WO2008143447A1

WO2008143447A1 - Method of receiving service guide information and apparatus for receiving for receiving service guide information

Info

Publication number: WO2008143447A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/002780
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jin Young Choi; Sun Young Choi; Kyoung Soo Moon
Original assignee: Lg Electronics Inc.
Priority date: 2007-05-18
Filing date: 2008-05-19
Publication date: 2008-11-27
Also published as: EP2153652A4; KR20080101592A; EP2153652A1; KR101356499B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of receiving service guide information and an apparatus for receiving service guide information. In an apsect, the present invention provides a method for receiving service guide information, the method including receiving and de¬ modulating, when a fragment of service guide information is received through an interactive channel, a signal including fragment management information containing link information of a position of the fragment in the service guide information, performing a control operation to decode the demodulated signal and to output service guide information including the fragment management information, and outputting the link information included in the service guide in¬ formation according to the control operation.

Description

METHOD OF RECEIVING SERVICE GUIDE INFORMATION

AND APPARATUS FOR RECEIVING FOR RECEIVING

SERVICE GUIDE INFORMATION

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a method of receiving service guide information and an apparatus for receiving service guide information. Background Art

[2] Contents indicate contents or information including an image, a sound and a text which are provided to a user via wired/wireless communication. Recently, contents are manufactured by a digital method and provided via a variety of broadcast channels and interactive channels. For example, the user can download and view the contents via the Internet. With a combination of a broadcast system and a communication system, a method of receiving the same contents from the broadcast system and the communication system has been considered. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[3] It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for transmitting and receiving service guide information and an apparatus for transmitting and receiving service guide information, whereby it is possible to efficiently obtain service guide information and to provide detailed information of content. Technical Solution

[4] The object of the present invention can be achieved by providing a method for receiving service guide information, the method including receiving and demodulating, when a fragment of service guide information is received through an interactive channel, a signal including fragment management information containing link information of a position of the fragment in the service guide information, performing a control operation to decode the demodulated signal and to output service guide information including the fragment management information, and outputting the link information included in the service guide information according to the control operation.

[5] In another aspect of the present invention, provided herein is a method for transmitting service guide information, the method including encoding, when a fragment of service guide information is received through an interactive channel, fragment management information including link information of a position of the fragment in the service guide information, multiplexing the encoded service guide in- formation and content data, and modulating, encoding, and transmitting the multiplexed service guide information.

[6] In another aspect of the present invention, provided herein is an apparatus for receiving service guide information, the apparatus including a receiving unit for receiving and demodulating, when a fragment of service guide information is received through an interactive channel, a signal including fragment management information containing link information of a position of the fragment, a controller for performing a control operation to decode the signal demodulated by the receiving unit and to output service guide information including the fragment management information, and an output unit for outputting the link information included in the service guide information under control of the controller.

[7] In another aspect of the present invention, provided herein is an apparatus for transmitting service guide information, the apparatus including an encoder for encoding, when a fragment of service guide information is received through an interactive channel, fragment management information including link information of a position of the fragment in the service guide information, a multiplexer for multiplexing the encoded service guide information and content data, and a modulating and encoding unit for modulating, encoding, and transmitting the multiplexed service guide information.

Advantageous Effects

[8] According to the embodiments, it is possible to easily obtain service guide information through management information that can be acquired through an interactive channel. Brief Description of the Drawings

[9] FIG. 1 illustrates example service guide information.

[10] FIG. 2 illustrates an example format of management information for managing fragments.

[11] FIG. 3 illustrates fragment reference values according to fragment reference formats.

[12] FIG. 4 illustrates a fragment reference structure when fragments of service guide information are received from a broadcast channel.

[13] FIG. 5 illustrates a fragment reference structure when fragments of service guide information are received from an interactive channel.

[14] FIG. 6 is a view showing an embodiment of an apparatus for transmitting contents.

[15] FIG. 7 is a view showing a modulating and encoding unit shown in FIG. 6.

[16] FIG. 8 is a view showing a signal arrangement according to a result of building a frame by a frame builder in the example of FIG. 7.

[17] FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of transmitting a broadcast program, contents and data via a channel.

[18] FIGs. 10 and 11 are views showing an apparatus for receiving the service guide information.

[19] FIG. 12 is a view showing an example of a protocol stack in the case where the service guide information and the description information of the service guide information are delivered.

