RU2314655C2 - Method for integrating reference identifiers of tv-anytime content - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: method for integrating reference identifiers of TV-Anytime content (CRID) into a stream of sound/video information, may be used for integrating aforementioned identifiers into MPEG transmission stream.

SUBSTANCE: in accordance to the invention, during creation a stream of sound/video information, multiplexing is used for video information component, sound information component, and at least one reference identifier of content, where reference identifier of content is connected to video information component and sound information component in MPEG transmission stream. Also, device is described for realization of aforementioned method for transmitting and receiving a stream of sound/video information, containing TV-Anytime CRID.

EFFECT: expanded capabilities of user during usage of CRID TV-Anytime.

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Description

The present invention relates to a method for embedding TV-Anytime Content Reference Identifiers (CRIDs) in an audio / video information stream.

The TV-Anytime Forum (http://TV-Anytime.org) has defined a CRID that provides a unique identifier for a piece of A / V content (audio / video information), regardless of how the content is actually received. Using CRID systems, TV-Anytime systems (such as personal video recorders) can offer advanced recording capabilities (for example, recording with a single click of a button, recording a group of programs, intelligent recording of repetitions to avoid recording conflicts, etc.).

The DVB (digital video broadcasting) standard (one of the possible options for the television broadcasting standard) defines the Current / Next Event Information Table (EIT), which sets the start time, duration, and other data of the current and next program (similar mechanisms are defined by the ATSC and ARIB broadcast standards) . Each event has an event identifier that allows the receiver to unambiguously determine when a particular event (i.e., a program) begins and ends. EIT technology has several drawbacks, including the presence of at most one event presented at any given time (see page 13 of ETR 211). However, it is convenient to join several CRID TV-Anytime to one program. Equally, event identifiers in the EIT have limited functionality and certainly do not offer the powerful capabilities of CRID TV-Anytime identifiers. Additionally, they do not provide the ability to make links to programs that are in some way related to the current event.

The objective of the invention is the improvement of known systems.

To provide several possibilities for users, it is preferable to insert several CRID TV-Anytime simultaneously into the A / V stream (audio / video information stream). Advantageously, the mechanism should have the following properties. The CRID must be inserted based on the event, that is, the lifetime of its insert matches the duration of the contents of the A / V to which it is attached. The insertion should be relatively accurate in time: the start and end of the insertion should correspond within about 2 seconds to the start and end of the associated event. For some types of CRID, an increase in this time may be appropriate. There must be a way to embed the data of the CRID itself, along with any relevant data that can be used to interpret the CRID. It should be possible to insert multiple CRIDs at the same time, each of which may have a different start and end time. Data should be easily retrieved from the A / V stream without requiring full decoding of the video information (since access to the specified CRID information may be required when the program is not decoded).

CRID can be used in many different ways to identify content, but one useful application should include CRIDs in the A / V stream to identify the content contained within this stream, as well as other content in some way associated with the contents in this stream. The incorporation of CRIDs in the A / V stream makes it possible to provide easy-to-use recording capabilities, including providing the ability to record: the program that is announced, the next program in a series, or a series when watching a single episode.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of creating an audio / video information stream, including multiplexing a video information component, an audio information component and a CRID, said CRID being associated with said video information component and said audio information component in an MPEG transmission stream.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for transmitting an audio / video information stream comprising a multiplexer for multiplexing a video information component, an audio information component and a CRID, said CRID being associated with said video information component and said audio information component in an MPEG transmission stream, and transmission means to transmit the resulting stream of audio / video information.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for receiving an audio / video information stream comprising receiving means for receiving an audio / video information stream comprising a video information component, an audio information component and a CRID, said CRID being associated with said video information component and said audio information component in an MPEG transmission stream, and a demultiplexer for demultiplexing said audio / video information stream.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an audio / video information stream comprising a video information component, an audio information component and a CRID, said CRID being associated with said video information component and said audio information component in an MPEG transmission stream.

