Apparatus and method for providing available codec information

• US 8,918,810 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2007
• Issued: 12/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Yoon, Jung-min, Kim, Jun-hyeong, Ko, Jae-woo, Choo, Joung-hoon, Park, Sang-do
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, AN SON PHI
• Application Number:
  US11/709,170
• Publication Number:
  US 20070277199A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,861 Days
• Field of Search: 725 39- 40, 725 44- 47, 715219-221
• US Class Current: 725/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/488 Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6377 directed to server one-way streaming services wherein the source is controlled by the destination H04L65/613
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/46 for receiving on more than one standard at will deflecting circuits of multi-standard receivers H04N3/27

Abstract

An apparatus for providing available codec information, includes a receiving unit that receives electronic program guide (EPG) data transmitted by a broadcasting operator; a codec-management unit that checks the position information of the codec based on the received EPG data, and manages the point of downloading time of the codec; an interface-generation unit that generates the position information of the checked codec, and provides the information to the EPG screen; and a display unit that displays the EPG screen including the position information of the codec.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing available codec information, the apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit that receives electronic program guide (EPG) data;

a parsing unit that parses the received EPG data;

a codec-management unit that extracts codec information used in broadcasting content based on the parsed EPG data, and searches whether the extracted codec information is stored in the apparatus;

an interface-generation unit that generates a symbol indicating position information of a codec according to the search result, and provides the generated symbol to an EPG screen; and

a display unit that displays the EPG screen including the codec information and the generated symbol.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the EPG data comprises a title of broadcasting content, a name of the codec that reproduces the broadcasting content, a downloading address of the codec, information about the codec, and available codec information that includes broadcasting content information.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the codec is included in a device within a home network or outside the home network.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the codec-management unit generates a searching message that checks whether the codec exists, and a codec-request message that requests the downloading of the codec, in order to check the position information of the codec.

5. A method of providing available codec information, the method comprising:

receiving, at a multimedia-reproduction device, electronic program guide (EPG) data;

parsing the received EPG data and extracting codec information used in broadcasting content from the parsed EPG data;

searching whether the extracted codec information is stored in the multimedia-reproduction device; and

generating a symbol indicating position information of a codec according to the search result, and displaying the generated symbol and the codec information on an EPG screen.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the EPG data comprises a title of broadcasting content, a name of the codec that reproduces the broadcasting content, a downloading address of the codec, information about the codec, and available codec information that includes broadcasting content information.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the codec is included in a device within a home network or outside the home network.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the providing the extracted codec information and the position information of the codec to the EPG screen comprises displaying a symbol indicating that the codec exists in a multimedia-reproduction device on the EPG screen if it is determined that the codec exists in the multimedia-reproduction device as a result of the checking the position information of the codec based on the extracted codec information.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

broadcasting a searching message to search for the codec in devices existing in a home network if it is determined that the codec does not exist in the multimedia-reproduction device as a result of the checking the position information of the codec based on the extracted codec information;

receiving a response message transmitted from a device existing in the home network that received the broadcast searching message; and

determining the position of the codec as within the home network based on the response message,

wherein the providing the extracted codec information and the position information of the codec to the EPG screen comprises displaying symbol indicating that the codec is in the device in the home network on the EPG screen.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining the position of the codec as not being within the home network if the response message is not received from the device existing in the home network,

wherein the providing the extracted codec information and the position information of the codec to the EPG screen comprises displaying symbol indicating that the codec is not within the home network on the EPG screen.

11. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

checking a point of time and a period of downloading of the codec; and

requesting the downloading of the codec based on the point of time and the period of the downloading of the codec.