CN1972484A - An implementation method for current and next program information in mobile multimedia broadcasting service - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a method for realizing current and next program information in a mobile multimedia broadcasting service, comprising the following steps: (1) The ESG generator at the front end of the mobile multimedia system regularly extracts the P/F information of the multimedia service channel from the ESG server and transmits it to A multiplexer, the multimedia service occupies a multiplexing subframe, the multiplexing subframe contains a data segment, and the above P/F information is encapsulated in the data segment; (2) the multiplexer will contain the multimedia information of the P/F The service is sent to the terminal in the form of a multiplexed frame; (3) The terminal receives the multimedia service, parses out the P/F information from the multiplexed subframe, and displays the P/F information on the terminal screen. The method of the present invention enables the user to quickly provide the information of the current service/channel and the next program information when switching channels or watching programs when using the mobile multimedia broadcasting service, which greatly improves the user experience and facilitates the operation of the service and develop.

Description

A method for realizing current and next program information in mobile multimedia broadcasting service

technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communication, especially the field of Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting (CMMB), and a method for realizing current and next program information (Present/Following information, P/F information for short) in an electronic service (or program) guide.

Background technique

Mobile multimedia broadcast service (also known as mobile phone TV) has a variety of implementation technologies, including multimedia broadcast multicast (MBMS, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service) based on mobile communication network, broadcast and multicast (BCMCS, Broadcast and Multicast Service), streaming media technology , There are also technologies based on broadcasting networks (terrestrial digital broadcasting, satellite digital broadcasting), such as DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting Handheld Receiver: Digital Video Broadcast Handheld) in Europe, MediaFLO (Media Single Forward Link: Media Forward Link) in the United States Only) and China's CMMB (China Mobile Multimedia Broadcast: China Mobile Multimedia Broadcast), etc., as well as application-layer auxiliary technologies. The mobile multimedia service based on the broadcast network has the advantages of high spectrum utilization rate, large capacity, relatively low construction cost, and wide audience, and has been widely used.

When mobile multimedia broadcasting network users use mobile multimedia services, they can learn about mobile multimedia broadcasting service related information (including service name, broadcast time, content summary, price, etc.) through electronic service guide (ESG for short) or electronic program guide navigation, and Realize quick retrieval, preview and access to business. ESG provides a good navigation mechanism for users to watch TV programs and enjoy information services, so that users can easily and quickly find the programs they care about and view the additional information of the programs. When watching a program or switching services/channels, it is often necessary to have a method to quickly understand the content information of the program being played on the current service/channel (such as start time, theme, duration, etc.), and what program content information will be played in the next time period ; At the same time, when the system adjusts the program of the current time period or the subsequent time period at a certain moment, it also needs to notify the user in time.

The present invention provides a mobile multimedia broadcasting system, in the process of watching a program or switching a service/channel, a user can quickly provide the information of the program currently played by the current service/channel and the next program information, and immediately notify the system of the adjusted program information to users, improving users' experience in using multimedia broadcasting services.

Contents of the invention

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a mobile multimedia broadcast network in which the user can quickly provide the information of the current service/channel and the next program information (Present/Following information, The method of P/F information for short) improves the user's experience of using the multimedia broadcasting service.

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides a method for realizing current and next program information in a mobile multimedia broadcasting service, comprising the following steps:

(1) The ESG generator at the front end of the mobile multimedia system regularly extracts the P/F information of the multimedia service channel from the ESG server and transmits it to the multiplexer. The multimedia service occupies a multiplexing subframe, and the multiplexing subframe contains data segments. The above P/F information is encapsulated in a data segment, and the P/F information includes program name, start time, and duration;

(2) The multiplexer sends the multimedia service containing the P/F information to the terminal in the form of multiplexed frames;

(3) The terminal receives the multimedia service, parses out the P/F information from the multiplexed subframe, and displays the P/F information on the terminal screen.

According to the method of the present invention, step (3) further includes that the terminal parses out the data unit from the received multiplexing subframe, judges whether there is a data unit with P/F information, and if so, directly parses out the data unit in the current data unit If there is no P/F information, search the local ESG program table and content table to obtain the relevant information of the current service/channel and construct P/F information, which is displayed on the terminal screen.

According to the method of the present invention, the P/F information is identified by a specific numerical value in the data segment to distinguish other data.

According to the method of the present invention, the data segment encapsulation structure of the P/F information is composed of a data segment header and a plurality of data units, and the data segment header describes the parameters of each data unit, including the number of data units, data unit type, Parameter for data unit length.

According to the method of the present invention, the P/F information in step (1) includes the program information of the current program and at least one subsequent next program, and the program information includes start time, program name, and duration.

According to the method of the present invention, the P/F information of step (1) further includes a record number representing the sum of the current program and the next program number in this data unit, if the record number is 2, then multiple data units contain the current program information and the next program information, if the number of records is greater than 2, this data unit contains the current program information and the subsequent 2 or more consecutive program information.

According to the method of the present invention, step (2) further includes, broadcasting the P/F information to the user terminal periodically through the broadcast channel, or immediately broadcasting to the user terminal through the broadcast channel according to the needs of the operator.

