Abstract: The customer premises equipment apparatus includes a communication component, a determining component and a filtering component. The communication component pulls a first chunk of headend guide data from a headend guide data provider using HTTP streaming. The first chunk of headend guide data contains a plurality of frames, some of which may be filler frames. The determining component determines whether at least one of the frames within the first chunk of headend guide data includes filler frames. The filtering component removes the frames that correspond to filler frames.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media described herein may facilitate the detection and use of stitch points during trickplay navigation of a content stream. A multimedia device may automatically detect stitch points in a transport stream based upon PTS (presentation time stamp) discontinuities. The multimedia device may generate a slot table that organizes the frames of a piece of content into segments having sequential or linear PTS values. The multimedia device may compare a target PTS to the various PTS ranges of the slot table to identify a region to be searched for a metadata index associated with the target PTS. Once the target PTS is mapped to the appropriate metadata index, the multimedia device may fetch the appropriate frame for presentation.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media can be operable to facilitate a transfer of one or more buffer chunks including an I-Frame. When a new play or media transition occurs, a transfer of buffer chunks from a buffer to a decoder may be initiated such that an I-Frame at the beginning of the buffer is transferred and available to a client for playback. A decoder may be flushed a new transfer of buffer chunks beginning with the first buffer chunk may be initiated when a determination is made that PAT/PMT acquisition is complete and A/V play has started. A first buffer chunk may be repetitively transferred from the buffer until a determination is made that PAT/PMT acquisition is complete and A/V play has started.

Abstract: Methods, systems and computer readable media described herein may facilitate the automatic identification of a need for additional authentication based on a received private message or PID, the urgency of a received private message, thus determining whether an immediate alert is output to a user, and/or a determination whether a protected message is to be archived for later retrieval via authentication. A device may be configured (e.g., by user input) to control selective decoding and display of messages (e.g., private messages), registration and configuration of blacklists, and/or defining criteria for determining urgency of a received message. Device configurations may be dynamically changed or updated according to user preferences and user treatment of received messages.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media can be operable to facilitate the mapping of packet identifiers to a constant value. A multimedia device may receive one or more pieces of multimedia content and may select a constant PID value for each of one or more component streams associated with the content. The multimedia device may map PIDs of each respective one of the one or more component streams to a constant PID value designated for the component type of the respective component stream. The multimedia device may replace the PIDs of each component stream with constant PID values such that each component stream type includes the same PID value for the entirety of the stream. The modified component streams, each having continuity with respect to PID values, may be stored as a recording or output to a device for viewing.

Abstract: Methods, systems and computer readable media may facilitate the repositioning of content based upon scene boundaries. In embodiments, content may be automatically repositioned at a scene boundary, so that the content presentation starts from a more meaningful and sensible point after a re-position (e.g., time-shift, trickplay, seek, etc.). Also provided herein is an approach to provide an option for the user to start playback of content from an absolute time based repositioned point or a scene based repositioned point. Scene change detection may be used to detect scene changes within a piece of multimedia content as the content is being received, played, or recorded by a device. Scene changes within a piece of content may be identified using scene meta-data created on a per content basis, wherein the meta-data includes the starting frame offset of each scene along with the duration of the scene.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media can be operable to facilitate the updating of memory at a device based upon a custom command file. In embodiments, update or configuration codes or data may be delivered to a device within a download package, and the download package may include a command file. The command file may identify one or more operations that are to be carried out on the memory of the device, and each respective one of the one or more operations may be associated with a subset or portion of the memory of the device. The device may identify the one or more operations and the one or more associated memory areas from the command file, and the device may carry out the one or more operations on only those areas of the device memory that are identified from the command file as being associated with the operations.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media can be operable to facilitate the detection and management of a filler region during trickplay of a content stream. A filler region at the edge of a targeted advertisement segment may be detected based on the presence of one or more consecutive I-frames. When a filler region is detected during a trickplay operation, a corrective method may be applied during trickplay of the filler region. The corrective method may include a modification of a frame skip count (FSC) and/or frame repeat count (FRC) during trickplay of the filler region, or may include skipping over the processing and output of filler frames during trickplay of the filler region. In embodiments, an index file may be modified to include an indication of a designation of one or more frames as either a filler frame or non-filler frame.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media can be operable to facilitate a transfer of one or more buffer chunks including an I-Frame. When a new play or media transition occurs, a transfer of buffer chunks from a buffer to a decoder may be initiated such that an I-Frame at the beginning of the buffer is transferred and available to a client for playback. A decoder may be flushed a new transfer of buffer chunks beginning with the first buffer chunk may be initiated when a determination is made that PAT/PMT acquisition is complete and A/V play has started. A first buffer chunk may be repetitively transferred from the buffer until a determination is made that PAT/PMT acquisition is complete and A/V play has started.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media described herein may facilitate the detection and use of stitch points during trickplay navigation of a content stream. A multimedia device may automatically detect stitch points in a transport stream based upon PTS (presentation time stamp) discontinuities. The multimedia device may generate a slot table that organizes the frames of a piece of content into segments having sequential or linear PTS values. The multimedia device may compare a target PTS to the various PTS ranges of the slot table to identify a region to be searched for a metadata index associated with the target PTS. Once the target PTS is mapped to the appropriate metadata index, the multimedia device may fetch the appropriate frame for presentation.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media can be operable to facilitate the updating of memory at a device based upon a custom command file. In embodiments, update or configuration codes or data may be delivered to a device within a download package, and the download package may include a command file. The command file may identify one or more operations that are to be carried out on the memory of the device, and each respective one of the one or more operations may be associated with a subset or portion of the memory of the device. The device may identify the one or more operations and the one or more associated memory areas from the command file, and the device may carry out the one or more operations on only those areas of the device memory that are identified from the command file as being associated with the operations.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media can be operable to monitor for and alert the occurrence of pre-failure indicators at a set-top box (STB) disk. Results of self-monitoring tests, short tests, and maximum/minimum performance tests may be used to identify the potential for a STB disk failure. Moreover, critical error events at the STB may be logged, and the health of the STB disk may be determined based on the logged critical error events. Test results and critical error event logs may be used to predict an impending failure of a STB disk, and a notification may be output to a user or technician indicating the potential need to replace the STB or STB disk.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media can be operable to facilitate the mapping of packet identifiers to a constant value. A multimedia device may receive one or more pieces of multimedia content and may select a constant PID value for each of one or more component streams associated with the content. The multimedia device may map PIDs of each respective one of the one or more component streams to a constant PID value designated for the component type of the respective component stream. The multimedia device may replace the PIDs of each component stream with constant PID values such that each component stream type includes the same PID value for the entirety of the stream. The modified component streams, each having continuity with respect to PID values, may be stored as a recording or output to a device for viewing.

