GB2487605A - Displaying regional content simultaneously with national content - Google Patents

Displaying regional content simultaneously with national content Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2487605A
GB2487605A GB1104039.1A GB201104039A GB2487605A GB 2487605 A GB2487605 A GB 2487605A GB 201104039 A GB201104039 A GB 201104039A GB 2487605 A GB2487605 A GB 2487605A
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United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
content
services
regional
service
packets
Prior art date
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Withdrawn
Application number
GB1104039.1A
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GB201104039D0 (en
Inventor
Satish Chakka
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Synamedia Ltd
Original Assignee
NDS Ltd
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Publication date
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Priority to GB1104039.1A priority Critical patent/GB2487605A/en
Publication of GB201104039D0 publication Critical patent/GB201104039D0/en
Publication of GB2487605A publication Critical patent/GB2487605A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04H—BROADCAST COMMUNICATION
    • H04H60/00—Arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linking to broadcast information or broadcast space-time; Broadcast-related systems
    • H04H60/35—Arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time, e.g. for identifying broadcast stations or for identifying users
    • H04H60/38—Arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time, e.g. for identifying broadcast stations or for identifying users for identifying broadcast time or space
    • H04H60/41—Arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time, e.g. for identifying broadcast stations or for identifying users for identifying broadcast time or space for identifying broadcast space, i.e. broadcast channels, broadcast stations or broadcast areas
    • H04H60/42—Arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time, e.g. for identifying broadcast stations or for identifying users for identifying broadcast time or space for identifying broadcast space, i.e. broadcast channels, broadcast stations or broadcast areas for identifying broadcast areas
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04H—BROADCAST COMMUNICATION
    • H04H60/00—Arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linking to broadcast information or broadcast space-time; Broadcast-related systems
    • H04H60/35—Arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time, e.g. for identifying broadcast stations or for identifying users
    • H04H60/49—Arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time, e.g. for identifying broadcast stations or for identifying users for identifying locations
    • H04H60/51—Arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time, e.g. for identifying broadcast stations or for identifying users for identifying locations of receiving stations
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/23—Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
    • H04N21/236—Assembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. transport stream, by combining a video stream with other content or additional data, e.g. inserting a URL [Uniform Resource Locator] into a video stream, multiplexing software data into a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Insertion of stuffing bits into the multiplex stream, e.g. to obtain a constant bit-rate; Assembling of a packetised elementary stream
    • H04N21/23614—Multiplexing of additional data and video streams
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/23—Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
    • H04N21/236—Assembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. transport stream, by combining a video stream with other content or additional data, e.g. inserting a URL [Uniform Resource Locator] into a video stream, multiplexing software data into a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Insertion of stuffing bits into the multiplex stream, e.g. to obtain a constant bit-rate; Assembling of a packetised elementary stream
    • H04N21/2362—Generation or processing of Service Information [SI]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/431—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
    • H04N21/4312—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
    • H04N21/4316—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/434—Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream
    • H04N21/4345—Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/434—Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream
    • H04N21/4348—Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
    • H04N21/4508—Management of client data or end-user data
    • H04N21/4524—Management of client data or end-user data involving the geographical location of the client
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N5/44513—

Abstract

An apparatus provides content to end-user receiver devices in a plurality of geographic regions, the apparatus comprising a receiver to receive video content for a plurality of services or channels for consumption across all the geographic regions, and a receiver to receive regional content for at least one of the geographic regions, a packer to pack into packets the video content for each service and the regional content items, an identifier to provide content type identifiers for each packet and include at least one content type identifier in each packet, a table creator to create tables to enable the end-user devices to filter packets so that wide area and local area content can be simultaneously displayed, and a stream module to prepare a transport stream for the packets. Related apparatus and methods are also described. Local content may include adverts or text.

Description

t V.' INTELLECTUAL ..* PROPERTY OFFICE Application No. GB 1104039.1 RT1VI Date 6 July 2011 The following terms are registered trademarks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document: The Weather Channel The Independent Teletext Intellectual Properly Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.ipo.gov.uk
REGIONAL CONTENT
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to regional content, and in particular, but not exclusively to, the broadcast/multicast of regional content.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The following references are believed to represent the state of the art: The Weather Channel local forecast on youtube.com; European Standard ETSI EN 300 468 V1.5.1 (2003-05) entitled "Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); Specification for Service Information (SI) in DVB Systems"; European Standard ETSI EN 300 743 Vi.3.1 (2006-11) entitled "Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); Subtitling Systems"; Article entitled "Ban on ITV teletext adverts sparks row" by Mathew Horsman in The Independent on June 28, 1996; A CRS Report for Congress entitled "Emergency Communications: The Emergency Alert System (EAS) and All-Hazard Warnings" updated November 12, 2004 by Moore, Linda K.; A document entitled "Live Subtitling" by Screen Subtitling Systems Ltd. in 2005; DVB Subtitling FAQ, 2001, Softel Ltd.; US Published Patent Application 2005/006 8977 of Na, et al.; US Published Patent Application 2005/0155070 of Slaughter; US Patent 4,725,886 to Galumbeck, et al.; US Patent 5,684,541 to Vaske; US Patent 6,986,153 to Ridderheim, et al.; US Patent 6,122,658 to Chaddha; and PCT Published Patent Application WO 03/084219 of Digeo, Inc.
I
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention, in certain embodiments thereof, seeks to provide an improved, regional content broadcast/multicast system.
