Abstract: Program data for use in electronic program guides is selected for storage at a low resource client according to a preference for current program data over program data for a future time. In the described implementation, a memory representative of the client memory is disproportionately allocated for different time units (e.g., 24-hour days) to be represented in an electronic program guide. Analysis is conducted as to whether program data for the different time units can fit in the portions of memory and adjustments to the amount of program data for respective time units are made. Different-size sets of program data are eventually selected such that more program data will be stored in the portion of memory corresponding to the current time unit and progressively less program data will be stored in other portions of memory corresponding to future time units.

Abstract: Data destined for a client is compressed at a server in a manner that produces a compressed data string that can be searched in its compressed state. The server constructs a code table that assigns codes from a standard code set (e.g., ASCII code set) that are normally unused to selected character pairs in the data string (e.g., the most frequently occurring character pairs). During compression, the selected character pairs are replaced with the corresponding codes. Identifiers are inserted into the compressed data string to separate substrings. To search the compressed data string at the client, a search query is compressed and compared to the compressed substrings. The substring identifiers are used to quickly locate each successive compressed substring. When a match is found, the matching substring is decompressed by replacing the code in the compressed substring with the corresponding character pair in the code table.

Abstract: Data destined for a client is compressed at a server in a manner that produces a compressed data string that can be searched in its compressed state. The server constructs a code table that assigns codes from a standard code set (e.g., ASCII code set) that are normally unused to selected character pairs in the data string (e.g., the most frequently occurring character pairs). During compression, the selected character pairs are replaced with the corresponding codes. Identifiers are inserted into the compressed data string to separate substrings. To search the compressed data string at the client, a search query is compressed and compared to the compressed substrings. The substring identifiers are used to quickly locate each successive compressed substring. When a match is found, the matching substring is decompressed by replacing the code in the compressed substring with the corresponding character pair in the code table.

Abstract: Data destined for a client is compressed at a server in a manner that produces a compressed data string that can be searched in its compressed state. The server constructs a code table that assigns codes from a standard code set (e.g., ASCII code set) that are normally unused to selected character pairs in the data string (e.g., the most frequently occurring character pairs). During compression, the selected character pairs are replaced with the corresponding codes. Identifiers are inserted into the compressed data string to separate substrings. To search the compressed data string at the client, a search query is compressed and compared to the compressed substrings. The substring identifiers are used to quickly locate each successive compressed substring. When a match is found, the matching substring is decompressed by replacing the code in the compressed substring with the corresponding character pair in the code table.

Abstract: Data destined for a client is compressed at a server in a manner that produces a compressed data string that can be searched in its compressed state. The server constructs a code table that assigns codes from a standard code set (e.g., ASCII code set) that are normally unused to selected character pairs in the data string (e.g., the most frequently occurring character pairs). During compression, the selected character pairs are replaced with the corresponding codes. Identifiers are inserted into the compressed data string to separate substrings. To search the compressed data string at the client, a search query is compressed and compared to the compressed substrings. The substring identifiers are used to quickly locate each successive compressed substring. When a match is found, the matching substring is decompressed by replacing the code in the compressed substring with the corresponding character pair in the code table.

Abstract: Data destined for a client is compressed at a server in a manner that produces a compressed data string that can be searched in its compressed state. The server constructs a code table that assigns codes from a standard code set (e.g., ASCII code set) that are normally unused to selected character pairs in the data string (e.g., the most frequently occurring character pairs). During compression, the selected character pairs are replaced with the corresponding codes. Identifiers are inserted into the compressed data string to separate substrings. To search the compressed data string at the client, a search query is compressed and compared to the compressed substrings. The substring identifiers are used to quickly locate each successive compressed substring. When a match is found, the matching substring is decompressed by replacing the code in the compressed substring with the corresponding character pair in the code table.

Abstract: Described herein is a technology facilitating the presentation of digital video streams. An implementation, described herein, reduces the effective start-up delay in the presentation of the first frames of the video content that occurs when a system tunes into a video stream. This abstract itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent. The scope of the present invention is pointed out in the appending claims.

