Video transcoder stream multiplexing systems and methods

摘要

In some embodiments, a video (e.g. MPEG-2, H.264) transcoder channel pool is used to transcode multiple independent videos (programs) per channel substantially concurrently. A syntactically-unified combined input video stream is assembled by interleaving segments of different input video streams. The combined stream may be a container stream or elementary stream. Each segment includes one or more groups of pictures (GOP). The combined stream includes the payload video data of the input streams in unmodified form, and modified header data characterizing the combined stream as a single video stream. The combined input stream is transcoded using a single transcoder channel/input port to generate a combined output video stream. Multiple independent output video streams are assembled by de-interleaving segments of the combined output video stream according to stored interleaving break identifiers. Assembling the output video streams includes updating output video stream header fields according to stored header field data.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
employing software running on at least one programmable processor to assemble a syntactically-unified input video stream by interleaving groups of pictures (GOPs) from a plurality of independent input video streams into the syntactically-unified input video stream; employing a special-purpose hardware transcoder connected to the at least one programmable processor to transcode the syntactically-unified input video stream to generate a syntactically-unified output video stream; employing software running on the at least one programmable processor to recover a plurality of independent output video streams by de-interleaving GOPs from the syntactically-unified output video stream, and assembling the de-interleaved GOPs into the plurality of independent output video streams, each independent output video stream containing a transcoded content of a corresponding independent input video stream.