There is thus provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a Headend apparatus to provide content to a plurality of end-user receiver devices in a plurality of geographic regions, the apparatus including a receiver to receive video content for a plurality of services, the video content being for consumption across all the geographic regions, and receive regional content, such that each one of the services includes at least one regional content item for each one of the geographic regions, a packer to pack into a plurality of packets the video content for each one the services, and the at least one regional content item for each one of the services for each one of the geographic regions, so that each of the packets includes a part of the video content for one of the services or at least part of the at least one regional content item for one of the services for one of the geographic regions, and provide a plurality of content type identifiers and include at least one of the content type identifiers in each one of the packets, the at least one content type identifier identifying a content type contained in the one packet, the content type identifiers being selected in order to distinguish between at least one of the following one of the packets containing video content and a different one of the packets containing regional content, one of the packets containing video content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing video content of a different one of the services, one of the packets containing regional content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content of a different one of the services, and one of the packets containing regional content for one of the geographic regions for one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content for a different one of the geographic regions for the one service, a table creator to create a plurality of tables, each of the tables including one or more of the content type identifiers to enable the end-user receiver devices to filter packets of the at least one regional content item for a first one of the services for a first one of the geographic regions, and the video content for the first service, and a stream module to prepare a transport stream including the packets including the video content for each one of the services and the at least one regional content item for each one of the services for each one of the geographic regions.
Further in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus includes a transmitter to broadcast/multicast the same transport stream to the end-user receiver devices located in all of the geographic regions.
Still further in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter is operative to transmit the tables to the end-user receiver devices located in all the geographic regions.
Additionally in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the stream module is operative to prepare the transport stream including
the tables.
Moreover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, for each one of the services for each one of the geographic regions, at least part of the at least one regional content item for the one service for the one geographic region is for consumption in the one geographic region for viewing together, at the same time, with at least part of the video content of the one service.
There is also provided in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, a end-user receiver apparatus for rendering content received from a Headend which broadcasts/multicasts a same transport stream to a plurality of end-user receivers across a plurality of geographic regions, the apparatus including a locator to provide a geographic location of the end-user receiver apparatus, the geographic location of the end-user receiver apparatus being included in a first one of the geographic regions, a receiver to receive the transport stream including a plurality of packets including video content for a plurality of services, and regional content for each one of the services such that each one of the services includes at least one regional content item for each one of the geographic regions, each of the packets including a part of the video content for one of the services or at least part of the at least one regional content item for one of the services for one of the geographic regions, and a plurality of content type identifiers such that each of the packets includes at least one of the content type identifiers in order to distinguish between at least one of the following one of the packets containing video content and a different one of the packets containing regional content, one of the packets containing video content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing video content of a different one of the services, one of the packets containing regional content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content of a different one of the services, and one of the packets containing regional content for one of the geographic regions for one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content for a different one of the geographic regions for the one service, a demultiplexer to filter the packets of the video content of one of the services, and the at least one regional content item for the one service for the first geographic region, and a rendering arrangement to render at least part of the filtered video content for the one service and at least part of the at least one regional content item for the one service for the first geographic region for viewing on a display device.
Further in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the rendering arrangement is operative to render the at least part of the filtered video content for the one service and the at least part of the at least one regional content item for the one service for the first geographic region for viewing together, at the same time, on the display device.
Still further in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the receiver is operative to receive a plurality of tables, each of the tables including one or more of the content type identifiers to enable the end-user receiver apparatus to select for filtering, packets of the at least one regional content item for the one service for the first geographic region, and the video content for the one service.
Additionally in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the tables include a program association table and a plurality of program map tables, the program association table maps each one of the services to one of the program map tables so that each one of the program map tables is for one of the services, the one program map table for the one service identifying the at least one content type identifier for the video content of the one service, and, for each of the geographic regions, the at least one content type identifier for the at least one regional content item of the one service.
Moreover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the tables include a program association table and a plurality of program map tables and a plurality of private tables, each of the private tables being identified by one of the content type identifiers, the program association table mapping each one of the services to one of the program map tables so that each one of the program map tables is for one of the services, each one of the private tables being for one of the services, the one program map table for the one service identifying the at least one content type identifier for the video content of the one service and the one content type identifier of the one private table for the one service, the one private table of the one service identifying, for each of the geographic regions, the at least one content type identifier for the at least one regional content item for the one service.
Further in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the regional content includes regional Teletext pages and the at least one regional content item includes at least one Teletext page.
Still further in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, for each one of the services, a single Teletext magazine includes the at least one regional Teletext page for all the geographic regions for the one service.
Additionally in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the regional Teletext pages include a regional Teletext index page for each of the geographic regions in the single Teletext magazine for the one service, the regional index page for each of the geographic regions for the one service being listed in at least one the tables.
Moreover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, for each one of the services, a different Teletext magazine is provided for each of the geographic regions for the one service.
Further in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one regional content item is an advertisement.
There is also provided in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, a method to provide content to a plurality of end-user receiver devices in a plurality of geographic regions, the method including receiving video content for a plurality of services, the video content being for consumption across all the geographic regions, receiving regional content, such that each one of the services includes at least one regional content item for each one of the geographic regions, packing into a plurality of packets the video content for each one the services, and the at least one regional content item for each one of the services for each one of the geographic regions, so that each of the packets includes a part of the video content for one of the services or at least part of the at least one regional content item for one of the services for one of the geographic regions, and providing a plurality of content type identifiers and include at least one of the content type identifiers in each one of the packets, the at least one content type identifier identifying a content type contained in the one packet, the content type identifiers being selected in order to distinguish between at least one of the following one of the packets containing video content and a different one of the packets containing regional content, one of the packets containing video content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing video content of a different one of the services, one of the packets containing regional content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content of a different one of the services, and one of the packets containing regional content for one of the geographic regions for one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content for a different one of the geographic regions for the one service, creating a plurality of tables, each of the tables including one or more of the content type identifiers to enable the end-user receiver devices to filter packets of the at least one regional content item for a first one of the services for a first one of the geographic regions, and the video content for the first service, and preparing a transport stream including the packets including the video content for each one of the services and the at least one regional content item for each one of the services for each one of the geographic regions.
