Patent Application
20060107292
This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0093898, filed on Nov. 17, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital broadcast system, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for providing an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) service using a digital multimedia broadcast service, and a data structure thereof.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) standard widely used in Europe to provide a user with a digital audio broadcast service provides the user with high-quality audio data (i.e., high-quality sound) and various additional services. The DAB standard supports not only MPEG-1 audio service but also MPEG-2 audio service to provide the user with high-quality audio data, and provides the user with traffic information and Web data.
With the extension of the above-mentioned DAB standard, a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) service has been established in Korea to provide users with audio data and video data. According to the above-mentioned DMB service, the video data is based on an H.264 standard to provide the user with a video service based on the DAB service, and the audio data is based on a Bit Sliced Arithmetic Coding (BSAC) standard to provide the user with an audio service based on the DAB service.
In this case, the video data and the audio data are configured in the form of a Transport Stream (TS) by an MPEG-2 system, and are multiplexed in the form of the Transport Stream (TS) via the MPEG-2 system. The DMB service can provide the user with even a video service using the MPEG-4 standard and the MPEG-2 standard.
In this way, the DMB service capable of implementing a multimedia broadcast service by providing the user with even the video service is based on the above-mentioned DAB service.
Although the above-mentioned DAB standard has been designed to provide title information of a current broadcast program via Service Information (SI) of the DAB system, it is unable to recognize program information indicative of the next broadcast program following the current broadcast program using only the above-mentioned SI.
In other words, the above-mentioned DAB system cannot recognize Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information using only the SI. In order to obviate the above-mentioned problem, the DAB service enables the EPG information to be transmitted in the form of XML data.
However, if the parsing or presentation of the above-mentioned XML data is performed to show a DAB system or a DAB terminal the EPG information, it should be noted that unexpected limitations occur in processor ability and memory capacitance, etc.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a digital broadcast method, a digital broadcast apparatus, and a data structure thereof that substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for providing EPG information, such that a user can recognize start and end times of current and next broadcast programs using only Service Information (SI).
Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a data structure for a digital broadcast Service Information (SI) data structure which includes a Service Information (SI) structure equipped with a service and a service component, and transmits necessary data via a Fast Information Channel) and a Main Service Channel (MSC), the data structure comprises: an event identifier (EvtId) field for classifying a program varying with time in the service component in event units, and identifying the event.
Preferably, the event identifier (EvtId) field is contained in a “FIG 0/20” (Fast Information Group, Type 0 field for extension 20) field indicative of start and end times of the service component, and indicates a start- or end-time of the program in event units.
Preferably, the event identifier (EvtId) field is contained in a “FIG 1/4” (Fast Information Group, Type 1 field for extension 4) field in which label information of the service component is recorded, and indicates a program title in event units.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital broadcast method comprising the steps of: a) parsing a “FIG 0/20” (Fast Information Group, Type 0 field for extension 20) field indicative of start and end times of a service component contained in Service Information (SI) equipped with a service and a service component, and detecting a start- or end-time of a program in event units; and b) parsing a “FIG 1/4” (Fast Information Group, Type 1 field for extension 4) field in which label information of the service component is recorded, and detecting a program title in event units.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital broadcast apparatus for use in a digital broadcast system for transmitting necessary data via a Fast Information Channel) and a Main Service Channel (MSC), the digital broadcast apparatus comprising: an FIC demultiplexer for demultiplexing data transmitted via the FIC into MCI (Main Service Channel) data, FIDC (Fast Information Data Channel) data, and Service Information (SI) data; and an SI (Service Information) parser for parsing the SI data in which program information corresponding to an event identifier (EvtId) from among output data of the FIC demultiplexer is recorded.
