KR100772366B1 - System and method for providing content descriptor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a content descriptor providing system and method for providing a descriptor for content that can be provided by a network device that provides the content to the network device that requests the content so that a search or navigation can be easily performed.

A content descriptor providing system according to the present invention comprises: a first network device for inserting and transmitting a descriptor for content that can be provided in a transport stream transmitted to a network; A second network device for requesting a list of contents that can be provided through a network, and performing any one of searching and navigating desired content based on a descriptor for the received content according to the request; When a list of the contents is requested from a second network device, a transport stream including a descriptor of content that can be provided by itself and a descriptor of content that the first network device can provide is provided through the network. It includes a third network device to transmit to.

Therefore, it is possible to facilitate search or navigation for selecting desired content, and to freely search or navigate content regardless of a protocol used between network devices.

Description

System and method for providing content descriptor

1 is a block diagram of a content descriptor providing system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a transmission (TS) stream transmission apparatus provided in the first to nth devices and the set-top box shown in FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram of PMT input and output PMT to the PMT parsing and changer illustrated in FIG. 2.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a network device that provides content in a content descriptor providing method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a system and method for providing a content descriptor, and more particularly, to a system and method for providing content descriptor information for searching or navigating desired content between network devices.                         

With the spread and development of the digital age, many digital products have been proposed. In addition, a network environment for connecting a plurality of digital products to a single network and transmitting and receiving content with each other is provided. Accordingly, currently proposed digital products such as digital TV (DTV), DVD player, digital VCR (DVCR), cable set-top box (STB), etc. are implemented as network devices having functions capable of connecting to a network. have.

However, in the current network environment, when searching or navigating to receive content, the user must know key information for searching or navigating to the corresponding content. For example, a user may need to know channel information or title information provided with desired content to search or navigate to desired content. Therefore, when the user does not know key information for searching or navigating for desired content, the corresponding content cannot be provided.

An object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for providing a content descriptor for providing a descriptor for content that can be provided by a network device that provides the content to a network device that requests the content so that a search or navigation for the content can be easily performed.

In order to achieve the above object, a content descriptor providing system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is a system for providing a descriptor of content that can be provided through a network. A first network device for inserting and sending a descriptor; Requesting a list of contents that can be provided to a first network device through a network, and receiving a descriptor for content transmitted from the first network device according to the request to perform one of searching and navigation of desired content; It is preferable to include 2 network devices.

In order to achieve the above object, a content descriptor providing system according to another embodiment of the present invention is a system for providing a descriptor of content that can be provided through a network, the descriptor for the content that can be provided to the transport stream transmitted to the network A first network device which inserts and transmits it; A second network device for requesting a list of contents that can be provided through a network, and performing any one of searching and navigating desired content based on a descriptor for the received content according to the request; When a list of the contents is requested from a second network device, a transport stream including a descriptor of content that can be provided by itself and a descriptor of content that the first network device can provide is provided through the network. It is preferred to include a third network device to transmit to.

When the protocol layer between the first network device and the second network device is different, the third network device converts the transport stream transmitted from the first network device to be dependent on the protocol of the second network device to the second network device. It is desirable to transmit.

The content descriptor providing system further includes a storage device for storing a descriptor of the content at a desired time of the first network device, the storage device is connected to a network, and the third network device is a list of contents from the second network device. When is required, it is desirable to include the descriptor of the content stored in the storage device in the transport stream for transmission.

Each of the first network device and the third network device may include: a user-defined table generator for generating a user-defined table using at least one data corresponding to a descriptor; A transport stream information changing unit for changing transport stream information such that the program map table included in the transport stream to be transmitted to the network includes transport stream identification information for the user defined table; It is preferable to include a transmission unit for transmitting the transport stream rearranged according to the first predetermined standard to the network, the transport stream output from the user-defined table information and the transport stream information change unit.

In the system for providing a descriptor of the content according to another embodiment of the present invention to achieve the above object, a network having a plurality of network devices for inserting and sending a descriptor for the content that can be provided to the transport stream transmitted to the network Device group; A computer for requesting a list of contents that can be provided through the network, and receiving a descriptor for content transmitted through the network according to a request to perform one of searching and navigating desired content; When a list of contents is requested from a computer through a network, a transport stream including a descriptor of content that can be provided by the computer and a descriptor of content that can be provided by the plurality of network devices is transmitted to the computer through the network. It is preferable to include a set top box.

