KR20130049149A - Apparatus to receive a broadcast stream including an online service in a channel list and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A device for receiving a broadcasting stream including an online service in a channel list and a method thereof are provided to generate the channel list including the online service and broadcasting services based on an LCN(Logical Channel Number) of the online service and LCNs of the broadcasting services. CONSTITUTION: A device receives information defining a network position through a broadcasting stream. A network communication module(104) is connected to a network position to receive online service information including an LCN of an online service. The device generates a channel list based on LCNs of broadcasting services and the LCN of the online service. [Reference numerals] (102) Broadcasting reception module; (104) Network communication module; (106) Processing module

Description

[0001] APPARATUS TO RECEIVE A BROADCAST STREAM INCLUDING AN ONLINE SERVICE IN A CHANNEL LIST AND METHOD THEREOF [0002]

The present invention relates to including online services in a channel list. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for receiving a channel list including broadcast services receivable through an online service and a broadcast stream that can be received from a network.

Background of the Invention [0002] In conventional television broadcasting systems, such as Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) systems, terrestrial television services include one or more digital multiplexes, which may be referred to as one or more broadcast streams, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > broadcast services. ≪ / RTI > The receiver receives these multiplexes containing all the information necessary to form the channel list displaying the services. The user can view the channel list and select a particular service to be displayed. In recent years, in addition to the broadcasting service received through the digital multiplex, receivers capable of obtaining online services through a network connection have been introduced. However, there is no service discovery mechanism for online services. Therefore, since the online services can not be included in the normal channel list in order to select the online service, the user has a problem to navigate to a specific menu to view available online services.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a broadcast reception module configured to receive a broadcast stream including a plurality of broadcast services, the broadcast stream including a logical channel number (LCN) number for each one of broadcast services, Further comprising a network communication module for communicating with the broadcast receiving module and the network, the device receiving information defining a network location via the broadcast stream, Controlling the network communication module to connect to the network location to receive the online service information including the LCN of the online service, and determining a channel list based on the LCNs of the plurality of broadcast services and the LCN of the online service The apparatus comprising: The online service information may allow the device to include the online service in the channel list along with the broadcast services.

Wherein the online service information may include a source identifier for identifying a source from which the online service can be received, the device accessing the source for receiving the online service and selecting the online service from the channel list In response to the command.

The online service information may further include an alternative LCN for the on-line service, and the device is further configured to, if the other service is already using the LCN of the on-line service, And the other service is another online service or one of the broadcast services.

If the on-line service information identifies a plurality of receivable online services having the same LCN, the device selects one of the plurality of online services to be included in the list at a location corresponding to the LCN based on user selection Lt; / RTI >

The online service information may include online service identification information for identifying the online service, and the apparatus may receive broadcast service identification information through the broadcast stream to identify each of the plurality of broadcast services, The device is configured to compare the online service identification information with the broadcast service identification information and determine that the online service is also available as one of the broadcast services via the broadcast stream if a match is found.

The apparatus may be a Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) receiver, the online service identification information and the broadcast service identification information include DVB triplet information, the DVB triplet information includes a Transport Stream Identifier (TSID) An Original Network Identifier (ONID), and a Service Identifier (SID).

The online service information may include preference source information indicating which of the broadcast stream and the network is a preferred source for the online service and if the online service is also determined to be available in the broadcast stream, If the network indicates that the preferred source is indicated by the preference source information, the device may include the online service in the channel list at a location corresponding to the LCN assigned to the same service that is receivable via the broadcast stream Lt; / RTI >

The apparatus may also be configured to include the same service that is receivable via the broadcast stream at a location corresponding to an unused LCN of the channel list. Alternatively, the device may be configured not to include the same service that is receivable via the broadcast stream in the channel list.

If it is determined that the online service is also available in the broadcast stream, the device combines content from the online service received via the network connection with content from the same service received via the broadcast stream, And to provide the combined content to the user.

The online service information may include a second source identifier for identifying a source from which an application associated with the online service can be received by the network communication module.

Wherein the device determines if the online service information includes the LCN of the online service and assigns one of the plurality of unused LCNs to the online service if the LCN is not included in the online service information, And to generate the channel list based on the LCN assigned to the online service. Therefore, online services may also be included in the channel list, even though the LCN for the service is not provided in the online service information.

