KR101414638B1 - IPTV receiver and method of changing channel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) receiver based on a data broadcasting platform and a channel switching method in the IPTV receiver. The application control unit of the present invention includes a data broadcasting platform. When the channel switching command is input, the application control unit extracts an IP address corresponding to a channel frequency and a program number to be switched from the IPTV channel information of the received service information, .

Frequency, program number, IP address, channel

Description

≪ Desc / Clms Page number 1 > Internet Protocol Television Receiver < RTI ID = 0.0 >

The present invention relates to an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) receiver based on a data broadcasting platform and a channel switching method in the IPTV receiver.

In general, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is a type of digital convergence in which broadcasting and communication are converged. The IPTV receiver receives broadcast signals from a program provider (PP) or terrestrial, cable, satellite, and receives ICOD (Internet Protocol) content such as Internet contents and video content (T-VOD) through a high- Internet Contents On Demand) service to the user. That is, the IPTV service is an interactive content in which communication and broadcasting are merged according to a program provider (PP) and a content provider (CP) digital convergence. In other words, the broadcasting station may additionally produce a content having a bidirectional function in addition to the program and transmit the content to the IPTV receiver, and the user of the IPTV receiver may express his or her intention through the return channel. In addition, an IPTV receiver equipped with a middleware protocol for IPTV service can provide a user with a triple play service (TPS) including a VoIP (telephone), a high-speed Internet, and an IPTV service (broadcast).

The main components of the system for the IPTV service include an IPTV headend system, an IP backbone network, an access network (e.g., xDSL, HFC, FTTC, FTTH structure), and an IPTV receiver.

The IPTV receiver may comprise a hardware layer, a system software layer, a middleware layer, and an application layer. The hardware layer may include a CPU, a media processor, a memory, and the like. The system software layer includes system software such as an OS (Operating System) and a device driver. The middleware layer may include a data broadcasting platform, a web browser, a security module, and the like. In the application layer, an application for implementing various bidirectional additional services is driven.

The data broadcasting platform includes an Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP), a Multimedia Home Platform (MHP), and an Advanced Common Application Platform (ACAP).

If ACAP is used as a data broadcasting platform, the ACAP creates and uses a locator composed of a frequency, a program number, and a program number as a method for channel switching. However, information on a channel used in ACAP is represented by frequency, program number (Frequency, Program Number), which is a resource that does not exist in IPTV. Therefore, if the ACAP is utilized as it is, there is a problem that channel switching of the terrestrial broadcasting retransmitted by the IPTV receiver can not be performed.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an IPTV receiver and a channel switching method in which channel information corresponding to a frequency and a program number is received and used for channel switching of broadcast contents.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an IPTV receiver and a channel switching method for receiving channel information corresponding to a frequency and a program number and using the information for channel switching of terrestrial broadcast contents to be retransmitted.

The IPTV receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a network interface unit, a demultiplexer, a decoder, a service information processing unit, and an application control unit. The network interface unit connects a receiver with a service provider through a network and receives a broadcast stream encapsulated in an IP packet. The demultiplexer separates audio, video and service information data from the broadcast stream. The service information data may include IPTV channel information. The decoder decodes and outputs the separated audio data and video data, respectively. The service information processing unit parses the separated service information data into a database. When the channel switching command is input, the application control unit extracts an IP address corresponding to a channel frequency and a program number to be switched from the IPTV channel information of the database service information, Request a connection.

The IPTV channel information may include a specific channel frequency, a program number, and an IP address corresponding to the frequency and the program number.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a channel switching method for an IPTV receiver, comprising: receiving a broadcast stream encapsulated in an IP packet to separate audio, video, and service information data, and the service information data includes IPTV channel information; Extracting an IP address corresponding to a frequency and a program number of a channel to be switched from the IPTV channel information of the service information data based on a data broadcasting platform and requesting connection with the extracted IP address; And receiving a broadcast stream encapsulated in an IP packet corresponding to the connected IP address.

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

An IPTV receiver and a channel switching method based on a data broadcasting platform according to the present invention receives channel information (i.e., an IP address) corresponding to a frequency and a program number of a channel and uses the channel information for channel switching, It is possible to perform the channel switching of the terrestrial broadcasting to be retransmitted while using the channel switching related mechanism as it is.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The structure and operation of the present invention shown in the drawings and described by the drawings are described as at least one embodiment, and the technical ideas and the core structure and operation of the present invention are not limited thereby.

