Medium distribution device, medium reception device, medium distribution method, and medium reception method

• US 8,020,140 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2004
• Issued: 09/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ido, Daiji, Yamaguchi, Takao, Sato, Junichi, Itoh, Tomoaki
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, RONGFA PHILIP
• Application Number:
  US10/527,054
• Publication Number:
  US 20060031513A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,742 Days
• Field of Search: 717/100
• US Class Current: 717/100
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• 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 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Abstract

According to the media server 100 and the network control apparatus 200, upon distributing a plurality of media data to the media receiving apparatuses 400 having different transmission rates by broadcasting or multicasting, the distribution precedence is attached by associating the program control information and the media data. The distribution precedence attached to the program control information is set same as or lower than the distribution precedence of all media data included in the program concerned. Then, depending on the distribution precedence, the transmission possible media data and the program only are selectively distributed. The program control information relating to the program that includes the receivable media data by the media receiving terminal apparatus 400 only is selected and received. This way, the receivable media data is distributed depending on the transmission environment of the media receiving apparatus. It is possible to prevent the media receiving apparatus selecting the invalid program.

Claims

1. A media distribution apparatus configured to distribute a plurality of media data items using a base station, comprising:

a memory configured to store a first media data item with a first classification, a second media data item with a second classification that is different from the first classification, first control information associated with the first media data item, and second control information associated with the second media data item;

a media distribution setting section configured to associate the first media data item and the first control information with a first distribution priority and associate the second media data item and the second control information with a second distribution priority;

a distributing section configured to distribute the first media data item and the first control information using a first bearer channel associated with the first distribution priority and distribute the second media data item and the second control information using a second bearer channel associated with the second distribution priority, the first bearer channel covering a first receiving area corresponding to a distance from the first receiving area to the base station and the second bearer channel covering a second receiving area corresponding to a distance from the second receiving area to the base station.

2. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the media distribution setting section is configured to assign the first distribution priority and the second distribution priority in ascending order of a media data item using a minimum bandwidth.

3. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first control information includes first program control information for controlling a first output form of a program that includes the first media data item in a media receiving apparatus, and

the second control information includes second program control information for controlling a second output form of the program that includes the second media data item, the second output form being different from the first output form.

4. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second receiving area is closer to the base station than the first receiving area.

5. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the media distribution setting section is configured to assign a higher distribution priority to the first control information than the second control information.

6. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the media distribution setting section is configured to assign a higher distribution priority to the first and the second control information associated with static media data items than the first and the second control information associated with continuous media data items, the static media data items including still images and text data, and the continuous media data items including audio and video data.

7. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the media distribution section is configured to set the second distribution priority associated with the second control information equal to or lower than the distribution priority associated with the second media data item.

8. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first program control information includes layout information for positioning the first media data item on a display apparatus of the media receiving apparatus, and

the second program control information includes layout information for positioning the second media data item on the display apparatus of the media receiving apparatus.

9. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first program control information includes information about a coding method and bit rate of the first media data item, and the second program control information includes information about a coding method and bit rate of the second media data item.

10. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first program control information includes a port number for distributing the first media data item, and the second program control information includes a port number for distributing the second media data item.

11. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

the media distribution setting section is configured to set the first distribution priority and the second distribution priority in a type of service field in an Internet protocol packet; and

the distribution section is configured to form the Internet protocol packet by providing the type of service field for the first media data item and the second media data item read from the memory, and distribute the Internet protocol packet to the media receiving apparatus using an Internet protocol.

12. A method in a distribution apparatus for distributing a plurality of media data items using a base station, the method comprising:

storing in a memory a first media data item with a first classification, a second media data item with a second classification that is different from the first classification, first control information associated with the first media data item, and second control information associated with the second media data item;

associating the first media data item and the first control information with a first distribution priority and associating the second media data item and the second control information with a second distribution priority; and

distributing the first media data item and the first control information using a first bearer channel associated with the first distribution priority and distributing the second media data item and the second control information using a second bearer channel associated with the second distribution priority, the first bearer channel covering a first receiving area corresponding to a distance from the first receiving area to the base station and the second bearer channel covering a second receiving area corresponding to a distance from the second receiving area to the base station.