Nokia Corporation

Nokia Technologies Oy

Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l.

Nokia Siemens Networks Oy

Toni Paila

Topi Pohjolainen

Rod Walsh

Juha-Pekka Luoma

Martin Jansky

Lin Xu

Harri Juhani Pekonen

Larri Vermola

Tuomo Saarikivi

Karina Terekhova

Francesco Balestrieri

Harri Hakulinen

Harsh Mehta

Miia Vainio

Esa Jalonen

Jani Poikela

Miska Matias Hannuksela

Igor Danilo Diego Curcio

Igor D Curcio

Petros Belimpasakis

Dominique Müller

Pekka Lahtinen

Juhani Huttunen

Tero Naumi

Martta Seppälä

Kari Rissanen

Kalle Rindell

Franceso Balestrieri

Dominique Muller

Jani Paikela

Timo Karras

Eero Jyske

A system and method for the reception of content items, including the ability to handle a plurality of service announcement formats and the ability to select, for a plurality of network access points, the best access point for receiving items.

System and method for the reception of content items

An electronic service guide (ESG) is provided by transmitting announcements describing multimedia sessions, such as video streams. Sessions are organized into a session directory () which is split into two parts: a full session directory () and an updated session directory (). A first kind of announcement describes all sessions in the full session directory. A second kind of announcement describes sessions in the updated session directory. Once a client has received a description of the full session directory, it need only listen to announcements of the second type so as to learn of any updates to sessions.

Method and apparatus of announcing sessions transmitted through a network

Provided are apparatuses and methods in a digital broadcast transmission system for identifying a desired ESG fragment in a list of ESG fragments. The list of ESG fragments or bootstrap ESG may be created by a designated service provider, operator or other apparatus or system. The bootstrap ESG may contain information on, or refer to, secondary ESG fragments. In addition, the secondary ESG fragments may contain information on, or refer to, other ESG fragments in a hierarchical arrangement. A mobile terminal may identify a desired ESG fragment from the bootstrap ESG by identifying criteria within the bootstrap ESG corresponding to a secondary ESG, for example.

Identifying scope ESG fragments and enabling hierarchy in the scope

A method of transmitting and accessing announcement information identifying available services. Services are provided on the network over a plurality of communication channels, such that each channel is associated with at least one service. At least one of the plurality of communication channels is dedicated as an all-announcement channel, which includes a service announcement for each one of the services available on the plurality of communication channels. Redirection information is also present on the plurality of communication channels and is used to redirect the mobile terminal to the all-announcement channel to obtain information concerning the available services.

Method of transmitting and accessing network service data

Embodiments described herein may include sending transport objects that include content; sending presentation objects that include instructions for providing a presentation of the content; and sending a delivery object that lists at least one of transport object and indicates the content of the transport object. In some embodiments the delivery object may include data identifying the presentation objects; the instructions may include a start time and an end time for the presentation of the content, and a receiver class identifier indicating a group of targeted receivers that have particular receiver capability factors. Some embodiments may include in response to receiving the presentation objects, selecting one of the presentation objects at least partly based on the terminal class identifier; and providing a presentation of the content as defined by the selected presentation object.

File delivery session handling

Provided are apparatuses and methods in a digital broadcast transmission system for transmitting information on a type of service or program and/or interactivity or interaction information for the service or program. In one example, a parameter or attribute is provided in an ESG fragment for indicating the type of program or service and the type of interaction associated with the program or service. In another example, a first parameter is provided for indicating the type of program or service and a second parameter is provided for indicating the type of interaction associated with the program or service. The parameter or attribute may be included in metadata of the ESG fragment.

Method for indicating service types in the service guide

Systems and methods for processing and distributing legal text information allow content providers to distribute legal text to terminals receiving broadcast content. The legal text may include terms and conditions associated with content that a user may want to purchase or subscribe. Upon receiving a content selection that a user wishes to purchase, a terminal may determine whether the content is associated with legal text information. If so, the legal text may be obtained and rendered for the user. The terminal may further determine whether user consent is required and if so, prompt the user with a consent agreement. Legal text information may be obtained in a variety of manners including from a service provisioning system, from a local cache in the terminal and/or from a file delivery server. Communication of legal text information may further be conducted using messages storing legal text attributes and elements.

