Patent Application
20240070186
The present invention relates generally to multimedia files and more specifically to multimedia containers and systems for encoding and decoding multimedia containers.
A multimedia engagement typically entails the decoding and presentation of audio, video, and subtitle information in a synchronized manner. In general, each one of the individual parts making up the presentation is previously encoded as a separate elementary stream and is then multiplexed together in an encapsulating container. The Audio-Video-Interleave (AVI) container specified by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington is one such encapsulation format, and is also one of the most prevalent forms of distributing standard-definition downloadable content on the Internet and peer-to-peer networks. The Matroska (MKV) container specified by a group of Open-source Enthusiasts and published by Core Codec is another such encapsulation format, and is also one of the most prevalent forms of distributing high-definition downloadable content on the Internet and peer-to-peer networks.
At its most basic level, the AVI container is made up of chunks and lists, each of which start with a four-character code (32-bit) identifier followed by a size indicator (32-bit) for that particular section. AVI lists generally contain information about the file and encapsulate other chunks, where the chunks are typically used to encapsulate the elementary audio, video, and subtitle data streams. A typical AVI chunk is illustrated in
The AVI container specification includes two mandatory lists, which define the format of the streams and the stream data, respectively. AVI containers can also include an index chunk, which gives the location of data chunks within an AVI container. An AVI container with these components has the following form:
A decoder typically decodes multimedia information contained within an AVI container by parsing the ‘hdrl’ list to obtain information about the elementary streams contained within the AVI container. Once the ‘hrdl’ list has been parsed, the multimedia information can be rendered from the start of the ‘movi’ list. The ‘idx1’ chunk can be used to perform, so called “trick play”, functions such as seeking, rewinding or fast forwarding. Information contained within the ‘idx1’ chunk can be used by a player to locate chunks containing multimedia information sought by a trick play function.
At its most basic level, the MKV container is made up of elements, with most elements able to nest some other elements.
Embodiments of the invention utilize a modified form of the AVI chunk header that incorporates one or more bit-level flags and zero or more data fields, the content of which are indicated by the flag settings. Embodiments also utilize a series of newly introduced element types, with new element identifiers of the MKV container, that incorporate zero or more data fields, the content of which are indicated by the element identifier. Each new flag of AVI, new element of MKV or similar new addition to a container format and the data field(s) have a pre-defined meaning, such that when interpreted correctly may provide a new feature to multimedia systems. The flags and data fields are extensible to incorporate new features as required. In many embodiments, the flags enable the playing of content within a chunk and/or performance of trick play functions and other functionality without the need to obtain information from elsewhere in the container. Trick play functions are functions that involve playing portions of a multimedia sequence in a non-sequential fashion. For example, functions such as fast forward and rewind involve achieving the appearance that the multimedia sequence is playing at a specified speed by skipping frames. Other trick play functions can include, but are not limited to, skipping between chapters and/or scenes defined within a multimedia sequence.
In one embodiment, a method of playing back content by a playback device stored in a media file supplied by a media server. The method comprises providing a media file having content data and header, the content data having a plurality of media frames and the header having a plurality of flags or elements; decoding the content data by a playback device; displaying content on a display screen from the decoded content data; receiving a user request; identifying a flag or element from the plurality of flags or elements based on the received user request; and decoding one or more media frames from the subset of the plurality of media frames based on the identified flag or element.
In another embodiment, a playback device for decoding a media file is provided. The device comprises a de-multiplexer arranged to receive and decipher a media file having content data and a header having a plurality of flags or uniquely defined elements. The device also comprises a video decoder coupled to the de-multiplexer and arranged to receive video portions of the deciphered media file and an audio decoder coupled to the de-multiplexer and arranged to receive audio portions of the deciphered media file. The de-multiplexer selects the video portions and the audio portions to be transmitted to the respective video and audio decoder based on the plurality of flags or uniquely defined elements from the deciphered media file.
The above-mentioned and other features of this invention and the manner of obtaining and using them will become more apparent, and will be best understood, by reference to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and do not therefore limit its scope.
