KR101356500B1 - Method for processing a channel information, method for receiveing a digital broadcasting and apparatus for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a channel information processing method, a digital broadcast reception method and a receiver, and the channel information processing method according to the present invention comprises the steps of receiving at least two or more channel identification information, and receiving the received channel identification information. Forming parts of the channel information by the number.

Therefore, according to the present invention, various types of content channels can be easily distinguished, channel information formats can be edited using various information on channels, and desired content channels can be easily searched. . In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to distinguish each channel while using the existing channel number used by the content provider.

IPTV, channel number

Description

Method for processing a channel information, method for receiveing a digital broadcasting and apparatus for the same}

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of using provider identification information as part of channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a diagram illustrating an example of using region identification information as part of channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram illustrating a region code table for region identification information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 illustrates an example of using source identification information of a content as part of channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of using content identification information of a content as part of channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram for one example of using characteristic identification information of content data as part of channel information according to one embodiment of the present invention;

7 illustrates an example of using channel grade identification information as part of channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a diagram illustrating an example in which region identification information is used as part of multi-channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9 illustrates an example in which source identification information of a content is used as part of multi-channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which region identification information and source identification information of content are used as part of multi-channel information, respectively, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example in which provider identification information, region identification information, and source identification information of content are used as part of multi-channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

12 is a diagram illustrating a record including information on a service provider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of implementing the record of FIG. 12 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

14 is a diagram illustrating a record including information on content according to an embodiment of the present invention.

15 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

16 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a process of processing multi-channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

1502: network interface unit 1504: IP manager

1506: Application & UI Manager 1508: CM Department

1510: service information decoder 1512: service information database unit

1514: service discovery manager 1516: service control manager

1518 CAS / DRM Part 1520 Service Delivery Manager

1522: Demultiplexer 1524: Audio / Video Decoder

1526: display unit 1528: storage unit

1530: system manager 1532: storage medium control unit

1534: storage media

The present invention relates to a channel information processing method, a digital broadcast reception method, and a receiver, and more particularly, to a channel information processing method, a digital broadcast reception method, and a receiver capable of distinguishing various content channels.

Conventional TVs transmit contents produced by broadcasters through radio wave transmission media such as terrestrial waves, cable or satellite broadcasts, and users are provided with a service through a television receiver capable of receiving the transmission media .

However, as digital-based digital TV technology has been developed and commercialized in the existing analog broadcasting, various types such as real time broadcasting, contents on demand (GOD), games, news, etc., using the internet network connected to each household in addition to the existing radio media. It is now possible to provide a content service of the user.

An example of providing a content service using the Internet network may be an Internet Protocol TV (IPTV). The IPTV refers to transmitting various information services, moving picture contents, broadcasting, and the like to a user's television using a high-speed Internet network.

In the case of the service using the Internet network as described above, unlike general terrestrial broadcasting or satellite broadcasting, bi-directionality can be added, and the user can watch the content service he wants to view at a convenient time.

However, when the existing channel number management system is applied as it is, the characteristics using the Internet network are not reflected, and it is difficult to distinguish various types of content services provided through the Internet network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a channel information processing method, a digital broadcast reception method, and a receiver capable of distinguishing various content channels.

In the channel information processing method according to the present invention for solving the above problems, receiving at least two or more channel identification information, and forming a part of the channel information by the number of the channel identification information received; It includes.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a digital broadcast receiver includes a service discovery manager for parsing a packet including information about content or information about a provider, and extracting the information included in the packet, to the information or provider about the content extracted from the packet. A service information database unit for storing information about the service information; a channel manager for creating and managing a channel map using the stored information; and an application / UI manager for accessing a content channel of input multipart channel information using the channel map. Include.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for receiving digital broadcasting, extracting information included in the packet by parsing a packet including information about content or information about a provider, and about information or provider about content extracted from the packet. Storing information, creating and managing a channel map using the stored information, and accessing a content channel of input multi-part channel information using the channel map.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In addition, although the term used in the present invention is selected as a general term that is widely used at present, in some cases, there is a term arbitrarily selected by the applicant. In this case, the meaning is described in detail in the description of the present invention. It is to be understood that the present invention should be grasped as a meaning of a term other than a name.

Operation of the channel information processing method, the digital broadcast reception method, and the receiver according to the present invention configured as described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) system, which is an example of a system that can provide various contents using the Internet, can be largely divided into a server, a network, and a receiver.

The servers of the IPTV are servers that perform various functions such as service discovery and selection server, streaming server, contents guide information server, customer information server, and payment information server. It can be configured as.

Among the servers, the streaming server transmits the stored Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) 2 or MPEG4 encoded video data to the user through a network. As a protocol for the transmission, RTP (RFC 1889: Real-Time Transport Protocol), RTCP (RFC3605: RTP Control Protocol) and the like can be used.

When using RTSP (RFC2326: Real-Time Streaming Protocol), you can control video stream playback to some extent through a function called network trick play, such as Pause, Replay, and Stop. It may be.

The content guide information server is a server that provides information on the various contents provided. The content guide information is information corresponding to electronic program guide (EPG) information and includes various information about content. The content guide information server stores content guide information data, and provides the stored data to the receiver.

An information server for service discovery and selection among the servers provides access information, playback information, and the like to servers providing various contents services such as broadcasting, contents on demand (COD), and games.

The network system consists of an internet based network and gateways. In addition to general data transfer, the gateway may perform multicast group management and quality of service (QoS) management using protocols such as Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP).

A receiver of an IPTV is a receiver capable of receiving data transmitted through an internet network and providing the same to a user. The receiver includes an IPTV settop, a homenet gateway, an IPTV embedded TV, and the like.

In the case of a hybrid IPTV system, various types of contents of the Internet as well as various types of existing broadcasting contents may be provided. That is, the user can provide various broadcasting contents such as terrestrial broadcasting, cable broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, personal broadcasting, various internet video contents, data contents other than video, and the like. The contents may be provided in real time or may be provided on demand.

As the types of content that can be provided as described above are diversified, it is difficult to distinguish various content channels using only the existing number system, and users may feel difficulty in selecting content channels.

Therefore, unlike the existing channel information system that separates channels by using one number or divides channels by using a major channel number and a minor channel number of a corresponding main channel, a plurality of parts Various content channels can be easily distinguished using a channel information system composed of parts. The part refers to a division unit of the channel information, and each part may include a number or text corresponding to the number. Hereinafter, channel information consisting of multiple parts will be described as multi-part channel information.

In the multi-part channel information system, the number of parts, the nature of each part, the order of parts, and the like may be implemented in various forms in consideration of ease of channel division, user convenience, and characteristics of provided content. For example, the number of parts may be two or more. In addition, one or more new parts may be added while using an existing numbering system for compatibility with an existing broadcasting system. Hereinafter, a concrete example of the multi-part channel information will be described.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of using provider identification information as part of channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In terms of providing a content service, the IPTV system may be divided into a content provider (CP), a service provider (SP), a network provider (NP), and a user. The content provider produces and provides various contents, and the service provider provides a variety of contents packaged by the contents providers. The network provider provides a network for providing the service to a user. The user may be provided with the service by building a home network end user (HNED).

In the case of the embodiment of FIG. 1, channels of various contents may be distinguished using each provider identification information as one or more parts. That is, the channel may be divided by dividing the parts according to the information on the type of the provider in the multi-part channel information. For example, when the content provider identification information is determined as one part, the channel of the content may be classified according to the type of the content provider. Similarly, the service provider identification information or the network provider identification information can be divided into one part, and according to the type of the service provider or the network provider, the channel of the content can be divided.

In the example of FIG. 1, a code for identifying each content provider CP may be used from 0 to 999, and a code for identifying a service provider SP may be used for 0 to 99. A code for identifying the network provider NP may be used from 0 to 99, and a sequential number for channel identification at the user side may be used from 0 to 999. Providers in each unit may be identified by the number of the identification number, and the number may be increased when the number of providers is large. Accordingly, the numbers are only examples and the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the numbers.

Multipart channel information may be implemented using the provider identification information as described above. For example, 4-part channel information may be used when content channels are distinguished using all the information on the four types of providers. In the case of using the 4 parts, the channel information system may be in a format such as 'content provider'-'service provider'-'network provider'-'sequential number'.

