Reception apparatus, reception method, program, and information processing system

• US 8,930,988 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2012
• Issued: 01/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kitazato, Naohisa, Yamagishi, Yasuaki, Dewa, Yoshiharu, Eyer, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Harold, Jefferey
• Assistant Examiner(s): SANDERS, JUSTIN B
• Application Number:
  US13/708,313
• Publication Number:
  US 20130167171A1
• Time in Patent Office: 760 Days
• Field of Search: 725/32
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4351 involving reassembling additional data, e.g. rebuilding an executable program from recovered modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/462 Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8173 End-user applications, e.g. Web browser, game
• 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: H04N 21/8545 for generating interactive applications
• 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

Disclosed herein is a reception apparatus including: a reception portion configured to receive AV content; a trigger acquisition portion configured to acquire trigger information for operating an application program to be executed in interlocked relation to the AV content; a table acquisition portion configured to acquire a correspondence table associating a command for controlling the operation of the application program with a valid time of the command; and a control portion configured such that when the time acquired from the trigger information as indicative of the progress of the AV content satisfies a predetermined condition of validity in reference to the valid time of the command on the basis of the acquired correspondence table, the control portion controls the operation of the application program in accordance with the command being valid.

Claims

1. A reception apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to

receive audio visual content;

acquire trigger information for operating an application program to be executed in interlocked relation to said audio visual content;

acquire a correspondence table associating a command for controlling the operation of said application program with a valid time of said command; and

when a time acquired from said trigger information that is indicative of progress of said audio visual content satisfies a predetermined condition of validity in reference to said valid time of said command on the basis of the acquired correspondence table, control the operation of said application program in accordance with said command being valid.

2. The reception apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said trigger information is transmitted together with said audio visual content, and

said circuitry is configured to extract said trigger information from the received audio visual content.

3. The reception apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the circuitry is configured to

extract a feature quantity from data of the received audio visual content;

and

acquire said trigger information corresponding to a result from identifying said audio visual content by use of the extracted feature quantity.

4. The reception apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said trigger information includes time information indicative of the progress of said audio visual content, and

when the time indicated by said time information included in said trigger information falls within a valid period defined by a valid start time and a valid end time of said command, said circuitry controls the operation of said application program in accordance with said command being valid.

5. The reception apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said trigger information includes time information indicative of the progress of said audio visual content, and

when the time counted on the basis of said time information included in said trigger information and indicative of the progress of said audio visual content either falls within a valid period defined by a valid start time and a valid end time of said command or has run past said valid start time of said command, said circuitry controls the operation of said application program in accordance with said command being valid.

6. The reception apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said trigger information includes specific information specifying an information processing apparatus offering said correspondence table and identification information identifying said audio visual content, and

when either or both of said specific information and said identification information included in said trigger information are changed, said circuitry acquires said correspondence table from said information processing apparatus in accordance with said specific information and said identification information.

7. The reception apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said circuitry is configured to

acquire beforehand said correspondence table of said audio visual content having the changed identification information, and

upon receipt of said audio visual content having the changed identification information, control the operation of said application program based on said correspondence table acquired beforehand.

8. The reception apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein said circuitry is configured to retain said correspondence table acquired beforehand for only a period designated beforehand.

9. The reception apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein, when currently received first audio visual content is to be switched to second audio visual content having the changed identification information, said circuitry acquires beforehand both said correspondence table of said first audio visual content and said correspondence table of said second audio visual content and retains the acquired correspondence tables, and

when said first audio visual content is switched to said second audio visual content, said circuitry controls the operation of said application program based on said correspondence table of said second audio visual content acquired beforehand.

10. The reception apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein said trigger information includes time information indicative of the progress of said audio visual content;

said correspondence table describes a time at which said audio visual content is to be terminated;

when a time counted on the basis of said time information included in said trigger information and indicative of the progress of said first audio visual content coincides with the time indicative of the termination of said first audio visual content described in said correspondence table of said first audio visual content, said circuitry starts counting a time indicative of the progress of said second content; and

when the time indicative of the progress of said second audio visual content and counted on the basis of said correspondence table of said second audio visual content acquired beforehand either falls within a valid period defined by the valid start time and valid end time of said command or has run past said valid start time of said command, said circuitry controls the operation of said application program in accordance with said command being valid.