Turning now to the drawings, multimedia containers in accordance with embodiments of the invention that include chunks with headers containing flags and data fields that describe data within the chunk are shown. In several embodiments, the chunk headers include a series of flags and data fields, where the flags indicate the nature of the information contained in the data fields. In many embodiments, the flags and data fields enable simplification of the decoding of the multimedia information contained within the container. In a number of embodiments, a player need not obtain an entire multimedia file in order to seek within the file, commence playing content, and/or perform trick play or other functions.
Containers in accordance with embodiments of the invention are typically variations of the AVI, MKV or other similar container, such as shown in
The flags can be structured in any of a variety of ways. In the illustrated embodiment, the flags are 8-bit flags. Each 8-bit flag may be further subdivided into sub-flags, which are at least 1 bit wide, and may hold specific significance for the current chunk and/or the following or previous chunks. The sub-flags may also designate a series of follow-on data fields in the header data field 26, or alternatively refer to a data field stored in a separate section of the file. The sub-flags may also be grouped into more than one bit, and may span several 8-bit flags. One of the sub-flags may indicate a follow-on 8-bit flag, such that an infinite number of flags can be presented in the chunk header. The data in the first flag typically has a higher importance and in general must be present for all chunks to operate correctly.
A set of header data fields 26 follows the flags. In a number of embodiments, the size and number of header data fields 26 vary and the flags 24 indicate the composition of the header data fields. In other embodiments, the header data fields 26 are a fixed size and the allocation of bits is indicated by the flags 24.
As discussed above, the chunk data 28 can contain any type of information. Chunks that contain multimedia information, such as chunks within a ‘movi’ list of container modified in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, contain information from one or more of the elementary streams. In several embodiments, the flags 24 and the header data fields 26 provide information concerning the nature of the chunk data and/or the manner in which the chunk data should be handled by a player.
Another container in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is also shown in
In one embodiment, the forward/backward, hierarchical index, DRM and other similar features are introduced as elements into the container. An example of such an element is shown in
Utilizing the element identifier 31 similar to the flags and the payload 35 similar to the data fields, a playback device can identify and decode the appropriate data to implement the desired features, e.g., forward/backward, content filtering, etc. For example, in one embodiment, an element identifier 31 is read and recognized by the playback device. The media file is read or parsed to match a sequence against the table of valid element IDs. Once recognized, i.e., a match, the element located and processes up to the size of the payload as provided by the payload size 33.
In operation, the flags, data fields and elements included in the headers or interleaved in the bit stream in accordance with embodiments of the invention can provide a player attempting to decode the chunk with information concerning the data located within the chunk. The more detailed the information provided in the header, the less information that the player must obtain from elsewhere in the file to play multimedia information contained within the chunk. In this way, the headers in accordance with embodiments of the invention can reduce the volume of data that a player must obtain from a multimedia file in order to perform functions such as seeking to a point within the multimedia file, playing multimedia information from an arbitrary point within a multimedia file and/or performing trick play functions with respect to multimedia content contained within a multimedia file. Examples of specific pieces of information that can be included in headers in accordance with embodiments of the invention to assist players in the decoding of chunk data are discussed further below. It should be noted that for the AVI container format and/or other similarly structured formats, bit-wise flags and associated data fields are incorporated into new or existing chunks. For the MKV container format and/or other similar types, new elements with unique identification fields, size and/or data fields are added to the bit stream.