Assume that the code of 'MBC', one of the content providers, is 100, the code of 'HanaTV', one of the service providers, and the code of 'DACOM,' one of the network providers, is 1. If the user wants to watch the broadcast content of MBC provided by HanaTV using the DACOM network, the user may input '100-2-1-xxx'. When the sequence number code on the user side of the broadcast content provided by the MBC is 003, the user may input '100-2-1-003' to watch the desired content. The sequence number may be a broadcast channel number that has been used previously.

For each part, text corresponding to the code may be used instead of a code value, and a combination of code value and text may be used. For example, the format of 'MBC-HanaTV-DACOM-003' may be used for the 4 part channel information, or the desired content may be viewed using the format of 'MBC-2-1-003'.

The multi-part channel information using the information of each provider is an example, and the order of parts may vary according to implementation examples, and parts may be omitted. For example, if you use a three-part format such as 'Service Provider'-'Content Provider'-'Sequential Number', you can use the format such as '2-100-003' or '2-MBC-003'. You can watch the broadcast contents of MBC provided by HanaTV.

Alternatively, the multipart channel information may be implemented by using one or more provider identification information and other types of information together. For example, the multi-channel channel information may be implemented by using the existing channel number together with the provider identification information. The existing channel number is an identification number used by each content provider, which may be one number or a number consisting of a major channel number and a minor channle number.

As an example, it is assumed that 'KBS', a broadcast transmitter providing terrestrial broadcasting through a '11 -1 'channel (major channel-minor channel), provides broadcast content to IPTV users through' HanaTV ', an IPTV service provider. When the user uses multi-part channel information in a two-part format such as 'service provider'-'existing channel number', the user can watch the broadcast content of KBS provided by HanaTV by entering '2-11-1'. For each part, text corresponding to the code may be used instead of a code value.

In each of the above examples, the number of parts, the number of parts, and the order of parts are just one example, and the number of parts may be increased or decreased according to an implementation example, and the type of parts may be changed.

The code values for the sequence numbers on each content provider, service provider, network provider and user side should be predefined in the receiver. The values may be received and stored together when receiving information about each provider at the receiver.

2 is a diagram illustrating an example of using region identification information as part of channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the above example, the content channel may be divided by using the content providing area, the service providing area of the service provider, the network providing area of the network provider, and the area code information of the user as one or more parts.

For example, if the content providing area identification information is defined as one part, the channel of the content can be classified according to the area where the content is provided, and the service providing area identification information or the network providing area identification information is used as one part. In this case, content channels may be classified according to the region where a service is provided or the type of region where a network is provided.

3 is a diagram illustrating an area code table relating to area identification information according to an embodiment of the present invention. An example of the region code table is an administrative computer network region code table, which shows each region code of Korea. The area code for identifying the area is in the form of 'AABBCCCC00', where 'AA' is the information in city and province units, 'BB' is the city, county and district information, and 'CCCC' is the town, town, Information of the same unit is shown. The region code system may vary according to each country, and the example is only one embodiment. The area code table as described above may be stored in the receiver in advance or downloaded by the user and stored in the receiver.

Multi-part channel information may be implemented using each region identification information and region code as described above. For example, four-part channel information may be used by using all four types of region identification information, such as 'content providing region'-'service serving region'-'network serving region'-'user region'. Multipart channel information may be implemented using one or more parts of identification information.

It is assumed that two-part channel information using two region identification information of 'content providing area'-'service providing area' is used. If an IPTV service provider in Jongno-gu, Seoul, provides broadcasting content provided by Seongsan-eup, Namjeju-gun, the user may input '4972025900-1111000000' to watch the content provided by Seongsan-eup, Namjeju-gun. '4972025900' is the area code of Seongsan-eup, Namjeju-gun, and '1111000000' is the area code of Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Instead of the code value, the text corresponding to the code may be used for each part, and a combination of the code value and the text may be used. For example, in the example of the two-part channel information, a format of '1111000000', Seongsan-eup, Namjeju-gun, may be used, or desired content may be viewed using a format of 4972025900-Jongno-gu, Seoul.

The multi-part channel information using each region identification information is an example, and the order of parts may vary according to implementation examples, and parts may be omitted. Alternatively, multi-part channel information may be implemented by using other types of information in addition to the region identification information.

It is assumed that the service provider identification information and the area identification information described in FIG. 1 are used together. If using the two-part channel information using the content providing area identification information and service provider identification information, and the user wants to watch the content provided by Seongsan-eup, Namjeju-gun, among the contents provided by 'HanaTV', enter '4972025900-2'. To watch the desired content. Similarly, text corresponding to the code may be used for each part instead of a code value.

Alternatively, for example, multi-part channel information may be implemented by using an existing channel number together with the region identification information.

For example, 'KBS', a broadcast transmitter that provides terrestrial broadcasting, provides terrestrial broadcasting content through '11 -1 'channel (major channel-minor channel) in Seongsan-eup, Namjeju-gun, and terrestrial broadcasting using '11 -1' channel in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Assume that broadcast content is provided. The '11 -1 'channel number is an existing channel number in each region that KBS uses in terrestrial waves.

When 'HanaTV', an IPTV service provider, provides all KBS broadcasting contents in each region, the user can select multipart channel information in a three-part format such as' service provider '-'content providing region'-'existing channel number'. You can use to distinguish channels.

That is, when the service provider code value of HanaTV is 2, the user may input '2-4972025900-11-1' to watch KBS broadcasting provided by Seongsan-eup, Namjeju-gun through HanaTV service. If the user inputs '2-1111000000-11-1', KBS broadcasting provided by Jongno-gu, Seoul can be viewed through HanaTV service.

In the case of implementing the multi-part channel information using the region identification information, code values for a region providing each content, a service providing region of a service provider, a network providing region of a network provider, and a user region should be previously defined in the receiver. do. When the receiver receives the information on each provider, the receiver receives the code value for the region together and is used to distinguish the channel of the content. By comparing the received code value with the value of the area code table as shown in FIG. 3, each part may be expressed in text and channels may be distinguished.

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of using source identification information of a content as part of channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention. Content provided through an IPTV service may be provided from various kinds of sources. For example, various broadcasting contents such as terrestrial broadcasting, cable broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, personal broadcasting, various internet image contents on the Internet, data contents other than images, and the like may be provided.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, channels of various contents may be distinguished by using source identification information of each of the contents as one or more parts. That is, the channel may be classified according to the source type of the content in the multi-part channel information.

In the example of FIG. 4, terrestrial broadcast content is 001, cable broadcast content is 002, satellite broadcast content is 003, private broadcast content is 004, education institution (Education) Institution) The broadcast content has a code value of 005 and the other content 999. Each source type may be distinguished by the number of the code values. When the number of the corresponding source types is large, the number may be increased and the order may be changed. Accordingly, the numbers are merely examples and the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the numbers.

Multi-part channel information may be implemented by using the content source identification information as at least one part. For example, the multi-part channel information may be implemented using the content source identification information and the existing channel number.

KBS, a terrestrial broadcaster, provides terrestrial broadcast content through the 11-1 channel (major channel-minor channel), while cable broadcaster Gangnam Cable Broadcaster provides 4, 5, It is assumed that cable broadcasting contents are provided in three channels of '6', and that satellite broadcasting provider 'skylife' provides satellite broadcasting contents in four channels of '1', '5', '6', and '10'. . The channel numbers are existing channel numbers used by each broadcasting company.

The user can use two part multipart channel information such as 'content source'-'existing channel number' to distinguish channels according to the source. When the code values of the respective content sources are shown in FIG. 4, the user may input '001-11-1' to watch KBS broadcast, which is a terrestrial broadcast. If '002-5' is inputted, channel 5 of Gangnam cable broadcasting, which is cable broadcasting, can be watched. If '003-5' is inputted, channel 5 of skylife, which is satellite broadcasting, can be viewed.

If the content source code value of the Internet video content is defined as '006', the user may input the 2 part format such as '006-IP address or channel number' to watch the desired content. As described above, the user can directly input the IP address where the Internet video content to be stored is stored or a channel number defined corresponding to the IP address can be watched.

