Systems and methods of smoothly transitioning between compressed video streams

A system of smoothly transitioning between pluralities of compressed video streams, in a multicast streaming environment, the system including:

• one or more processors coupled to memory, the memory loaded with computer instructions that, when executed on the processors, implement actions including:
• scheduling transitions between pluralities of compressed video streams from different sources to be shown in a same area of a display of the multicast streaming environment;
• while decoding, decompressing and buffering a first video stream for display, at a predetermined time before a scheduled showing of a second video stream, commencing decoding, decompressing and buffering the second video stream;
• and
• at the scheduled showing of the second video stream, switching buffers between display of the first and second video streams in the same area, whereby the second video stream becomes immediately displayable in the same area instead of the first video stream without delay and where the buffers are stream-specific buffers.

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a plurality of instructions for programming one or more processors to smoothly transition between pluralities of compressed video streams, the instructions, when executed on the processors, implementing actions including:

• scheduling transitions between pluralities of compressed video streams to be shown in a single area of a plurality of areas of a display in a multicast streaming environment;
• while decoding, decompressing and buffering a first video stream from a first source for display, at a predetermined time before a scheduled showing of a second video stream from a second source, commencing decoding, decompressing and buffering the second video stream;
• and
• at the scheduled showing of the second video stream, switching stream-specific buffers between display of the first and second video streams in the single area, whereby the second video stream becomes immediately displayable in the single area instead of the first video stream without delay.