Method for reproducing contents information in interactive optical disc device and method for providing contents information in contents provider server

• US 7,881,590 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2003
• Issued: 02/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoon, Woo Seong, Um, Soung Hyun, Kim, Tae Ho, Yoo, Jea Yong
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Thai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhao; Daquan
• Application Number:
  US10/714,434
• Publication Number:
  US 20040103445A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,638 Days
• Field of Search: 386/95, 386125-126, 386/48, 386111-112, 386/298, 386/314, 386/326, 386/332, 386/334
• US Class Current: 386/298
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1829 Arrangements specially adapted for the receiver end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42646 for reading from or writing on a non-volatile solid state storage medium, e.g. DVD, CD-ROM
• 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 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6375 for requesting retransmission , e.g. of data packets lost or corrupted during transmission from serverARQ protocols H04L1/18; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

Disclosed herein are a method for reproducing contents information in an interactive optical disc device and a method for providing contents information in a contents provider server. The interactive optical disc device is connected with the contents provider server via the Internet to receive a variety of contents information provided from the contents provider server. When the sending of the contents information from the contents provider server to the interactive optical disc device is suspended or delayed due to a network connection loss on the Internet or an insufficient storage capacity of a buffer memory in the interactive optical disc device, contents information re-sent from the contents provider server and a data stream read from an interactive DVD are re-synchronized and reproduced. Therefore, a user of the interactive optical disc device can normally watch more various contents information.

Claims

1. A method for reproducing contents information from an interactive device, comprising:

a) receiving contents information from a contents provider server via an Internet, storing the received contents information in a buffer memory, and synchronously reproducing data read from a storage medium and the stored contents information;

b) if receipt of the contents information from the contents provider server is suspended or delayed, sending a last download position of the contents information in the buffer memory and a request command to the contents provider server to receive contents information subsequent to the last download position while maintaining a playback mode; and

c) receiving the contents information subsequent to the last download position from the contents provider server in response to the request command, and synchronously reproducing the contents information subsequent to the last download position with the data read from the storage medium,

wherein capacity information associated with a storage capacity of the buffer memory is sent to the contents provider server from the interactive device and the contents information is received from the contents provider server variably with respect to a bit rate in response to the capacity information.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving from the contents provider server an acknowledgement of the request command prior to receiving the contents information.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said contents information sent from said contents provider server is audio data, and said data read from said storage medium includes video data.

4. A method for reproducing contents information from an interactive device, comprising:

a) receiving contents information from a contents provider server via an Internet, storing the received contents information in a buffer memory, and synchronously reproducing data read from a storage medium and the stored contents information;

b) if receipt of the contents information from the contents provider server into the buffer memory is suspended or delayed and if a size of the contents information downloaded into the buffer memory and not reproduced yet is below a predetermined reference value, automatically pausing a data reproducing operation of the storage medium for a predetermined period of time and, after the predetermined period of time, determining whether there is contents information received over the Internet; and

c) if there is contents information received over the Internet after the predetermined period of time, synchronously reproducing subsequently received contents information and data read from the storage medium,

wherein capacity information associated with a storage capacity of the buffer memory is sent to the contents provider server from the interactive device and the contents information is received from the contents provider server variably with respect to a bit rate in response to the capacity information.

5. The method as set forth in claim 4, wherein the step of re-synchronizing and reproducing comprises:

delaying the step of synchronously reproducing until the size of contents information in the buffer memory and not reproduced yet becomes greater than or equal to the predetermined reference value.

6. The method as set forth in claim 4, further comprising:

resuming the paused data reproducing operation of the storage medium if there is no contents information received over the Internet after the predetermined time period has elapsed.

7. The method as set forth in claim 4, wherein said contents information sent from said contents provider server is audio data, and said data read from said storage medium includes video data.