The number of parts, the order, types, and the like of the parts are just examples, and may vary according to implementation examples. For example, it is assumed that 'HanaTV', an IPTV service provider, provides a service package to a user by terrestrial broadcasting, cable broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, and internet video contents. If the user wants to select and watch one of the contents provided by the HanaTV among various service providers, the channel information in a three-part format in which a part indicating service provider identification information is added may be used.

That is, channel information in a format such as 'service provider'-'content source'-'existing channel number' may be used. When the service provider code value of the HanaTV is 2, the user may input '2-001-11-1' to watch channel 11-1 of KBS broadcasting, which is a terrestrial broadcast provided by HanaTV, If you input -5 ', you can watch channel 5 of Gangnam Cable Broadcasting, a cable broadcast provided by HanaTV.

When the content source code value of the Internet video content is defined as '006', the user may input channel information such as '2-006-IP address or channel number' to watch the Internet video content provided by HanaTV. In this case, the desired Internet video content may be viewed by directly inputting an IP address where the desired Internet video content is stored or by inputting a channel number defined corresponding to the IP address.

Similarly, in each of the above examples, text corresponding to the code may be used for each part instead of the code value.

The receiver must have predefined code values for each content source, and the values can be received and stored together when the receiver receives information about the content provider or the service provider.

5 is a diagram illustrating an example of using content identification information of a content as part of channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the case of content provided through an IPTV service, content of various contents may be provided. Accordingly, the multi-part channel information may be implemented by dividing channels according to contents of the provided contents.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, channels of various contents may be distinguished by using content identification information of each of the contents as one or more parts. That is, channels may be classified according to the content or genre of the content in the multi-part channel information.

In the example of FIG. 5, the content of the sports genre is 001, the content of the movie genre is 002, the content of the news genre is 003, the content of the drama genre is 004, and the documentary is documentary. The genre content has a code value of 005 and the content of other genres has a code value of 999. The content of each content can be distinguished by the number of the code value. When the number of the corresponding content types is large, the number can be increased and the order can be changed. Accordingly, the numbers are merely examples and the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the numbers.

Multi-part channel information may be implemented using the content content identification information as at least one or more parts to manage and view a channel for each content content. For example, the multi-part channel information may be implemented using the content content identification information and the existing channel number.

'KBS', a broadcaster providing terrestrial broadcasting, provides sports broadcasting contents through the channel '11 -2 '(major channel-minor channel), and cable broadcasting company' Gangnam Cable Broadcasting 'has recorded sports broadcasting contents' 5'. As a channel, it is assumed that the movie content is provided to channel '6'. The channel numbers are existing channel numbers used by each broadcasting company.

The user can distinguish channels according to contents by using multi-part channel information of two parts such as 'content contents'-'existing channel numbers'. When the code values of the respective content sources are shown in FIG. 5, the user may input '001-11-2' to watch sports channel broadcast of KBS, which is a terrestrial broadcaster. If '001-5' is inputted, the sports channel broadcast of Gangnam cable broadcasting, which is cable broadcasting, can be watched, and if '002-6' is inputted, the movie channel broadcasting of Gangnam cable broadcasting can be viewed.

The number of parts, the order, types, and the like of the parts are just examples, and may vary according to implementation examples. For example, it is assumed that 'HanaTV', an IPTV service provider, provides a service package and provides the above-described contents to a user. When the user wants to select and watch one of the contents provided by the HanaTV among various service providers, the channel information of a 3 part format in which a part indicating service provider identification information is added may be used.

That is, channel information in a format such as 'service provider'-'content contents'-'existing channel number' may be used. When the service provider code value of the HanaTV is 2, the user may input a '2-001-11-2' to watch a sports channel broadcasting of KBS broadcasting, which is a terrestrial broadcasting provided by HanaTV, If you input ', you can watch sports channel broadcasting of Gangnam cable broadcasting, a cable broadcasting provided by HanaTV.

In the case where the content content is used for two or more parts, the channel content may be divided by subdividing the content content. For example, KBS, a broadcaster who provides terrestrial broadcasting, provides sports news content through '11 -3 'channel and sports movie content through '11 -4' channel, and cable It is assumed that the broadcasting company 'Gangnam Cable Broadcasting' provides sports news contents to channel 4 and sports documentaries to channel 5. The channel numbers are existing channel numbers used by each broadcasting company.

The user can subdivide the content contents and distinguish the channels by using multi-part channel information of three-part format such as 'content contents'-'detailed contents contents'-'existing channel numbers'. If the code values of the respective content sources are shown in FIG. 5, the user may input '001-003-11-3' to watch the sports news channel (No. 11-3) of KBS, which is a terrestrial broadcaster. If you enter '001-003-4', you can watch the sports news channel (No. 4) of Gangnam Cable Broadcasting, which is a cable broadcast. If you enter '001-005-5', you can watch the sports of Gangnam Cable You can watch documentary channel (# 5) broadcast.

The number of parts, the order, types, and the like of the parts are just examples, and may vary according to implementation examples. For example, it is assumed that 'HanaTV', an IPTV service provider, provides a service package and provides the above-described contents to a user. When the user wants to select and watch one of the contents provided by the HanaTV among various service providers, 3 such as 'service provider'-'content contents'-'existing channel number' added with a part indicating service provider identification information. Part information of channel information can be used.

Similarly, in each of the above examples, text corresponding to the code may be used for each part instead of the code value.

A code value for each content content should be defined in the receiver in advance, and the values may be received and stored together when the receiver receives information about a content provider or a service provider.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of using characteristic identification information of content data as part of channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention. Data of content provided through an IPTV service may be provided in various formats. For example, various video formats, audio formats, data broadcast formats, and the like may be used. Accordingly, multi-part channel information may be implemented by dividing channels according to the characteristics of the provided content data. In this case, the user may manage and watch the channel in consideration of the specification of the receiver.

In the case of the embodiment of FIG. 6, channels of various contents may be distinguished using at least one part of the characteristic identification information of each of the contents data. That is, the channel may be classified according to the characteristics of the content data in the multi-part channel information.

In the example of FIG. 6, content data is classified according to a video format, an audio format, a data broadcast format, and the like. In case of video, the content data in '1920 * 1080p' format is 001, the content data in '1366 * 768' format is 002, the content data in '1280 * 800' format is 003, and the content data in '640 * 480' format is 099 Has a code value of.

For audio, the content data in the 'AC3 Dolby 5.1 Channel' format is 001, the content data in the 'MPEG Surround Audio Channel' format is 002, the content data in the 'MP3 Stereo' format is 003, and the 'MONO' format. The content data of has a code value of 099.

In case of data broadcasting, content data in which only audio / video data exists is 001, and content data in 'ACAP (Advanced Common Application Platform) data broadcasting' format data is 002, 'OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) data broadcasting' format. The content data has a code value of 003 and the content data of a "data broadcast only" format.

The characteristics of each piece of content data can be distinguished by the number of code values. If the number of content types is large, the number can be increased and the order can be changed. Accordingly, the numbers are merely examples and the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the numbers. The audio, video, and data broadcast formats are examples of the characteristics of the content data, and may be classified according to other characteristics.

By using the content data characteristic identification information as at least one or more parts, multi-part channel information may be implemented to manage and watch a channel. For example, the multi-part channel information may be implemented using the content data characteristic identification information and the existing channel number.

KBS, a terrestrial broadcaster, is a '11 -1 '(major channel-minor channel) channel that provides video in 1920 * 1080p format, AC3 Dolby 5.1 channel format audio, and audio / video data-only format. It is assumed that the cable broadcasting service provider 'Gangnam Cable Broadcasting' provides broadcasting content of 1280 * 800 format video, MPEG surround audio channel format audio, and audio / video data only format through channel 5. In addition, it is assumed that the 'Gangnam cable broadcasting' provides a video of 1920 * 1080p format, MPEG surround audio channel format, and OCAP data broadcasting format through channel 6. The channel numbers are existing channel numbers used by each broadcasting company.

The user can distinguish channels according to content data characteristics by using multi-part channel information of two-part format such as 'content data characteristic'-'existing channel number'. Code values of a video format, an audio format, and a data broadcast format may be used for the content data characteristic.

