Dropout-resistant media broadcasting system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A receiver comprising:
- a demodulator;
a memory;
a receiver controller; and
a user interface;
wherein;
said demodulator produces program segments representative of portions of two or more program channels transmitted by at least one broadcaster, the transmitting being of digital information including transmitting error correction and detection information on the program segments coded according to an error-correcting and detecting code;
said receiver controller checks the program segments from said demodulator, generates dropout-free program content, and stores at least a portion of said program segments in said memory, the storing including storing of dropout-free program content, wherein the checking of the program segments includes checking the error correction and detection information such that the dropout-free program content has passed the checking of the error correction and detection information;
said receiver controller stores channel content information in said memory indicative of the respective program channel of the two or more program channels that is associated with each segment of the dropout-free program content stored in said memory;
said user interface specifies a program channel;
said receiver controller creates an output signal that includes one or more program segments associated with the specified program channel;
said receiver controller performs a program channel content check which depends at least in part on said channel content information, said channel content check producing an acceptable result or an unacceptable result;
wherein program content segments to be stored in said memory are checked to make sure they are dropout-free before being stored,and wherein;
if said program channel content check produces the acceptable result, said receiver controller includes in said output signal at least a portion of the program content segments stored in said memory which is associated with said specified program channel in preference to other program segments associated with said specified program channel, andif said program channel content check produces the unacceptable result, including the result that there is no usable, stored, dropout-free content available for the specified program channel, or the result that said other program segments on said specified program channel require real-time output, said receiver controller includes in said output signal at least one of said other program segments associated with said specified program channel.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to media broadcast in which memory is used to reduce annoying signal dropouts. A receiver records dropout-free program material and, when a subscriber requests a particular program channel, the radio uses recorded dropout-free program material from the requested channel, only switching to the real-time broadcast, which is subject to dropouts, if the recorded dropout-free program material for the requested channel is exhausted.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A receiver comprising:
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a demodulator; a memory; a receiver controller; and a user interface; wherein; said demodulator produces program segments representative of portions of two or more program channels transmitted by at least one broadcaster, the transmitting being of digital information including transmitting error correction and detection information on the program segments coded according to an error-correcting and detecting code; said receiver controller checks the program segments from said demodulator, generates dropout-free program content, and stores at least a portion of said program segments in said memory, the storing including storing of dropout-free program content, wherein the checking of the program segments includes checking the error correction and detection information such that the dropout-free program content has passed the checking of the error correction and detection information; said receiver controller stores channel content information in said memory indicative of the respective program channel of the two or more program channels that is associated with each segment of the dropout-free program content stored in said memory; said user interface specifies a program channel; said receiver controller creates an output signal that includes one or more program segments associated with the specified program channel; said receiver controller performs a program channel content check which depends at least in part on said channel content information, said channel content check producing an acceptable result or an unacceptable result; wherein program content segments to be stored in said memory are checked to make sure they are dropout-free before being stored, and wherein; if said program channel content check produces the acceptable result, said receiver controller includes in said output signal at least a portion of the program content segments stored in said memory which is associated with said specified program channel in preference to other program segments associated with said specified program channel, and if said program channel content check produces the unacceptable result, including the result that there is no usable, stored, dropout-free content available for the specified program channel, or the result that said other program segments on said specified program channel require real-time output, said receiver controller includes in said output signal at least one of said other program segments associated with said specified program channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A receiver comprising:
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a demodulator; a memory; a receiver controller; and a user interface configured to generate commands to carry out a plurality of functions; wherein; said receiver in operation produces program segments from one or more program channels transmitted by at least one broadcaster and receiver commands transmitted by said at least one broadcaster, said receiver commands dividing each channel of program content into program content segments, wherein in the program channels transmitted include digital information that includes error correction and detection information of the program segments coded according to an error-correcting and detecting code; said receiver controller in operation creates an output signal; said receiver controller checks at least a portion of said program segments, including checking the error correction and detection information; said receiver controller stores the at least a portion of said program segments that has passed the checking of the error correction and detection information, the storing being in said memory; said receiver controller stores channel content information in said memory indicative of the respective program channel from which was produced each program segment of said portion of said program segments stored in said memory; and said receiver controller stores skip content information in said memory, said skip