[20] FIG. 13 is a view showing an embodiment of a method of transmitting/receiving service guide information according to the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[21] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, information which is associated with serviced contents and can access the contents is called service guide information.

[22] The service guide information includes service schedule information for allowing a user to select a service, and information for allowing the user to purchase, access and store items in a terminal. The user can receive the service guide information and select and purchase a desired service via the terminal.

[23] Hereinafter, an interactive channel indicates a bidirectional communication channel and a broadcast channel indicates a unidirectional communication channel in which a user is not specified in a multicast.

[24] The service guide information may be processed by a first process (hereinafter, referred to as a bootstrap process) of recognizing whether or not the service guide information is available or how the service guide information is acquired, a second process (hereinafter, an acquisition process) of acquiring and processing the service guide information by the terminal, and a third process (hereinafter, referred to as an update process) of updating the service guide information acquired by the terminal.

[25] The terminal can acquire information obtained by the first process from a received signal and then acquire the service guide information using the information obtained by the first process as trigger information. Hereinafter, the information obtained by the first process is called bootstrap information. The terminal can acquire the service guide information via the bootstrap information and acquire service information or access contents from the service guide information.

[26]

[27] FIG. 1 illustrates example service guide information. A basic structure of service guide information is described below with reference to FIG. 1.

[28] Service guide information can be provided in lower units, into which the service guide information is divided, to the user. Here, the divided lower units of service guide information will be referred to as fragments. The example of FIG. 1 includes a service fragment, a ScheduleEvent fragment, a content fragment, a serviceBundle fragment, a purchase fragment, a purchaseChannel fragment, and an acquisition fragment. Arrows shown in FIG. 1 represent reference relations. In the example of FIG. 1, the service fragment can reference the serviceBundle fragment. In FIG. 1, numbers written near each arrow represents the number of possible lower units. For example, "O..n" indicates that zero to n (n is a natural number) units are included.

[29] The service fragment includes information of a service (for example, a television channel) provided to the user. The serviceBundle fragment includes information of a service group. Examples of the service group include a sports service bundle and a cinema service bundle. The content fragment includes metadata of content. For example, the content fragment may include the type of content such as A/V, text, or image.

[30] The ScheduleEvent fragment includes schedule information of one content item included in a service. For example, the broadcasting time of the content item may be included in the schedule information. The purchase fragment includes information regarding purchase of services that are purchasable by the user. The purchaseChannel fragment is an interface through which the user communicates with a purchase system. The purchaseChannel fragment includes information regarding management of purchased channels or parameters associated with the purchase system.

[31] The acquisition fragment includes information regarding access to content or a service. The user can access and purchase a service or content through information regarding the acquisition fragment.

[32] The service guide information may have a hierarchical structure. Here, lower units of the hierarchical structure are referred to as "fragments". Fragments can be encoded and one or more fragments can be encapsulated and transmitted or a single greater unit can be created and transmitted. Each encapsulated unit is referred to as a "container". Each container of service guide information can be transmitted and received according to a protocol according to which the service guide information is transmitted. Such a transmitting/receiving system is illustrated in FIGS. 6, 7, 10, and 11 and the transmitting and receiving protocol is illustrated in FIG. 12.

[33] On the other hand, the service guide information can be obtained from bootstrap information as described above. Reference will now be made to a procedure for receiving bootstrap information of service guide information.

[34] An IP/MAC Notification Table (INT) among table information, which is transmitted through one or more sections in a broadcast signal, includes information of mapping between an IP address of an Internet Protocol (IP) stream in a transport stream of the broadcast signal and a Packet Identifier (PID) of the transport stream. When a terminal has obtained an IP address for receiving bootstrap information of service guide in- formation from an INT serving as mapping information in a broadcast signal, the terminal can determine a packet ID that enables reception of the bootstrap information using a program number of a PMT in which the obtained IP address is defined. Then, when a packet corresponding to the determined packet ID has been MPE-encapsulated, the terminal can obtain bootstrap information by MPE-decapsulating the packet.

[35] Service guide information transmitted through the bootstrap information illustrated in

FIG. 2 can be transmitted according to, for example, Asynchronous Layered Coding/ Layered Coding Transport (ALC/LCT) through a File Delivery over Unidirectional Transport (FLUTE) session that operates based on the IP protocol. An example protocol according to which service guide information can be transmitted will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 12.