The code values of the respective content sources are shown in FIG. 6, and when the channels are classified according to the video format, the user inputs '001-11-1' to input 11-1 of KBS, which is terrestrial broadcasting, among contents of 1920 * 1080p video format. We can watch broadcast contents once. If '001-6' is inputted, the sixth broadcast content of the cable broadcasting Gangnam cable broadcasting can be viewed among the contents of the 1920 * 1080p video format.

If the channel is classified according to the audio format, the user can input '002-5' to watch the contents of broadcasting No. 5 of Gangnam Cable Broadcasting, which is cable broadcasting among the contents of the MPEG Surround Audio channel format, and input '002-6'. Therefore, the contents of the sixth broadcast of Gangnam cable broadcasting can be viewed among the contents of the MPEG surround audio channel format.

The number of parts, the order, types, and the like of the parts are just examples, and may vary according to implementation examples. For example, it is assumed that 'HanaTV', an IPTV service provider, provides a service package and provides the above-described contents to a user. If the user wants to select and watch one of the contents provided by the HanaTV among various service providers, the service provider-content content characteristic-existing channel number and the part indicating service provider identification information are added. The same 3-part channel information can be used.

Two or more parts of content data may be used, such as 'content data property'-'content data property'-'existing channel number', and in this case, a different kind of property code value may be used for each content data property.

Similarly, in each of the above examples, text corresponding to the code may be used for each part instead of the code value.

A code value for each content content should be defined in the receiver in advance, and the values may be received and stored together when the receiver receives information about a content provider or a service provider.

7 is a diagram illustrating an example of using channel grade identification information as part of channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the case of content provided through an IPTV service, the content may be differently provided to the user according to the grade. For example, the content may be differentially provided according to the viewing grade of the contents, the viewing cost grade, and the like. Therefore, content may be classified according to the grade to classify channels and multi-part channel information may be implemented. In this case, the user may manage and watch the channel in consideration of the viewing grade or the viewing cost grade.

In the case of the embodiment of FIG. 7, various content channels may be distinguished by using viewing cost rating identification information as one or more parts. That is, channels may be classified according to the characteristics of the viewing cost grade in the multi-part channel information.

In the example of FIG. 7, the channel having no viewing cost is 001, the channel receiving basic cost is 002, the channel receiving middle level cost is 003, the channel receiving premium cost is 004, the channel receiving higher premium cost is 005, etc. The channel has a code value of 999. Each class may be distinguished by the number of the code value, and the number may be increased or decreased or the order may be changed. Therefore, the above grades or numbers are merely examples and the spirit of the present invention is not limited.

By using the channel grade identification information as at least one or more parts, multi-part channel information may be implemented to manage and watch a channel. For example, the multi-part channel information may be implemented using the viewing cost grade identification information and the existing channel number among the channel grade identification information.

Among the broadcasting contents of '1' to '50' provided by cable provider 'Gangnam Cable Broadcasting', users who do not pay the viewing fee use channels 1 through 10 Users paying for viewing costs channels 1 through 20, while users paying intermediate viewing costs channels 1 through 30, and premium viewing costs. It is assumed that the user who pays the channel number '1' through '40' and the user who pays the premium premium viewing cost can watch the channel number '1' through '50'. The channel numbers are existing channel numbers used by the cable carriers in Gangnam.

A user can classify channels according to channel grades using multipart channel information in a two-part format such as 'channel grade'-'existing channel number'.

When the code value of each channel grade is shown in FIG. 7, a user who pays a premium grade viewing cost can watch broadcast content of channel 34 provided by Gangnam cable broadcasting by entering '004-34'. 004-11 'can be entered to watch broadcast content of channel 11. The exclusive channel (channels 41 to 50) of the higher premium level (code value 005) may be excluded from the channel list.

The number of parts, the order, types, and the like of the parts are just examples, and may vary according to implementation examples. For example, it is assumed that 'HanaTV', an IPTV service provider, provides a service package and provides the above-described contents to a user. When the user wants to select and watch one of the contents provided by the HanaTV among various service providers, 3 such as 'service provider'-'channel grade'-'existing channel number' added with a part indicating service provider identification information. Part information of channel information can be used.

Similarly, in each of the above examples, text corresponding to the code may be used for each part instead of the code value.

The receiver must define a code value for each channel class in advance, and the values can be received and stored together when the receiver receives information about a content provider or a service provider.

1 to 7 have described the types of information that can be used in each part in the multi-part channel information system. As in the above examples, the multi-part channel information may be implemented by using each information separately, or the multi-part channel information may be implemented by combining the respective pieces of information.

For example, when using three-part channel information such as 'content serving area'-'content source'-'existing channel number', the user can select contents such as terrestrial, cable, and satellite broadcasting provided by each region. You can watch. If a user wants to select and view contents provided by a specific service provider from among a plurality of IPTV service providers, 4-part channel information such as 'service provider'-'content providing area'-'content source'-'existing channel number' Can be used.

However, the number of parts, the order, types, and the like of the parts are just examples, and may vary according to implementation examples. That is, in the case of the 4-part channel information as described above, 'content providing area'-'service provider'-'content source'-'existing channel number' or 'content source'-'existing channel number'-'service provider'- It may be implemented in a reverse order, such as 'content serving region', or may be implemented by using three-part channel information such as 'service provider'-'content serving region'-'existing channel number' when content source identification information is not used. have.

8 is a diagram illustrating an example in which region identification information is used as part of multi-channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention. In terms of providing a content service, the IPTV system includes a content provider (CP), a service provider (SP), a network provider (NP) and a user (home network end user (HNED)). Can be divided.

The user may access the service provider server through an IPTV receiver (or client) to receive information about the content provider. By using the information on the content provider, the user can access the server of the content provider that provides the desired content and watch the desired content.

In FIG. 8, the first terrestrial broadcasting service provider, which is one of the content providers, is a channel 7-1, major channels 7-1, 7-2, and 7-3 in the Chicago area. In (new york), terrestrial broadcasting is provided through channels 7-1, 7-2, and 7-5. The second terrestrial broadcasting service provider, which is another content provider, is a channel 32-1 (major channel-minor channel) or channel 32-5 in the Chicago area, and 33-1 or 33-2 in the New York area. Provides terrestrial broadcasting on channel '1. As in the above example, the first terrestrial broadcaster and the second terrestrial broadcaster may transmit broadcasts using the same number or broadcast using different numbers when the broadcast area is different.

The service provider packages a broadcast content provided by the first terrestrial broadcaster and the second terrestrial broadcaster into a service package and provides the same to a user through an internet network. The network provider provides a network for the service.

Assume that a user living in San Diego watches broadcast content of a first terrestrial broadcaster. The service provider providing the IPTV service to the user provides both the broadcast content of the first terrestrial broadcast service provider provided in the Chicago area and the broadcast content of the first terrestrial broadcast service provider provided in the New York area. Therefore, the user side needs to distinguish between the broadcast content provided in the Chicago area and the broadcast content provided in the New York area.

In the example of FIG. 8, the code value for the content providing region may be used as one part of the multi-part channel information to satisfy the above requirement. For example, two-part channel information such as 'content providing area'-'existing channel number' may be used by using information about a content providing area together with an existing channel number.

If the content providing area code value of Chicago is 110 and the content providing area code value of New York is 497, the user inputs 110-7-2 to display 7-2 of the broadcast contents of the first terrestrial broadcasting service provider provided in Chicago. You can watch the contents of the second channel. When the user inputs 497-7-2, the user can watch the contents of channel 7-2 among the broadcasting contents of the first terrestrial broadcasting service provider provided in New York.

The two-part channel information as described above is one embodiment, and the order of each part may be changed. In addition, each part may use text instead of numbers. That is, two-part channel information in the same order as 'existing channel number'-'content serving area' may be used, and text such as 'Chicago' and 'New York' may be used in place of the area code value in the part. You can also use channel information in the form of a mixture of numbers and text.

9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which source identification information of content is used as part of multi-channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention. The content source identification information refers to information about a type of a content provider. The type of content provider includes terrestrial broadcast content, cable broadcast content, satellite broadcast content, internet broadcast content, various video data contents, and data content providers other than video. This can be. In FIG. 9, channels may be classified according to the content source as described above.