content information being; derived at least in part from said receiver commands and associated with at least one of said produced program segments; and causes said receiver controller to inhibit one or more of said plurality of functions of said commands generated by said user interface when at least one program segment associated with said skip content information and stored in said memory is included in said output signal; said user interface specifies a program channel; said output signal includes one or more program segments associated with the specified program channel; said receiver controller in operation performs a program channel content check which depends at least in part on said channel content information, said program channel content check producing an acceptable result or an unacceptable result; and wherein, if said program channel content check produces the acceptable result; said receiver controller includes in said output signal at least a portion of the program segments stored in said memory which are associated with said specified program channel in preference to one or more other program segments associated with said specified program channel. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of operating a receiver, comprising:
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receiving in the receiver content transmitted from a broadcaster corresponding to at least one program channel of a plurality of program channels of content transmitted by the broadcaster, the content transmitted by the broadcaster including digital information that includes transmitting error correction and detection information coded according to an error-correcting and detecting code; checking the received content to generate dropout-free content segments, the checking including checking the error correction and detection information such that the dropout-free content segments have passed the checking of the dropout-free content segments'"'"' error correction and detection information, wherein program content segments to be stored in a memory are checked to make sure they are dropout-free before being stored; storing one or more dropout-free content segments to form stored dropout-free content, the dropout-free content segments having associated program channel information; storing program channel information indicative of the respective program channel of the program channel(s) associated with each segment of the stored dropout-free content segments; for a specified program channel of the at least one program channel to which at least some of the received content corresponds, performing a program channel content check which depends at least in part on the program channel information, said program channel content check producing an acceptable result or an unacceptable result, if the program channel content checking produces the acceptable result, outputting at least a portion of the program content segments stored in the memory which is associated with the specified program channel in preference to other program segments associated with the specified program channel, and if the program channel content check produces the unacceptable result, including the result that there is no usable, stored, dropout-free content available for the specified program channel, or the result that said other program segments on said specified program channel require real-time output, outputting at least one of the other program segments associated with the specified program channel. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A transmitting apparatus comprising:
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a modulator; and a transmitter controller; and a transmitter wherein; the transmitter controller causes the modulator to produce program segments representative of portions of one or more program channels including error correction and detection information coded according to an error-correcting and detecting code, and causes the transmitter to transmit the produced program segments and the error correction and detection information of the program segments on one or more program channels for reception by one or more receivers and to transmit receiver commands related to the transmitted produced program segments, the receiver commands including at least one of commands indicative of whether a transmitted program segment is for real-time output, and commands indicative that a transmitted program segment is not to be skipped, such that a particular receiver receiving content transmitted by the transmitter corresponding to at least one channel and receiving the transmitted receiver commands; checks the received content to generate dropout-free content segments, the checking including checking the error correction and detection information such that the dropout-free content segments have passed the checking of the dropout-free content segments'"'"' error correction and detection information; stores dropout-free content segments in a receiver-included memory, the dropout-free content segments having associated program channel information, wherein program content segments to be stored in said memory are checked to make sure they are dropout-free before being stored; stores channel information indicative of the respective program channel of the program channel(s) associated with each segment of the stored dropout-free content segments in the particular receiver'"'"'s receiver-included memory; checks if the received receiver commands include commands indicative that the received content is not to be skipped, in which case the particular receiver can store skip content information derived at least in part from the received receiver commands, associated with at least one of the received program segments, and configured to cause the particular receiver to inhibit one or more of the plurality of functions of a user interface when at least one program segment associated with the skip content information and stored in the memory is output by the particular receiver; and performs a program channel content check which depends at least in part on the received receiver commands for a specified program channel of the at least one program channel to which at least some of the received content corresponds, said program channel content check producing an acceptable result or an unacceptable result, such that if the program channel content checking produces the acceptable result, the particular receiver can output at least a portion of the program content stored in the memory which is associated with the specified program channel in preference to other program segments associated with the specified program channel, and if the program channel content check produces the unacceptable result, including the result that there is no usable, stored, dropout-free content available for the specified program channel, or the result that said other program segments on said specified program channel require real-time output, the particular receiver can output at least one of the other program segments associated with the specified program channel.
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Specification