Method and apparatus for preparing and transmitting electronic program information and apparatus for producing electronic program guide from the electronic program information

• US 20040221307A1
• Filed: 05/28/2004
• Published: 11/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nagao, Takeshi, Nakagawa, Aki, Fujita, Kenichi, Suzuki, Takayuki, Arai, Yuko, Shinohara, Hiroki
• Granted Patent: US 7,594,247 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/44
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/04 Studio equipment; Interconnection of studios
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/07 characterised by processes or methods for the generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/44 for identifying broadcast stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2362 Generation or processing of Service Information [SI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

General electronic program information described on a general level and individual electronic program information described on an individual level are prepared according to electronic program information of a channel service of a broadcast service provider for each channel service according to electronic program information degree of detail setting information. The electronic program information degree of detail setting information indicates a degree of detail for the contents of the individual electronic program information described on an individual level and a degree of detail for contents of the general electronic program information described on a general level. The general level corresponds to a low degree of detail, and the individual level corresponds to a high degree of detail. One piece of individual electronic program information of a particular channel service and pieces of general electronic program information of channel services, other than the particular channel service, are multiplexed and transmitted to each viewer. Accordingly, the general electronic program information and the individual electronic program information can be transmitted while effectively using a data transmission band.

Claims

1-46. -46. Cancelled

47. A reception terminal communicably linked to an electronic program information preparing and transmitting apparatus via a plurality of transport streams,

wherein the electronic program information preparing and transmitting apparatus for preparing electronic program information concerning the plurality of channel services and a transmitter adapted to transmit the prepared electronic program information toward the reception terminal via the plurality of transport streams, comprising:

electronic program information preparing means for preparing;

(i);

distributing information indicating which channel service should be distributed to which transport stream and

(ii);

both of a first type of electronic program information concerning each of the plurality of channel services and a second type of electronic program information concerning each of the plurality of channel services,

wherein the first type of electronic program information is described with a first degree of detail and the second type of electronic program information is described with a second degree of detail that is different in description of program information from the first degree of detail;

electronic program information distributing means for distributing, on the basis of the distributing information, to each transport stream;

(1);

the first type of electronic program information concerning each channel service to a first transport stream assigned to the channel service, and

(ii);

the second type of electronic program information concerning each channel service to the remaining one or more transport streams other than the first transport stream; and

a transmitter adapted to transmit, to the reception terminal, the transport streams to which the electronic program information has been distributed,

wherein the reception terminal comprises;

a receiver adapted to receive the electronic program information concerning the plurality of channel services from the electronic program information preparing and transmitting apparatus through the transport streams; and

displaying means for displaying both of the first and second types of electronic program information in a form in which all the first and second types of electronic program information concerning all the plurality of channel services are listed together;

wherein the first type of electronic program information concerns a user'"'"'s desired channel service isolated from the plurality of channel services.

48. The reception terminal according to claim 47, wherein the first degree of detail is higher in the description of program information than the second degree of detail.

49. The reception terminal according to claim 48, wherein the first type of electronic program information is longer in a period of time of description than the second type of electronic information whereby the first degree of detail is higher than the second degree of detail.

50. The reception terminal according to claim 48, wherein the first type of electronic program information is larger in a described amount of electronic program information than the second type of electronic information, whereby the first degree of detail is higher than the second degree of detail.

51. The reception terminal according to claim 47, wherein the electronic program information preparing means of the electronic program information preparing and transmitting apparatus is configured to produce distributing information indicating correspondences between the transport streams and the channel services broadcast by each of a plurality of broadcast service stations.

52. The reception terminal according to claim 51, wherein the distribution information provides for correspondence between plural transport streams and plural channel services, respectively, broadcast by the same broadcast service station, and

wherein the electronic program information distributing means is configured to distribute, to each of the plural transport streams assigned to the same broadcast service station, the first type of electronic program information concerning each of the plural channel services broadcast by the same broadcast service station.

53. The reception terminal according to claim 52, wherein the first degree of detail has a greater amount of description of program information, than the second degree of detail.

54. The reception terminal according to claim 53, wherein the first type of electronic program information is longer in a period of time of description than the second type of electronic information, whereby the first degree of detail is greater than the second degree of detail.

55. The reception terminal according to claim 53, wherein the first type of electronic program information has a larger described amount of electronic program information than the second type of electronic information, whereby the first degree of detail is greater than the second degree of detail.