In order to achieve the above object, a method of providing a content descriptor according to the present invention is a method of providing a descriptor of content that can be provided through a network to which a plurality of network devices are connected. The at least one network device may include inserting a descriptor for content in a transport stream sent to the network; When one of the network devices requests a list of the contents through a network, collecting a transport stream including a descriptor of the contents from at least one network device capable of providing the contents; And transmitting the collected transport stream to the network device that requested the list of content so that the network device that requested the list of content can perform either search or navigation for the content.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of a content descriptor providing system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a content descriptor providing system according to the present invention includes a network 101, a personal computer (PC) 102, a set-top box 103, and a first device. A device group 104 composed of the 104th through nth devices 104_n and a storage device 105 are provided.

The network 101 may be configured with a serial bus such as IEEE 1394 or a communication network structure such as Ethernet or the Internet, depending on the environment to which the content descriptor providing system is applied. Data transmitted through the network 101 has a transport stream structure.

Computer 102 is a device that searches for content or navigates to select desired content. To this end, the computer 102 sends a signal to the network 101 requesting a content list. Accordingly, when a descriptor of the content is received from the network 101, the computer 102 displays the received descriptor. The computer 102 user uses the computer 102 to search or navigate to the desired content based on the descriptor displayed. Descriptors are titles, dates, descriptions, ratings, protections, purchases, durations, directors, actors Information that helps the user select content, such as language information with caption and audio and whether time shift occurs.

The set top box 103 provides descriptor information of the collected content to the PC 102. That is, when the content list request signal transmitted from the PC 102 is received through the network 101, the set-top box 103 is a group of devices 104 connected to the network 101 and a descriptor of the content held by the PC. ), The descriptors of the contents generated from the first to nth devices 104_1 to 104_n and the descriptors of the contents stored in the storage device 105 are collected. The descriptor of the collected content is provided to the PC 102 via the network 101.

At this time, the set-top box 103 may collect only descriptors provided from the device group 104 and the storage device 105 if there is no content owned by the set-top box 103. In addition, when there is content that can be provided only in the set-top box 103, the set-top box 103 may transmit only the descriptor of the content held by the set-top box 103 to the network 101. If the descriptor of content that can be provided exists only in the storage device 105, the set-top box 103 collects only the descriptor of content stored in the storage device 105 through the network 101 to the PC 102. Can provide.

In addition, when only some of the first to nth devices 104_1 to 104_n included in the device group 104 provide descriptors of the content, the set-top box 103 may include content of only the corresponding devices. Collect descriptors. In addition, when the content list requested from the PC 102 is limited to the first device 104_1, the set-top box 103 stores the descriptor and the content of the content generated from the first device 104_1 via the network 101. The content descriptor for the first device 104_1 stored in the device 105 is collected.

When providing the descriptor of the content in this way, the set-top box 103 when the protocol layer set in the device group 104 and the storage device 105 and the protocol layer set in the PC 102 are different. The descriptor of the content collected from the device group 104 or / and the storage device 105 is converted into a form dependent on the protocol layer of the PC 102 and provided to the PC 102 via the network 101.                     

For example, the PC 102 and the set-top box 103 are operated by UPnp (Universal Plug and Play) protocol, and between the set-top box 103 and the device group 104 or the set-top box 103 and the storage device ( 105 is operated with the AV / C (Audio video / Commnand and control) protocol, the set-top box 103 is a UPnp protocol descriptor of the content collected from the device group 104 or / and storage 105 The data is converted into a form suitable for the network and sent to the network 101.

The first to nth devices 104_1 to 104_n in the device group 104 are devices capable of providing content by being connected to the network 101 and are digital devices such as DTVs, DVD players, and DVCRs. The first to nth devices 104_1 to 104_n generate content descriptors, insert the generated content descriptors into the TS stream, and transmit the generated content descriptors to the set top box 103 through the network 101. When the PC 102 wants to be provided with content from the first device 104_1 by searching or navigating the content according to the data transmission method, the PC 102 is connected to the first through the set-top box 103 and the network 101. The operation of the device 104_1 is controlled. The first to nth devices 104_1 to 104_n internally generate a TS stream including a content descriptor, and then, regardless of whether the set top box 103 is collected or the content list request of the PC 102, the network ( 101) and transmits the generated TS stream.