[36] The terminal can acquire bootstrap information of service guide information from an

IP address described in table information (for example, an INT) according to PSI/SI. For example, bootstrap information can be obtained from 224.0.23.14 when the IP address complies with an IP version 4 format and can be obtained from FF0X:0:0:0:0:0:0:12D when the IP address complies with an IP version 6 format.

[37] Service guide information may be transmitted through a broadcast channel or an interactive channel. Part of the service guide information may be transmitted through a broadcast channel while the remaining part may be transmitted through an interactive channel. If service guide information is divided and transmitted through a broadcast channel and an interactive channel, service guide information transmitted through one of the two channels may include information indicating that the service guide information is also being transmitted through the other channel. Service guide information can be divided and transmitted in specific units. For example, when service guide information is divided and transmitted in fragments, information for managing the fragments may be provided.

[38] FIG. 2 illustrates an example format of management information for managing fragments. For one set of fragments of service guide information, fragment management information includes an identifier and version information assigned to each fragment of the service guide information in the set to provide an encapsulation mechanism for the fragments. Accordingly, one fragment management information structure may be defined per container.

[39] A fragment encapsulation structure that provides an encapsulation mechanism for fragments includes an encapsulation header and information of each fragment according to a fragment count (fragment_count). The encapsulation header includes fragment reference format (fragment_reference_format) information "a" that represents information associated with the analysis and format of a fragment reference field.

[40] Information of each fragment includes a fragment reference, a fragment version (fragment_version), and a fragment identifier (fragmented). The fragment reference field provides reference information for encapsulating fragments of service guide information. Analysis of the fragment reference field is described in the fragment_reference_format information and specific values of the fragment_reference_format information are illustrated in FIG. 3. The fragment version (fragment_version) is identification information for identifying the version of the encapsulated service guide information fragment and the fragment identifier (fragment_id) is an identifier for identifying a service guide information fragment.

[41] FIG. 3 illustrates fragment reference values according to fragment reference formats.

Fragment reference format values of "OxOO" to "0x20" are set as a reserved region and a value of "0x21" indicates that fragments are transmitted through a broadcast system that originally transmits service guide information. For example, the value "0x21" may indicate that fragments of service guide information are transmitted through a DVB-H system among a variety of broadcast systems. A value of "0x22" may indicate that fragments of service guide information are transmitted through an interactive channel. For example, the value "0x22" may indicate that fragments of service guide information are transmitted through an interactive channel, which is a wired or wireless channel that allows bidirectional communication, by Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), universal mobile telecommunications systems (UMTS), general packet radio service (GPRS), code division multiple access (CDMA), Wireless- Fidelity (Wi-Fi), or the like. Values of "0x23" to "OxEO" may be used as reserved regions and values of "OxEl" to "OxFF" may be used as user-defined regions.

[42] FIG. 4 illustrates a fragment reference structure when fragments of service guide information are received from a broadcast channel (i.e., when fragment_reference format = 0x21). When service guide information is transmitted through a broadcast channel according to the example of FIG. 2, a fragment reference of FIG. 4 indicates the type (esg_fragment_type) of a corresponding encapsulated fragment illustrated in FIG. 2 and a position (esg_data_repository_offset) at which the corresponding fragment is located in a server in which the service guide information is stored.

[43] FIG. 5 illustrates a fragment reference structure when fragments of service guide information are received from an interactive channel (i.e., when fragment_reference format = 0x22). The fragment reference includes information (esg_fragment_type) indicating the type of a corresponding encapsulated fragment illustrated in FIG. 2. On the other hand, when each encapsulated fragment is received from an interactive channel, the fragment reference of each fragment may include link information (esg_data_repository_URL) of a position at which the fragment is stored and length information (esg_data_repository_URL_length) of the link information.

[44] According to the embodiment described above with reference to FIGs. 2 to 5, using fragment management information, the transmitting and receiving sides can transmit and receive storage location information of a fragment when the fragment is transmitted through a broadcast channel and transmit and receive storage location information of a fragment when the fragment is transmitted through an interactive channel.

[45]

[46] FIG. 6 is a view showing an embodiment of an apparatus for transmitting contents.

The embodiment of the apparatus for transmitting contents will be described with reference to FIG. 6. In the example of FIG. 6, it is assumed that the contents are transmitted via a broadcast service.

