URI pointer system and method for the carriage of MPEG-4 data in an ATSC MPEG-2 transport stream file system

• US 20050080840A1
• Filed: 10/07/2003
• Published: 04/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Liang, Kai-Chieh
• Granted Patent: US 7,421,513 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/200
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234318 by decomposing into objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/643 Communication protocols network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP], H04L65/65

Abstract

A URI pointer system and method are provided for the referencing of MPEG-4 data resources carried in an American ATSC MPEG-2 TSFS. The method comprises: receiving an MPEG-2 TS, with a packetized ATSC TSFS; locating a URI in the TS; in response to the URI, accessing an address such as a lid or an http address; retrieving MPEG-4 resources from the ATSC TSFS; and, decoding the MPEG-4 resources. Accessed lid URIs provide a binding name and access scheme to the objects in the ATSC TSFS, as a lid URI embedded in an Initial Object Descriptor (IOD) is used to locate resources in the TSFS such as a BIFS scene description stream and/or an object descriptor stream. Receiving an MPEG-2 TS, with a packetized ATSC TSFS, means that MPEG-4 resources are formed in a hierarchical directory structure of BIOP objects including a DSM::ServiceGateway, a DSM::Directory, and a DSM::File.

Claims

15. A uniform resource identifier (URI) pointer method for broadcasting pointers to MPEG-4 data in an American advanced television systems committee (ATSC) MPEG-2 transport stream file system (TSFS), the method comprising:

embedding MPEG-4 resources in an ATSC TSFS;

packetizing the ATSC TSFS in an MPEG-2 TS;

generating a URI for accessing MPEG-4 resources located at an address in the ATSC TSFS;

embedding the URI in an MPEG-2 TS; and

,

broadcasting the MPEG-2 TS, with the packetized ATSC TSFS.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein generating a URI for accessing the MPEG-4 resources includes generating a URI selected from the group including an http address and a local identifier (lid).

17. The method of claim 16 wherein generating a URI for accessing MPEG-4 resources located at an address in the ATSC TSFS includes generating a lid URI to supply a binding name and access scheme to objects in the ATSC TSFS.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein generating a lid URI to supply a binding name and access scheme to objects in the ATSC TSFS includes generating a lid URI embedded in an Initial Object Descriptor (IOD) to locate resources in the ATSC TSFS selected from the group including a BIFS scene description stream and an object descriptor stream.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein embedding MPEG-4 resources in an ATSC TSFS includes forming the MPEG-4 resources hierarchical directory structure.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein forming a hierarchical directory structure includes forming a hierarchical directory structure of BIOP objects including a DSM:

;

ServiceGateway, a DSM;

;

Directory, and a DSM;

;

File.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein embedding MPEG-4 resources in the ATSC TSFS includes:

loading the MPEG-4 resources into File objects;

creating IORs for Directory and File Objects;

binding the IORs in a Service Gateway;

creating an IOR for the Service Gateway; and

,

locating the Service Gateway IOR in a DSI message.

22. The method of claim 20 further comprising:

embedding an MPEG-4 audio/video stream in the MPEG-2 TS in accordance with ISO/IEC 13818-1 encapsulation standards; and

,

wherein broadcasting the MPEG-2 TS includes broadcasting the MPEG-2 TS with the embedded MPEG-4 audio/video stream.

23. The method of claim 18 wherein embedding the URI in an MPEG-2 TS includes locating a lid URI in a first MPEG-2 TS;

wherein packetizing the ATSC TSFS in an MPEG-2 TS includes packetizing the MPEG-4 resources in an ATSC TSFS carried by a second MPEG-2 TS; and

,

wherein broadcasting the MPEG-2 TS includes broadcasting the first and second MPEG-2 TSs.

24. The method of claim 15 wherein embedding MPEG-4 resources in an ATSC TSFS includes embedding MPEG-4 resources selected from the group including audio, video, and systems data.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein embedding MPEG-4 resources in an ATSC TSFS includes resources used for a purpose selected from the group including enhanced audio data in the MPEG-2 TS, enhanced video data in the MPEG-2 TS, and systems data for the establishment of an interactive audiovisual scene and communication link.

26. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

generating additional URI addresses selected from the group including http and local (receiver) cache addresses for accessing MPEG-4 resources from a website and a local (receiver) cache, respectively.

