Patent Application
20070214484
This disclosure relates generally to transitioning streaming digital video programs from one device to another.
Next generation (4G) mobile devices are being designed to support heterogeneous access technologies such as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), Universal Mobile Terrestrial System (UMTS), and Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H). Other access technologies may also be available through a 4G system but not necessarily available on a 4G mobile device. Such an example is Digital Video Broadcast-Terrestrial (DVB-T) service, which would be available on a digital DVB-T television or DVB-T receiver in a computer but not necessarily available on a digital mobile device.
If a user goes from an environment where one DVB service can be active on her devices (e.g., DVB-H on a mobile device while the user is walking down the street) to an environment where the other DVB service or both DVB services can be active on her devices (e.g., DVB-H on a mobile device and DVB-T on a digital television while the user is in her house), it would be beneficial to be able to determine the best available DVB device and transition the active DVB service to the best available device as desired (e.g., transition from a DVB-H service on the mobile device to a corresponding DVB-T service on the digital television). Conversely, if the user is leaving her home where a DVB-T news program is active on her digital television, it would be beneficial to be able to transition the DVB-T news program to a corresponding DVB-H news program on her mobile device as the user desires.
Thus, there is an opportunity to transition streaming digital video broadcast programming content from one device to another as desired by a user. Because the DVB-T system and the DVB-H system use different access technologies, there is a challenge to create smooth transitions such that a user can transfer the same program from DVB-T to DVB-H and vice versa without experiencing major delays that distract the user from enjoying the content itself. The various aspects, features and advantages of the disclosure will become more fully apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon careful consideration of the following Drawings and accompanying Detailed Description.
A digital video broadcast transition method and device allows a streaming digital video program to be transferred from one digital device broadcast receiver to another across digital video broadcast formats. Initially, a first digital video broadcast receiver is receiving a first digital video broadcast program. If a second digital video broadcast receiver capable of receiving a digital video broadcast program corresponding to the first digital video broadcast program is available to the user, the second digital video broadcast receiver is enabled. For example, a user may have a mobile device receiving news programming via a Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) service. If the user gets near a digital television capable of receiving corresponding news programming via a Digital Video Broadcast-Terrestrial (DVB-T) service, the digital television is enabled and tuned to the corresponding DVB-T news programming. The transition from one digital video broadcast receiver to another digital video broadcast receiver can be implemented manually by the user or automatically via a user preference profile. The transition can be made gradually by having both receivers running simultaneously for a predetermined non-zero time period before releasing digital video broadcasting resources of the first device or can be made abruptly by setting the predetermined time period to zero seconds. Thus, a user can smoothly transition from digital video broadcasting content using a first digital video broadcasting system to corresponding digital video broadcasting content using a second digital video broadcasting system.
Following the DVB-H signals, after being broadcast from the second antenna 126, a third antenna 130 that is part of a cellular network 140 receives the DVB-H signals and re-transmits the DVB-H signals through the cellular network. The DVB-H signals from the media server 120 to the cellular network 140 could alternately be sent by a wire line. A user equipment (UE) 150, such as a mobile station (MS), mobile device, laptop computer with cellular connection, or cellular telephone, with a DVB-H receiver receives the DVB-H signals and displays the program (content) to a user. Note that the DVB-H path has a cellular return channel that allows the UE 150 to communicate to the media server 120 via the various antennas and networks. The cellular return channel allows the user to select programs and respond during interactive programs.
Following the DVB-T signals, after being broadcast from the first antenna 123, the DVB-T signals can be directly received by a DVB-T receiver 160 such as a set top box for a digital television. Alternately (shown in dashed line), DVB-T signals can be received by a DVB-T receiver that is connected to a device manager 170 in a home network or the like. The device manager 170 may also incorporate a wireless local area network (WLAN), or the like, that is capable of receiving commands from a UE 150 with a compatible transceiver. For the DVB-T path, the DVB-T receiver can receive multiple channels and tune to the desired program (content). If the DVB-T receiver is a set top box, the television program shown on the digital television is controlled by tuning the set top box to a particular channel. If the DVB-T receiver is connected to the device manager 170, the television program shown on the digital television is controlled by the device manager 170, which also controls the tuning of the DVB-T receiver.
If a second digital video broadcast device is available and a corresponding digital video broadcast program is available, step 230 determines if the user would like to quit receiving the digital video broadcast program. For example, a user might want to quit receiving a digital video broadcast program upon returning home in order to give her full attention to her family. If so, step 270 releases the digital video broadcast resources of the first digital video broadcast device and the flow ends in step 290. An indication of quitting can be as simple as the user pressing an “OFF” button on the first digital video broadcast device or can be complicated and involve setting-up a user profile or using a location determination service to indicate that reception of the digital video broadcast program should be discontinued.