8. A method for reproducing contents information from an interactive device, comprising:

a) receiving contents information from a contents provider server via an Internet, storing the received contents information in a buffer memory, synchronously reproducing data read from a storage medium and the stored contents information, and counting synchronizations between the data read from the storage medium and the stored contents information;

b) if receipt of the contents information from the contents provider server is suspended or delayed, estimating a number of missed synchronizations during a corresponding suspension or delay period based on the counted synchronizations while maintaining a playback mode, and sending a command for requesting re-sending of contents information corresponding to the estimated number of missed synchronizations; and

c) in response to the command for requesting re-sending, receiving the contents information subsequent to the estimated number of missed synchronizations, and synchronously reproducing the contents information subsequent to the estimated number of missed synchronizations with the data read from the storage medium,

herein capacity information associated with a storage capacity of the buffer memory is sent to the contents provider server from the interactive device and the contents information is received from the contents provider server variably with respect to a bit rate in response to the capacity information.

9. The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein the step of estimating a number of missed synchronizations comprises:

estimating the number of missed synchronizations with reference to a bandwidth of a current network bit rate.

10. The method as set forth in claim 8, further comprising:

receiving from the contents provider server an acknowledgement of the command for requesting re-sending prior to the step of receiving the contents information.

11. The method as set forth in claim 10, further comprising:

discarding contents information received before the acknowledgement.

12. The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein said contents information sent from said contents provider server is audio data, and said data read from said storage medium includes video data.

13. A method for reproducing contents information from an interactive device, comprising:

a) receiving contents information from a contents provider server via an Internet, storing the received contents information in a buffer memory, synchronously reproducing data read from a storage medium and the stored contents information, and calculating an offset between data read from the storage medium and contents information received from the contents provider based on offset information sent from the contents server, the offset information being associated with the data read from the storage medium;

b) if receipt of the contents information from the contents provider server is suspended or delayed, sending a command for requesting re-sending of contents information and the offset to the contents provider server while maintaining a playback mode; and

c) in response to the command for requesting re-sending, receiving the contents information corresponding to the offset, and synchronously reproducing the contents information corresponding to the offset with the data read from the storage medium,

wherein capacity information associated with a storage capacity of the buffer memory is sent to the contents provider server from the interactive device and the contents information is received from the contents provider server variably with respect to a bit rate in response to the capacity information.

14. The method as set forth in claim 13, wherein said step c) comprises:

receiving from the contents provider server an acknowledgement of the command for requesting re-sending prior to the step of receiving the contents information, wherein

the step of synchronously reproducing includes waiting a predetermined time period after the acknowledgement is received prior to synchronizing and reproducing.

15. The method as set forth in claim 14, further comprising:

discarding contents information received prior to an end of the predetermined time period.

16. The method as set forth in claim 13, wherein said contents information sent from said contents provider server is audio data, and said data read from said storage medium includes video data.

17. An apparatus for reproducing contents information from an interactive device, comprising:

a receiving portion configured to receive contents information from a contents provider server via an Internet;

a buffer memory configured to store the received contents information;

a reproducing portion configured to reproduce data read from storage medium and the stored contents information; and

a controller configured to control the reproducing portion to synchronously reproduce data read from the storage medium and the stored contents information,

wherein the controller is further configured to send a last download position of the contents information in the buffer memory to the contents provider server and a request command to the contents provider server to receive contents information subsequent to the last download position if receipt of the contents information from the contents provider server is suspended or delayed while maintaining a playback mode,

wherein the receiving portion is further configured to receive the contents information subsequent to the last download position from the contents provider server in response to the request command from the controller,

wherein the reproducing portion is further configured to synchronously reproduce the contents information subsequent to the last download position with the data read from the storage medium according to a control of the controller, and

wherein capacity information associated with a storage capacity of the buffer memory is sent to the contents provider server from the interactive device and the contents information is received from the contents provider server variably with respect to a bit rate in response to the capacity information.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the receiving portion is further configured to receive an acknowledgement of the request command prior to reception of the contents information from the contents provider server.