There is also provided in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, a method for rendering content received from a Headend which broadcasts/multicasts a same transport stream to a plurality of end-user receivers across a plurality of geographic regions, the method including providing a geographic location of one of end-user receivers, the geographic location of the one end-user receiver being included in a first one of the geographic regions, receiving the transport stream including a plurality of packets including video content for a plurality of services, and regional content for each one of the services such that each one of the services includes at least one regional content item for each one of the geographic regions, each of the packets including a part of the video content for one of the services or at least part of the at least one regional content item for one of the services for one of the geographic regions, and a plurality of content type identifiers such that each of the packets includes at least one of the content type identifiers in order to distinguish between at least one of the following one of the packets containing video content and a different one of the packets containing regional content, one of the packets containing video content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing video content of a different one of the services, one of the packets containing regional content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content of a different one of the services, and one of the packets containing regional content for one of the geographic regions for one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content for a different one of the geographic regions for the one service, filtering the packets in order to select the video content of one of the services and the at least one regional content item for the one service for the first geographic region, and rendering at least part of the filtered video content for the one service and at least part of the at least one regional content item for the one service for the first geographic region for viewing on a display device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein: Fig. 1 is a partly pictorial, partly block diagram view of a regional content delivery system constructed and operative in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a partly pictorial, partly block diagram view of a Headend apparatus in the system of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a partly pictorial, partly block diagram view of a Headend apparatus employing two content type identifiers per packet for regional content in the system of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a partly pictorial, partly block diagram view of an end-user receiver in the system of Fig. 1; Fig. S is a partly pictorial, partly block diagram view of a regional Teletext delivery system constructed and operative in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 6 is a pictorial view of two Teletext magazines for different geographical regions of the same service; and Fig. 7 is a pictorial view of a single Teletext magazine for different geographical regions of the same service.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT
The term "encoded" is used throughout the present specification and claims, in all of its grammatical forms, to refer to any type of data stream encoding including, for example and without limiting the scope of the definition, well known types of encoding such as, but not limited to, MPEG-2 encoding, H.264 encoding, VC-1 encoding, and synthetic encodings such as Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) and LASER (ISO/IEC 14496-20), and so forth. It is appreciated that an encoded data stream generally requires more processing and typically more time to read than a data stream which is not encoded. Any recipient of encoded data, whether or not the recipient of the encoded data is the intended recipient, is, at least in potential, able to read encoded data without requiring cryptanalysis. It is appreciated that encoding may be performed in several stages and may include a number of different processes, including, but not necessarily limited to: compressing the data; transforming the data into other forms; and making the data more robust (for instance replicating the data or using error correction mechanisms).
The term "compressed" is used throughout the present specification and claims, in all of its grammatical forms, to refer to any type of data stream compression. Compression is typically a part of encoding and may include image compression and motion compensation. Typically, compression of data reduces the number of bits comprising the data. In that compression is a subset of encoding, the terms "encoded" arid "compressed", iii all of their grammatical forms, are often used interchangeably throughout the present specification and claims.
Similarly, the terms "decoded" and "decompressed" are used throughout the present specification and claims, in all their grammatical forms, to refer to the reverse of "encoded" and "compressed" in all their grammatical forms.
The terms "scrambled" and "encrypted", in all of their grammatical forms, are used interchangeably throughout the present specification and claims to refer to any appropriate scrambling and I or encryption methods for scrambling and I or encrypting a data stream, and I or any other appropriate method for intending to make a data stream unintelligible except to an intended recipient(s) thereof Well known types of scrambling or encrypting include, but are not limited to DES, 3DES, and AES. Similarly, the terms "descrambled" and "decrypted" are used throughout the present specification and claims, in all their grammatical forms, to refer to the reverse of "scrambled" and "encrypted" in all their grammatical forms.
Pursuant to the above definitions, the terms "encoded"; "compressed"; and the terms "scrambled" and "encrypted" are used to refer to different and exclusive types of processing. Thus, a particular data stream may be,
for example:
encoded, but neither scrambled nor encrypted; compressed, but neither scrambled nor encrypted; scrambled or encrypted, but not encoded; scrambled or encrypted, but not compressed; encoded, and scrambled or encrypted; or compressed, and scrambled or encrypted.
Likewise, the tenTns "decoded" and "decompressed" one the one hand, and the terms "descrambled" and "decrypted" on the other hand, are used to refer to different and exclusive types of processing.
Reference is now made to Fig. 1, which is a partly pictorial, partly block diagram view of a regional content delivery system 10 constructed and operative in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
The regional content delivery system 10 includes a Headend 12 and a plurality of end-user receiver devices 14. The Headend 12 is typically operative to prepare content for a plurality of services 20 for broadcast/multicast to the end-user receiver devices 14. Each of the services 20 includes video content 16 and different regional content 18 for a plurality of geographic regions 22.
The video content 16 and the regional content 18 may be broadcastlmulticast to the end-user receiver devices 14 by any suitable communication system, for example, but not limited to, cable, satellite, terrestrial andlor Internet Protocol systems.
The Headend 12 generally broadcasts the video content 16 and the regional content 18 to the end-user receiver devices 14 in a transport stream 24, as will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 2.
The end-user receiver devices 14 receive the transport stream 24.
