Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
  • H04N21/414—Specialised client platforms, e.g. receiver in car or embedded in a mobile appliance
  • H04N21/41407—Specialised client platforms, e.g. receiver in car or embedded in a mobile appliance embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
  • H04N21/437—Interfacing the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. for transmitting client requests to a VOD server
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/23—Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
  • H04N21/234—Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing of video streams, manipulating MPEG-4 scene graphs
  • H04N21/2343—Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing of video streams, manipulating MPEG-4 scene graphs involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
  • H04N21/422—Input-only peripherals, i.e. input devices connected to specially adapted client devices, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
  • H04N21/42204—User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
  • H04N21/436—Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
  • H04N21/4363—Adapting the video or multiplex stream to a specific local network, e.g. a IEEE 1394 or Bluetooth® network
  • H04N21/43637—Adapting the video or multiplex stream to a specific local network, e.g. a IEEE 1394 or Bluetooth® network involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11]
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client 
  • H04N21/65—Transmission of management data between client and server
  • H04N21/658—Transmission by the client directed to the server
  • H04N21/6581—Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
  • H04N21/81—Monomedia components thereof
  • H04N21/8146—Monomedia components thereof involving graphical data, e.g. 3D object, 2D graphics
  • H04N21/8153—Monomedia components thereof involving graphical data, e.g. 3D object, 2D graphics comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N7/00—Television systems
  • H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
  • H04N7/173—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
  • H04N7/17309—Transmission or handling of upstream communications
  • H04N7/17318—Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Definitions

• the present invention generally relates to video and/or audio broadcasts and user interaction with TV-programs and other types of interactive content services.
• Digital TV-broadcasts have been started in many countries and they will replace the present analog TV-broadcasts in the long run.
• Digital broadcasting involves digital television, cable TV, video streaming, radio, multimedia programmes, the Internet etc.
• a digital television set may be able to receive all of these types of services.
• Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) and Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) are terms generally used in associa- tion with digital broadcasting.
• An interactive TV or a two-way TV is a term that is usually used when viewers can communicate with interactive TV-programs.
• a viewer can send information to the broadcaster or to a service provider to make orders, answer quizzes, take part in polls, etc.
• a return channel or a back channel is a term meaning the channel that is intended for transrnitting viewer information, such as the viewer's identity and choices, to a broadcaster or a third party.
• PSTN public switched telecommunication network
• a mobile communication network can be utilized when implementing a return channel.
• a viewer may send his/her information via a return channel to a broadcaster, for example, by using a mobile phone.
• An interactive content service meaning a service of which content is mainly transmitted via a video and/or audio broadcast network to users and which is coupled with at least one return channel.
• TV-programs and advertisements can be considered as interactive content services.
• the viewers of TV-programs obtain the content of a service mainly via their TV- receivers and, if they wish, they may use a return channel to interact with the said service.
• GB 2360171 describes one example of using a return channel.
• a telecommunication system is used for interaction between a viewer and a
• the viewer has a teddy bear with a control module.
• the viewer can act through the control module and as response to the user act, the TV-program service can, for example, move a leg of the teddy bear.
• the prior art TV-advertisement may contain a phone number, a text TV page, or an Internet address through which information about the advertised product is available.
• the phone number or the text TV page shown in the TV-advertisement is associated with an advertised product.
• the TV- advertisement contains an Internet address
• the said Internet address may be dedicated to the advertised product, or there is a link or a set of links through which the viewer obtains an Internet page containing information about the advertised product.
• a phone number, a text TV page, and an Internet address are the prior art means intended for viewer interaction with a TV-advertisement or another TV-program. Therefore phone numbers, text TV pages and Internet addresses could be termed "action codes". When a viewer sees something interesting on TV, he/she may act using an action code shown on TV.
• a TV-viewer is one example of a user and a radio listener is another example, thus the term "user” refers to the both of them.
• the first drawback of the prior art is that the usability of action codes is weak. Commercial breaks are often short, thus users may lack the time to write down a phone number. Again, making a phone call or using the Internet may cost too much to interest the users.
• the second drawback of the prior art is that interaction possibilities are very limited, because a service provider strictly controls the interaction.
• the service producer allocates a set of action codes, maps the action codes to one or more TV-programs, and shows them in the TV-programs.
