Device and method to improve integrated presentation of existing radio services and advanced multimedia services

• US 6,741,834 B1
• Filed: 06/06/2000
• Issued: 05/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Godwin, John P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Nay
• Assistant Examiner(s): Corsaro, Nick
• Application Number:
  US09/587,792
• Time in Patent Office: 1,449 Days
• Field of Search: 455/3.02, 455/3.03, 455/427, 455/428, 455/12.1, 455/7, 370/316, 725/86, 725/87, 725/73, 725/45, 725/66
• US Class Current: 455/3.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/06 among broadcast stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/103 Transmitter-side switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/42 Arrangements for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/13 radio data system/radio broadcast data system [RDS/RBDS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/19 digital satellite radio [DSR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/90 specially adapted for satellite broadcast receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/51 of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/65 for using the result on users' side
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/73 using meta-information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26266 for determining content or additional data repetition rate, e.g. of a file in a DVB carousel according to its importance arrangements for broadcast or for distribution of identical information repeatedly in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42202 environmental sensors, e.g. for detecting temperature, luminosity, pressure, earthquakes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• 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 21/6112 involving terrestrial transmission, e.g. DVB-T
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6143 involving transmission via a satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 : involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/46 : for receiving on more than one standard at will deflecting circuits of multi-standard receivers H04N3/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only

Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing an integrated presentation of existing media program services and secondary media program services is described. The method comprises the steps of accepting a election of a secondary media program transmitted on a secondary media program channel; accessing a mapping to determine a primary media program channel associated with the selected secondary media program channel; commanding a first tuner module to receive conditional access information associated with the primary media program channel from the primary service provider; evaluating the conditional access information to determine if a second tuner is authorized to receive the secondary media program channel; and commanding a second tuner module to receive the secondary media program if the second tuner is authorized to receive the secondary media program channel.

Claims

1. A method of receiving regional media programs transmitted by regional media providers, comprising the steps of:

receiving a signal in a receiver disposed in one of a plurality of local broadcast regions within a national broadcast region, wherein the signal includes national media programs intended for reception in the national broadcast region and regional media program intended for reception only in the local broadcast region;

determining the local broadcast region; and

providing only the regional media programs intended for reception in the determined local broadcast region; and

wherein the national media programs and the regional media programs are transmitted by a satellite and only the regional media programs intended for reception in the local broadcast region are transmitted by a terrestrial repeater.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing national media programs.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of presenting an integrated electronic program guide (EPG) having the national media program and only the regional media programs intended for reception in the determined local broadcast region.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of receiving electronic program guide (EPG) information describing the national programs and regional media programs and associating each national media program and each regional media program with a media channel.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

receiving information identifying regional media providers in the local broadcast region.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the information identifies all regional media providers in the national broadcast region.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the received information comprises a table of regional media providers.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of receiving updated information identifying regional media providers after the information identifying the regional media providers changes.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the local broadcast region comprises the steps of:

determining a location of the receiver; and

determining the local broadcast region from the location of the receiver and information stored im the receiver associating the location of the receiver with the local broadcast region.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the location of the receiver is determined with a global positioning (GPS) receiver.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the location is determined according to a latitude and longitude, and the information stored in the receiver is a table relating the latitude and longitude to the broadcast region.

12.The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the local broadcast region comprises the steps of:

reading a local broadcast ID added to the regional media programs by the terrestrial repeater; and

determining the local broadcast area from the local broadcast ID.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the local broadcast region comprises the steps of:

receiving information indicating the local broadcast region from the regional media provider.

12. The method of claim 12, wherein the terrestrial repeater receives the signal from a satellite and transmits the signal having the local broadcast ID and the regional media programs to the receiver.

13. The method of claim 13, wherein the terrestrial repeater temporarily stores the regional programs intended for the region corresponding to its local broadcast ID and then retransmits the stored regional programs.

14. The method of claim 14, wherein the terrestrial repeater scans metadata transmitted with the signal to identify the regional media programs intended for reception in the local broadcast region.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the terrestrial repeater stores and retransmits the regional media programs at a repetition rate.

16. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the signal broadcast from a satellite comprises regional media programs intended for reception in a second local broadcast region; and

a repetition rate of the regional media programs is selected to utilize a repeater transmission capacity that would otherwise have been used to transmit the regional media programs intended for reception in the second local broadcast region.

18. The method of claim 18, wherein the information is received by a Radio Broadcast Data System-compliant tuner module.

19. The method of claim 19, wherein the information indicating the local broadcast receiver comprises the identity of a regional media provider in the local broadcast region, and the method further comprises the step of:

accessing information relating the identity of the regional media provider and the local broadcast region.

20. A receiver for receiving regional media programs in one of a plurality of local broadcast regions within a national broadcast region, comprising;

a first tuner module for receiving a first signal from a satellite, wherein the first signal comprises national media programs intended for reception in the national broadcast region and regional media programs intended for reception only in the local broadcast region;

a second tuner module for receiving a second signal from a repeater serving the local broadcast region, the second signal comprising a regional media program and a local broadcast ID;

a location module, for determining the local broadcast region, the location module comprising a radio broadcast data system (RDBS) compliant tuner for receiving information indicating the local broadcast region; and

a controller module, for providing only the regional media programs intended for reception in the determined local broadcast region.

21. The receiver of claim 21, wherein:

the first signal further comprises electronic program guide (EPG) information; and

an EPG data module for generating an integrated EPG having the national media programs and only the regional media programs intended for reception in the determined broadcast region.

22. The receiver of claim 21, wherein the location module comprises:

a global positioning (GPS) receiver, for providing receiver position information; and

a memory, for storing information relating receiver position information with the local broadcast region.

23. The receiver of claim 21, further comprising a user control to enable reception of all regional media programs, including regional media programs not intended for reception in the local broadcast region.