WO2002089487A2 - Device and method for transmitting multimedia data objects - Google Patents

Device and method for transmitting multimedia data objects Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2002089487A2
WO2002089487A2 PCT/DE2002/001512 DE0201512W WO02089487A2 WO 2002089487 A2 WO2002089487 A2 WO 2002089487A2 DE 0201512 W DE0201512 W DE 0201512W WO 02089487 A2 WO02089487 A2 WO 02089487A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
data
transcoder
central
additional
television
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PCT/DE2002/001512
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German (de)
French (fr)
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WO2002089487A3 (en
Inventor
Peter Fenkart
Original Assignee
Fenkart Informatik & Telekommunikations Kg
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Application filed by Fenkart Informatik & Telekommunikations Kg filed Critical Fenkart Informatik & Telekommunikations Kg
Priority to EP02732403A priority Critical patent/EP1382206A2/en
Priority to AU2002304895A priority patent/AU2002304895A1/en
Publication of WO2002089487A2 publication Critical patent/WO2002089487A2/en
Publication of WO2002089487A3 publication Critical patent/WO2002089487A3/en

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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]
    • H04N21/20—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
    • H04N21/236—Assembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. transport stream, by combining a video stream with other content or additional data, e.g. inserting a URL [Uniform Resource Locator] into a video stream, multiplexing software data into a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Insertion of stuffing bits into the multiplex stream, e.g. to obtain a constant bit-rate; Assembling of a packetised elementary stream
    • H04N21/23614—Multiplexing of additional data and video streams
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N19/00—Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals
    • H04N19/40—Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals using video transcoding, i.e. partial or full decoding of a coded input stream followed by re-encoding of the decoded output stream
    • 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]
    • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/25—Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies
    • H04N21/266—Channel or content management, e.g. generation and management of keys and entitlement messages in a conditional access system, merging a VOD unicast channel into a multicast channel
    • H04N21/2662—Controlling the complexity of the video stream, e.g. by scaling the resolution or bitrate of the video stream based on the client capabilities
    • 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
    • H04N21/434—Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream
    • H04N21/4348—Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
    • 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
    • H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
    • H04N21/462—Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
    • H04N21/4622—Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet
    • 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
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/478—Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
    • H04N21/4782—Web browsing, e.g. WebTV

Definitions

  • the invention relates to an apparatus and a method for the transmission of multimedia data objects from a central data source via a data network to a plurality of terminals, preferably television sets, which are connected to the data network via an additional device, said data sources being transferred from the central data source via a central supply device a format suitable for data transmission is implemented and fed into the data network, the central feed device being a transcoder which digitizes the data objects obtained from the central data source and converts them into a digital data stream, and this data stream is continuously input via an interface feeds the data network and transmits it to the connected additional devices.
  • Such a device and such a method are already known from international application WO 00/38430 AI.
  • the internal registration relates to a device and a method with which it should be possible for users to receive video data and weppages separately or in combination with a common terminal, preferably a television.
  • the video data are transferred from a central server to an MPEG2 - Data format implemented and transmitted to a digital SET-TOP box with an MPEG2 decoder.
  • the clients can use the appropriate software to perform additional Internet functionalities.
  • a distinction is made between a one-way video cover and a two-way video cover. Only the two-way reference allows the client to interactively influence the playback modalities of the related video clip.
  • the MPEG2 standard already offers excellent image quality, but the possibilities of data compression must be viewed as limited.
  • the data transmission bandwidth required is therefore considerable. With a lower bandwidth of the transmission channel, corresponding restrictions in the reproduction quality have to be accepted.
  • Set-top boxes must be able to communicate with the TCP / IP protocol and convert the signals usually received in the form of HTML files into a format suitable for display on the television set.
  • Set-top boxes of this type can be equipped with a number of additional functions, such as their own processor, working memories, buffers, etc., in order to provide a number of further functions.
  • the disadvantage of these set-top boxes has always been their comparatively high price.
  • a solution according to WO 98/50862 AI pursues the goal of reducing this price by essentially relocating the functionality of the set-top box to a central feed device, here a video server.
  • a central feed device here a video server.
  • the invention is therefore based on the object of providing an apparatus and a method for transmitting multimedia data objects which avoids the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art and provides the end user with improved picture and sound quality of the transmitting multimedia data objects.
