This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to a Korean Patent Application filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Mar. 5, 2010 and assigned Serial No. 10-2010-0020027, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving a content file, and more particularly, to a content file transmission and reception method and apparatus for providing semantic configuration and role information of content including a plurality of stream groups.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, with the expansion of digital content markets and the diversity of available platforms, there is an increasing demand for complex content rather than single type content. For example, a main service stream and an additional information stream such as an advertisement stream may constitute complex content by being created as one service object rather than individual streams.
The recently produced and distributed content is characterized in that the content can be produced and distributed in real time, can be reconfigured and redistributed, and can be controlled according to user preference. The recent content reflecting these characteristics includes, for example, free content that users can freely use, copy, change, and redistribute without any special restrictions, and open content allowing the users to share creations such as texts, videos, and music.
Using free content and open content, many different types of content may be created by different producers according to their purposes and intentions. For example, using source content A, B, and C, a service provider may create content in which the source content A is its main content, and may also create content in which the source content B or C is its main content. Accordingly, the utilization of content depends on semantic configurations and roles of various source streams constituting the content.
However, conventional content delivery and provision technology have limitations in providing content, taking into account the semantic configurations and roles of content, because the technology merely focuses on providing delivered content in predetermined sizes and shapes at predetermined times.
Accordingly, the present invention is designed to address at least the problems and/or disadvantages discussed above and to provide at least the advantages described below. An aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for recording and playing content including a plurality of stream groups.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a content providing method and apparatus for enabling free adjustment and control of content by providing semantic configuration and role information of the provided content.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method for receiving a plurality of content is provided. The method includes acquiring classification information from a server; and classifying the plurality of content provided from the server according to the classification information.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method for transmitting a plurality of content is provided. The method includes providing classification information to a reception apparatus; and providing, to the reception apparatus, the plurality of content information, which is classifiable based on the classification information.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for receiving a plurality of content is provided. The apparatus includes a receiver for receiving classification information and the plurality of content from a server; and a processor for classifying the plurality of content according to the classification information.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for transmitting a plurality of content is provided. The apparatus includes a data processor for generating classification information; and a transmitter for transmitting, to a reception apparatus, the plurality of content, which is classifiable based on the classification information.
The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Throughout the drawings, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements, features and structures.
Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, specific details, such as detailed configuration and components, are merely provided to assist the overall understanding of certain embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.
Referring to
Referring to
To address these and other disadvantages, a content providing method and apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention facilitate free adjustment and control of content according to various content types and user intentions by providing semantic configuration and role information of the content including stream groups consisting of a plurality of streams. These multiple streams may include additional streams that are generated and provided during service of main content. Herein, the terms “stream” and “content” will be used in the same meaning. Additionally, the streams or content may be transmitted in segments.
The information for content control, as will be described herein below, may be configured as a recording and delivery medium that stores and/or carries information. Although it will not be described herein in detail, the control information or the medium may be included in any data formats capable of recording, transmitting, delivering, and storing data.
Further, the complex content consisting of multiple source content types, as will be described herein below, may be configured as a logical object or an aggregate of streams, and an aggregate of complex source content may constitute one new content or object. Herein, the term “complex content” refers to an aggregate of multiple content types.
Referring to
Referring to
After receiving the complex content and classification information, the client apparatus classifies the multiple content types depending on the classification information in step 402, and processes the complex content according to the relationship between the identified multiple content types in step 404. In step 404, depending on the relationship between the multiple content types, the client apparatus may determine which content is main content and which content is additional content, and may also determine the number of additional content among the multiple content types. Based on the relationship between the identified multiple content types, the client apparatus may process the main content and additional content independently.
