US 20120216229A1

( 19) United Sta tes

( 12) Pa tent Applica tion Publica tion ( 10) Pub. N o. : US 2012/0216229 A1
E y er ( 4 3 ) Pub. D a te: Aug. 23 , 2012
( 5 4 ) N ON -RE AL TIME SE RVICE S Publica tion Cla s s i? ca tion
( 5 1) Int. Cl.
( 7 6) Inv entor : Ma r k Kenneth E y er , W oodinv ille, H04 N 21/4 3 1 ( 2011. 01)
W A ( Us ) H04 N 21/64 3 ( 2011. 01)
( 5 2) US. Cl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 25 /5 6; 7 25 /110
( 21) Appl. N o. : 13 /4 5 9, 5 91 ( 5 7 ) ABSTRACT
_ In cer ta in embodiments , a method of r eceiv ing digita l telev i
( 22) F lledt Apr - 3 0, 2012 s ion s igna ls inv olv es tuning a r a dio fr eq uency tuner to r eceiv e
a r a dio fr eq uency modula ted cha nnel conta ining a tr a ns por t
Rela ted U s A H c a ti on D a t a s tr ea m; demodula ting the cha nnel to pr oduce a n output tr a ns
' ' PP por t s tr ea m; the output tr a ns por t s tr ea m conta ining a n Inter
( 63 ) Continua tion of a pplica tion N o. 12/ 8 06, 3 27 , ? led on net Pr otocol ( IP) Str ea m of Pa ckets Coma lnlng non-r ea l nme
Aug 10, 2010, w hich is a Continua tion of a pplica tion content, a F LUTE ? le des cr 1pt1on ta ble ( F D T) , N RT s er v ice
N O 12 /5 8 4 17 1 ? led on Se 1 2009 HOW Pa t N O meta da ta a nd N RT content meta da ta ; demultiplexmg the IP
8 0' 99 7 5 2 p' ' ' s tr ea m of pa ckets to pr oduce: N RT content tha t is s tor ed in a n
' electr onic s tor a ge medium, the F LUTE F D T, N RT s er v ice
meta da ta , a nd N RT content meta da ta ; pa r s ing the meta da ta to
_ _ _ _ pr oduces N RT s er v ice meta da ta ; N RT content des cr iption
( 60) Pr ov 1s 1ona l a pplica tlon N o. 61/200, 7 67 , ? led on D ec. text a nd N RT Content meta da ta ; a nd pr oces s ing the N RT
3 , 2008 , pr ov is iona l a pplica tion N o. 61/200, 98 1, ? led
on D ec. 5 , 2008 , pr ov is iona l a pplica tion N o. 61/206,
04 9, ? led on J a n. 26, 2009, pr ov is iona l a pplica tion N o.
61/161, 94 1, ? led on Ma r . 20, 2009.
content des cr iption text der iv ed fr om a Text F r a gment Ta ble
( TF T) . This a bs tr a ct is not to be cons ider ed limiting, s ince
other embodiments ma y dev ia te fr om the fea tur es des cr ibed
in this a bs tr a ct.
IP PACKE T STRE AM
( SUBN E T)
F LUTE F ILE SE RVICE E
D E SCRIPTION SIGN ALIN G
TABLE IP PACKE T D E MUX CHAN N E L
N RT F ILE \68 v
CON TE N T
7 6
BULK STORAGE
N RT ME TAD ATA PARSE R
a s
' TF T |
SMT N RT-IT
7 2 8 0 8 8
\V \v v v /
F D T PARSE R SMT PARSE R TF T PARSE R N RT-IT PARSE R
l l 4 /
N RT F ILE N RT 8 N RT CON TE N T N RT
IVIE TAD ATA SE RVICE D E SCRIPTION CON TE N T
ME TAD ATA TE xT ME TAD ATA
US 2012/0216229 A1
N ON -RE AL TIME SE RVICE S
CROSS RE F E RE N CE TO RE LATE D
D OCUME N TS
[ 0001] This a pplica tion is a continua tion of US. pa tent
a pplica tion Ser . N o. 12/8 06, 3 27 to E y er ? led Aug. 10, 2010
W hich is a continua tion of US. pa tent a pplica tion Ser . N o.
12/5 8 4 , 17 1 ? led Sep. 1, 2009 to E y er noW is s ued a s US. Pa t.
N o. 8 , 099, 7 5 2, W hich is fur ther r ela ted to a nd cla ims pr ior ity
bene? t of US. Pr ov is iona l Pa tent Applica tions 61/200, 7 67
? led D ec. 3 , 2008 , 61/200, 98 1 ? led D ec. 5 , 2008 , 61/206, 04 9
? led J a n. 26, 2009 a nd 61/161, 94 1 ? led Ma r . 20, 2009, a ll to
Ma r k E y er , a nd ea ch of W hich is her eby incor por a ted her ein
by r efer ence. Ma r k E y er is a ls o the a uthor of a text entitled
PSIP: Pr ogr a m & Sy s tem Infor ma tion Pr otocol , 2003 , The
McGr a W Hill Compa nies , Inc. a nd ter ms , a cr ony ms , etc.
r ela ting to PSIP a nd a s s ocia ted technologies us ed her ein a r e
cons is tent W ith their us e in this text. The APPE N D IX her eto
for ms a pa r t of this s peci? ca tion a nd is her eby incor por a ted
her ein by r efer ence.
COPYRIGHT AN D TRAD E MARK N OTICE
[ 0002] A por tion of the dis clos ur e of this pa tent document
conta ins ma ter ia l W hich is s ubj ect to copy r ight pr otection.
The copy r ight oW ner ha s no obj ection to the fa cs imile r epr o
duction of the pa tent document or the pa tent dis clos ur e, a s it
a ppea r s in the Pa tent a nd Tr a dema r k O? ice pa tent ? le or
r ecor ds , but other W is e r es er v es a ll copy r ight r ights W ha ts o
ev er . Tr a dema r ks a r e the pr oper ty of their r es pectiv e oW ner s .
BACKGROUN D
[ 0003 ] E mbodiments cons is tent W ith this inv ention per ta in
to non-r ea l-time ( N RT) v ideo s er v ices for Adv a nced Telev i
s ion Sy s tems Committee ( ATSC) complia nt digita l ter r es tr ia l
br oa dca s ting. An N RT v ideo s er v ice is one in W hich the
a udio/v ideo content is s tr ea med fr om the br oa dca s ter to
r eceiv ing dev ices a t a s loW er r a te or a fa s ter r a te ( or a com
bina tion ther eof) tha n r ea l-time r a te. Receiv ing dev ices uti
liZ e loca l s tor a ge to ca ptur e the s tr ea ming ? les s o they ca n be
ma de a v a ila ble to v ieW er s upon a r r iv a l of a complete ? le, or
pla y ba ck ca n begin pr ior to complete doW nloa d of the entir e
? le.
[ 0004 ] N RT v ideo s er v ices a r e pr es ently a v a ila ble in a
number of for ms . F or exa mple, TiVoTM s uppor ts thes e toda y
on the TiVo HD a nd TiVo Ser ies 3 Per s ona l Video Recor der s
us ing pr opr ieta r y technology us ing the Inter net a s a dis tr ibu
tion cha nnel. HoW ev er , ther e cur r ently exis ts no s ta nda r d W a y
to implement thes e s er v ices for ATSC ter r es tr ia l br oa dca s ts
for pla y ba ck on ? xed telev is ion ins ta lla tions W her e Inter net
a cces s is not a v a ila ble. F ur ther mor e, the meta da ta a s s ocia ted
W ith N RT s er v ices , including lis ts of a v a ila ble content a nd
their des cr iptions W ould need to a ccompa ny the ter r es tr ia l
br oa dca s t ev en if the Inter net could be us ed by the r eceiv er to
a ctua lly r etr iev e the ? les .
BRIE F D E SCRIPTION OF THE D RAW IN GS
[ 0005 ] Cer ta in illus tr a tiv e embodiments illus tr a ting or ga
niZ a tion a nd method of oper a tion, together W ith obj ects a nd
a dv a nta ges ma y be bes t under s tood by r efer ence deta iled
des cr iption tha t folloW s ta ken in conj unction W ith the a ccom
pa ny ing dr a W ings in W hich:
Aug. 23 , 2012
[ 0006] F IG. 1, is a dia gr a m depicting deliv er y of IP pa ckets
v ia br oa dca s t TV in a ma nner cons is tent W ith cer ta in embodi
ments of the pr es ent inv ention.
[ 0007 ] F IG. 2 is a dia gr a m depicting a n exa mple N RT
Infor ma tion Ta ble a nd its inter a ction W ith other ta bles in a
ma nner cons is tent W ith cer ta in embodiments of the pr es ent
inv ention.
[ 0008 ] F IG. 3 is a n exa mple block dia gr a m of a digita l
telev is ion r eceiv er W ith N RT r eception ca pa bilities cons is tent
W ith cer ta in embodiments of the pr es ent inv ention.
[ 0009] F IG. 4 is a n exa mple dia gr a m of the ta ble pa r s ing
us ed in a ma nner cons is tent W ith cer ta in embodiments of the
pr es ent inv ention.
