Patent ID: 7643508
Filing Date: 2010-01-05
Classification: H04L,H04N

Abstract:
1. In a multimedia content delivery system where a subscriber terminal (ST) commences rendering multimedia entertainment content of a channel, the channel comprising a plurality of elementary streams, only upon receipt of a specified milestone protocol data unit (PDU), a method of reducing a length of a channel change operation between leaving a currently viewed channel and joining a new channel, comprising: predefining, with a decoder, on initialization, a plurality of distinct program identification (PID) values, each predefined PID value corresponding to a type elementary stream, wherein each of the elementary streams consists of either audio data, video data, or other related data; identifying all of the elementary streams of said new channel, wherein said elementary streams comprise a plurality of PDUs including at least one of said specified milestone PDU; changing, in all PDUs, a current PID value of each said elementary stream to the predefined PID value for the type of each said elementary stream; and at a decoder of said ST, decoding said PDUs with said predefined PID values, as said PDUs arrive at said decoder, wherein said decoder is maintained in a running state during said channel change operation.