Each end-user receiver device 14 typically filters the video content 16 of a desired service 20 for display on a display device 26. Each end-user receiver device 14 is also operative to filter the regional content 18 for the geographic region 22 that the end-user receiver device 14 is located in and display the regional content 18 on the display device 26 at the same time as the video content 16 is displayed on the display device 26. The regional content 18 is typically displayed over part of the video content 16 so that not all the video content 16 is visible. Alternatively, the regional content 18 may be displayed next to the video content 16. Typically, the regional content 18 and the video content 16 displayed on the display device 26 at the same time are typically of the same service 20.
The regional content 18 may be any suitable content, for example, but not limited to, advertisements, local events, local shows, regional train and/or flight schedules and regional news.
The video content 16 may be any suitable content such as, a TV program or an advertisement, by way of example only.
Fig. 1 shows the video content 16, which is a car advertisement, being displayed on the display devices 26. Additionally, the display devices 26 are displaying the regional content 18. The display device 26 located in a first geographic region 28 is displaying a regional advertisement 30 ("Fast Cars LA") and the display device 26 located in a second geographic region 32 is displaying another regional advertisement 34 ("Fast Cars NY"). In the example of Fig. 1, the video content 16 includes an advertisement for a car on the display devices 26, while the regional content 18 includes a local advertisement (specific to a geographic region 22) advertising where the car can be purchased locally in the geographic region of each end-user receiver device 14 so that viewers in different regions are viewing different regional content 18.
The regional content 18 may be implemented using the same or similar infrastructure in place for subtitles. The regional content 18 may be implemented so that it does not require any secondary storage in the end-user receiver devices 14, for example, but not limited to a hard drive or flash drive. The regional content 18 is typically encoded by the Headend 12 using any suitable method, for example, but not limited to, using DVB subtitles or EBU Teletext subtitles or any suitable subtitling format or any other suitable encoding method.
The presentation time stamps (PTSs) of the regional content 18 are provided so that the regional content 18 is coordinated with the video content 16, as required.
When subtitle methods are used for encoding the regional content 18, the regional content 18 and the program subtitles are typically encoded as independent subtitle streams, typically using packets having different packet IDs (PIDs). In the end-user receiver devices 14, the middleware typically filters two subtitle streams, one for program subtitles and one for the regional content 18. The middleware is generally operative to render the program subtitles, if requested, and the regional content 18 as required based on matching the presentation time stamps (PTSs) of the program subtitle packets and the regional content 18 packets with the system time clock (STC) which is typically driven by the program clock references (PCRs) included in the transport stream 24. Therefore, if program subtitles have been requested (either by the viewer or the content provider) then the program subtitles will be displayed on the display device 26 at the same time as the regional content 18.
Reference is now made to Fig. 2, which is a partly pictorial, partly block diagram view of the Headend 12 in the system 10 of Fig. 1.
The Headend 12 typically includes a receiver 36, a table creator 38, a packer 40, a stream module 42 and a transmitter 44.
The receiver 36 is typically operative to receive the video content 16 for each of the services 20 from a content provider (not shown). The video content 16 is for consumption across all the geographic regions 22. The receiver 36 is also generally operative to receive the regional content 18 from the content provider or a content preparation system located at the Headend 12. Each service 20 typically includes one or more regional content items 46 for each geographic region 22. Each regional content item 46 may include any suitable format such as a textual format and/or a video format and/or a graphics format, by way of example only. The regional content item 46 may include any suitable programming content, for example, but not limited to, an advertisement or other regional information.
The term "service", as used in the specification and claims, is defined to include a TV channel.
For each service 20, for each geographic region 22, at least part of the regional content item(s) 46 is for consumption in that geographic region 22 for viewing together, at the same time, with at least part of the video content 16 of that service 20.
The table creator 38 is operative to create a plurality of tables 50.
The table creator 38 and the tables 50 will be described in more detail below.
The packer 40 is operative to pack the video content 16, the regional content 18 and the tables 50 into a plurality of packets 48. The packer 40 is operative to pack the video content 16 for each service 20 into the packets 48. The packer 40 is also operative to pack the regional content item(s) 46 for each service 20 for each geographic region 22 into the packets 48. Therefore, each packet 48 typically includes: a part of the video content 16 for one of the services 20; or at least part of the regional content item(s) 46 for one of the services 20 for one of the geographic regions 22; or at least part of the tables 50.
The packer 40 is also typically operative to provide a plurality of content type identifiers 52 and include one or more of the content type identifiers 52 in each packet 48. The content type identifier(s) 52 for each packet 48 typically identify a content type contained in that packet 48. The content type identifiers 52 are typically selected in order to distinguish between at least one of the following: one of the packets 48 containing the video content 16 and a different one of the packets 48 containing the regional content 18; one of the packets 48 containing the video content 48 of one of the services 20 and a different one of the packets 48 containing the video content 16 of a different one of the services 20; one of the packets 48 containing the regional content 18 of one of the services 20 and a different one of the packets 48 containing the regional content 18 of a different one of the services 20; and one of the packets 48 containing the regional content 18 for one of the geographic regions 22 for one of the services 20 and a different one of the packets 48 containing the regional content 18 for a different one of the geographic regions 22 for that service 20. Content type identifiers 52 may also be used to identify packets 48 including data of the
tables 50.
The content type identifier(s) 52 indentifying the content type of any packet 48 may be selected from any suitable content type identifier(s). By way of example only, in an MPEGIDVB system, content type identifier(s) for each packet 48 may be any suitable ID or combination of IDs such as PIDs, ancillary page IDs, composition page IDs, Magazine numbers (for Teletext) and page number (for Teletext) as will be described in more detail below.
In the example of Fig. 2, each packet 48 includes one content type identifier 52 which is a packet ID (PID).
An example of employing two different content type identifiers 52 for each packet 48 of the regional content 18 is described with reference to Fig. 3.
Other examples of employing more than one content type identifier 52 for each packet 48 are described in various places below with reference to Figs. 4-7.
