating the list of opened channels according to the second device's past and current selections.