Patent Application
20110070820
Wireless communication technologies have seen explosive growth over the past few years. This growth has been fueled by wireless services providing freedom of movement to the mobile public, and cutting the tether to hardwired communication systems. As a result of service enhancements, the popularity of wireless services is expected to continue to grow rapidly. A recent addition to wireless communication services has been the ability to broadcast television and other content to mobile devices. Mobile multimedia broadcast services allow users to view TV programming, as well as receive mobile editions of news, entertainment, sports, business, and other programming, using their cell phone or other wireless mobile device configured to receive the mobile broadcast transmissions.
The various embodiments enable mobile devices to efficiently receive content corresponding to a user's selections by identifying content of interest based upon content description messages transmitted in a content description flow portion of mobile broadcast transmissions. A content description flow may be a low data rate portion of the mobile broadcast transmissions comprising data packets which include information about the nature of content elements to be broadcast. Information in the content description flow enables mobile devices to determine if the content is of interest to their user, and receive those contents determined to be of interest. Using the information in the content description flow, a mobile device can determine whether a particular portion of content is of interest, as well as when the content will be broadcast and the content flow address or identifier on which it can be received. Enabling mobile devices to screen broadcast content flows by monitoring the content description flow for content of interest can extend their battery life since the content description flow can be quickly downloaded and the receiver de-energized if no content is of interest to the user.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the features of the invention.
The various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. References made to particular examples and implementations are for illustrative purposes, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention or the claims.
The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations.
The terms “mobile device” and “receiver device” are used interchangeably herein to refer to any one or all of cellular telephones, personal data assistants (PDA's), palm-top computers, wireless electronic mail receivers (e.g., the Blackberry® and Treo® devices), multimedia Internet enabled cellular telephones (e.g., the Blackberry Storm®), Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, wireless gaming controllers, and similar personal electronic devices which include a programmable processor and memory and mobile multimedia broadcast receiver circuitry for receiving and processing mobile multimedia broadcast transmissions.
The word “broadcast” is used herein to mean the transmission of data (information packets) so that it can be received by a large number of receiving devices simultaneously. Examples of a broadcast message are mobile television service broadcast signals, including content broadcasts (content flow) and overhead information broadcasts (overhead flow) such as metadata messages.
Mobile multimedia receiver devices are different from traditional television sets in that the receiver devices are portable. Consequently, mobile devices configured to receive mobile multimedia broadcast services must be self-contained and designed to operate for extended periods of time on battery power. The need to be battery powered presents unique challenges to mobile multimedia broadcast systems. Mobile multimedia broadcast networks broadcast information in formats that enable mobile devices to selectively tune-in to receive desired content and de-energize their broadcast receiver whenever the desired content is not being broadcast. As a result of the data transmission structure, mobile multimedia receiver devices typically activate their receiver circuitry for a small percentage of the time, thereby reducing the amount of power required to receive desired content. Further, information about programs and content are broadcast in advance so that mobile devices can determine just when to tune-in to receive a selected content.
Mobile multimedia broadcast services enable mobile devices to be self-contained by broadcasting information about the programs and content that will be broadcast in the future via a portion of broadcast transmissions dedicated to carrying overhead information (referred to herein as the “overhead flow” or the “content description flow”) which is separate from the portion of the broadcast transmissions that carry the content (referred to herein as “content flow”). This information about the content information, or “metadata,” enables mobile devices to discover how and when to receive selected content. Mobile devices can also process this metadata to provide users with an electronic viewing guide. Such an electronic viewing guide, which is known in some mobile multimedia formats as a “service guide” or “electronic service guide” (ESG), is a viewable program guide similar to that available on cable and satellite television systems. The electronic viewing guide provided on mobile multimedia broadcast networks enables users to see what programming and content is available, when and on what “channel.” The electronic viewing guide may be presented in a graphical user interface format so that users can easily designate a program for viewing or content for download by selecting it within a display of future programs and content. In addition to identifying the start time and broadcast address for particular programs and content, the broadcast metadata may also include information regarding the nature of the content to be broadcast.
The various embodiments facilitate transmission of a variety of different content types that users can select for reception or download, thereby expanding the range of services that can be provided by mobile multimedia broadcast networks. The service guide information provided by conventional mobile multimedia broadcast networks, which resembles program guides provided on cable and satellite multimedia networks, works well for television format programs since such content runs for a significant period of time and are identified by a single program title (e.g., “Friends”). However, for scheduling different types of content, such as website updates, weather alerts, stock quotes, etc., which may involve frequent and very short broadcasts, conventional program guides may not provide an optimal user interface. Instead, it may be desirable to permit users to specify in advance the types of content desired and enable mobile devices to automatically watch for, recognize and download content matching the user's preferences. By enabling users to identify the types of content they want in advance, the various embodiments provide a new personalized content delivery service beyond the traditional linear broadcast multimedia in a broadcast network in an efficient manner.