Fig. 2 shows that the packets 48 of the regional content 18 of service 1 for region 1 include the content type identifier 52 with a value "1010".
The packets 48 of the regional content 18 of service 1 for region N include the content type identifier 52 with a value "1030". The packets 48 of the regional content 18 of service 2 for region 1 have the content type identifier 52 with a value "1060. Therefore, all the different content types in the packets 48 shown in Fig. 2 are distinguished by different content type identifiers 52. However, more than one content type identifier 52 may be used per packet 48, so for example, the regional content 18 for all the geographic regions 22 of the same service 20 may include the same PID and the packets 48 of the different geographic regions 22 may then be distinguished from each other using different composition page IDs.
The table creator 38 is operative to create each table 50 including one or more of the content type identifiers 52.
Some of the tables 50 include content type identifiers 52 that refer to packets 48 that include the data of other tables 50. Some of the tables 50 include content type identifiers 52 that refer directly to packets 48 that include the video content 16 or the regional content 18. Some of the tables 50 may refer to the packets 48 that include the data of other tables 50 as well as the packets 48 that include the video content 16 or the regional content 18, depending on the configuration of the system 10.
The tables 50 typically enable each end-user receiver device 14 (Fig. 1) to filter packets 48 of: the regional content item(s) 46 for a desired service 20 for the geographic region 22 in which the end-user receiver device 14 is located; and the video content 16 for a desired service 20.
In an MPEG/DVB system, the tables 50 typically include a program association table (PAT) 54 and a plurality of program map tables (PMTs) 56. The program association table 54 typically maps each service 20 to one of the program map tables 56 so that each program map table 56 lists the available packets for that service 20. For each service 20, the program map table 56 of that service 20 identifies: the content type identifier(s) 52 for the video content 16 of that service 20; and, for each geographic region 22, the content type identifier(s) 52 for the regional content item(s) 46 of that service 20.
In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the tables 50 include a program association table (PAT) and a plurality of program map tables (PMTs) and a plurality of private tables (not shown). Each private table is typically identified by one content type identifier 52. The program association table typically maps each service 20 to one program map table so that each program map table is for one service 20. Each private table is for one service 20. For each service 20, the program map table identifies the content type identifier(s) 52 for the video content 16 of that service 20 and the content type identifier 52 of the private table for that service 20. For each service 20, the private table identifies, for each geographic region 22, the content type identifier 52 for the regional content item(s) 46 for that service 20.
The stream module 42 is operative to prepare the transport stream 24 containing the packets 48. The packets 48 in the transport stream 24 include: the video content 16 for each service 20; the regional content item(s) 46 for each service 20 for each geographic region 22; and the tables 50.
The transmitter 44 is typically operative to broadcast/multicast the same transport stream 24 to the end-user receiver devices 14 (Fig. 1) located in all the geographic regions 22.
Examples are described below, where the regional content 18 is enabled using subtitle infrastructure in an MPEG/DVB type system.
The PMT of each service includes a private descriptor that includes the PIDs of the regional content 18 for the different geographic regions 22.
An example PMT is shown below in table 1 listing the different PIDs for the different regional content items 46.
In table 1, for the geographic region 1, the English regional content item 46 "subtitle" has a PID equal to X, a composition_page_id equal to 1 and an ancillary_page_id equal to 3. The French regional content item 46 "subtitle" for the same region 1, has the same PID and ancillary_page_ID, but a composition_page_id equal to 2.
Table 1: Example PMT
Private Descriptor for Regional_Content subtitles descriptor_tag: descriptor_length: Region ID: 1 PID: X Region ID: 2 PID:Y
I PID:X
subtitling descriptor { language: English subtitling_type: 17 composition_pageid =1 ancillary_page_id =3 language: French subtitling_type:17 composition_pageid =2 ancillary_page_id =3 25} PID: Y subtitling descriptor {language: English subtitling_type: 17 composition_pageid =1 ancillary_page_id 3 language: French subtitling_type: 17 composition_pageid =2 ancillary_page_id =3
I
Reference is now made to Fig. 3, which is a partly pictorial, partly block diagram view of the Headend apparatus 12 employing two content type identifiers 52 per packet 48 for regional content 18 in the system 10 of Fig. 1.
It is also possible to send regional content items 46 "subtitles" of different geographic regions 22 on a single PID and use different composition_page_ids to distinguish between different geographic regions 22, as shown in the PMT of table 2 below. In the example of Fig. 3, the two content type identifiers 52 for each packet 48 of the regional content 18 include one packet ID (PID) 90 and one composition page ID 92. Each packet 48 of the video content 16 and the tables 50 include one content type identifier 52 (one packet ID (PID) 90).
Table 2: Example PMT
Private Descriptor for Regional_Content subtitles descriptor_tag: descriptor_length: Region ID: 1 PID: X language: English composition_pageid =1 ancillary_page_id =3 Region ID: 2 PID: X language: English composition_pageid =2 ancillary_page_id =3
I PID:X
subtitling descriptor language: English subtitling_type: 17 composition_pageid =1 ancillary_page_id =3 Reference is again made to Fig. 2. It may be desirable, for example, but not limited to, when there are many geographic regions 22, to list the PIDs for the regional content items 46 "subtitles" in a private table which has a PID which is referenced by the PMT. Table 3 below shows a PMT which references a Regional_Content subtitle table. Table 4 below shows the Regional_Content
subtitle table.