D E TAILE D D E SCRIPTION
[ 0010] W hile this inv ention is s us ceptible to embodiment in
ma ny differ ent for ms , ther e is s hoW n in the dr a W ings a nd W ill
her ein be des cr ibed in deta il s peci? c embodiments , W ith the
under s ta nding tha t the pr es ent dis clos ur e of s uch embodi
ments is to be cons ider ed a s a n exa mple of the pr inciples a nd
not intended to limit the inv ention to the s peci? c embodi
ments s hoW n a nd des cr ibed. In the des cr iption beloW , like
r efer ence numer a ls a r e us ed to des cr ibe the s a me, s imila r or
cor r es ponding pa r ts in the s ev er a l v ieW s of the dr a W ings .
[ 0011] The ter ms a or a n , a s us ed her ein, a r e de? ned a s
one or mor e tha n one. The ter m plur a lity , a s us ed her ein, is
de? ned a s tW o or mor e tha n tW o. The ter m a nother , a s us ed
her ein, is de? ned a s a t lea s t a s econd or mor e. The ter ms
including a nd/or ha v ing , a s us ed her ein, a r e de? ned a s
compr is ing ( i. e. , open ended la ngua ge) . The ter m coupled ,
a s us ed her ein, is de? ned a s connected, a lthough not neces
s a r ily dir ectly , a nd not neces s a r ily mecha nica lly . The ter m
pr ogr a m or computer pr ogr a m or s imila r ter ms , a s us ed
her ein, is de? ned a s a s eq uence of ins tr uctions des igned for
execution on a computer s y s tem. A pr ogr a m , or computer
pr ogr a m , ma y include a s ubr outine, a function, a pr ocedur e,
a n obj ect method, a n obj ect implementa tion, in a n executa ble
a pplica tion, a n a pplet, a s er v let, a s our ce code, a n obj ect code,
a s ha r ed libr a r y / dy na mic loa d libr a r y a nd/ or other s eq uence
of ins tr uctions des igned for execution on a computer s y s tem.
The ter m pr oces s or , contr oller , CPU , Computer a nd
the like a s us ed her ein encompa s s es both ha r d pr ogr a mmed,
s pecia l pur pos e, gener a l pur pos e a nd pr ogr a mma ble dev ices
a nd ma y encompa s s a plur a lity of s uch dev ices or a s ingle
dev ice in either a dis tr ibuted or centr a liZ ed con? gur a tion
W ithout limita tion.
[ 0012] The ter m pr ogr a m , a s us ed her ein, ma y a ls o be
us ed in a s econd context ( the a bov e de? nition being for the
? r s t context) . In the s econd context, the ter m is us ed in the
s ens e of a telev is ion pr ogr a m . In this context, the ter m is
us ed to mea n a ny coher ent s eq uence of a udio v ideo content
s uch a s thos e W hich W ouldbe inter pr eted a s a nd r epor ted in a n
electr onic pr ogr a m guide ( E PG) a s a s ingle telev is ion pr o
gr a m, W ithout r ega r d for W hether the content is a mov ie,
s por ting ev ent, s egment of a multi-pa r t s er ies , neW s br oa d
ca s t, etc. The ter m ma y a ls o be inter pr eted to encompa s s
commer cia l s pots a nd other pr ogr a m-like content W hich ma y
not be r epor ted a s a pr ogr a m in a n electr onic pr ogr a m guide.
[ 0013 ] Refer ence thr oughout this document to one
embodiment , cer ta in embodiments , a n embodiment ,
a n exa mple , a n implementa tion or s imila r ter ms mea ns
tha t a pa r ticula r fea tur e, s tr uctur e, or cha r a cter is tic des cr ibed
in connection W ith the embodiment, exa mple or implemen
ta tion is included in a t lea s t one embodiment, exa mple or
US 2012/0216229 A1
implementa tion of the pr es ent inv ention. Thus , the a ppea r
a nces of s uch phr a s es or in v a r ious pla ces thr oughout this
s peci? ca tion a r e not neces s a r ily a ll r efer r ing to the s a me
embodiment, exa mple or implementa tion. F ur ther mor e, the
pa r ticula r fea tur es , s tr uctur es , or cha r a cter is tics ma y be com
bined in a ny s uita ble ma nner in one or mor e embodiments ,
exa mples or implementa tions W ithout limita tion.
[ 0014 ] The ter m or a s us ed her ein is to be inter pr eted a s
a n inclus iv e or mea ning a ny one or a ny combina tion. Ther e
for e, A, B or C mea ns a ny of the folloW ing: A; B; C; A a nd
B; A a nd C; B a nd C; A, B a nd C . An exception to this
de? nition W ill occur only W hen a combina tion of elements ,
functions , s teps or a cts a r e in s ome W a y inher ently mutua lly
exclus iv e. Other ter ms us ed her ein a r e cons is tent W ith their
us e in ATSC s peci? ca tions a nd/or the a bov e-r efer enced text
by Ma r k E y er unles s other W is e de? ned or modi? ed her ein.
[ 0015 ] As pr ev ious ly noted, a n N RT v ideo s er v ice is one in
W hich the a udio/v ideo content is s tr ea med fr om the br oa d
ca s ter to r eceiv ing dev ices a t a s loW er r a te or a fa s ter r a te ( or
a combina tion ther eof) tha n r ea l-time r a te. Such s er v ices do
not cur r ently exis t in a s ta nda r diz ed for ma t. Receiv ing
dev ices utiliZ e loca l s tor a ge to ca ptur e the s tr ea ming ? les s o
they ca n be ma de a v a ila ble to v ieW er s upon a r r iv a l.
[ 0016] ATSC complia nt digita l telev is ion ( D TV) br oa d
ca s ts deliv er 19. 3 9 Mbps . tr a ns por t s tr ea ms W hich gener a lly
a r e not fully utiliZ ed ev er y moment of the da y . The exces s
ca pa city in thes e tr a ns por t s tr ea ms could be utiliZ ed for tr a ns
por ting N RT s er v ices . In s ome ca s es , the da ta ma y be s ent in
la r ge bur s ts tha t a r e fa s ter tha n r ea l time, W hile in other
ins ta nces , the da ta ma y be s ent in s ma ller bur s ts or s tr ea ms
tha t a r e s loW er tha n r ea l time. In either ev ent, the content ca n
be buffer ed to bulk s tor a ge in r eceiv er s for la ter pr es enta tion
to a cons umer . Gener a lly , the pr es ent dis cus s ion ena bles the
deliv er y a nd cons umption of v a r ious ty pes of N RT content.
Some us a ge/cons umption models tha t a r e env is ioned include
but a r e not limited to:
[ 0017 ] Br oW s e a nd D oW nloa dithe us er is offer ed a lis t
of content titles a v a ila ble for doW nloa d; he or s he ma y
br oW s e thr ough thes e a nd s elect content items of inter
es t. The ? les a r e a utoma tica lly fetched W hen a v a ila ble
by the r eceiv er a nd s tor ed for the us er to v ieW a t a la ter
time.
[ 0018 ] Pus hia us er s ubs cr ibes to a pus h s er v ice
W hich ca ptur es cer ta in content tha t is gener a lly fr e
q uently upda ted ( e. g. , s tock pr ices , W ea ther r epor ts ,
s por ts s cor es , etc. ) . The r eceiv er a utoma tica lly fetches
upda tes of the infor ma tion; the s er v ice a ppea r s to pus h
the upda ted infor ma tion to the us er .
[ 0019] Por ta lia TV cha nnel a ppea r s in the for m of a
W eb s ite tha t ca n be na v iga ted by the us er . Links on the
TV cha nnel gener a lly lea d to loca lly s tor ed content tha t
is either in r a ndom a cces s memor y ( RAM) or per s is tent
bulk s tor a ge.
[ 0020] In cer ta in embodiments , a neW ATSC Ser v ice Ty pe
for N RT is de? ned. The us e of a neW Ser v ice Ty pe a lloW s
N RT s er v ices to be intr oduced into the digita l br oa dca s t tele
v is ion s y s tem in s uch a W a y tha t lega cy r eceiv er s a r e una f
fectedithey dis r ega r d v ir tua l cha nnels W ith unknow n Ser
v ice Ty pe v a lues . W hile the Ter r es tr ia l Vir tua l Cha nnel Ta ble
de? nes the s er v ice to be, in gener a l, N on-Rea l-Time, the
s peci? c us a ge/ cons umption model for the N RT ? les is giv en
in the Ser v ice Ca tegor y ? eld in the Ser v ice Ma p Ta ble ( SMT) .
In the futur e, mor e complex fea tur es a nd ca pa bilities could be
ena bled by N RT methods , like ta r geted a dv er tis ing, doW n
Aug. 23 , 2012
loa ded ga mes , a nd the like. Thes e s er v ices , if they W er e to be
offer ed, W ould pr efer a bly employ differ ent v a lues of Ser v ice
Ca tegor y .