The terms used in the present invention are selected from general terms that are widely used in the present invention while considering the functions of the present invention. However, the terms may vary depending on the intention or custom of the artisan or the emergence of new technology. Also, in certain cases, there may be a term selected arbitrarily by the applicant, in which case the meaning thereof will be described in detail in the description of the corresponding invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that the term used in the present invention should be defined based on the meaning of the term rather than the name of the term, and on the contents of the present invention throughout.

The present invention is adapted to receive IPTV channel information from a data broadcasting platform, for example, an IPTV receiver equipped with an ACAP, and to use the IPTV channel information when switching a broadcasting channel.

To this end, the transmitting side of the present invention transmits IPTV channel information as an embodiment. The IPTV channel information includes an IP address corresponding to a frequency and a program number of a specific channel.

The IPTV receiver of the present invention regards the terrestrial broadcast to be retransmitted as one application and processes it in the ACAP as an embodiment.

The IPTV channel information according to the present invention is included in service information and transmitted.

That is, service information is required to extract and decode broadcast content, for example, terrestrial broadcast content to be retransmitted. Such service information is sometimes referred to as system information.

In the embodiment of the present invention, PSI / PSIP (Program Specific Information / Program and System Information Protocol) is applied as the service information, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, a protocol for transmitting service information in a table format, regardless of its name.

The PSI is a system standard of MPEG-2 defined for classifying channels and programs, and the PSIP is an ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) standard capable of classifying channels and programs.

The PSI may include a Program Association Table (PAT), a Conditional Access Table (CAT), a Program Map Table (PMT), and a Network Information Table (NIT). The PAT is special information transmitted by a packet having a PID of '0', and transmits PID information of the corresponding PMT and PID information of the NIT for each program. The CAT transmits information on the pay-TV system used by the transmitter. The PMT transmits the PID information of the transport stream packet to which the program identification number and the individual bit stream such as video and audio constituting the program are transmitted, and the PID information to which the PCR is transmitted. The NIT transmits the information of the actual transmission network.

In one embodiment, the PSIP includes a Virtual Channel Table (VCT), a System Time Table (STT), a Rating Region Table (RRT), an Extended Text Table (ETT), a Direct Channel Change Table (DCCT) Code Table, EIT (Event Information Table), and MGT (Master Guide Table).

The VCT transmits information on a virtual channel, for example, channel information for channel selection and a packet identifier (PID) for receiving audio and / or video. That is, when the VCT is parsed, the PID of the audio and video of the broadcast program loaded in the channel together with the channel name, the channel number, and the like can be known.

The IPTV channel information of the present invention may be transmitted in the form of a field in a specific table in the PSIP and may be transmitted in the form of a descriptor. Also, the IPTV channel information may be transmitted in the form of a single table.

In the present invention, IPTV channel information is transmitted in a form of a descriptor. For convenience of description, the descriptor describing the IPTV channel information is referred to as an IPTV channel information descriptor.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a syntax structure of an IPTV channel information descriptor channel_information_descriptor () according to the present invention.

The IPTV channel information descriptor channel_information_descriptor () of FIG. 1 may include a decryptor_tag field, a descriptor_length field, a frequency field, a program number field, and a URL information field.

The descriptor_tag field is assigned 8 bits in one embodiment and indicates a unique identification value that can identify that the descriptor is an IPTV channel information descriptor.

The descriptor_length field is assigned 8 bits in one embodiment and indicates the total length of the IPTV channel information descriptor.

The frequency field is assigned 32 bits in one embodiment and indicates a frequency at which the broadcast program is transmitted.

In the program_number field, 16 bits are allocated, and the number of the corresponding program is displayed.

The URL information field displays the IP address using the URL_length field and the URL_byte field. The actual IP address value is displayed in the URL_byte field, but the IP address may be different for each broadcast program, so the URL_byte field is repeated by the URL_length field value to display the IP address.

To this end, the URL_length field and the URL_byte field each allocate 8 bits.

The order, location, meaning, and the number of additional allocated fields in the IPTV channel information descriptor in FIG. 1 can be easily changed by those skilled in the art, so the present invention is not limited thereto.