For example, if the additional content is about an emergency broadcast, the client apparatus may provide the additional content about the emergency broadcast while playing the main content. However, if the additional content is an advertisement, the client apparatus may provide the additional content in the middle of the main content, or after the main content is completed. In step 406, the client apparatus plays the complex content.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The complex content described herein may be configured as an aggregate of multiple complex content 1006 and 1008, as illustrated in
More specifically, referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The configuration files 700, 800, 900, 1000, and 1100, as described above, providing information, such as information provision for services and setting/initialization, and may be Media Presentation Descriptions (MPDs), manifests, configurations, etc. Additionally, any information having the same meaning or the same role may be determined as the same information as the configuration information.
Although basic field and attribute information have been or will be provided in this specification, configuration file information described in each embodiment of the present invention may further include additional information, such as fields and attributes according to the environments and/or services in use, but it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
Additionally, while logical semantics of information included in the configuration file are illustrated and described in this specification, they may be represented in various information representation structures or formats such as eXtensible Markup Language (XML), binary data, formatted information structures, according to the system, and service production or provision environments.
Referring to
In
Table 1 shows an example of the stream type (streamType) 1208 indicating whether the stream is a main service/content stream or an additional content stream of the content according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The stream type (streamType) 1208 may also describe a role of the content stream in detail, as shown in the example of Table 2. Table 2 shows an example of the stream type (streamType) 1208 indicating whether the stream is a content stream for an emergency message service, a stream for an advertisement, or a user-defined stream.
Referring to
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention for providing semantic configuration and role information of complex content, an example of configuring a complex content structure including multiple streams or multiple content types in one file or formatted content storage format will be described below. In the following description, examples of a complex content structure including multiple content types/streams will be described according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)-based file format.
The ISO-based media file format is defined in “Information technology-coding of audio-visual objects—part 12: ISO base media file format” of the ISO/IEC international standard 14496-12:2005. A file in this format includes media data of streams and metadata including information for playing the streams. A basic building block in the ISO-based media file format is called a “box”, and the box is an objected-oriented basic building block in the ISO-based media file format. Each box includes a header and a payload. A header represents a type of the box and a size of the box in bytes. A plurality of specified boxes are derived from a “full box” structure including a version number and a flag in the header. A box may include another box, and the ISO file format designates types of boxes allowable in specific types of boxes.
Media data of a stream is stored in a media data (mdat) box as an Audio/Video (A/V) file, metadata thereof is stored in a MOOV box, and a file type thereof is stored in a file type (ftyp) box. Accordingly, the ISO-based media file format includes a plurality of boxes including A/V data and detailed information about the A/V data. In this specification, the term “box” may also be referred to as a “data block” or a “container”.
A more detailed description of the ISO-based media file format will be omitted so as not to obscure the subject matter of the present invention.
Referring to
The MOOV box 1402 includes track (trak) boxes 1402a and 1402b for referencing streams that are recorded in the mdat box 1404 on a track basis.
The mdat box 1404 includes actual stream data corresponding to each track, and A/V data may be stored in the mdat box 1404 on a unit data basis, such as a frame and a sample.
Although the ISO/IEC 14496-12 standard-based media file format illustrated in
Each of storage formats 1500 and 1700 illustrated in
In
The reference type (reference_type) is information included in track reference (tref) boxes 1514b and 1714, and the tref boxes 1514b and 1714 may be used to connect with other tracks that the current tracks reference, or by which the current tracks are referenced, using the reference type (reference_type) and track IDs (track_ID). Therefore, by checking the reference type (reference_type) of the tref box in the complex content structure storage format according to an embodiment of the present invention, a client apparatus may determine that the track that the current track will reference, or by which the current track is referenced, is an additional media track (addm), i.e., a track including content other than the main service, e.g., an emergency message service or an advertisement.
More specifically, referring to
In
Referring to
The terminal checks a reference type (reference_type) of the track reference (tree box 1514b in step 1650, and determines in step 1660 whether a value of the reference type (reference_type) is “addm”. If a value of the reference type (reference_type) is “addm”, this indicates that the track is a track including content other than the main service, such as an emergency message service or an advertisement. Accordingly, the terminal may determine which type of track the track containing the main service content is, by checking a value of the track_ID field of the track reference (tree box 1514b in step 1670. All steps succeeding step 1630 of checking the track (trak) boxes may be repeated from the first track to the last track of the image file.