[ 0021] F IG. 1 depicts one mecha nis m thr ough W hich
br oa dca s t telev is ion is utiliZ ed to implement IP multica s t ov er
a n ATSC deliv er y tr a ns por t in a ccor d W ith ATSC s ta nda r d
A/ 92. In this ? gur e, a Ter r es tr ia l Vir tua l Cha nnel Ta ble
( TVCT per ATSC A/65 ) 2 pr ov ides infor ma tion r ega r ding
ea ch cha nnel a nd includes a s er v ice ty pe identi? er of 8 ( in this
exa mple) tha t de? nes the s er v ice a s a N RT s er v ice tha t is
deliv er ed v ia IP pa ckets . This ta ble fur ther pr ov ides TSID
infor ma tion a nd a pr ogr a m number tha t points to infor ma tion
in a Pr ogr a m As s ocia tion Ta ble ( PAT) 4 , W hich in tur n points
to a pr ogr a m ma p ta ble ( PMT) 6 v ia a pr ogr a m ma p PID
( Pa cket Identi? er ) . The PID is us ed to a s s ocia te W ith a D igita l
Stor a ge Media Comma nd a nd Contr ol ( D SMCC) ta ble 8
W hich es s entia lly eq ua tes the content a s s ocia ted W ith the PID
to a n IP s ubnet to identify a da ta s tr ea m cor r es ponding to the
N RT da ta s ought.
[ 0022] In a ccor d W ith cer ta in implementa tions cons is tent
W ith the pr es ent inv ention, a s ta nda r d method is pr ov ided to
de? ne a neW ta ble W hich is r efer r ed to her ein a s the N RT-IT
( N RT Infor ma tion Ta ble) . The N RT-IT ta ble ha s uniq ue s tr uc
tur e a nd function W hich fa cilita tes its us e in or ga niZ ing the
meta da ta it conv ey s .
[ 0023 ] In a ddition, the N RT-IT ta ble intr oduces s ev er a l
other nov el meta da ta items r elev a nt to the non-r ea l-time
a pplica tion:
[ 0024 ] a pa r a meter ca lled Pla y ba ck D ela y , W hich indi
ca tes the a mount of time fr om the r ecov er y of the ? r s t
by te of the ? le the r eceiv er mus t W a it pr ior to beginning
pla y ba ck of the content;
[ 0025 ] a method to indica te tha t a giv en piece of N RT
content is a v a ila ble a ls o v ia Inter net tr a ns por t, a nd a n
indica tion of the Unifor m Res our ce Loca tor ( URL) tha t
ca n be us ed to r etr iev e it;
[ 0026] a ? a g indica ting W hether or not the N RT ? le ca n
be extr a cted fr om the br oa dca s t s tr ea m W ith loW -la tency
( W hile the us er W a its ) , or W hether the r eceiv er s hould
pr ompt the us er to r etur n to v ieW it a t a la ter time ( long
la tency ) . This la tency ma y be es ta blis hed a ccor ding to a
thr es hold tha t s epa r a tes longer fr om loW er a nd ma y be
deter mined by the br oa dca s ter ; a nd
[ 0027 ] a method to identify a n gr a phica l icon r epr es en
ta tion of the N RT s er v ice or content item.
[ 0028 ] N RT content W ithin the br oa dca s t s tr ea m ma y be
deliv er ed in a dis continuous , non-unifor m W a y , s uch tha t the
r a te of pa ckets ma y be v a r ia ble ov er time. A long mov ie ? le,
for exa mple, ma y be deliv er ed a t 5 0% of r ea l-time s peed for
the ? r s t ha lf of the ? le, a nd one-q ua r ter r ea l-time for the
r ema inder . In this ca s e, if a r eceiv er W er e to extr a pola te a nd
gues s tha t pla y ba ck could commence W hen ha lf the ? le ha d
been buffer ed, pla y ba ck W ould be inter r upted beca us e the
s loW er r a te in the s econd por tion W ould ca us e buffer under
r un. The Pla y ba ck D ela y pa r a meter a lloW s the r eceiv er to
a v oid gues s ing by letting the br oa dca s ter indica te W hen pla y
ba ck ma y s a fely s ta r t W ithout ca us ing the buffer to become
empty dur ing pla y ba ck ( a s s uming fa s t-for W a r ding does not
occur ) .
[ 0029] In s ome pr ior N RT implementa tions ( s uch a s OMA
BCAST4 Open Mobile Allia nce Br oa dca s t) , a Unifor m
Res our ce Indica tor ( URI) W a s a s s ocia ted W ith N RT content
items , but r eceiv er s could not deter mine W hether a giv en URI
W a s a ls o a URL ( s uch tha t the content W a s a ls o being ma de
US 2012/0216229 A1
a v a ila ble v ia a s er v er on the Inter net) . In a pr efer r ed embodi
ment of the pr es ent inv ention, the N RT-IT ma y a s s ocia te a
URL W ith content items tha t optiona lly ma y be r etr iev ed by
the Inter net.
[ 003 0] A da ta s tr uctur e is de? ned W hich is r efer r ed to
her ein a s a Inter net Loca tion D es cr iptor ( ILD ) , W hich ca n be
a s s ocia ted W ith one or mor e ? les ca r r ied in the br oa dca s t
multiplex to point to content tha t ma y be r etr iev ed v ia the
Inter net, for the bene? t of r eceiv er s tha t ha v e Inter net a cces s .
The ILD ma y a ppea r in the N RT-IT, W her e it indica tes the
phy s ica l loca tion of the ? le or ? les compr is ing the pa r ticula r
item of content a v a ila ble for doW nloa d. The ILD ma y a ls o be
us ed W ithin the PSIP Vir tua l Cha nnel Ta ble. In this loca tion,
the ILD points to multimedia content des cr iptiv e of the cha n
nel its elf. Such content could include cha nnel logo, HTML
for ma tted pa ges , etc.
[ 003 1] This a ppr oa ch pr ov ides a n e? icient method to r ep
r es ent a nd tr a ns por t the meta da ta us ed to des cr ibe N RT v ideo
s er v ices in a W a y tha t is compa tible a nd complementa r y to
exis ting pr a ctice in ATSC D TV tr a ns mis s ion s ta nda r ds .
[ 003 2] In the pr efer r ed embodiment of the pr es ent inv en
tion, a method or igina lly de? ned for Inter net Pr otocol ( IP)
tr a ns por t ov er the Inter net ca lled F LUTE is employ ed.
F LUTE , or ? le deliv er y ov er unidir ectiona l tr a ns por t is
s peci? ed in RF C-3 926. F LUTE builds on a nother IP-ba s ed
tr a ns por t method ca lled As y nchr onous La y er ed Coding, a
ba s e pr otocol tha t W a s des igned for e? icient dis tr ibution v ia
IP-multica s t methods . F LUTE de? nes a F ile D eliv er y Ta ble
( F D T) conta ining cha r a cter is tics of one or mor e ? les con
ta ined in a s es s ion. The ? les deliv er ed in a F LUTE s es s ion
ma y be cons ider ed to be ca r r ied in a ca r ous el, a s the
s eq uence of by tes compr is ing ea ch ? le ty pica lly r epea t cy cli
ca lly .
[ 003 3 ] As de? ned her ein, the N RT-IT ta ble ha s s ev er a l
a ttr ibutes tha t dis tinguis h it fr om a n ATSC D a ta E v ent Ta ble
( D E T) W hich is us ed in deliv er y of multica s t s es s ions for
ATSC Br oa dca s ts . By W a y of exa mple, s ome of the differ
ences a r e:
[ 003 4 ] N RT-IT giv es ? r s t a nd la s t a v a ila bility times for
the content, W her e the D E T giv es s ta r t time a nd
length, highlighting the fa ct tha t in the D E T only r ea l
time monitor ing a nd us e of the da ta s tr ea m W a s contem
pla ted.
[ 003 5 ] N RT-IT giv es pla y ba ck time for s tor ed content
( the a mount of time it ta kes to pla y the complete ? le) ;
this concept does not a ppea r in a ny of the ATSC da ta
br oa dca s t s ta nda r ds .
[ 003 6] N RT-IT pr ov ides ( v ia a s s ocia ted Inter net Loca
tion D es cr iptor i( pr ev ious ly r efer r ed to a s Content
Loca tion D es cr iptor in one or mor e of the a bov e pr ov i
s iona l a pplica tions ) ) the loca tion of one or mor e a udio/
v ideo or other content ? les W ithin a tr a ns mitted F LUTE
s es s ion.
[ 003 7 ] N RT-IT pr ov ides the s tor a ge r eq uir ements for
doW nloa ded content; D E T does not.
[ 003 8 ] The s tr uctur e ( s y nta x a nd s ema ntics ) of the N RT-IT
is des cr ibed beloW . This s tr uctur e includes :
[ 003 9] a ) E xtens ions to exis ting methods for a nnounce
ment of linea r br oa dca s t telev is ion pr ogr a mming s er
v ices to s uppor t non-r ea l-time deliv er y . E xis ting meth
ods a r e ba s ed on the us e of ATSC A/65 PSIP. The
extens ion de? ned her e inv olv es de? nition of one neW
ta ble, the N RT-IT ( N on-Rea l Time Infor ma tion Ta ble) ,
a nd de? nition of neW ATSC Ser v ice Ty pes .