Preferably, the program information includes a program start time, a program end time, and program title information.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings:
FIGS. 2˜3 are conceptual diagrams illustrating methods for detecting Sid, SCId, SubChId, and SCIdS information according to the present invention;
a˜7c are conceptual diagrams illustrating methods for transmitting EPG information using an “EvtId” field according to the present invention; and
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
Prior to describing the present invention, it should be noted that most terms disclosed in the present invention correspond to general terms well known in the art, but some terms have been selected by the applicant as necessary and will hereinafter be disclosed in the following description of the present invention. Therefore, it is preferable that the terms defined by the applicant be understood on the basis of their meanings in the present invention.
Referring to
A plurality of service components are contained in individual services, for example, an audio stream, additional information such as traffic information, and a DMB stream configured by combination of video and audio data in a DMB system.
The above-mentioned additional information such as the traffic information from among the above-mentioned service components is loaded on a Fast Information Data Channel (FIDC), and the remaining service components other than the above-mentioned additional information are loaded on a Main Service Channel (MSC) and are then transmitted.
A user can select one of various services contained in a single ensemble, and can select desired data from among service components contained in the selected service.
For example, if the user selects the “ALPHA-1 RADIO” service, the user can receive a variety of service components of the above-mentioned “ALPHA-1 RADIO” service, i.e., audio information, traffic information (ALPHA-TMC (Traffic Message Channel)), and additional service information (ALPHA-SI (Service Information)), such that the user can select only one of the above-mentioned service components.
For example, the audio service component indicative of a primary service component of the “ALPHA-1 RADIO” service is transmitted via a sub-channel (SubCh) “a” of the main service channel (MSC), the traffic information (ALPHA-TMC) is transmitted via the Fast Information Data Channel (FIDC) contained in the Fast Information Channel (FIC), and the service information is transmitted via a sub-channel (SubCh) “63” of the MSC.
In the meantime, the SI transmitted via the FIC of the DAB provides additional information associated with service(s). The additional information includes information associated with a service structure, individual ensembles, services, labels associated with service components, start and end times of the service components, and service category information, etc.
In this case, a broadcast station may transmit name information of a broadcast channel to a service label, and may transmit a program title to a primary service component label. For example, an ensemble label of the Korean DMB broadcast service is set to “SBS DMB”, and a service label of the Korean DMB broadcast service is set to “RADIO 1”, such that data transmission is performed using the above-mentioned ensemble and service labels.
The program title is contained in a service component label, such that the service component label equipped with the program title is transmitted to a reception end. Therefore, the reception end can recognize the program title by referring to the service component label.
The above-mentioned process for searching for the service component label is changed according to individual modes (i.e., a stream mode and a packet mode), and is basically recognized by an SId (Service Identifier) and an SCIdS (Service Component Identifier within Service) of the FIG 1/4 (Fast Information Group, Type 1 field for extension 4) field.
In this case, the FIG (Fast Information Group) is indicative of a group of data units for use in a single application in the FIC (Fast Information Channel). In other words, the FIC includes a plurality of FIBs (Fast Information Blocks), and a plurality of FIGs are contained in a single FIB.
The above-mentioned FIG includes 8 different types corresponding to individual applications. Therefore, the “FIG 1/4” field corresponds to a “Type 1” including label information from among the above-mentioned 8 types, and indicates that a value of extension is 4.
The above-mentioned extension is denoted by a binary natural number, and is adapted to identify individual fields within individual types. For reference, “FIG Type 1” can be identified by 8 extensions.
Therefore, SId and SCIdS information of the “FIG 1/4” field must be recognized to search for the above-mentioned service component label. Specifically, in order to recognize the above-mentioned SCIdS information, either SId and SCId (Service Component Identifier) information or SID and SubChID (Sub Channel Identifier) information must firstly be recognized, and the SCIdS information must then be recognized from the SIDd and SCId information or the SId and SubChId information. A detailed description thereof will hereinafter be described with reference to FIGS. 2˜3.
FIGS. 2˜3 are conceptual diagrams illustrating methods for detecting Sid, SCId, SubChId, and SCIdS information according to the present invention.
Referring to
A single service field (Serivice K) from among various services of the above-mentioned “FIG 0/2” field includes the “SId” field and the “Service Comp. description” field.