• the third drawback is that there is a lack of means enabling a user to point to any piece in a broadcast when the user interacts with the service related to the broadcast. This kind of means would be very useful in some prior art content services and new types of content services. Summary of the invention
• broadcasts include a time code.
• a user captures a time code from a broadcast, for example, by using a remote control. Then the user sends the captured time code in a short message to a predefined phone number.
• a system receiving the short message obtains the time code from the short message. The said system has access to storage in which the broadcast is stored. The system reads the storage and finds the certain piece of the broadcast to which the time code is mapped. The system determines the context of the user action on grounds of the found piece of the broadcast.
• the context may be that the user wishes to get extra information about the product shown in the broadcast.
• a TV-receiver in accordance with the invention receives a signal initiated by a user and as response to the signal received obtains a time code or a corresponding code from the broadcast, wherein the said code identifies a certain piece in the broadcast. After that the TV-receiver presents the code to the user and/or sends the code to another device.
• the system in accordance with the invention is intended for one or more interactive content services.
• a still image service is one example of a new type of service.
• Figure 1 shows an example of time-based encoding
• Figure 2 shows an example of sequence number-based encoding
• Figure 3 shows a third example of encoding
• Figure 4 shows a TV-receiver for interactive programs
• Figure 5 shows a service display and an interaction logo intended for help- ing a viewer in interaction with a TV-program
• Figure 6 shows method for supporting user interaction
• Figure 7 shows an example of a system supporting user interaction.
• the invention comprises the method and system for supporting user interaction, as well as a terminal for presenting a broadcast that contains an interactive program.
• TV- and radio channels In many countries several TV- and radio channels simultaneously broadcast their programs. Some TV-channels show programs 24 hours a day and some of them have a transmission break at night. Let us suppose that the broadcast of a certain TV- or radio channel lasts at most 24 hours. If each piece of the broadcast is second's length, the broadcast is divided into at most 86400 pieces, wherein each piece is mapped to a certain code.
• the said code could be termed a POB code (a piece of broadcast code).
• a POB code can be used for the same purpose as a phone number, a TV text page, or an Internet address. There are various ways to encode POB codes and map the POB codes to the pieces of a broadcast.
• FIG. 1 shows an example of time-based encoding.
• a broadcast 101 is divided into 86400 pieces, so that the first piece 102 of the broadcast is mapped to a POB code 00.00:00, the second piece 103 is mapped to a POB code 00.00:01 etc.
• each piece of the broadcast is one second in length. Pieces could be shorter or longer, too.
• a TV-broadcast can be divided into pieces that are still images.
• the POB codes mapped to the pieces of the TV-broadcast preferably include one hundredths of a second. Therefore a user can to point any still image he/she wants to by using the POB code mapped to it. This way the user may get, for example, a picture of his/her favourite actor, a video clip, or an animation.
• FIG. 2 shows an example of sequence number-based encoding.
• a broadcast 201 is divided into 86400 pieces so, that the first piece 202 of the broadcast is mapped to a POB code 1 , the second piece 203 is mapped to a POB code 2, the third piece 204 is mapped to POB code 3 etc.
• a radio listener may get information about a piece of music played on the radio by sending the POB code to the radio station.
• the piece of music is the piece of the broadcast to which the POB code is mapped.
• the piece of music may last, for example, two minutes, thus the said piece of the broadcast also lasts two minutes.
• POB codes can be encoded using numbers and/or letters, or other characters.
• the pieces of a broadcast may or may not have a) the same length in time or b) the same size in bytes. Each piece does not need to be mapped to a POB code, because some programs presented on a channel may be non-interactive.
• POB codes can be omitted from non- interactive pieces of a broadcast.
• a null POB code is transmitted with each non-interactive piece of a broadcast.
• FIG. 3 shows an example of encoding, wherein the pieces of a broadcast are different in length and POB codes have been omitted from some pieces.
• the broadcast 301 is divided into pieces, so that the first piece 302 of the broadcast is mapped to a POB code "AA” and the longer second piece 303 is mapped to a POB code "AB”.
• a POB code is omitted from the third piece 304.
• alphabet A-Z there are available 676 POB codes composed of two letters.
