Method and apparatus for fast metadata generation, delivery and access for live broadcast program

Method of indexing an audio/video program, in real time, comprising:

• coarse indexing by a processor-implemented highlight marker according to a plurality of highlight templates providing lists of categorized highlight themes, said coarse indexing comprising capturing desirable highlights by marking a moment of said highlights, and attaching relevant highlight themes selected from said highlight templates to said captured highlight in real time while viewing the video program, said highlight templates being stored in a computer-readable memory;
• associating each frame of the audio/video program with system times extracted from a System Time Table (STT) or Time Data Table (TDT);
• delivering said captured highlights with said attached themes to a processor-implemented main indexer;
• and
• fine indexing by said main indexer comprising refining said coarse indexing by obtaining an exact start timestamp from the system times and duration for said captured highlight and associating the exact start timestamp and duration with the captured highlight.

Method of random accessing to one or more frames of a broadcast program, comprising:

• receiving, at a receiving unit, an MPEG transport stream from a broadcasting network;
• recording the MPEG transport stream;
• reading information required for randomly accessing locations by analyzing the MPEG transport stream;
• and
• randomly accessing locations in one of said recorded or received MPEG transport stream according to system times extracted from either a System Time Table (STT) for Advanced Television System Committee broadcasts or a Time Data Table (TDT) for Digital Video Broadcasts that are associated with each frame of the recorded or received transport streams.