Thanks to the invention, it is possible to provide improved processing of the audio / video information stream.

Embodiments of the invention will be described only by means of possible examples of implementation according to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 - block diagram of a method of creating a stream of audio / video information.

Figure 2 is a schematic representation of an end-to-end system.

Figure 3 is a schematic representation of the flow of audio / video information, depicting how CRID should overlap when embedded in audio / video content.

4 is a schematic representation of an audio / video information stream depicting how CRID descriptors can be periodically inserted into a television broadcast program.

5 is a schematic representation of the flow of audio / video information, depicting a two-level structure of the table for transmitting CRID information.

The flowchart of FIG. 1 illustrates a method for creating an audio / video information stream by incorporating at least one CRID into the stream. The end-to-end system is shown in FIG. 2, illustrating an encoding and transmitting device 20 and a corresponding receiver 22. The encoding device 20 creates a stream of audio / video information. The encoding device 20 performs the method illustrated in FIG.

The first step of the method is step 10 of receiving audio / video content. Typically, it should be received from the local storage medium and received by the audio / video information encoder 24 for supplying video and audio information components to the multiplexer 28. The second step of the method is the step 12 of receiving at least one corresponding CRID, which must again be received from the local memory. Then, the CRID encoder 26 is received CRID identifier (s) for subsequent implementation in the resulting stream of audio / video information.

The third step of the method is step 14, which includes multiplexing together the video information and audio information components and the CRID to create an audio / video information stream in the form of an MPEG transmission stream. CRID is associated with video and audio information components. The specified multiplexing is performed by the multiplexer 28. If several CRIDs are supplied by the CRID encoder 26, then the multiplexing involves multiplexing several CRIDs simultaneously in the audio / video stream.

The final step of the method is step 16 of transmitting the resulting stream of audio / video information. It is performed by a transmission means 30, which broadcasts an audio / video information stream 40 comprising a video information component, an audio information component and at least one CRID, in the form of an MPEG transmission stream. Several different transmission systems are possible, including standard wireless, cable, and telephone systems (based on copper wires).

A simple possible variant of the applied system would be a terrestrial broadcasting network, where the components of video and audio information relate to the film that will be broadcast. Two CRIDs are multiplexed into the audio / video information stream, one refers directly to the film, and the other refers to the continuation of the film, which will be broadcast by the network later. Both CRIDs are associated with audio and video information components in an MPEG transmission stream, which is broadcast by a local antenna transmitting via audio a stream of audio / video information for reception by a suitable television receiver. Each CRID essentially has the same start and end time as the audio and video content with which it is associated.

In the case of multiplexing several CRIDs into the audio / video information stream, CRIDs may have different start and end times. This is illustrated in FIG. Three different CRIDs A, B, and C are embedded in stream 40, each of which has distinct start and end times. The length of the arrow in figure 3 depicts their existence in time. Identifiers CRID A and B can be, for example, a sports program and a program of the form of a "magazine", respectively. These two CRIDs overlap (overlap) during the period of the commercial break between programs. CRID C may exist, for example, for a movie that should be broadcast by the network later, but announced during a magazine-like program. CRID C is associated with the flow of audio / video information over a period of time during the continuation of a program of the kind of "magazine" in which the film is announced.

The corresponding receiver for the audio / video information stream is the receiver 22 shown in FIG. Typically, this will be a digital television receiver, which comprises means 32 for receiving in the form of a standard television antenna for receiving a stream of audio / video information containing a video information component, an audio information component, and at least one embedded CRID. Additionally, the device 22 includes a demultiplexer 34 for demultiplexing the audio / video information stream and an audio / video information decoder 36 for supplying a video component of the stream to a display device (not shown) and for supplying an audio information component to an audio device (not shown). Receiver 22 comprises a CRID decoder 38 for receiving CRID from the demultiplexer 34.