The “Service Comp. description” field has different structures according to the stream mode or the packet mode. The stream mode is classified into a first field (MSC stream audio) under a predetermined condition of “TMId (Transport Mechanism Identifier)=00”, and a second field (MSC stream data) under a predetermined condition of “TMId=01”. Each filed includes the “SubChId (Sub Channel Identifier)” field. The packet mode includes a field (MSC packet data) under a predetermined condition of “TMId=11”. The above-mentioned “MSC packet data” field includes the “SCId” field.
Since the above-mentioned stream mode transmits a single service component via a single sub-channel, it includes “SubChId” information. Since the above-mentioned packet mode transmits a plurality of service components via a single sub-channel, it includes “SCId” information.
Therefore, if a current mode is equal to the packet mode (i.e., if the MSC packet data denoted by “TMId=11” is provided), the packet mode can acquire ID (SCId) information of a service component via the “SCId” field contained in a corresponding field.
If a current mode is equal to the stream mode (i.e., if the MSC stream audio denoted by “TMId=00” is provided or the MSC stream data denoted by “TMID=01” is provided), the packet mode can recognize ID (SubChId) information of a sub-channel for transmitting a service component via the “SubChId” field contained in a corresponding field.
In this way, if the above-mentioned SId and SCId information or the above-mentioned SId and SubChId information is recognized, the parsing of the “FIG 0/8” (Type 0 field for extension 8) field is performed, such that the “SCIdS” information can be recognized as shown in
Referring to
If a current mode is determined to be the stream mode, the SCIdS information can be recognized by the above-mentioned SId and SubChId information. If a current mode is determined to be the packet mode, the SCIdS information can be recognized by the above-mentioned SId and SCId information.
After recognizing the SCIdS information using the above-mentioned method, title information of a current broadcast program can be recognized by the “FIG 1/4 field” equipped with a service component label, and a detailed description thereof will hereinafter be described with reference to
Referring to
Therefore, service component label information contained in the character field of the “FIG 1/4” field corresponding to the above-mentioned SCIdS and SId information can be acquired.
The FIB supplied from the DAB SI can receive a title of a current broadcast program via a service component label.
The present invention can provide not only the title information of a current broadcast program but also EPG information such as the next broadcast program information following the current broadcast program, and a detailed description thereof will hereinafter be described with reference to FIGS. 5˜6.
Referring to
In other words, if the “F2” field is set to zero, the F2 field of zero is indicative of a start time of a service component in the “Time” field. If the “F2” field is set to “1”, the F2 field of 1 is indicative of an end time of a service component in the “Time” field.
If the “L/S flag” field of the “Service Component description” field is set to zero, this means a short form, such that the “L/S flag” field of zero is indicative of a service component transmitted according to the stream mode, and includes the “SubChId” field. If the “L/S flag” field of the “Service Component description” field is set to “1”, this means a long form, such that the “L/S flag” field of 1 is indicative of a service component transmitted according to the packet mode, and includes the “SCId” field.
The present invention is characterized in that it includes the “EvtId (Event Identifier” field in the service component trigger field. The “EvtID” field recognizes a program of the primary service component, and is represented in the form of 2 bits, such that it can transmit a maximum of 4 program information units using individual 2-bit values (i.e., “00”, “01”, “10”, “11”). In this case, it should be noted that the term “event” is indicative of a broadcast program unit executed in a single service.
The above-mentioned “EvtId” field is contained in the service component trigger field, such that it informs a user of start and end times of current and next broadcast programs.
In the meantime, the “EvtId” field according to the present invention is also contained in the service component label (FIG 1/4) indicative of program title information, and a detailed description thereof will hereinafter be described with reference to
Compared with the structure of
In other words, the “FIG 1/4” field of
A user can recognize not only title information of a current broadcast program but also title information of the next broadcast program by referring to the “EvtId” field contained in the “FIG 1/4” field.