Although the process of checking boxes is included in the description of operations of all terminals, the order of checking the boxes should not necessarily follow the order in the drawing. The file format analysis process and its associated terminal operation, which have not been described herein in detail, may follow details in the ISO/IEC 14496-12 standard.
Referring again to
A track reference (tref) box 1714 included in the track (trak) box 1712 corresponding to the main service content 1720a includes a reference type (reference_type) and a track identifier (track_ID). The client apparatus checks the reference type (reference_type) included in the track reference (tref) box 1714, and if the reference type (reference_type) is set as “addm”, the client apparatus determines that the track corresponding to the track (trak) box 1712 is a track including the main service content 1720a.
Referring to
The terminal checks the reference type (reference_type) in the track reference (tref) box 1714 in step 1850, and if its value is set as “addm” in step 1860, determining that the track is a track including the main service content 1720a, the terminal may determine which type of track the track including content other than the main service (such as an emergency message service or an advertisement) is, by checking a value of the track_ID field in the track reference (tref) box 1714 in step 1870. All steps succeeding step 1830 of checking the track (trak) boxes may be repeated from the first track to the last track of the image file.
Although the process of checking boxes is required in the description of operations of all terminals, the order of checking the boxes should not necessarily follow the order in the drawing. The file format analysis process and its associated terminal operation, which have not been described herein in detail, may follow details in the ISO/IEC 14496-12 standard.
Specifically,
Referring to
The method proposed in the present invention may configure new boxes of the storage format in various forms such as a file-level box, a moov-level box, a track-level box, a moov-level meta box, a track-level meta box, etc., specified in the ISO-based media file format. Although not be configured in boxes as illustrated in
In
The uuid box 1920 includes the number of additional media content types as information indicating how many additional content types are included in the mdat box 1950. The number of additional media content types is defined in an “additional media count” field. The uuid box 1920 includes track IDs of the additional content types.
In
Referring to
Additionally, the meta information or meta information file may include related information of the complex content configured in multiple content storage formats as illustrated in
When services are configured as illustrated in
Specifically,
The new boxes of the complex content storage format described above may be configured in various forms such as a file-level box, a moov-level box, a track-level box, a moov-level meta box, a track-level meta box, etc., specified in the ISO/IEC 14496-12 standard. Each of the newly defined boxes may be distinguished by defining its identifier as “uuid”, and setting a value of an ID field of “uuid” as a specific value indicating that the box is for including information as described in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Alternatively, a newly defined box may be defined by setting its unique name such as “admt”, as illustrated in
In this case, the terminal may check reference information for meta information or meta information file, using reference information-related boxes for the external data, content, or data source. While an item location box (iloc) and/or item information box (iinf) box 2704 of a meta box 2702 is used as a reference information-related box in
If the meta information is included in the content storage format as illustrated in
In the following description, if the meta information 2508 and 2612 is included in the complex content storage formats 2500 and 2600, respectively, as illustrated in
Referring to
The terminal identifies meta information by checking the meta information or meta information box in step 2830, and checks a main media track and an additional media track, or semantic configuration and role of each track in step 2840. Thereafter, the terminal may check a moov box and a track (trak) box in steps 2850 and 2860, respectively.
If the meta information or meta information box is configured in a file-level box, a moov-level box, a track-level box, a moov-level meta box, or a track-level meta box, then the terminal may perform a step of analyzing an upper-level box of the relevant box, replacing step 2820.
For example, if the meta information or meta information box is configured in a moov-level box, the terminal may receive a content storage format, determine if the received content storage format is a content storage format including meta information or meta information box, check a MOOV box first, and check meta information (admt) configured in its lower level in step 2830.