Abstract: A system is provided for providing a trickplay operation using a digital video recorder (DVR) when the video includes Broadcom Transport Packets (BTPs) designed for MPEG-2, but in an MPEG-4 video steam. In a first embodiment, to enable trickplay to function properly with MPEG-4 video, the BTP descriptors included with each group of data frames are disabled so that a single descriptor provided without BTPs that would otherwise be provided in MPEG-4 is all that remains. In a second embodiment, the 5 descriptors for MPEG-4 are combined into a single descriptor. In a third embodiment, the pace of decoding of the MPEG-4 descriptors is increased so that the speed of encoding all the 5 descriptors is comparable to the pace of decoding a single MPEG-2 descriptor.

Abstract: Methods, systems and computer readable media described herein may facilitate the automatic identification of a need for additional authentication based on a received private message or PID, the urgency of a received private message, thus determining whether an immediate alert is output to a user, and/or a determination whether a protected message is to be archived for later retrieval via authentication. A device may be configured (e.g., by user input) to control selective decoding and display of messages (e.g., private messages), registration and configuration of blacklists, and/or defining criteria for determining urgency of a received message. Device configurations may be dynamically changed or updated according to user preferences and user treatment of received messages.

Abstract: Methods, systems and computer readable media may facilitate the repositioning of content based upon scene boundaries. In embodiments, content may be automatically repositioned at a scene boundary, so that the content presentation starts from a more meaningful and sensible point after a re-position (e.g., time-shift, trickplay, seek, etc.). Also provided herein is an approach to provide an option for the user to start playback of content from an absolute time based repositioned point or a scene based repositioned point. Scene change detection may be used to detect scene changes within a piece of multimedia content as the content is being received, played, or recorded by a device. Scene changes within a piece of content may be identified using scene meta-data created on a per content basis, wherein the meta-data includes the starting frame offset of each scene along with the duration of the scene.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media can be operable to facilitate the generation and output of customized caption data, the caption data being customized for a specific client device. Caption data associated with requested content can be edited at a customer premise equipment device according to caption settings associated with the requesting client device. Caption settings associated with the requesting client device can be determined based upon user-input or caption settings previously used for the requesting client device.

Abstract: A system is provided for providing a trickplay operation using a digital video recorder (DVR) when the video includes Broadcom Transport Packets (BTPs) designed for MPEG-2, but in an MPEG-4 video steam. In a first embodiment, to enable trickplay to function properly with MPEG-4 video, the BTP descriptors included with each group of data frames are disabled so that a single descriptor provided without BTPs that would otherwise be provided in MPEG-4 is all that remains. In a second embodiment, the 5 descriptors for MPEG-4 are combined into a single descriptor. In a third embodiment, the pace of decoding of the MPEG-4 descriptors is increased so that the speed of encoding all the 5 descriptors is comparable to the pace of decoding a single MPEG-2 descriptor.

Abstract: Modern audio and video content typically provides multiple programming, such as multiple alternate video versions, multiple language options, and possibly also closed captioning or subtitles in multiple languages. Gateway conditioned media streaming provides systems and methods for conditioning multimedia content according to the preferences of a recipient client device, such that the device receives the preferred video, audio, and/or closed captioning automatically and regardless of the application used to play the content. When a gateway server receives a request for content, the gateway server identifies the requesting client device from recorded information, and uses the recorded preferences to modify the content stream according to those preferences. The modified content stream is then sent to the requesting client device.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media can be operable to monitor for and alert the occurrence of pre-failure indicators at a set-top box (STB) disk. Results of self-monitoring tests, short tests, and maximum/minimum performance tests may be used to identify the potential for a STB disk failure. Moreover, critical error events at the STB may be logged, and the health of the STB disk may be determined based on the logged critical error events. Test results and critical error event logs may be used to predict an impending failure of a STB disk, and a notification may be output to a user or technician indicating the potential need to replace the STB or STB disk.