If the user would like to continue receiving the digital video broadcast program, step 240 determines whether the digital video broadcast program should be transferred to the second digital video broadcast device. This may involve looking up the second digital video broadcast device in a user preference profile or the like. If the user would like to continue receiving the digital video broadcast program on the first digital video broadcast device, the flow returns to step 210. If the user would like to transfer the program to the second device, step 250 enables the second digital video broadcast device and the corresponding digital video broadcast program.
After the second digital video broadcast device is enabled and set to the corresponding digital video broadcast program, step 260 causes the first digital video broadcast device to wait a predetermined amount of time before the digital video broadcast resources of the first digital video broadcast device are released in step 270. Step 260 allows for a warm-up time on the second digital video broadcast device (if needed) and also provides a transition time where both digital video broadcast devices are “ON” and tuned to corresponding digital video broadcast programs to allow the user time to shift attention from the first digital video broadcast device to the second digital video broadcast device. Although it is envisioned that the predetermined time period will be one to five minutes in length, the predetermined time period can be set to 0 seconds if no transition time is desired or longer than a few 20 minutes if desired.
After the digital video broadcast resources of the first digital video broadcast device are released, the flow ends in step 290 and the first digital video broadcast device is free to start receiving another digital video broadcast program or to exit the digital video broadcast reception mode. If the first digital video broadcast device is User Equipment, exiting DVB-H mode reduces the power consumption of the UE and extends its battery life while allowing the user to continue watching the digital video broadcast program on the second digital video broadcast device.
In step 310, a UE in DVB-H mode is receiving a DVB-H program. In step 320, the UE determines whether a DVB-T device is available and a DVB-T program corresponding to the DVB-H program is also available. If they are not available, the flow returns to step 310. If they are available, step 330 determines whether the user would like to continue receiving the digital video broadcast program. Note that in step 330, the program content is of importance and not the format of the program. If the user does not desire to continue watching the program, step 370 releases the DVB-H resources of the UE and the flow ends in step 390. At this point, the user may cause the UE to select a different digital video broadcast program or the user may cause the UE to exit DVB-H mode.
If the user wishes to continue receiving the digital video broadcast program, step 340 determines if the user initiated a transfer of the digital video broadcast program from the UE to the DVB-T device. Such as transfer can be initiated by pressing a key on the UE, scrolling to an appropriate menu option, or using voice control of the UE. If no transfer is desired, the flow returns to step 310 and the user continues to receive the DVB-H program on the UE. If a transfer is desired, step 350 enables the DVB-T device and the corresponding DVB-T program. Then, step 360 causes the UE to wait a predetermined amount of time (including waiting no time) before step 370 releases the DVB-H resources of the UE and the flow ends in step 390.
By transitioning a digital video broadcast program from DVB-H on a UE to DVB-T on her digital television, the user is saving battery resources on the UE and reducing the use of bandwidth and other wireless resources. The user is also being cost-effective by transferring from a per-minute charge on the UE to a flat-fee charge on the digital television. Finally, the user is experiencing a better video broadcast because the digital television is receiving a higher data-stream video broadcast and presumably has a larger display and better audio capabilities.
In step 410, a UE in DVB-H mode is receiving a DVB-H program. In step 420, the UE determines whether a DVB-T device is available and a DVB-T program corresponding to the DVB-H program is also available. If they are not available, the flow returns to step 410. If they are available, step 430 determines whether the user would like to quit receiving the digital video broadcast program. The step 430 determination can be made manually (e.g., by the user pressing an “OFF” button) or automatically by consulting a user preference profile stored in the UE. If the user desires to quit watching the program, step 470 releases the DVB-H resources of the UE and the flow ends in step 490.
If the user wishes to continue receiving the digital video broadcast program, step 442 looks up the DVB-T device in the user preference profile. If step 444 determines that the DVB-T device has a lower preference than the UE in the user preference profile, the UE automatically determines that no transfer of the program should occur and the flow returns to step 410. If step 444 determines that the DVB-T device has a higher preference than the UE according to the user preference profile, the UE enables the DVB-T device and the corresponding DVB-T program in step 450. After the UE enables the DVB-T device and DVB-T program, the UE waits for a predetermined amount of time (where the predetermined amount of time could be 0 seconds) in step 460 and releases the DVB-H resources of the UE in step 470 before ending the flow in step 490.
Automatically-initiated transitioning of a digital video broadcast program is especially convenient when a user has a routine and regularly transfers digital video broadcast programs from one device to another based on factors that can be formalized into a user preference profile. In addition to manually-initiated transitioning and automatically-initiated transitioning, there is an opportunity to implement a hybrid of the two. For example, a hybrid could include consulting a user preference profile and, if the second digital video broadcast device is not found in the user preference profile, presenting to the user the question of whether to transition a digital video broadcast program to the second digital video broadcast device in order to receive instructions for manually-initiated transitioning.