In FIG. 9, the first terrestrial broadcasting service provider, one of the content providers, provides terrestrial broadcasting through channels 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3, and a second terrestrial broadcasting service provider, which is another content provider. Provides terrestrial broadcasting through '32 -1 'and '32 -5' channels. Another content provider, Cable Multiple System Operators (MSOs), is '4', '5', '6',... , '121' channel provides a variety of cable broadcasting, satellite broadcasters '1', '5', '6',… It provides a variety of satellite broadcasts through the '130' channel. In addition to the broadcast content, there may be various Internet broadcast providers and personal content providers that provide contents such as Internet images.

The service provider packages a video content provided by the first terrestrial broadcaster, the second terrestrial broadcaster, a cable MSO, a satellite broadcaster, various Internet broadcasters, and a personal content provider, and provides the user with a package through the Internet. .

It is assumed that a user views broadcast contents of a first terrestrial broadcasting company among contents provided by the service provider. The service provider that provides the IPTV service to the user provides all contents provided by the first terrestrial broadcaster, the second terrestrial broadcaster, the cable MSO, the satellite broadcaster, various Internet broadcasters, and the personal content provider. Therefore, since the existing channel numbers of the respective content providers may overlap, it is necessary for the user to distinguish the contents by the types of the various content providers.

In the example of FIG. 9, the code value for the content source may be used as one part of the multi-part channel information to satisfy the above requirement. For example, two-part channel information such as 'content source'-'existing channel number' may be used by using information about a content source together with an existing channel number.

It is assumed that the source code value of the terrestrial broadcasting content is 001, the source code value of the cable broadcasting content is 002, the source code value of the satellite broadcasting content is 003, and the source code value of the Internet broadcasting or personal content is 004.

The user may input 001-5-2 to watch content of channel 5-2 among the broadcast contents of the first terrestrial broadcaster. If the user enters 002-5, the content of channel 5 among the contents provided by the cable MSO can be viewed. If the user enters 003-5, the content of channel 5 among the contents provided by the satellite broadcasting service provider can be viewed. Can be.

In the case of Internet broadcasting or personal content, if there is an existing channel number, the channel number may be used as it is, or an IP address where the content is stored may be used. If the existing channel number does not exist, an IP address where the content is stored may be input.

The two-part channel information as described above is one embodiment, and the order of each part may be changed. In addition, each part may use text instead of numbers. That is, two-part channel information in the same order as 'existing channel number'-'content source' may be used, and text such as 'terrestrial broadcast' and 'cable broadcast' may be used instead of the source code value in the part, You can also use channel information in the form of a mixture of numbers and text.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for one example of using local identification information and source identification information of content as part of multi-channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment of FIG. 10 is an example of implementing multi-part channel information by using region identification information and content source identification information together.

In FIG. 10, the first terrestrial broadcasting service provider, which is one of the content providers, is channels 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3 in the Chicago area, and in the New York area, It provides terrestrial broadcasting through channels 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3. The second terrestrial broadcasting service provider, another content provider, broadcasts terrestrial broadcasting through channels 32-1 and 32-5 in the Chicago area and channels 32-1 and 32-5 in the New York area. to provide. The first terrestrial broadcaster and the second terrestrial broadcaster may transmit broadcasts using the same number or broadcast using different numbers when the broadcasting area is different.

In addition to the broadcast content, there may be various Internet broadcast providers and personal content providers that provide contents such as Internet images.

The service provider packages a content provided by a personal content provider that provides broadcast content provided by the first terrestrial broadcaster and the second terrestrial broadcaster, and various Internet broadcasters and Internet video content, and packages the content through an internet network. To the user. The network provider provides a network for the service.

Assume that a user living in San Diego watches broadcast content of a first terrestrial broadcaster. The service provider for providing the IPTV service to the user may include broadcasting contents of the first and second terrestrial broadcasting companies provided in the Chicago area, broadcasting contents of the first and second terrestrial broadcasting companies provided in the New York area, various Internet broadcasting providers, Provide all content provided by personal content providers. Therefore, the existing channel number may overlap with each content provider type and the existing channel number may overlap with each region. Therefore, the user side needs to distinguish the content by type and content providing region of the various content providers. have.

In the example of FIG. 10, the code value for the content providing area and the code value for the content source may be used as part of the multi-part channel information to satisfy the above requirement. For example, three-part channel information such as 'content providing region'-'content source'-'existing channel number' may be used by using information about a content providing region and a content source together with an existing channel number.

It is assumed that the content providing area code value of Chicago is 110, the content providing area code value of New York is 497, the source code value of the terrestrial broadcasting content is 001, and the source code value of the Internet broadcasting or personal content is 004.

A user may input 110-001-5-1 to view content of channel 5-1 among broadcast contents of the first terrestrial broadcast service provider provided in Chicago. When the user inputs 497-001-5-2, the user can watch the contents of channel 5-2 among the broadcasting contents of the first terrestrial broadcasting service provider provided in New York.

In the case of Internet broadcasting or personal content, the content providing area may not be necessary due to the characteristics of the Internet. In such a case, the channel may be distinguished using only two parts of 'content source'-'existing channel number' without using the content providing region identification information part among the three-part channel information.

In addition, when an existing channel number exists for the Internet broadcast or personal content, the channel number may be used as it is, or an IP address where the content is stored may be used. If the existing channel number does not exist, an IP address where the content is stored may be input.

Similarly, the above-described three-part channel information is one embodiment, and the order of each part can be changed. In addition, each part may use text instead of numbers.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example in which provider identification information, region identification information, and source identification information of content are used as part of multi-channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention. 11 is an example of implementing multi-part channel information by using provider identification information, region identification information, and content source identification information together.

When there are a plurality of service providers that package contents provided by each content provider and provide them to the user, the user may subscribe to one or more service providers among the plurality of service providers and receive a service. Therefore, the user can select a desired service from among the subscribed services and receive the content.

In FIG. 11, the first terrestrial broadcasting service provider, which is one of the content providers, is channels 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3 in the Chicago area, and in the New York area, It provides terrestrial broadcasting through channels 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3. The second terrestrial broadcasting service provider, another content provider, broadcasts terrestrial broadcasting through channels 32-1 and 32-5 in the Chicago area and channels 32-1 and 32-5 in the New York area. to provide. The first terrestrial broadcaster and the second terrestrial broadcaster may transmit broadcasts using the same number or broadcast using different numbers when the broadcasting area is different.

Another content provider, Cable MSOs in Los Angeles, is '4', '5', '6',... , Cable broadcasting is provided to channel '121'. In addition to the broadcast content, there may be various Internet broadcast providers and personal content providers that provide contents such as Internet images.

The first service provider (SP) packages the broadcast content provided by the first terrestrial broadcaster and the second terrestrial broadcaster in Chicago and New York, and contents provided by various Internet broadcasters or personal content providers, through the Internet network. To the user. The second service provider SP may include broadcast content provided by the first terrestrial broadcaster and the second terrestrial broadcaster in New York, broadcast content provided by the cable MSO in the Los Angeles region, and various Internet broadcast providers or personal content providers. The provided content is packaged as a service and provided to the user.

Therefore, since the existing channel number may be duplicated according to each service provider, the type of content provider, and the content providing area, the user needs to distinguish the content by the service provider, the type of various content providers, and the content providing area.

In the example of FIG. 11, the code value of the service provider, the code value for the content providing region, and the code value for the content source may be used as part of the multipart channel information to satisfy the above requirement. For example, four parts such as 'service provider'-'content serving area'-'content source'-'existing channel number' using information about the service provider, content providing area and content source together with the existing channel number. Channel information can be used.

It is assumed that a user living in San Diego has subscribed to the services of the first service provider and the second service provider among a plurality of service providers, and watches the broadcast contents of the first terrestrial broadcaster.

The service provider code value of the first service provider is 200, the service provider code value of the second service provider is 301, the content providing area code value of Chicago is 110, the content providing area code value of New York is 497, and Los Angeles. It is assumed that a content providing area code of 217 is 217, a source code value of terrestrial broadcasting content is 001, a source code value of cable broadcasting content is 002, and a source code value of internet broadcasting or personal content is 004.

