Method, computer-readable storage medium, reception apparatus, and information providing apparatus for identifying available channels and/or services

• US 9,300,896 B2
• Filed: 07/03/2013
• Issued: 03/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Eyer, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Saltarelli, Dominic D
• Application Number:
  US13/934,615
• Publication Number:
  US 20140354890A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,000 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• 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 21/6112 involving terrestrial transmission, e.g. DVB-T
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control

Abstract

A method, computer-readable storage medium, reception apparatus, and information providing apparatus for generating a list of accessible channels. The method includes retrieving from a primary server terrestrial broadcast channel information associated with a predetermined geographical region. The terrestrial broadcast channel information includes, for each broadcaster associated with the predetermined geographical region, one or a combination of a broadcast channel and a secondary server location associated with the respective broadcaster. Service information is retrieved, for each of at least one broadcaster associated with the predetermined geographical region, from a secondary server associated with the respective broadcaster based on the terrestrial broadcast channel information. The reception apparatus determines, for each of the at least one broadcaster associated with the predetermined geographical region, whether the broadcast channel associated with the respective broadcaster is receivable by the reception apparatus. The reception apparatus generates the list of accessible channels based on the determination.

Claims

1. A method for generating a list of accessible channels in a reception apparatus, the method comprising:

retrieving from a primary server, via a communication network, terrestrial broadcast channel information associated with a predetermined geographical region, the terrestrial broadcast channel information including, for each broadcaster associated with the predetermined geographical region, a secondary server location associated with the respective broadcaster;

retrieving, for each of at least one broadcaster associated with the predetermined geographical region, service information via the Internet from a secondary server associated with the respective broadcaster based on the respective secondary server location included in the terrestrial broadcast channel information;

determining, for each of the at least one broadcaster associated with the predetermined geographical region, whether the broadcast channel associated with the respective broadcaster is receivable by the reception apparatus based on the service information retrieved from the secondary server associated with the respective broadcaster; and

generating the list of accessible channels that includes any broadcast channels determined to be receivable by the reception apparatus.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying the at least one broadcaster based on the terrestrial broadcast channel information and based on a geographical location of the reception apparatus, each of the at least one broadcaster being associated with a broadcast channel estimated to be receivable by the reception apparatus.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the service information for each of the at least one broadcaster includes one or a combination of the broadcast channel, one or more modulation modes, metadata describing a broadcast multiplex carried on the broadcast channel, a description of one or more services available within the broadcast multiplex, and program guide data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the broadcast channel is a digital television broadcast channel.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining comprises:

tuning to each broadcast channel associated with one of the at least one broadcaster; and

when the reception apparatus is tuned to the respective broadcast channel, determining whether a characteristic of a terrestrial broadcast signal carried on the respective broadcast channel is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of retrieving from the primary server comprises:

retrieving the terrestrial broadcast channel information associated with the predetermined geographical region based on one or a combination of country, state, city, province, zip code, and longitude-latitude.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

periodically updating the list of accessible channels based on any new broadcast channels that are determined to be receivable by the reception apparatus.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the reception apparatus is a mobile device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the primary server is managed by a government entity that manages wireless spectrum within the predetermined geographical region.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of claim 1.

11. A reception apparatus, comprising:

circuitry configured to

retrieve from a primary server, via a communication network, terrestrial broadcast channel information associated with a predetermined geographical region, the terrestrial broadcast channel information including, for each broadcaster associated with the predetermined geographical region, one or a combination of a broadcast channel and a secondary server location associated with the respective broadcaster,

retrieve, for each of at least one broadcaster associated with the predetermined geographical region, service information via the Internet from a secondary server associated with the respective broadcaster based on the respective secondary server location included in the terrestrial broadcast channel information,

determine, for each of the at least one broadcaster associated with the predetermined geographical region, whether the broadcast channel associated with the respective broadcaster is receivable by the reception apparatus based on the service information retrieved from the secondary server associated with the respective broadcaster, and

generate a list of accessible channels that includes any broadcast channels determined to be receivable by the reception apparatus.

12. The reception apparatus of claim 11, wherein the circuitry is further configured to identify the at least one broadcaster based on the terrestrial broadcast channel information and based on a geographical location of the reception apparatus, each of the at least one broadcaster being associated with a broadcast channel estimated to be receivable by the reception apparatus.

13. The reception apparatus of claim 11, wherein the service information for each of the at least one broadcaster includes one or a combination of the broadcast channel, one or more modulation modes, metadata describing a broadcast multiplex carried on the broadcast channel, a description of one or more services available within the broadcast multiplex, and program guide data.

14. The reception apparatus of claim 11, wherein the broadcast channel is a digital television broadcast channel.

15. The reception apparatus of claim 11, wherein the circuitry is further configured to

tune to each broadcast channel associated with one of the at least one broadcaster;

and

when the reception apparatus is tuned to the respective broadcast channel, determine whether the respective broadcast channel is receivable by the reception apparatus based on whether a characteristic of a terrestrial broadcast signal carried on the respective broadcast channel is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value.

16. The reception apparatus of claim 11, wherein the circuitry is configured to retrieve the terrestrial broadcast channel information associated with the predetermined geographical region based on one or a combination of country, state, city, province, zip code, and longitude-latitude.

17. The reception apparatus of claim 11, wherein the circuitry is further configured to periodically update the list of accessible channels based on any new broadcast channels that are determined to be receivable by the reception apparatus.

18. The reception apparatus of claim 11, wherein the reception apparatus is a mobile device.

19. The reception apparatus of claim 11, wherein the primary server is managed by a government entity that manages wireless spectrum within the predetermined geographical region.

20. The reception apparatus of claim 11, wherein

the communication network is the Internet, and

the primary server is separate from the secondary server.

21. An information providing apparatus, comprising:

a memory configured to store service information associated with at least one broadcaster that broadcasts a digital television signal to a reception apparatus, the service information including, for each of the at least one broadcaster, one or a combination of a broadcast channel, one or more modulation modes, metadata describing a broadcast multiplex carried on the broadcast channel, a description of one or more services available within the broadcast multiplex, and program guide data; and

circuitry configured to provide via the Internet the service information to a reception apparatus that is configured to determine, for each of the at least one broadcaster, whether the broadcast channel associated with the respective broadcaster is receivable by the reception apparatus based on the provided service information, wherein

the service information is requested by the reception apparatus from the information providing apparatus based on a server location included in terrestrial broadcast channel information received from another information providing apparatus,

the digital television signal is broadcast on the broadcast channel, and

the service information is provided via the Internet.