Aug. 23 , 2012
[ 004 0] b) The exis ting s ta nda r dATSC des cr iptor mecha
nis m is utiliZ ed, a nd a lr ea dy s ta nda r diZ edATSC des cr ip
tor s including the Ca ption Ser v ices D es cr iptor , Content
Adv is or y D es cr iptor , Genr e D es cr iptor , a nd ATSC a nd
ISO Content Identi? er D es cr iptor a r e r eta ined.
[ 004 1] c) W ith the us e of Content Identi? er D es cr iptor s
in both the N RT-IT a nd E IT, a us er ca n ea s ily s ea r ch for
N RT content a s s ocia ted W ith a ny giv en liv e ( r ea l time)
ev ent a dv er tis ed in the E IT. Us ing this method, pa s t
epis odes of the s hoW cur r ently being W a tched ca n be
s cheduled for N RT doW nloa d.
[ 004 2] As mentioned, ea ch de? ned Vir tua l Cha nnel is a s s o
cia ted W ith a Ser v ice Ty pe. Ty pica l Ser v ice Ty pes a r e ATSC
D igita l Telev is ion, Audio-Only Ser v ice, a nd Softw a r e
D oW nloa d. The de? nition of the N RT Ser v ice Ty pe embod
1es :
[ 004 3 ] a . The fa ct tha t the Vir tua l Cha nnel is a ga teW a y to
one or mor e N RT s er v ices , in W hich the us er is offer ed a
number of content items a v a ila ble for immedia te or la ter
doW nloa d.
[ 004 4 ] b. E a ch content item is des cr ibed by a content
title, a des cr iptiv e s entence or pa r a gr a ph, a nd other
meta da ta ( s uch a s content a dv is or y , the a v a ila bility of
clos ed ca ptioning, optiona lly a J PE G ima ge for
on-s cr een r epr es enta tion of the content item, etc. ) .
[ 004 5 ] c. A de? ned s et of a udio/v ideo codecs , tr a ns por t
encodings a nd bindings ; if the r eceiv er s uppor ts this s et,
a ll N RT content a s s ocia ted W ith this s er v ice W ill be
r ender a ble.
[ 004 6] d. E a ch Vir tua l Cha nnel of Ser v ice Ty pe N RT
ha s a pointer to a s et of entr ies in a Ser v ice Ma p Ta ble
( SMT) . E a ch N RT s er v ice in the SMT is a s s ocia ted W ith
entr ies in a n N RT Infor ma tion Ta ble ( N RT-IT) , ea ch
ins ta nce of W hich des cr ibes a s et of content items the
br oa dca s ter ha s s cheduled to be a v a ila ble for doW nloa d.
[ 004 7 ] The de? nition of the s y nta x a nd s ema ntics of the
N RT-IT ca n ta ke ma ny for ms , but in one exa mple, the s y nta x
a nd s ema ntics a r e pr ov ided in the APPE N D IX her eto. The
APPE N D IX, a t s ev er a l loca tions , us es the ter m TBD to mea n
To Be D eter mined. TBD v a lues a r e a ma tter of choice W hich
ca n be r ea dily ma de by one s killed in the a r t upon cons ider
a tion of the pr es ent tea chings to pr ov ide s ta nda r diz a tion a nd
ca n be s elected to a v oid con? icts .
[ 004 8 ] Tur ning noW to F IG. 2, a n exa mple N RT-IT is
depicted a s 10. The N RT-IT is linked to the SMT-MH ta ble 12
by the s er v ice ID ( e. g. , SID 1) . The SMT-MH ta ble 12 is
linked to a F LUTE F ile D eliv er y Ta ble ( F D T) 14 v ia the
des tina tion IP a ddr es s a nd por t number a nd Tr a ns por t Ses s ion
Indica tor ( TSI) v a lue. Content identi? er ? elds in the N RT-IT
10 r efer ence ? les in the F LUTE F D T 14 . One content iden
ti? er r efer ence in the N RT-IT ma y r efer ence one or mor e ? les
in the F D T. A differ ent content identi? er , in the SMT 12, ma y
be pr es ent to r efer ence a ? le in the F D T conta ining a gr a phica l
icon tha t ca n be us ed to r epr es ent the s er v ice.
[ 004 9] The F LUTE F D T is a n IP pa cket-ba s ed dir ector y of
? les tha t includes a content identi? er tha t identi? es content
pr es ent in IP pa ckets els eW her e in the IP pa cket s tr ea m. The
content identi? er a ls o ma y link to a n a na logous ? eld in a Text
F r a gment Ta ble TF T 16 ( for mer ly r efer r ed to a s the extended
text ta ble in one or mor e of the a bov e pr ov is iona l a pplica
tions ) tha t pr ov ides textua l meta da ta a s s ocia ted W ith the con
tent. Thus , the ? les tha t r epr es ent N RT content a nd a s s ocia ted
meta da ta is pa cka ged a s IP pa ckets tha t a r e embedded W ithin
the br oa dca s ter s da ta , for exa mple, a s a s tr ea m tha t is enca p
US 2012/0216229 A1
s ula ted W ithin the 18 8 -by te MPE G-2 Tr a ns por t Str ea m ( TS)
pa ckets mos t commonly us ed for telev is ion br oa dca s ts .
[ 005 0] In conv entiona l PSIP, v a r ious s er v ice ty pes a r e
de? ned in the v ir tua l cha nnel ta ble. F or exa mple, D TV s ig
na ls a r e s er v ice ty pe 2 a nd s oftw a r e doW nloa ds a r e de? ned a s
s er v ice ty pe 5 . In a ccor d W ith embodiments cons is tent W ith
the pr es ent inv ention, a n N RT s er v ice ty pe is de? ned a s a neW
s er v ice ty pe ( e. g. , s er v ice ty pe 8 ) . Hence, W hen the v ir tua l
cha nnel ta ble indica tes tha t a s er v ice ty pe 8 is pr es ent, the
r eceiv er ca n expect a nd look for r eceipt of a n N RT-IT. The
N RT-IT ther efor e de? nes the v a r ious pa r a meter s tha t might
be us ed or needed to pr oces s a nd pr es ent the N RT content a nd
the a s s ocia ted meta da ta to the v ieW er . It is noted tha t one
s er v ice ID in the SMT ca n point to multiple items of N RT
content W hich ha v e v a r y ing pa r a meter s . The content infor
ma tion in the N RT-IT ca n de? ne mor e s tr ingent r eq uir ements
to cons ume the content tha n tha t gener a lly de? ned in the
SMT. By W a y of exa mple, the SMT ma y s pecify the s uppor t
of a pa r ticula r codec is r eq uir ed in the r eceiv er to offer a
mea ningful pr es enta tion of the s er v ice, but the content de?
nition in the N RT-IT ma y s pecify a codec W ith differ ent a nd
mor e s tr ingent r eq uir ements .
[ 005 1] The N RT-IT ma y conta in multiple ta ble elements
including, but not limited to, content na me, content ID , D is
tr ibution s ta r t/ end times , pla y ba ck length, content length ( in
ter ms of s tor a ge r eq uir ed) , content ty pes ( codecs ) , la ngua ge
or la ngua ges , a udio infor ma tion, v ideo infor ma tion, ca ption
s er v ice infor ma tion, content a dv is or ies , genr e, s er v ice infor
ma tion, optiona l encr y ption key s , a nd ma y conta in a content
URL W her e the content ca n be immedia tely r etr iev ed r a ther
tha n a W a iting the next ins ta nce of a br oa dca s t. The a tta ched
APPE N D IX pr ov ides a deta iled exa mple of a n implementa
tion s peci? ca tion for implementing the N RT Infor ma tion
Ta ble a nd de? nes its a s s ocia ted elements . This s hould for m a
pa r t of a s y s tem s peci? ca tion for N RT s er v ices s uch a s a n
N RT s peci? ca tion a s is a t the time of this W r iting being
dr a fted by the ATSC.
[ 005 2] F IG. 3 depicts a s impli? ed TV r eceiv er s y s tem 20
tha t is dev is ed to r eceiv e both r ea l time telev is ion br oa dca s ts
a nd N RT content. In this s y s tem a modula ted RF input s igna l
is r eceiv ed, tuned a nd demodula ted a t a tuner 24 to pr oduce a n
ATSC output tr a ns por t s tr ea m ( a s modi? ed by incor por a tion
of the N RT content a s des cr ibed her ein) . The tr a ns por t s tr ea m
is conv entiona lly a bit s tr ea m ? oW ing a t a r a te of 19. 3 9 Mbps
tha t ma y ca r r y a plur a lity of cha nnels of content including
N RT content in 18 8 -by te MPE G-2 complia nt Tr a ns por t
Str ea m pa ckets . This Tr a ns por t Str ea m is demultiplexed a t the
demultiplexer 28 to pr oduce pr ogr a m-s peci? c infor ma tion
( PSI) ta bles ( per ISO/IE C 13 8 18 -1) a nd PSIP ta bles ( per
ATSC A/ 65 PSIP) a nd a D SM-CC pa cket s tr ea m to CPU 3 2.