The user may input 200-110-001-5-1 to view broadcast content 5-1 of the first terrestrial broadcast service provider provided in Chicago among contents provided by the first service provider. When the user enters 301-497-001-5-2, the first terrestrial broadcaster provided in New York may view broadcast content 5-2 of the content provided by the second service provider. In the case of inputting 002-6, the broadcast content 6 of the cable MSO provided in Los Angeles may be watched among contents provided by the second service provider.

In the case of Internet broadcasting or personal content, the content providing area may not be necessary due to the characteristics of the Internet. In this case, the channel may be distinguished using only three parts of the 'service provider'-'content source'-'existing channel number', without using the content providing region identification information part among the 4-part channel information.

In addition, when an existing channel number exists for the Internet broadcast or personal content, the channel number may be used as it is, or an IP address where the content is stored may be used. If the existing channel number does not exist, an IP address where the content is stored may be input.

Likewise, the above-described four-part channel information is one embodiment, and the order of each part can be changed. In addition, each part may use text instead of numbers.

12 is a diagram illustrating a record including information on a service provider according to an embodiment of the present invention. The receiver may receive and store various information about the network provider and the service provider through the above record. For example, the information may include region identification information, provider identification information, channel class identification information, provider access information, and the like.

In order for an IPTV receiver to provide content to a user, the IPTV receiver must find and access a server that stores content desired by the user. The receiver may access an entry point of an IPTV portal (or a system operator (SO)) provided by a network provider to find the content server. The entry point refers to a kind of connection location. The user may input an IP address / port or a Domain Name System (DNS) Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for an entry point of the IPTV portal, or select and input a pre-registered address. Alternatively, the receiver may automatically access a preselected address or the like.

The entry point of the IPTV portal provides a receiver with a service provider record containing information about each service provider.

FIG. 12 illustrates a service provider discovery record of digital video broadcasting (DVB) -IP, which is an example of a record including information on the service provider. The service provider discovery record is an embodiment that includes provider identification information and provider access information.

In the above example, the information of the service provider discovery record is included in 'ServiceDiscovery'. '@Version' includes version information of the record. When the version information is changed, it means that the data of the record is changed. 'LogicalEntryNumber' includes logical number information of an entry point for transmitting the service provider discovery record. This may be used as information for identifying the network provider in the multipart channel information.

Information about the service provider is included in 'ServiceDiscovery / ServicProviderDiscovery / ServiceProvider'.

'@DomainName' includes the service provider's Internet DNS domain name information identifying the service provider. '@Version' includes version information of the service provider discovery record, and '@LogoURI' includes a pointer to the service provider's logo.

'Name' contains the name of the service provider. The name of the service provider may be provided in one or more languages. 'Description' includes a description of the service provider. The description of the service provider may be provided in one or more languages.

'Offering list' information about the service provider is included in 'ServiceDiscovery / ServicProviderDiscovery / ServiceProvider / Offering'.

'Push @ Source', 'Push @ Address', and 'Push @ Port' contain information about the IP address and port number that provides DVB IP Offering records in multicast (Push mode). The DVB IP Offering record includes Internet DNS domain name information identifying a service provider and version information of the record.

'Pull @ Location' contains information about the address providing the DVB IP Offering record by request (Pull mode).

'Payload list' information of the record is included in 'ServiceDiscovery / ServicProviderDiscovery / ServiceProvider / Offering / Pull / Payload' in Pull mode and 'ServiceDiscovery / ServicProviderDiscovery / ServiceProvider / Offering / Push / Payload' in Push mode .

'PayloadId @ Id' includes identification information (Id) of a service discovery information type used in DVB IP Offering. Types of the service discovery information include a broadcast discovery record or a content on demand discovery record.

'Segment @ Id' includes identification information of a segment having service discovery information corresponding to 'PayloadId @ Id'. 'Segment @ Version' includes version information of the segment identified by the identification information.

'LogicalSPNumber' includes logical number information of a service provider. This may be used as information for identifying the service provider in the multipart channel information.

In the record of FIG. 12, '@DomainName', '@Version' and 'Name' information must be included (mandatory). In case of 'Push @ Address' and 'Push @ Port' information, 'Push @ Source' If used, it must be included. However, the 'Push @ Source' is used as optional. 'Segment @ Id' must be included when the record information is provided only in the pull mode, but selectively used when provided in the push mode. Information other than those mentioned above is optionally used.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of implementing the record of FIG. 12 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of implementing the record using XML (eXtensible Markup Language), and includes provider identification information and provider access information according to the record structure of FIG. 12.

'LogicalEntryNumber' includes '1', which is the logical number of the entry point that transmitted the service provider discovery record.

Under 'ServiceProviderDiscovery' contains information about each service provider. The first 'ServiceProvider' includes access information and logical number information about the first service provider.

In addition to the service provider domain name 'provider1.com' and the logo's indicator and version information, 'Name' includes the name of the service provider 'Provider1', and 'Description' includes the description of the service provider ' Provider1 ADSL TV Offer 'is included. 'LogicalSPNumber' includes '1', which is logical number information for identifying the first service provider.

The first 'Push' includes information on the IP address (224.1.1.5) / port number 1234 and the source address (192.100.100.70) that can provide the DVB IP Offering record in multicast (Push mode). 'Payload Id' below the first 'Push' includes identification information of record information transmitted from the address. In FIG. 13, the information having a value of '5' and the identification information of '5' is a package discovery record. The identification of the segment having the package discovery record is '0', and its version is '0'.

The second 'Push' contains information about the IP address (224.1.1.2) / port number 1234 and the source address (192.100.100.70) which can be provided with another DVB IP Offering record in multicast (Push mode). . 'Payload Id' below the second 'Push' includes identification information of record information transmitted from the address. In FIG. 13, information having a value of '2' and identification information of '2' is a broadcast discovery record. The identification information of the segment having the broadcast discovery record is '0', and its version is '0'.

The second 'ServiceProvider' below 'ServiceProviderDiscovery' includes access information about the second service provider.

In addition to the service provider's domain name 'provider2.com' and the logo's indicator and version information, 'Name' includes the English name of the service provider 'Provider2', and 'Description' is a description of the service provider. 'Provider2 ADSL TV Offer' is included. 'LogicalSPNumber' includes '2', which is logical number information for identifying the second service provider.

The first 'Push' includes information on an IP address (224.1.1.6) / port number 1234 and a source address (192.100.100.75) that can provide a DVB IP Offering record in multicast (Push mode). 'Payload Id' has a value of '5' and the information having the identification information is a Package Discovery Record. And identification information of the segment having the package discovery record and version information thereof.

The second 'Push' contains information about the IP address (224.1.1.2) / port number 1234 and the source address (192.100.100.70) which can be provided with another DVB IP Offering record in multicast (Push mode). . 'Payload Id' has a value of '2' and the information having the identification information is a broadcast discovery record. And identification information of the segment having the broadcast discovery record and its version information.

The receiver receives the service provider discovery record and stores provider identification information and access information included in the record. In addition to the information, if the region identification information, channel grade identification information, etc. are further included, the information is also stored. The receiver prepares a channel map using the stored information and uses it to classify channels according to multi-part channel information.

The receiver analyzes the service provider discovery record and accesses a server of a service provider that provides a service desired by a user. The service provider provides a service discovery record including information about content to the receiver.

14 is a diagram illustrating a record including information on content according to an embodiment of the present invention. The receiver may receive and store various types of information about the content through the above record. For example, the information may include provider identification information, region identification information, content source identification information, content content identification information, characteristic identification information of channel data, channel grade identification information, provider access information, and the like.

FIG. 14 illustrates a broadcast discovery record of DVB-IP as an example of the service discovery record. In the example of FIG. 14, content source identification information, content provider identification information, content providing area identification information, Characteristic identification information of the content data, provider connection information, and the like are included. The service discovery record refers to a discovery record of a content service.

The service discovery record of DVB-IP includes a content on demand discovery record, a package discovery record, and the like. The broadcast discovery record may be used for live media content such as a real-time video stream. Contains information.

In the above example, the information of the broadcast discovery record is included in 'BroadcastDiscovery', and the service list information is included in 'BroadcastDiscovery / ServiceList'.

'ServiceDescriptionLocation' includes the identification information when there is identification information of a BCG record for Broadband Content Guide (BCG) discovery, and '@preferred' includes location information of a preferred BCG. The BCG refers to content guide information of DVB-IP corresponding to an EPG (Electronic Program Guide).