The embodiment of the present invention is one in which the IPTV channel information descriptor as shown in FIG. 1 is included in the MGT table among the PSIP tables and transmitted.

Therefore, in the IPTV receiver of the present invention, IPTV channel information is extracted from the MGT table and used for channel switching. Meanwhile, when the IPTV channel information is transmitted in the form of a table, the MGT can manage the version of the table for transmitting the IPTV channel information.

The MGT is a table describing a version number, a length (in bytes), and a PID for all PSIP tables except for the STT. The MGT is sent to one section with a table ID of 0xC7 and follows the syntax and semantics of the private section.

The TS packet for transmitting the MGT has the following restrictions. That is, the PID of the MGT is set to 0x1FFB (base_PID), and the transport_scrambling_control bit is set to '00'. The adaptation_field_control bit is set to '01', and the payload_unit_start_indicator of the first transport stream packet transmitting the MGT section is set to '1'. The pointer_field of the transport stream packet transmitting the MGT section is 0x00.

2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the MGT syntax structure.

In Fig. 2, the "table_id" field is a field containing information that identifies that the section belongs to the MGT.

The "section_syntax_indicator" field is a field containing information that the section goes through the " section_length "field and follows the generic section syntax. For example, the "section_syntax_indicator" field may be set to have a value of '1'. However, the above values are merely examples.

The "private_indicator" field is composed of one bit, and can be set to have a value of '1'. However, the above values are merely examples.

The "section_length" field is a field containing information that identifies the number of bytes remaining in the section data following the "section_length" field until the end of the section.

The "table_id_extension" field is composed of 16 bits and is table-dependent. And is considered to be a logical part of the "table_id" field which provides a scope for the remaining fields.

The "version_number" field is composed of 5 bits and is used as a field for displaying the version number of the MGT.

The "current_next_indicator" field is composed of 1 bit, and is always designed to have a value of '1'.

The "section_number" field is composed of 8 bits and is used to indicate the number of the section.

The "last_section_number" field is composed of 8 bits and is used to identify the number of the last section.

The "protocol_version" field is a field having a function for permitting later the table type in which a parameter different from the parameter defined in the current protocol is transmitted.

The "tables_defined" field is made up of 16 bits and represents the number of tables to appear in the next loop. The "tables_defined" field can be designed to have a value between 6 and 370.

The loop is repeated for the value of the " tables_defined " field to display information of each table.

The " table_type " field in the loop is composed of 16 bits and indicates the type of each table.

The " table_type_PID " field consists of 13 bits and defines the PID for the " table_type " field described in the loop.

The " table_type_version_number " field consists of 5 bits and indicates the version number of the " table_type " field described in the loop. The "table_type_version_number" field value is the same as the version number (version_number) in each table. For example, this field value for EIT-3 should be equal to the value of the version_number field in the actual EIT-3. The next VCT with current_next_indicator = 0 is displayed as a remainder after being incremented by 1 from the current VCT with current_next_indicator = 1 and divided by 32.

The " number_bytes " field consists of 32 bits, and the " table_type " field described in the loop represents the total number of bytes used to represent it.

The " table_type_descriptors_length " field indicates the total length, in bytes, of the dispenser for the " table_type "

The "descriptors_length" field indicates the total length of the MGT descriptor in bytes.

The " CRC_32 " field is a 32-bit CRC value for error correction.

The IPTV channel information descriptor of the present invention is transmitted to the descriptor in the MGT of FIG. 2 as an embodiment.

3 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of an IPTV receiver for receiving and processing an MGT including broadcast content and IPTV channel information.

The IPTV receiver includes a network interface unit 302, an IP manager 303, an RTP / RTCP manager 304, a demultiplexer 305, a decoder 306, An application control unit 308, a service manager 309, a storage unit 310, a system manager 312, a system information (SI) decoder 313, an SI database 314, a service discovery & Selection manager 315, a real-time transport streaming protocol (RTSP) manager 316, a storage medium control unit 317, and a storage medium 318.

The network interface unit 302 connects the IPTV receiver to the service provider through the wired / wireless Internet network and receives the IP packets 301 and outputs the IP packets to the IP manager 303. Also, the network interface unit 302 transmits a packet output from the IP manager 303 to an external device (for example, a service provider) through a wired / wireless Internet network. The IP packet may include a terrestrial broadcast content to be retransmitted, and may include service information, for example, a VCT, an MGT, and the like capable of receiving and decoding the terrestrial broadcast content.

