Method of transmitting preview content and method and apparatus for receiving preview content

• US 8,745,662 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2007
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Yoon Ei, Lee, Joon Hwi, Kim, Jin Pil
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Nathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Parra, Omar S
• Application Number:
  US12/005,613
• Publication Number:
  US 20080168496A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,349 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/41
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2362 Generation or processing of Service Information [SI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/254 Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server arrangements for maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00; network services using third party service providers H04L67/53
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• 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 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• 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 21/8549 Creating video summaries, e.g. movie trailer retrieval in video databases by using presentations in form of a video summary G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Provided is a method of transmitting preview content and a method and apparatus for receiving the preview content, wherein the method of transmitting preview content includes providing program guide service information by a content server to a program guide server; transmitting the program guide service information by the program guide server to a receiving apparatus when the program guide server is accessed by the receiving apparatus; and transmitting preview content corresponding to contents of the program guide service information by a preview content server to the receiving apparatus when the preview content server is accessed by the receiving apparatus.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting preview content, comprising:

providing program guide service information by a content server to a program guide server;

transmitting the program guide service information by the program guide server to a receiving apparatus when the program guide server is accessed by the receiving apparatus,

wherein the program guide service information includes preview availability information which indicates whether or not the preview content exists for each of contents in the program guide service information and media format information indicating a encoding format of the preview content; and

transmitting preview content corresponding to contents of the program guide service information by a preview content server to the receiving apparatus when the preview content server is accessed by the receiving apparatus,

wherein the preview availability information is transmitted to the receiving apparatus before transmitting the preview content to the receiving apparatus,

the media format information is transmitted to the receiving apparatus before transmitting the preview content to the receiving apparatus, and

the media format information is transmitted to the receiving apparatus separately from the preview content.

2. The method of claim 1, further characterized by:

providing access information of the program guide server and the preview content server by the program guide server to a service discovery server; and

transmitting the access information by the service discovery server (130) to the receiving apparatus,

wherein the receiving apparatus accesses the program guide server and the preview content server by using the access information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the transmitting of the access information by the service discovery server to the receiving apparatus is implemented by a unicast method which transmits the access information to the receiving apparatus when the receiving apparatus accesses the service discovery server and requests the access information.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the transmitting of the access information by the service discovery server to the receiving apparatus is implemented by a multicast method which transmits the access information to receiving apparatus if the receiving apparatus is registered with a service discovery group.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the program guide service information further includes at least one of a preview category, a preview media type, a preview display position, a preview size, a preview start time, a preview display duration, a brief preview description, a preview media locator, and an associated media locator.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the program guide service information by the program guide server to the receiving apparatus is performed when the receiving apparatus accesses the program guide server and requests the program guide service information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the preview content corresponding to the contents of the program guide service information by the preview content server to the receiving apparatus is performed when the receiving apparatus requests the corresponding preview content after determining availability of the preview content using the program guide service information transmitted from the program guide server.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the program guide service information further includes associated media locator indicating address of contents related to the preview content.

9. An apparatus for receiving preview content, comprising:

a network interface unit which receives packets including access information, program guide service information, and the preview content;

an Internet Protocol (IP) manager which transmits the received packets to a relevant manager according to a protocol;

a service discovery manager which parses the packets and extracts the access information, the program guide service information, and the preview content; and

an application/user interface manager which controls the network interface unit that accesses a service discovery server to receives the access information, accesses a program guide server using the access information to receives the program guide service information, and accesses a preview content server using the access information to receives the preview content,

wherein the program guide service information includes preview availability information which indicates whether or not the preview content exists for each of contents in the program guide service information and media format information indicating a encoding format of the preview content,

wherein the application/user interface manager controls the network interface unit to access the preview content server using the access information and receive the preview content, if the preview availability information indicates that the preview content exists,

wherein the preview availability information is received before requesting and receiving the preview content,

the media format information is received before requesting and receiving the preview content, and

the media format information is separately received from the preview content.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, further characterized by a service information database unit which stores the access information, the program guide service information, and the preview content.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, further characterized by a display unit which displays the program guide service information and the preview content according to control of the application/UI manager.

12. The apparatus of claim 9;

wherein the apparatus further comprises;

a display unit which displays information indicating that no preview content is available when the preview availability information indicates that no preview content is available according to control of the application/UI manager.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the program guide service information further includes associated media locator indicating address of contents related to the preview content.

14. A method of receiving preview content, comprising:

receiving program guide service information by a network interface unit which accesses a program guide server according to control of an application/user interface manager, wherein the program guide service information includes preview availability information which indicates whether or not the preview content exists for each of contents in the program guide service information and media format information indicating a encoding format of the preview content;

if the preview availability information indicates that the preview content exists requesting and receiving preview content corresponding contents of the program guide service information by the network interface unit which access a preview content server according to control of the application/UI manager; and

displaying the program guide service information and the preview content on a display unit,

wherein the preview availability information is received before requesting and receiving the preview content,

the media format information is received before requesting and receiving the preview content, and

the media format information is separately received from the preview content.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the network interface unit accesses a service discovery server and receives access information and accesses the program guide server and the preview content server using the access information, according to control of the application/UI manager.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the program guide service information further includes at least one of a preview category, a preview media type, a preview display position, a preview size, a preview start time, a preview display duration, a brief preview description, a preview media locator, and an associated media locator.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the application/UI manager determines availability of the preview content using the program guide service information and requests the available preview content from the preview content server to be received by the network interface unit.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the displaying of the program guide service information is performed when there is a display command to display the program guide service information.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises;

displaying information indicating that no preview content is available when the preview availability information indicates that no preview content is available by a display unit according to control of the application/UI manager.