Referring to
The track element 2904 in
Referring to
The item_Type 3012 is attribute information providing the same information as the contentType 2910 in
Referring to
Referring to
The information about the content providing method of
The information about the content providing method of
The meta information described herein may change a content provision method, a content display method, or a content storage method according to the semantic configuration and role information of content, or may further provide information about the content provision method, the content display method, or the content storage method according to the semantic configuration and role information of content.
As an example of the content display method, information for determining whether to provide data of streams 1 and 2 simultaneously, or whether to provide the stream 2 in the middle of the stream 1, may be further added, and the content provision method may be determined based on the meta information described in the present invention.
As another example of the content display method, for video content, detailed information as shown in Table 4 may be provided by providing new attribute information for layout information, and the content provision method may be determined by checking the meta information described in the third embodiment.
As another example of the content display method, for audio content, unlike video content, if two different audio streams are played simultaneously, normal audio services may not be provided. While a service such as an advertisement is being provided according to the semantic configurations and roles of content, detailed service provision-related attribute information, such as reducing the volume for the main media, muting the main media, and skipping data of the main service, may also be provided as meta information. Also, the content provision method may be determined by checking the configuration information and meta information including the above-described semantic configuration and role information of content.
Additionally, the content stored in a receiving terminal may be controlled according to the configuration information and meta information including the above-described semantic configuration and role information of content. After undergoing a content provision process such as playing service content by checking configuration information and meta information including the semantic configurations and roles of content, the receiving terminal may select and store the content/stream/track according to the configuration information and meta information including the semantic configurations and roles of content.
For example, if complex content includes a stream 1, a stream 2, and a stream 3 as its main service content, and a stream 4 and a stream 5 as advertisement service content, stream 1, stream 2, and stream 3 are stored as main service content in a storage of the receiving terminal, and then configured in a separate media file and managed.
While a single media file is transmitted in the foregoing description, one file including a stream 1, a stream 2, and a stream 3 constituting the main service content and another file including a stream 4 and a stream 5 constituting the advertisement service content may be stored and managed as separate content files independently according to the configuration information and meta information including the semantic configurations and roles of content.
Referring to
The data generator 3310 generates raw data such as texts, videos, audios, graphics, and metadata capable of constituting content, including image generation devices (e.g., camera and camcorder), acoustic devices, and text generators. Data output from the data generator 3310 is input to the input unit 3320. The input unit 3320 provides the data received from the data generator 3310 to the image signal processor 3330, in which the data output from the input unit 3320 undergoes preprocessing. The preprocessing may include all operations of converting an input image from analog to digital, and transforming input data using necessary external input values to provide the image data.
The data preprocessed by the image signal processor 3330 is output to the encoder 3340. Although a storage structure for buffering is not illustrated separately between the components shown in
The file/stream creator 3350 creates content files or data streams from the data encoded by the encoder 3340 according to the transmission format or unit, and outputs them to the content semantic configuration and role information generator 3360. The content semantic configuration and role information generator 3360 generates semantic configuration and role information of content files according to an embodiment of the present invention. If a complex content file is configured to include the semantic configuration and role information of a content file, the file/stream creator 3350 may generate semantic configuration and role information of a content file. The semantic configuration and role information of a content file may be generated by a separate data generator and transmitted to a receiving terminal, when the file created by the file/stream creator 3350 is transmitted.
The content semantic configuration and role information generator 3360 generates information about relationships between and roles of the contents included in the complex content according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The information about relationships between and roles of the contents may be included in classification information for classifying the contents. The data generator 3310, the input unit 3320, the image signal processor 3330, the encoder 3340, the file/stream creator 3350, and the content semantic configuration and role information generator 3360 may be included in a data processor 502, as illustrated in
Referring to
If a complex content file is configured to include the content semantic configuration and role information, the file/stream analyzer 3430 may include a process of analyzing the content semantic configuration and role information. The decoder 3440 decodes the content data analyzed and extracted by the file/stream analyzer 3430. The decoding process is performed, when the complex content file transmission apparatus 3300 encodes the file/stream using the encoder 3340. The data encoded by more than one encoder, may be decoded by their associated decoder, or may be decoded selectively depending on the systems or terminals, making it possible to provide different types/classes of services.