Legal text distribution and processing in mobile broadcasting

An aspect of the invention provides an efficient transportation of ESG fragments to a receiver through the formation of containers. A container comprises at least one ESG fragment, but may contain a plurality of fragments. A fragment may be also carried by more than one container. Aspects of the present invention utilize a simple and extensible header structure apart from the fragments and independent of the type and format of the individual fragments. In an aspect of the present invention, compression is applied over the entire container, including the fragments and any headers. In an aspect of the present invention, a 3GPP metadata envelope is carried within the container without the need for unnecessary repetition of parameters, such as for example, version, validity time, and identification. In an aspect of the present invention, a simplified container system allows for the updating of previously received fragments.

Enhanced electronic service guide container

Embodiments are directed to broadcast roaming, i.e., providing service/content to a terminal from a visited service provider. An embodiment is directed to sending a roaming rule request to a service provider, receiving a roaming rule response from the service provider, acquiring service guide fragments from the service provider and processing the service guide fragments in accordance with the received roaming rule response, sending to a selected service provider a service provisioning request for a purchase item, receiving from the selected service provider a service provisioning response regarding the purchase item, and accessing service and/or content related to the purchase item, wherein the service and/or content is provided by the visited service provider. Embodiments are directed to exchanging between a visiting service provider and a home service provider of the terminal a roaming authorization request regarding a purchase item and a roaming authorization response regarding the purchase item.

Broadcast roaming

Provided are apparatuses and methods in a digital broadcast transmission system for deducing the contents or topology of an ESG fragment, transport object, container or session. In one example, descriptors may be transmitted on a first channel that may correspond to ESG fragments transmitted on a second channel. The first and second channel can be received at a subscriber terminal. The subscriber terminal may thus be apprised of the topology of the ESG fragments to minimize the amount of information the subscriber terminal needs to receive. This provides an optimized overall retrieval of the ESG fragments.

Method to determine the completeness of a service guide

Methods and systems for providing zapping data for one or more programs transmitted using timeslicing are disclosed herein. Zapping data may be provided by a zapping data provider or server, or may be created at the mobile terminal based on received program information. Zapping data may be provided to mobile terminals via a wireless multicast network, such as a DVB-H network, using a variety of timeslicing techniques, including providing a separate zapping data stream, providing zapping data as part of the source stream, or allowing mobile terminals to derive zapping data from the source content's broadcast stream. Zapping images may be selected from I-frames of video transmissions. An IP encapsulator may synchronize broadcast streams such that I-frames are transmitted concurrently, and at the beginning of timeslice bursts.

Providing zapping streams to broadcast receivers

An arrangement and method for implementing multicasting in IP networks, in which multicast packets are transmitted along a multicast tree from one transmitter through several multicast controllers to several recipients is discussed. In the method at least one multicast tree intended for control messages is generated in the network from a network multicast controller to cell-level multicast controllers. The network multicast controller transmits along the multicast tree control messages to the cell-level multicast controllers. The control messages contain information on the network multicast and a command to connect to the network multicast tree intended for multicasts.

Implementing multicasting

An apparatus, system, method and computer program product for providing a user of a terminal with broadcast services. A terminal controller is configured to use data forming the whole of or part of an electronic service guide, and store information concerning the accessibility of services. That information is used to then generate a list of selectable services available to the user. A user interface presents at least part of the list in a selectable manner. Service accessibility display options are included either as a setting in the terminal or as a user input. Subscribed services are presented to the user on a display differently than non-subscribed services. If a non-subscribed service is selected, payment data is retrieved from the terminal and a suitable subscription is purchased without significant user involvement. The purchase of a subscription results in the terminal receiving subscription data, which is then stored for future use.

Apparatus, system, method and computer program product for service selection and sorting

Service component files are received at an input () from one or more service operators. An encapsulation and multiplexing system () organizes service components (-, see FIG.) relating to a service sequentially in a burst. In a burst, the service components include content data of different data types. A timing data subsystem () produces data from which a receiver can determine the times of datacast of the service components within a burst. Metadata dependent on the data type of each service component is organized, separately from the content data, by a component analyser (). The metadata can identify a class of receiver having the capability to decode the corresponding service component, or can identify the data type of the corresponding service component, or it identifies the corresponding service component using a unique identifier. The service components, the metadata and the timing data is datacast by a transmitter station () for reception by receiver terminals. The metadata can be datacast as part of the corresponding service component, for example in a header thereof, or on a different bearer to the service components.

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Degerby, Finland

Toni Paila