METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING A PICTURE IN PICTURE SERVICE

Abstract

A method of forming a picture in picture (PIP) service over an internet protocol (IP) transmission to one or more users, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a request for a PIP channel comprising a first predetermined channel superimposed with a second predetermined channel; determining if the PIP channel already exists; forming the PIP channel if it does not already exist; and transmitting the PIP channel on a dedicated channel to any users who have requested that PIP channel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made by way example, to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is an example of a picture in picture (PIP);

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system for delivering a PIP service to a user, according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the functionality of the PIP service, according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a table for showing the PIP table of information; and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the steps carried out in the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of forming a picture in picture (PIP) service over an internet protocol (IP) transmission to one or more users, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a request for a PIP channel comprising a first predetermined channel superimposed with a second predetermined channel;determining if the PIP channel already exists;forming the PIP channel if it does not already exist; andtransmitting the PIP channel on a dedicated channel to any users who have requested that PIP channel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving a request comprises requesting a PIP channel comprising more than two channels.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein if a PIP channel matching the request already exists then further comprising notifying the user of the dedicated channel on which the PIP channel is transmitted.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: entering the details of each predetermined channel required for the PIP channel in a table; andusing the table to determine if the PIP channel exists.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of entering details comprises entering details of the dedicated channel for the PIP channel in the table.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising updating the table with any new requests for a PIP channel.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising transmitting the contents of the table to a client table at the user location.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising using the client table to make the request for the PIP channel.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising stopping transmission of the dedicated channel carrying the PIP channel if no users still require the particular combination of the first and second channels.

10. A system of forming a picture in picture (PIP) service over an internet protocol (IP) transmission to one or more users, the system comprising: means for receiving a request for a PIP channel comprising a first predetermined channel superimposed with a second predetermined channel;means for determining if the PIP channel already exists;means for forming the PIP channel if it does not already exist; andmeans for transmitting the PIP channel on a dedicated channel to any users who have requested that PIP channel.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the means for receiving a request comprises a means for requesting a PIP channel comprising more than two channels.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein if a PIP channel matching the request already exists then further comprising a means for notifying the user of the dedicated channel on which the PIP channel is transmitted.

13. The system of claim 10, further comprising: means for entering the details of each predetermined channel required for the PIP channel in a table; andmeans for using the table to determine if the PIP channel exists.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the means for entering details comprises means for entering details of the dedicated channel for the PIP channel in the table.

15. The system of claim 13, further comprising means for updating the table with any new requests for a PIP channel.

16. The system of claim 13, further comprising means for transmitting the contents of the table to a client table at the user location.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising means for using the client table to make the request for the PIP channel.

18. The system of claim 10, further comprising means for stopping transmission of the dedicated channel carrying the PIP channel if no users still require the particular combination of the first and second channels.

19. A computer program product stored on a computer readable medium for forming a picture in picture (PIP) service over an internet protocol (IP) transmission, the computer readable medium comprising program code for performing the steps of: receiving a request for a PIP channel comprising a first predetermined channel superimposed with a second predetermined channel;determining if the PIP channel already exists;forming the PIP channel if it does not already exist; andtransmitting the PIP channel on a dedicated channel to any users who have requested that PIP channel.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, the program code further performing the steps of: entering the details of each predetermined channel required for the PIP channel in a table; andusing the table to determine if the PIP channel exists.