Addressable advertising switch by decoupling decoding from service acquisition

Abstract

A method and computing device for switching from a first transport stream to a second transport stream. The method detects a trigger in the first transport stream that determines a switch point for tuning to the second transport stream. The method receives a last frame of audio/video content in the first transport stream that immediately precedes the switch point, and initiates a switch to the second transport stream after receiving the last frame. The method processes the last frame through an audio/video decoder simultaneous with the initiating of the switch, and disables the output of the audio/video decoder after the processing of the last frame. The method receives a first frame of audio/video content in the second transport stream, and enables the output of the audio/video decoder after processing the first frame through the audio/video decoder.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for addressable advertising, the method comprising:
 detecting a trigger in a first transport stream, wherein the trigger determines a location in the first transport stream that is a switch point for tuning from the first transport stream to a second transport stream;   receiving a last frame of media content in the first transport stream, wherein the last frame immediately precedes the switch point;   initiating a switch to the second transport stream in response to receiving the last frame of media content while processing the last frame of media content through a decoder;   upon initiating the switch to the second transport stream, receiving a first frame of media content in the second transport stream; and   processing the first frame through the decoder.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising outputting the last frame from an output of the decoder and disabling the output of the decoder. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein processing the first frame through the decoder further comprises enabling the output of the decoder to output the first frame. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein initiating the switch to the second transport stream further comprises:
 moving an inband tuner from receiving the first transport stream to receiving the second transport stream; and   acquiring the second transport stream.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein processing the last frame of media content through the decoder is performed simultaneously with initiating the switch to the second transport stream. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first transport stream includes MPEG audio/video content for a first service, and wherein the second transport stream includes MPEG audio/video content for a second service. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first transport stream and the second transport stream use a shared buffer, wherein the receiving of the last frame stores the last frame in the shared buffer, and wherein the receiving of the first frame stores the first frame in the shared buffer. 
     
     
         8 . A system for addressable advertising, the system comprising:
 a hardware processor that is configured to:
 detect a trigger in a first transport stream, wherein the trigger determines a location in the first transport stream that is a switch point for tuning from the first transport stream to a second transport stream; 
 receive a last frame of media content in the first transport stream, wherein the last frame immediately precedes the switch point; 
 initiate a switch to the second transport stream in response to receiving the last frame of media content while processing the last frame of media content through a decoder; 
   upon initiating the switch to the second transport stream, receive a first frame of media content in the second transport stream; and   process the first frame through the decoder.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the hardware processor is further configured to output the last frame from an output of the decoder and disable the output of the decoder. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the hardware processor is further configured to process the first frame through the decoder by enabling the output of the decoder to output the first frame. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the hardware processor is further configured to initiate the switch to the second transport stream by:
 moving an inband tuner from receiving the first transport stream to receiving the second transport stream; and   acquiring the second transport stream.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the hardware processor is further configured to simultaneously process the last frame of media content through the decoder and initiate the switch to the second transport stream. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the first transport stream includes MPEG audio/video content for a first service, and wherein the second transport stream includes MPEG audio/video content for a second service. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the first transport stream and the second transport stream use a shared buffer, wherein the receiving of the last frame stores the last frame in the shared buffer, and wherein the receiving of the first frame stores the first frame in the shared buffer. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed on a computing device, perform a method for addressable advertising, the method comprising:
 detecting a trigger in a first transport stream, wherein the trigger determines a location in the first transport stream that is a switch point for tuning from the first transport stream to a second transport stream;   receiving a last frame of media content in the first transport stream, wherein the last frame immediately precedes the switch point;   initiating a switch to the second transport stream in response to receiving the last frame of media content while processing the last frame of media content through a decoder;   upon initiating the switch to the second transport stream, receiving a first frame of media content in the second transport stream; and   processing the first frame through the decoder.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the method further comprises outputting the last frame from an output of the decoder and disabling the output of the decoder. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the processing the first frame through the decoder further comprises enabling the output of the decoder to output the first frame. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein initiating the switch to the second transport stream further comprises:
 moving an inband tuner from receiving the first transport stream to receiving the second transport stream; and   acquiring the second transport stream.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein processing the last frame of media content through the decoder is performed simultaneously with initiating the switch to the second transport stream. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the first transport stream includes MPEG audio/video content for a first service, and wherein the second transport stream includes MPEG audio/video content for a second service. 
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the first transport stream and the second transport stream use a shared buffer, wherein the receiving of the last frame stores the last frame in the shared buffer, and wherein the receiving of the first frame stores the first frame in the shared buffer.