Patent ID: 7765567

Claim:
A method of content substitution, comprising: receiving a structured stream of data representing content structured according to a first and a second substitutable portion, the data encoded using at least first and second packet identifiers (PIDs) associated with first and second substitutable portions of content, each encoded portion of said substitutable content being mapped to at least one of said PIDs; receiving private signaling forming part of an adaptation layer of packets in the received structured stream of data, the private signaling establishing a parameter to be used to start and stop the content substitution, where the private signaling specifies a decoder operational mode that enables one of a plurality of content substitution modes of decoder operation, and where the private signaling further specifies switching among the content substitution modes of the decoder operation; initiating processing of content having the first PID; determining that a substitution criterion has been met; substituting content having the second PID for content having the first PID wherein data encoded with said first and second PIDs are portions of the said received structured stream of data; processing the substituted content for display or storage; and wherein whenever packets are inserted or deleted, a continuity count for said first PID is preserved by adjusting the continuity count.