In step 510, a DVB-T device such as a digital television is receiving a DVB-T program. In step 520, a device manager 170 determines whether a DVB-H device is available and a DVB-H program corresponding to the DVB-T program is also available through a media server 120. A DVB-H device could be a UE or a laptop computer equipped with hardware for a DVB-H mode. If they are not available, the flow returns to step 510. If they are available, step 530 determines whether the user would like to continue receiving the digital video broadcast program. Note that in step 530, the program content is of importance and not the format of the program. If the user does not desire the continue watching the program, step 570 releases the DVB-T resources of the DVB-T device and the flow ends in step 590. The user can indicate her desire to discontinue the program by pressing an “OFF” button of the DVB-T device or selecting a different DVB-T program or “digital television channel.”
If the user wishes to continue receiving the digital video broadcast program, step 540 determines if the user initiated a transfer of the digital video broadcast program from the DVB-T device to the DVB-H device. If no transfer is desired, the flow returns to step 510 and the user continues to receive the DVB-T program on the DVB-T device. If a transfer is desired, step 550 enables the DVB-H device and the corresponding DVB-H program. Then, step 560 causes the DVB-T device to wait a predetermined amount of time (where the predetermined amount of time could be “no time”) before step 570 releases the DVB-T resources of the DVB-T device and the flow ends in step 590.
By transitioning a digital video broadcast program from DVB-T on a DVB-T device (such as a digital television) to a DVB-H program on a UE or laptop computer, the user is able to take advantage of a portable digital video broadcast device and continue receiving a digital video broadcast program while in transit or while in a location where she does not have control over DVB-T devices. Although the DVB-H signal quality may not be as good as the corresponding DVB-T signal quality, or the display size or audio capability of the DVB-H device might be inferior to that of the DVB-T device, the user has already indicated that she would like to continue watching the program and it is assumed that a lower quality program is preferred to no program at all.
In step 610, a DVB-T device such as a digital television is receiving a DVB-T program. In step 620, a device manager 170 determines whether a DVB-H device is available and a DVB-H program corresponding to the DVB-T program is also available through a media server 120. A DVB-H device could be a UE or a laptop computer equipped with hardware for a DVB-H mode. If they are not available, the flow returns to step 610. If they are available, step 630 determines whether the user would like to continue receiving the digital video broadcast program. Note that in step 630, the program content is of importance and not the format of the program. If the user desires to quit receiving the program, step 670 releases the DVB-T resources of the DVB-T device and the flow ends in step 690. The user can indicate her desire automatically by programming the user preference profile of the DVB-T device or the device manager or alternately the user can indicate her desire manually by pressing an “OFF” button of the DVB-T device or selecting a different DVB-T program or “digital television channel.”
If the user wishes to continue receiving the digital video broadcast program, step 642 looks up the DVB-H device in the user preference profile. If step 644 determines that the DVB-H device has a lower profile than the DVB-T device in the user preference profile, the DVB-T device automatically determines that no transfer of the program should occur and the flow returns to step 610. If step 644 determines that the DVB-H device has a higher preference than the DVB-T device according to the user preference profile, the DVB-T device enables the DVB-H device and the corresponding DVB-H program in step 650. After the DVB-T device enables the DVB-H device and DVB-H program, the DVB-T device waits for a predetermined amount of time (where the predetermined amount of time could be 0 seconds) in step 660 and releases the DVB-T resources of the DVB-T device in step 670 before ending the flow in step 690.
By automatically transitioning a digital video broadcast program from DVB-T on a DVB-T device (such as a digital television) to a DVB-H program on a UE or laptop computer, the user is able to take advantage of a portable digital video broadcast device and continue receiving a digital video broadcast program while in transit or while in a location where she does not have control over DVB-T devices. Although a DVB-T device may normally be preferred, a user preference profile can be programmed to prefer a DVB-H device if the user has habits that can be formalized in the user preference profile. For example, a user can program a user preference profile to give a higher preference to a UE with DVB-H capabilities during the times-of-day and days-of-week when she normally commutes or is waiting for a bus or train. As another example, a user can program a user preference profile to give a higher preference to a UE with DVB-H capabilities when the UE is outside of a particular geographic area. Such automatically-initiated transitioning can be very convenient for users with regular habits that can be programmed into the user preference profile.
