Anticipatory video signal reception and processing
A system and method that provide reduced latency in a video signal processing system. Various aspects of the present invention may comprise receiving a current request from a user for first video information. Such a request may, for example, be received with a user interface module. A first video stream and a second video stream may be received simultaneously, where the first video stream comprises the first video information currently requested by the user, and the second video stream comprises second video information not currently requested by the user. A video receiver module may, for example, perform such receiving. The first video stream may be processed to present the first video information to the user at the current time. Further, the second video stream may be pre-processed in preparation for being presented to the user in the future. A video processing module may, for example, perform such video stream processing.
1. A method, comprising:
receiving a request for first video information;
predicting a request for second video information;
receiving a first video stream and a second video stream, the first video stream corresponding to the request for the first video information and the second video stream corresponding to the request for the second video information;
decoding the first video stream; and
while decoding the first video stream, pre-processing the second video stream, the pre-processing comprising:
establishing user rights to receive the second video stream after predicting the request for the second video information and before receiving the request for the second video information;
in response to the establishing the user rights to receive the second video stream, buffering at least a portion of the second video stream starting from an access point in the second video stream to cause the portion of the second video stream starting from the access point to be available for decoding upon receiving the request for the second video information; and
tracking timing components of the second video stream relative to timing components of the first video stream, the timing components of the second video stream comprising timestamp or synchronization components, wherein the tracking the timing components of the second video stream is utilized to control buffering activities for the second video information.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-processing of the second video stream further comprises:
receiving conditional access information for the second video stream after predicting the request for the second video information and before receiving the request for the second video information; and
decrypting at least a portion of the second video stream using the conditional access information before receiving the request for the second video information.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the receiving of the conditional access information further comprises:
after predicting the request for the second video information and before receiving the request for the second video information, receiving key information for the second video stream; and
decrypting the second video stream using the key information.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-processing of the second video stream further comprises:
processing error correction of the second video stream before receiving the request for the second video information; and
parsing communication protocol layers associated with the second video stream before receiving the request for the second video information.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprises:
receiving the request for the second video information; and
decoding the second video stream starting from the access point in the buffer in response to receiving the request for the second video information.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the access point in the second video stream comprises a reference frame.
7. A system, comprising:
an interface configured to receive a request for first video information;
a video receiver configured to receive a first video stream and a second video stream, the first video stream corresponding to the request for the first video information and the second video stream corresponding to a request for second video information; and
a video processor configured to:
predict the request for the second video information;
decode the first video stream;
establish user rights to receive the second video stream after predicting the request for the second video information and before receiving the request for the second video information;
in response to the establishing the user rights to receive the second video stream, buffer at least a portion of the second video stream starting from an access point in the second video stream to cause the portion of the second video stream starting from the access point to be available for decoding upon receiving the request for the second video information; and
track timing components of the second video stream relative to timing components of the first video stream, the timing components of the second video stream comprising timestamp or synchronization components, wherein the tracking the timing components of the second video stream is utilized to control buffering activities for the second video information.
8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the video processor is further configured to receive conditional access information for the second video stream after predicting the request for the second video information and before receiving the request for the second video information, and to decrypt at least a portion of the second video stream using the conditional access information.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the video processor is further configured to, after predicting the request for the second video information and before receiving the request for the second video information, receive key information for the second video stream and decrypt the second video stream using the key information.
10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the video processor is further configured to:
process error correction of the second video stream before receiving the request for the second video information; and
parse communication protocol layers associated with the second video stream before receiving the request for the second video information.
11. The system of claim 7 , wherein the video receiver is further configured to receive the first video stream through a first tuner and to receive the second video stream through a second tuner.
12. The system of claim 7 , wherein the access point in the second video stream comprises a reference frame.
13. The system of claim 7 , wherein:
the interface is further configured to receive the request for the second video information; and
the video processor is further configured to decode the second video stream starting from the access point in the buffer in response to receiving the request for the second video information.
14. An apparatus, comprising:
circuits configured to:
receive a request for first video information;
predict a request for second video information;
receive a first video stream and a second video stream, the first video stream corresponding to the request for the first video information and the second video stream corresponding to the request for the second video information;
decode the first video stream; and
while decoding the first video stream, pre-process the second video stream, the pre-processing of the second video stream comprising the one or more circuits configured to:
establishing user rights to receive the second video stream after predicting the request for the second video information and before receiving the request for the second video information;
in response to the establishing the user rights to receive the second video stream, buffer at least a portion of the second video stream starting from an access point in the second video stream to cause the portion of the second video stream starting from the access point to be available for decoding upon receiving the request for the second video information;
track timing components of the second video stream relative to timing components of the first video stream, the timing components of the second video stream comprising timestamp or synchronization components, wherein the tracking the timing components of the second video stream is utilized to control buffering activities for the second video information;
receive the request for the second video information; and
decode the second video stream starting from the access point in the buffer in response to receiving the request for the second video information.
15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the pre-processing of the second video stream further comprises the one or more circuits configured to:
receive conditional access information for the second video stream after predicting the request for the second video information and before receiving the request for the second video information; and
decrypt at least a portion of the second video stream using the conditional access information before receiving the request for the second video information.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the receiving of the conditional access information further comprises the one or more circuits configured to:
after predicting the request for the second video information and before receiving the request for the second video information, receive key information for the second video stream; and
decrypt the second video stream using the key information.