F or the ca s e of conv entiona l r ea l time ( linea r ) TV content,
a udio a nd v ideo pa ckets a r e s upplied to a nA/V decoder 3 6 for
decoding. The decoded a udio is s upplied to a n a udio s ub
s y s tem ( not s hoW n) tha t r epr oduces the a udio a nd the v ideo is
s upplied to a compos itor 4 0 W hich s upplies the v ideo output
to the TV s v ideo dis pla y cir cuits ( a ls o not s hoW n) .
[ 005 3 ] In the a lter na tiv e, content ca n be r eceiv ed a s a
s tr ea m of IP pa ckets fr om the Inter net a t a n IP demultiplexer
4 2 s uch tha t they a r e pa s s ed dir ectly to CPU 3 2 for pr oces s
mg.
[ 005 4 ] D epending upon the mode of oper a tion of the dis
pla y , the CPU 3 2, W hich oper a tes in conj unction W ith a ppli
ca tion a nd oper a ting s y s tem memor y in ROM or F la s h
memor y 4 4 , a nd RAM 4 6 for exa mple to s upply text or
Aug. 23 , 2012
gr a phics ( e. g. , a s in a gr a phica l us er inter fa ce [ GUI] ) a s gen
er a ted by a gr a phics s ubs y s tem 5 0 tha t oper a tes us ing gr a ph
ics memor y RAM 5 4 to pr oduce gr a phics a s ov er la y s or the
like to compos itor 4 0. Compos itor 4 0 combines the gr a phics
if pr es ent W ith the decoded v ideo a s its v ideo output.
[ 005 5 ] F or N RT ? les a nd meta da ta r eceiv ed in the tr a ns por t
s tr ea m, this da ta is r outed v ia the CPU to RAM 4 6 a nd the
content a nd meta da ta ca n be s tor ed to bulk s tor a ge s uch a s a
dis c dr iv e 5 8 . W hen the CPU 3 2 ins tr ucts the s y s tem to pla y
a s election of N RT content, the N RT ? les a r e demultiplexed
fr om their ? le W r a pper ( e. g. , a n MP4 A/V W r a pper ) a t 60 to
pr ov ide a udio a nd v ideo pa ckets es ta blis hed a ccor ding to a
? lter cr iter ia to the A/V decoder 3 6 for ultima te pr es enta tion
to the cons umer .
[ 005 6] Refer r ing to 64 of F IG. 4 , in or der to pr ov ide the
functiona lity for a cces s , doW nloa d a nd pla y ba ck of the N RT
da ta a nd content, pr oces s or 3 2 the IP pa ckets r eceiv ed v ia the
tr a ns por t s tr ea m for s uppor t of N RT content is demultiplexed
in a n IP pa cket demultiplexing oper a tion 68 to ? r s t s epa r a te
the s tr ea m into the F LUTE ? le des cr iption ta ble, the N RT ? le
content a nd s er v ice a nd s igna ling infor ma tion. The N RT ? le
content is s tor ed to the bulk s tor a ge 5 8 a nd the F LUTE ? le
des cr iption ta ble is pr oces s ed by a F LUTE des cr iption ta ble
pa r s er 7 2 to pr oduce N RT ? le meta da ta . The s er v ice s igna ling
cha nnel da ta is pr oces s ed by a n N RT da ta pa r s er 7 6 tha t
s epa r a tes the N RT meta da ta into 1) s er v ice ma p ta ble ( SMT)
da ta tha t is pa r s ed a t a SMT pa r s er 8 0 to pr oduce N RT s er v ice
meta da ta ; 2) text fr a gment ta ble da ta ( TF T) tha t is pa r s ed a t
TF T pa r s er 8 4 into N RT content des cr iptiv e text; a nd 3 )
N RT-IT da ta tha t is pa r s ed a t N RT-IT pa r s er 8 8 into N RT
content meta da ta . The output of pa r s er s 7 2, 8 0, 8 4 a nd 8 8 ca n
be s tor ed either in loca l RAM or F la s h memor y or bulk
s tor a ge 5 8 or a ny combina tion ther eof ( or us ing a ny other
s tor a ge mecha nis m) . Gener a lly , bulk s tor a ge is r es er v ed for
la r ger ? les or for a dditiona l s tor a ge W hen other memor y is a t
a pr emium.
[ 005 7 ] Ma ny v a r ia tions of the a bov e W ill occur to thos e
s killed in the a r t upon cons ider a tion of the pr es ent tea chings .
The a pplica tion us ed by a r eceiv er is ea s ily dev is ed upon
cons ider a tion of the pr es ent tea chings , a nd ca n be imple
mented in a W ide v a r iety of W a y s , a lloW ing ma nufa ctur er s
gr ea t la titude in pr oduct differ entia tion W hile pr ov iding for
N RT s er v ices cons is tent W ith a s ta nda r d deliv er y a r r a nge
ment.
[ 005 8 ] Thus , in cer ta in embodiments , a digita l telev is ion
r eceiv er tha t r eceiv es non-r ea l time ( N RT) content ha s a n IP
demultiplexer ( D emux) or a r a dio fr eq uency tuner tha t
r eceiv es a tr a ns por t s tr ea m. The output tr a ns por t s tr ea m con
ta ins a n IP pa cket s tr ea m conta ining N RT content, a F LUTE
? le des cr iption ta ble ( F D T) a nd N RT meta da ta . An electr onic
s tor a ge medium is pr ov ided a nd a demultiplexer demulti
plexes the IP s tr ea m of pa ckets to pr oduce: N RT content tha t
is s tor ed in the electr onic s tor a ge medium, the F LUTE F D T,
a nd N RT meta da ta . An F D T pa r s er pa r s es the F D T to pr oduce
N RT ? le meta da ta fr om the F LUTE F D T. An N RT meta da ta
pa r s er pr oduces N RT s er v ice meta da ta , N RT content des cr ip
tion text a nd N RT content meta da ta .
[ 005 9] In cer ta in implementa tions , a digita l telev is ion
r eceiv er tha t r eceiv es non-r ea l time ( N RT) content ha s a r a dio
fr eq uency tuner tha t r eceiv es a r a dio fr eq uency modula ted
cha nnel conta ining a tr a ns por t s tr ea m ov er a tuned cha nnel
a nd demodula tes the cha nnel to pr oduce a n output tr a ns por t
s tr ea m. The output tr a ns por t s tr ea m conta ins a n Inter net Pr o
tocol ( IP) s tr ea m of pa ckets conta ining non-r ea l time content,
US 2012/0216229 A1
a F LUTE ? le des cr iption ta ble ( F D T) a nd N RT meta da ta . An
electr onic s tor a ge medium is pr ov ided. A demultiplexer
demultiplexes the IP s tr ea m of pa ckets to pr oduce: N RT con
tent tha t is s tor ed in the electr onic s tor a ge medium, the
F LUTE F D T, a nd N RT meta da ta . An F D T pa r s er pa r s es the
F D T to pr oduce N RT ? le meta da ta fr om the F LUTE F D T. An
N RT meta da ta pa r s er pr oduces N RT s er v ice meta da ta ; N RT
content des cr iption text a nd N RT content meta da ta .
[ 0060] In cer ta in implementa tions , a s er v ice s igna ling
cha nnel conta ins the N RT meta da ta . In cer ta in implementa
tions , the N RT s er v ice meta da ta is r eceiv ed in a Ser v ice Ma p
Ta ble. In cer ta in implementa tions , the N RT content des cr ip
tion text is r eceiv ed in a Text F r a gment Ta ble ( TF T) . In cer ta in
implementa tions , the N RT content meta da ta is s tor ed in a n
N RT infor ma tion ta ble ( N RT-IT) . In cer ta in implementa
tions , the output tr a ns por t s tr ea m fur ther compr is es a v ir tua l
cha nnel ta ble ( VCT) , a nd W her ein the VCT conta ins a s er v ice
ty pe code indica tiv e of a v ir tua l cha nnel cor r es ponding to
N RT content. In cer ta in implementa tions , the N RT s er v ice
meta da ta is s tor ed in a Ser v ice Ma p Ta ble ( SMT) , the N RT
content des cr iption text is s tor ed in a Text F r a gment Ta ble
( TF T) , the N RT content meta da ta is s tor ed in a n N RT infor
ma tion ta ble ( N RT-IT) , a nd W her ein the output tr a ns por t
s tr ea m fur ther compr is es a v ir tua l cha nnel ta ble ( VCT) , a nd
W her ein the VCT conta ins a s er v ice ty pe code indica tiv e of a
v ir tua l cha nnel cor r es ponding to N RT content. In cer ta in
implementa tions , the SMT s igna ls a n IP des tina tion a ddr es s
a nd Por t number tha t points to the F LUTE F D T, a nd W her ein
the SMT ha s a s er v ice ID ( SID ) tha t indexes a ta ble entr y
pointing a t a ma tching s er v ice ID in the N RT-IT. In cer ta in
implementa tions , the N RT-IT ta ble ha s a content ID tha t
indexes ta ble entr ies in the F LUTE F D T. In cer ta in imple
menta tions , the N RT-IT ta ble fur ther includes entr ies in the
TF T. In cer ta in implementa tions , the N RT-IT ta ble includes a
Pla y ba ck D ela y pa r a meter tha t indica tes a n a mount of time
fr om the r ecov er y of the ? r s t by te of the ? le the r eceiv er
s hould W a it pr ior to beginning pla y ba ck of the content. In
cer ta in implementa tions , the N RT-IT ta ble includes a ? a g
indica ting W hether or not the N RT ? le ca n be extr a cted fr om
the br oa dca s t s tr ea m W ith loW er -la tency or W hether the
r eceiv er s hould pr ompt the us er to r etur n to v ieW it a t a la ter
time due to longer la tency , W her ein loW er a nd longer a r e
mea s ur ed W ith r es pect to one a nother . In cer ta in implemen
ta tions , the N RT-IT ta ble points to a ta ble tha t points to a
gr a phica l icon r epr es enta tion of the N RT s er v ice or content
item. In cer ta in implementa tions , the N RT s er v ice meta da ta is
s tor ed in a Ser v ice Ma p Ta ble. In cer ta in implementa tions , the
N RT content des cr iption text is s tor ed in a Text F r a gment
Ta ble ( TF T) . In cer ta in implementa tions , the content meta
da ta compr is es a n indica tion tha t the identi? ed content ma y
be r etr iev ed fr om a n Inter net-ba s ed s er v er , a nd a Unifor m
Refer ence Loca tor ( URL) tha t ma y be us ed to effect s a id
r etr iev a l.
