FR2809837A1 - METHOD OF MANAGING A DIFFUSED AUXILIARY PROGRAM IN RELATION TO A MAIN PROGRAM - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention presents a method of managing an auxiliary program broadcast in relation to a main program in which it is identified by a location reference. The method comprises a detection step followed by a step of reading the auxiliary program, a step of storing this program, and further comprises a step of developing a list of at least one auxiliary program allowing the user to access it. The invention also presents a television receiver 11 comprising, among other things, a demultiplexer designed to detect and extract auxiliary programs and a means for producing a list intended for the user of demultiplexed information.

Description

Method of managing an auxiliary program broadcast in connection with a

  The present invention relates to a method of processing an auxiliary program broadcast in connection with a main program. She

  also relates to a device for implementing this method.

  In the field of broadcasting, particularly over the airwaves, programs (commonly called broadcasts) are routed from one transmitter to a plurality of reception terminals. Radio programs, television programs and, more recently, radio

  interactive television programs.

  Interactive television thus offers, as part of the broadcasting of a main program, access to an auxiliary program which is not directly viewed. To do this, a mark such as an icon is displayed on the superimposed screen, this mark identifying the auxiliary program. A user who wishes to access the latter program produces a command for this purpose, usually by means of a remote control associated with a television on which he observes the main program. For example, a main program consisting of an advertisement may be associated with an auxiliary program offering documentation on the product presented in this message. Note also that the auxiliary program is not necessarily a video sequence, it can also consist of a

  software application or a combination of both.

  Generally, the mark of an auxiliary program appears only during the broadcast of the corresponding main program. Indeed, it seems inappropriate to clutter the TV screen with a

  plurality of icons from auxiliary programs previously broadcast.

  In addition, these ancillary programs should be broadcast throughout the period in which the corresponding references are viewed, which would constitute a

  Significant overload in the broadcast.

  It thus appears that the user who wishes to access an auxiliary program must be able to control his television during the broadcast of the main program. This constraint can not always be satisfied,

  for example when the remote control is out of range.

  The present invention thus relates to a method of processing which allows to have an auxiliary program while it is not possible to intervene during its broadcast. The invention proposes a method for managing auxiliary programs broadcast in relation to main programs. This method comprises the following steps: an auxiliary information broadcasting step comprising auxiliary programs and / or location references of said auxiliary programs; a step of detecting auxiliary information; a step of extracting auxiliary information; said auxiliary information, - a step of memorizing the auxiliary information, - a step of drawing up a list of at least one information intended for

  the user, auxiliary programs that the user can access.

  Advantageously, the memory step is preceded by a

selection stage.

  For example, the auxiliary program incorporating a descriptor, the selection step retains this auxiliary program in case of presence

  a predetermined field at least in the descriptor.

  On the other hand, an erase step of the auxiliary program is provided. Thus, when the auxiliary program incorporates an end of validity date, this erase step deletes it when this date is exceeded. Naturally, the method includes a step of transmitting a

  auxiliary program that will be stored in the terminal.

  Preferably, the stored auxiliary programs are each assigned a title, the transmission step is preceded by a step of

  presentation which proposes two titles at least.

  Following this, the method includes a step to associate the

  auxiliary program transmitted to the chosen title.

  Incidentally, the transmission step is followed by a step

  proposing the deletion of the transmitted auxiliary program.

  In addition, a validity start date being assigned to the auxiliary program, the transmission step can take place only from this date. The invention also relates to a terminal comprising means

  to implement the method above.

  The present invention will now appear in more detail

  in the context of the following description of exemplary embodiments given in

  illustrative title with reference to the accompanying figures which represent: Figure 1, a diagram of the equipment involved in the implementation of the invention, - Figure 2, a diagram of a terminal according to the invention, and

  - Figure 3, a flowchart of an erase operation according to the invention.

  With reference to FIG. 1, the invention is therefore presented in the context of an interactive television system, in which a terminal 11 is connected on the one hand to a broadcast server or transmitter 12 and

  2 o on the other hand to a point-to-point server 13.

