GB2384671A

GB2384671A - Internet radio system

Info

Publication number: GB2384671A
Application number: GB0201922A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Andrew White
Original assignee: Fujitsu Services Ltd
Current assignee: Fujitsu Services Ltd
Priority date: 2002-01-29
Filing date: 2002-01-29
Publication date: 2003-07-30
Also published as: GB0201922D0

Abstract

A method is described for delivering a radio programme consisting of music and speech portions. A live streaming Internet audio service at a predetermined URL 10 transmits the speech portions only of the radio programme to requesting users 13. This enables users to play back the speech portions of the programme as a live broadcast, and to play back previously stored music during the gaps between the speech portions. The previously stored music may be downloaded from a Website, which carries the music to be played on the programme. Alternatively, users may select their own choice of music. Preferably, the transmitted speech portions include coded signals indicating transitions between the speech portions and the music portions. The user device 13 may be a PC, a mobile phone, a PDA or a car radio for example.

Description

Internet Radio System Background to the Invention This invention relates to a method and apparatus for delivering radio programmes by way of the Internet, and is particularly although not exclusively concerned with delivering such programmes to mobile devices such as mobile phones.

Audio streaming technology for delivering broadcast radio programmes by way of the Internet is well known. This allows for example users to listen to radio stations while out of the normal coverage area for those stations, thereby giving users access to a much wider range of stations.

Such technology can be used with virtually any Internet end user device. In particular, it can be used with mobile devices, such as mobile phones or PDAs (Personal digital Assistants), as well as with conventional PCs (Personal Computers). However, broadcasting radio over mobile phone channels would be very wasteful, using up valuable bandwidth.

The object of the present invention is to provide a way of delivering a radio programme over the Internet, which is more economical in terms of bandwidth, at least on a digital mobile phone network, and which also provides the user with additional options compared with conventional Internet radio.

Summary of the Invention According to the invention a method of delivering a radio programme, consisting of music and speech portions comprises providing a live streaming Internet audio service at a predetermined URL, the service transmitting the speech portions only of the radio programme to requesting users, thereby enabling users to play back the speech portions of the programme

as a live broadcast, and to play back previously stored music during the gaps between the speech portions.

Description of an Embodiment of the Invention One method and apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a number of radio station servers 10, connected to the Internet 11 by way of their respective Internet Service Providers (ISP) 12. Each of the servers provides one or more Internet radio stations, each having a predetermined URL (Universal Resource Locator).

The radio station servers 10 may be accessed over the Internet by individual user devices 13, through the users'ISPs 14. The user devices may, for example, be conventional PCs with conventional browser software, or may be mobile devices such as Internet-enabled mobile phones or PDAs. The connection between the user device 13 and the Internet may be a land-line connection, or (usually in the case of a mobile device) may be a wireless Internet connection.

A user may access a particular radio station by entering the URL of the station in the browser, or by clicking on a link in a webpage. When a user accesses a radio station at a particular server 10, the server starts to send a stream of audio data packets to the user over the Internet. Each packet is routed the requesting user's device 13, by means of an end address in the packet. When the user's device receives the stream of packets, it converts (renders) the stream into an audio signal, and plays back the signal through a conventional audio system, allowing the user to listen to the selected radio station.

As described so far, the system is conventional. However, as shown in figure 2, instead of a complete radio programme, in the present system the server sends only the speech portions 20 of the programme, with gaps 21 between the speech portions where the music portions of the programme would occur. As a result, the Internet bandwidth required to transmit the radio programme is substantially reduced, at least on a digital network. These bandwidth savings are realised at the radio station, the radio station's ISP, and also at the user's ISP.

As shown in figure 2, the stream of packets sent by the server includes special codes 22,23, indicating"start of speech"and "end of speech". These codes are not recognised as audio data, and so are inaudible to the user. Each user device is arranged so that, when it receives an"end of speech"code 23, it starts playing back previously stored music. Conversely, when it receives a"start of speech"code 22, it fades out the music and reverts to playing back the audio signal derived from the packet stream. Thus, it can be seen that the user device plays back the speech portions of the radio programme as a live broadcast, and plays back the previously stored music during the gaps between the speech portions.