Various information about the content service is included in 'BroadcastDiscovery / ServiceList / SingleService'.

'SourceType' includes source identification information such as terrestrial broadcast, satellite broadcast, and cable broadcast for a specific content service, and 'LogicalChannelNumber' includes logical number information of each content service. The information may be used as information for identifying a source and a content provider of content in the multi-part channel information, respectively. 'RegionNumber' includes information about a region where a content service is provided. The information may be used as information for identifying a content providing area in multi-part channel information.

'TextualID @ DomainName' contains the Internet DNS domain name that identifies the service provider, and 'TextualID @ ServiceName' contains the host name of the service provided by the service provider.

'DVBTriplet' contains DVB Triplet information about the service. Among them, 'DVBTriplet @ OrigNetId' includes original_network_id information, 'DVBTriplet @ TSId' includes transport_stream_id information, and 'DVBTriplet @ ServiceId' includes service_id information. 'MaxBitrate' includes maximum bit rate information of a stream for transmitting a service.

Information on the location of the content service is included in 'BroadcastDiscovery / ServiceList / SingleService / ServiceLocation'.

'IPMuliticastAddress @ Source', 'IPMuliticastAddress @ Address', and 'IPMuliticastAddress @ Port' indicate the use of the Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) to access the service, and include information about the URL and port to access the service. . Optionally, a unicast address for a transport stream (TS) source may be included.

'RTSPURL' informs the use of a Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) for accessing the service, and includes information on a URL for accessing the service.

'AudioAttributes' includes information about an audio coding algorithm and a purpose to be used in the service, and 'VideoAttributes' includes detailed information about video coding to be used in the service. The audio attribute value and the video attribute value may be used as characteristic identification information of content data in multi-part channel information.

In the record of FIG. 14, 'TextualID @ ServiceName', 'DVBTriplet @ OrigNetId', 'DVBTriplet @ TSId' and 'DVBTriplet @ ServiceId' information must be included (mandatory), and 'IPMuliticastAddress @ Address' and 'IPMuliticastAddress @ Port' MUST be included when 'IPMulticastAddress @ Source' is used. Information other than those mentioned above is optionally used.

The receiver receives the service discovery record as described above and stores the content source identification information, the content provider identification information, the content providing region identification information, the characteristic identification information of the content data, and the provider access information included in the record. In addition to the information, if the region identification information, content content identification information, channel grade identification information, etc. are further included, the information is also stored. The receiver creates a channel map using the stored information and uses the channel to distinguish channels according to the multipart channel information.

The receiver may analyze the service discovery record as described above, access a server of a content provider providing content desired by the user, and watch the desired content.

15 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The receiver includes a network interface unit 1502, an IP manager 1504, an application / UI manager 1506, a CM unit 1508, a service information decoder 1510, a service information database unit 1512, and a service discovery manager 1514. ), Service control manager 1516, CAS / DRM unit 1518, service delivery manager 1520, demultiplexer 1522, audio / video decoder 1524, display unit 1526, storage unit 1528, system A manager 1530, a storage medium controller 1532, and a storage medium 1534.

The network interface unit 1502 receives the packets received from the network and transmits the packets from the receiver to the network. The IP manager 1504 is responsible for packet forwarding from the source to the destination for the packets received at the receiver and the packets transmitted at the receiver. And classifies the received packet so as to correspond to an appropriate protocol.

The application / UI manager 1506 provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for a user using an OSD (On Screen Display), etc., and receives a key input from a user to perform a receiver operation according to the input. . For example, upon receiving a key input related to channel selection from a user, the key input signal is transmitted to the CM unit 1508.

The CM (Channel Manager) unit 1508 creates a channel map. In addition, a channel is selected according to a key input received from the application / UI manager 1506, and the service discovery manager 1514 is controlled. The CM unit 1508 receives the service information of the channel from the service information decoder 1510 and configures an audio / video PID (packet identifier) of the selected channel in the demultiplexer 1522.

The service information decoder 1510 decodes service information such as program specific information (PSI). That is, the demultiplexer 1522 receives and decodes a demultiplexed PSI section, a program and service information protocol (PSIP) section, or a service information (DVB-SI) section.

The service information decoder 1510 decodes the received sections to create a database of service information, and stores the database of the service information in the service information database unit 1512.

The service discovery manager 1514 provides information necessary for selecting a service provider providing a service. Upon receiving a signal regarding channel selection from the application / UI manager 1506, the service discovery manager 1514 uses the information to find a service.

The service control manager 1516 is in charge of selecting and controlling services. For example, if a user selects a live broadcasting service such as a conventional broadcasting method, IGMP or RTSP is used. If a user selects a service such as VOD (Vidoe On Demand), RTSP is used to select and control the service. To perform. The RTSP protocol may provide a trick mode for real-time streaming.

The packet regarding the service received through the network interface unit 1502 and the IP manager 1504 is transmitted to the CAS / DRM unit 1518. The CAS / DRM unit 1518 is responsible for conditional access system (CAS) and digital rights management (DRM).

The service delivery manager 1520 is in charge of controlling received service data. For example, RTP / RTCP (Rela-Time Transport Protocol / RTP Control Protocol) is used to control real-time streaming data. Since the real-time streaming data is transmitted using the RTP, the service delivery manager 1520 parses the received data packet according to the RTP and transmits the received data packet to the demultiplexer 1522. Then, the RTCP is used to feed back the network reception information to a server that provides a service.

The demultiplexer 1522 demultiplexes the received packet into audio, video, and program specific information (PSI) data, and transmits the demultiplexer 1522 to the video / audio decoder 1524 and the service information decoder 1510, respectively.

The video / audio decoder 1524 decodes the video data and the audio data received at the demultiplexer 1522. The video data decoded by the video / audio decoder 1524 is provided to the user through the display unit 1526, and the decoded audio data is provided to the user through a speaker (not shown).

The storage unit 1528 stores setup data and the like for the system. A nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) or a flash memory may be used as the storage unit. The system manager 1530 controls the overall operation of the receiver system through a power source.

The storage medium controller 1532 controls to store video / audio data in the storage medium 1534, or controls to read and reproduce data stored in the storage medium 1534. The storage medium 1534 receives and stores video / audio data from the video / audio decoder 1524 under the control of the storage medium controller 1532.

The receiver connects to the entry point of the IPTV portal, receives a packet of the service provider discovery record as shown in FIG. 12, and the network interface unit 1502 transmits the received packet to the IP manager 1504. The IP manager 1504 checks whether the destination of the received packet is the receiver, and then transmits the packet to an appropriate manager block according to a transmission / reception protocol.

The packet containing the service provider discovery information is transmitted using a protocol relating to service discovery and selection. For example, DVB-IP is transmitted according to Service Discovery & Selection (SD & S) (or Service Discovery Protocol: SDP) protocol. Accordingly, the IP manager 1504 transmits a packet including the service provider discovery information to the service discovery manager 1514.

The service discovery manager 1514 parses the received packet to obtain various information of an included service provider discovery record. The information is transmitted to the service information database unit 1512 and stored. The information may include region identification information, provider identification information, channel class identification information, provider access information, and the like.

The receiver may receive a packet including service discovery information from the service provider using the access information of the service provider included in the service provider discovery record. The packet including the service discovery information is transmitted and received using the SD & S (or SDP) protocol.

The packet including the service discovery information is transmitted to the IP manager 1504 via the network interface unit 1502. The IP manager 1504 checks whether the destination of the received packet is the receiver, and then transmits the packet to the service discovery manager 1514. The service discovery manager 1514 obtains service discovery information included in the received packet. The information is transmitted to the service information database unit 1512 and stored. The information may include provider identification information, region identification information, content source identification information, content content identification information, characteristic identification information of content data, channel grade identification information, provider access information, and the like.

The service information database unit 1512 stores and manages the received various types of information. The CM unit 1508 creates and manages a channel map using various kinds of information stored in the service information database unit 1512. When the multi-part channel information is input, the channel map may be used to access a server storing contents of a corresponding channel and to view the contents.