[47] The broadcast system shown in FIG. 6 includes encoders 310, 320 and 330, a multiplexer 340 and a modulating and encoding unit 350. The encoders include a first encoder 310, a second encoder 320 and a third encoder 330.

[48] The first encoder 310 can encode the contents such as audio, video and data according to, for example, a transmission/reception protocol of an MPEG-2 transport stream (TS). The data including the service guide information may be transmitted in units including the IP address. The second encoder 320 can encode the data including the service guide information in an IP datagram format. The IP datagram indicates a signal processing format for transmitting a signal by an Internet protocol (IP) packet and may include a header including the IP address and a data container for transmitting information. In the IP datagram of the packet unit, the data container may include data such as video, audio and service guide data. That is, in the example of FIG. 6, the video signal, the audio signal and the data signal are divided by packet units, and compressed and transmitted by an IP datacasting method.

[49] The IP data may be encapsulated by the MPE and embedded in the MPEG-2 TS. The

MPE may be MPE-FEC section data to which a forward error correction (FEC) code is added. If the transmitted signal is arranged by the MPE-FEC, a carrier-to-noise (CN) ratio of the transmitted signal can be improved. The MPE-FEC data including the FEC or the MPE data including no FEC may include the transmitted signal of the IP data format.

[50] The second encoder 320 may multiplex the IP datagram encapsulated by the MPE using a time slicing method in order to decrease power consumption. The multiplexed signal is converted into the transport stream and multiplexed with the MPEG-2 TS packet in which the video or audio signal is carried.

[51] The second encoder 320 can encode service guide information. In this case, the second encoder 320 can encode fragment management information illustrated in FIG. 2. When the terminal receives fragments from a broadcast channel or an interactive channel, the fragment management information encoded by the second encoder 320 may include position information of each fragment. For example, when a fragment is received from an interactive channel as illustrated in FIG. 5, fragment management information encoded by the second encoder 32 may include link information of a position at which the fragment is stored.

[52] The third encoder 330 may encode the multiplexed information of the stream packet associated with the program or the service. The multiplexed information includes table information on PSFSI. The table information encoded by the third encoder 330 may include INT including mapping information between the PID including the IP datagram encoded by the second encoder 320 and the IP address of the IP datagram.

[53] The multiplexer 340 may multiplex transport packets output from the first encoder

310, the second encoder 320, and the third encoder 330 and output the multiplexed signal and the modulating and encoding unit 350 may modulate and encode the multiplexed signal and output the modulated and encoded signal.

[54] When the multiplexer 340 multiplexes and outputs packet data encoded by the first encoder 310, the second encoder 320, and the third encoder 330, the modulating and encoding unit 350 may modulate and encode the multiplexed signal using modulation and encoding methods of a transmission system and then transmit the modulated and encoded signal as a Radio Frequency (RF) signal. A detailed example of the modulating and encoding unit 350 is described below in detail with reference to FIG. 7. The modulating and encoding unit 350 may comply with modulation and encoding methods of a variety of broadcast systems, examples of which include DMB, DVB-H, VSB, and ISDB-T modulation methods.

[55] FIG. 7 is a view showing the modulating and encoding unit shown in FIG. 6. In FIG.

6, the modulating and encoding method may use, for example, a digital video broadcasting-terrestrial/handheld (DVB -T/H) method.

[56] A first encoder 410 includes an outer coder 411 and an outer interleaver 412. The first encoder 410 may code and interleave multiplexed data in order to improve transmission capability of the multiplexed signal. For example, a Reed-Solomon coding method may be used as the outer coding method and a convolution interleaving method may be performed as the interleaving method.

[57] A second encoder 420 includes an inner encoder 421 and an inner interleaver 422.

The inner coder 421 and the inner interleaver 422 code and interleave a signal to be transmitted in order to prevent an error from occurring in the transmitted signal. The inner coder may code the transmitted signal according to a punctured convolution code. As the inner interleaving method, a native interleaving method or an in-depth interleaving method may be used according the use of a memory based on transmission modes of 2k, 4k and 8k.

[58] A mapper 430 may map the transmitted signal to a symbol according to formats such as 16QAM, 640QAM and QPSK in consideration of a transmission-mode-based pilot signal generated by a system signal generator 425 and a transmission parameter signaling (TPS).