  • This object is achieved by first digitizing the multimedia data objects with a central feed device and then converting this data stream into a continuous data stream.
  • the streaming technology used for this is known as such in connection with Internet applications.
  • This technology which is known per se, is used within the scope of the invention to be able to operate end devices which have not been able to use the Internet in an improved quality.
  • the decisive aspect of the invention is to use this technology in connection with a central feed device for the transmission of multimedia data objects and, by means of the decentralized additional device, the multimedia data objects fed in in this way to decentralized end devices in a simple manner, such as to broadcast television.
  • the additional device then converts the received digital continuous data stream into a television picture and displays it on the connected terminal device.
  • the additional device is provided with an interface for receiving data that may have been entered by a user, but none by the additional device itself This data is processed but only transmitted to a transcoder.
  • the transcoder can process a large number of different data formats at a central point and convert them into one or a few formats for feeding into the data network. This ensures that the decentralized additional devices only have to master these few formats. The introduction of new standards therefore only requires retrofitting in the area of central transcoding.
  • the transcoder provided for this purpose is provided with a so-called codec interface.
  • codec is an abbreviation for a compressor / decompressor technology. Interfaces are understood to be those that have a special driver that allows the compression and decompression of data. Large amounts of data, in particular how they can be managed in conjunction with audio and video data, are compressed and consequently with less
  • Bandwidths are transmitted in the data network.
  • the additional device is able to decompress the data stream received in compressed form.
  • the additional device can be equipped with a corresponding reading device.
  • the data is only read locally. The actual check is carried out centrally.
  • the additional device can be further simplified in that the centrally arranged transcoder essentially pre-assembles the related multimedia data objects for display on a television set.
  • the multimedia data objects are adapted to the optical resolution of a television set.
  • the multimedia database objects are thus line-oriented and prepared by the transcoder in a number of lines adapted to the television picture. This facilitates the implementation of the data stream received by the additional device.
  • a further pre-assembly of the television set by the transcoder takes place in that the multimedia data objects are already transmitted by the transcoder into the red, green, blue coding or YUV coding which is common in television technology.
  • the transcoder already combines individual objects that have been transmitted or changed their layout in such a way that a representation on a television set is possible or useful.
  • the transcoder provides a virtual control panel that can be called up by the user via the additional device and then operated further.
  • the operating functionality is therefore not provided by the additional device, but rather by the central transcoder.
  • the decentralized additional device can essentially do without its own processor performance.
  • Fig. 1 shows a device for the transmission of multimedia database objects to a television in a block diagram.
  • the block diagram shown in FIG. 1 shows a centrally arranged transcoder 1 which is in a bidirectional data connection via a data network 2 with an additional device 3.
  • a terminal here a television 4
  • the user of the television 4 can then communicate either via a remote control 5 or via the television 4 with the additional device 3 via a corresponding input interface 6.
  • the centrally positioned transcoder 1, which is connected to a large number of additional devices 3 and thus of terminal devices via the data network 2, is in turn connected to a data source 7 which contains the multimedia data objects obtained from the transcoder 1.
  • the multimedia data objects 7 can essentially be still images in black / white or color, texts with different objects, moving images such as video or sound data with or without synchronous reference to a video.
  • the aforementioned multimedia data are usually present in different forms, so that the transcoder 1 has different interfaces 10 to 12. In the present example, this is a video interface 10, an internet interface 11 and an additional interface 12, which is not defined in more detail.
  • the transcoder 1 is provided with a codec interface 13 for the compressed feed of the continuous and digital data stream.
  • the additional device 3 has a bidirectional data interface 14, which allows at least decompression of the received data stream. In addition to decompression of the received data, the additional device 3 merely converts the data stream into a sound signal 15 and image signal 16 suitable for display on the television set.
  • a selected multimedia data object is compressed from the data source 7 by means of the transcoder in accordance with the receiving user specifications, and is converted into a continuous stream using the known streaming technology.
  • Chen digital data stream converted which is transmitted via the data network 2 to the data interface 14.
  • the additional device 3 decompresses the received data stream and converts it to display on the television 4 suitable audio and video signals 15 and 16.
  • the additional device 3 can be operated either with its own remote control 5 or with the remote control of the television 4 in a manner known per se.
