Transmission device and method of determining transmission date format

• US 9,014,258 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2009
• Issued: 04/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tao, Akihiko, Nakajima, Yasuhisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Perungavoor, Sath V
• Assistant Examiner(s): ABIMBOLA, KEHINDE
• Application Number:
  US13/130,011
• Publication Number:
  US 20120044985A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,980 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240.01
• US Class Current: 375/240.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234381 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. decreasing the frame rate by frame skipping

Abstract

To allow a broadcast transmission to be preformed successfully.

A source device 10 reads out EDID from EDID ROMs 30a-1 to 30a-N of sink devices 30-1 to 30-N, respectively, by using information transmitting and receiving function. The source device 10 determines a transmission data format in an AV stream so as to be compatible with all of the sink devices 30-1 to 30-N, based on data format information in the EDID. The source device 10 broadcasts the AV stream based on the transmission data format determined as described above to the sink devices 30-1 to 30-N. The sink devices 30-1 to 30-N receive the AV stream broadcast from the source device 10. Since the transmission data format of the AV stream is compatible with all of the sink devices 30-1 to 30-N, all of the sink devices 30-1 to 30-N can successfully reproduce the received AV stream.

Claims

1. A transmission device comprising:

a communication unit that broadcasts content data to a plurality of reception devices and performs an information transmission to and an information reception from the plurality of reception devices; and

a format determining unit that determines a transmission data format of the content data that is a transmission object to be broadcast by the communication unit, based on information, which is acquired from the plurality of reception devices via the communication unit, of a data format with which each of the plurality of reception devices are compatible,

wherein the format determining unit creates a common list that is a list of the data format commonly compatible with the plurality of reception devices, based on the information, which is acquired from the plurality of reception devices, of the data format with which the plurality of reception devices is compatible, respectively,

when the data format of the content data that is the transmission object is present in the common list, the format determining unit determines the data format as the transmission data format, and

when the data format of the content data that is the transmission object is not present in the common list, the format determining unit determines a data format of a mandatory standard as the transmission data format,

in which the common list includes at least one of (i) a number of compatible video data formats that are commonly compatible with the plurality of reception devices or (ii) a number of compatible audio data formats that are commonly compatible with the plurality of reception devices,

in which the data format represents at least one of (i) a video data format or (ii) an audio data format, that each of the plurality of reception devices is compatible with during operation, and

when the content data is video data, the common list for a video format created by the format determining unit represents (i) a common color format type or types, (ii) a common video format code type or types, and (iii) a common deep color mode type or types, each type within the common color format and the common video format code and the common deep color mode types being arranged in a respective predetermined priority order, so that when a respective video format having a respective priority higher than that of the video data that is the transmission object is present in the common list, the format determining unit determines that the respective video format with the respective higher priority is a transmission video format.

2. The transmission device according to claim 1,

wherein, in a case where the content data is audio data, when creating the common list, the format determining unit sets an audio format type, and a maximum number of channels, a sampling frequency, and a quantization bit number to be common items.

3. The transmission device according to claim 2,

wherein, in regard to the maximum number of channels in each audio format, the format determining unit creates the common list based on information, which is acquired from each of the reception devices not having a downmix function among the plurality of reception devices, of the maximum number of channels with which the reception devices are compatible.

4. The transmission device according to claim 1,

wherein, in a case where the plurality of reception devices includes plural sets of a television monitor and AV amplifier combination, the format determining unit determines the transmission data format of audio data that is broadcast by the communication unit, based on information, which is acquired from the plurality of AV amplifiers, of the audio data format with which the plurality of AV amplifiers are compatible.

5. The transmission device according to claim 1,

wherein the communication unit sequentially transmits downlink blocks with a non-transmission period interposed therebetween to the plurality of reception devices by using a single band and receives uplink blocks from the plurality of reception devices in the non-transmission period by using the single band, and

the content data and the information to be transmitted to the reception devices are included in the downlink blocks, and the information from the reception device is included in the uplink blocks.

6. The transmission device according to claim 1,

wherein the communication unit sequentially transmits downlink blocks to the plurality of reception devices by using a first band and receives uplink blocks from the plurality of reception devices by using a second band, and

the content data and the information to be transmitted to the reception devices are included in the downlink blocks, and the information from the reception device is included in the uplink blocks.

7. The transmission device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a data compression unit that performs a data compression process with respect to non-compressed content data of the transmission data format determined by the format determining unit,

wherein, when a transmission bit rate, which corresponds to a transmission path to each of the plurality of reception devices, is equal to or greater than a bit rate of the non-compressed content data, the communication unit broadcasts the non-compressed content data to the plurality of reception devices, and

when the transmission bit rate, which corresponds to the transmission path to each of the plurality of reception devices, is smaller than the bit rate of the non-compressed content data, the communication unit broadcasts compressed content data, which is obtained by subjecting non-compressed content data to a data compression process with the data compression unit, to the plurality of reception devices.

8. The transmission device according to claim 7,

wherein the data compression unit performs the data compression process with respect to the non-compressed content data with a data compression method with which the plurality of reception devices are commonly compatible, based on compression method information acquired from each of the plurality of reception devices.

9. A method of determining a transmission data format in a transmission device that broadcasts content data to a plurality of reception devices and performs an information transmission to and an information reception from the plurality of reception devices, the method comprising:

an information acquisition step of acquiring information of a data format, with which the plurality of reception devices are compatible, from the plurality of reception devices; and

a format determination step of determining the transmission data format of the content data that is broadcast to the plurality of reception devices based on the data format information acquired at the information acquiring step,

wherein, in the format determination step,

a common list that is a list of the data format commonly compatible with the plurality of reception devices is created, based on the information, which is acquired from the plurality of reception devices, of the data format with which each of the plurality of reception devices is compatible, respectively,

when the data format of the content data that is the transmission object is present in the common list, the data format is determined as the transmission data format, and

when the data format of the content data that is the transmission object is not present in the common list, a data format of a mandatory standard is determined as the transmission data format,

in which the common list includes at least one of (i) a number of compatible video data formats that are commonly compatible with the plurality of reception devices or (ii) a number of compatible audio data formats that are commonly compatible with the plurality of reception devices,

in which the data format represents at least one of (i) a video data format or (ii) an audio data format, that each of the plurality of reception devices is compatible with during operation, and

when the content data is video data, the common list for a video format created by the format determination step represents (i) a common color format type or types, (ii) a common video format code type or types, and (iii) a common deep color mode type or types, each type within the common color format and the common video format code and the common deep color mode types being arranged in a respective predetermined priority order, so that when a respective video format having a respective priority higher than that of the video data that is the transmission object is present in the common list, the format determination step determines that the respective video format with the respective higher priority is a transmission video format.