11. The reception apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said correspondence table describes an updating duration of said correspondence table, and

said circuitry is configured to update said correspondence table in accordance with said updating duration.

12. The reception apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said correspondence table describes information indicative of a probability that said command becomes valid, and

when said command becomes valid, said circuitry controls the operation of said application program in accordance with said command.

13. The reception apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said command designates registration, acquisition, or execution of said application program;

or injection, suspension, or termination of an event, and

in response to said command, said circuitry controls the acquisition, registration, or execution of said application program;

or the injection, suspension, or termination of an event in the currently executing application program.

18. The reception apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said trigger information includes time information indicative of the progress of said audio visual content and identifies a location of the correspondence table.

14. A reception method for use with a reception apparatus, said reception method comprising:

causing said reception apparatus to receive audio visual content;

causing said reception apparatus to acquire trigger information for operating an application program to be executed in interlocked relation to said audio visual content;

causing said reception apparatus to acquire a correspondence table associating a command for controlling the operation of said application program with a valid time of said command; and

when a time acquired from said trigger information that is indicative of progress of said audio visual content satisfies a predetermined condition of validity in reference to said valid time of said command on the basis of the acquired correspondence table, causing said reception apparatus to control the operation of said application program in accordance with said command being valid.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program which when executed by a computer causes the computer to:

receive audio visual content;

acquire trigger information for operating an application program to be executed in interlocked relation to said audio visual content;

acquire a correspondence table associating a command for controlling the operation of said application program with a valid time of said command; and

when a time acquired from said trigger information that is indicative of progress of said audio visual content satisfies a predetermined condition of validity in reference to said valid time of said command on the basis of the acquired correspondence table, control the operation of said application program in accordance with said command being valid.

16. An information processing system comprising

a reception apparatus, a first information processing apparatus, and a second information processing apparatus, said reception apparatus including circuitry configured to:

receive audio visual content;

extract trigger information transmitted together with said audio visual content for operating an application program to be executed in interlocked relation to the received audio visual content;

acquire from said first information processing apparatus a correspondence table associating a command for controlling the operation of said application program with a valid time of said command; and

when a time acquired from the extracted trigger information that is indicative of progress of said audio visual content satisfies a predetermined condition of validity in reference to said valid time of said command on the basis of the acquired correspondence table, control the operation of said application program acquired from said second information processing apparatus in accordance with said command being valid;

wherein said first information processing apparatus includes circuitry configured to offer said correspondence table in response to a first query from said reception apparatus; and

said second information processing apparatus includes circuitry configured to offer said application program in response to a second query from said reception apparatus.

17. An information processing system comprising a reception apparatus, a first information processing apparatus, a second information processing apparatus, and a third information processing apparatus, said reception apparatus including circuitry configured to:

receive audio visual content;

extract a feature quantity from data of the received audio visual content;

acquire trigger information for operating an application program to be executed in interlocked relation to said received audio visual content, said trigger information corresponding to a result of identification of said audio visual content by said first information processing apparatus using said feature quantity;

acquire from said second information processing apparatus a correspondence table associating a command for controlling the operation of said application program with a valid time of said command; and

when a time acquired from the acquired trigger information that is indicative of progress of said audio visual content satisfies a predetermined condition of validity in reference to said valid time of said command on the basis of the acquired correspondence table, control the operation of said application program acquired from said third information processing apparatus in accordance with said command being valid;

wherein said first information processing apparatus includes circuitry configured to offer said trigger information corresponding to the result of the identification of said audio visual content using said feature quantity from said reception apparatus;

said second information processing apparatus includes circuitry configured to offer said correspondence table in response to a first query from said reception apparatus; and

said third information processing apparatus includes circuitry configured to offer said application program in response to a second query from said reception apparatus.