[59] A frame builder 440 modulates the mapped signal by an orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) method and builds a frame in which a guard zone is inserted in a data zone including the modulating signal. Each frame includes 68 OFDM symbols and four frames build a super frame. Each symbol includes 6817 carriers in the 8k mode and includes 1705 carriers in the 2k mode. The guard zone is a cyclic continuation in which the data of the data zone is duplicated, and the length thereof may vary according to the transmission mode. The OFDM frame includes a scattered pilot signal, a continual pilot signal and a TPS carrier. The example of the signal frame built by the frame builder of FIG. 7 is shown in FIG. 8.

[60] A digital/analog converter 450 converts a digital broadcast signal having the guard zone and the data zone into an analog signal, and a transmitter 460 transmits the analog signal converted by the digital/analog converter 450 by the RF signal.

[61] FIG. 8 is a view showing a signal arrangement according to a result of building a frame by a frame builder in the example of FIG. 7. In FIG. 8, Tu denotes the number of effective useful carriers, Dt denotes a distance between the scattered pilots in a time direction, and Df denotes a distance between the scattered pilots in a frequency direction. The distance Df between the scattered pilots in the frequency direction decides a delay range of ghost which can be estimated in a channel. FIG. 8 shows a location where the signal is interpolated when the terminal receives the signal built by the frame builder.

[62] In the case where the signal arranged as shown in FIG. 8 is received, time interpolation is performed at a pilot location and symbols are arranged such that the same pilot pattern appears every four symbols. That is, if the same scattered pilot signal as a symbol which is input at t=5 is arranged in a symbol which is first input (t=l), the terminal which receives the signal can perform the time interpolation with respect to the symbols received at t=2, 3 and 4 at the locations of the scattered pilot signals.

[63] Since a symbol which is input at t=6 has the same scattered pilot pattern as the symbol which is input at t=2, the terminal which receives the signal may perform the time interpolation with respect to the signals of t=3, 4 and 5 on the scattered pilot locations of the symbol which is input at t=6 and the symbol which is input at t=2.

[64] If the time interpolation is performed by the above-described method after the symbol is input at t=7 at the time of the reception of the signal, since the scattered pilots are located at every four carrier locations in the symbol which is input at t=4, the interval between the scattered pilot signals in the frequency direction of the symbol which is input at t=4 is reduced to 1/4 of the original interval between the scattered pilot signals, and the symbol which is input at t=4 has a pattern in which the scattered pilot signal is located at every four carrier locations. Accordingly, the terminal which receives the signal can obtain the effect that the signal can be processed as if a larger amount of pilot signals is located at the symbol. Accordingly, if the signal is transmitted using the continual pilot signal and the scattered pilot signal, it is possible to adaptively compensate for the channel according to the status of the reception channel at the time of the reception of the signal.

[65]

[66] FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of transmitting a broadcast program, contents and data via a channel. A service using a DVB-H type slicing method and a service transmitted via a common channel of the DVB_T and the DVB-H may be transmitted by the broadcast system shown in FIGs. 6 and 7. A program may be transmitted via the channels of the DVB-H and the DVB-T, and, according to the DVB-H, the program is time-divisionally multiplexed and transmitted by time slicing method. The contents including the video/audio and the service guide information may be included in the IP datagram by the DVB-H system and processed by the MPE or MPE-FEC, and the MPEG-2 TS in which the MPE or MPE-FEC is embedded may be transmitted.

[67]

[68] FIGs. 10 and 11 illustrate an apparatus for receiving service guide information. The apparatus for receiving service guide information is described below with reference to FIG. 10. The apparatus for receiving service guide information includes a receiving unit, an input unit 530, a memory 550, an output unit 560 and a controller 600. The receiving unit may include a broadcast receiving unit 510 for receiving a signal from a broadcast channel and a communication unit 520 for receiving a signal from an interactive channel and transmitting a signal to an interactive channel. For example, the interactive channel of the communication unit 520 may be a wired/wireless channel that allows bidirectional data communication.

[69] The apparatus for receiving service guide information can receive reception information that enables reception of service guide information from a broadcast channel or an interactive channel and can receive, when a fragment is received from an interactive channel, position information of the fragment. For example, the apparatus for receiving service guide information can receive fragment management information illustrated in FIGs. 2 to 5 and can obtain, from the management information, information as to whether a corresponding fragment is transmitted through a broadcast channel or through an interactive channel.

