WO2005117437A1

WO2005117437A1 - Method of retrieving epg data for broadcast items in a remote area

Info

Publication number: WO2005117437A1
Application number: PCT/IB2005/051632
Authority: WO
Inventors: Declan P. Kelly; Philip S. Newton
Original assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Priority date: 2004-05-26
Filing date: 2005-05-19
Publication date: 2005-12-08

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of enabling a device (101, 102, 103) to receive a broadcast item. The method comprises a step (220) of retrieving schedule data descriptive of the broadcast item, wherein the broadcast item is receivable in a particular locality (151, 152, 153) of broadcasting, the device being outside the locality, and a step (260, 270) of enabling the device to retrieve the broadcast item which corresponds to the schedule data. The invention also relates to a device (101, 102, 103) for receiving a broadcast item, a data provider apparatus (130) for providing schedule data descriptive of a broadcast item to a device for receiving the broadcast item, and a content provider apparatus (140) for providing a broadcast item to a device for receiving the broadcast item.

Description

Method of retrieving EPG data for broadcast items in a remote area

The invention relates to a method of enabling a device to receive a broadcast item. The invention also relates to a device for receiving a broadcast item. The invention further relates to a data provider apparatus for providing schedule data descriptive of a broadcast item to a device for receiving the broadcast item, and a content provider apparatus for providing a broadcast item to a device for receiving the broadcast item. Furthermore, the invention relates to a computer program product enabling a programmable device.

EP1383325 discloses a receiver for receiving a broadcast signal from a broadcast source. For example, the broadcast source may be a cable television broadcaster, a local television broadcaster, a video-on-demand provider, etc. The broadcast source provides schedule data, e.g. EPG data (Electronic Program Guide), comprising information about currently broadcast programming and programming available in future. A user may browse the schedule data and search for interesting programs. Typically, the receiver can receive the broadcast items and the schedule data locally transmitted by program broadcasters. In other words, the receiver can receive the broadcast items and schedule data available in an area, i.e. a locality where the receiver is located. The user of the receiver does not have access to broadcast services outside the area.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate the limitation of the prior art, and to enable a device for receiving a broadcast item to access broadcast services outside the locality. The object is realized in that the method of enabling a device to receive a broadcast item comprises the steps of: retrieving schedule data descriptive of the broadcast item, wherein the broadcast item is receivable in a particular locality of broadcasting, the device being outside said locality, enabling the device to retrieve the broadcast item which corresponds to the schedule data. A local program broadcaster typically transmits local broadcast items in the locality, i.e. a local area where the device can receive the local broadcast items. A remote program broadcaster transmits remote broadcast items outside the locality, i.e. in a remote area, and the device in the local area cannot receive the remote broadcast items. According to the method of the present invention, the device retrieves the schedule data descriptive of the remote broadcast item and retrieves the remote broadcast item which corresponds to the schedule data. In practice, the schedule data may describe a large number of broadcast items.

After the device has retrieved the schedule data, the schedule data may be used to select a desired broadcast item for retrieval. Without the schedule data, it would not be known what broadcast items were broadcast or scheduled for broadcasting in the remote area. The schedule data may be presented to a user so that the user can manually choose the desired broadcast item. Peer-to-peer networks provide a possibility to share content, and, particularly, recorded TV programs. However, without the schedule data, users of such a network are not aware of items broadcast in the remote area. The users would not be able to request the retrieval of the remote broadcast items if they did not know about the broadcast items which may be requested. This problem is solved in the present invention by the retrieval of the schedule data. In one embodiment, the remote program broadcaster transmits both the remote broadcast item and corresponding schedule data in the remote area. The device is not in the remote area, and it cannot receive the remote broadcast item and schedule data directly from the remote program broadcaster. The device may retrieve the schedule data descriptive of the remote broadcast item in various manners. For example, the device is connected to a data network, e.g. the Internet or the peer-to-peer network, so as to communicate with a remote data provider (e.g. an EPG service provider) storing or supplying the schedule data. The remote data provider may be the remote program broadcaster, another device capable of receiving the remote broadcast items (a peer device located in the remote area), a dedicated service apparatus (e.g. an Internet server) configured to function as the remote data provider and provide the schedule data to the device, or cable TV provider equipment arranged to function as the remote data provider, etc. The device may retrieve the remote broadcast item from a content provider apparatus via the data network. For example, the content provider apparatus is realized by using the cable TV provider equipment. The cable TV provider may have a separate . connection to the remote program broadcaster to obtain the broadcast item and transmit the remote broadcast item to the device. The step of enabling the device to retrieve the broadcast item comprises, for example, the transmission of a storage address in a network from which the broadcast item can be obtained by the device. The address is transmitted to the device by the data provider apparatus, e.g. together with the schedule data. Alternatively, the data provider apparatus may provide the address to the device on a request from the device. The words "retrieval" and "retrieving" comprise any manner of delivery of the broadcast item to the device. For example, the content provider apparatus initializes the transmission of the broadcast item without the device requesting it. The retrieval may comprise any one of what are called "pull technologies" or "push technologies". The pull technology requires active participation of a human being or a device to retrieve the information. The push technology delivers information to the device, so all the device has to do is receive it. Radio, television and e-mail are examples of the push technology. The object of the present invention is also realized in that the device for receiving the broadcast item comprises a processor configured to: - • retrieve schedule data descriptive of the broadcast item, wherein the broadcast item is receivable in a particular locality of broadcasting, the device being outside said locality, retrieve the broadcast item which corresponds to the schedule data. The present invention is also embodied in a data provider apparatus for providing schedule data descriptive of a broadcast item to a device for receiving the broadcast item, wherein the broadcast item is receivable in a particular locality of broadcasting, the device being outside said locality, the schedule data enabling the device to retrieve the broadcast item. For example, the data provider apparatus obtains the schedule data from the