The various embodiments enable mobile devices to efficiently receive mobile broadcast content corresponding to a user's selections based upon content description metadata transmitted in a content description flow portion of broadcast transmissions. A content description flow may be in the form of broadcast data packets which include information about the nature of content elements to be broadcast. Using the information in the content description flow, a mobile device can determine whether a particular content or portion of content is of interest, as well as when the content will be broadcast and the content flow address on which it can be received. Enabling mobile devices to screen broadcast content flows by monitoring the content description flow for content of interest can extend their battery life since the content description flow can be quickly downloaded and the receiver de-energized if no content is of interest to the user.
The various embodiments enable mobile multimedia broadcast services to deliver various kinds of contents to mobile devices in an efficient manner. For example, mobile multimedia broadcast services can be configured to deliver video clips, podcasts, webpage packages, stock updates, targeted advertisements, music downloads and music videos, and RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, which are a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format. Such materials may be broadcast together in combination with some metadata which describes their contents and specifies the broadcast window. Receiving devices may be configured with a user interface that enables users to specify the kinds of content (e.g., sports, news, financial news, movie trailers, video features, etc.) they are interested in receiving. Receiving devices then use the user selections to monitor the broadcasted content metadata to identify matches. When a content description metadata matches a user selected kind of content, receiving devices use the content information in the metadata to determine the time and network address for receiving the content. Using that information, the receiving devices can automatically receive the corresponding content within the respective broadcast windows. Such received content may then be cached in memory and presented to the user on demand.
Various embodiments enable personalized content delivery over a mobile broadcast network in an efficient manner by delivering the same content to a large number of users, with the receiving devices selecting only those contents of interest to their user. This delivery mechanism provides a smooth user interface since the personalized contents are automatically updated and saved so that they may be accessed instantly by the user, obviating the apparent download delay associated with other electronic content delivery services. This delivery mechanism is also energy efficient since the receiving device only needs to activate its receiving circuitry to receive the contents matching the user's interests, and only during their broadcast windows. This content delivery mechanism further enables content updates on a dynamic and frequent basis.
Providing more information about the information in the available content enables users and mobile devices to make more intelligent selections of content for viewing or download. This in turn enables mobile multimedia broadcast services to distribute a wide variety of content in addition to television programming. For example, broadcast content may include Internet webpages (e.g., webpages available at a particular URL, like www.cnn.com), tabulated data (e.g., stock quotes, sports scores, schedules, directories, etc.), images, video clips, audio recordings (e.g., music for download or streaming), etc. To enable users to select particular content from such a variety of content sources, the metadata may include specific details about the content on which the mobile device can index or search.
The content metadata referred to herein as “content description flow messages,” “Content Description Flow” or “CDF” may be transmitted in an overhead flow which is a low data rate portion of the mobile multimedia broadcast signal suitable for carrying overhead information like the program and content metadata. In contrast to this overhead flow, programs and content are broadcast via high data rate portions of the broadcast signal, which are collectively referred to herein as the “content flow.”
A number of different mobile broadcast television services and broadcast standards are available or contemplated in the future, all of which may implement and benefit from the various embodiments. Such services and standards include Open Mobile Alliance Mobile Broadcast Services Enabler Suite (OMA BCAST), MediaFLO, Digital Video Broadcast IP Datacasting (DVB-IPDC), and China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting (CMMB). While the broadcast formats and terminology vary among the different mobile multimedia broadcast service standards, they all employ metadata transmissions to enable mobile devices to receive selected content and inform users of programs and content available for viewing or download. To avoid confusion regarding particular broadcast standards, the generic terms content flow, overhead flow, and metadata messages are used herein to describe the various embodiments.
Example components of a typical mobile multimedia broadcast system are illustrated in
Typically, mobile multimedia broadcast service providers receive a variety of different programs and content from different content sources and content providers. The mobile multimedia broadcast service provider typically stores content in a server, schedules broadcast windows for each content, and then broadcasts the content in batches which are also referred to as content packages. A broadcast window is a period of time in which a particular content is to be broadcast. To enable mobile devices to receive the content, the mobile multimedia broadcast service provider server will generate metadata messages for transmission via the overhead flow that inform mobile devices when each program or content will be transmitted and the broadcast address on which the transmission will be made. Mobile devices can use the information in the metadata messages to determine if any of the content has been selected by the user for reception or download and, if so, determine the time to tune-in to the broadcast transmissions and the network address on which to receive the selected content.
A typical mobile multimedia broadcast network transmits content on a plurality of different channels or flows, thereby enabling several different programs to be broadcast simultaneously. Due to the nature of the broadcast transmission waveform, the plurality of different channels or flows may be carried over the same radio frequency spectrum, but include a structure and information that enables each of the channels or flows to be selected and received by the mobile devices 10. Individual channels or flows may be identified by an address or a flow identifier (ID). Information within the content description flow enables mobile devices 10 to determine the particular address or flow ID to access in order to receive particular content.
