MULTIMEDIA DATA TRANSMITTING APPARATUS AND MULTIMEDIA DATA RECEIVING APPARATUS

• US 20080250461A1
• Filed: 04/03/2008
• Published: 10/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: TANAKA, Michiko, MUNETSUGU, Toshihiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,950,039 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/74
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21 Server components or server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23 Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234327 by decomposing into layers, e.g. base layer and one or more enhancement layers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

To provide, in a multimedia content server which stores multimedia data and transmits the stored multimedia data to a terminal, a technique which allows the terminal to properly detect and process version up of section data even when random access for trick play, and the like, is performed. Upon receiving a data transmission request from a multimedia data receiving apparatus, a multimedia data transmitting apparatus transmits the requested multimedia data and notifies data necessary for obtaining an update-point of section data included in the multimedia data or a URI which enables the obtaining of the data, to the multimedia data receiving apparatus.

Claims

1. A multimedia data transmitting apparatus which transmits stored multimedia data to a multimedia data receiving apparatus via a network, in response to a transmission request from the multimedia data receiving apparatus, said multimedia data transmitting apparatus comprising:

a storage unit in which the multimedia data and update-point information of a stream included in the multimedia data are stored;

a request receiving unit operable to receive, from the multimedia data receiving apparatus, a transmission request message requesting for transmission of the multimedia data and transmission of the update-point information of the stream included in the multimedia data which are stored in said storage unit;

an update-point information obtaining unit operable to obtain the update-point information of the stream, from the stream included in the multimedia data stored in said storage unit; and

an information transmitting unit operable to transmit the requested multimedia data and the update-point information of the stream included in the multimedia data, to the multimedia data receiving apparatus.

2. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said update-point information obtaining unit includes:

an update-point detecting unit operable to detect the update-point information of the stream included in the multimedia data; and

an update-point storage unit in which the update-point information of the stream detected by said update-point detecting unit is stored, and

said update-point detecting unit is operable, when the multimedia data is to be stored, to detect the update-point information of the stream included in the multimedia data to be stored.

3. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said update-point information obtaining unit includes:

an update-point detecting unit operable to detect the update-point information of the stream included in the multimedia data; and

an update-point storage unit in which the update-point information of the stream, detected by said update-point detecting unit, is stored, and

said update-point detecting unit is operable, when the transmission request message is received, to detect the update-point information of the stream included in the multimedia data to be stored.

4. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the update-point information of the stream includes:

update details of first data representing a structure of the stream included in the multimedia data; and

either position information or time information indicating the position or the time in the stream at which the update details of the first data become valid.

5. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein, when said request receiving unit receives the transmission request message from the multimedia data receiving apparatus, said update-point information obtaining unit is operable to obtain the update-point information of the stream included in the multimedia data, and said information transmitting unit is operable to transmit the obtained update-point information of the stream.

6. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein, in the case where said request receiving unit receives the transmission request message specifying a reproduction speed that is faster than a normal reproduction speed, said information transmitting unit is operable:

to transmit, to the multimedia data receiving apparatus, portions of the stream included in the multimedia data, as a stream that is required for reproduction according to the reproduction speed that is faster than the normal reproduction speed; and

to transmit the update-point information of the stream included in the multimedia data, when the reproduction speed specified in the transmission request message for the multimedia data becomes the normal reproduction speed.

7. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein, in the case where said request receiving unit receives the transmission request message specifying a reproduction speed that is faster than a normal reproduction speed, said information transmitting unit is operable:

to transmit, to the multimedia data receiving apparatus, portions of the stream included in the multimedia data, as a stream that is required for reproduction according to the reproduction speed that is faster than the normal reproduction speed; and

to transmit the update-point information of the stream included in the multimedia data, before the reproduction speed specified in the transmission request message for the multimedia data becomes the normal reproduction speed.

8. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein said information transmitting unit is further operable to transmit reference information for the update-point information of the stream stored by said multimedia data transmitting apparatus.

9. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the update-point information to be transmitted to the multimedia data receiving apparatus is difference data indicating a difference, before updating and after updating, in data of which details are updated over time, among data other than an audio stream and a video stream.

10. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the update-point information to be transmitted to the multimedia data receiving apparatus represents information which has been updated within the stream.

11. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the update-point information of the stream includes:

the update details of the first data representing the structure of the stream for specific sections included in the multimedia data to be transmitted by said information transmitting unit; and

either the position information or the time information indicating the position or the time in the stream at which the update details of the first data become valid.

12. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the update-point information of the stream includes:

the update details of the first data representing the structure of the stream for the specific section included in the multimedia data, specified in the transmission request message; and

either the position information or the time information indicating the position or the time in the stream at which the update details of the first data become valid.

13. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the transmission request message from the multimedia data receiving apparatus includes information for requesting transmission of the update-point information of the stream.

14. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein said information transmitting unit is operable to transmit the update-point information of the stream by including the update-point information in a response message to the transmission request message from the multimedia data receiving apparatus.

15. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the update-point information of the stream includes:

update details of second data representing application structure information for implementing a data broadcast included in the multimedia data; and

either position information or time information indicating a position or a time in the stream at which the update details of the second data become valid.

16. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 15,

wherein the update-point information of the stream includes:

the update details of the second data representing the application structure information for implementing a data broadcast included in specific sections of the multimedia data to be transmitted by said information transmitting unit; and

either the position information within the stream and the time information indicating the position or the time in the stream at which the update details of the second data become valid.

17. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 15,

wherein the update-point information of the stream includes:

the update details of the second data representing application structure information for implementing a data broadcast included in the specified section of the multimedia data, the sections are specified in the transmission request message; and

either the position information or the time information indicating the position or the time in the stream at which the update details of the second data become valid.

18. The multimedia data transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a Java™

executing unit operable to execute a Java application; and

a configuration changing unit operable to cause a configuration of the update-point information of the stream to change, according to an instruction from the Java application.

19. A multimedia data receiving apparatus which receives multimedia data and update-point information of a stream included in the multimedia data, from a multimedia data transmitting apparatus, said multimedia data receiving apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit operable to receive the multimedia data and the update-point information of the stream included in the multimedia data; and

a reproducing unit operable to control starting or changing of a reproduction processing for the received multimedia data, according to the received update-point information of the stream.

20. The multimedia data receiving apparatus according to claim 19,

wherein said receiving apparatus is operable to receive the update-point information included in a response message to a transmission request message for the multimedia data, received from the multimedia data transmitting apparatus.

21. The multimedia data receiving apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising

a transmitting unit operable to transmit a transmission request message for requesting transmission of the multimedia data and transmission of the update-point information of the stream included in the multimedia data,

wherein said receiving unit is operable to receive the multimedia data and the update-point information of the stream, through transmission of the transmission request message from said transmitting unit to the multimedia data transmitting apparatus.

22. The multimedia data receiving apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising:

a Java executing unit operable to execute a Java application; and

an update-point notifying unit operable to notify the Java application of the received update-point information of the stream, the Java application being executed by said Java executing unit,

wherein said reproducing unit is operable to start or change a reproduction processing for the multimedia data depending on the received update-point information of the stream, according to an instruction from the Java application.