WO2012131055A1 - Transmission sans fil de signal vidéo - Google Patents

Transmission sans fil de signal vidéo Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2012131055A1
WO2012131055A1 PCT/EP2012/055841 EP2012055841W WO2012131055A1 WO 2012131055 A1 WO2012131055 A1 WO 2012131055A1 EP 2012055841 W EP2012055841 W EP 2012055841W WO 2012131055 A1 WO2012131055 A1 WO 2012131055A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
terminal
television
screen
channel
output
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2012/055841
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Simon Middleton
Steven Morris
Original Assignee
Ant Software Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Ant Software Limited filed Critical Ant Software Limited
Publication of WO2012131055A1 publication Critical patent/WO2012131055A1/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/436—Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
    • H04N21/4363—Adapting the video stream to a specific local network, e.g. a Bluetooth® network
    • H04N21/43637—Adapting the video stream to a specific local network, e.g. a Bluetooth® network involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04H—BROADCAST COMMUNICATION
    • H04H60/00—Arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linking to broadcast information or broadcast space-time; Broadcast-related systems
    • H04H60/76—Arrangements characterised by transmission systems other than for broadcast, e.g. the Internet
    • H04H60/78—Arrangements characterised by transmission systems other than for broadcast, e.g. the Internet characterised by source locations or destination locations
    • H04H60/80—Arrangements characterised by transmission systems other than for broadcast, e.g. the Internet characterised by source locations or destination locations characterised by transmission among terminal devices
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/4104—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices
    • H04N21/4126—The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
    • H04N21/41265—The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04H—BROADCAST COMMUNICATION
    • H04H60/00—Arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linking to broadcast information or broadcast space-time; Broadcast-related systems
    • H04H60/76—Arrangements characterised by transmission systems other than for broadcast, e.g. the Internet
    • H04H60/81—Arrangements characterised by transmission systems other than for broadcast, e.g. the Internet characterised by the transmission system itself
    • H04H60/90—Wireless transmission systems
    • H04H60/92—Wireless transmission systems for local area
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/4104—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices
    • H04N21/4122—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices additional display device, e.g. video projector
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/426—Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/434—Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/435—Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/472—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content
    • H04N21/4722—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content for requesting additional data associated with the content

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to improvements in the processing of television signals for output to the user.
  • the system comprises a television network 2 such as a satellite television network in which signals are broadcast wirelessly via one or more satellites, a terrestrial television network in which signals are broadcast wirelessly via one or more land-based repeater stations, or a cable television network.
  • a television network 2 such as a satellite television network in which signals are broadcast wirelessly via one or more satellites, a terrestrial television network in which signals are broadcast wirelessly via one or more land-based repeater stations, or a cable television network.
  • the system further comprises a set-top box 4 and a television screen 6.
  • a set-top box 4 and a television screen 6 can be combined into the same housing to form a television set, but for illustrative purposes the following will be described by reference to an arrangement comprising a separate set-top box 4 and screen 6.
  • the set-top box (STB) 4 comprises a receiving interface 3 in the form of one or more of: an input for connecting to a radio-frequency antenna for receiving signals over a terrestrial television network, an input for connecting to a satellite dish for receiving signals over a satellite television network, and/or a cable input for receiving signals over a cable television network.
  • the set-top box 4 further comprises a demultiplexer 8 having in input operatively coupled to the interface 3.
  • the network interface 3 is arranged to receive multiple concurrent television channels, at least in that the physical signals arrive concurrently at the location of the interface. However, only a certain selected signal will be desired by the user.
  • the demultiplexer 8 is arranged to receive an indication of the selected television channel from the user and to extract the data of that television channel for signal processing and output to the television screen 6.
  • the interface 3 may be arranged to receive a plurality of different television channels on one or more frequency bands. On a given frequency band, the television channels may be interleaved in time into a transport stream comprising multiple channels in different interleaved time slots.
  • the demultiplexer 8 comprises a deinterleaver arranged to extract the data of the selected television program from its respective time slots (note therefore that channels interleaved into a transport stream are considered to be effectively concurrent for the purpose of this application).