  • the transcoder 1 can hereby be addressed in such a way that a virtual control panel is possibly transmitted to the additional device 3 and is displayed on the television 4 analogously to the above explanation. With the help of the remote control 5 and the virtual control panel shown on the television 4, it is then easier to enter user data. For example, an authentication of the user can be queried in this way, or more precise data relating to the referenced multimedia data object.
  • this can take place in such a way that a user 21 first activates his / her additional device 3 and thereby initially establishes a conventional IP data connection to a control center 20 with several transcoders 1 and the data source 7.
  • the parameterization and authentication of the user 21 can be carried out by entering the user data or by reading out a corresponding code card.
  • the additional device 3 can be provided with a chip card reader.
  • a data connection with a minimum bandwidth of 500 KBps must be established between the control center 20 and the user 21. Such a bandwidth is currently only achieved using TDSL lines or so-called cable modems.
  • the Central 20 one of the transcoder 1 selected.
  • the user 21 can then select a multimedia data object from the data source 7 by means of the virtual control panel already mentioned.
  • a specific interface 10 to 12 of the transcoder 1 is then activated.
  • a digital continuous data stream is generated, in particular according to the current MPEG4 standard.
  • the image and sound data are then transmitted to the additional device 3 via a UDP protocol instead of the conventional packet-bound data connection.
  • the additional device 3 decompresses the received data stream and translates it into analog signals which can be transmitted to the television 4, in particular to its Scart socket.
  • the additional device 3 can be designed with additional functions such as fast-forwarding, rewinding, still picture or special control panels for video games.
  • the corresponding operating inputs are transmitted to the transcoder 1 via the input interfaces 6. This sets the received commands in operating functions by which they are transmitted to the data interfaces 10 to 12 for the corresponding control of the data source 7.
  • a device and a method are thus described above by way of example that the user provides a functionality with a very simply constructed additional device 3, which clearly outperforms the conventional set-top boxes.
  • Transcoder 11 Internet interface data network 25 12 Additional interface additional device 13 Codec interface television 14 Data interface remote control 15 Sound signal input interface 16 Image signal data source 30 20 Central video interface 21 users

Abstract

The invention provides a device and a method based on known set top box technology enabling the display of internet contents in a conventional TV set, by means of which reception of multimedia objects is made possible by means of a simple, additional device (3). According to the invention, the data supplied is decompressed by the simply configured additional device (3) by means of a central decoder (1) and streaming technology known per se and converted into the image and audio signals (15 and 16) required for displaying on the TV set (4).

Description

VORRICHTUNG UND VERFAHREN ZUR ÜBERTRAGUNG VON MULTIMEDIALEN DATENOBJEKTEN DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING MULTIMEDIAL DATA OBJECTS
Die Erfindung betrifft eine Vorrichtung und ein Verfahren zur Übertragung von multimedialen Datenobjekten von einer zentralen Datenguelle über ein Datennetz an eine Mehrzahl von Endgeräten, vorzugsweise Fernsehgeräten, die über ein Zusatzgerät an das Datennetz angeschlossen sind, wobei diese von der zentralen Datenquelle über ein zentrales Einspeisegerät in ein zur Datenübertragung geeignetes Format umgesetzt und in das Datennetz eingespeist werden, wobei es sich bei dem zentralen Einspeisegerät um einen Transkodie- rer handelt, der die von der zentralen Datenquelle bezogenen Datenobjekte digitalisiert und in einen digitalen Datenstrom umsetzt und dieser Datenstrom über ein Interface kontinuierlich in das Datennetz einspeist und an die ange- schlossenen Zusatzgeräte übermittelt.The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for the transmission of multimedia data objects from a central data source via a data network to a plurality of terminals, preferably television sets, which are connected to the data network via an additional device, said data sources being transferred from the central data source via a central supply device a format suitable for data transmission is implemented and fed into the data network, the central feed device being a transcoder which digitizes the data objects obtained from the central data source and converts them into a digital data stream, and this data stream is continuously input via an interface feeds the data network and transmits it to the connected additional devices.