• a POB code may be defined as follows: A code transmitted in a video and/or audio broadcast to a terminal and a) made visible and/or b) sent to another device as a response to a signal initiated by a user, wherein the POB code is mapped to a certain piece of the broadcast.
• a POB code is not necessarily transmitted in a broadcast, when the POB code is obtained using a determination based on frame size, or another size in bytes, or a time code, a pulse, or other data transmitted in the broadcast.
• the point of time shown on TV is not a POB code, because it changes all the time, second by second. Neither is a text TV page a POB code, because it is not obtainable from a broadcast as a time code. It is very important that a user can make a POB code visible and/or send it to another device when watching and/or listening to a broadcast.
• the prior art text TV pages are not like that.
• the terminal in accordance with the invention is adapted to 1) receive a signal initiated by a user, 2) obtain a POB code from the broadcast, wherein the POB code identifies a certain piece in the broadcast, and 3a) display the POB code to the user and/or 3b) send the POB code to another device.
• the terminal may be a TV- or radio receiver, or a terminal equipped with a TV- or radio receiver.
• Some known mobile phones already contain a radio receiver. Those mobile phones are very appropriate for inter- active radio programs, because a radio receiver and a return channel are integrated in one device.
• the said mobile phones may contain a relatively big display and JAVA support.
• FIG. 4 shows a TV-receiver presenting an interactive program.
• the TV-receiver 401 receives a signal 402 initiated by a viewer 403 and as response to the signal obtains a POB code from broadcast 404.
• the TV- receiver 401 displays 405 the POB code to the viewer and sends 406 it to a mobile phone 407, for example, by using Bluetooth technology. After that the viewer may send the POB code from the mobile phone 407 to the system managing the interactive program.
• the Bluetooth wireless technology is a specification for a radio link that can be integrated into mobile devices. Bluetooth eliminates the need for using cables to connect computers, mobile phones, mobile computers and other types of electronic devices.
• the TV- receiver 401 shown in FIG. 4 could be connected to the Internet. If so the TV- receiver can send the POB code via the Internet to another device. Before transmission the TV-receiver may request a confirmation from the viewer
• FIG. 5 shows a service display and an interaction logo intended to help user interaction with a TV-program.
• a TV-program includes an interactive part
• an interaction logo 501 is shown in a TV-receiver 502.
• a viewer can act by pressing a remote control key. For example, the viewer may act when seeing his/her favourite actor 503 on TV.
• a service display 504 appears on the screen of the TV-receiver.
• the service display 504 contains the POB code "AFFE".
• POB codes can be automatically mapped to the pieces of a broadcast, for example, by using a time code.
• a broadcaster or a content provider maps POB codes to some pieces of a broadcast before or during the broadcast.
• a POB code can be mapped to anything visible or audible in the broadcast.
• an employee of a broadcaster or a content provider, or a specific person or program can map a POB code to a certain piece of a broadcast.
• a TV-commentator may select one or more still images related to a soccer game and map POB codes to the still images, after which viewers may watch and order the said still images.
• a digital broadcast may include JAVA bytecode or corresponding elements that are intended to show additional content, such as a service display or a menu, in terminals.
• An application programming interface is an interface enabling the efficient execution of applications.
• the JAVA bytecode can be considered as an application and it can be delivered in a broadcast to terminals, such as digital TV-receivers.
• Multimedia Home Platform API (MHP-API) is intended for multimedia applications.
• JAVA objects which are instantiated from JAVA bytecode in a terminal, may use MHP-API or some other API supporting JAVA.
• FIG. 6 shows the method steps in accordance with the invention.
• the method receives (601) a user signal at a terminal presenting a digital TV-broadcast, and as response to the user signal received, the method obtains (602) a certain (POB) code mapped to a certain piece of the broadcast.
• the method presents (603) a service display on the terminal to a user which initiated the user signal, and when an option to use a return channel is missing (604) from the terminal, the method makes the said code visible through the service display (605).
• the method sends (606) the code from a site of the user to a server having access to a data storage in which at least a part of the broadcast is stored. Then, at the server, the method receives (606) the sent code.
• the method fetches (609) the certain piece of the broadcast from the data storage by using said code as a search key and performs (610) the predefined operation.
• the predefined operation may result in, for example, the certain piece of the broadcast, which is fetched from the data storage, is transformed to MMS form before sending it to the user.
