Verification of Semantic Constraints in Multimedia Data and in its Announcement, Signaling and Interchange

• US 20080250044A1
• Filed: 05/03/2006
• Published: 10/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Tv Works LLC
• Inventors: Adams, Glenn
• Granted Patent: US 7,818,667 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/101
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/146 Coding or compression of tree-structured data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/151 Transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/226 Validation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4349 by extracting from data carousels, e.g. extraction of software modules from a DVB carousel
• 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 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/466 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies services using the results of monitoring in broadcast systems H04H60/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• 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 21/8545 for generating interactive applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

A collection of well-formed, but possibly semantically invalid, binary encoded multimedia data components or packages as well as the binary encoded announcement, signaling, and interchange protocols used in their transmission are converted into one or more well-formed extensible markup language (XML) files. Such XML files may then be validated according to one or more pre-defined XML schemas, or similar schema languages, in order to verify that the data and protocol structures and substructures adhere to prior defined semantic constraints.

Claims

1. A method, comprising converting binary encoded multimedia data into an extensible markup language (XML) file, and validating the XML file according to a predetermined XML schema.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file occurs at a computer system remote from one at which the binary file is located.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the binary encoded multimedia data exists in a streaming format.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the streaming format comprises an MPEG-2 transport stream.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the streaming format comprises an AVC broadcast stream.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file comprises validating broadcast video elementary stream formats.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file comprises validating PMT information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file comprises validating the XML file according to one or more MPEG protocols.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file comprises validating the XML file according to one or more MHP protocols.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file comprises validating the XML file according to one or more DVB standards.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file comprises validating the XML file according to one or more CableLabs OpenCable protocols.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file comprises validating the XML file according to one or more ATSC standards.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file comprises validating the XML file according to one or more SCTE standards.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file comprises validating the XML file according to one or more ANSI standards.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file comprises validating the XML file according to one or more IETF standards.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file comprises validating the XML file according to one or more ISO standards.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file comprises validating the XML file according to one or more SMPTE standards.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file produces validated XML content and the validated XML content is used as a debugging aid.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the XML file produces validated XML content and the validated XML content is converted to another version of the XML schema to produce converted XML content.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the converted XML content is used to create further binary multimedia data compliant with another protocol version of binary encoded content.