A conventional AVI chunk header includes a field that contains information concerning the size of the chunk. A static field is one way of representing size information. A chunk header in accordance with an embodiment of the invention that includes such a size value field 30 is shown in
A conventional AVI chunk header does not typically include a time stamp. As a result, a player often must rely heavily on the index contained within an AVI container in order to locate corresponding audio, video and/or subtitle chunks. Including time stamp information in a chunk header in accordance with an embodiment of the invention can enable players to locate corresponding audio, video and/or subtitle chunks without reference to an index. In addition, the existence of a timestamp can aid in a synchronized presentation in case of errors present in the file due to transmission or storage problems. Both the chunk header structures shown in
In many embodiments, time stamp information is mandatory and a sub-flag indicates whether or not the time stamp information is truncated 40a or absolute 40b. The truncated time stamp may have a resolution that is smaller than the absolute timestamp, thus allowing fewer bits to be used at the cost of tighter requirements on the synchronization ambiguity. Hence if the truncated timestamp is 16-bits wide and is in the units of milliseconds, it may at most represent a time value of 65.535 seconds, while if in the units of 1/90,000, the 16 bits allow for a resolution of only 0.728 seconds. In the latter case, the maximum distance between corresponding audio and video samples must be less than half of 0.728 seconds; otherwise, it will be impossible to unambiguously determine the relationship between the corresponding audio and video packets. Thus, in the case where a truncated time stamp is used it is important to ensure that any uncertainties in the synchronization remain below the maximum value that can be expressed by an associated truncated time stamp. Likewise the absolute timestamp may have a resolution of at least 32 bits or larger, and may represent the maximum amount of time from the start of an AVI chunk to the last chunk in a contiguous movie presentation. The timescale for both timestamp representations may be pre-determined, or alternatively specified in a separate section of the file.
Although the embodiments shown in
The Duration sub-flag signals the availability of a duration data field in the header-data, determining the amount of time a chunk should be presented after decoding. This value is typically equal to the difference between the timestamp of two consecutive chunks, except in certain cases where the streams are non-continuous (such as subtitles or meta-data). The duration may be in the same timescale as the timestamp values, and may have a predetermined value that is typically 8, 16, 24 or 32 bits in size, but may be of a different size.
It should be noted that Duration, Size and Timestamp information as described above may not be needed in all container formats, e.g., MKV, may already include implementations to supply the appropriate information. However, such implementations are specific to the container format and/or static. As such, unlike utilizing bits within flags to support variations in a data field, those implementations may not be extensible to apply to multiple and varied types of container formats or alternatively may use other means of incorporating new elements in an existing specification.
The two flags, Presentation Number and Requires Reference Packing may be used in aiding with the packing of reference frames. It is a well-known problem that in cases where the decoder requires a one-frame-in, one-frame-out relationship, all the frames required for decoding a predicted frame must be supplied together to the decoding device. In those scenarios, one commonly used solution has been to group the frames as a packed frame and to follow this packed frame by empty or marker chunks (often designated as [ ]). A sequence of packed frames and marker chunks is shown in
Instead of the traditional packing structure, here we provide for the use of two stream markers termed “Presentation Number” 71 and “Requires Reference” 73. With the presence of these two stream markers, it is possible to create a stream of single frames in each individual chunk and use these marker values in creating a representative packed frame sequence for the special decoding scenarios. A sequence of frames, the ordering of the frames in a container in accordance with an embodiment of the invention and chunk header information concerning presentation order is shown in
The Forward and Backward Access (key) Frame Offset sub-flags 81,82 indicate the presence of an offset field in the header-data section of the chunk header which provides a pointer to the previous and next access or key-frame chunk. An access chunk is typically one which can be decoded independently of any other chunks and generally serves as an access point during seek and trick-play operations. The offset may be a relative value from the current position of the pointer, or alternatively with a larger bit-field representation the offset can be an absolute one from the beginning of the file. A possible use case for access (key) frame offset pointers in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
The inclusion of the flag and data field however increases the size of the media file. In one embodiment, the offset data field is stored initially or progressively as the media file is played. Storing each offset data field prior to playback can slow the initial playback of the media file, but also enhances trick-play functions and reduces overall processor time with the processing time to decode only the flag and data field adding to the overall processor time. With reduced processor overhead and immediate access to the next frame, playback of the content appears visually smoother.
The backward flag 82 and offset data field is similar to the forward flag 81 however the backward offset references to a previous key frame. However, it should be appreciated that in conventional playback devices backward or rewind functions can't be performed or are extremely limited without retaining and/or decoding the entire media file. For example, after playing a portion of the media file, the portion is discarded before playing the next portion, and thus reversing direction requires retrieving the previous portion and finding the previous key frame. This is also further limited by most container formats of the media file. For example, without a fixed size or a marker to the previous key frame, the playback device has to decode the previous portion of the media file to find the previous key frame. Furthermore, some consumer electronic devices are not sophisticated and are thus not able to perform extensive processing functions to retrieve, locate and decode the previous frame within a user's desired wait time.