TV broadcaster located in the remote area. The data provider apparatus also obtains information identifying the remote area in which the remote broadcast items corresponding to the schedule data are broadcast (such information is further referred to as "locality identifier"). The data provider apparatus includes the locality identifier for the schedule data and provides the schedule data to the device for receiving the broadcast item. According to the present invention, a content provider apparatus provides a broadcast item to a device for receiving the broadcast item, the device being arranged to retrieve schedule data descriptive of the broadcast item in order to enable the device to retrieve the broadcast item, wherein the broadcast item is receivable in a particular locality of broadcasting, the device being outside said locality.

These and other aspects of the invention will be further explained and described with reference to the following drawings: Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is an embodiment of the method of the present invention.

Fig. 1 shows devices 101, 102 and 103 for receiving broadcast items, remote TV broadcasters 121, 122 and 123 for broadcasting TV programs, a remote schedule data provider apparatus 130 (further referred to as data provider apparatus), and a content provider apparatus 140. The broadcast item may be any broadcast media content, e.g. a TV program or a radio program. The media content may comprise at least one or any combination of visual information, audio information, text, or the like. The expression "audio content", or "audio data", is hereinafter used as data pertaining to audio comprising audible tones, silence, speech, music, tranquility, external noise or the like. The expression "video content", or "video data", is used as data which are visible such as a motion picture, a static image, characters, etc. The TV broadcasters transmit the broadcast items in specific areas. For example, the TV broadcaster 121 transmits TV programs in an area 151, the TV broadcaster 122 transmits TV programs in an area 152, and the TV broadcaster 123 transmits TV programs in an area 153. Broadcast areas of different TV broadcasters may geographically overlap or be separate. For example, the area 152 is larger than the area 151, and the area 151 is within the area 152, whereas there is no overlap between the area 153 and the areas 151 and 152. The devices 101, 102 and 103 are outside the areas 151, 152 and 153. The areas 151, 152 and 153 are areas remote to those devices where remote broadcast items are transmitted by the remote TV broadcasters 121, 122 and 123. The devices 101, 102 and 103 cannot receive the remote broadcast items directly from the remote TV broadcaster. The devices may receive local broadcast items from local TV broadcasters (not shown). Typically, TV signals are broadcast in accordance with standards for satellite, terrestrial (e.g. Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial (DVB-T)), or cable television (CATV) broadcasts. For example, Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) provides high-quality vision and the potential for interactive services, and satellite signals can usually be received via a satellite dish aimed at a satellite and connected to a decoder attached to a television set. Cable-delivered services are usually provided through either fiber-optic or co-axial cables which are physically connected to a decoder of a TV set. It should be noted that satellite broadcasting may not allow the devices 101, 102 and 103 to retrieve the remote broadcast items because they are not transmitted through satellite broadcasting but are transmitted in a different way, e.g. through CATV. Not all remote TV channels or radio stations may be received through satellite broadcasting. Thus, there will be remote broadcast items that are not accessible to the device 101, even when the device 101 includes a satellite receiver. According to the present invention, one or more of the devices 101, 102 and 103 are arranged to communicate with the data provider apparatus 130 and the content provider apparatus 140. The invention is explained hereinafter with reference to the device 101 but the same explanation holds true for the devices 102 and 103. The data provider apparatus 130 is arranged to provide remote schedule data descriptive of at least one remote broadcast item to the device 101. The data provider apparatus may be located in the remote area 151, 152 or 153 and receive the remote schedule data from the TV broadcaster if the TV broadcaster transmits the remote schedule data in the corresponding remote area 151, 152 or 153. In another example, the data provider apparatus 130 may be located outside one or more of the remote areas 151, 152 or 153. