Reception apparatus, reception method, and program

• US 9,078,031 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2011
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kitazato, Naohisa, Dewa, Yoshiharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Harold, Jefferey
• Assistant Examiner(s): SANDERS, JUSTIN B
• Application Number:
  US13/238,080
• Publication Number:
  US 20120082266A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,385 Days
• Field of Search: 725/14
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/106 Receiver-side switching
• 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 21/4307 Synchronising the rendering of multiple content streams or additional data on devices, e.g. synchronisation of audio on a mobile phone with the video output on the TV screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4341 Demultiplexing of audio 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 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• 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 21/8173 End-user applications, e.g. Web browser, game
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8453 by locking or enabling a set of features, e.g. optional functionalities in an executable program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a reception apparatus including: a reception block configured to receive broadcast content broadcast via a broadcasting network; an acquisition block configured to acquire inserted content that is inserted in the broadcast content during the reception thereof; an output block configured to output at least one of the broadcast content and the inserted content; a switch block configured to switch between the broadcast content and the inserted content outputted from the output block; and a buffer configured to sequentially store data of the received broadcast content when the broadcast content is switched to the inserted content; wherein, if the inserted content is switched to the broadcast content, the output block outputs the broadcast content from the buffer while the inserted content is outputted.

Claims

1. A reception apparatus comprising:

a reception block implemented by the circuitry and configured to receive broadcast content broadcast via a broadcasting network;

an acquisition block implemented by the circuitry and configured to acquire inserted content that is inserted in said broadcast content during the reception thereof;

an output block implemented by the circuitry and configured to output said broadcast content and said inserted content;

a switch block implemented by circuitry and configured to switch an output from the reception apparatus, from said broadcast content to said inserted content, which is output from said output block based on a trigger received from an external source; and

a buffer configured to sequentially store data of said received broadcast content once said output from the reception apparatus is switched to said inserted content;

wherein, when said output from the reception apparatus is switched back from said inserted content to said broadcast content, said output block outputs previous broadcast content from said buffer.

2. The reception apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a trigger extraction block implemented by the circuitry and configured to extract trigger information associated with control of an application program to be executed in cooperative association with said broadcast content, said trigger information being transmitted with said received broadcast content;

wherein said acquisition block acquires said inserted content on the basis of said extracted trigger information.

3. The reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when said inserted content has been terminated, said switch block switches said output from the reception apparatus, from said inserted content to said broadcast content.

4. The reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when said output from the reception apparatus has been switched from said inserted content to said broadcast content, said output block outputs said received broadcast content to said buffer.

5. The reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said inserted content is communication content that is acquired via a communication network and reproduced in a streaming manner.

6. The reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said inserted content is acquired via said broadcasting network in NRT (Non Real Time) broadcasting and stored.

7. The reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said inserted content is communication content that is acquired via a communication network and reproduced in a download manner.

8. The reception apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said trigger information includes at least one of an acquire command also called a register command, a startup command, an event fire command, a suspend command, and a terminate command for a predetermined application program.

9. A reception method implemented by a reception apparatus comprising:

receiving broadcast content broadcast via a broadcasting network;

acquiring inserted content that is inserted in said broadcast content during the reception thereof;

switching, using circuitry, an output from the reception apparatus from said broadcast content to said inserted content based on a trigger received from an external source; and

sequentially storing data of said received broadcast content once said output from the reception apparatus is switched to said inserted content;

wherein, when said output from the reception apparatus is switched back from said inserted content to said broadcast content, previous broadcast content is outputted from said buffer.

10. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program that when executed by a computer of a reception apparatus causes the computer to execute the steps of:

receiving broadcast content broadcast via a broadcasting network;

acquiring inserted content that is inserted in said broadcast content during the reception thereof;

switching an output from the reception apparatus from said broadcast content to said inserted content based on a trigger received from an external source; and

storing sequentially data of said received broadcast content once said output from the reception apparatus is switched to said inserted content;

wherein, when said output from the reception apparatus is switched back from said inserted content to said broadcast content, previous broadcast content is outputted from said buffer.