Abstract: In an implementation, a first MPEG video stream is selected from a broadcast channel and the MPEG video stream is decoded to generate a first image for display. A second MPEG video stream is selected from the broadcast channel and decoded to generate a second image for display such that the second image is combined for display with at least a section of the first image.

Abstract: A video-on-demand system encodes multiple video streams from media content, such that the video streams have staggered intra-frame intervals. When a client device requests a video stream, the video-on-demand system selects one of the multiple video streams based on the position of the intra-frames, and transmits the selected video stream to the client device.

Abstract: Client-based searching of carousel data that is broadcast from a carousel file system is described. The broadcast carousel data is segmented and individual segments are hashed according to a hashing function to produce hash index values that are representative of associated data segments. The hash index values are broadcast by the carousel file system to the client. When a viewer specifies a search, the client computes a hashed search query and compares it to the hash index values. When a match occurs, there is a possibility that the data segment associated with the matching hash index value might satisfy the query. Such data segments are identified and the client retrieves those data segments as they are broadcast from the carousel file system. The client is then able to perform searching on the data segments according to the viewer-specified search and present the results to the viewer.

Abstract: Program data for use in electronic program guides is selected for storage at a low resource client according to a preference for current program data over program data for a future time. In the described implementation, a memory representative of the client memory is disproportionately allocated for different time units (e.g., 24-hour days) to be represented in an electronic program guide. Analysis is conducted as to whether program data for the different time units can fit in the portions of memory and adjustments to the amount of program data for respective time units are made. Different-size sets of program data are eventually selected such that more program data will be stored in the portion of memory corresponding to the current time unit and progressively less program data will be stored in other portions of memory corresponding to future time units.

Abstract: Program data for use in electronic program guides is sorted in advance of delivery to a low resource client. In the described implementation, the program data is sorted according to a parameter that is likely to be searched at the client, such as by program title, actor name, and so forth. In one example, the program data is sorted according to a stopped name version of the program title. When delivered to the client, the low resource client is able to perform fast binary searches on the sorted program data.

Abstract: Data destined for a client is compressed at a server in a manner that produces a compressed data string that can be searched in its compressed state. The server constructs a code table that assigns codes from a standard code set (e.g., ASCII code set) that are normally unused to selected character pairs in the data string (e.g., the most frequently occurring character pairs). During compression, the selected character pairs are replaced with the corresponding codes. Identifiers are inserted into the compressed data string to separate substrings. To search the compressed data string at the client, a search query is compressed and compared to the compressed substrings. The substring identifiers are used to quickly locate each successive compressed substring. When a match is found, the matching substring is decompressed by replacing the code in the compressed substring with the corresponding character pair in the code table.

Abstract: Program data for use in electronic program guides is fragmented in advance of delivery to a low resource client. In the described implementation, the program data is fragmented into equal size fragments. The size of each fragment is selected to guarantee that the data fragments will fit in pre-allocated memory segments at the client. When the program data is delivered to the client, the client stores the data packets in the memory segments without making system calls to the memory.

Abstract: An MPEG decoding system in a host system, including software instructions for decoding a first portion of MPEG encoded data, including instructions for extracting macroblock data from said MPEG encoded data and for establishing a decoding order for said macroblock data. The system further includes hardware for extracting motion vector data and display data from said macroblocks. An entropy decoder for decoding encoded AC coefficients and DC coefficients in said display data is provided. An inverse quantization unit inversely quantizing said coefficients into a resulting array of decoded AC coefficients is also provided. An de-zig-zag unit scans said array of decoded AC coefficients and DC coefficients in a zig-zag pattern to provide a block of discrete cosine transformed coefficients. A inverse discrete cosine transform unit takes the inverse discrete cosine transform of the block of discrete cosine transformed coefficients to provide a first set of pel data.

Abstract: A process for decoding MPEG encoded image data stored in a system memory utilizing a configurable image decoding apparatus.