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the data provider apparatus 130 cannot directly receive the broadcast remote schedule data in any one of the remote areas 151, 152 and 153. To obtain the remote schedule data from all of the three remote areas, the data provider apparatus 130 has, for example, communication means (not shown) to connect to one or more of the TV broadcasters 121, 122 and 123 through a dedicated networked server (not shown) for providing the remote schedule data to the data provider apparatus 130. For instance, the server and the data provider apparatus 130 communicate through the IP(Internet Protocol)-based network. In one of the examples, the data provider apparatus 130 and the TV broadcaster, e.g. 121, communicate via a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. In another example, the data provider apparatus 130 obtains the remote schedule data from a device such as a TV set or a personal computer (PC) being in the remote area and coupled to the P2P network. Such a TV set or a PC receives the remote schedule in a conventional manner from the TV broadcaster, e.g. 121, in the remote area, and transmits the remote schedule data to the data provider apparatus 130 via the P2P network. The schedule data may be EPG data (Electronic Program Guide). The EPG data typically includes information such as a name of a TV channel, a broadcast time, a title of a TV program, etc. The schedule data may also be RDS data (Radio Data System for VHF FM broadcasting) including information about a name of a radio station, a broadcast time of a radio program, a title of a radio program, etc. CATV is widely used in many countries. In one example, the device 101 is coupled to the CATV network. Advantageously, the data provider apparatus 130 is implemented with equipment from a service provider in the CATV. The invention may easily be realized in the existing TV broadcasting equipment. For instance, the CATV provider provides the EPG data to end-users. Thus, the device 101 receives local EPG data for the local broadcast items in a traditional manner through the CATV connection. According to the present invention, the data provider apparatus in the CATV network may also transmit remote EPG data for the remote broadcast items to the device 101. In contrast to the local EPG data, the remote EPG data corresponds to remote TV programs which are not broadcast by the local TV broadcasters. In the embodiment of the data provider apparatus in the CATV network, the data provider apparatus 130 is outside the remote areas. The data provider apparatus 130 is arranged to communicate with the remote TV broadcasters 121, 122 and 123 to retrieve the remote EPG data for remote broadcast items in the remote areas 151, 152 and 153. For instance, the data provider apparatus 130 stores IP-addresses of websites of the remote TV broadcasters 121, 122, 123 providing the corresponding remote EPG data. The data provider apparatus 130 retrieves the remote EPG data from the websites. After the remote EPG data is obtained from the remote TV broadcaster or broadcasters 121, 122, 123, the data provider apparatus 130 may be arranged to include locality identifiers for the remote EPG data. For example, the locality identifier indicates that the EPG data is not the local EPG data or a specific remote area in which the remote broadcast item is broadcast. The data provider apparatus 130 may automatically generate the locality identifier when the data provider apparatus 130 retrieves the remote EPG data from the remote TV broadcaster 121. For instance, the remote TV broadcaster 121 may send the data provider apparatus 130 information, such as a name of a country or a province where the remote broadcast items are broadcast. The device 101 has a processor (not shown) configured to retrieve the remote EPG data and, additionally, the local EPG data from the data provider apparatus 130. The processor may be configured to determine whether the retrieved EPG data is the remote EPG data or the local EPG data. For example, if the processor detects that the EPG data includes the locality identifier, the EPG data are marked as remote. For example, the device 101 is a TV set located in the Netherlands. The device 101 receives local (Dutch) EPG data through the CATV network, as shown in Table 1, for local TV channels broadcast in the Netherlands. Table 1

The device 101 receives the remote EPG data from the CATV network, as shown in Table 2. The remote EPG data includes the locality identifiers for each TV program in a column "Source". The locality identifier "DE" indicates that the remote TV programs are broadcast in Germany. The remote TV channels are not broadcast in the Netherlands but in Germany. Table 2

In one of the embodiments, the processor of the device 101 is arranged to combine the local EPG data and the remote EPG data in an EPG table as shown in Table 3, where the local EPG data is marked as "Local", and the remote EPG data is marked as "DE'^' Table 3