The IP manager 303 is involved in delivering a packet from a source to a destination with respect to a packet received from the IPTV receiver and a packet transmitted from the IPTV receiver. And classifies the received packet so as to correspond to an appropriate protocol.

The RTP / RTCP manager 304 controls packets output from the IP manager 303. For example, if the received packet is real-time streaming data, RTP / RTCP is used. That is, when real-time streaming data is transmitted using RTP, the RTP / RTCP manager 304 parses the received packet according to the RTP and transmits it to the demultiplexer 305. [ Then, RTCP is used to feedback the network reception quality to the server side which retransmits the terrestrial waves. At this time, the real-time streaming data is encapsulated in UDP (User Datagram Protocol) without RTP and directly transmitted.

The demultiplexer 305 demultiplexes the transport packet, which has been parsed and input, into audio, video, and service information data, and transmits the demultiplexed data to the video / audio decoder 306 and the service information decoder 313, respectively.

The video / audio decoder 306 decodes the video data and the audio data received by the demultiplexer 305 with respective video and audio decoding algorithms and restores the data to a state before compression. The video / audio data decoded by the video / audio decoder 306 is provided to the user through the display unit 307.

The application control unit 308 controls an application and controls an overall operation of the IPTV receiver according to a user's input signal by controlling a user interface (not shown). Also, the application control unit 308 provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for a user using an OSD (On Screen Display) or the like, And performs an operation. The application control unit 308 transmits the support codec information of the receiver to the service provider through the network interface unit 302 and controls the IPTV receiver to receive the content encoded by the codec that can be decoded by the IPTV receiver.

That is, the application control unit 308, as a middleware layer of the IPTV receiver, is equipped with a data broadcasting platform, for example, ACAP.

Therefore, when the channel change is requested by the user, the application control unit 308 extracts the frequency and the program number of the channel to be switched from the VCT among the service information. The IP address corresponding to the extracted frequency and program number is extracted from the IPTV channel information. That is, a frequency field and a program number field in the VCT and a frequency field and a program number field in the IPTV channel information serve as links for extracting corresponding IP addresses.

The IPTV channel information may be included in the MGT in the form of a descriptor and transmitted in a form of a table. The application control unit 308 extracts the IP address corresponding to the frequency and the channel number from the IPTV channel information, and provides the extracted IP address to the IP manager 303. That is, the IP address is the IP address of the channel to be switched.

The IP manager 303 accesses the extracted IP address through the network interface unit 302 and receives broadcasting contents of a desired channel. That is, the IP manager 303 requests tuning to the virtual channel (not shown) with the IP address, thereby performing channel switching.

As described above, the IP channel information according to the present invention includes an IP address corresponding to each frequency and channel number. And if you use it at channel switching, you can use the channel switching mechanism without changing the locator of JavaTV used in existing ACAP.

The service manager 309 stores the received channel information and generates a service channel map. In addition, a channel is selected according to the key input received from the application control unit 308, and the SD & S manager 315 is controlled.

The service manager 309 receives service information of a channel from the SI decoder 313 and sets an audio / video PID (Packet Identifier) of the selected channel to the demultiplexer 305.

The SI decoder 313 decodes service information tables such as PSI / PSIP. That is, the demultiplexer 305 receives and decodes the demultiplexed PSI / PSIP table or the DVB-SI (Service Information) table.

The SI decoder 313 decodes the received service information tables to create a database relating to service information, and stores the database related to the service information in the SI database 314.

The SD & S manager 315 provides the application control unit 308 with information necessary for selecting a service provider providing the service. When the SD & S manager 315 receives the channel selection information from the application control unit 308, the SD & S manager 315 searches for the service provider using the information.

The RTSP manager 316 is responsible for selection and control of services. For example, if a user selects IGMP or RTSP when selecting the same Live Broadcasting service as the existing broadcasting method and selects a service such as VOD (Vidoe On Demand), RTSP is used to select and control the service do. The real-time streaming protocol (RTSP) may provide a trick mode for real-time streaming.

The storage unit 311 stores setup data and the like for the system. A nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) or a flash memory may be used as the storage unit 311.