The apparatus may be a Digital Video Broadcast DVB receiver and may be configured to identify the network location based on information contained in a Network Information Table (NIT) received via the broadcast stream.

According to an embodiment of the present invention there is provided a broadcast receiving module configured to receive a broadcast stream comprising a plurality of broadcast services, the broadcast stream further comprising a logical channel number (LCN) for each one of the broadcast services The broadcast receiving module; And a network communication module for communicating with a network, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving information defining a network location via the broadcast stream; and means for receiving online service information including an online service receivable by the network communication module Wherein the device is configured to control the network communication module to connect to the network location for receiving, if the online service information includes an LCN of the online service, And if the online service information does not include the LCN of the online service, the apparatus allocates one of the plurality of unused LCNs to the online service, A plurality of broadcast services And generate the channel list based on the LCNs and the LCN assigned to the online service.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for receiving a broadcast stream comprising a plurality of broadcast services and a logical channel number (LCN) for each one of the broadcast services, The method comprising: receiving information defining a network location via the broadcast stream; Accessing the network location to receive online service information including an LCN of the online service; And generating a channel list based on the LCNs of the plurality of broadcast services and the LCN of the online service.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling an online service, comprising: identifying a source from which the online service can be received, based on a source identifier included in the online service information; And accessing the source to receive the online service in response to the instruction to select the online service from the channel list.

The online service information may further include an alternative LCN for the online service, and generating the channel list may include providing an online service to the list at a location corresponding to the alternative LCN if the other service is already using the LCN of the online service. , And the other service is one of online services or broadcast services.

If the online service information identifies a plurality of receivable online services having the same LCN, the method further comprises selecting one of a plurality of online services to be included in the list at a location corresponding to the LCN based on user selection can do.

The online service information may include online service identification information for identifying the online service, the method comprising: receiving broadcast service identification information through the broadcast stream to identify each of the plurality of services; Comparing the online service identification information with the broadcast service identification information; And determining that the online service is also available as one of the broadcast services via the broadcast stream if a match is found.

The device may be a digital video broadcast DVB receiver and the online service identification information and the broadcast service identification information may include DVB triplet information, wherein the DVB triplet information includes a transport streaming identifier (TSID), an original network identifier (ONID) Service identifier (SID).

The online service information may include preferred source information indicating which of the broadcast stream and the network is the preferred source for the online service, and if the online service is also determined to be available in the broadcast stream and the network is the preferred source Once the information is displayed, generating the channel list may include including an online service in the channel list at a location corresponding to the LCN assigned to the same service that is receivable via the broadcast stream.

Generating the channel list may include including the same service that is receivable via a broadcast stream at a location corresponding to an unused LCN of the channel list.

If the online service is also determined to be available in the broadcast stream, the method combines the content from the online service received via the network connection with the content from the same service received via the broadcast stream, And the like.

The online service information may include a second source identifier for identifying a source from which the application associated with the online service may be received by the network communication module.

The method comprising the steps of: determining whether the online service information includes the LCN of the online service; And assigning one of the plurality of unused LCNs to the online service if the LCN is not included in the online service information, wherein generating the channel list comprises: And generating the channel list based on the LCN.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for receiving a broadcast stream comprising a plurality of broadcast services and a logical channel number (LCN) for each one of the broadcast services, The method comprising: receiving information defining a network location via the broadcast stream; And controlling the network communication module to access the network location to receive the online service information identifying the online service if the online service information includes an LCN of the online service, Further comprising generating a channel list based on the LCNs of the plurality of broadcast services and the received LCN of the online service, and if the online service information does not include the LCN of the online service, Further comprising assigning one of a plurality of unused LCNs to the online service and generating the channel list based on the LCNs assigned to the LCNs and the online service of the plurality of broadcast services This is also provided.

According to an embodiment of the present invention there is provided a method for providing an on-line service to a device, when executed by an apparatus configured to receive a plurality of broadcast services via a broadcast stream and receive an on-line service via a network communication module, A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program is also provided.

