Data transmission device

• US 20060059245A1
• Filed: 03/24/2004
• Published: 03/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsui, Yoshinori, Toma, Tadamasa
• Application Number:
  US10/534,546
• Publication Number:
  US 20060059245A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for commerce, e.g. marketing, shopping, billing, auctions or e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2368 Multiplexing of audio and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2381 Adapting the multiplex stream to a specific network, e.g. an Internet Protocol [IP] network transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6373 for rate control , e.g. request to the server to modify its transmission rate flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6437 Real-time Transport Protocol [RTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A data transmission apparatus (100) causes a data reception apparatus to execute an appropriate reproduction process on content data, and comprises: a file analysis unit (110) and an RTSP processing unit (101) which (i) establish and initialize a transmission path of the content data with the data reception apparatus, (ii) extract reproduction control information from an MP4 file, and (iii) transmit the extracted information to the data reception apparatus; an RTP generation unit (102) which acquires the content data from the MP4 file via a file analysis unit (110) so as to packetize the acquired content data; and an RTP delivery unit (103) which transmits the content data that has been packetized by the RTP generation unit (102).

Claims

1. A data transmission apparatus which extracts content data that is a copyrighted digital work from a file, and transmits the content data to a reception apparatus,

wherein the file is made up of (i) the content data and (ii) reproduction control information used for a reproduction process of the content data, the content data and the reproduction control information being multiplexed, and

the data transmission apparatus comprises:

a front end processing unit operable to establish and initialize a transmission path of content data with the reception apparatus;

a control transmission unit operable to extract at least a part of the reproduction control information from the file, and transmit the extracted information to the reception apparatus, after the transmission path is established and initialized by said front end processing unit;

a packet generation unit operable to acquire at least a part of content data from the file, and packetize the acquired data; and

a content transmission unit operable to transmit at least a part of the content data which has been packetized by said packet generation unit.

2. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the reproduction control information which has been multiplexed in the file is structured in a tabular form, per data unit which is plurally included in the content data, said reproduction control information including reproduction control unit information used for reproducing from the data unit,

said control transmission unit extracts, from the reproduction control information of the file, and transmits the reproduction control unit information related to a data unit which is requested by the reception apparatus, and

said packet generation unit acquires and packetizes the content data starting from the data unit requested by the reception apparatus.

3. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the reproduction control unit information indicates details to inform a timing when a decoding process should be started on the content data, said content data being transmitted by said content transmission unit and received by the reception apparatus.

4. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the reproduction control unit information indicates, as the details to inform the timing, a time from a reception start of the content data to a start of the decoding process executed by the reception apparatus.

5. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the reproduction control unit information indicates a data amount of the content data received by the reception apparatus as the details to inform the timing.

6. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein said control transmission unit converts the data amount indicated by the reproduction control unit information into the time from the reception start of the content data to the start of the decoding process executed by the reception apparatus, and transmits the converted reproduction control unit information.

7. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein said control transmission unit converts the reproduction control unit information, according to a transmission state of the content data which is transmitted by said content transmission unit.

8. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein said content transmission unit changes a speed to transmit the content data based on a state of the transmission path.

9. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the content data is moving picture data structured including a plurality of pictures, and

the reproduction control information is structured including the reproduction control unit information per each of the plurality of pictures included in the content data.

10. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the content data is moving picture data structured including a plurality of pictures, and

the reproduction control information is structured including the reproduction control unit information per each of the intra-picture coded pictures included in the content data.

11. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the content data is moving picture data structured including a plurality of pictures, and

the reproduction control unit information indicates whether or not a correct result of decoding process can be acquired from a head picture of the data unit.

12. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the content data is moving picture data structured including a plurality of pictures, and

the reproduction control unit information indicates a part where a correct result of decoding process can be first acquired in the case where a decoding process is started from a head picture of the data unit.

13. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the content data is moving picture data including a scene made up of a plurality of consecutive pictures as the data unit, and

the reproduction control information indicates information which is necessary for initialization in decoding the plurality of pictures that make up said each scene.

14. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the content data is moving picture data structured including a plurality of pictures, and

the reproduction control information indicates a cycle of pictures which can be randomly accessed among said plurality of pictures.

15. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the reproduction control information multiplexed in the file is reproduction control unit information used for reproducing from one predetermined data unit included in the content data,

said control transmission unit extracts, from the file, and transmits the reproduction control unit information, according to a request from the reception apparatus, and

said packet generation unit acquires and packetizes the content data from the data unit, according to a request from the reception apparatus.

16. A method for transmitting data, in which content data that is a copyrighted digital work is extracted from a file and transmitted to a reception apparatus,

wherein the file is made up of (i) the content data and (ii) reproduction control information used for a reproduction process of the content data, the content data and the reproduction control information being multiplexed, and

the method for transmitting data comprises:

a front end processing step of establishing and initializing a transmission path of content data with the reception apparatus;

a control transmission step of extracting at least a part of the reproduction control information from the file, and transmitting the extracted information to the reception apparatus, after the transmission path is established and initialized by said front end processing step;

a packet generation step of acquiring at least a part of content data from the file, and packetizing the acquired data; and

a content transmission step of transmitting at least a part of the content data which has been packetized by said packet generation unit.

17. The method for transmitting data according to claim 16,

wherein the reproduction control information which has been multiplexed in the file is structured in a tabular form, per data unit which is plurally included in the content data, including reproduction control unit information used for reproducing from the data unit,

said control transmission step extracts, from the reproduction control information of the file, and transmits the reproduction control unit information related to a data unit which is requested by the reception apparatus, and

said packet generation step acquires and packetizes the content data from the data unit requested by the reception apparatus.

18. The method for transmitting data according to claim 17,

wherein the reproduction control unit information indicates details to inform the content data of a timing when a reproduction process should be started, said content data transmitted by said content transmission step and stored by the reception apparatus.

19. A program for extracting content data that is a copyrighted digital work from a file, and transmitting the extracted data to a reception apparatus,

wherein the file is made up of (i) the content data and (ii) reproduction control information used for a reproduction process of the content data, the content data and the reproduction control information being multiplexed, and

the method for transmitting data causes a computer to execute:

a front end processing step of establishing and initializing a transmission path of content data with the reception apparatus;

a control transmission step of extracting at least a part of the reproduction control information from the file, and transmitting the extracted information to the reception apparatus, after the transmission path is established and initialized by said front end processing step;

a packet generation step of acquiring at least a part of content data from the file, and packetizing the acquired data; and

a content transmission step of transmitting at least a part of the content data which has been packetized by said packet generation unit.