[70] The broadcast receiving unit 510 receives and demodulates a broadcast signal and outputs the demodulated signal. For example, the broadcast receiving unit 510 may include a tuner for receiving a DVB-H broadcast signal and a demodulator for de- modulating a DVB-H signal according to the OFDM method.

[71] The broadcast receiving unit 510 demodulates and outputs the received broadcast signal to the controller 600. The broadcast receiving unit 510 may receive service guide information in units of fragments. The broadcast signal received by the broadcast receiving unit 510 may include service fragment management information illustrated in FIGs. 2 to 5. The fragment management information may include reception information indicating whether or not a fragment is received from an interactive channel and include, when a fragment can be received from an interactive channel, link information of a position at which the fragment is stored. Since service guide information can also be received through an interactive channel, the communication unit 520 can receive reception information, indicating whether or not a fragment is received from an interactive channel, through an interactive channel and receive, when a fragment can be received from an interactive channel, fragment management information including link information of a position at which the fragment is stored through an interactive channel.

[72] The broadcast receiving unit 510 and the communication unit 520 output the received signals to the controller 600.

[73] The controller 600 may include a system decoder 610, a decoder 620, a service guide controller 630 and a communication system codec 670. The controller 600 may control the peripheral functional blocks shown in FIG. 10 and process control commands received from the user.

[74]

[75] FIG. 11 is a view showing the system decoder 610 of FIG. 10.

[76] The system decoder 610 may process the broadcast signal received from the broadcast receiving unit 510. The system decoder 610 may include an IP decapsulator 611, a user datagram protocol (UDP) decoder 612, a RTP decoder 613, a FLUTE decoder 614, a container parser 615, a BiM parser 616 and an XML parser 617.

[77] When fragment management information illustrated in FIGs. 2 to 5 is included in the broadcast signal received by the broadcast receiving unit 510, the system decoder 610 can decode the fragment management information. The system decoder 610 can decode content data transmitted in real time taking into consideration system encoding. For example, the system decoder 610 can decode a file including service guide information and content data transmitted in an IP datagram format. The service guide information decoded by the system decoder 610 includes fragment management information of fragments of the service guide information. The fragment management information may include reception information indicating whether or not a corresponding fragment can be received through an interactive channel. When a fragment can be received through an interactive channel, the fragment management information may also include link information of a position at which the fragment is stored.

[78] The following is an example of how the system decoder 610 decodes service guide information or content data in an IP datagram format. First, the IP decapsulator 611 de- capsulates content data included in a payload of an IP packet with reference to a header of the IP packet. The UDP decoder 612 can decode content data transmitted in real time from the decapsulated payload according to a user datagram protocol (UDP). The RTP decoder 613 can control a coding rate of the content data decoded by the UDP decoder 612 using an RTP control protocol (RTCP) and output coded content data. The audio/video signal of the content output from the RTP decoder 613 is output to the decoder 620 that includes audio and video decoders.

[79] When the system decoder 610 decodes data of service guide information in a file format, the data decoded by the UDP decoder 612 is output to the FLUTE decoder 614.

[80] The FLUTE decoder 614 can decode data in a FLUTE format (where FLUTE stands for File Delivery over Unidirectional Transport according to IETF RFC3926) and then can output a file such as binary data, image data, or text. The decoded data output by the FLUTE decoder 614 may include a file including service guide information.

[81] The container parser 615 decodes a container-based file of the service guide information and outputs the decoded file. If the result output from the container parser is data of a BiM format, the BiM parser 616 decodes the data and transmits the decoded data to the XML parser 617. The XML parser 617 may decode the file of the XML format output from the container parser 615 or the BiM parser 617.

[82] As shown in FIG. 10, the decoder 620 includes video and audio decoders that receive and decode the signal decoded by the system decoder 610. The decoder 620 may also include a data decoder that decodes a data signal for data broadcasting. The video decoder can decode and output video data, for example in H.264 format, and the audio decoder can decode and output audio data, for example in AAC+ format. The decoder 620 can decode program information/service information in a table format according to PSI/SI. For example, the decoder 620 can decode table information such as a Program Association Table (PAT), a Program Map Table (PMT), or a Network Information Table (NIT) or can decode a broadcast signal for data broadcasting. The decoder 620 can parse an IP/MAC Notification Table (INT), which is table information, from the PMT. The INT includes information of mapping between the PID of a transport stream and the IP address of an IP stream in the transport stream. Accordingly, when the apparatus for receiving service guide information has obtained an IP address for receiving bootstrap information of service guide information from the INT, the receiving device can receive the bootstrap information using the obtained IP address. The apparatus for receiving service guide information can receive and decode service guide information according to the procedure illustrated in FIGs. 10 and 11 when the bootstrap information has been obtained. An example of how the decoded service guide information is output (or presented) is described below.