In step 710, a device with both DVB-T and DVB-H capabilities is in DVB-H mode and is receiving a DVB-H program. Such as device can be a laptop computer. In step 720, the laptop computer determines whether a DVB-T program corresponding to the DVB-H program is also available. If no corresponding DVB-T program is available, the flow returns to step 710. If a corresponding program is available, step 730 determines whether the user would like to continue receiving the digital video broadcast program. Note that step 730 can implicitly determine that the user would like to continue the program if the user does not indicate that she would like to quit the program. If the user indicates a desire to quit receiving the program, step 770 releases the DVB-H resources of the laptop computer and the flow ends in step 790. At this point, the user may cause the laptop computer to select a different digital video broadcast program or the user may cause the laptop computer to exit DVB-H mode.
If the user wishes to continue receiving the digital video broadcast program, step 740 determines if there is a request to initiate a transfer of the digital video broadcast program from the DVB-H receiver to the DVB-T receiver. This transfer request can be received manually from the user or automatically by consulting a user preference profile stored in the laptop. If no transfer is desired, the flow returns to step 710 and the user continues to receive the DVB-H program. If a transfer is desired, step 750 enables the DVB-T receiver to receive the corresponding DVB-T program. Because the DVB-T program is being receiving using the same device as the DVB-H program, the waiting time period in step 760 can be set to zero, and step 770 immediately releases the DVB-H resources of the laptop computer before the flow ends in step 790.
Although transitioning a digital video broadcast program from DVB-H to DVB-T on a laptop computer may not affect the power consumption rate significantly and does not affect the display size and audio capabilities of the laptop computer, the user may receive a higher quality video and audio signal through the DVB-T format than the DVB-H format. Also, due to the tuning capabilities of a DVB-T receiving, it may be easier to change digital television channels while receiving a DVB-T signal than while receiving a DVB-H signal. Alternately, a user may enjoy the features enabled by a cellular return channel and prefer DVB-H programming over corresponding DVB-T programming on the laptop computer. In either case, the flow chart 700 allows for manual or automatic transitioning of a digital video broadcast program from the DVB-H format to the DVB-T format. The flow chart 200 can also be applied to a situation where it is desired to transfer a digital video broadcast program from DVB-T format to DVB-H format.
Step 310 of
After the UE is receiving a DVB-H program (see step 310 in
After the user initiates a request to transfer the digital video broadcast program from the UE to the DVB-T device, the UE 850 transmits a request for DVB-T service signal 810 to the cellular network 840. The request signal 810 includes information regarding the current DVB-H program currently being received by the UE 850. See step 350 in
In this signal flow diagram 800, it is assumed that the DVB-T device 860 has digital broadcast channel selection capabilities and that an appropriate channel can be selected either through the media server 820 or through the UE 850 acting as a remote controller to the DVB-T device. Thus, the UE 850 and the DVB-T device 860 will have corresponding digital video broadcast programming showing during the predetermined time period and then the DVB-H programming will end while the DVB-T programming will continue.
Step 410 of
After the UE is receiving a DVB-H program (see step 410 in
The device manager 970 then transmits a signal 914 to activate the selected device. Next, the device manager 970 requests from the UE 950 service information relating to the DVB-H program currently being received on the UE using signal 916. The UE 950 responds to the device manager 970 with the DVB-H program information in signal 920. The device manager 970 tunes to the corresponding DVB-T channel and sends the channel content to the DVB-T device 960 using signal 924. After a predetermined amount of time 926, the device manager 970 authorizes the release of DVB-H resources on the UE 950 using signal 928.
In this signal flow diagram 900, it is assumed that the device manager 970 has digital broadcast channel selection capabilities and that any DVB-T device 960 channel selection capabilities are being over-ridden by the device manager 970. This signal flow diagram 900 shows how a digital video broadcast program can be transferred from DVB-H format on a UE to a DVB-T format on a DVB-T device in a WiFi network.
Although the general flow chart 200 shown in
While this disclosure includes what are considered presently to be the preferred embodiments and best modes of the invention described in a manner that establishes possession thereof by the inventors and that enables those of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention, it will be understood and appreciated that there are many equivalents to the preferred embodiments disclosed herein and that modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, which are to be limited not by the preferred embodiments but by the appended claims, including any amendments made during the pendency of this application and all equivalents of those claims as issued.
It is further understood that the use of relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like, if any, are used solely to distinguish one from another entity, item, or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities, items or actions. Much of the inventive functionality and many of the inventive principles are best implemented with or in software programs or instructions. It is expected that one of ordinary skill, notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design choices motivated by, for example, available time, current technology, and economic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principles disclosed herein will be readily capable of generating such software instructions and programs with minimal experimentation. Therefore, further discussion of such software, if any, will be limited in the interest of brevity and minimization of any risk of obscuring the principles and concepts according to the present invention.
As understood by those in the art, the various devices shown in
