Method and system for broadcasting digital programs

• US 20070107036A1
• Filed: 11/25/2004
• Published: 05/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Chen, Xin, Chen, Ningjiang, Zeng, Yongqin, Bruls, Fons
• Application Number:
  US10/580,499
• Publication Number:
  US 20070107036A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/135
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/14 for monitoring programmes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2547 Third Party Billing, e.g. billing of advertiser
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4382 Demodulation or channel decoding, e.g. QPSK demodulation analog front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

This invention provides a method that when the disturbance of the bandwidth or the signal quality occurs during the digital program broadcasting, so that the broadcasting quality of the currently broadcast normal program is below a predetermined value, a prearranged program having a specific broadcasting quality, such as advertisements, will be inserted. The prearranged program may have an regular relation to the currently broadcast normal program, thereby the user would rather appreciate some program than suffer bad screen showing or wait until the program returns back to a good condition to be watched normally. This invention further provides a method for making statistics of the inserted prearranged program, said statistical information could be used for charging.

Claims

1. A method for broadcasting a digital program, comprising:

a. detecting the broadcasting quality of a normal program being broadcast;

b. interposing a prearranged program if the detected broadcasting quality is below a predetermined value, the broadcasting quality of this prearranged program reaching a predetermined level.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

c. detecting an available broadcasting quality of the normal program when broadcasting the prearranged program;

d. resuming broadcasting the normal program when the available broadcasting quality returns back to another predetermined value.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step before step d:

e. detecting whether the broadcast of the inserted prearranged program has been finished.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said prearranged program is stored in a local storage in advance.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said prearranged program comes from another program attached to the normal program being broadcast.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

g. getting statistics information for time and content type of the inserted prearranged program;

said statistics information is used for charge.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein step b further comprising:

filling a cache used to store other program with the prearranged program if the detected broadcasting quality is below a threshold value, the threshold value being higher than said predetermined value;

wherein obtaining the prearranged program from said cache for broadcasting if the detected broadcasting quality is below a predetermined value.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said normal program is transmitted through a network.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein step (a) comprising:

detecting the filling status of the cache used for storing the normal program.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein said prearranged program coming from a local server which has a specific broadcasting quality.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein said prearranged program being stored in a local storage in advance, this prearranged program being downloaded from a network.

12. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

sending a request for requiring a lost segment of the normal program because of the broadcast of the inserted prearranged program;

receiving said lost segment of the normal program; and

combining the lost segment of the normal program with the subsequent normal program for continuously.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said combining step comprising:

storing the received lost segment of the normal program in a local storage;

storing the subsequent normal program in a local storage;

reading the received lost segment of the normal program from the stored subsequent normal program in a normal playback order for playing back.

14. A system for broadcasting a digital program, comprising:

a detecting apparatus for detecting the broadcasting quality of a normal program being broadcast;

a switching apparatus for interposing a prearranged program if the detected broadcasting quality is below a predetermined value, the broadcasting quality of this prearranged program reaching a predetermined level.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein said detecting apparatus being also used to detect the available broadcasting quality of the normal program.

16. The system according to claim 14, wherein said switching apparatus being also used to resume to broadcast the normal program when the detected available broadcasting quality of the normal program returns back to another predetermined value when the prearranged program is being broadcast.

17. The system according to claim 14, further comprising:

a statistical apparatus for getting statistics information for time and content type of the inserted prearranged program.

18. The system according to claim 14, wherein said detecting apparatus including a cache controlling apparatus.

19. The system according to claim 14, wherein said switching apparatus including a cache switching apparatus.

20. The system according to claim 14, wherein the normal program is transmitted through a network.