[ 0061] In a nother implementa tion, a digita l telev is ion
r eceiv er tha t r eceiv es non-r ea l time ( N RT) content ha s a n
Inter net pr otocol ( IP) r eceiv er tha t r eceiv es a s tr ea m of IP
pa ckets a nd s elects a n IP s ubnet conta ining a pa cket s tr ea m
s elected a s a n output pa cket s tr ea m. The output pa cket s tr ea m
conta ins non-r ea l time content, a F LUTE ? le des cr iption
ta ble ( F D T) a nd N RT meta da ta . An electr onic s tor a ge
medium is pr ov ided. A demultiplexer demultiplexes the IP
pa cket s tr ea m to pr oduce: N RT content tha t is s tor ed in the
electr onic s tor a ge medium, the F LUTE F D T, a nd N RT meta
da ta . An F D T pa r s er pa r s es the F D T to pr oduce N RT ? le
Aug. 23 , 2012
meta da ta fr om the F LUTE F D T. An N RT meta da ta pa r s er
pr oduces N RT s er v ice meta da ta a nd N RT content meta da ta .
[ 0062] In cer ta in implementa tions , a Ser v ice Signa ling
Cha nnel ( SSC) conta ins the N RT meta da ta . In cer ta in imple
menta tions , the N RT s er v ice meta da ta is r eceiv ed in a Ser v ice
Ma p Ta ble. In cer ta in implementa tions , the N RT content
des cr iption text is r eceiv ed in a Text F r a gment Ta ble ( TF T) . In
cer ta in implementa tions , the N RT content meta da ta is
r eceiv ed in a n N RT infor ma tion ta ble ( N RT-IT) . In cer ta in
implementa tions , the output tr a ns por t s tr ea m fur ther com
pr is es a v ir tua l cha nnel ta ble ( VCT) , a nd W her ein the VCT
conta ins a s er v ice ty pe code indica tiv e of a v ir tua l cha nnel
cor r es ponding to N RT content. In cer ta in implementa tions ,
the N RT s er v ice meta da ta is r eceiv ed in a Ser v ice Ma p Ta ble
( SMT) , the N RT content des cr iption text is r eceiv ed in a Text
F r a gment Ta ble ( TF T) , the N RT content meta da ta is r eceiv ed
in a n N RT infor ma tion ta ble ( N RT-IT) , a nd W her ein the out
put tr a ns por t s tr ea m fur ther compr is es a v ir tua l cha nnel ta ble
( V CT) , a nd W her ein the VCT conta ins a s er v ice ty pe code
indica tiv e of a v ir tua l cha nnel cor r es ponding to N RT content.
In cer ta in implementa tions , the SMT ha s a n IP des tina tion
a ddr es s a nd Por t number tha t points to the F LUTE F D T, a nd
W her ein the SMT ha s a s er v ice ID ( SID ) tha t indexes a ta ble
entr y pointing a t a s er v ice ID in the N RT-IT. In cer ta in imple
menta tions , the N RT-IT ta ble ha s a content ID tha t indexes
ta ble entr ies in the F LUTE F D T. In cer ta in implementa tions ,
the N RT-IT ta ble ha s a content ID tha t indexes ta ble entr ies in
the F LUTE F D T. In cer ta in implementa tions , the N RT-IT
ta ble fur ther includes entr ies in the TF T. In cer ta in implemen
ta tions , the N RT-IT ta ble includes a Pla y ba ck D ela y pa r a m
eter tha t indica tes a n a mount of time fr om the r ecov er y of the
? r s t by te of the ? le the r eceiv er s hould W a it pr ior to beginning
pla y ba ck of the content. In cer ta in implementa tions , the N RT
IT ta ble includes a ? a g indica ting W hether or not the N RT ? le
ca n be extr a cted fr om the br oa dca s t s tr ea m W ith loW er -la
tency or W hether the r eceiv er s hould pr ompt the us er to r etur n
to v ieW it a t a la ter time due to longer la tency , W her ein loW er
a nd longer a r e mea s ur ed W ith r es pect to one a nother . In cer
ta in implementa tions , the N RT-IT ta ble points to a ta ble tha t
points to a gr a phica l icon r epr es enta tion of the N RT s er v ice or
content item. In cer ta in implementa tions , the N RT s er v ice
meta da ta is s tor ed in a Ser v ice Ma p Ta ble. In cer ta in imple
menta tions , the N RT content des cr iption text is s tor ed in a
Text F r a gment Ta ble ( TF T) . In cer ta in implementa tions , the
content meta da ta compr is es a n indica tion tha t the identi? ed
content ma y be r etr iev ed fr om a n Inter net-ba s ed s er v er , a nd a
Unifor m Refer ence Loca tor ( URL) tha t ma y be us ed to effect
s a id r etr iev a l.
[ 0063 ] Another digita l telev is ion r eceiv er tha t r eceiv es
non-r ea l time ( N RT) content ha s a r eceiv er dev ice tha t
r eceiv es a s igna l a nd pr oduces a n output tr a ns por t s tr ea m, the
output tr a ns por t s tr ea m conta ining a n Inter net Pr otocol ( IP)
s tr ea m of pa ckets conta ining non-r ea l time content, a F LUTE
? le des cr iption ta ble ( F D T) a nd N RT meta da ta . An electr onic
s tor a ge medium is pr ov ided. A demultiplexer demultiplexes
the IP s tr ea m of pa ckets to pr oduce: N RT content tha t is
s tor ed in the electr onic s tor a ge medium, the F LUTE F D T, a nd
N RT meta da ta . An F D T pa r s er pa r s es the F D T to pr oduce
N RT ? le meta da ta fr om the F LUTE F D T. An N RT meta da ta
pa r s er pr oduces N RT s er v ice meta da ta ; N RT content des cr ip
tion text a nd N RT Content Meta da ta .
[ 0064 ] Thos e s killed in the a r t W ill r ecogniZ e, upon cons id
er a tion of the a bov e tea chings , tha t cer ta in exempla r y
embodiments ma y be ba s ed upon us e of a pr ogr a mmed pr o
US 2012/0216229 A1
ces s or . How ev er , the inv ention is not limited to s uch exem
pla r y embodiments , s ince other embodiments could be
implemented us ing ha r dw a r e component eq uiv a lents s uch a s
s pecia l pur pos e ha r dW a r e a nd/ or dedica ted pr oces s or s . Simi
la r ly , gener a l pur pos e computer s , micr opr oces s or ba s ed com
puter s , micr o-contr oller s , optica l computer s , a na log comput
er s , dedica ted pr oces s or s , a pplica tion s peci? c cir cuits a nd/or
dedica ted ha r d W ir ed logic ma y be us ed to cons tr uct a lter na
tiv e eq uiv a lent embodiments .
[ 0065 ] Thos e s killed in the a r t W ill a ls o a ppr ecia te, upon
cons ider a tion of the a bov e tea chings , tha t the pr ogr a m oper a
tions a nd pr oces s es a nd a s s ocia ted da ta us ed to implement
cer ta in of the embodiments des cr ibed a bov e ca n be imple
Aug. 23 , 2012
mented us ing dis c s tor a ge a s W ell a s other for ms of s tor a ge
s uch a s for exa mple Rea d Only Memor y ( ROM) dev ices ,
Ra ndom Acces s Memor y ( RAM) dev ices , netW or k memor y
dev ices , optica l s tor a ge elements , ma gnetic s tor a ge elements ,
ma gneto-optica l s tor a ge elements , ? a s h memor y , cor e
memor y a nd/or other eq uiv a lent v ola tile a nd non-v ola tile
s tor a ge technologies W ithout depa r ting fr om cer ta in embodi
ments of the pr es ent inv ention. Such a lter na tiv e s tor a ge
dev ices s hould be cons ider ed eq uiv a lents .
