Apparatus and method for processing an interactive service

• US 9,912,995 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2015
• Issued: 03/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Oh, Sejin, Kim, Jinpil, An, Seungjoo, Lee, Jinwon, Kim, Kyungho, Moon, Kyoungsoo
• Primary Examiner(s): Alata, Yassin
• Application Number:
  US14/729,425
• Publication Number:
  US 20150281786A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,007 Days
• Field of Search: 725 23- 24, 725 32- 36, 725 60- 61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23892 involving embedding information at multiplex stream level, e.g. embedding a watermark at packet level
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device
• 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 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• 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 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8547 involving timestamps for synchronizing content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02

Abstract

A method of processing an interactive service and an apparatus thereof are disclosed. The present invention includes receiving uncompressed audio content or uncompressed video content from an external decoding unit, extracting identifiers of frames from the received content periodically, submitting requests containing the identifiers and receiving a trigger for the content when a new segment is detected or when an event activation needs to be communicated to the receiver, wherein the trigger indicates the current time of the contents and references a particular interactive event in an application parameter table or signals that the event is to be executed now or at a specified future time, wherein the application parameter table includes information about at least one of applications.

Claims

1. A method of processing an interactive service, the method comprising:

generating, by a signature module, a signature for a frame of an uncompressed content periodically;

sending, by a network interface, a request including the signature representing the frame to a server;

receiving, by the network interface, signaling information from the server,

wherein the signaling information is null information when the frame belongs to a segment that has no interactive services,

wherein the signaling information is a trigger when the frame belong to a segment that has an associated interactive service,

wherein whether the trigger is either a time base trigger or an activation trigger is determined by the server based on the frame represented by the signature,

wherein the trigger is the time base trigger when no event activation is scheduled before next request,

wherein the trigger is the activation trigger when an activation for a specific event is due to take place,

wherein the time base trigger is used to maintain a time base for events,

wherein the activation trigger sets an activation time for the specific event; and

retrieving, by the network interface, an application table by using information in the trigger,

wherein the application table includes a plurality of application elements at top level of the application table,

each of the application elements having an application ID identifying the each of the application elements within a scope of the application table, the each of the application elements include a plurality of event elements as sub-elements of the each of the application elements, each of the event elements describing an event targeted to an application that the each of the application elements represents, and the each of the event elements having an event ID identifying the each of the event elements within a scope of the each of the application elements,

wherein the activation trigger includes a first decimal number referencing one of the application elements representing an application targeted by the specific event,

wherein the activation trigger includes a second decimal number referencing one of event elements representing the specific event, the one of event elements are referenced from event elements of the one of the application elements, which is referenced by the first value,

wherein the each of the event elements includes a plurality of data elements as sub-elements of the each of the event elements, each of the data elements representing a data to be used for each activation of an event that the each of the event elements represents, and

wherein the activation trigger further includes a third decimal number referencing one of data elements, from the one of event elements referenced by combination of the first value and the second value, representing a data to be used for the activation of the specific event.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the activation trigger further includes a timing value indicating the activation time for the activation of the specific event.

3. An apparatus for processing an interactive service, the apparatus comprising:

a signature module that generates a signature for a frame of an uncompressed content periodically; and

a network interface that sends a request including the signature representing the frame to a server,

wherein the network interface receives signaling information from the server,

wherein the signaling information is null information when the frame belongs to a segment that has no interactive services,

wherein the signaling information is a trigger when the frame belong to a segment that has an associated interactive service,

wherein whether the trigger is either a time base trigger or an activation trigger is determined by the server based on the frame represented by the signature,

wherein the trigger is the time base trigger when no event activation is scheduled before next request,

wherein the trigger is the activation trigger when an activation for a specific event is due to take place,

wherein the time base trigger is used to maintain a time base for events,

wherein the activation trigger sets an activation time for the specific event,

wherein the network interface retrieves an application table by using information in the trigger,

wherein the application table includes a plurality of application elements at top level of the application table,

each of the application elements having an application ID identifying the each of the application elements within a scope of the application table, the each of the application elements include a plurality of event elements as sub-elements of the each of the application elements, each of the event elements describing an event targeted to an application that the each of the application elements represents, and the each of the event elements having an event ID identifying the each of the event elements within a scope of the each of the application elements,

wherein the activation trigger includes a first decimal number referencing one of the application elements representing an application targeted by the specific event,

wherein the activation trigger includes a second decimal number referencing one of event elements representing the specific event, the one of event elements are referenced from event elements of the one of the application elements, which is referenced by the first value,

wherein the each of the event elements includes a plurality of data elements as sub-elements of the each of the event elements, each of the data elements representing a data to be used for each activation of an event that the each of the event elements represents, and

wherein the activation trigger further includes a third decimal number referencing one of data elements, from the one of event elements referenced by combination of the first value and the second value, representing a data to be used for the activation of the specific event.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the activation trigger further includes a timing value for indicating the activation time for the activation of the specific event.