Patent ID: 7023924

Claim:
A method of pausing an MPEG coded video stream including a series of groups of pictures, each group of pictures (GOP) including an I frame and a plurality of B or P frames, said method comprising: selecting an I frame from the MPEG coded video stream; constructing a pause GOP from the selected I frame, the pause GOP including an I frame, freeze frames, and padding; making a seamless transition from the MPEG coded video stream to the pause GOP; and playing the pause GOP a plurality of times in succession; wherein said method further includes selecting a number of frames to include in the pause GOP to obtain a desired constant frame rate when the pause GOP is played a plurality of times in succession; and wherein the constructing of the pause GOP includes adding stuffing to the pause GOP, and the method includes inserting padding in a transport stream for the playing of the pause GOP a plurality of times in succession, so that the transport stream for the playing of the pause GOP a plurality of times in succession has a substantially constant bit rate, and a video buffer verifier for the transport stream has a level at the end of the pause GOP that is substantially the same as a level at the beginning of the pause GOP each of the plurality of times that the pause GOP is played in succession.