• the method may present (603), for example, a service display 504 shown in figure 5.
• the terminal has the option to use the return channel (604) there is no need to present the code, i.e. the POB code, to the user.
• the option means here that 1 ) the terminal is equipped with the return channel, 2) the user allows usage of the return channel, and 3) a service provider providing the digital TV-broadcast allows the usage of the return channel. Otherwise, the option is missing.
• the method may present the POB code for a predefined time, for example, one minute. Alternatively, the method may wait for another signal initiated by the user to remove the POB code from the display of the terminal. The point is that the POB code is presented to the user so that the user has enough time to use it.
• a user may send user information of a different type with a POB code to the device handling the user interaction.
• the user information may include, for example, the user's phone number.
• the user information may include one or more user choices. For example, a user may define how long a video clip he/she wants to obtain. When user information is +10, it could define that a user wants to have a video clip which starts from a point of time determined by the POB code and which ends ten seconds later. There are various ways to encode this kind of user information. If the user information includes the phone number, as mentioned above,
• a video clip, a piece of music, a still image etc. are examples of user-specific content which a user may obtain as a response to the POB code and possible user information sent by the user.
• the method may simultaneously receive user information that includes at least one of the following types information: 1) information defined by the user, 2) information identifying the user, 3) information identifying a certain device from which the information was sent, and/or 4) a location information of the user. If the method should send one or more messages to the user, the method needs the user information that includes the information identifying the user and/or the information identifying the certain device. This message/ messages includes, for example, a still image or a video clip.
• the consideration whether the code is related to the predefined operation in which the certain piece of the broadcast is needed (608) is based on the TV-program of which piece the code is mapped.
• the POB code and/or the user information may be sent to the server in a message via a network which is able to charge the message.
• the predefined operation may include at least one of the following sub-operations: storing a piece of user information for a later use or changing a value of a certain counter which is related to the user information.
• the system in accordance with the invention is adapted to:
• FIG. 7 shows an example of a system supporting user interaction. There is a set of viewers 701 and the system 702. Various networks could be used in a communication between the viewers and the system, but these implementation specific details are omitted from FIG. 7.
• the system is composed of a server 703 and a database 704, and interactive TV-programs belonging to a broadcast are stored in the database 704.
• the system 702 receives a POB code 705 sent by a first viewer and a POB code 706 sent by a second viewer. Both POB codes 705 and 706 are "19.21".
• the system receives user information from both viewers. The said user information contains the phone number of the viewer and a "yes/no" answer.
• the POB code "19.21” is mapped to a piece of broadcast containing the TV- quiz question number 3. Therefore the system performs an operation related to the said piece.
• the operation could be, for example, running a service that handles the viewer answers to the TV-quiz.
• the system receives a POB code 707 from a third viewer.
• the POB code 707 is "21.32:45.02" which is associated to a soccer match broadcasted 21-23 in the evening.
• the POB code 707 is mapped to the first goal made in the said soccer match.
• the system may run a service that sends a still image of the first goal 708 to the third viewer.
• Sending a still image, a video clip, or another user-specific content to the user is just one example of a result of a predefined operation.
• the predefined operation is composed of one or more sub-operations.
• the predefined operation may include at least one of the following sub-operations: storing a piece of the user information for a later use, or changing a value of a certain counter which is related to the user information.
• the counter values and/or the pieces of the user information may be stored in the same data storage as the digital TV-broadcast, but they can be stored to another data storage, too.
• the system may be further adapted to calculate statistics using at least one of the following entity: the stored piece of the user information or the value of the certain counter.
• TV-channel broadcaster that utilizes the system can use the user information and/or values of counters when implementing various services.
• a service may calculate statistics or perform analysis.
• the service may measure activity of TV-viewers, practice direct marketing to TV- viewers, or offer interactivity possibilities among the TV-viewers interested of the particular part of the broadcast.

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• 2002
  • 2002-10-15 FI FI20021831A patent/FI113133B/fi active
• 2003
  • 2003-10-15 WO PCT/FI2003/000764 patent/WO2004036902A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-10-15 EP EP03750769A patent/EP1552686A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2003-10-15 AU AU2003268993A patent/AU2003268993A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-10-15 KR KR1020057006520A patent/KR20050052538A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation

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