Eine solche Vorrichtung und ein derartiges Verfahren sind bereits aus der internationalen Anmeldung WO 00/38430 AI vorbekannt. Die int. Anmeldung betrifft eine Vorrichtung und ein Verfahren mit dem es für Benutzer möglich sein soll Videodaten und Weppages in getrennt oder in Kombination mit einem gemeinsamen Endgerät, vorzugsweise einem Fernseher zu empfan- gen. Hierzu werden von einem zentralen Server die Videodaten in ein MPEG2 -Datenformat umgesetzt und an eine digitale SET-TOP Box mit einem MPEG2-Decoder übermittelt. Dabei können die clients mittels einer entsprecheden Software zusätzlich Internet-Funktionalitäten wahrnehmen. Dabei wird zwischen einem Einweg-Videobezug und einem Zweiwege- Videobezug unterschieden. Erst der Zweiwege-Bezug erlaubt es, dem Client interaktiv auf die Abspielmodalitäten des bezogen Videoclips einzuwirken.Such a device and such a method are already known from international application WO 00/38430 AI. The internal registration relates to a device and a method with which it should be possible for users to receive video data and weppages separately or in combination with a common terminal, preferably a television. For this purpose, the video data are transferred from a central server to an MPEG2 - Data format implemented and transmitted to a digital SET-TOP box with an MPEG2 decoder. The clients can use the appropriate software to perform additional Internet functionalities. A distinction is made between a one-way video cover and a two-way video cover. Only the two-way reference allows the client to interactively influence the playback modalities of the related video clip.
Dabei bietet der MPEG2-Standard zwar bereits eine hervorragende Bildqualität aber die Möglichkeiten der Datenkompression müssen als begrenzt angesehen werden. Die benötigte Datenübertragungsbandbreite ist also beträchtlich. Bei geringerer Bandbreite des Übertragungskanals müssen entspre- chende Beschränkungen in der Wiedergabequalität hingenommen werde .The MPEG2 standard already offers excellent image quality, but the possibilities of data compression must be viewed as limited. The data transmission bandwidth required is therefore considerable. With a lower bandwidth of the transmission channel, corresponding restrictions in the reproduction quality have to be accepted.
Grundsätzlich besteht seit einigen Jahren die Bestrebung, auch solchen Benutzern den Zugang zum Internet zu öffnen, die entweder keinen Computer besitzen und/oder mit dessen Bedienung nicht vertraut sind. Insbesondere mit der zunehmenden Funktionalität und Verbreitung des Internets besteht ein Bedarf herkömmliche und weit verbreitete Endgeräte internetfähig zu machen. In diesem Zusammenhang sind soge- nannte Set-Top-Boxen bekannt geworden, die im Wesentlichen einen Web-Browser umfassen der die aus dem Internet bezogenen Daten in ein für Fernsehgeräte übliches Format umsetzt. Die Besitzer eines derartigen Zusatzgerätes können daher mit einem herkömmlichen Fernsehgerat das Internet zumindest weitgehend nutzen.In principle, efforts have been made for some years now to also open access to the Internet for those users who either do not have a computer and / or are not familiar with its operation. Particularly with the increasing functionality and spread of the Internet, there is a need to make conventional and widespread end devices Internet-capable. In this context, so-called set-top boxes have become known, which essentially comprise a web browser which converts the data obtained from the Internet into a format customary for television sets. The owners of such an additional device can therefore at least largely use the Internet with a conventional television set.
Grundsätzlich m ssen derartige Set-Top-Boxen mit dem TCP/IP-Protokoll kommunizieren können und die üblicherweise in Form von HTML-Dateien empfangenen Signale in zur Darstellung auf dem Fernsehgerat geeignetes Format umsetzen. Dabei können derartige Set-Top-Boxen mit einer Reihe von Zusatzfunktionalitaten ausgestattet sein, wie etwa einem eigenen Prozessor, Arbeitsspeichern, Zwischenspeichern u.a., um eine Reihe von weiteren Funktionalitaten bereit zu stellen. Der Nachteil dieser Set-Top-Boxen besteht seit je her in deren vergleichsweise hohem Preis.Basically, such set-top boxes must be able to communicate with the TCP / IP protocol and convert the signals usually received in the form of HTML files into a format suitable for display on the television set. Set-top boxes of this type can be equipped with a number of additional functions, such as their own processor, working memories, buffers, etc., in order to provide a number of further functions. The disadvantage of these set-top boxes has always been their comparatively high price.