The device 101 may further comprise presentation means (not shown) such as a CRT monitor, an LCD screen, headphones, speakers, or other means suitable to present the schedule data and the broadcast item. The remote schedule data enable the device to select a remote broadcast item desired for retrieval. For example, the selection may be done by a user. The user selects the desired remote broadcast item, using input means, e.g. a remote control unit for the TV set, a touch screen, a voice recognition interface, etc. The devices 101, 102 and 103 may be implemented with the TV set, the PC, a portable radio receiver, a PDA (personal digital assistant), a portable PC, etc. The device 101 may retrieve the remote broadcast item through the content provider apparatus 140. The content provider apparatus 140 obtains the remote broadcast items directly from the remote TV broadcaster or broadcasters 121, 122 or 123 if the content provider apparatus 140 is in the remote area, or remotely through the Internet, the P2P network (e.g. the content provider apparatus 140 is a peer device in the P2P network), etc. The content provider apparatus 140 may use e.g. a URL address (Uniform Resource

Locator), an address in accordance with a network protocol, etc. to identify the remote TV broadcaster 121, 122 or 123 via the data network. The content provider apparatus 140 may be incorporated into the CATV network, as described above with reference to the data service provider 130. In an embodiment of the present invention, the data provider apparatus 130 and the content provider apparatus 140 are combined into one apparatus or service. The content provider apparatus 140 may be arranged to store the remote broadcast items, e.g. for a certain period of time. The broadcast items may be stored on different data carriers such as audio tapes, video tapes, optical storage discs, e.g. a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), floppy and hard drive discs, etc. The broadcast items may be in any format, e.g. MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group), MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), Shockwave, QuickTime, WAV (Waveform Audio), etc. Alternatively, the content provider apparatus 140 may search for the remote broadcast item requested by the device 101 (because the content provider apparatus 140 has no suitable storage means), and, if the remote broadcast item is found, provide it to the device 101. Fig. 2 of the present invention shows an embodiment of the method of the present invention. In step 210, the device 101 for receiving broadcast items finds the remote schedule data provider apparatus 130 to retrieve the remote schedule data descriptive of the remote broadcast items. If the device 101 has the CATV connection, and the CATV service provider operates as the data provider apparatus 130, then the device 101 identifies the data provider apparatus 130 in a conventional manner. If the device 101 communicates with the data provider apparatus 130 via the data network, then, for example, the device 101 may store a predetermined network address of the data provider apparatus 130. Alternatively, the device 101 may not have the predetermined network address, but, for example, the processor of the device 101 is configured to search for remote data provider apparatuses via the data network such as the Internet or the P2P network. In one embodiment of the present invention, the device 101 finds a plurality of data provider apparatuses 130 and selects a preferred data provider apparatus on the basis of selection criteria. The selection criteria may be a communication speed between the device 101 and the data provider apparatus 130, so as to find out whether the remote schedule data stored at the data provider apparatus 130 are complete, up-to-date, include the locality identifiers, etc. Once the data provider apparatus 130 is found, the remote schedule data is retrieved from data provider apparatus 130 in step 220. Depending on the connection between the device 101 and the data provider apparatus 130, the retrieval is performed through the CATV network, the P2P network, etc., using known communication protocols. The device 101 may receive both the local schedule data and the remote schedule data, and present them in step 230 using the presentation means. The processor of device 101 is arranged to show information representative of the locality identifiers for the schedule data so that the user of the device 101 can distinguish the remote broadcast items from the local broadcast items presented in step 230. In an embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1, first remote schedule data descriptive of first remote broadcast items in the first remote area 151 is retrieved by the device 101. Second remote schedule data descriptive of second remote broadcast items in the second remote area 153 is also retrieved by the device 101. The method of the present invention preferably comprises a step (not shown) of generating a common user interface for presenting the first remote schedule data and the second remote schedule data. In the common user interface, the first and second remote schedule data are presented in the same or similar manner independently of formats in which the first remote schedule data and the second remote schedule data are retrieved by the device 101. Thus, a potential problem of different formats of the remote schedule data is solved, and the user will be provided with a uniform representation of the remote schedule data. One of the methods dealing with data in different formats is known from