1 illustrates an apparatus for receiving broadcast services and online services according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 illustrates a system for providing broadcast and online services to a receiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
3 illustrates generating a combined channel list based on logical channel numbers of broadcast and online services, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
4 shows an online service description table (OSDT) according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 shows a network information table (NIT) according to an embodiment of the present invention;
6 shows a service description table (SDT);
7 illustrates a method of generating a channel list including broadcast and online services according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 8 illustrates a method of generating a channel list including broadcast and online services, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, an apparatus for receiving broadcast services and online services is described in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the device 100 is a digital video broadcast (DVB) receiver, i.e. a receiver conforming to a version of the DVB standard, e.g., ETSI TS (European Telecommunications Standards Institute technical specification) 300 468. However, the present invention is also applicable to other standards. For example, an Open IPTV Forum (OIPF) standard, a Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) standard, an Advance Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standard, or an Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB) standard may be used instead of the DVB standard.

The apparatus 100 includes a broadcast receiving module 102 for receiving a broadcast stream, a network communication module 104 for communicating with the network via a network connection, and information received by the broadcast receiving module 102 and the network communication module 104 And processing module 106 for processing audio-visual (AV) data and transmitting the audio-visual (AV) data to the display. The broadcast receiving module 102 may be an antenna configured to receive a broadcast stream. The network communication module 104 may be configured to communicate with the network via any type of network connection, such as a wireless (WiFi) connection, an Ethernet connection, a broadband connection, an ISDN link, and the like. The processing module 106 may be implemented as one or more software modules running on a processor or may be separate hardware modules and may be implemented on, for example, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) Can be implemented.

In general, the specific structure of the processing module 106 is not critical as long as the desired functionality is provided. Moreover, although specific functions are described below as being performed by the processing module 106, some of the functions in other embodiments may be provided by other elements within the device 100. [ For example, the broadcast receiving module 102 may perform a portion of the processing for information received via the broadcast stream, and similarly, the network communication module 104 may process the information transmitted or received via the network connection Can be performed.

More specifically, in this embodiment, the processing module 106 is configured to obtain information about a plurality of broadcast services available through the broadcast stream. Hereinafter, this information will be referred to as broadcast service information and includes a logical channel number (LCN) for that service for each broadcast service. In this embodiment, since the apparatus 100 is a DVB receiver, the broadcast service information is provided as a service description table (SDT). In embodiments using different standards, the broadcast service information may be received in a different format suitable for the standard.

In addition to the broadcast service information received through the broadcast stream, the broadcast stream receiving module 102 also receives information defining a network location through a broadcast stream in the form of a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). In this embodiment, the URL is included in the additional descriptor of the network information table (NIT) received via the broadcast stream. In other embodiments where standards other than DVB are used, different methods of providing information about the network location may be used.

The device 100 controls the network communication module 104 to connect to a network location to receive information about one or more online services that can be received from the network over a network connection. The information about the online service will be referred to as online service information below and includes the LCN for each online service that can be received through the network connection. In the present embodiment, the online service information is received as an online service description table (OSDT), and the format of the description table will be described later with reference to FIG. Each online service may be, for example, a TV service similar to a program received in a conventional manner via a broadcast stream. Such online services can be distributed over the network in real-time similar to conventional TV broadcasts, or can be provided 'on-demand' to provide a catch-up service. The online service may be the same service as the service of the broadcast service, i.e. it may carry the same programming. In this case, the same service may be available through both the broadcast stream and the network connection, depending on whether the receiver is currently located in an area where a broadcast service version can be received. On the other hand, the online service may be an " IP-only "service without a service instance corresponding to the broadcast stream. Alternatively, the online service may be an application associated with another service, executed by a device connected to the receiver or receiver.

After receiving LCNs of broadcast services and any online services, the processing module 106 is arranged to generate a channel list based on the LCNs. In particular, the generated channel list includes a plurality of broadcast services and one or more online services ordered according to LCNs. Therefore, online services can be seamlessly integrated into the broadcast channel list, since the receiver can receive LCNs for online services from a particular network location. The location of the online service in the channel list is determined by the LCN. Hence, embodiments of the present invention cause all of the online services to appear in the channel list as if they are being received via the antenna, i.e., broadcast services and online services can not distinguish the user from viewing the channel list. Thus, the user can access IP delivered services, or other content such as catch-up services or applications, via the normal channel list. This ensures that the online services are conspicuous like broadcast services received in a conventional manner.

Moreover, by providing online service information over the network instead of through a broadcast stream, the only additional information that needs to be transmitted in broadcast is the URL of the network location. Therefore, a minimum amount of additional data is added to the broadcast stream multiplex, where the capacity is in a scarcity state. Most of the additional information needed to access online services is obtained from the server supplying the OSDT, i.e. the server whose location is specified by the URL.