A mobile multimedia broadcast system may broadcast content in the form of content packages (CP) 40 as illustrated in
As mentioned above, the various embodiments provide information regarding broadcast content packages to enable mobile devices to determine whether any content matches user preference selections. This may be accomplished by broadcasting descriptions of the contents which are referred to as content package descriptions 50, an example of which is illustrated
Further details regarding an example CDF message 60 are illustrated in
A CDF message 60 may include a number of content description records (CDRs) each conveying information regarding content that will be broadcast on a particular content flow ID or address. Content package description 60 may include as many content description records as there are separate content flows within the broadcast transmission. A content description record for a content flow, such as content flow 1, may include a content flow ID 65a or address which identifies the particular content flow on which the described content package is transmitted. The content description record may further include information to facilitate reception of the content description record, such as the payload size 67a, as well as the content description record payload 69a. Using the payload size 67a, a receiving device can determine the number of bytes associated with the particular content description record payload 69a and use that information to parse the payload from the overall CDF message 60. The content description record payload may include the content package description 50, such as described above with reference to
A content package description message will typically specify the broadcast window for each content package broadcast unit in the corresponding content package. Broadcasting particular content within pre-announced broadcast windows enables receiver devices to save battery power by deactivating their receiver until the start of a broadcast window of a selected content package. Therefore, in order for a mobile device 10 to receive and process this information in time to receive a selected content in its broadcast window, the content package description should be broadcast on the content description flow prior to the broadcast window of the corresponding content package broadcast unit. The timing relationship between content package description broadcasts on the content description flow and the corresponding content packages broadcast on the content flow is illustrated in
In order to efficiently communicate content information in a reliable communication package, content package description messages may generated according to an information processing algorithm that condenses the content information and formats it into a broadcast format that can be received with low error rates even in a noisy environment.
As illustrated in
An example method 88 that may be implemented in a mobile device 10 for receiving content determined to be of interest to a user is illustrated in
This processing of signals by a mobile device 10 is illustrated further in
One consideration in the design of a mobile multimedia broadcast system according to the various embodiments is the timing between the broadcast of content packet description messages and the earliest time that broadcast can begin of the corresponding content package. Factors that should be considered in this determination are illustrated in
The timing relationship between CDF messages and broadcast content is illustrated in
When a new content package 2 is to be broadcast, mobile multimedia broadcast service providers will transmit a new or updated CDF message 50b. That new CDF message may be continuously broadcast in the content description flow until the next CDF message is broadcast.
An example embodiment method 120 by which a server within a mobile multimedia broadcast network may create and broadcast CDF messages is illustrated in
Typical mobile devices 10 suitable for use with the various embodiments will have in common the components illustrated in
The processor 131 may be any programmable microprocessor, microcomputer or multiple processor chip or chips that can be configured by software instructions (applications) to perform a variety of functions, including the functions of the various embodiments described herein. In some mobile devices, multiple processors 131 may be provided, such as one processor dedicated to wireless communication functions and one processor dedicated to running other applications. Typically, software applications may be stored in the internal memory 132 before they are accessed and loaded into the processor 131. In some mobile devices, the processor 131 may include internal memory sufficient to store the application software instructions. In some mobile devices, the secure memory may be in a separate memory chip coupled to the processor 131. In many mobile devices 10, the internal memory 132 may be a volatile or nonvolatile memory, such as flash memory, or a mixture of both. For the purposes of this description, a general reference to memory refers to all memory accessible by the processor 131, including internal memory 132, removable memory plugged into the mobile device, and memory within the processor 131 itself.
A number of the embodiments described above may also be implemented with any of a variety of commercially available remote server devices, such as the server 6 illustrated in
The foregoing embodiments enable a new personalized contents delivery service beyond that of traditional linear broadcast TV to devices in a very power efficient manner. With this service, various kinds of contents such as video clips, RSS, podcasts, web page packages, stock updates, targeted advertisements, etc. are broadcasted together to the receiver devices with meta-data describing the contents and specifying their respective broadcast windows (i.e., the period in which the contents are broadcast). The receiver device allows the user to specify the kinds of contents (e.g., sports news, financial news, movie trailers, YouTube featured videos and etc.) he/she is interested in receiving. Alternatively the receiver device may automatically determine contents that match the user's interest based on the user's profile. Then the receiver device selects the contents that match the user's interests based on the content's meta-data received in CDF messages, and receives the selected content within their broadcast windows. The contents can be automatically updated and saved on the receiver device. The various embodiments enable personalized content delivery in a broadcast system, which affords the following advantages: efficient content delivery since personalized contents delivery can be provided efficiently using broadcast networks to deliver the same contents to a large number of users; a smooth user experience since the personalized contents are automatically updated and saved so the saved contents are instantly available to the user (i.e., the user experiences no download delay); high power efficiency because the receiver device only activates the receiver circuitry to receive the contents that match the user's interest within the broadcast windows of such content; and delivery of up to date contents because the contents can be dynamically updated.
The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams are provided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed in the order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art the order of steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order. Words such as “thereafter,” “then,” “next,” etc. are not intended to limit the order of the steps; these words are simply used to guide the reader through the description of the methods. Further, any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles “a,” “an” or “the” is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular.
The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.
The hardware used to implement the various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Alternatively, some steps or methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function.
In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. The steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be embodied in a processor-executable software module executed which may reside on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that may be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a machine readable medium and/or computer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.
The preceding description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the following claims and the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