The application / UI manager 1506 receives channel information corresponding to desired content from a user and controls the channel to be switched according to the channel map. That is, the channel may be switched by receiving multi-part channel information corresponding to content that the user wants to watch. The input multi-part channel information may be a combination of numbers, a combination of numbers and text, or a combination of text.

In the case of inputting the multi-part channel information, the user may directly input the information of all parts, or may be input through a kind of guide menu using an OSD (On Screen Display) or the like like an EPG. Alternatively, information that may be input for each part of the multi-part channel information may be displayed, or the information may be sorted and selected. When a specific condition of a specific part is entered, a quick search that searches for and selects a corresponding channel can be performed, or a method of excluding channels that do not correspond to the inputted information of the part whenever information of each part is inputted can be searched. Do.

The multi-part channel information format of one of the above-described embodiments of the various multi-part channel information should be predetermined in the receiver, and a channel to be watched is selected according to the format. The multipart channel information format in the receiver may be preset by the user and used. Alternatively, the format specified in accordance with the protocol may be used collectively for all receivers.

The application / UI manager 1506 switches the channel to access the server of the switched channel through the IP manager 1504 and the network interface unit 1502. The stream provided by the server is transmitted to the IP manager 1504 via the network interface unit 1502. The service stream is transmitted to the demultiplexer 1522 via the CAS / DRM unit 1518 and the service delivery manager 1520.

The demultiplexer 1522 demultiplexes the received stream and transmits the demultiplexer to the audio / video decoder 1524, and the audio / video decoder 1524 transmits the decoded data to the display unit 1526 and provides the user.

16 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a process of processing multi-channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention. 16 illustrates a flow and sequence of signals between a service server and a service provider server, an entry point of an IPTV portal, and a receiver. The service server refers to a server that stores content. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the record described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 14 is used.

The receiver accesses an entry point of an IPTV portal provided by a network provider (S1600). The IPTV portal may check subscription information of the connected receiver. That is, the subscriber information may be checked to determine whether the receiver is provided with a service associated with the IPTV portal.

The entry point of the IPTV portal transmits a service provider discovery record including various kinds of information about the network provider or the service provider to the receiver (S1602).

The receiver stores various kinds of information included in the received service provider discovery record (S1604). The information may include region identification information, provider identification information, channel class identification information, provider access information, and the like.

The receiver accesses the server of the service provider using the access information of the service provider among the information (S1606). If there is a connection from the receiver, the server of the service provider transmits a service discovery record including various information about the content to the receiver (S1608).

The receiver receives the service discovery record and stores various information stored in the record (S1610). The information may include provider identification information, region identification information, content source identification information, content content identification information, characteristic identification information of content data, channel grade identification information, provider access information, and the like.

The receiver may receive multi-part channel information of content that the user wants to watch and switch channels using the stored various information. The input multi-part channel information may be a combination of numbers, a combination of numbers and text, or a combination of text. The multi-part channel information format of one of the above-described embodiments of the various multi-part channel information should be predetermined in the receiver, and a channel to be watched is selected according to the format.

When the user inputs the multi-part channel information of the content to be provided, the receiver accesses the service server of the corresponding content (S1612). The service server starts the service by transmitting the service data streaming to the connected receiver (S1614). The receiver displays data received from the service server and provides a service to a user (S1616).

Such multi-part channel information can be used in IPTV systems such as DVB in Europe, ATIS in North America, or IPTV in ITU-T, and also provides various broadcast contents to users in the form of channels other than the IPTV system. Can be used in the system.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

As described above, according to the channel information processing method, the digital broadcast receiving method, and the receiver of the present invention, it is possible to easily distinguish various types of content channels. In addition, the channel information format can be edited using various information on the channel, and the desired channel can be easily searched.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to distinguish each channel while using the existing channel number used by the content provider.

Claims (23)

Receiving a pro beads turning (provisioning) information to at least one connected to the IPTV service provider; And Receiving service identification information including channel identification information by using the provisioning information; In the above, the channel identification information includes first channel identification information indicating a terrestrial broadcasting service for providing content and second channel identification information indicating a service provider for providing a delivery channel for the content, The logical channel number comprising a major channel number and a minor channel number is expanded to provide the first channel identification information and the second channel identification information. The first channel identification information is used to distinguish channels having the same logical channel number although the geographical position of the terrestrial broadcaster is different. The second channel identification information is provided by different service providers, but the logical channel number is used to distinguish between identical channels. The method according to claim 1, The channel identification information further includes third channel identification information indicating a source type of content, wherein the source type indicates at least one content source of terrestrial broadcasting, cable broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, and personal broadcasting. Channel information processing method of the receiver. The method according to claim 1, And receiving an input signal according to the extended logical channel number. The method according to claim 1, The channel identification information further includes fourth channel identification information indicating a genre of content. The method according to claim 1, And the logical channel number is formed according to a preset channel identification format that defines an order of channel identification information combined with the logical channel number. The method according to claim 1, And mapping the extended logical channel number to a channel number field of a channel map. The method according to claim 1, The service identification information further includes program guide information for one or more services. Receiving service discovery information including first channel identification information indicating a terrestrial broadcasting service providing content; Receiving service provider discovery information including second channel identification information indicating a service provider providing a delivery channel for content; And Storing first channel identification information in the service discovery information and second channel identification information in the service provider discovery information; The logical channel number consisting of a major channel number and a minor channel number is extended to provide the first channel identification information and the second channel identification information. The first channel identification information is used to distinguish channels having the same logical channel number although the geographical position of the terrestrial broadcaster is different. The second channel identification information is provided by different service providers, but the logical channel number is used to distinguish between identical channels. 9. The method of claim 8, And mapping the extended logical channel number to a channel number field of a channel map. 9. The method of claim 8, The service provider discovery information may further include third channel identification information, wherein the third channel identification information indicates at least one or more content sources of terrestrial broadcasting, cable broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, and personal broadcasting. How to process channel information. 9. The method of claim 8, And the logical channel number is formed according to a predetermined channel identification information format defining an order of channel identification information combined with the logical channel number. A network interface for receiving a packet including service identification information including channel identification information; A service information decoder for decoding the packet and obtaining service identification information including channel identification information; And Includes a database for storing service identification information, In the above description, the channel identification information includes first channel identification information indicating a terrestrial broadcasting service for providing content and second channel identification information indicating a service provider for providing a delivery channel for content. The logical channel number consisting of a major channel number and a minor channel number is extended to provide the first channel identification information and the second channel identification information. The first channel identification information is used to distinguish channels having the same logical channel number although the geographical position of the terrestrial broadcaster is different. And the second channel identification information is provided by different service providers, but the logical channel number is used to distinguish identical channels. 13. The method of claim 12, The service identification information further comprises program guide information for one or more services. 13. The method of claim 12, The channel identification information further includes third channel identification information indicating a source type of content, wherein the source type indicates at least one content source of terrestrial broadcasting, cable broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, and personal broadcasting. Receiver. 13. The method of claim 12, The channel identification information further comprises fourth channel identification information indicating the genre of the content. 13. The method of claim 12, The channel identification information further includes fifth channel identification information indicating a cost level of content. 13. The method of claim 12, And the channel identification information further includes sixth channel identification information indicating a video format of the content. Generating first channel identification information indicating a terrestrial broadcasting service providing content and second channel identification information indicating a service provider providing a delivery channel for content; Generating channel identification information including the first channel identification information and the second channel identification information; Inserting the channel identification information into service identification information; And Transmitting the service identification information; The logical channel number consisting of a major channel number and a minor channel number is extended to provide the first channel identification information and the second channel identification information. The first channel identification information is used to distinguish channels having the same logical channel number but different geographical position of the terrestrial broadcaster, and the second channel identification information is provided by different service providers, but the logical channel number is the same. A method of processing channel information in a transmitter used to distinguish between channels. The method of claim 1, And the channel identification information includes fifth channel identification information indicating a geographical position of a terrestrial broadcaster providing the terrestrial broadcasting service. 9. The method of claim 8, And the service discovery information includes fourth channel identification information indicating a geographical position of a terrestrial broadcaster that provides the terrestrial broadcast service. The method of claim 12, And the channel identification information includes seventh channel identification information indicating a geographical position of a terrestrial broadcaster providing the terrestrial broadcasting service. delete delete

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