  • the deultiplexer 8 comprises a television tuner arranged to tune to the frequency band of the selected television channel. It is also possible that both time and frequency division multiplexing are used, such that each of a plurality of frequency bands carries a different respective transport stream, the transport stream on each frequency band comprising a plurality of television channels.
  • the demultiplexer 8 comprises both a television tuner and a de-interleaver.
  • Each television channel comprises one or more elementary streams in the form of: a video stream, one or more audio streams (e.g. two for stereo), and optionally an additional data stream defining program information and/or interactive content.
  • a given television channel is defined by its user content, being a consistent stream of content from the perspective of the user, and may also be identified by a respective television channel identifier in the form of header information.
  • the set-top box 4 further comprises a signal processing module 10 having an input operatively coupled to the output of the demultiplexer 8, and a television screen output port 12 such as a coaxial output, SCART or HDMI port, etc. operatively coupled to the output of the signal processing module 10.
  • the television channels will have been transmitted over the network 2 in encoded form, e.g. to compress the data of those channels into a smaller number of bits to save on network resources when transmitted over the television network 2.
  • the signal processing module comprises a decoder arranged to decode the content of the selected television channel for output to the screen via the output port 12.
  • the television channels may also have been transmitted in encrypted form to provide security, e.g. so that only authorised users can view them, in which case the signal processing module 10 comprises a decryption algorithm for decrypting, e.g. given an appropriate decryption key.
  • the signal processing module 10 is preferably implemented in the form of a portion of executable program code stored on a storage medium of the set-top box 4 and arranged for execution on a processor of the set-top box 4.
  • the demultiplexer 8 may also be implemented wholly or partially in executable code, though in the case of a tuner it may comprise at least some dedicated tuner circuitry.
  • a plurality of television channels are concurrently made available in multiplexed form, from which a selected channel is to be demultiplexed, decode and output to a screen 6.
  • the demultiplexing of a television channel from amongst a plurality of television channels made available at the interface 3 by broadcast distinguishes the system from a multicast arrangement such as internet or IP television.
  • a multicast is a point-to-point transmission (albeit point-to-multpoint) whereby each item of content is transmitted to a specific identified recipient terminal in response to a request for the content from that terminal, the transmitter knowing the identify of the recipient terminal and including that identity in header information in the individual transmitted stream.
  • a broadcast on the other hand is transmitted
  • a demultiplexer such as a TV tuner to filter out all but the required television channel (if any).
  • Information identifying the specific recipients would typically also not be included in a broadcast.
  • a user selects the desired channel by means of the television 6 or set-top box 4, e.g. using a dedicated infra-red remote control unit (not shown) associated with the television 6 or set-top box 4.
  • the television or set-top box would then demultiplex, decode and output the selected television channel for display on the television screen 6.
  • demultiplexer resources e.g. requiring a separate television tuner for every terminal upon which the user wishes to view the broadcast.
  • a system comprising:
  • a first terminal comprising (a) a television receiver comprising a receiving interface at which a plurality of concurrent multiplexed television channels are concurrently made available from a television network, each television channel comprising a respective video stream, and a demultiplexer arranged to demultiplex a selected one of said television channels, (b) a signal processing module comprising a decoder arranged to decode the selected television channel, (c) an output for outputting the decoded television channel to a television screen, and (d) a wireless transceiver other than said television receiver; and
  • a second terminal comprising another screen, a wireless transceiver operable to establish a wireless connection with the wireless transceiver of the first terminal, and a controller configured to receive the video stream of the selected television channel via said wireless connection and to output the video stream of the selected television channel to the screen of the second terminal dynamically as it is received by the television receiver of the first terminal, thus making use of the demultiplexer on the first terminal to demultiplex the selected channel for output of video on the second terminal.
  • the receiving interface may comprise an input from at least one of a satellite dish and a radio-frequency antenna, at which the plurality of television channels are made available on a plurality of different frequency bands
  • the demultiplexer may comprise a television tuner operable to tune to the frequency band of the selected television channel, the controller thus making use of the television tuner on the first terminal to demultiplex the selected channel for output of video on the second terminal.