Although a separate storage is not illustrated in
The player 3450 plays the data provided from the decoder 3440 depending on the information analyzed by the content semantic configuration and role information analyzer 3420 and the file/stream analyzer 3430. The display 3460 displays the content played by the player 3450. This display 3460 refers to a final output device, or a physical output device, by which actual data is output and provided to the user. The content semantic configuration and role information analyzer 3420, the file/stream analyzer 3430, the decoder 3440, and the player 3450 may be included in a processor 604, as illustrated in
The information described in embodiments of the present invention and used to classify contents included in complex content is called ‘classification information’. For example, the classification information may include ‘stream_type’; ‘is_mainStream’; reference_type and track_ID included in a track reference (tref) box; ‘additional media count’ and track_ID included in a meta box or metadata; and ‘content_type’, ‘item_Type’, ‘is_mandatory’, and ‘can_skip’.
The foregoing details of the above-described embodiments of the present invention are subject to change according to the system or service environments. For example, upon checking storage format configuration information for real-time services, a terminal may determine that an advertisement, which has not been received at a terminal but is to be provided in the future, will be received in data of an additional media track. When services are provided in real time or an unexpected emergency message is created, to provide the above-described content semantic configuration and role information, a process of updating and delivering configuration information, or retransmitting and re-receiving the configuration information may be performed.
As is apparent from the above-described embodiments of the present invention, in providing complex content including multiple source contents or streams, information about semantic configurations and roles of various source streams constituting the complex content is proved, thereby making it possible to utilize the content according to various content types and user intentions. Such content may be provided as user-adaptive content.
While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
10-2010-0020027 | Mar 2010 | KR | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
20030061369 | Aksu et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
20040158579 | Gopalakrishnan | Aug 2004 | A1 |
20060059245 | Toma et al. | Mar 2006 | A1 |
20060092938 | Gentrix | May 2006 | A1 |
20060095974 | Ito et al. | May 2006 | A1 |
20070078954 | Seo | Apr 2007 | A1 |
20070201832 | Date et al. | Aug 2007 | A1 |
20070260627 | Knittel et al. | Nov 2007 | A1 |
20080147700 | Doi | Jun 2008 | A1 |
20080304766 | Lee et al. | Dec 2008 | A1 |
20090157750 | Kim et al. | Jun 2009 | A1 |
20090199100 | Hwang et al. | Aug 2009 | A1 |
20090210896 | Song et al. | Aug 2009 | A1 |
20090284583 | Hwang et al. | Nov 2009 | A1 |
20100061699 | Kang et al. | Mar 2010 | A1 |
20100146018 | Kim | Jun 2010 | A1 |
20110219098 | Xu et al. | Sep 2011 | A1 |
20120002947 | Rhyu et al. | Jan 2012 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
1755701 | Apr 2006 | CN |
101647280 | Feb 2010 | CN |
2003-297015 | Oct 2003 | JP |
2004-040329 | Feb 2004 | JP |
2004-312713 | Nov 2004 | JP |
2005-504480 | Feb 2005 | JP |
WO 2008091136 | Jul 2008 | WO |
WO 2008091136 | Jul 2008 | WO |
Entry |
---|
International Standard, Information Technology—Coding of Audio-Visual Objects—Part 12: ISO Base Media File Format, ISO/IEC 14496-12, Second Edition, Oct. 1, 2005. |
Chinese Office Action dated Jan. 16, 2015 issued in counterpart application No. 201180012492.0. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20120005303 A1 | Jan 2012 | US |