The storage device 105 is composed of a device such as an A / V hard disk. The storage device 105 receives and stores TS streams containing content descriptors generated from the first to nth devices 104_1 to 104_n through the network 101, respectively. The storage device 105 may store all TS streams generated from the first to nth devices 104_1 to 104_n, or may store only desired TS streams. That is, when the first device 104_1 does not want to store the TS stream that is currently generated in the storage device 105, the storage device 105 does not store the TS stream output from the first device 104_1. . The TS stream stored in the storage device 105 is a TS stream generated before the TS streams generated by the first to nth devices 104_1 to 104_n, and is a TS stream into which a content descriptor is inserted.

The PC 102, the set top box 103, the first to nth devices 104_1 to 104_n, and the storage device 105 are network devices that can be connected to the network 101.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a transmission (TS) stream transmission apparatus provided in the first to nth devices 104_1 to 104_n and the set top box 103 shown in FIG. 1 according to the present invention. The transport stream transmitter includes a user-defined table generator 201, a transport stream information changer 202, and a multiplexer 205.

The user-defined table generator 201 forms and generates a user-defined table using at least one data corresponding to the input descriptor. The data corresponding to the input descriptor is data corresponding to the items described in the computer 101 described above. The user-defined table is formed by combining input descriptor data according to preset criteria.

The transport stream information changing unit 202 includes a TS stream demultiplexer 203 and a PMT parsing and changing unit 204 that demultiplex an input TS stream by a control signal. The TS stream demultiplexer 203 serves as a filter for filtering only TS streams that are desired to be transmitted in the TS stream input by the control signal. The input TS stream is provided from a tuner (not shown) when the corresponding device is a DTV.

The control signal is set according to a condition for a transport stream that a corresponding device wants to transmit. For example, when only the video stream and the audio stream are to be transmitted, a control signal is provided so that only the video stream and the audio stream are transmitted in the TS stream input to the TS stream demultiplexer 203. In addition, the demultiplexer 203 transmits a program map table (abbreviated as PMT) included in the TS stream to the PMT parser and changer 204 according to the control signal.

The PMT parsing and changing unit 204 analyzes identification information for each TS stream type included in the input PMT. And it compares with the some identification information previously set as identification information of a user-defined table. As a result of the comparison, identification information having a higher priority among identification information that is not identical is determined as identification information of the user-defined table. Then, the PMT is changed so that the identification information of the determined user-defined table is added to the PMT.

An example of modification of the PMT is as shown in FIG. 3. That is, FIG. 3 (a) is an example of PMT in which the identification information of the video stream included in the currently transmitted TS stream is defined as '0x100' and the identification information of the audio stream is defined as '0x100'. (b) is an example of a modified PMT in which '0x1ff' is further defined as the identification information of the user-defined table in the PMT as shown in FIG.

The multiplexer 205 selectively stores the TS stream for the user-defined table transmitted from the user-defined table generator 201, the filtered transport stream transmitted from the transport stream information changing unit 202, and the changed PMT stream according to the control signal. send. The control signal is set based on a transport standard for a transport stream defined in MPEG. Therefore, the TS stream output from the multiplexer 205 satisfies the transport stream standard defined in MPEG. The TS stream output from the multiplexer 205 is transmitted to the network 101 through a network interface (not shown) provided in the corresponding network device. Therefore, the multiplexer 205 rearranges the TS streams and operates as the transmitter.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a network device for providing content in the content descriptor providing method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

First, the network device capable of providing the content generates a user-defined table as in the user-defined table generator 201 of FIG. 2 using the data included in the descriptor in step 401. The network device may be any one of the set-top box 103 of FIG. 1 or the first to nth devices 104_1 to 104_n.

In step 402, the PMT is extracted while filtering the TS stream to be transmitted. PMT extraction uses the conventional method of filtering the transmitted TS stream. In step 403, the PMT is changed such that the extracted PMT includes identification information for the user-defined table as in the example of FIG.

The TS stream in which the user defined table, the filtered TS stream, and the changed PMT are rearranged is transmitted to the network 101 in step 404.                     

The set-top box 103 is a TS stream containing content descriptors transmitted from the device group 104 through the network 101 according to the content list request of the PC 101, and a content descriptor stored in the storage device 105. The TS stream including the TS stream and the TS stream including the descriptor of the content held by the TS stream are transmitted to the PC 102 through the network 101. When the received content descriptor is displayed, the PC 102 searches or navigates to desired content based on the received content descriptor.

According to the present invention described above, by inserting a descriptor for the content that can be provided by the network device providing the content to the transmission (TS) stream to provide a feature and information about the content to the network device requesting the content, the desired content is selected To facilitate a search or navigation.