  • the plurality of television channels may be made available multiplexed in an interleaved form, and the demultiplexer may comprise a de-interleaver, the controller thus making use of the de- interleaver on the first terminal to demultiplex the selected channel for output of video on the second terminal.
  • the demultiplexer may be configured to demultiplex a selected two of said concurrent television channels from amongst a larger number of concurrent multiplexed channels concurrently made available at said receiving interface, the output of the first terminal being arranged to output the video stream of a first one of the two television channels to the screen of the first terminal, and the controller on the second terminal being configured to receive the video stream of the second of the two television channels via said wireless connection and to output the video of the second television channel to the screen of the second terminal in parallel with the output of first television channel to the screen of the first terminal.
  • the video stream of the selected television channel may be received via said wireless connection in encoded form, and the second terminal may comprise a decoder configured to decode the video stream of the selected television channel for output to the screen of the second terminal.
  • the signal processing module may further comprises a first security module configured to decrypt the selected television channel from a first encryption for output to the television screen, and the security module may be further configured to re-encrypt at least the video stream of the selected television channel according to a second encryption for receipt by the second terminal over said wireless connection, the second terminal comprising a second security module configured to decrypt the video stream of the selected television channel from the second encryption for output to the screen of the second terminal.
  • the controller on the second terminal may be configured to select the selected television channel.
  • the controller may be further configured to fetch an electronic program guide from the television receiver of the first terminal and operate the electronic program guide via the screen of the second terminal.
  • the controller on the second terminal may be further configured to fetch a user interface from the television receiver of the first terminal and operate the user interface via the screen of the second terminal.
  • the controller on the second terminal may be further configured to schedule recordings of television programs on the first terminal and control playback of the recordings.
  • the second terminal may further comprise an internet interface to an internet being a network other than said television network, and the controller may be further configured to retrieve and display media from the internet via the screen of the second terminal.
  • the first terminal may comprise an internet interface to an internet being a network other than said television network, and the controller on the second terminal may be further configured to retrieve media from the internet via the internet interface on the first terminal and to display the media via the screen of the second terminal.
  • the first terminal may be one of: a television set comprising said screen, and set-top box for plugging into said television screen.
  • the second terminal may be a portable terminal,
  • the second terminal may be one of a tablet and a laptop computer.
  • a first terminal comprising a controller configured to support relaying of the video stream of the selected television channel from the demultiplexer to the second terminal, in accordance with any of the above combinations features of said system.
  • a second terminal having any of the above combinations of features of the second terminal of said system.
  • a computer program product embodied on a non-transient computer-readable medium and configured so as when executed on a processor to perform the operations of a controller having any of the above combinations of features of the controller of said system.
  • a computer program product embodied on a non-transient computer-readable medium and configured so as when executed on a processor to perform the operations of a controller of the first terminal.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a television system
  • Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of another television system
  • Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram of a first terminal
  • Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram of a second terminal
  • Figures 5a-5i are schematic representations of a user interface on a second terminal.
  • the system comprises a television network 2 such as a satellite television network in which signals are broadcast wirelessly via one or more satellites, a terrestrial television network in which signals are broadcast wirelessly via one or more land-based repeater stations, or a cable television network.
  • a television network 2 such as a satellite television network in which signals are broadcast wirelessly via one or more satellites, a terrestrial television network in which signals are broadcast wirelessly via one or more land-based repeater stations, or a cable television network.
  • the system further comprises a first terminal in the form of a set-top box 4, and a television screen 6 (or the components of the two devices 4, 6 can be combined into the same housing to form a television set, but again for illustrative purposes the following will be described by reference to an arrangement comprising a separate set-top box 4 and screen 6).
  • the system further comprises a second terminal 16 in the form of a portable computer, such as a laptop computer or more preferably a tablet style computer.
  • a portable computer such as a laptop computer or more preferably a tablet style computer.
  • the following may be described in terms of a tablet for illustrative purposes, but it will be appreciated that other kinds of computer could equally be used as the second terminal 16.