Table 3: Example PMT
private descriptor for Regional_Content subtitle Table { descriptor_tag: descriptor_length: Regional_Content Subtitle Table: on PID A Table 4: Example Regional Content Subtitle Table: on PID A Private Descriptor for Regional_Content subtitles descriptor_tag: descriptor_length: Region ID: 1
PID X
Region ID: 2
PID Y
I PID:X
subtitling descriptor() language: English composition_pageid =1 ancillary_page_id =3 language: French composition_pageid =2 ancillary_page_id =3
I
Factors such as bandwidth and number of regions and required graphical richness may need to be considered when deciding what type of subtitling should be used for regional content. For example, DVB bitmap subtitling provides richer graphics but requires more bandwidth than more basic EBU Teletext subtitles, by way of example only.
For broadcaster owned services and pay per view events, by way of example only, the broadcaster may generate the regional content as the broadcaster typically has all the required information of what regional content to insert when.
For content coming from third parties, the broadcaster may have to acquire information to identify what kind of regional content items 46 can be added and when from the content provider ahead of time, for example, the broadcaster may need to know the nature of the content included in the video content 16. Alternatively, regional content items 46 may be generated by the broadcaster live in a similar way that live subtitling is enabled for live programs.
Alternatively, the regional content may be prepared by the content providers for use by the broadcasters.
Reference is now made to Fig. 4, which is a partly pictorial, partly block diagram view of the end-user receiver device 14 in the system 10 of Fig. 1.
The end-user receiver device 14 is typically operative to render content received from the Headend 12 (Fig. 2).
The end-user receiver device 14 typically includes a locator 58, a receiver 60, a demultiplexer 62 and a rendering arrangement 64 as well as other hardware and software for receiving and rendering content.
The locator 58 is typically operative to provide a geographic location 66 of the end-user receiver device 14. The locator 58 may determine the geographic location 66 for example, but not limited to, based on GPS technology.
Alternatively, the locator 58 may receive the geographic location 66 from another source, for example, the locator 58 may receive the geographic location 66 in a smart card sent to the subscriber of the end-user receiver device 14 by the broadcaster. The locator 58 may store the geographic location 66 in any suitable memory, for example, but not limited to, a smart card memory or NVRAM.
The geographic location 66 is included in one of the geographic regions 22 (Region-i in the example of Fig. 4).
The receiver 60 is typically operative to receive the transport stream 24. The transport stream 24 includes the packets 48 as described with reference to Fig. 2. Each of the packets 48 includes one or more of the content type identifiers 52 as described with reference to Fig. 2. Each packet 48 either includes data of the video content 16 or the regional content 18 or the tables 50.
Each of the tables 50 typically includes one or more of the content type identifiers 52. The tables 50 enable the end-user receiver device 14 to select for filtering, the packets 48 of: the regional content item(s) 46 for one of the services 20 (service-i (S-i) in the example of Fig. 4) for the geographic region-i (Ri); and the video content 16 for that service 20 (service-l (Si)). The tables 50 have been described in more detail above with reference to Fig. 2.
After the program association table (PAT) 54 is acquired, the program map table (PMT) 56 for the requested service (service-I in the example of Fig. 4) and any private tables are acquired and parsed by the middleware (not shown) of the end-user receiver device 14. The content type identifiers 52 for the video content 16 for service-i and the regional content item(s) 46 for service-i for geographic region-i are found in the PMT 56 of service-i and a private table of service-i (if used -not shown). The content type identifiers 52 of the regional content item(s) 46 may include a PID, a composition_pageid and an ancillary_pageid, by way of example only.
The demultiplexer 62 is typically operative to filter the packets 48 of the video content 16 of service-i and the regional content item(s) 46 for service-i for geographic region-i based on the content type identifiers 52 recovered from the PMT 56 and private table (if applicable).
The rendering arrangement 64 is typically operative to render at least part of the filtered video content 16 for service-l and at least part of the regional content item(s) 46 for service-i for the geographic region-1 for viewing on the display device 26.
The rendering arrangement 64 is generally operative to render at least part of the filtered video content 16 for service-i and at least part of the regional content item(s) 46 for the service-I for the geographic region-i for viewing together, at the same time, on the display device 26. It should be noted that the whole or part of the regional content items 46 may be displayed on top of the video content 16 or beside the video content 16. As such, the whole or just part of the video content 16 may be viewable on the display device 26 when the regional content item(s) 46 is being displayed.
When the regional content is Teletext pages, the Teletext may, or may not, be rendered on the display device 26 at the same time as the video content 16. Teletext rendering is described in more detail with reference to Fig. 5.
Reference is now made to Fig. 5, which is a partly pictorial, partly block diagram view of a regional Teletext delivery system 68 constructed and operative in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
The regional Teletext delivery system 68 is substantially the same as the regional content delivery system 10 of Fig. I except for the following differences. The regional content 18 includes regional Teletext pages 70 where each regional content item 46 includes a regional Teletext page 70.
The regional Teletext pages 70 are typically displayed based on a user request.
The regional Teletext pages 70 may be rendered without the video content 16 (Fig. 1). Alternatively, the regional Teletext pages 70 may be rendered over the video content 16, for example, but not limited to, in "transparent Teletext mode" (not shown).
The regional Teletext pages 70 may contain regional Teletext advertisements 74 or any other suitable regional Teletext information. Some of the information on the regional Teletext pages 70 may also include information which is relevant to all the geographic regions 22. For example, a National news Teletext page may include a regional advertisement or regional news.
Fig. 5 shows that the display device 26 located in the first geographic region 28 is displaying a regional Teletext page 76 with a regional advertisement 78 ("Fast Cars LA") and the display device 26 located in the second geographic region 32 is displaying a regional Teletext page 80 with another regional advertisement 82 ("Fast Cars NY").
An example PMT is shown below in Table 5. The PMT of table 5 contains a private descriptor that has, for each of the geographic regions 22, the PIDs of the regional Teletext pages 70, the Teletext magazine number and the page number. The page number may refer to the Teletext index page for the geographic region 22.