Receiver 22 locally stores the decoded CRIDs and can, if necessary, retrieve and process them. This usually happens in response to a user’s request for what they’re viewing. For example, a user may, via remote control, select information regarding content associated with an embedded CRID. Therefore, considering the possible option described in relation to FIG. 3, a user may be interested in watching a movie announced during a program of the “journal” type when viewing a program of the “magazine” type. The user through remote control accesses the interactive functional blocks of the receiver 22 and can transmit to the receiver 22 information that you want to record the announced movie when it is broadcast. The receiver 22 retrieves the stored CRID and triggers the actions requested by the user according to the predetermined technology of the TV-Anytime standard.

In order to take advantage of the implemented CRIDs, it is necessary to provide several required capabilities. This invention provides methods for incorporating CRID into an A / V stream such that these capabilities are provided. In particular, it defines several means by which CRID TV-Anytime can be embedded in an MPEG-2 transmission stream. Typically, the TV-Anytime CRID should be embedded in the MPEG-2 transmission stream periodically, as shown in FIG. The following methods are proposed for inserting CRID and related data. The essence of what data should be encoded, and how it is encoded, is the same for all methods and is described below.

1. Define a new descriptor (containing a CRID list and corresponding data) in the first external cycle of the descriptor of the program map table (TCH, RMT) - for details on PMT see page 50 ISO / IEC JTC 1 / SC 29 (MPEG-2 systems).

2. Define the format of the new table to include the CRID list and related data. The table will store the PID identified in the second cycle of the PMT descriptor. To enable the receiver to identify that this stream contains CRID TV-Anytime information, the predefined value of the stream_type field must be used.

3. To use private_sections (private_sections ()) in transmission stream packets that have PIDs, the same as РМТ - see 2.4.4.10 MPEG-2 Systems specifications (p. 52). This solution is similar to the previous one with the advantage that overhead PID signaling is eliminated, and the connection between the service and CRID information becomes implicit.

4. Insert the CRID list and the corresponding data into the new descriptor inside the inner loop of the table descriptor of the current / next (event) EIT.

5. Define the format for transferring the CRID list and related data in the packets of the Private Stream Transmission Stream. The PID of the indicated packets should be identified, as in decision 2.

6. Insert the CRID list and the corresponding data into the private_data_bytes (bytes) stored inside the Stream Stream adaptation field (see page 24 of the MPEG-2 System).

7. Insert the CRID list and the corresponding data inside the fill bits of the packets of the transmission stream.

8. Insert the CRID list and the corresponding data into the user data (user_data) or sections of the data_ extension (extension_data) of MPEG-2 Video (see page 29 of ISOJEC 13818-2). The data should be stored in the elementary stream of video information and, therefore, are associated with it more strongly.

9. Insert a CRID list and related data into the DSMCC video descriptor descriptor stream event.

Each embedded CRID has a run status flag. The following states are defined: "not running," "starts in a few seconds," "paused," and "running." All these decisions are based on a "carousel" (repeatability) of data. Some CRIDs require a higher repetition rate (that is, the time frame within which the PDR must receive information about the change in the state of the CRID must be less) than others, which leads to the following extensions.

Decisions involving the use of MPEG-2 tables (numbers 2 and 4) should provide the ability to repeat some CRIDs at a higher repetition rate. This provides faster response times to indicate the start of a recording, for example, compared to finding that the program has a series of ancestors (which is not so critical in time).

If the bandwidth required for looping (repeating) the data for several CRIDs at high speed is undesirably large, then a decision must be made according to which a key is assigned to each CRID and corresponding data using a low repetition table (the repetition time is about 20 seconds). Then another table is used, which determines the correspondence of the key with the execution status flag, and this can be repeated at a much higher speed (the repetition time is about 1 second). 5 illustrates such a scenario.

A separate table can be defined, which is issued only when the CRID state changes and is not repeated otherwise. It is envisaged that it can be used for events that must be indicated with a high degree of accuracy in time, for example, indicating the exact start of a program to facilitate accurate recording.