  • the second terminal 16 is a separate terminal than the first terminal 4, by which is meant that they are separate units, i.e. housed within a separate housing (casing) and having separate hardware resources such as separate power sources and separate processors, and each being capable of operating autonomously.
  • the set-top box (STB) 4 comprises a receiving interface 3 in the form of one or more of: an input for connecting to a radio-frequency antenna for receiving signals over a terrestrial television network, an input for connecting to a satellite dish for receiving signals over a satellite television network, and/or a cable input for receiving signals over a cable television network.
  • the set-top box 4 further comprises a demultiplexer 8 having in input operatively coupled to the interface 3.
  • the network interface 3 is arranged to receive multiple concurrent television channels in the sense described above in relation to Figure V, and the demultiplexer 8 is arranged to receive an indication of the selected television channel from the user and to extract the data of that television channel for signal processing and output to the television screen 6.
  • the set-top box 4 further comprises a signal processing module 10 having an input operatively coupled to the output of the demultiplexer 8, and a television screen output port 12 such as a coaxial output, SCART or HDMI port, etc, operatively coupled to the output of the signal processing module 10.
  • the signal processing module comprises a decoder arranged to decode the content of the selected television channel for output to the screen 6 via the output port 12, and may also comprise a security module for decrypting the selected television channel before output.
  • the signal processing module 10 is preferably implemented in the form of a portion of executable program code stored on a storage medium of the set-top box 4 and arranged for execution on a processor of the set-top box 4.
  • the option of some or all of its functionality being implemented in dedicated hardware circuitry is not excluded.
  • the demultiplexer 8 may also be implemented wholly or partially in executable code, though in the case of a tuner it may comprise at least some dedicated tuner circuitry.
  • the set-top box 4 comprises another wireless transceiver 14 being of a kind other than that formed by the interface 3 and demultiplexer 8, i.e. other than a television receiver for receiving signals over the television network 2.
  • the transceiver 14 is a short range or ad-hoc wireless transceiver such wi-fi or Bluetooth transceiver, as might be used to connect to a home network or other local area network (LAN).
  • LAN local area network
  • the set-top box may comprise an interface to a wide area internet (inter-network) 20 such as the Internet.
  • This interface may be via a separate modem in the set-top box 4, e.g. a wired modem connected via a telephone land line; or may be via the wireless transceiver 14 and a wireless router on the home or local area network (not shown).
  • the second terminal 16 comprises a wireless transceiver 18, e.g. wi-fi or Bluetooth, to complement the wireless transceiver 14 on the first terminal 4, allowing a wireless connection to be established between the first and second terminals 4, 16.
  • the second terminal 16 also comprises its own screen 17.
  • first terminal 4 e.g. STB
  • Figure 3 Further details of the first terminal 4, e.g. STB, are shown schematically in Figure 3.
  • the first terminal 4 comprises a processor (CPU) 22 in the form of one or more processing cores, and a non-transient (non-volatile) storage medium 24 such as a magnetic storage medium (hard drive) or electronic storage medium (e.g. flash memory) operatively coupled to the processor 22.
  • the first terminal 4 may further comprises a wired modem 26, infra red (I ) receiver 28 for receiving control signals from an IR remote control unit, the screen output port 12 (or in the case of a TV set an internal connection to the screen), the wi-fi or other such local wireless transceiver 14, and the interface 3 to the TV network 2.
  • the storage medium 24 stores a plurality of portions of executable program code, arranged for execution on the processor 22 (and shown schematically within the processor 22 in Figure 3 to represent running on the processor).
  • the program code may be considered to comprise an input-output (i/o) layer 30, an operating system layer 32, a middleware layer 34, and an application layer 36.
  • the application layer 36 comprises one or more hybrid TV applications, e.g. according to the HbbTV standard, such as a TV user interface application and further applications allowing additional functionality like web access and interactive services to be accessed via the set-top box 4 and/or television 6.
  • the middleware layer 34 comprises a first television controller application in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the function of which will be described shortly.
  • the i/o layer 30 comprises a plurality of signal processing algorithms and drivers allowing the applications 34, 36 to communicate with the hardware resources 3, 12, 14, 24, 26 and 26, mediated via the operating system 32.