A method for transmitting EPG information (for example, start and end times of individual programs, and title information of the programs) using the above-mentioned “EvtId” field according to the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to
a˜7c are conceptual diagrams illustrating methods for transmitting EPG information using an “EvtId” field according to the present invention. In more detail,
The service structure of the broadcast station “K” shown in
Broadcast station: “K Broadcast”
Broadcast channel:
“K Sports”→SId=10
“K Radio 1”→SId=11
“K Radio 2”→SId=12
Programming Information of “K Sports” Channel: The following information is indicative of Primary service component(s) 09:00˜10:00: “Baseball League”→SubChId=20, EvtId=0, SCIdS=3 10:00˜11:00: “Olympic Games”→SubChId=21, EvtId=1, SCIdS=3 11:00˜11:10: “Sports News”→SubChId=22, EvtId=2, SCIdS=3 11:10˜12:00: “Football Match”→SubChId=23, EvtId=3, SCIdS=3
If the broadcast station “K” has the above-mentioned programming information and a current time is 9:30, a current broadcast program is “Baseball League”.
In this case, provided that all service components other than the TMC from among service components of
b is a configuration diagram illustrating the “FIG 0/2” field and the “FIG 0/8” field, and shows a process for searching for the SCIdS information of the “K Sports” channel. In more detail, the SId and SubChId information can be recognized by the FIG 0/2 field, and the SCIdS information is detected from among a corresponding FIG 0/8 field.
Therefore, as can be seen from
In this case, if the “MSC/FIC Flag” field has a specific value of zero, the next field includes the SubChId information. If the “MSC/FIC Flag” field has a specific value of 1, the next field includes a Fast Information Data Channel Identifier (FIDCId) value.
Therefore, data transmitted via the stream mode is transmitted via a Main Service Channel (MSC) instead of the FIDC (Fast Information Data Channel), such that the value of “MSC/FIC Flag” field is zero. For reference, data transmitted via the FIDC includes paging data, TMC (Traffic Message Channel) data, and EWS (Emergency Warning Systems) data.
After recognizing the above-mentioned SCIds value, the user can recognize program schedule information using the “EvtId” field as shown in
As can be seen from (a) of
If the value of the F2 field of the “FIC 0/20” field is equal to “1”, the “Time” Field is indicative of a program end time, such that it can be recognized that an end time of a program denoted by “EvtId=0” is 10:00.
In addition, the user can recognize that a service component label of the program denoted by “EvtId=0”, i.e., a program title, is indicative of “Baseball League” by referring to the FIG 1/4 field including the pre-recognized “SCIdS=3” field and the “EvtId=0” field.
In this way, as can be seen from (b) of
As described above, the present invention introduces specific information “EvtId”, which is indicative of program information varying with time in a service component, into the “FIG 0/20” field and the “FIG 1/4” field, such that it can provide start and end times of a program and title information of the program, resulting in the implementation of the EPG service.
Referring to
Output data of the FIC demultiplexer 10 is parsed by an MCI parser 40, an FIDC parser 50, and an SI parser 60 according to characteristic information of the output data.
In this case, the SI parser 60 parses the FIG 0/20 field and the FIG 1/4 field, each of which includes the “EvtId” field, such that a program start time, a program end time, and a program title according to the “EvtId” field can be recognized.
Output data of the MSC demultiplexer 30 is decoded by a data decoder 80 and an audio decoder 90. In this case, if a system is indicative of a DMB system, the DMB system further includes an additional block 70 for decoding data transmitted in the form of a TS (Transport Stream).
In the meantime, the present invention can also be applied to the DMB system in the same manner as in the DAB system. In other words, a DMB video service for transmitting data in the form of an MPEG-2 TS can display program information on a DMB terminal according to the inventive method of the present invention.
As apparent from the above description, a method and apparatus for receiving digital broadcast data according to the present invention includes “EvtId” information in a “FIG” field of a DAB SI, such that an EPG service is made available using the DAB SI.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2004-0093898 | Nov 2004 | KR | national |