Table 5: PMT
Private Descriptor for Regional_teletext { Region ID: 1 PID: X language teletext_magazine_number teletext_page_number Region ID: 2 PID: X language teletext_magazine_number teletext_page_number PID: Xteletext descriptor 0 language teletext_type teletext_magazine_number teletext_page_number As described above with reference to Fig. 2, the content type identifiers of the regional Teletext pages 70 may be sent in a private table (and not in the PMT), where the PMT contains the PID of the private table.
In each end-user receiver device 14, after acquiring the PAT and the correct PMT for the desired service 20, the middleware (not shown) parses the PMT table and private table (if used) for the desired service 20 and finds the content type identifier(s) for the regional Teletext pages 70 for the desired service for the geographic region 22 that the end-user receiver device 14 is located in.
Upon a user request, the middleware filters the data of the transport stream 24 based on the found content type identifiers, and acquires the regional Teletext page(s) 70 with the required magazine and page number. The end-user receiver device 14 then renders the acquired regional Teletext page 70 on the graphics plane. If required, the middleware inserts the regional Teletext data into the vertical blanking interval (VBI).
In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the acquired regional Teletext page 70 is rendered using TV Teletext typically based on Teletext technology disposed in the display device 26.
The Teletext pages 70 of different geographic regions 22 may be on the same PID or on a different PID, as described for general regional content with reference to Figs. 2 and 3. If the regional Teletext pages 70 of different geographic regions 22 are on the same PID, then the regional Teletext pages 70 of different geographic regions 22 may need to be distinguished in the PMT or private tables using different magazine numbers and/or page numbers.
Reference is now made to Fig. 6, which is a pictorial view of two Teletext magazines 84 for different geographical regions 22 of the same service 20.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, for each service 20 (Fig. 5), a different Teletext magazine 84 is provided for each geographic region 22.
Reference is now made to Fig. 7, which is a pictorial view of a single Teletext magazine 86 for different geographical regions 22 of the same service 20. In other words, each service 20 (Fig. 5) typically includes a single Teletext magazine which covers all the geographic regions 22 for that service 20.
For each service 20 (Fig. 5), the single Teletext magazine 86 includes the regional Teletext pages 70 for all the geographic regions 22 for that service 20. The regional Teletext pages 70 generally include a regional Teletext index page 88 for each geographic region 22 in the single Teletext magazine 86 for that service 20. The regional Teletext index page 88 of each geographic region 22 typically lists other regional Teletext pages 70 with the associated page numbers for that geographic region 22 so that the user can select the desired regional Teletext page 70. When Teletext is selected for rendering by the viewer, the middleware may automatically select the regional Teletext index page 88 for the geographic region 22 that the end-user receiver device 14 (Fig. 5) is located in, For each service 20 (Fig. 5), the regional Teletext index page 88 for each geographic region 22 is listed in the PMT table (see table 5) or a private table of that service 20.
Some of the pages 70 of the Teletext magazine 86 may be shared by more than one geographic region 22, for example, but not limited to, when a particular Teletext page does not include any geographic regional specific information. In such a case, the regional Teletext index page 88 of more than one geographic region 22 may refer to the same regional Teletext page 70 of the same Teletext magazine 86.
It is appreciated that software components of the present invention may, if desired, be implemented in ROM (read only memory) form. The software components may, generally, be implemented in hardware, if desired, using conventional techniques. It is further appreciated that the software components may be instantiated, for example, as a computer program product; on a tangible medium; or as a signal interpretable by an appropriate computer.
It will be appreciated that various features of the invention which are, for clarity, described in the contexts of separate embodiments may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

Claims (17)

  1. What is claimed is:CLAIMS1. A Headend apparatus to provide content to a plurality of end-user receiver devices in a plurality of geographic regions, the apparatus comprising: areceiverto: receive video content for a plurality of services, the video content being for consumption across all the geographic regions; and receive regional content, such that each one of the services includes at least one regional content item for each one of the geographic regions; apackerto: pack into a plurality of packets: the video content for each one the services; and the at least one regional content item for each one of the services for each one of the geographic regions, so that each of the packets includes a part of the video content for one of the services or at least part of the at least one regional content item for one of the services for one of the geographic regions; and provide a plurality of content type identifiers and include at least one of the content type identifiers in each one of the packets, the at least one content type identifier identifying a content type contained in the one packet, the content type identifiers being selected in order to distinguish between at least one of the following: one of the packets containing video content and a different one of the packets containing regional content; one of the packets containing video content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing video content of a different one of the services; one of the packets containing regional content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content of a different one of the services; and one of the packets containing regional content for one of the geographic regions for one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content for a different one of the geographic regions for the one service; a table creator to create a plurality of tables, each of the tables including one or more of the content type identifiers to enable the end-user receiver devices to filter packets of: the at least one regional content item for a first one of the services for a first one of the geographic regions; and the video content for the first service; and a stream module to prepare a transport stream including the packets including the video content for each one of the services and the at least one regional content item for each one of the services for each one of the geographic regions.
  2. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transmitter to broadcast/multicast the same transport stream to the end-user receiver devices located in all of the geographic regions.
  3. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmitter is operative to transmit the tables to the end-user receiver devices located in all the geographic regions.
  4. 4. The apparatus according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the stream module is operative to prepare the transport stream including the tables.
  5. 5. The apparatus according to any of claims 1-4, wherein for each one of the services for each one of the geographic regions, at least part of the at least one regional content item for the one service for the one geographic region is for consumption in the one geographic region for viewing together, at the same time, with at least part of the video content of the one service.
