Seamless channel changing in a digital-television-based entertainment
network can be implemented, for example, by providing an intra frame to a
client device upon a change to a new channel even when the broadcast
video data is previously compressed on a macroblock basis. In an
exemplary implementation, a method includes: receiving a stream of
broadcast video data that is encoded on a macroblock basis; continuously
decoding the stream of broadcast video data into successive decoded
images; and transmitting, responsive to a channel change message received
from a client device, an intra frame that has been encoded from a decoded
image of the successive decoded images. Other exemplary implementations
are described herein.