WO200144911. If the schedule data is encoded in a specific (proprietary) format, the format is to be converted into a useful intermediate format that allows the data to be easily manipulated by the device 101. This intermediate format might be the comma-separated- variable (CSV) format, which is often used to pass data between databases that do not use a common data format. On the basis of the presented remote (and local) schedule data, the user of the device 101 decides about remote broadcast items to be retrieved. In step 240, the user can manually select the desired remote broadcast item from the presented remote schedule data, using the input means. Alternatively to such a user-operable selection, the selection of the desired remote broadcast item may be performed automatically. For example, the processor of the device 101 is arranged to analyze the remote schedule data on the basis of a user profile indicating user preferences to the broadcast item or items. The user profiling known from television recommendation techniques may be used for such a selection. After the user has selected the desired broadcast item on the basis of the presented local and remote schedule data, the processor of the device 101 analyzes whether the selected broadcast item is remote or local. In other words, it is determined whether the selected broadcast item corresponds to the remote schedule data or to the local schedule data. If the local broadcast item is selected for retrieval, the retrieval is carried out in known manner, e.g. through a common TV broadcast reception, etc. If the remote broadcast item is selected, the processor of the device 101 initializes the retrieval through, for example, the content provider apparatus 140. In step 260, the processor of the device 101 finds the remote content provider apparatus 140 which can provide the selected remote broadcast item. For instance, the content provider apparatus 140 comprises a database of broadcast items which are transmitted by various TV broadcasters in different remote areas. Such a content provider apparatus 140 may be arranged to communicate simultaneously with a large number of client devices like the devices 101, 102 and 103. The content provider apparatus 140 may operate on the basis of a paid subscription service and provide a high-quality broadcast content. In step 270, the device 101 retrieves the selected remote broadcast item from the content provider apparatus 140. The user can watch, store the retrieved item, or instruct the device 101 to notify the user when the retrieval is completed. Various computer program products may implement the functions of the device and method of the present invention and may be combined in several ways with the hardware or located in different other devices. Variations and modifications of the described embodiment are possible within the scope of the inventive concept. For example, any one of the devices 101, 102 and 103 can retrieve the remote schedule data and the remote broadcast item without the data provider apparatus 130 and the content provider apparatus 140. The use of the verb 'to comprise' and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those defined in the claims. The invention can be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the system claim enumerating several means, several of these means can be embodied by one and the same item of hardware.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method of enabling a device (101, 102, 103) to receive a broadcast item, the method comprising the steps of: retrieving (220) schedule data descriptive of the broadcast item, wherein the broadcast item is receivable in a particular locality (151, 152, 153) of broadcasting, the device being outside said locality, and enabling (260, 270) the device to retrieve the broadcast item which corresponds to the schedule data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the device is arranged to receive via a peer-to- peer data network: the broadcast item from a remote content provider apparatus (140), and/or the schedule data from a remote data provider apparatus (130).

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising a step of selecting a preferred remote data provider apparatus from a plurality of the remote data provider apparatuses.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein first schedule data descriptive of a first broadcast item is retrieved, the first item being broadcast in a first locality (151), and second schedule data descriptive of a second broadcast item is retrieved, the second item being broadcast in a second locality (153), the method further comprising a step of generating a common user interface for presenting the first schedule data and the second schedule data.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: presenting (230) the schedule data, and - user-operable selecting (240) the broadcast item corresponding to the schedule data, for the retrieval.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of selecting, with the aid of the schedule data, the broadcast item for the retrieval, wherein the selection is performed on the basis of a user profile for indicating user preferences to the broadcast item.

7. A device (101, 102, 103) for receiving a broadcast item, the device comprising a processor configured to: retrieve schedule data descriptive of the broadcast item, wherein the broadcast item is receivable in a particular locality (151, 152, 153) of broadcasting, the device being outside said locality, - retrieve the broadcast item which corresponds to the schedule data.

8. A data provider apparatus (130) for providing schedule data descriptive of a broadcast item to a device (101, 102, 103) for receiving the broadcast item, wherein the broadcast item is receivable in a particular locality (151, 152, 153) of broadcasting, the device being outside said locality, the schedule data enabling the device to retrieve the broadcast item.

9. A content provider apparatus (140) for providing a broadcast item to a device (101, 102, 103) for receiving the broadcast item, the device being arranged to retrieve schedule data descriptive of the broadcast item in order to enable the device to retrieve the broadcast item, wherein the broadcast item is receivable in a particular locality (151, 152, 153) of broadcasting, the device being outside said locality.

10. A computer program product enabling a programmable device when executing said computer program product to function as the device of claim 7, or the data provider apparatus of claim 8, or the content provider apparatus of claim 9.