  • the i/o layer 30 comprises the signal processing code 10 and de-multiplexing code 8 (in embodiments in addition to demultiplexing circuitry) for receiving a television channel from the TV network 2, an IR interface driver 40 for receiving signals from the remote control unit, a TV screen driver 42 for outputting video and graphics to the TV screen 6, a storage driver 43 for communicating with the storage device 24, and a wi-fi transceiver driver and IP protocol (or such like) for communicating with the second terminal 16 via the wireless connection.
  • the second terminal 16 comprises a processor (CPU) 46 in the form of one or more processing cores, and a non-transient (non-volatile) storage medium 50 such as a magnetic storage medium (hard drive) or electronic storage medium (e.g. flash memory) operatively coupled to the processor 46.
  • the second terminal 16 may further comprises a cellular modem 48, screen 17, and the complementary wi-fi or other such local wireless transceiver 18.
  • the storage medium 50 stores a plurality of portions of executable program code, arranged for execution on the processor 46 (and shown schematically within the processor 462 in Figure 4 to represent running on the processor).
  • This program code may be considered to comprise an input-output (i/o) layer 52, an operating system layer 54, and an application layer 56, 58.
  • the application layer comprises one or more conventional applications 58 such as a web browser, games, email client etc.
  • the application layer on the second terminal 16 also comprises a second television controller application 56 to complement the first television controller application 34 on the first terminal 4 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the function of which will be described shortly.
  • the i/o layer 52 comprises a plurality of signal processing algorithms and drivers allowing the applications 56, 58 to communicate with the hardware resources 17, 18 48 and 50, mediated via the operating system 54.
  • the i/o layer 52 comprises a screen driver 66 for outputting video and graphics to the computer screen 17, a storage driver 68 for
  • a wi-fi transceiver driver and IP protocol for communicating with the first terminal 4 via the wireless connection
  • a signal processing module 61 for communicating with a cellular network, e.g. 3GPP network, so as to engage in calls or as an alternative route for internet access.
  • a cellular network e.g. 3GPP network
  • the middleware controller application 34 may comprise an application programming interface (API) 36 facilitating communication with the complementary second controller application 56 via the operating system 54 and/or any other relevant protocols of the second application.
  • the second controller application 56 may comprise and API 60 facilitating
  • the television controller applications 34, 56 operate in conjunction with one another and the other appropriate components described above to perform a process in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention as follows.
  • One function of the second controller 56 is that it is operable receive a video stream (and preferably also the audio stream(s) and any other associated data stream) of a television channel that has been demultiplexed by the demultiplexer 8 on the first terminal 4, e.g. by tuning to the required frequency of the television channel by the tuner. This is achieved by relaying the television channel including its respective video stream via the wireless connection established between the wi-fi transceivers 14 and 18 or other such short-range wireless transceivers, under control of the controller applications 34, 56.
  • the second terminal 16 is not equipped with a TV tuner it is still able to play out the received video stream of a selected television channel.
  • the video is relayed live from the first terminal to the second terminal 16, i.e. dynamically in real-time, so that the current program of the television channel in question is being streamed from the first terminal 4 to the second terminal 16 and played out from the screen 17 of the second terminal 16 at the same time as it is being received at the receiver 3, 8 of the first terminal (allowing for a small lag between the two). There is no need to download and store the video at the first terminal.
  • the local wireless connection 14, 18 (e.g. wi-fi or Bluetooth) between the first and second terminals 4, 16 is likely not to support a bandwidth high enough to relay raw uncompressed data
  • at least the video stream of the relayed television channel (and optionally also the audio and any associated data stream) is preferably relayed before it is decoded, i.e. the signal processing means 10 on the first terminal 4 does not decode a television channel that is being relayed to the second terminal 16.
  • the second terminal 16 comprises its own signal processing means 61 comprising its own decoder, which is arranged to decompress the video stream (and optionally audio and/or data) of the relayed television channel.
  • the signal processing module 10 may be configured to reformat the data of the relayed television channel to some extent, e.g. to repackage into a different packet format.