In addition, when the protocol layers between network devices are different, the descriptor of the content is converted into a protocol-dependent form of the requesting network device in the set-top box having a proxy function and provided to the requesting network device. Accordingly, not only the content but also the descriptor for the content can be provided between network devices having different protocol layers, so that the content can be freely searched or navigated regardless of the protocol used between the network devices.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and variations of the present invention can be made by those skilled in the art within the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the claims in the present invention will not be defined within the scope of the detailed description will be defined by the claims below.

Claims (11)

In the system for providing a descriptor of the content that can be provided over a network, A first network device for inserting and sending descriptors for content that can be provided in a transport stream transmitted to the network; Requests a list of contents that can be provided to the first network device through the network, and receives a descriptor for the content transmitted from the first network device according to the request, thereby searching for and searching for desired content. A content descriptor providing system comprising a second network device to perform. In the system for providing a descriptor of the content that can be provided over a network, A first network device for inserting and sending descriptors for content that can be provided in a transport stream transmitted to the network; A second network device for requesting a list of contents that can be provided through the network, and performing one of searching and navigating desired contents based on a descriptor for the contents received according to the request; When the list of the content is requested from the second network device, a transport stream including a descriptor of content that can be provided by itself and a descriptor of content that the first network device can provide is provided through the network. 2. A content descriptor providing system comprising a third network device for transmitting to a network device. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the third network device is configured to transmit a transport stream transmitted from the first network device to a protocol of the second network device when the protocol layer between the first network device and the second network device is different. The content descriptor providing system, characterized in that for converting to be dependent to transmit to the second network device. The system of claim 2, wherein the content descriptor providing system comprises: And a storage device for storing a descriptor of the content at a desired time of the first network device. The storage device is connected to the network, and when the list of the content is requested from the second network device, the third network device includes a descriptor of the content stored in the storage device in the transport stream for transmission. Content descriptor providing system, characterized in that. The method of claim 2, wherein the first network device and the third network device, respectively, A user-defined table generator for generating a user-defined table using at least one data corresponding to the descriptor; A transport stream information changing unit configured to change transport stream information such that a transport map identification of the user-defined table is included in a program map table included in the transport stream to be transmitted to the network; And a transmission unit configured to transmit, to the network, a transport stream in which the user-defined table information and the transport stream output from the transport stream information change unit are rearranged according to a first predetermined standard. The method of claim 5, wherein the transport stream information changing unit, A transport stream filter for filtering the transport stream to be transmitted to the network according to a second predetermined transmission standard and transmitting the filtered stream to the transmission unit; Providing a content descriptor including a program map parser and a parser for parsing a program map table transmitted from the transport stream filter, changing the program map table so that transport stream identification information for the user defined table is defined, and transmitting the program map table to the transmission unit. system. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first predetermined standard is set based on a transmission standard for a transmission stream defined in MPEG, and the second predetermined standard is for a transport stream that a corresponding network device wants to transmit. Content descriptor providing system, characterized in that set according to the conditions. In the system for providing a descriptor of the content that can be provided over a network, A network device group including a plurality of network devices for inserting and sending descriptors for contents that can be provided in a transport stream transmitted to the network; A computer for requesting a list of contents that can be provided through the network, and receiving a descriptor for the content transmitted through the network according to the request to perform any one of searching and navigating desired content; When the list of the contents is requested from the computer through the network, the transport stream including the descriptors of the contents which can be provided by the computer and the descriptors of the contents which can be provided by the plurality of network devices is transmitted through the network. A system for providing content descriptors, including a set-top box for transferring to a computer. The system of claim 8, wherein the content descriptor providing system comprises: And a storage device for storing descriptors of contents generated at a desired time of the plurality of network devices, respectively. And the set-top box reads a descriptor of the content stored in the storage device and includes it in the transport stream and transmits it to the computer when the list of the content is requested. In the method for providing a descriptor of the content that can be provided through a network to which a plurality of network devices are connected, At least one network device of the plurality of network devices capable of providing the content, inserting a descriptor for the content in a transport stream sent to the network; Collecting a transport stream including a descriptor of the content from at least one network device capable of providing the content when one of the plurality of network devices requests the list of the content through the network; ; Transmitting the collected transport stream to a network device that has requested the list of content so that the network device that has requested the list of content can perform either search or navigation for the content. How to provide a descriptor. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein inserting a descriptor for the content comprises: defining identification information of the descriptor inserted into the transport stream in a program map table included in the transport stream. Way.

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