27. A uniform resource identifier (URI) pointer system for accessing MPEG-4 data from an American Advanced Television Systems Committer (ATSC) MPEG-2 transport stream file system (TSFS), the system comprising:

a receiver having an interface for accepting an MPEG-2 TS with an embedded URI and a packetized ATSC TSFS;

an address access unit having an interface to accept the MPEG-2 TS from the receiver, the address access unit locating a URI in the TS, accessing an address, and retrieving MPEG-4 resources from the ATSC TSFS; and

,

a decoder having an interface connected to the address access unit for receiving the MPEG-4 resources and an interface for supplying decoded MPEG-4 information.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein the address access unit locates a URI selected from the group including an http address and a local identifier (lid).

29. The system of claim 28 wherein the address access unit accesses a lid URI providing a binding name and access scheme to objects in the ATSC TSFS.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein the address access unit uses a lid URI embedded in an Initial Object Descriptor (IOD) to locate resources in the ATSC TSFS selected from the group including a BIFS scene description stream and an object descriptor stream.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein the address access unit accesses MPEG-4 resources in a hierarchical directory.

32. The system of claim 31 wherein the address access unit forms a hierarchical directory structure of BIOP objects including a DSM:

;

ServiceGateway, a DSM;

;

Directory, and a DSM;

;

File.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein the address access unit retrieves MPEG-4 resources from the ATSC TSFS as follows:

locating a DSI message;

extracting the IOR for the Service Gateway;

parsing the Service Gateway object;

extracting IORs for Directory and File objects from the Service Gateway binding structure; and

,

acquiring MPEG-4 resources from the file objects.

34. The system of claim 32 wherein the receiver additionally receives an MPEG-4 audio/video stream embedded in the MPEG-2 TS in accordance with ISO/IEC 13818-1 encapsulation standards;

and,

wherein the address access unit supplies the audio/visual stream retrieved from the MPEG-2 TS; and

,

an MPEG-2 decoder having an interface to accept the retrieved MPEG-4 audio/visual stream and an interface to supply decoded MPEG-4 audio/visual stream information in accordance with ISO/IEC 13818-1 encapsulation methods for the carriage of MPEG-4 streams in an MPEG-2 TS.

35. The system of claim 29 wherein the receiver receives a first MPEG-2 TS and a second MPEG-2 TS with a packetized ATSC TSFS;

wherein the address access unit retrieves the lid URI from the first MPEG-2 TS, and retrieves MPEG-4 resources from the ATSC TSTS in the second MPEG-2 TS.

36. The system of claim 27 wherein the address access unit retrieves MPEG-4 resources selected from the group including audio, video, and systems data.

37. The system of claim 36 wherein the decoder supplies MPEG-4 information selected from the group including enhancing audio data in the MPEG-2 TS, enhancing video data in the MPEG-2 TS, and using the systems data to establish an interactive audiovisual scene and communication link.

38. The system of claim 37 further comprising:

a transmitter having a transmit interface; and

,

wherein the transmitter and receiver form an interactive audiovisual scene and communication link in response to decoding MPEG-4 systems data.

39. The system of claim 27 further comprising:

a local cache have an interface to receive retrieved MPEG-4 resources for storage.

40. The system of claim 28 wherein the address access unit accesses an address selected from the group including a local cache address and a Web protocol identifier, and retrieves MPEG-4 resources, in response to accessing the address, from a source selected from the group including a local cache and a network-connected website.

41. In an MPEG-4 broadcaster, a uniform resource identifier (URI) pointer system for accessing MPEG-4 data in an American Advanced Television Systems Committer (ATSC) MPEG-2 transport stream file system (TSFS), the system comprising:

an address pointer unit (APU) having an interface to supply an MPEG-2 TS with URIs for accessing MPEG-4 resources embedded in an ATSC TSFS, and to supply a MPEG-2 TS with the packetized ATSC TSFS; and

,

a transmitter having an interface to accept the MPEG-2 TS, with the packetized ATSC TSFS from the address pointer unit, and an interface to broadcast the MPEG-2 TS.

1. A uniform resource identifier (URI) pointer method for the referencing of MPEG-4 data resources carried in an American advanced television systems committee (ATSC) MPEG-2 transport stream file system (TSFS), the method comprising:

receiving an MPEG-2 TS, with a packetized ATSC TSFS;

locating a URI in the TS;

in response to the URI, accessing an address;

in response to accessing the address, retrieving MPEG-4 resources from the ATSC TSFS; and

,

decoding the MPEG-4 resources.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein accessing an address in response to the URI includes accessing an address selected from the group including a local identifier (lid) and an http address.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein accessing an address includes accessing a lid URI providing a binding name and access scheme to the objects in the ATSC TSFS.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein using lid URIs to provide a binding name and access scheme to the objects in the ATSC TSFS includes using a lid URI embedded in an Initial Object Descriptor (IOD) to locate resources in the TSFS selected from the group including a BIFS scene description stream and an object descriptor stream.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein receiving an MPEG-2 TS, with a packetized ATSC TSFS, includes forming MPEG-4 resources in a hierarchical directory structure.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein forming a hierarchical directory structure includes forming a hierarchical directory structure of BIOP objects including a DSM:

;

ServiceGateway, a DSM;

;

Directory, and a DSM;

;

File.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein retrieving MPEG-4 resources from the ATSC TSFS, in response to accessing the address, includes:

locating a DSI message;

extracting the IOR for the Service Gateway;

parsing the Service Gateway object;

extracting IORs for Directory and File objects from the Service Gateway binding structure; and

,

acquiring MPEG-4 resources from the file objects.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein receiving an MPEG-2 TS, with a packetized ATSC TSFS, includes receiving an MPEG-4 audio/video stream embedded in the MPEG-2 TS in accordance with ISO/IEC 13818-3 encapsulation standards;

and,

the method further comprising;

retrieving the MPEG-4 audio/visual stream from the MPEG-2 TS; and

,

wherein decoding the MPEG-4 resources includes decoding the resource retrieved from the ATSC TSFS, together with the retrieved MPEG-4 audio/visual stream.

9. The method of claim 3 wherein receiving an MPEG-2 TS, with a packetized ATSC TSFS, includes receiving a first MPEG-2 TS and a second MPEG-2 TS with a packetized ATSC TSFS;

wherein locating a URI in the TS includes retrieving a lid URI in the first MPEG-2 TS; and

,

wherein retrieving MPEG-4 resources from the ATSC TSFS, in response to accessing the lid URI, includes retrieving MPEG-4 resources from the second MPEG-2 TS ATSC TSFS.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein retrieving MPEG-4 resources from ATSC TSFS, in response to accessing the address, includes retrieving MPEG-4 resources selected from the group including audio, video, and systems data.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein decoding the MPEG-4 resources includes an action selected from the group including enhancing audio data in the MPEG-2 TS, enhancing video data in the MPEG-2 TS, and using the systems data to establish an interactive audiovisual scene and communication link.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

establishing an interactive audiovisual scene and communication link in response to decoding MPEG-4 systems data.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

caching the retrieved MPEG-4 resources.

14. The method of claim 3 wherein accessing an address in response to the URI includes additionally accessing an address selected from the group including a local cache address and a Web protocol identifier;

and,

the method further comprising;

retrieving MPEG-4 resources, in response to accessing the address, from a source selected from the group including a local cache and a website.

42. The system of claim 41 wherein the APU supplies an MPEG-2 TS with a URI selected from the group including an http address and a local identifier (lid).

43. The system of claim 42 wherein the APU generates a lid URI to supply a binding name and access scheme to objects in the ATSC TSFS.

44. The system of claim 43 wherein the APU generates a lid URI embedded in an Initial Object Descriptor (IOD) to locate resources in the ATSC TSFS selected from the group including a BIFS scene description stream and an object descriptor stream.

45. The system of claim 44 wherein the APU embeds MPEG-4 resources in an ATSC TSFS by forming the MPEG-4 resources in a hierarchical directory structure.

46. The system of claim 45 wherein the APU forms a hierarchical directory structure of BIOP objects including a DSM:

;

ServiceGateway, a DSM;

;

Directory, and a DSM;

;

File.

47. The system of claim 46 wherein the APU embeds MPEG-4 resources in the ATSC TSFS as follows:

loading the MPEG-4 resources into File objects;

creating IORs for Directory and File Objects;

binding the IORs in a Service Gateway;

creating an IOR for the Service Gateway; and

,

locating the Service Gateway IOR in a DSI message.

48. The system of claim 46 wherein the APU additionally embeds an MPEG-4 audio/video stream in the MPEG-2 TS in accordance with ISO/IEC 13818-1 encapsulation standards;

and,

wherein the transmitter broadcasts the MPEG-2 TS with the embedded MPEG-4 audio/video stream.

49. The system of claim 41 wherein the APU generates additional URI addresses embedded in the MPEG-2 TS selected from including http and local (receiver) cache addresses for accessing MPEG-4 resources from a website and a local (receiver) cache, respectively.

47-1. The system of claim 42 wherein the APU locates a lid URI in a first MPEG-2 TS and embeds MPEG-4 resources in an ATSC TSFS packetized in a second MPEG-2 TS;

and,

wherein the transmitter broadcasts the first and second MPEG-2 TSs.

48-2. The system of claim 41 wherein the APU embeds MPEG-4 resources in an ATSC TSFS selected from the group including audio, video, and systems data.