  The link between the transmitter 12 and the terminal 11 is mainly monodirectional, it may be a cable, a radio link or a satellite link. The point-to-point server 13 is connected by a bidirectional link, a link of the public switched telephony network for example, to the terminal 11. The server 13 can also be connected to the transmitter 12. The terminal can be an interactive television , but also a decoder provided for the digital video broadcast or provided for connection to the

Internet network.

  Advantageously, the auxiliary program and the main program are broadcast simultaneously but only the latter is viewed on the television. The auxiliary program can also be broadcast before the main program, but its display can only be performed after receiving the main program to which it is attached. If an analog broadcast system is used, the auxiliary program is exemplified in the frame blanking intervals. Nevertheless, the low bandwidth granted in this case does not make it possible to send

  animated video sequences but only video pages.

  When broadcasting a main program, a marker such as an icon is superimposed on the screen. The user is thus informed that the auxiliary program is available. Classically, this user o10 accesses the auxiliary program by means of an activation command,

  process that will not be more detailed because it is part of the state of the art.

  The auxiliary program may be limited to an interactive program reference and an identifier of a service provider using its address on the Internet network known by the acronym of URL (for

  "Uniform Resource Locator" in Anglo-Saxon terms).

  The auxiliary program may consist of an interactive service under

the form of a software.

  The program can finally associate a URL identification with a

interactive service.

  With reference to FIG. 2, the terminal essentially comprises a processor 21 to which a demultiplexer 22, a remote control sensor 23, a display screen 24, a random access memory 25, an archive memory 26 and a modem 27 are connected. . The terminal

  also includes a tuner 28 connected to the demultiplexer 22.

  This demultiplexer 22 extracts the auxiliary program from the signal which

  is provided by the tuner 28 to transmit it to the processor 21.

  The sensor 23 passes on to the processor 21 the generated commands

  on a remote control member that is not shown.

  The random access memory 25 is the working memory of the processor 21 while the storage memory 26 is provided for storing various information, including the auxiliary program. The modem 27 is used for the connection of the

  processor 21 to the telephone network.

  According to the invention, the processor 21 is provided for recording an auxiliary program. The detection of this program does not call for any particular explanations, it can be done by the analysis of the intervals of deletion of frame or by the search for a reference in the

main program.

  According to a first embodiment, all the auxiliary programs are successively recorded, within the limit of the capacity

1o memory.

  According to a second embodiment, the auxiliary programs are selected before they are recorded, the selection being able to take place according to any one of the known techniques, in particular according to the

user profile.

  For example, we consider the case where these programs include a descriptor, a series of words, which provides information on the theme. The user, in an initial phase, introduces in the archiving memory 26 a list of keywords. The input can be done by a real keyboard if the terminal has one or by a virtual keyboard represented on the screen. Thus, during the broadcast of an auxiliary program, the processor 21 begins by reading it to store it in the working memory 25. The processor then searches if any of the keywords is in the descriptor and, in case of Successfully, it transfers the auxiliary program in the archive memory 26. This archive memory 26 is preferably a permanent memory type Flash or EEPROM to allow saving the information recorded after the extinction of the terminal. Of course, any combination of keywords can be included in this selection, especially by means of logical operators AND

and or.

  When the auxiliary program associates a URL identification with a

  interactive service, it may be sufficient to record the only identification.

  Furthermore, the archive memory 26 having a limited capacity, it is necessary to regularly delete old auxiliary programs in order to be able to record new ones. The simplest solution is to delete the oldest records. However, when the descriptor of a program includes a date of expiry of the corresponding interactive service, it

  is better to use this information.

  Thus, with reference to FIG. 3, processor 21 makes a systematic study of expired services. It selects the first auxiliary program in the archive memory 26, extracts the validity end date and deletes it from the memory if this date is exceeded. He then selects the second auxiliary program to do the same operations and

  so on until the last program.