  • the signal processing module 10 may comprise a security module configured to decrypt the television channel, including its respective video, from a first encryption standard used to broadcast over the television network 2; and then re-encrypt the television channel, again including at least the video, according to a second encryption standard appropriate for transmission over the wireless connection 14, 18 between the first and second terminals 4, 16.
  • the signal processing module 61 on the second terminal then comprises its own decryption module configured to decrypt the video and any other media of the relayed television channel from the second encryption standard into clear form for output to its screen 17.
  • the demultiplexer 8 may be operable to demultiplex two television channels from amongst an even greater number broadcast to the interface 3.
  • a first one of the television channels, including its video stream, may be played out from the first terminal 4 using the output port 12 and television screen 6; whilst simultaneously the second of the two television channels, including its respective second video stream, may be played out using the local wireless connection 14, 18 and screen 17 of the second terminal.
  • the television screen 6 could just go blank or display a placeholder message.
  • the switching of the playout from the first terminal 4 to the second terminal 16 (and back again if desired) is controlled by the second controller application 56 acting as master, such that the first controller application 34 is a slave to the second controller application 56.
  • the second controller application 56 is also able to control the selection of which channel is demultiplexed and relayed.
  • the necessary control signalling between the controller applications 34, 56 is achieved via the APIs 38, 60.
  • the first controller application 34 upon receiving instructions from the second controller application 56, may then in turn issue instructions to the hybrid TV application layer 36, e.g. to control the TV user interface (Ul) application to stop displaying the relayed television channel or to otherwise control the Ul of the STB and TV 4, 6 (such as to display a message).
  • Ul TV user interface
  • the first controller application 34 may also issue requests to its operating system 32 requesting access to underlying driver and hardware resources 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 24, 26, 40, 42, 43 and/or 44; particularly so as to request access to the demultiplexer 8, signal processing module 10 and/or local wireless transceiver 14 to achieve the second controller application's instructions to demultiplex and relay the video stream of the required television channel (and any associated audio, data, EPG, Ul etc.); and/or to enact the necessary re-formatting and/or re-encryption of the relayed television channel.
  • both may be under control of the second controller application 56, or alternatively the first television channel may be selected via controls of the first terminal 4 while only the second television program is selected via the second terminal 16.
  • the selection as to whether to play two streams in parallel may also be under control of the second controller application 56.
  • the second controller application 56 is also configured to be able to access other functions of the first terminal 4, e.g. to retrieve via the demultiplexer 8 an electronic program guide (EPG) multiplexed amongst the broadcast channels, and/or to fetch and mimic the user interface of the first terminal 4 on the screen 17 of the second terminal 16.
  • the second controller application 56 may also be configured to obtain internet access, e.g. via the first terminal 4 via wired modem 26; and /or its own internet access via wi-fi transceiver 18 or cellular modem 48,
  • the functionality is based around the idea of a controller application running on a second screen such as a tablet. It can be used whilst the user is watching TV as an extension to the onscreen user interface and also as a remote access device whilst the user is away from their house.
  • the use cases given below illustrate ways that a second screen could be used to interest the viewer, thus differentiating the solution offerings and potentially give new modes of access for the broadcaster.
  • the main use cases cover examples of the more complex or particular interesting use cases and are not meant to reflect the full range of functionality that such an application could be potentially have.
  • the application may for example be written in HTML/JS and run on the built-in Mobile Safari. It may be wrapped in a native code wrapper to allow it to be distributed via an online store for simplicity.
  • Visual elements (such as the EPG) will preferably be styled to be recognisably from the same brand as the STB EPG and therefore may reuse some of the graphical elements.
  • the design and the layout of the EPG will be similar to the STB EPG but will be first and foremost designed to be a good tablet implementation of an EPG. For example use of swipe to scroll, pop-ups to show more info, finger size buttons, full screen display, etc.
  • the tablet application (second controller application 56) running on the tablet features the following screens:
  • Export information to tablet such as channel list, programme information, recording list - Tablet control of channel change, recording scheduling, recording playback, catch-up video playback
  • a new application may be provided that can be triggered by a playback request from the tablet and can do the following with the data received:
  • Use case 1 EPG on different devices.