Ausgehend von diesem Problem verfolgt eine Losung nach der WO 98/50862 AI das Ziel diesen Preis dadurch zu senken, daß die Funktionalitat der Set-Top-Box im Wesentlichen an ein zentrales Einspeisegerat , hier an einen Video-Server verla- gert wird. Um so mehr Funktionalitat beispielsweise im Zusammenhang mit der erforderlichen Transformation der Daten von einem zentralen Video-Server übernommen wird, um so einfacher und kostengünstiger können die angeschlossenen Set-Top-Boxen ausgestaltet werden.Based on this problem, a solution according to WO 98/50862 AI pursues the goal of reducing this price by essentially relocating the functionality of the set-top box to a central feed device, here a video server. The more functionality, for example in connection with the required transformation of the data, is taken over by a central video server, the simpler and cheaper the connected set-top boxes can be designed.
Im Zusammenhang mit der Übertragung von multimedialen Datenobjekten wie etwa Bewegtbilddaten, Videodaten oder begleitende Tondaten, hat sich gezeigt, daß die paketgebundene Übertragung gemäß dem TCP/IP-Protokoll des Internets an sich ungeeignet ist. Die Übertragung von Bild und Ton erfolgt in der Regel intermitierend, so daß sich ein ruckeln- des Bild bzw. standige Tonunterbrechungen ergeben und somit ein qualitativ unbefriedigendes Ergebnis erzielt wird. Es ist Stand der Technik, dieses Problem im Wege größerer Übertragungsraten beispielsweise durch die Verwendung von ISDN-Telefonleitungen zu lösen. Diese Lösung führt zwar zu einer Verbesserung der Darstellung, beseitigt aber das grundsätzlich vorhandene Problem nicht.In connection with the transmission of multimedia data objects such as moving picture data, video data or accompanying sound data, it has been shown that the packet-bound transmission according to the TCP / IP protocol of the Internet is unsuitable per se. The transmission of picture and sound is usually intermittent, so that there is a jerky picture or constant sound interruptions and thus a qualitatively unsatisfactory result is achieved. It is state of the art to solve this problem by way of higher transmission rates, for example by using ISDN telephone lines. Although this solution leads to an improvement in the display, it does not eliminate the basic problem.
Der Erfindung liegt daher die Aufgabe zugrunde, eine Vorrichtung und ein Verfahren zur Übertragung von multimedialen Datenobjekten zu schaffen, daß die vorstehend erwähnten Nachteile des Standes der Technik vermeidet und eine verbesserte Bild- und Tonqualität der übertragenden multimedialen Datenobjekte beim Endbenutzer bereitstellt.The invention is therefore based on the object of providing an apparatus and a method for transmitting multimedia data objects which avoids the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art and provides the end user with improved picture and sound quality of the transmitting multimedia data objects.
Diese Aufgabe wird durch eine Vorrichtung und ein Verfahren gemäß den Ansprüchen 1 und 10 gelöst. Vorteilhafte Ausgestaltungen der erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung ergeben sich gemäß den abhängigen Unteransprüchen 2 bis 9.This object is achieved by an apparatus and a method according to claims 1 and 10. Advantageous refinements of the device according to the invention result from the dependent subclaims 2 to 9.
Die Lösung dieser Aufgabe gelingt dadurch, daß gemäß dem Hauptanspruch mit einem zentralen Einspeisegerät zunächst eine Digitalisierung der multimedialen Datenobjekte vorgenommen wird und anschließend dieser Datenstrom in einen kontinuierlichen Datenstrom umgesetzt wird. Die hierzu eingesetzte Streaming-Technologie ist als solche in Verbindung mit Internetanwendungen bekannt. Diese an sich bekannte Technik wird im Rahmen der Erfindung dazu benutzt, bisher nicht internetfähige Endgeräte in einer verbesserten Qualität bedienen zu können. Der entscheidende Aspekt der Erfindung besteht darin, diese Technik in Verbindung mit einem zentralen Einspeisegerät zur Übertragung von multimedialen Datenobjekten einzusetzen und mittels des dezentralen Zusatzgerätes die solcherart eingespeisten multimedialen Datenobjekte in einfacher Weise an dezentrale Endgeräte, wie etwa Fernseher zu übertragen. Das Zusatzgerät setzt dann den empfangenen digitalen kontinuierlichen Datenstrom in ein Fernsehbild um und bringt dieses auf dem angeschlossenen Endgerät zur Anzeige. Außerdem ist es ein wesentlicher Aspekt der Erfindung ist, das benutzerseitig zu verwendende Zusatzgerät möglichst kostengünstig auszugestalten, wird es als vorteilhaft angesehen, daß das Zusatzgerät zwar mit einer Schnittstelle zum Empfang der etwa von einem Benutzer eingegebenen Daten versehen ist, aber durch das Zusatzgerät selbst keine Bearbeitung dieser Daten sondern lediglich eine Übermittlung an einen Transkodierer erfolgt.This object is achieved by first digitizing the multimedia data objects with a central feed device and then converting this data stream into a continuous data stream. The streaming technology used for this is known as such in connection with Internet applications. This technology, which is known per se, is used within the scope of the invention to be able to operate end devices which have not been able to use the Internet in an improved quality. The decisive aspect of the invention is to use this technology in connection with a central feed device for the transmission of multimedia data objects and, by means of the decentralized additional device, the multimedia data objects fed in in this way to decentralized end devices in a simple manner, such as to broadcast television. The additional device then converts the received digital continuous data stream into a television picture and displays it on the connected terminal device. In addition, it is an essential aspect of the invention to design the additional device to be used by the user as inexpensively as possible, it is considered advantageous that the additional device is provided with an interface for receiving data that may have been entered by a user, but none by the additional device itself This data is processed but only transmitted to a transcoder.