The stored music to be played back during the gaps between the speech portions of the radio programme may be downloaded from a special music website, provided either by the radio station operator or by a separate music provider. This website stores a number of music files, corresponding to the proposed music content of one or more radio programmes. The music files may be stored in any convenient format, for example MP3 files.

Prior to the broadcast of a programme, users may visit this website, download the music files to be played in that programme, and store these files on their devices. Typically, users will download the music on to their mobile devices, preferably by way of a land-line Internet connection, before

leaving home, and then listen to their chosen radio station on the mobile device while travelling, by way of a wireless Internet connection. The music may take some time to download, and may conveniently be scheduled as an overnight job.

Conveniently, a user may first download the files onto a PC, and then transfer these files to a mobile device, such as mobile phone or PDA, by way of any suitable link: for example the serial port on the PC, the USB (Universal Serial Bus) port on the PC, or an infrared link.

Alternatively, the stored music to be played back during the gaps between the speech portions of the radio programme may be the user's own personal selection, derived for example from the user's own CD collection or from previously downloaded MP3 files. This provides a"pick and mix"option, allowing users to listen to the speech parts of a programme as they are broadcast live, while listening to their own choice of music in the gaps between the speech. Of course, in that case, any references to the music in the speech part of the program will not necessarily match the actual music played.

Preferably, a radio station operating in accordance with the system described above will supply two URLs, one of which provides a stream of audio packets corresponding to the speech portions only, as described, and the other of which provides a stream of audio packets corresponding to the complete radio programme, i. e. both the speech portions and the music portions.

The second URL allows users to receive the complete radio programme in the conventional manner.

Some possible modifications It will be appreciated that many modifications may be made to the system described above without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, in alternative embodiments of the invention, the special codes shown in figure 2 may not be required. Thus, the music may be faded out on detecting the start of an audio packet, without requiring a"start of speech"code. Similarly, the music may be cued in when no audio packet has been received for a predetermined length of time, without requiring an"end of speech"code.

Other modifications might include a more sophisticated set of codes, for example allowing speech over a track being played.

This would save less bandwidth, but would mimic more closely how radio stations broadcast.

Another supplementary modification might be to include control codes in a system that broadcasts both speech and music. This would for example allow an end user to listen to the first few bars of a song and then, if desired, press a button on the device to override the broadcast music with their own. This could be made even more sophisticated such that, when the broadcast music is overridden, the end user device sends a message to the broadcaster to not broadcast anymore music packets for that song, thus saving bandwidth. The end user might have to select a special mode on the Internet device to enable this.

As well as mobile phones and PDAs, the invention may also be applied to other types of mobile device, such as car radios. In the case of an Internet car radio, for example, this may include a slot in which to plug a simple memory device that has been "charged"with the music on the user's PC. Alternatively, the Internet car radio may use music it has stored on its own CD, Minidisk or MP3 player.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A method of delivering a radio programme consisting of music and speech portions, the method comprising providing a live streaming Internet audio service at a predetermined URL, the service transmitting the speech portions only of the radio programme to requesting users, thereby enabling users to play back the speech portions of the programme as a live broadcast, and to play back previously stored music during the gaps between the speech portions.
2. A method according to claim 1, further including providing a Website from which users can download the music portions of the programme in advance.
3. A method according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the transmitted speech portions include coded signals indicating transitions between the speech portions and the music portions.
4. A method of receiving a radio programme, the method comprising: (a) accessing a live streaming Internet audio service at a predetermined URL, to receive a series of speech portions of the programme; and (b) playing back the speech portions as a live broadcast, and playing back stored music during the gaps between the speech portions.
5. A method according to claim 4, including using a portable device to access the service, to store the music, and to play back the speech and music.
6. A method according to claim 7, wherein the portable device is a mobile phone or PDA.

<Desc/Clms Page number 7>
7. A portable device for receiving a radio programme, consisting of music and speech, the device comprising : (a) means for accessing a live streaming Internet audio service at a predetermined URL, to receive a series of speech portions of the programme; and (b) means for playing back the speech portions as a live broadcast, and for playing back stored music during the gaps between the speech portions.
8. A method or apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.