FIG. 3 illustrates the use of multiple TV-Anytime CRIDs simultaneously within an A / V stream. Inserting several CRID TV-Anytime into the A / V stream provides the following features.

Time-accurate recording of the identified content of TV-Anytime regardless of the television broadcast system used.

The ability to distinguish between different parts of hierarchical programs (that is, programs like the collection and the magazine).

The ability to record a program using a single click when viewing the announcement.

The ability to record programs in some way related to the current contents of A / V (for example, the next episode, the full series, an advertisement for the goods presented in the program, etc.).

The invention is applicable to any device consistent with TV-Anytime relating to the processing of A / V streams. The invention encompasses head systems of an A / V flow transmitter and devices configured to receive such streams. The shaper includes the leading television broadcasting systems, as well as network servers that can transmit A / V contents with TV-Anytime information. The receivers are most likely integrated digital TVs or computer set-top boxes made to store information (i.e. personal video recorders), but there can also be any other devices configured to receive and display A / V streams (personal computers PC, personal digital assistants PDA, etc.). The audio / video information stream can be recorded, for example, on optical storage devices such as a rewritable universal DVD + RW digital disc, the recording will contain embedded CRID TV-Anytime.

The DVD video format uses the MPEG-2 program stream format. When compatibility with existing Video DVD devices is required, it is necessary to re-multiplex the television broadcast format (transmission stream) and its corresponding data, such as CRID information, into a program stream compatible with Video DVD. If one of the means of embedding CRID information is used, which is specific to the Transmission Stream described in clauses 1-7 or 9 of Section 3, and CRID information needs to be embedded in the corresponding structure of the program stream, then candidates should embed it in a private PES package, or private PES header data. For compatibility with Video DVD, the preferred method would be a private PES package (using a "vendor-specific" sub-stream ID).

Therefore, if the DVD is subsequently transferred to another device, then when playing the content, CRID will be available to the user. Consequently, the user, through the recognition by the device of a reference identifier for the content, will have access to all the enhancements provided by TV-Anytime.

Claims (10)

1. A method for creating an audio / video information stream, comprising the steps of multiplexing a video information component, an audio information component and a reference content identifier, said referenced content identifier that is used to access additional content, is associated with said video information component and said audio information component in MPEG stream 2. The method according to claim 1, in which said multiplexing includes multiplexing simultaneously multiple reference identifiers of the content in the aforementioned stream of audio / video information. 3. The method according to claim 2, in which the aforementioned several reference identifiers of the content have different start times and different end times. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2 or 3, in which the reference identifier of the content essentially has the same start and end time as the components of the video information and audio information with which it is associated. 5. An apparatus for transmitting an audio / video information stream, comprising a multiplexer for multiplexing a video information component, an audio information component and a content reference identifier, said content reference identifier that is used to access additional content, being associated with said video information component and said audio component information in the MPEG transmission stream, and transmission medium for transmitting the resulting audio / video stream Info. 6. The device according to claim 5, further comprising an audio / video encoder for supplying said video information component and said audio information component to said multiplexer. 7. The device according to claim 5 or 6, in which the aforementioned multiplexer multiplexes simultaneously several reference identifiers of the contents in the audio / video stream. 8. An apparatus for receiving an audio / video information stream comprising reception means for receiving an audio / video information stream comprising a video information component, an audio information component and a content reference identifier, wherein said content reference identifier that is used to access additional content is related with said video information component and said audio information component in an MPEG transmission stream, and a demultiplexer for demultiplexing I mentioned the flow of audio / video information. 9. The device of claim 8, further comprising an audio / video decoder for supplying said component of video information to a display device and for supplying said component of audio information to a sound device. 10. A composite signal representing an audio / video information stream comprising a video information component, an audio information component, and a content reference identifier, said content reference identifier that is used to access additional content, being associated with said video information component and said audio information component in MPEG stream

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