INFORMATION DESCRIPTOR AND EXTENDED INFORMATION DESCRIPTOR DATA STRUCTURES FOR DIGITAL TELEVISION SIGNALS

• US 20110145864A1
• Filed: 02/22/2011
• Published: 06/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mark T. Corl
• Original Assignee: Mark T. Corl
• Inventors: CORL, Mark T.
• Granted Patent: US 8,510,777 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/431 Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• 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

Abstract

According to an aspect, there is provided a digital television (DTV) data stream including program and system information protocol (PSIP) data associated with content of the DTV data stream, the PSIP data including a virtual channel table (VCT) and an event information table (EIT), the EIT comprising: a source identification field identifying a source of an associated event in a DTV data stream; an event identification field indicating an identification of the event; a start time field indicating a star time of the event; a title field indicating a title of the event; and a descriptor comprising: a descriptor tag identifying the descriptor as a genre descriptor, a descriptor length indicating a total length of the descriptor; and at least one category code for an associated event in a DTV data stream, each category code specifying genre, program type, or category information of the associated event, wherein the at least one category code specifies at least one of a set of basic categories.

Claims

1-17. -17. (canceled)

18. A method to process digital broadcast data in a digital television (DTV) receiver, the method comprising:

receiving a digital television (DTV) stream, the DTV stream containing a virtual channel table (VCT) and an event information table (EIT), the EIT carrying a program schedule for a virtual channel;

obtaining a genre descriptor and a caption service descriptor from the EIT, the genre descriptor comprising;

a descriptor tag field identifying the descriptor as a genre descriptor;

a descriptor length field, which is an 8-bit unsigned integer, specifying a length, in bytes, of fields which immediately follow the descriptor length field to an end of the genre descriptor, wherein the fields include;

a category selection code, the category selection code being an attribute code value for an associated event in the DTV stream, the attribute code value specifying a basic genre or category type or detail attribute for the associated event in the DTV stream, and the attribute code value matching a value for the basic genre or category type or detail attribute in a categorical genre code assignments table defined in Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC) A/65 standard; and

wherein the genre descriptor accommodates a plural attribute code values such that the receiver receives the plural attribute code values sequentially without intervention, and each attribute code value is defined in the categorical genre code assignments table that is ordered from basic genre or category type to detail attribute, and the genre descriptor references entries in the categorical genre code assignments table, and when a plurality of attribute code values are included in the genre descriptor, the basic genre or category type or the detail attribute code values are specified by 8-bit unsigned integer and at least one attribute code value is specifying a basic genre, and wherein the EIT covers a three hour period.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the basic genre or category type attribute comprises at least one of education, entertainment, movie, news, religion, and sports.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

generating an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) as a function of at least one attribute code value.

21. A method to transmit digital broadcast data in a digital television (DTV) transmitter, the method comprising:

transmitting a digital television (DTV) stream, the DTV stream containing a virtual channel table (VCT) and an event information table (EIT), the EIT carrying a program schedule for a virtual channel, the EIT including a genre descriptor and a caption service descriptor, the genre descriptor comprising;

a descriptor tag field identifying the descriptor as a genre descriptor;

a descriptor length field, which is an 8-bit unsigned integer, specifying a length, in bytes, of fields which immediately follow the descriptor length field to an end of the genre descriptor, wherein the fields include;

a category selection code, the category selection code being an attribute code value for an associated event in the DTV stream, the attribute code value specifying a basic genre or category type or detail attribute for the associated event in the DTV stream, and the attribute code value matching a value for the basic genre or category type or detail attribute in a categorical genre code assignments table defined in Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC) A/65 standard; and

wherein the genre descriptor accommodates a plural attribute code values such that the transmitter transmits the plural attribute code values sequentially without intervention, and each attribute code value is defined in the categorical genre code assignments table that is ordered from basic genre or category type to detail attribute, and the genre descriptor references entries in the categorical genre code assignments table, and when a plurality of attribute code values are included in the genre descriptor, the basic genre or category type or the detail attribute code values are specified by 8-bit unsigned integer and at least one attribute code value is specifying a basic genre, and wherein the EIT covers a three hour period.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the basic genre or category type attribute comprises at least one of education, entertainment, movie, news, religion, and sports.