[83] The service guide information controller 630 can cause service-guide-related information decoded and output by the system decoder 610 to be stored, processed, and output (or presented). The service guide information controller 630 includes a control unit 631, a channel map memory 633, and a browser driver 635.

[84] The control unit 631 can store the received service guide information in the memory

550. The control unit 631 can extract channel map information from the service guide information and store the extracted channel map information in the channel map memory 633. The control unit 631 can drive the browser driver 635, which drives applications or the like, to output (or present) received or stored service guide infor mation.

[85] The memory 550 can store service guide information, content data, and a file received in an IP datagram format and can store data before and after the data is decoded by the decoder 620. The input unit 530 can receive a control command input by the user and then can output the received control command to the controller 600. The output unit 560 can output audio or video signals output by the controller 600. The controller 600 may drive an application to output the audio or video signal. For example, a service-guide-information-related application can provide service guide information to the user.

[86] The controller 600 may include the communication system encoder/decoder 670 that can transmit and receive signals to and from an interactive channel. The communication system encoder/decoder 670 can encode a signal for transmission through an interactive channel or can decode a signal received through an interactive channel from the communication unit 520. When a signal is received through an interactive channel, the communication unit 520 can demodulate the received signal. When the communication system encoder/decoder 670 outputs an encoded signal, the communication unit 520 can modulate and transmit the encoded signal. For example, when the communication unit 520 receives service guide information from an interactive channel, the communication system encoder/decoder 670 can receive, decode, and output the service guide information. When the communication system encoder/ decoder 670 receives a signal including fragment management information illustrated in FIGs. 2 to 5 from the communication unit 520, the communication system encoder/ decoder 670 decodes the received signal taking into consideration system decoding of the signal and outputs the decoded signal to the service guide information controller 630.

[87] In the case where the controller 600 receives fragment management information from the broadcast receiving unit 510 or the communication unit 520, the controller 600 can acquire and process reception information indicating whether a fragment is received through a broadcast channel or an interactive channel from the fragment management information and acquire and process link information of a position at which a fragment is located when the fragment is received through an interactive channel. In the case where the controller 600 receives a fragment through a broadcast channel using the reception information and the link information, the controller 600 can process a fragment received by the broadcast receiving unit 510 and output the processed fragment to the service guide information controller 630. In addition, in the case where the controller 600 receives a fragment through an interactive channel, the communication system encoder/decoder 670 in the controller 600 can process a fragment received by the communication unit 520 and output the processed fragment to the service guide information controller 630. That is, the controller 600 may decode service guide information through the system decoder 610 when the controller 600 has acquired the service guide information from a broadcast channel while it may decode service guide information through the communication system encoder/decoder 670 when the controller 600 has acquired the service guide information from an interactive channel.

[88] When the controller 600 has received table information such as an INT, the controller

600 obtains, from the table information, an IP address at which bootstrap information is located. For example, using the obtained IP address, the apparatus for receiving service guide information can acquire service guide information received through an interactive channel from the communication unit 520 or can acquire service guide information received through a broadcast channel from the broadcast receiving unit 510.

[89] FIG. 12 is a view showing an example of a protocol stack in the case where the service guide information and the description information of the service guide information are delivered by the DVB-H. In the protocol stack, if the service guide information is delivered according to the DVB-T/H 710, the delivered signal follows a protocol 720 associated with the transport stream defined by the DVB. According to the DVB-H, the transport stream may follow a time slicing rule 725 and may include a signal of an MPE or an MPE-FEC format (729). PSI/SI information may be delivered via the transport stream. A signal of an IP datagram format 730 may be included in the transport stream. The data according to the IP datagram follows the UDP 740 or TCP rule. Among the contents delivered by the UDP, the contents transmitted/received in a real-time streaming format follows the RTP 750 and the contents delivered in the file format follows the FLUTE/ ALC. The contents of the streaming format according to the RTP 750 may be transmitted according to H.264/AAC+. The contents delivered in the file format may become data of an XML, a binary and a text or service guide in- formation according to XML/SDP. The XML is an object-oriented language, and the service guide information or the description information of the service guide information may be transmitted in a state of being included in a layered signal in object units via the FLUTE.