The device 100 may receive broadcast service information and online service information to determine which services are available and to perform discovery of online services and broadcast services during installation. In addition, the device 100 may be configured to periodically connect to a network location specified by the received URL to receive updated OSDT information.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a system for providing broadcast and online services to a receiver is described in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The receiver 200 includes an apparatus similar to that shown in Fig. The system includes a broadcast transmitter 210 for transmitting a broadcast stream to a receiver 200, an OSDT server 220 for providing online service information in an OSDT format, and an online service provider 230 for providing an actual online service. The receiver 200 is capable of communicating with the OSDT server 220 and online service provider 230 via the Internet 240, although any suitable network may generally be used.

Receiver 200 operates in a manner similar to that described above with reference to FIG. In particular, the receiver 200 receives the LCNs of the broadcast services via the broadcast stream as well as the URL of the OSDT server 220. The receiver 200 accesses the OSDT server 220 using the received URL and receives the OSDT including the LCNs of the online services from the server 220. Then, the receiver 200 generates a channel list including both broadcast services and online services. The user may select to view the channel list on a display, e.g., television 250, connected to the receiver 200. When the user selects an online service from the list, the receiver 200 then contacts the service provider 230 to receive the selected online service via the Internet 240. [ Each online service may be provided by the same provider or by a different provider, i. E. There may be a plurality of service providers 230. Receiver 200 may identify the location of the appropriate service provider for the particular service based on the source identifier included in the OSDT.

Referring now to FIG. 3, it is described in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention to generate a combined channel list based on logical channel numbers of broadcast and online services. In this example, four broadcast services 301a and two online services 301b are defined, each assigned an LCN. The numbers in FIG. 3 are exemplary only and embodiments of the present invention may be applied to any number of broadcast services and any number of online services. Also, any LCN may be generally assigned to any service, i. E. Any broadcast service or any online service. As shown in FIG. 3, in this example, broadcast services are allocated LCNs 1, 2, 3, 5, while online services are assigned LCNs 4, 6. Therefore, when the combined channel list 301c is generated, the online services are positioned according to their LCNs and can be seamlessly integrated into the channel list. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the online services are displayed in the channel list in the same manner as the broadcast services, so that different types of services can not be distinguished for the user viewing the list.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an online service description table (OSDT) is described in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The OSDT includes information defining a network location, e.g., a URL that identifies the location of the server on which the online service can be received. The information should not be provided as a URL, and may, for example, be provided in an IP address, in any other format suitable for finding an OSDT server.

Moreover, although a special format OSDT is shown in FIG. 4, the present invention is not limited to this particular format. For example, in this embodiment, the OSDT is provided in a binary format similar to the DVB descriptors provided in the broadcast stream. However, in other embodiments, an extensible markup language (XML) may be used to format the OSDT information.

With continuing reference to FIG. 4, the OSDT includes a plurality of fields, some of which are optional and some of which are mandatory. In FIG. 4, the mandatory fields are indicated using 'm'. Also, fields that are not applicable to a particular type of service are indicated using the abbreviation 'n / a'. Figure 4 shows the online services that are also not available when fields are required and when the local TV broadcasts through a broadcast stream (the "local TV" column), online Services, and optional fields for supplementary services used to provide additional information and / or functionality for other services (column "Suppl."), Where "Local TV "refers to any service that is receivable over the broadcast stream at the receiver's current geographic location.

The choice of whether each field is optional or mandatory for any given type of service can be made when the OSDT format is defined and is not limited to the example shown in FIG. That is, FIG. 4 provides examples of types of information that can be included in the online service information. The actual content of the online service information may be modified according to the particular operating environment and the intended use-case of the receiver. Figure 4 shows an example of online service information for three uses, particularly on-line provision of broadcast services, IP-only services, and supplementary content, but the invention is also applicable to other applications. Similarly, although FIG. 4 shows examples of information that may be included in on-line service information for a DVB system, it should be noted that in other (i.e. non-DVB) broadcast environments where different information may be provided, Information, such as a DVB triplet, may be omitted.

As described above, the OSDT includes a source identifier 410 in the form of a URL for each service. The source identifier may be used by the receiver to identify the source from which the online service can be obtained. The OSDT also includes an LCN 420 for online services to allow online services to be placed at the correct location in the channel list. In addition, the OSDT includes a number of other fields to provide additional information about the online service. The purpose of each field of the OSDT will be described. In some embodiments, certain fields may be omitted and / or other fields may be added as needed, depending on the particular information required by the receiver in the embodiment.