[ 0066] W hile cer ta in illus tr a tiv e embodiments ha v e been
des cr ibed, it is ev ident tha t ma ny a lter na tiv es , modi? ca tions ,
per muta tions a nd v a r ia tions W ill become a ppa r ent to thos e
s killed in the a r t in light of the for egoing des cr iption.
US 2012/0216229 A1 Aug. 23 , 2012
7
APPE N D IX SAMPLE SPE CIF ICATION F ORMAT
1. 1 N on-Rea I-Time Infor ma tion Ta ble ( N RT-IT)
The N onRea lTime Infor ma tion Ta ble ( N RTTT) conta ins
infor ma tion des cr ibing content a v a ila ble for dow nloa d to
s tor a ge in the r eceiv ing dev ice. The infor ma tion pr ov ided
in the N RTIT includes the title of the content ( for
exa mple, the na me of the pr ogr a m a v a ila ble for dow nloa d) ,
the times dur ing w hich the content is to be ma de
a v a ila ble for dow nloa d, a nd infor ma tion s uch a s content
a dv is or ies , a v a ila bility of ca ption s er v ices , content
identifica tion, a nd other meta da ta .
One item of content ma y cons is t of one or mor e files .
F or exa mple, a n a udio/v ideo clip ma y come w ith. a J PE G
thumbna il ima ge tha t ca n be us ed to r epr es ent it in on
s cr een dis pla y s .
The N RTIT s ha ll be us ed. to pr ov ide infor ma tion for
v ir tua l cha nnels of w w megme v a lues 0x08 defined a bov e.
Unlike the E IT in w hich ea ch ins ta nce cor r es ponds to a
3 hour time s lot, a n ins ta nce of the N RTIT ca n include
da ta cor r es ponding to a n a r bitr a r ily defined time per iod,
or ca n des cr ibe N RT content s ta r ting a t a s pecified time
a nd. into the indefinite futur e. E a ch N RTIT ins ta nce
indica tes the s ta r t time of the per iod it cov er s a nd the
length of the per iod it cov er s ( w hich ma y be indefinite) .
E a ch N RTIT ins ta nce ma y be s egmented into a s ma ny a s
25 6 s ections . One s ection ma y conta in infor ma tion for
multiple content items , but the infor ma tion for a ny giv en
content item s ha ll not be s egmented a nd put into tw o or
mor e s ections .
Any content item to be ma de a v a ila ble for dow nloa d for
a time inter v a l tha t extends bey ond. the time per iod
cov er ed one or mor e N RTIT ins ta nces s ha ll be des cr ibed
only in the fir s t of thes e N RTITs .
US 2012/0216229 A1 Aug. 23 , 2012
Content item des cr iptions s ha ll be pla ced w ithin the
N RT_ infor ma tion_ ta b|e_ s ection( ) in the or der of their fir St
a v a ila bility . Ther efor e, w hen m? edmq pumbm is gr ea ter tha n
z er o ( mea ning the N RTIT is deliv er ed in multiple
s ections ) , for s ections other tha n the fir s t ( s ections
for w hich the v a lue of w mmw pmmm is gr ea ter tha n z er o) ,
a ll the content item des cr iptions w ithin a giv en s ection
s ha ll ha v e fir s t a v a ila bility times tha t a r e gr ea ter tha n
or eq ua l to a ll fir s t a v a ila bility times of content item
des cr iptions in the immedia tely pr eceding s ection ( the
s ection w hos e v a lue of w mmmnmmm is one low er tha n the
giv en s ection) . The contents of the fields a nd the
des cr iptor s in ea ch ev ents des cr iptor loop s ha ll be
a ccur a te r epr es enta tions of the know n infor ma tion a bout
ea ch content item a t the time the content item ins ta nce
is cr ea ted a nd s ha ll be upda ted if mor e a ccur a te
infor ma tion becomes a v a ila ble.
The N onRea lTime Infor ma tion Ta ble is ca r r ied in ta ble
s ections w ith mmq m OXTBD . The follow ing cons tr a ints a pply
to the IP pa ckets ca r r y ing the N RTIT s ections :
' The des tina tion IP a ddr es s s ha ll be the ATSC Ser v ice
Signa ling Cha nnel, 224 . 0. 23 . 60. The por t number
s ha ll be 4 93 7 .
The follow ing cons tr a ints s ha ll a pply to the N RTIT:
0 E a ch N RTTT s ha ll identify N RT s er v ices a s s ocia ted
w ith the giv en v a lue of s mw w J d a v a ila ble on a
pa r ticula r v ir tua l cha nnel s ometime dur ing the time
per iod it cov er s .
The N RT_ infor ma tion_ ta b|e_ s ection( ) is modeled a fter the
MH_ s er v ice_ s igna |ing_ ta b|e_ s ection( ) defined in A/l5 3 Pa r t 3 , Sec. 7 . 1.
Unles s other w is e defined below , identica lly ina med fields
in the N RT_ infor ma tion_ ta b|e_ s ection( ) s ha ll be a s defined a s in the
MH_ s er v ice_ s igna |ing_ ta b|e_ s ection( ) in A/l5 3 Pa r t 3 , Sec. 7 . 1. The bit
US 2012/0216229 A1 Aug. 23 , 2012
s tr ea m s y nta x for the N onRea lTime Infor ma tion Ta ble
s ha ll be a s s how n in Ta ble 1.
US 2012/0216229 A1
10
TABLE 1
Bit Str ea m Sy nta x for the N onRea lTime
Infor ma tion Ta ble
Sy nta x N o. Bits F or ma t
N RT_ infor ma tion_ ta b|e_ s ection( ) {
ta ble_ id 8 OXTBD
s ection_ s y nta x_ indica tor 1 1
pr iv a te_ indica tor 1 1
Res er v ed 2 11
s ection_ length 12 uims bf
s er v ice_ id 1 6 uims bf
Res er v ed 2 1 1
N RT_ lT_ v er s ion_ number 5 uims bf
cur r ent_ next_ indica tor 1 1
s ection_ number 8 uims bf
la s t_ s ection_ number 8 uims bf
pr otocol_ v er s ion 8 uims bf
time_ s pa n_ s ta r t 3 2 uims bf
Res er v ed 5 11 1 11
time_ s pa n_ length 1 1 uims bf
num_ items _ in_ s ection 8 uims bf
for ( j = 0; j < num_ items _ in_ s ection; j + + ) {
content_ id 16 uims bf
upda tes _ a v a ila ble 1 bs lbf
TF _ a v a ila ble 1 bs lbf
low _ la tency 1 bs lbf
content_ length_ included 1 bs lbf
pla y ba ck_ length_ in_ s econds 20 uims bf
if ( content_ length_ inc|uded= = ) {
content_ length 4 0 uims bf
}
pla y ba ck_ dela y _ included 1 bs lbf
expir a tion_ included 1 bs lbf
Res er v ed 2 11
D ur a tion 12 uims bf
i1 ( p|a y ba ck_ de|a y _ inc|uded= = ) {
Res er v ed 4 11 1 1
Aug. 23 , 2012
US 2012/0216229 A1 Aug. 23 , 2012
11
pla y ba ck_ dela y 20 uims bf
}
if ( expir a tion_ inc|uded= = ) {
E xpir a tion 3 2 uims bf
}
con1ent_ na me_ length 8 uims bf
con1ent_ na me_ text( ) v a r
Res er v ed 4 1 1 11
content_ des cr iptor s _ length 12 Uims bf
content_ des cr iptor ( )
Res er v ed 6 111111
des cr iptor s _ length 10 Uims bf
for ( i= 0; i< M; i+ + ) {
des cr iptor ( )
}
}
ta ble_ id This 8 bit field s ha ll be s et to OXTBD to
identify this ta ble s ection a s belonging to the N on
Rea lTime Infor ma tion Ta ble.
s er v ice_ id This l6bit field s ha ll s pecify the s er v ice_ id
a s s ocia ted w ith the N RT s er v ice offer ing content items
des cr ibed in this s ection.
N RT_ lT_ v er s ion_ number This 5 bit field s ha ll indica te the
v er s ion number of this N RTIT ins ta nce, w her e N RTTT
ins ta nce is defined a s the s et of one or mor e
N RT_ infor ma tion_ ta b|e_ s ection( ) ha v ing common Va lue 3 for s er v ice_ id ,
cur r ent_ next_ indica tor , pr otoco|_ v er s ion , a nd time_ s pa n_ s ta r t . The Ve r s i on
number s ha ll be incr emented by l modulo 3 2 w hen a ny
field in the N RTTT ins ta nce cha nges .
cur r ent_ next_ indica tor This lbit indica tor s ha ll a lw a y s be
s et to l for N RTTT s ections ; the N RTTT s ent is
a lw a y s cur r ently a pplica ble.