According to the method of the present invention, step (3) further includes that the terminal uses the system time obtained from the mobile multimedia network to calibrate the local time, and uses the calibrated local time combined with the program start time and duration of the P/F information to display the current The playback progress of the program.

According to the method of the present invention, the multiplexed subframe further includes a multiplexed subframe header, a video segment, and an audio segment, wherein the video data and the audio data are respectively encapsulated in the video segment and the audio segment.

According to the method of the present invention, in step (1), when the front end of the multimedia broadcasting system has adjustments to the current period of a certain service/channel or the program of the next period, the ESG server notifies the ESG generator to send P/F information actively. , the terminal detects that the network has the latest P/F information by receiving the update indication in the multiplexed subframe header, directly parses out the P/F information in the current data unit, and displays it on the terminal screen.

The method of the present invention enables the user to quickly provide the information of the current service/channel and the next program information when switching channels or watching programs when using the mobile multimedia broadcasting service, which greatly improves the user experience and facilitates the operation of the service At the same time, in the experimental stage or initial stage of multimedia broadcasting business, the business can be well developed without editing or distributing the program schedule.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is the P/F information of the present invention in CMMB multiplexing subframe position schematic diagram;

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the package structure of CMMB data segment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example of encapsulation of the P/F information data unit of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of P/F information transmission and processing in the present invention.

Detailed ways

The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

The object of the present invention is to provide the realization and the processing method of the current program/next program information (P/F information) of channel in a kind of mobile multimedia broadcasting network, described method is divided into two steps: 1, P/F information 2. Transmission and processing of P/F information. These two steps are described in detail below.

1. Encapsulation of P/F information

(1) As shown in accompanying drawing 1, in the mobile multimedia broadcasting (CMMB) system, in the service/channel of the mobile multimedia network, each multimedia service occupies a multiplexing subframe, and the multiplexing subframe includes the multiplexing subframe header, video segment, audio segment, and data segment; among them, video data, audio data, and P/F information are respectively encapsulated in the video segment, audio segment, and data segment. value to identify it to distinguish it from other data. The multiplexed subframes are used to carry specific multimedia broadcast service data and/or system data to form multimedia broadcast services, and these services are transmitted to terminals through the mobile multimedia broadcast network.

(2) As shown in Figure 2, the encapsulation structure of the data segment of the P/F information is composed of a data segment header and multiple data units. The data segment header describes the parameters of each data unit, including parameters such as the number of data units, data unit type, and data unit length; among them, the data unit type is defined in Table 1 in order to distinguish the different data carried by the data unit.

Table 1 Data unit type

Logo data unit type 0 ... 1 ESG P/F Information 2～63 ...

Wherein, the data type of the P/F information is defined as "1".

(3) As shown in accompanying drawing 3, P/F information is encapsulated in the data unit, and the parameter that it comprises is: Number of records: represent this data unit with the sum of the current program and the next program number, the default value is 2, Indicates that this data unit contains only two records, and each record represents the current program information and the next program information respectively. If the number of records is greater than 2, it indicates that this data unit contains the current program information and the following two or more consecutive program information; Start time: indicates when the service/channel program starts to play; program name: indicates the name of the program content; duration: indicates the duration of the program.

2. Transmission and processing of P/F information

As shown in FIG. 4 , it is a schematic flow chart illustrating the transmission and processing of P/F information. The P/F information transmission and processing flow of the present invention will be described below in conjunction with FIG. 4 .

100: The front-end ESG generator of the mobile multimedia system periodically extracts the P/F information of the multimedia service channel from the ESG server and transmits it to the multiplexer, wherein the multimedia service occupies a multiplexing subframe, and the multiplexing subframe includes a multiplexing subframe header, Video segment, audio segment, data segment, wherein, video data, audio data are encapsulated in video segment, audio segment respectively; The P/F information of the service/channel extracted above mainly includes current program name, start time, duration, next The program name, start time, and duration of a program are encapsulated in the data segment of the multiplexed subframe in the P/F information format of the above step 1. In the embodiment of the present invention, the P/F information of each service channel is extracted from the ESG server at regular intervals of 2 seconds.

110: The multiplexer constructs the P/F information of the service/channel and business information such as audio data and video data into a multiplexed frame that meets the requirements of the CMMB network, and sends it to the mobile multimedia terminal along with the CMMB network broadcast; the above contains P/F information The multimedia service can be broadcast to the user terminal through the broadcast channel periodically, and can also be broadcast to the user terminal through the broadcast channel immediately according to the needs of the operator.

200: When the user uses the mobile multimedia service, switches to the service/channel to be watched, or selects the "view P/F information" function operation, at this time, the mobile multimedia terminal application program is within the specified time (consistent with the delivery period, such as 2 seconds) parse out the data unit from the received multiplexing subframe, and judge whether there is a data unit whose data unit type is “1” (indicating that it is P/F information) defined in the above step 1, and if so, directly parse out The P/F information in the current data unit is displayed on the screen of the user's mobile multimedia terminal; if not, the relevant information of the current service/channel such as start time, program name, Information such as duration is constructed into P/F information, which is displayed on the screen of the user terminal.