OSDT_table_version: This field has a version number so that the receiver can detect what has changed in the rest of the table. This version number can also be retained in the descriptor of the first loop of the broadcast NIT holding the URL of the OSDT server, allowing the receiver to detect the table update without accessing the Internet.

broadband_id: This identifier allows the service already inserted in the channel list to be removed, if necessary, so that it can be tracked. Typically, broadcast services can be identified based on DVB triplet information for that service. Thus, the broadband_id allows the online service to be identified and tracked even though the DVB triplet information is not available for the service.

service_name: This is the same service name that can normally appear in the service descriptor of a conventional broadcast SDT. If the service also appears in the broadcast stream, then this field may be the same as the service name in the corresponding broadcast SDT.

version_last_changed: This is the version of this entry, that is, the table in which these services were changed in some way. This allows the receiver to detect which entries have changed since this table was last processed. The receiver can store the version of the table when the OSDT is processed and any entry with a value of version_last_changed that is later than the stored version number when processing a subsequent version of the OSDT can be identified and processed, The rest can be skipped.

service_type: This is the normal DVB service type used to identify the type of service, e.g., SD or HD. This can be used to determine whether the service can be displayed by the receiver.

URL1: This is a source identifier in the form of a URL pointing to the means of accessing the content. For example, the URL may point to a Content Access Streaming Descriptor (CASD), as defined by the OIPF, where the content can be found.

TSID: This is the DVB transmission streaming ID of the service as a broadcast. As shown in FIG. 4, if a service is also available through the broadcast stream, so that this portion of the DVB triplet can be compared with the list of broadcast services of the channel list to determine that this service has already been found, It can be mandatory.

ONID: This is the DVB original network ID of the service as a broadcast. As shown in FIG. 4, if a service is also available via a broadcast stream, so that this portion of the DVB triplet can be compared with the list of broadcast services of the channel list to determine whether such service has already been found, It can be mandatory.

SID: This is the DVB service ID as a broadcast. As shown in FIG. 4, if the service is also available via a broadcast stream, so that this portion of the DVB triplet can be compared with the list of broadcast services in the channel list, to determine if this service has already been found This can be mandatory.

LCN1: This is the LCN of the service that can be used by the receiver to determine where in the channel list to place the service.

LCN2: This is an alternative LCN for the service. Alternative LCNs may be used to place other local TV services in predefined locations. Such an LCN may be unique within this list and current network.

TRD: This is a conventional DVB target area descriptor to be used to select between a number of local or local services having the same LCN1 for placing at this location. That is, if multiple online services with the same LCN1 are available, the service indicated as TRD as local service for the current location is placed at a location corresponding to LCN1 of the channel list. Other services may be located at locations corresponding to their LCN2 numbers.

Preferred: This field can be used to indicate which source, broadcast (if available) or IP may be desirable for this special service. These fields include three values: preference for broadcast service (if available); Preferred IP services; And IP-broadcast content to be combined in some manner with the broadcast content. For example, IP and broadcast content may be combined when the online service is used to provide supplemental content to the broadcast service.

URL2: This is an optional additional URL that can indicate the location of the server to provide the application associated with the service. For example, the URL2 may point to the extended application information table (XAIT) in which the application is searched. Such a URL may be used for services that are only accessible via broadcast, in which case URL1 may be empty and preferred may be set to broadcast.

Referring to FIG. 5, a DVB network information table (NIT) is described according to an embodiment of the present invention. The structure of the NIT is defined in ETSI TS 300 468, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted here to maintain its simplicity. 5 shows the number of bits allocated to each field and indicates whether a particular field is transmitted as an unsigned integer or bit string with the most significant bit first (UIMSBF), as a left bit-first bit (BSLBF) . As shown in Fig. 5, the NIT 500 includes two "loops ". The first loop 510 includes all descriptors having a scope of the network. In this embodiment, an additional descriptor is added to this first loop of the NIT to include the URL of the OSDT server, i.e., the network location where online service information can be obtained. Therefore, when a receiver such as that shown in FIG. 1 or 2 receives and processes the NIT of FIG. 5, the receiver can obtain the URL from the additional descriptor of the first loop and connect to the URL to receive the OSDT. In some embodiments, the same URL may be used for all NITs across the country, i. E. For NITs for each region. However, in other embodiments, the URL may be different for each network such that different OSDT servers may be used for different networks. This allows different OSDTs to be provided in different areas.