  6. 6. An end-user receiver apparatus for rendering content received from a Headend which broadcasts/multicasts a same transport stream to a plurality of end-user receivers across a plurality of geographic regions, the apparatus comprising: a locator to provide a geographic location of the end-user receiver apparatus, the geographic location of the end-user receiver apparatus being included in a first one of the geographic regions; a receiver to receive the transport stream including: a plurality of packets including: video content for a plurality of services; and regional content for each one of the services such that each one of the services includes at least one regional content item for each one of the geographic regions, each of the packets including a part of the video content for one of the services or at least part of the at least one regional content item for one of the services for one of the geographic regions; and a plurality of content type identifiers such that each of the packets includes at least one of the content type identifiers in order to distinguish between at least one of the following: one of the packets containing video content and a different one of the packets containing regional content; one of the packets containing video content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing video content of a different one of the services; one of the packets containing regional content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content of a different one of the services; and one of the packets containing regional content for one of the geographic regions for one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content for a different one of the geographic regions for the one service; a demultiplexer to filter the packets of: the video content of one of the services; and the at least one regional content item for the one service for the first geographic region; and a rendering arrangement to render at least part of the filtered video content for the one service and at least part of the at least one regional content item for the one service for the first geographic region for viewing on a display device.
  7. 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the rendering arrangement is operative to render the at least part of the filtered video content for the one service and the at least part of the at least one regional content item for the one service for the first geographic region for viewing together, at the same time, on the display device.
  8. 8. The apparatus according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the receiver is operative to receive a plurality of tables, each of the tables including one or more of the content type identifiers to enable the end-user receiver apparatus to select for filtering, packets of: the at least one regional content item for the one service for the first geographic region; and the video content for the one service.
  9. 9. The apparatus according to any of claims 1-5 or claim 8, wherein the tables include a program association table and a plurality of program map tables, the program association table maps each one of the services to one of the program map tables so that each one of the program map tables is for one of the services, the one program map table for the one service identifying: the at least one content type identifier for the video content of the one service; and, for each of the geographic regions, the at least one content type identifier for the at least one regional content item of the one service.
  10. 10. The apparatus according to any of claims 1-5 or claim 8, wherein the tables include a program association table and a plurality of program map tables and a plurality of private tables, each of the private tables being identified by one of the content type identifiers, the program association table mapping each one of the services to one of the program map tables so that each one of the program map tables is for one of the services, each one of the private tables being for one of the services, the one program map table for the one service identifying the at least one content type identifier for the video content of the one service and the one content type identifier of the one private table for the one service, the one private table of the one service identifying, for each of the geographic regions, the at least one content type identifier for the at least one regional content item for the one service.
  11. 11. The apparatus according to any of claims 1-10, wherein the regional content includes regional Teletext pages and the at least one regional content item includes at least one Teletext page.
  12. 12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein for each one of the services, a single Teletext magazine includes the at least one regional Teletext page for all the geographic regions for the one service.
  13. 13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the regional Teletext pages include a regional Teletext index page for each of the geographic regions in the single Teletext magazine for the one service, the regional index page for each of the geographic regions for the one service being listed in at least one the tables.
  14. 14. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein for each one of the services, a different Teletext magazine is provided for each of the geographic regions for the one service.
  15. 15. The apparatus according to any of claims 1-14, wherein the at least one regional content item is an advertisement.
  16. 16. A method to provide content to a plurality of end-user receiver devices in a plurality of geographic regions, the method comprising: receiving video content for a plurality of services, the video content being for consumption across all the geographic regions; receiving regional content, such that each one of the services includes at least one regional content item for each one of the geographic regions; packing into a plurality of packets: the video content for each one the services; and the at least one regional content item for each one of the services for each one of the geographic regions, so that each of the packets includes a part of the video content for one of the services or at least part of the at least one regional content item for one of the services for one of the geographic regions; and providing a plurality of content type identifiers and include at least one of the content type identifiers in each one of the packets, the at least one content type identifier identifying a content type contained in the one packet, the content type identifiers being selected in order to distinguish between at least one of the following: one of the packets containing video content and a different one of the packets containing regional content; one of the packets containing video content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing video content of a different one of the services; one of the packets containing regional content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content of a different one of the services; and one of the packets containing regional content for one of the geographic regions for one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content for a different one of the geographic regions for the one service; creating a plurality of tables, each of the tables including one or more of the content type identifiers to enable the end-user receiver devices to filter packets of: the at least one regional content item for a first one of the services for a first one of the geographic regions; and the video content for the first service; and preparing a transport stream including the packets including the video content for each one of the services and the at least one regional content item for each one of the services for each one of the geographic regions.
  17. 17. A method for rendering content received from a Headend which broadcasts/multicasts a same transport stream to a plurality of end-user receivers across a plurality of geographic regions, the method comprising: providing a geographic location of one of end-user receivers, the geographic location of the one end-user receiver being included in a first one of the geographic regions; receiving the transport stream including: a plurality of packets including: video content for a plurality of services; and regional content for each one of the services such that each one of the services includes at least one regional content item for each one of the geographic regions, each of the packets including a part of the video content for one of the services or at least part of the at least one regional content item for one of the services for one of the geographic regions; and a plurality of content type identifiers such that each of the packets includes at least one of the content type identifiers in order to distinguish between at least one of the following: one of the packets containing video content and a different one of the packets containing regional content; one of the packets containing video content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing video content of a different one of the services; one of the packets containing regional content of one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content of a different one of the services; and one of the packets containing regional content for one of the geographic regions for one of the services and a different one of the packets containing regional content for a different one of the geographic regions for the one service; filtering the packets in order to select the video content of one of the services and the at least one regional content item for the one service for the first geographic region; and rendering at least part of the filtered video content for the one service and at least part of the at least one regional content item for the one service for the first geographic region for viewing on a display device.
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