US 2012/0216229 A1 Aug. 23 , 2012
12
pr otocol_ v er s ion This 8 bit uns igned integer field s ha ll be
s et to z er o. The function of pr otoco|_ v er s ion is to a llow , in
the futur e, this ta ble ty pe to ca r r y pa r a meter s tha t
ma y be s tr uctur ed differ ently tha n thos e defined in the
cur r ent pr otocol . At pr es ent, the only v a lid v a lue for
pr otoco|_ v er s i0n is Z er o. N OnZ er O v a lues Of pr ot0co|_ v er s ion ma y be
us ed by a futur e v er s ion of this s ta nda r d to indica te
s tr uctur a lly differ ent ta bles .
time_ s pa n_ s ta r t This 3 2bit uns igned integer s ha ll r epr es ent
the s ta r t of the time s pa n cov er ed by this ins ta nce of
the N RTIT, expr es s ed a s the number of GPS s econds
s ince 00: 00: 00 UTC, J a nua r y 6, 198 0 . The time of da y of
time_ s pa n_ s ta r t s ha ll be a ligned to minute 00 of the hour .
The v a lue z er o for time_ s pa n_ s ta r t s ha ll indica te the time
per iod cov er ed by his N RTTT ins ta nce bega n in the
indefinite pa s t. The v a lue of time_ s pa n_ s ta r t s ha ll be the
s a me for ea ch s ection of a multis ectioned N RT-IT
ins ta nce. The Va lues Of time_ s pa n_ s ta r t a nd time_ s pa n_ |ength s ha ll
be s et s uch tha t the s pecified time s pa n does not
ov er la p w ith a ny other N RTeIT ins ta nce in this TP
s ubnet.
time_ s pa n_ lenglh This llbit uns igned integer field in the
r a nge 0 to 14 4 0 s ha ll indica te the number of minutes ,
s ta r ting a t the time indica ted by time_ s pa n_ s ta r t, cov er ed by
this ins ta nce of the N RTTT. Once es ta blis hed, the
v a lue Of iime_ s pa n_ |engih for a giv en v a lue Of time_ s pa n_ s ta r t
s ha ll not cha nge. A v a lue of time_ s pa n_ |ength of z er o s ha ll
mea n this N RTeTT ins ta nce cov er s a ll time s ta r ting a t
time_ s pa n_ s ta r t into the indefinite futur e. If the v a lue of
time_ s pa n_ s ta r t is z er o, time_ s pa n_ |ength s ha ll ha v e no mea ning.
The v a lue of time_ s pa n_ |ength s ha ll be the s a me for ea ch
s ection of a multis ectioned N RTTT ins ta nce . The
v a lues Of time_ s pa n_ s ta r t a nd time_ s pa n length s ha ll be s et s uch
US 2012/0216229 A1 Aug. 23 , 2012
13
tha t the s pecified time s pa n does not ov er la p w ith a ny
other N RTTT ins ta nce in this TP s ubnet.
num_ ilems _ in_ s ection This 8 bit uns igned integer field s ha ll
indica te the number of content items des cr ibed in this
N RTTT s ection.
content_ id This l6bit uns igned integer field in the r a nge
OxOOOl to OxF F F F s ha ll s pecify the identifica tion
number of the content des cr ibed. Va lue OxOOOO s ha ll not
be us ed. The content_ id per for ms tw o linka ge functions : it
links meta da ta in the N RTIT to one or mor e files in
the F LUTE F D T a s s ocia ted w ith this N RT s er v ice; it a ls o
for ms the TF _ id ( identifier for Text F r a gment in Text
F r a gment Ta ble) . The v a lue of the content_ id field s ha ll
cor r es pond to the v a lue of one of the ContentLinka ge
element ins ta nces in the F ile element in the F ile
D es cr iption Ta ble ins ta nce defined in RF C 3 926 a s
extended in Sec Lb for ea ch file w hich is pa r t of the
content item. F or a pa r ticula r v ir tua l cha nnel, the
v a lue of content_ id s ha ll uniq uely identify ea ch of the
items of content s cheduled to be a v a ila ble for dow nloa d
dur ing the inter v a l cov er ed by a giv en N RTIT ins ta nce .
( N ote: the s cope ca n be expa nded to extend to a ll
s cheduled content. )
upda tes _ a v a ila ble This Boolea n fla g s ha ll s pecify , w hen s et
to l, tha t the r efer enced content item( s ) w ill be
upda ted per iodica lly : for content items deliv er ed in
F LUTE s es s ions , r eceiv ing dev ices a r e expected to
monitor for cha nges the T01 a s s ocia ted w ith ea ch file
a s s ocia ted w ith the giv en v a lue of content_ id. W hen the
upda tes ia v a ila ble fla g is s et to O , upda tes a r e not expected
to be pr ov ided for the a s s ocia ted content item( s ) , a nd
r eceiv er s a r e not expected to look for them.
US 2012/0216229 A1 Aug. 23 , 2012
14
T? j v mmme This Boolea n fla g s ha ll s pecify , w hen s et to
1 tha t a Text F r a gment is pr es ent in a Text F r a gment
Ta ble in the s er v ice s igna ling cha nnel. W hen the fla g
is s et to 0, no Text F r a gment is included. in the
s er v ice s igna ling cha nnel for this content item.
low J a mncy This Boolea n fla g s ha ll s pecify , w hen s et to
1, tha t the content is a v a ila ble w ithin the cur r ent
digita l tr a ns por t w ith a low enough la tency tha t its
r etr iev a l s hould. be a ttempted. w hile the us er w a its .
W hen the fla g is s et to O, r etr iev a l la tency is
longer a nd the us er inter fa ce s hould s ugges t to the
us er to r etur n la ter for v iew ing.
content_ lenglh_ included This Boolea n fla g s ha ll indica te, w hen
s et to ' 1, tha t the mnmmj mmm field is pr es ent in this
iter a tion of the "for " loop. Setting this fla g to 0
s ha ll indica te the cmmmj w gh field is not pr es ent in
this iter a tion of the for loop.
pla y ba ck_ length_ in_ s econds This 20ibit uns igned integer
q ua ntity s ha ll s pecify the dur a tion of pla y ba ck of the
content, in s econds . F or content cons is ting only of
text a nd/or s till ima ges , the v a lue z er o s ha ll be us ed.
F or content tha t includes a udio or a udio/v ideo content,
the mw bmkj mgmJ mmmnx s ha ll indica te the pla y ba ck length
of the a udio or a udio/v ideo content.
conmnLkngm - W hen pr es ent, this 4 0-bit uns igned integer
q ua ntity s ha ll r epr es ent the tota l s iz e in by tes of the
content item or items . This item is us ed by the
r eceiv ing dev ice to deter mine if enough memor y is
a v a ila ble to s tor e it befor e dow nloa ding is a ttempted.
The content_ |ength field Sha ll be pr es ent w hen content_ length_ inc|uded
is s et to l a nd a bs ent other w is e. W hen cmmmj emm is
not pr es ent in a giv en iter a tion of the for loop, the
length of the content des cr ibed in tha t iter a tion s ha ll
US 2012/0216229 A1 Aug. 23 , 2012
15
be the v a lue s pecified in the defa u|t_ content_ |ength field in the
N RTis er v iceiinfoides cr iptor o, if pr es ent in the SMT.
pla y ba ck_ dela y _ included This Boolea n fla g s ha ll indica te, w hen
s et to l, tha t the pla y ba ckidela y field is pr es ent in this
iter a tion of the "for loop. Setting this fla g to O
s ha ll indica te the p|a y ba ck_ de|a y field is not pr es ent in
this iter a tion of the "for loop.
dur a tion This l2bit uns igned integer field in the r a nge l
to 28 8 0 s ha ll s pecify the expected cy cle time, in
minutes , of the ca r ous el conta ining the r efer enced
content item. A r eceiv er is expected to us e the
dur a tion pa r a meter to deter mine the a mount of time
needed to ca ptur e the r efer enced content.
pla y ba ck_ dela y A 20bit uns igned integer count of the
number of s econds follow ing r eception of the fir s t by te
of the a s s ocia ted content the r eceiv er s ha ll w a it
befor e pla y ba ck ma y s ta r t, w hile buffer ing the incoming
s tr ea m. A v a lue of z er o s ha ll indica te pla y ba ck ma y
commence immedia tely . W hen p|a y ba ck_ de|a y is not pr ov ided,
the r eceiv er is expected to r etr iev e the complete file
or file s et pr ior to pla y ba ck.
expir a lion_ includedThis Boolea n fla g s ha ll indica te, w hen s et
to l, tha t the expir a tion field is pr es ent in this
iter a tion of the "for loop . Setting this fla g to O
s ha ll indica te the expir a tion field is not pr es ent in this
iter a tion of the "for loop .
expir a tion This 3 2bit uns igned integer s ha ll r epr es ent the
expir a tion time of the content, expr es s ed a s the number
of GPS s econds s ince 00 : O0 : 00 UTC, J a nua r y 6, 198 0 .
F ollow ing expir a tion, the content s hould be deleted
fr om memor y . If a n expir a tion time is not s pecified,
r eceiv er s a r e expected to us e methods of their ow n
choos ing to ma na ge memor y r es our ces .