Referring to FIG. 6, a service description table (SDT) is shown for use in an embodiment of the present invention. SDT is also defined in ETSI TS 300 468, and thus will not be described in detail here. As shown in FIG. 6, the SDT 600 includes a transport_stream_id (TSID) field 610, an original_network_id (ONID) field 620, and a service_id (SID) field 630. Together, the TSID, ONID, and SID are referred to as DVB triplets and can be used to uniquely identify a given service in a broadcast stream. In particular, SDT 600 has a loop with an entry for each service in the broadcast stream, and service_id 630 is included in the loop such that a unique ID can be provided for each service.

Referring to FIG. 7, a method of generating a channel list including broadcast and online services is described in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. This method may be implemented using a computer program suitable for use in an apparatus such as, for example, the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and executed, for example, by the processing module 106. First, in step S701, the apparatus receives information specifying a network location through a broadcast stream. In this embodiment, the method is used in a DVB receiver and the information is received as a URL contained in the descriptor of the received NIT, but other configurations are also possible. Thereafter, in step S702, the device accesses the server identified by the URL, for example, the OSDT server 220 of FIG. 2, to receive the online service information having the LCN of the online service receivable via the network connection do. Here, the online service information is received as an OSDT similar to that shown in Fig. Thereafter, in step S703, the device generates a channel list based on the LCNs of the plurality of services that can be received through the broadcast stream and the LCN of the online service. As described above with reference to FIG. 3, the channel list may be generated by including each of the online and broadcast services in the list at a location determined by the LCN assigned to that particular service. Thus, this method allows online services to be integrated into a conventional broadcast channel list, without providing a separate means for accessing online services. That is, the user can select the required service from the channel list and access both online services and broadcast services in the same way.

Hereinafter, a method of generating a channel list including broadcast and online services will be described, according to another embodiment of the present invention. This method is described in FIG. 8 and can be used to determine if an online service is also available via a broadcast stream, and if so, which LCN to use for the online service. This method can be performed when online service information, for example OSDT, is received.

First, in step S801, the first online service referred to in the OSDT is selected. Selecting a service here does not refer to accessing a service provider to receive the service, but rather simply refers to choosing a first service to be processed when the services are processed sequentially . Thereafter, in step S802, it is checked whether the online service is also a broadcast service. If the online service information is supplied in the format shown in FIG. 4, this can be determined by checking whether or not DVB triplet information exists. Since IP-only services are by definition never broadcast, there is no reason to have a part of the allocated DVB triplet or triplet. Therefore, the DVB triplet information may be omitted for IP-only services. However, if the online service is also broadcast (see the "local TV" column of FIG. 4), the DVB triplet information will be present in the OSDT. Therefore, in step S802, if DVB triplet information exists for the online service, then the service is also determined to be broadcast. If the online service is not broadcast, that is, if the service is IP-only, the device moves to step S803 and selects the next online service identified in the OSDT to be processed before returning to step S802 for the newly selected service do.

In some embodiments, a plurality of IP-only services, all of which share the same LCN, may be available. For example, this may be the case for IP-only services intended to provide local services. In this case, the receiver can determine which of the current "local" services is based on the TRD field and a known location of the receiver, e.g., a known location input during installation of the receiver, The user may be asked to select a service to use as a local service. Online services marked as local services by the TRD field are included in the list with the channel numbers indicated in the LCN1 field and other channels are included in positions corresponding to their alternative LCN2 numbers.

8, if it is determined in step S802 that the online service is also broadcast, for example, if it is determined to be the "local TV" service shown in Fig. 3, then in step S804, Is determined. In particular, the receiver compares the DVB triplet information (TSID, ONID, SID) with the DVB triplet information for each broadcast service that is currently receivable, i.e., can be received at the receiver's current location. This can be done by comparing the DVB triplet information of the online service with the DVB triplet information of the SDT received via the broadcast stream. This step is done because even if the online service is also broadcast, it does not necessarily mean that the broadcast instance of the service can actually be received at the current location.