Der Transkodierer kann dabei an zentraler Stelle eine Vielzahl unterschiedlicher Datenformate bearbeiten und in ein oder einige wenige Formate zur Einspeisung in das Datennetz umsetzen. Hierdurch ist sichergestellt, das die dezentralen Zusatzgeräte auch nur diese wenigen Formate beherrschen müssen. Die Einführung neuer Standards erfordert also lediglich Nachrüstungen im Bereich der zentralen Transkodie- rung .The transcoder can process a large number of different data formats at a central point and convert them into one or a few formats for feeding into the data network. This ensures that the decentralized additional devices only have to master these few formats. The introduction of new standards therefore only requires retrofitting in the area of central transcoding.
In vorteilhafter Ausgestaltung ist der hierfür vorgesehene Transkodierer mit einem sogenannten Codec-Interface versehen. Der Begriff „Codec" ist eine Abkürzung für eine Kom- pressor-/Dekompressor-Technik. Hierunter sind Interfaces zu verstehen, die einen speziellen Treiber besitzen, der die Komprimierung und Dekomprimierung von Daten erlaubt . Durch Codec-Interfaces können große Datenmengen, insbesondere wie sie in Verbindung mit Audio- und Videodaten zu bewältigen sind, komprimiert werden und demzufolge mit geringerenIn an advantageous embodiment, the transcoder provided for this purpose is provided with a so-called codec interface. The term "codec" is an abbreviation for a compressor / decompressor technology. Interfaces are understood to be those that have a special driver that allows the compression and decompression of data. Large amounts of data, in particular how they can be managed in conjunction with audio and video data, are compressed and consequently with less
Bandbreiten im Datennetz übertragen werden. In vorteilhafter Ausgestaltung ist das Zusatzgerät in der Lage, den komprimiert empfangenen Datenstrom zu dekomprimieren.Bandwidths are transmitted in the data network. In an advantageous embodiment, the additional device is able to decompress the data stream received in compressed form.
Allerdings kann es vorteilhaft sein, wenn die Benutzerauto- risierung mit Hilfe einer herkömmlichen Chipkarte direkt am Zusatzgerät möglich ist. Hierzu kann das Zusatzgerät mit einem entsprechenden Lesegerät ausgestattet sein. Dabei werden die Daten nur dezentral ausgelesen. Die eigentliche Überprüfung erfolgt zentral.However, it can be advantageous if the user authorization is possible directly on the additional device using a conventional chip card. For this purpose, the additional device can be equipped with a corresponding reading device. The data is only read locally. The actual check is carried out centrally.
Das Zusatzgerät kann weiter dadurch vereinfacht werden, daß von dem zentral angeordneten Transkodierer im Wesentlichen eine Vorkonfektionierung der bezogenen multimedialen Da- tenobjekte für eine Darstellung auf einem Fernsehgerät erfolgt. Insbesondere erfolgt eine Anpassung der multimedialen Datenobjekte an die optische Auflösung eines Fernsehgerätes. So werden die multimedialen Datenbankobjekte zeilenorientiert und in einer dem Fernsehbild angepaßten Zeilen- zahl bereits vom Transkodierer aufbereitet. Hierdurch ist die Umsetzung des vom Zusatzgerät empfangenen Datenstroms erleichtert .The additional device can be further simplified in that the centrally arranged transcoder essentially pre-assembles the related multimedia data objects for display on a television set. In particular, the multimedia data objects are adapted to the optical resolution of a television set. The multimedia database objects are thus line-oriented and prepared by the transcoder in a number of lines adapted to the television picture. This facilitates the implementation of the data stream received by the additional device.