In addition, the terminal obtains the system time from the mobile multimedia network, uses the system time to calibrate the local time of the terminal, and uses the calibrated local time to combine the above program start time and duration of the P/F information obtained from the multiplexed subframe The time shows the playing progress of the current program.

For the above step 100, when the front end of the multimedia broadcasting system adjusts the current or next time slot program of a service/channel, the ESG server can notify the ESG generator to actively deliver P/F information. At this time, the corresponding step 200 should be: the terminal detects that the network has the latest P/F information by receiving the corresponding indication in the multiplexed subframe header, directly parses out the P/F information in the current data unit, and displays it on the user terminal on the screen.

In summary, according to the method of the present invention, when the user switches services/channels, the terminal first inquires whether there is P/F information in the data segment of the multiplexing subframe that constitutes the current service/channel, and if so, it is automatically displayed on the terminal On the screen; if there is no P/F information data in the data segment of the multiplexing subframe of the current service/channel, relevant information such as start time, content theme, and duration can be retrieved in the local program schedule table and content table stored in the terminal, The P/F information that constitutes the current channel is automatically displayed on the terminal screen; the user can also actively query the P/F information through the function menu during watching the program. Prioritize the query of the P/F information in the data segment of the multiplexing subframe that constitutes the current service/channel; if not, then search for relevant information stored in the terminal's local program schedule table and content table to form the P/F information of the current channel .

Here, the present invention has been described in detail through specific implementation examples. The description of the above embodiments is provided in order to enable those skilled in the art to make or apply the present invention. Various modifications of these embodiments are easy for those skilled in the art understand. The invention is not limited to these examples, or to certain aspects thereof. The scope of the present invention is specified by the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A method for realizing current and next program information in a mobile multimedia broadcasting service, comprising the steps of: (1) The ESG generator at the front end of the mobile multimedia system regularly extracts the P/F information of the multimedia service channel from the ESG server and transmits it to the multiplexer. The multimedia service occupies a multiplexing subframe, and the multiplexing subframe contains data segments. The above P/F information is encapsulated in a data segment, and the P/F information includes program name, start time, and duration; (2) The multiplexer sends the multimedia service containing the P/F information to the terminal in the form of multiplexed frames; (3) The terminal receives the multimedia service, parses out the P/F information from the multiplexed subframe, and displays the P/F information on the terminal screen. 2. The method for realizing current and next program information in the mobile multimedia broadcasting service according to claim 1, characterized in that: step (3) further comprises that the terminal resolves the data unit from the received multiplexing subframe, and judges Whether there is a data unit with P/F information, if so, directly parse out the P/F information in the current data unit, and display it on the terminal screen; if not, search the local ESG program schedule table and content table to obtain The relevant information of the current service/channel is constructed into P/F information and displayed on the terminal screen. 3. The method for realizing current and next program information in the mobile multimedia broadcasting service according to claim 1, characterized in that: the P/F information is identified by a specific numerical value in the data segment to distinguish other programs. data. 4. the realization method of current and next program information in the mobile multimedia broadcast service according to claim 1, is characterized in that: the data segment encapsulation structure of described P/F information is made up of data segment head and a plurality of data units , the data segment header describes parameters of each data unit, including parameters of data unit number, data unit type, and data unit length. 5. The method for realizing current and next program information in the mobile multimedia broadcasting service according to claim 1, characterized in that: the P/F information in step (1) includes the program information of the current program and subsequent at least one next program , the program information includes start time, program name, and duration. 6. The method for realizing current and next program information in the mobile multimedia broadcasting service according to claim 4, characterized in that: the P/F information of step (1) further includes a data unit representing the current program and the next program. The record number of the sum of the number of programs, if the record number is 2, then multiple data units contain the current program information and the next program information, if the record number is greater than 2, then this data unit contains the current program information and the following two or more consecutive program information. 7. The method for realizing current and next program information in the mobile multimedia broadcasting service according to claim 1, characterized in that: step (2) further comprises that the P/F information is broadcast to the user terminal periodically through the broadcast channel, or According to the needs of the operator, it is immediately broadcast to the user terminal through the broadcast channel. 8. The method for realizing current and next program information in the mobile multimedia broadcasting service according to claim 1, wherein the step (3) further comprises that the terminal uses the system time obtained from the mobile multimedia network to calibrate the local time, Using the calibrated local time combined with the program start time and duration of the P/F information to display the playing progress of the current program. 9. The method for realizing current and next program information in the mobile multimedia broadcasting service according to claim 1, wherein the multiplexing subframe further comprises a multiplexing subframe header, a video segment, and an audio segment, wherein, Video data and audio data are encapsulated in video segment and audio segment respectively. 10. The method for realizing current and next program information in the mobile multimedia broadcast service according to claim 1, characterized in that: in step (1), when the front end of the multimedia broadcast system checks the current time period or next program information of a certain service/channel When a time slot program is adjusted, the ESG server notifies the ESG generator to send P/F information actively. At this time, the terminal detects that the network has the latest P/F information by receiving the update indication in the multiplexed subframe header, and directly parses it. Display the P/F information in the current data unit on the terminal screen.

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