If the corresponding broadcast service is not currently available, the online service may be included in the list with the channel number denoted LCN1, since no other source is available, so the method proceeds to step S803 and the next online service to be processed Select. However, if a broadcast service is currently available, then both the online service and the broadcast service will share the same LCN so that in step S805 the receiver determines which one of the services, i.e., online or broadcast, . In this embodiment, this determination is made based on a "preferred" entry in the OSDT. If the information indicates that the online service is preferred, then the receiver may include the online service at the channel number indicated by LCN1 and move the broadcast service to another channel number, for example to the number denoted LCN2 or any other unused channel number .

On the other hand, if the "preferred" field indicates that the broadcast service is preferred, the broadcast service will remain in the designated LCN and the online service will be moved to another LCN, for example to another channel number labeled LCN2. Alternatively, if the "preferred" field indicates that services should be combined, the combined service may be included in the list with the originally assigned LCN.

Once determining which LCN to use for its online service, the receiver checks in step S806 whether all online services have been processed, i. E. Whether the checks have been made on all services mentioned in the received OSDT. If there are remaining services to be processed, the receiver returns to step S803 and selects the next service. However, if all online services have been processed, then in step S807, a channel list is generated based on the LCNs. That is, a channel list is generated by adding each online service to the channel list at the location indicated by LCN1, and if it is determined in step S805 to move the service to another channel number, RTI ID = 0.0 > LCN2 < / RTI > or another unused channel number. Although in this embodiment the channel list is generated after processing all the services from the OSDT, in other embodiments the channel list may be created step-by-step while the services are being processed, As soon as the LCN for the service is determined, each service can be added to the list.

The method as shown in Fig. 8 can be executed when the receiver first obtains the OSDT from the OSDT server. Hereinafter, if the receiver obtains the subsequently updated OSDT from the same or different servers, it can update the existing channel list by comparing any services already in the channel list with the broadband_id of each online service. If a match is found, it is determined that the online service already exists in the previous list, and the receiver checks the updated LCN with the previously assigned LCN to determine whether it is necessary to reposition the service in the channel list .

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in which OSDT and online services are received over the same network connection, in other embodiments this need not be the case. For example, the OSDT can be received over a telephone line via a modem, and online services can be received over a broadband connection via a router.

Moreover, embodiments of the present invention have been described in connection with receiving an online service. The online service may be a program similar to broadcast programs that can be received in a conventional manner, or may be an application or auxiliary information related to one of the other types of content, e.g., broadcast services, such as a two-dimensional (2D) 3D) format. ≪ / RTI >

The operation method of the apparatus according to the above-described various embodiments may be implemented by a program and provided to a broadcast stream receiving apparatus.

As an example, a method for use in an apparatus configured to receive a broadcast stream including a logical channel number (LCN) for each of a plurality of broadcast services and broadcast services, and configured to receive an online service through a network communications module Comprising the steps of: receiving information defining a network location via a broadcast stream; accessing a network location to receive on-line service information including an LCN of the on-line service; and connecting LCNs of the plurality of broadcast services and LCNs of the on- A non-transitory computer readable medium may be provided on which the program for performing the step of generating the channel list based on the non-transitory computer readable medium is stored.

A non-transitory readable medium is a medium that stores data for a short period of time, such as a register, cache, memory, etc., but semi-permanently stores data and is readable by the apparatus. In particular, the various applications or programs described above may be stored on non-volatile readable media such as CD, DVD, hard disk, Blu-ray disk, USB, memory card, ROM, While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

102: broadcast receiving module 104: network communication module
106: Processing module
200: receiver 220: OSDT server
230: Service Provider

Claims (19)