Eine weitere Vorkonfektionierung des Fernsehgeräts durch den Transkodierer erfolgt dadurch, daß die multimedialen Datenobjekte in die in der Fernsehtechnik übliche Rot-, Grün-, Blau-Kodierung bzw. YUV-Kodierung bereits vom Transkodierer übertragen werden. In abermals vorteilhafter Ausgestaltung werden durch den Transkodierer etwa übertragene Einzelobjekte bereits derart kombiniert bzw. in ihrem Layout verändert, daß eine Darstellung auf einem Fernsehgerät möglich bzw. sinnvoll ist.A further pre-assembly of the television set by the transcoder takes place in that the multimedia data objects are already transmitted by the transcoder into the red, green, blue coding or YUV coding which is common in television technology. In another advantageous embodiment, the transcoder already combines individual objects that have been transmitted or changed their layout in such a way that a representation on a television set is possible or useful.
Um die Bedienung etwa eines digitalen Video-Servers oder des Transkodierers im allgemeinen zu erleichtern, wird vom Transkodierer ein virtuelles Bedienpanel bereitgestellt, daß vom Benutzer über das Zusatzgerät aufgerufen und dann weiter bedient werden kann. Die Bedienfunktionalität wird also nicht von dem Zusatzgerät, sondern vielmehr von dem zentralen Transkodierer bereit gestellt. Hierdurch kann das dezentral aufgestellte Zusatzgerät im Wesentlichen ohne eigene Prozessorleistung auskommen.In order to facilitate the operation of a digital video server or the transcoder in general, the transcoder provides a virtual control panel that can be called up by the user via the additional device and then operated further. The operating functionality is therefore not provided by the additional device, but rather by the central transcoder. As a result, the decentralized additional device can essentially do without its own processor performance.
Die Erfindung wird nachstehend anhand eines der Zeichnung nur schematisch dargestellten Ausführungsbeispiels näher erläutert .The invention is explained below with reference to an embodiment shown only schematically in the drawing.
Es zeigen:Show it:
Fig. 1 eine Vorrichtung zur Übertragung von multimedialen Datenbankobjekten an ein Fernsehgerät in einem Blockschaltbild.Fig. 1 shows a device for the transmission of multimedia database objects to a television in a block diagram.
Das in Fig. 1 gezeigte Blockschaltbild zeigt einen zentral angeordneten Transkodierer 1 der über ein Datennetz 2 mit einem Zusatzgerät 3 in bidirektionaler Datenverbindung steht. An das Zusatzgerät 3 ist ein Endgerät, hier ein Fernseher 4 angeschlossen. Der Benutzer des Fernsehers 4 kann entweder über eine Fernbedienung 5 oder über den Fernseher 4 mit dem Zusatzgerät 3 dann über eine entsprechende Eingabeschnittstelle 6, kommunizieren. Der zentral aufgestellte Transkodierer 1, der über das Datennetz 2 mit einer Vielzahl von Zusatzgeraten 3 und damit von Endgeraten in Datenverbindung steht, ist seinerseits mit einer Datenquelle 7 verbunden, die die von dem Transko- dierer 1 bezogenen multimedialen Datenobjekte enthalt. Bei den multimedialen Datenobjekten 7 kann es sich im Wesentlichen um Standbilder in Schwarz/Weiß oder Farbe, Texte mit unterschiedlichen Objekten, Bewegtbilder wie etwa Video oder Tondaten mit oder ohne synchronem Bezug zu einem Video handeln. Üblicherweise liegen die erwähnten multimedialen Daten in unterschiedlicher Form vor, so daß der Transkodierer 1 unterschiedliche Schnittstellen 10 bis 12 aufweist. In vorliegendem Beispiel handelt es sich dabei um eine Videoschnittstelle 10, eine Internetschnittstelle 11 und eine nicht naher definierte Zusatzschnittstelle 12.The block diagram shown in FIG. 1 shows a centrally arranged transcoder 1 which is in a bidirectional data connection via a data network 2 with an additional device 3. A terminal, here a television 4, is connected to the additional device 3. The user of the television 4 can then communicate either via a remote control 5 or via the television 4 with the additional device 3 via a corresponding input interface 6. The centrally positioned transcoder 1, which is connected to a large number of additional devices 3 and thus of terminal devices via the data network 2, is in turn connected to a data source 7 which contains the multimedia data objects obtained from the transcoder 1. The multimedia data objects 7 can essentially be still images in black / white or color, texts with different objects, moving images such as video or sound data with or without synchronous reference to a video. The aforementioned multimedia data are usually present in different forms, so that the transcoder 1 has different interfaces 10 to 12. In the present example, this is a video interface 10, an internet interface 11 and an additional interface 12, which is not defined in more detail.