  An essential objective of the invention consists in allowing a user to acquaint himself with the registered auxiliary programs. The processor 21 is therefore intended to respond to a consultation command, specific command of the user who plans to access one

either of these programs.

  According to a first option, the consultation command triggers

  a sequential scrolling of the different auxiliary programs.

  According to a second option, a title or a short description is

  associated with each registered auxiliary program: it may be a

  information incorporated in the program, in the descriptor for example.

  In this case, the processor 21 begins by presenting on the screen the rest of the available titles, in the form of icons for example. When all the titles can not be viewed simultaneously, you just need to have an icon

  particular function whose function is to display the sequence of titles.

  On this presentation screen, the user selects the auxiliary program to which he wishes to access by selecting a particular icon. The processor 21 detects the selected icon and transmits the corresponding auxiliary program, by viewing it on the screen 24 if it is pages or a video sequence. He can then propose to the user the erasure of the program. If only the address of the auxiliary program has been communicated to the television receiver, the latter must call to this address via the return channel the corresponding network and send a request to download the

auxiliary program specified.

  Advantageously, this phase of consulting recorded programs can be used to trigger the erasing operation.

  partial of the archive memory 26, operation described above.

  The invention thus offers the possibility of postponing the display of an auxiliary program with respect to its broadcasting. This characteristic makes it possible to anticipate the broadcasting of an auxiliary program, that is to say, to broadcast it while it is not desired that the corresponding interactive service is already accessible. It is enough to associate a date of beginning of validity with the concerned program, in the descriptor for example. In this case, the processor 21 verifies that the validity start date of a program

  Auxiliary has expired before triggering transmission.

  The embodiments of the invention presented above have been chosen for their concrete nature. It would not be possible, however, to exhaustively list all the embodiments covered by this invention. In particular, any means described may be replaced

  by equivalent means without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (14)

  A method of managing auxiliary programs broadcast in connection with main programs, characterized in that it comprises: a step of broadcasting auxiliary information comprising auxiliary programs and / or reference references of said auxiliary programs; a step of detecting auxiliary information, o10 a step of extracting said auxiliary information, - a step of storing the auxiliary information,   - a step of elaboration of a list of more - 'L S i nt -   the auxiliary programs which the user can access. 2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the auxiliary information is broadcast only during the broadcast of the   main program to which it is attached.   3. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the auxiliary information is broadcast prior to the broadcast of the   main program to which it is attached.   4. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the auxiliary information is associated with a validity start date, also broadcast.   5. Method according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that   auxiliary information is associated with an end of validity date, 3 o also distributed.   6. Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that   that the location reference comprises a path to an information item stored on a server and in that when a user selects an auxiliary program the download is performed using the location reference.   7. Method according to one of claims I to 6, characterized in that   that the extraction step comprises a step of selecting the auxiliary information as a function of the value of a descriptor field broadcast with auxiliary information.   8. Method according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that   that the dissemination of auxiliary information includes a descriptor intended to   describe the auxiliary information.   9. Method according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that   that the extracted auxiliary information is memorized as and when of their extraction.   10. Method according to one of claims 5 and 9, characterized in   the auxiliary information is erased if the validity date is exceeded.   11. Method according to one of the preceding claims,   characterized in that if the broadcasted auxiliary information comprises both an auxiliary program and its location reference, and if a part of the memory containing this auxiliary information is to be released, then the auxiliary program is deleted in priority, its reference of location being maintained.   12. Method according to claim 8, characterized in that the list intended for the user comprises the descriptors intended to describe the   memorized auxiliary information.   13. The method of claim 12 and one of the claims   4 or 5, characterized in that said list includes only the descriptors   auxiliary information during the validity period.   14. A television receiver with a central unit (21), and a memory (26) able to contain main programs, characterized in that it further comprises a demultiplexer (22) for demultiplexing information comprising auxiliary programs and / or auxiliary program location references, a memory (26) for holding said demultiplexed information, and means for generating a list   intended for the user of said demultiplexed information.