A broadcast receiving module configured to receive a broadcast stream including a plurality of broadcast services, the broadcast stream further including a logical channel number (LCN) for each of the broadcast services; And
A network communication module for communicating with a network,
Wherein the device is adapted to receive information defining a network location via the broadcast stream and to access the network location to receive online service information including an LCN of an online service receivable by the network communication module, And to generate a channel list based on the LCNs of the plurality of broadcast services and the LCN of the online service. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the online service information includes a source identifier for identifying a source from which the on-line service can be received, the device accessing the source for receiving the on-line service and selecting the online service from the channel list To respond to the request. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the online service information further comprises a replaceable LCN for the online service and wherein the device is further operable to, if the other service is using the LCN of the online service, Wherein the other service is another online service or one of the broadcast services. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
If the online service information identifies a plurality of receivable online services having the same LCN, the device is configured to select one of the plurality of online services to be included in the list at a location corresponding to the LCN based on user selection Device. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the online service information includes online service identification information for identifying the online service and the apparatus is configured to receive broadcast service identification information through the broadcast stream to identify each of the plurality of broadcast services,
Wherein the device is configured to compare the online service identification information with the broadcast service identification information and to determine that the online service is available as one of the broadcast services via the broadcast stream if a match is found. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the online service identification information and the broadcast service identification information include DVB triplet information and the DVB triplet information includes a transport streaming identifier (TSID), an original network identifier (ONID) ), And a service identifier (SID). 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the online service information includes preference source information indicating which one of the broadcast stream and the network is a preferred source for the online service,
If the online service is determined to be available in the broadcast stream and the network is the preferred source and the preference source information is displayed, And to include the online service in the channel list of the location. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the device is configured to include the online service receivable via the broadcast stream at a location corresponding to an unused LCN of the channel list. 6. The method of claim 5,
If it is determined that the online service is available in the broadcast stream, the device may combine the content of the online service received via the network connection with the content of the online service received via the broadcast stream, To the user. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the online service information comprises a second source identifier for identifying a source from which an application associated with the online service can be received by the network communication module. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the apparatus determines if the online service information includes the LCN of the online service, assigns one of the plurality of unused LCNs to the online service if the LCN is not included in the online service information, And generate the channel list based on the LCN assigned to the service. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the device is a digital video broadcast (DVB) receiver and is configured to identify the network location based on information contained in a network information table (NIT) received via the broadcast stream. A broadcast receiving module configured to receive a broadcast stream including a plurality of broadcast services, the broadcast stream further including a logical channel number (LCN) for each of the broadcast services; And
A network communication module for communicating with a network,
Wherein the device is adapted to receive information defining a network location via the broadcast stream and to control the network communication module to access the network location to receive online service information identifying an online service receivable by the network communication module Lt; / RTI >
If the online service information includes an LCN of the online service, the device is configured to generate a channel list based on the LCNs of the plurality of broadcast services and the received LCN of the online service,
If the online service information does not include the LCN of the online service, the apparatus allocates one of a plurality of unused LCNs to the online service and transmits the LCNs of the plurality of broadcast services and the LCN And to generate the channel list based on the channel list. A method for use in an apparatus configured to receive a broadcast stream comprising a plurality of broadcast services and a logical channel number (LCN) for each of the broadcast services, the apparatus configured to receive an online service via a network communication module,
Receiving information defining a network location through the broadcast stream;
Accessing the network location to receive online service information including an LCN of the online service; And
And generating a channel list based on the LCNs of the plurality of broadcast services and the LCN of the online service. 15. The method of claim 14,
Identifying a source from which the online service can be received based on a source identifier included in the online service information; And
And in response to the command selecting the online service from the channel list, connecting to the source to receive the online service. 16. The method according to claim 14 or 15,
Wherein the online service information includes online service identification information for identifying the online service,
Receiving broadcast service identification information through the broadcast stream to identify each of the plurality of services;
Comparing the online service identification information with the broadcast service identification information; And
Determining that the online service is available as one of the broadcast services via the broadcast stream if a match is found. 16. The method according to claim 14 or 15,
Determining whether the online service information includes the LCN of the online service; And
And assigning one of the plurality of unused LCNs to the online service if the LCN is not included in the online service information,
The step of generating the channel list comprises:
And generating the channel list based on the LCN assigned to the online service. A method for use in an apparatus configured to receive a broadcast stream comprising a plurality of broadcast services and a logical channel number (LCN) for each of the broadcast services, the apparatus configured to receive an online service via a network communication module,
Receiving information defining a network location through the broadcast stream;
And controlling the network communication module to access the network location to receive online service information identifying the online service,
If the online service information includes an LCN of the online service, generating a channel list based on the LCNs of the plurality of broadcast services and the received LCN of the online service,
Assigning one of a plurality of unused LCNs to the online service if the online service information does not include an LCN of the online service; And
Generating the channel list based on the LCNs of the plurality of broadcast services and the LCN assigned to the online service. 18. A computer program product, when executed by an apparatus configured to receive a plurality of broadcast services via a broadcast stream and to receive an on-line service via a network communication module, causing the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of claims 14-18 A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program.

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