In one embodiment, similar to the flags above, the media file instead includes an element with a unique backward access identifier followed by a backward offset data field, e.g., within the payload data, that has a pointer to a previous key-frame block, a value that corresponds to a previous key-frame time code or timestamp, or an offset value calculated relative to a start position, e.g., at the beginning of the file or relative to a frame being displayed. Likewise, a forward access identifier and forward offset data field can also be included that points, provides a timestamp to the next key-frame, or an offset value relative to a start position. It should be appreciated that although flags and data fields are described throughout the application other similar types of advance identifiers such as unique element identifiers along with the associated data fields or payload are also applicable based on the container format of the media file desired or provided.
The DRM Packet and Frame Metadata sub-flags signal the presence of information in the header data fields which identifies the data type, and is followed by a number of related bytes in the header data fields. The DRM Packet sub-flag signifies specific Digital Rights Management (DRM) data, which may be used in the decryption of the information contained in the chunk. Many previous implementations of DRM in the context of an AVI container have required DRM information to be contained in a separate chunk that is interleaved with the elementary streams. In the embodiments described above, DRM information can be included in the chunk containing the frame (or other information) to which it relates. The Frame Metadata sub-flag indicates the presence of metadata related to the frame contained within the chunk, which may be used in some form of identification and classification. The header data fields associated with the DRM Packet and Frame Metadata sub-flags can be identified via a set of pre-determined rules, or alternatively may be identified via specifications provided in a separate section of the file. These concepts can likewise be added to the MKV specification by creating new elements as part of an audio or video Block which is an equivalent of the chunk in the AVI container.
Other examples of utilizing metadata is described in U.S. Provisional patent application No. 61/059,547, filed Jun. 6, 2008, and 61/109,476, filed, Oct. 29, 2008, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein.
The Content Filtering sub-flag indicates the presence of information in the header-data section related to chunk-level content-filtering information. The content-filtering can apply to any circumstance where a portion of the content is to be selectively presented, anywhere up to the entire length of the presentation. It can apply selectively to the different streams in an overall presentation, where the behavior of the filtering can be determined by a set of pre-defined rules. The presentation rules can define the behavior of the decoding device in each case, such as muting an audio track, blackening the video track, or skipping a portion of the presentation altogether. In many embodiments, a 16-bit identifier in the header-data can be used to signal up to 16 different types of content-filtering options for a particular chunk, although the field may be specified to have a larger value. A corresponding header data field can indicate the level for each one of the 16 filtering modes. Some example filter types may be the following:
The primary use of chunk accurate content filtering is to add flexibility in presenting the same stream in a different form, based on a series of filtering levels and types. For example, the same content may be presented to adults, and a different version may be shown to children. A multimedia presentation containing content filtering information (original presentation 91, PG rating section 93, PG-13 rating section 95, R rating section 97) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is shown in
All of the content-filtering scenarios described above can apply to the same stream. In many embodiments, up to 16 different filtering modes can be defined with overlapping functionality; hence, more than one filtering mode could be specified per chunk in which case the different levels follow the order of the bit-field sub-flag. Each mode can have at least one byte defining its level. The definition of the level and its designation may be either previously specified or alternatively described in a different segment of the container. Other examples of utilizing content filtering is described in U.S. Provisional Patent application No. 61/059,547, filed Jun. 6, 2008, and 61/109,476, filed, Oct. 29, 2008, filed, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein.
The New Configuration sub-flag is a 2 bit flag representing a new configuration for the decoding operation of the current chunk and all subsequent chunks. The sub-flag can indicate the presence of an index, which selects a particular configuration from a list of previously defined values or alternatively from parameters defined separately in a different segment of the file. Alternatively, the flag may indicate the presence of actual configuration information in the header-data that can specifically describe the features of the stream such that a decoder is able to successfully decode and present the information in a synchronized manner. Using a list of previously defined values requires analyzing a large number of presentation streams and selecting the most common configurations for each track. This pre-determined list of configurations can be published separately and selected via the Configuration Index parameter in the header-data. The signaling of a New Configuration in the same manner can be incorporated into the MKV container by defining a new element which defines the same structure as described above.