  • the user can display an EPG on the tablet that allows them to see the channels and
  • the channel line up should match what is displayed on the TV including options to show favourite lists set up on the TV.
  • the design of the EPG should match that displayed on the TV in looks/branding and to an extent in feel as well - whilst allowing for difference in usage on a tablet as opposed to a TV.
  • the EPG should go back in time as well as forwards
  • the user can perform the following actions:
  • - Fetch programme information from the STB maybe on demand, but preferably caching the entire 7 days.
  • the user can display a list of videos stored on the STB such as recordings made.
  • the user can: Display information about the video
  • Use case 3 Other media
  • the user can use the TV as an extended display device for their tablet.
  • the user can:
  • a variant of use case 1 would have the user able to perform a sub set of the operations whilst outside the home network, e.g. over 3G or at a WiFi hotspot.
  • requests to the STB e.g. schedule recording
  • some kind proxy server that would store and forward requests and responses.
  • Other changes in this case could be:
  • External VOD catalogue the user can display on the tablet the web site of a VoD provider such as Lovefilm or Netflix.
  • the user can:
  • Tablet application The app should start up into the Home screen, with buttons to link to other screens.
  • Fetch the channel list from the STB including favourite lists, metadata and icons
  • Fetch programme information from the STB maybe on demand, but preferably caching the entire 14 days (7 days each way)
  • the app needs to be notified in any of the following cases so it can update its display.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Databases & Information Systems (AREA)
  • Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
  • Two-Way Televisions, Distribution Of Moving Picture Or The Like (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention porte sur un système comprenant : un premier terminal comprenant (a) un récepteur de télévision comprenant une interface de réception au niveau de laquelle une pluralité de canaux de télévision multiplexés simultanés sont rendus disponibles simultanément à partir d'un réseau de télévision, chaque canal de télévision comprenant un flux vidéo respectif, et un démultiplexeur conçu pour démultiplexer un canal de télévision sélectionné parmi lesdits canaux de télévision, (b) un module de traitement de signal comprenant un décodeur conçu pour décoder le canal de télévision sélectionné, (c) une sortie pour émettre le canal de télévision décodé à destination d'un écran de télévision, et (d) un émetteur-récepteur sans fil autre que ledit réception de télévision ; et un second terminal comprenant un autre écran, un émetteur-récepteur sans fil apte à établir une connexion sans fil avec l'émetteur-récepteur sans fil du premier terminal, et un contrôleur configuré pour recevoir le flux vidéo du canal de télévision sélectionné par l'intermédiaire de ladite connexion sans fil et émettre le flux vidéo du canal de télévision sélectionné à destination de l'écran du second terminal de manière dynamique lorsqu'il est reçu par le récepteur de télévision du premier terminal, permettant ainsi d'utiliser le premier démultiplexeur sur le premier terminal pour démultiplexer le canal sélectionné pour l'émission d'une vidéo sur le second terminal.
PCT/EP2012/055841 2011-04-01 2012-03-30 Transmission sans fil de signal vidéo WO2012131055A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB1105567.0A GB2489688A (en) 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 Television receiver with single demultiplexer to serve a local display and wirelessly connected display
GB1105567.0 2011-04-01

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2012131055A1 true WO2012131055A1 (fr) 2012-10-04

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GB (1) GB2489688A (fr)
WO (1) WO2012131055A1 (fr)

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US9813752B2 (en) 2012-07-27 2017-11-07 Magine Holding AB System and a method adapted to display EPG media content from the world wide web

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US9369767B2 (en) 2012-07-27 2016-06-14 Magine Holding AB Utilization of a remote control to display media
US9398338B2 (en) 2012-07-27 2016-07-19 Magine Holding AB Utilization of remote control to display media
US9813752B2 (en) 2012-07-27 2017-11-07 Magine Holding AB System and a method adapted to display EPG media content from the world wide web
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB2489688A (en) 2012-10-10
GB201105567D0 (en) 2011-05-18

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