Medium distribution device, medium reception device, medium distribution method, and medium reception method

• US 20060031513A1
• Filed: 03/11/2004
• Published: 02/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sato, Junichi, Ido, Daiji, Yamaguchi, Takao, Itoh, Tomoaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,020,140 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Abstract

According to the media server 100 and the network control apparatus 200, upon distributing a plurality of media data to the media receiving apparatuses 400 having different transmission rates by broadcasting or multicasting, the distribution precedence is attached by associating the program control information and the media data. The distribution precedence attached to the program control information is set same as or lower than the distribution precedence of all media data included in the program concerned. Then, depending on the distribution precedence, the transmission possible media data and the program only are selectively distributed. The program control information relating to the program that includes the receivable media data by the media receiving terminal apparatus 400 only is selected and received. This way, the receivable media data is distributed depending on the transmission environment of the media receiving apparatus. It is possible to prevent the media receiving apparatus selecting the invalid program.

Claims

1. A media distribution apparatus, comprising:

a storing section that stores a plural kinds of media data;

a media distribution setting section that associates and sets a transmission environment and a control information and a distribution precedence for each of said plural kind of media data; and

a distributing section that sets a control information and a distribution precedence for each of various kinds of media data read from said storing section, based on a transmission environment and a distribution precedence and a control information for each of various kinds of media data set at said media distribution setting section, and that distributes to a media receiving apparatus via a network of said transmission environment.

2. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said media distribution setting section sets a high distribution precedence in the order of media data having a small transmission bandwidth as said transmission environment.

3. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control information is a program control information for controlling an output form of a program which consists of a combination of said plural kinds of media data at said media receiving apparatus;

wherein said media distribution setting section sets said distribution precedence to said program control information, depending on the media data classification included in said program;

wherein the distribution section sets a program control information for each of various kinds of media data read from said storing section, based on a transmission environment and a program control information for each of various kinds of media data set at said media distribution setting section, and distributes to said media receiving apparatus via a network of said transmission environment.

4. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said distribution section sets a program control information for each of various kinds of media data read from said storing section, based on a transmission environment and a program control information for each of various kinds of media data set at said media distribution setting section, and distributes to said media receiving apparatus using a plurality of bearer channels.

5. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said media distribution setting section sets a high distribution precedence to a program control information relating to a program having a fewer media data classification of which is required by said program.

6. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said media distribution setting section sets a high distribution precedence to a program control information relating to a program that only includes static media data such as still image and text, set higher than to a program control information relating to a program including continuous media such as audio and video, in regard to the media data classification of which is required by said program.

7. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said media distribution setting section sets said distribution precedence to said media data and said program control information, and the distribution precedence to be set to the program control information is set same as or lower than the distribution precedence of all media data included in the program.

8. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said program control information is a layout information for the purpose of positioning a plurality of media data included in said program on a display apparatus of said media receiving apparatus.

9. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said program control information is a bit rate information and a coding method of media data included in said program.

10. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said program control information includes a port number for distributing said program.

11. The media distribution apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said media distribution setting section sets said distribution precedence to a TOS (Type Of Service) field of an IP packet;

wherein said distribution section constitutes an IP packet by attaching a TOS field for each of various kinds of media data read from said storing section, based on a transmission environment and the program control information for each of various kinds of media data set at said media distribution setting section, and distributes to said media receiving apparatus via a network of said transmission environment using IP protocol.

12. A media receiving apparatus, comprising:

a receiving section that receives a distribution data distributed from a media distribution apparatus by wireless communication, and that demodulates a plurality of control information and a plurality of media data included in the distribution data;

a packet receiving section that receives a plurality of media data and a plurality of control information demodulated by said receiving section for each of wireless bearer channels as packets;

a distribution data integrating section that integrates said distribution data and selecting a media data, based on a distribution precedence set to a plurality of control information and a plurality of media data included in a plurality of packets received at said packet receiving section; and

a media data displaying and replaying section that displays and replays by decoding the distribution data integrated by said distribution data integrating section.

13. A media distribution method comprising the steps of:

a media distribution setting step that associates and sets a transmission environment, and a distribution precedence, and a control information for each of plural kinds of media data; and

a distribution step that sets a distribution precedence and a control information for each of various kinds of media data read from a storing section storing said plural kinds of media data, based on a transmission environment, and a distribution precedence, and a control information for each of said various kinds of media data set, and that distributes to a media receiving apparatus via a network of said transmission environment.

14. A media receiving method comprising the steps of:

a receiving step that receives a distribution data distributed from a media distribution apparatus by wireless communication, and that demodulates a plurality of control information and a plurality of media data included in the distribution data;

a packet receiving step that receives said plurality of control information and said plurality of media data demodulated for each of wireless bearer channels as packets;

a distribution data integrating step that integrates said distribution data by selecting a media data, based on a distribution precedence set to a plurality of control information and a plurality of media data included in said plurality of packets received; and

a media data displaying and replaying step that displays and replays by decoding said distribution data integrated.