Method and apparatus for providing broadcast information with indexing

• US 5,614,940 A
• Filed: 10/21/1994
• Issued: 03/25/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Throckmorton, John A., Cobbley, David A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kostak, Victor R.
• Application Number:
  US08/327,504
• Time in Patent Office: 886 Days
• Field of Search: 348/906, 348/7, 348/473, 348/589, 348/600, 348/460, 348/553, 348/563, 348/725
• US Class Current: 725/138
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/735 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/738 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/78 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/40 Arrangements for broadcast specially adapted for accumulation-type receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/25 Arrangements for updating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/73 using meta-information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• 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 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4586 Content update operation triggered locally, e.g. by comparing the version of software modules in a DVB carousel to the version stored locally deployment, distribution, installation, update of software G06F8/65; error detection or correction of the data by redundancy during software upgrading G06F11/1433; arrangements for updating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/25
• 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 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/088 the inserted signal being digital
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A method and apparatus generates and transfers a stream of broadcast information which includes multiple video and audio information segments to a receiving device. Once received, the segments are stored in a cache and indexing information associated with the segments is made available to end users of the apparatus. The end users are then able to select which segment(s) they would like to receive, and the selected segment(s) is transmitted to the requesting user(s). In one embodiment, when a new segment is received, a determination is made as to whether it is a more recent version of another segment already stored by the apparatus. If it is a more recent version, then the older version is overwritten by the newer version.

Claims

1. A method for displaying broadcast information comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving broadcast information including video image data;

(b) storing at least on part of the video image data in a storage device;

(c) displaying a set of indexing information associated with the at least one part of the video image data;

(d) retrieving at least one portion of the at least one part of the video image data from the storage device based on selected indexing information, wherein the selected indexing information is part of the set of indexing information; and

(e) displaying the at least one portion.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises the steps of:

determining whether a first part of the video image data is a more recent version of a second part of the video image data, wherein the second part was previously stored in the storage device; and

deleting the second part from the storage device, provided the first part is the more recent version.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

determining whether an end user is currently viewing the second part; and

deleting the second part from the storage device, provided the end user is not currently viewing the second part, otherwise deleting the second part from the storage device when the end user completes viewing the second part.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the deleting comprises overwriting the second part with the first part.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises displaying the set of indexing information associated with the most recent at least one part of the video image data.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying at least one portion of the video image data based on a selected subset of the set of indexing information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises displaying the set of indexing information in an order which is predetermined by a personal profile.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the broadcast information comprises a repeating news broadcast.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) comprises receiving the set of indexing information during a vertical blanking interval (VBI) associated with the broadcast information.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving closed caption information as part of the broadcast information; and

generating the set of indexing information from the closed caption information.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step (a) further comprises receiving a set of text information associated with a first portion of the at least one part of the video image data.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of displaying the set of text information, provided the first portion is displayed.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step (a) further comprises receiving a set of graphical images associated with a first portion of the at least one part of the video image data.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of displaying the set of graphical images, provided the first portion is displayed.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the broadcast information also includes audio data.

15. A method for providing broadcast information to an end user comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a stream of broadcast information including a plurality of program segments;

(b) storing the plurality of program segments in a storage device;

(c) providing a set of indexing information associated with the plurality of program segments to the end user;

(d) retrieving a subset of the plurality of program segments from the storage device based on selected indexing information, wherein the selected indexing information is part of the set of indexing information; and

(e) providing the subset of the plurality of program segments for display.

17. A system for displaying broadcast information comprising:

a transmitting device for transmitting video image data and indexing information associated with the video image data;

a capture device for receiving the video image data from the transmitting device;

a storage device which stores at least one part of the video image data and at least one part of the indexing information;

a storage manager coupled to the capture device for managing storing of both the at least one part of the video image data and the at least one part of the indexing information in the storage device; and

a playback device, coupled to the storage device, for receiving a set of the at least one part of the indexing information from the storage device and for displaying the set of indexing information, wherein the playback device is also for receiving at least one portion of the at least one part of the video image data associated with the set of indexing information from the storage device and for displaying the at least one portion.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the indexing information comprises a plurality of titles.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the transmitting device transmits a stream of repeating video and audio data.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the storage manager is also for determining whether a first part of the at least one part of the video image data is a more recent version of a second part of the at least one part of the video image data, and for overwriting the second part in the storage device with the first part, provided the first part is the more recent version.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the transmitting device transmits the indexing information during a vertical blanking interval (VBI).

22. The system of claim 17, wherein the transmitting device transmits the video image data via radio waves.

23. The system of claim 17, wherein the capture device is also for compressing the a least one part of the video image data.

24. An apparatus for displaying broadcast information comprising:

a receiving unit for receiving broadcast information which includes video image data;

a transmitting unit for transmitting indexing information associated with the broadcast information to a playback device; and

a processing unit which stores at least one part of the broadcast information in a storage device and determines whether a first part of the at least one part of the broadcast information is a more recent version of a second part of the at least one part of the broadcast information already stored in the storage device, and wherein the processing unit overwrites the second part in the storage device with the first part, provided the first part is the more recent version.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the processing unit also determines whether an end user is currently viewing the second part, and overwrites the second part in the storage device with the first part, provided the end user is not currently viewing the second part, otherwise deleting the first part from the processing unit.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the processing unit also compresses the at least one part of the broadcast information prior to storing the at least one part of the broadcast information in the storage device.

27. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising a capturing unit which digitizes and compresses the at least one part of the broadcast information.

35. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the broadcast information also includes audio data.

28. A system for displaying broadcast information comprising:

means for receiving broadcast information, wherein the broadcast information includes video image data;

means for storing at least one part of the video image data in a storage device;

means for displaying a set of indexing information associated with the at least one part of the video image data; and

means for displaying at least one portion of the at least one part of the video image data based on selected indexing information, wherein the selected indexing information is part of the set of indexing information.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the means for storing comprises:

means for determining whether a first part of the video image data is a more recent version of a second part of the video image data, wherein the second part is already stored in the storage device; and

means for deleting the second part from the storage device, provided the first part is the more recent version.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the means for determining determines whether an end user is currently viewing the second part, and the means for deleting deletes the second part from the storage device, provided the end user is not currently viewing the second part, otherwise the means for deleting deletes the first part from the means for storing.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein the means for deleting overwrites the second part with the first part.

32. The system of claim 28, wherein the means for displaying a set of indexing information displays the set of indexing information associated with the most recent at least one part of the video image data.

33. The system of claim 28, wherein the means for displaying a set of indexing information displays the set of indexing information in an order which is predetermined by a personal profile.

34. The system of claim 28, wherein the means for receiving receives the set of indexing information during a vertical blanking interval (VBI) associated with the broadcast information.