[90] FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a method for transmitting and receiving service guide information according to the present invention. The embodiment of the method for transmitting and receiving service guide information according to the present invention is described below with reference to FIG. 13.

[91] Service guide information containing reception information indicating that a fragment can be received through an interactive channel and link information of a position of the fragment is encoded and output (Sl 10). The reception information and the link information can be encoded according to the ALC, FLUTE, or UDP protocol after being generated in an IP datagram format. The signal encoded into an IP datagram format can be encapsulated according to the MPE or MPE-FEC and can be processed according to a time slicing technique. For the reception information and the link information, reference can be made to FIGs. 2 to 5 and, for a procedure for encoding the reception information and the link information, reference can be made to FIG. 6.

[92] The output service guide information is multiplexed with content data and the multiplexed service guide information is then modulated and transmitted (S 120). For a procedure for modulating and transmitting service guide information, reference can be made to fragments 4 and 6.

[93] The transmitted service guide information is received and demodulated (S130).

[94] The service guide information can be received through a broadcast channel or an interactive channel. The received signal may include reception information indicating that a fragment can be received through an interactive channel and link information indicating a position of a fragment when the fragment is received through an interactive channel. The demodulation step of step S 130 may comply with the processes performed by the broadcast receiving unit and the communication unit of FIG. 10.

[95] The received service guide information is then decoded to obtain a fragment management structure including reception information indicating that a fragment can be received through an interactive channel and link information of the position of the fragment (S 140).

[96] For the fragment of step S 140, reference can be made to the signal processing procedure illustrated in FIGs. 10 and 11 since the fragment is included in the service guide information.

[97] The fragment is received through an interactive channel using the link information of the position of the fragment (S 150). When a fragment is received through an in- teractive channel, a connection is made to the link information obtained at step S 140 to receive the fragment located at the corresponding link.

[98] According to the above embodiments, the user can acquire, from service guide information, fragment management information including reception information indicating that a fragment of the service guide information can be received through an interactive channel and link information indicating the position of the fragment. The user can also acquire, from the fragment management information, the fragment of the service guide information received through the interactive channel. Accordingly, it is possible to obtain detailed information of the usage of content and to easily use corresponding services. Mode for the Invention

[99] The embodiments of the present invention are described in the best mode of the present invention. Industrial Applicability

[100] The present invention has an industrial applicability capable of transmitting/receiving contents using service guide information in broadcast and communication fields.

Claims

[1] An apparatus for receiving service guide information, the apparatus comprising: a receiving unit for receiving and demodulating, when a fragment of service guide information is received through an interactive channel, a signal including fragment management information containing link information of a position of the fragment; a controller for performing a control operation to decode the signal demodulated by the receiving unit and to output service guide information including the fragment management information; and an output unit for outputting the link information included in the service guide information under control of the controller.

[2] The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fragment management information further includes version information of the fragment and identification information of the fragment.

[3] An apparatus for transmitting service guide information, the apparatus comprising: an encoder for encoding, when a fragment of service guide information is received through an interactive channel, fragment management information including link information of a position of the fragment in the service guide information; a multiplexer for multiplexing the encoded service guide information and content data; and a modulating and encoding unit for modulating, encoding, and transmitting the multiplexed service guide information.

[4] The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the fragment management information further includes version information of the fragment and identification information of the fragment.

[5] A method for receiving service guide information, the method comprising: receiving and demodulating, when a fragment of service guide information is received through an interactive channel, a signal including fragment management information containing link information of a position of the fragment in the service guide information; performing a control operation to decode the demodulated signal and to output service guide information including the fragment management information; and outputting the link information included in the service guide information according to the control operation.

[6] The method according to claim 5, wherein the fragment management information further includes version information of the fragment and identification information of the fragment.

[7] A method for transmitting service guide information, the method comprising: encoding, when a fragment of service guide information is received through an interactive channel, fragment management information including link information of a position of the fragment in the service guide information; multiplexing the encoded service guide information and content data; and modulating, encoding, and transmitting the multiplexed service guide information.

[8] The method according to claim 7, wherein the fragment management information further includes version information of the fragment and identification information of the fragment.