The system manager 312 controls the overall operation of the IPTV receiver through a power source.

The storage medium controller 317 interfaces with the demultiplexer 305 to control instant recording, scheduled recording, and time shift of broadcast contents. For example, when any one of the immediate recording, the scheduled recording, and the time shift is set in the IPTV receiver, the broadcast content input to the demultiplexer 305 is stored in the storage medium 318 under the control of the storage medium control unit 317 do.

When it is necessary to reproduce data stored in the storage medium 318, the storage medium control unit 317 reads the corresponding content stored in the storage medium 318 and outputs the read content to the demultiplexer 305.

At this time, since the storage capacity of the storage medium 318 is limited, it is an embodiment of the present invention that the broadcast content that has been compression-coded for the storage capacity efficiency is stored in the storage medium 318 as it is. In this case, the broadcast content read from the storage medium 318 in response to the reproduction command is input to the audio / video decoder 306 through the demultiplexer 305 and restored to its original state.

Also, the storage medium control unit 317 may control the playback, fast forward, rewind, slow motion, and the like of the broadcast contents stored in the storage medium 318 or currently buffered, Instant replay, and so on. In this case, the instant replay is a function that can repeatedly view scenes to be viewed again. In addition to the stored data, data currently received in real time can be instantly replayed in conjunction with a time shift function.

As described so far, the IPTV receiver needs an IP address capable of performing functions such as frequency and program number. Therefore, the present invention performs channel switching using an IP address corresponding to a frequency and a program number included in IPTV channel information.

The IPTV channel information may be included in at least one table in service information in the form of a descriptor, or may be transmitted in a new user private table format. If the IPTV channel information is transmitted in the form of a table, the IPTV information table has an identifier distinguished from other tables in the service information. The IPTV channel information includes a frequency, a program number, and an IP address corresponding to the frequency and the program number. The IP address is also referred to as a URL address.

If the channel switching is performed using the IP address in the IPTV channel information, the channel switching mechanism can be used as it is without changing the JavaTV locator used in the existing ACAP.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, .

1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a syntax structure of an IPTV channel information descriptor according to the present invention;

2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a syntax structure of an MGT among service information according to the present invention;

3 is a block diagram illustrating an IPTV receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the Related Art [0002]

302: Network interface unit 303: IP manager

304: RTP / RTCP manager 305: Demultiplexer

306: A / V decoder 307:

308: Application control unit 309: Service manager

310: service channel map 311:

312: System manager 313: SI decoder

314: SI database 315: SD & S manager

316: RTSP manager 317: Storage medium controller

318: Storage medium

Claims (10)

A network interface unit for connecting a receiver to a service provider through a network and receiving a broadcast stream encapsulated in an IP packet; Demultiplexing audio, video and service information data from the broadcast stream, the service information data including IPTV channel information; A decoder for decoding and outputting the separated audio data and video data, respectively; A service information processing unit for parsing the separated service information data into a database; And When a channel switching command is input, the IP broadcasting terminal 100 extracts an IP address corresponding to a frequency and a program number of a channel to be switched from IPTV channel information of the database service information, and requests a connection with the extracted IP address And an application control unit. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the IPTV channel information includes a frequency of a specific channel, a program number, and an IP address corresponding to the frequency and the program number. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the IPTV channel information is included in at least one table of service information in the form of a descriptor. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the IPTV channel information is received separately from other tables of service information in the form of a table. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the data broadcasting platform is an ACAP. Receiving a broadcast stream encapsulated in an IP packet to separate audio, video and service information data, the service information data including IPTV channel information; Extracting an IP address corresponding to a frequency and a program number of a channel to be switched from the IPTV channel information of the service information data based on a data broadcasting platform and requesting connection with the extracted IP address; And And receiving a broadcast stream encapsulated in an IP packet corresponding to the connected IP address. The method according to claim 6, Wherein the IPTV channel information includes a frequency of a specific channel, a program number, and an IP address corresponding to the frequency and the program number. The method according to claim 6, Wherein the IPTV channel information is included in at least one table of service information in the form of a descriptor. The method according to claim 6, Wherein the IPTV channel information is received separately from other tables of service information in the form of a table. The method according to claim 6, Wherein the data broadcasting platform is an ACAP.

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