The flags EXTENSION sub-flags can be used to indicate that additional bytes of flags are included in the chunk header. In other embodiments, other techniques can be used to indicate the presence of additional flags. Although specific sub-flags are outlined above, other types and/or combinations of sub-flags can be included in flags of a chunk header in accordance with embodiments of the invention that provide information concerning a chunk to a player.
In general, the use of flags and corresponding data create an optional-inclusion approach which can help keep the overhead of additional features very small while at the same time allow for their inclusion where and if necessary. It is important to note that while this disclosure has described a specific relationship between the flags, sub-flags, header data fields, and supplemental data appearing in the AVI chunk header, the chunk header is generally expandable in accordance with embodiments of the invention using these components.
A player configured to decode a multimedia presentation formatted in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
Referring now to
The devices are configured with client applications that can request portions of media files from the media server 192 for playing. The client application can be implemented in software, in firmware, in hardware or in a combination of the above. In many embodiments, the device plays media from downloaded media files. In several embodiments, the device provides one or more outputs that enable another device to play the media. When the media file includes an index, a device configured with a client application in accordance with an embodiment of the invention can use the index to determine the location of various portions of the media. Therefore, the index can be used to provide a user with “trick play” functions. When a user provides a “trick play” instruction, the device uses the index to determine the portion or portions of the media file that are required in order to execute the “trick play” function and requests those portions from the server. In a number of embodiments, the client application requests portions of the media file using a transport protocol that allows for downloading of specific byte ranges within the media file. One such protocol is the HTTP 1.1 protocol published by The Internet Society or BitTorrent available from www.bittorrent.org. In other embodiments, other protocols and/or mechanisms can be used to obtain specific portions of the media file from the media server.
Referring to
While the above description contains many specific embodiments of the invention, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an example of one embodiment thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their equivalents.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/053,312, filed Nov. 7, 2022, entitled “Chunk Header Incorporating Binary Flags and Correlated Variable-Length Fields” to Soroushian et al., which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/015,970, filed Sep. 9, 2020, entitled “Chunk Header Incorporating Binary Flags and Correlated Variable-Length Fields” to Soroushian et al., which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/551,459, filed Aug. 26, 2019, entitled “Chunk Header Incorporating Binary Flags and Correlated Variable-Length Fields” to Soroushian et al., which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/888,685, filed Feb. 5, 2018, entitled “Chunk Header Incorporating Binary Flags and Correlated Variable-Length Fields” to Soroushian et al., which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/594,005, filed Jan. 9, 2015, entitled “Chunk Header Incorporating Binary Flags and Correlated Variable-Length Fields” to Soroushian et al., which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/662,687, entitled “Chunk Header Incorporating Binary Flags and Correlated Variable-Length Fields,” filed Oct. 29, 2012, which application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/272,782, entitled “Chunk Header Incorporating Binary Flags and Correlated Variable-Length Fields,” filed Nov. 17, 2008, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/988,622, entitled “Chunk Header Incorporating Binary Flags and Correlated Variable-Length Fields,” filed Nov. 16, 2007, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 60988622 | Nov 2007 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Parent | 16551459 | Aug 2019 | US |
| Child | 17015970 | US |
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| Parent | 18053312 | Nov 2022 | US |
| Child | 18502804 | US | |
| Parent | 17015970 | Sep 2020 | US |
| Child | 18053312 | US | |
| Parent | 15888685 | Feb 2018 | US |
| Child | 16551459 | US | |
| Parent | 14594005 | Jan 2015 | US |
| Child | 15888685 | US | |
| Parent | 13662687 | Oct 2012 | US |
| Child | 14594005 | US | |
| Parent | 12272782 | Nov 2008 | US |
| Child | 13662687 | US |