Der Transkodierer 1 ist mit einem Codec- Interface 13 zur komprimierten Einspeisung des kontinuierlichen und digitalen Datenstroms versehen. Das Zusatzgerat 3 weist eine bi- direktionale Datenschnittstelle 14 auf, die zumindest eine Dekompression des empfangenen Datenstroms erlaubt. Mittels des Zusatzgerätes 3 wird neben einer Dekompression der empfangenen Daten lediglich eine Umsetzung des Datenstroms in ein zur Darstellung auf dem Fernsehgerat geeignetes Tonsi- gnal 15 und Bildsignal 16 vorgenommen.The transcoder 1 is provided with a codec interface 13 for the compressed feed of the continuous and digital data stream. The additional device 3 has a bidirectional data interface 14, which allows at least decompression of the received data stream. In addition to decompression of the received data, the additional device 3 merely converts the data stream into a sound signal 15 and image signal 16 suitable for display on the television set.
Nachstehend wird die Funktion der vorstehend beschriebenen Vorrichtung naher erläutert:The function of the device described above is explained in more detail below:
Zunächst wird mittels des Transkodierers gemäß empfangender Benutzervorgaben ein ausgewähltes multimediales Datenobjekt von der Datenquelle 7 bezogen komprimiert und mit Hilfe der an sich bekannten Streaming-Technik in einen kontinuierli- chen digitalen Datenstrom umgewandelt, der über das Datennetz 2 an die Datenschnittstelle 14 übertragen wird. Das Zusatzgerät 3 dekomprimiert den empfangenen Datenstrom und setzt ihn zur Darstellung auf dem Fernseher 4 geeignete Ton- und Bildsignale 15 und 16 um. Das Zusatzgerät 3 kann entweder mit einer eigenen Fernbedienung 5 oder mit der Fernbedienung des Fernsehers 4 an sich bekannter Weise bedient werden. Insbesondere kann hierdurch der Transkodierer 1 derart angesprochen werden, daß ggf. ein virtuelles Be- dienpanel an das Zusatzgerät 3 übermittelt und analog der vorstehenden Erläuterung auf dem Fernseher 4 zur Anzeige gelangt wird. Mit Hilfe der Fernbedienung 5 und dem auf dem Fernseher 4 dargestellten virtuellen Bedienpanel kann dann eine erleichterte Eingabe von Benutzerdaten erfolgen. Bei- spielsweise kann auf diese Weise eine Authentifikation des Benutzers abgefragt werden oder genauere Daten zum Bezug des angesprochenen multimedialen Datenobjektes.First, a selected multimedia data object is compressed from the data source 7 by means of the transcoder in accordance with the receiving user specifications, and is converted into a continuous stream using the known streaming technology. Chen digital data stream converted, which is transmitted via the data network 2 to the data interface 14. The additional device 3 decompresses the received data stream and converts it to display on the television 4 suitable audio and video signals 15 and 16. The additional device 3 can be operated either with its own remote control 5 or with the remote control of the television 4 in a manner known per se. In particular, the transcoder 1 can hereby be addressed in such a way that a virtual control panel is possibly transmitted to the additional device 3 and is displayed on the television 4 analogously to the above explanation. With the help of the remote control 5 and the virtual control panel shown on the television 4, it is then easier to enter user data. For example, an authentication of the user can be queried in this way, or more precise data relating to the referenced multimedia data object.
Konkret kann dies derart ablaufen, daß ein Benutzer 21 zu- nächst sein Zusatzgerät 3 aktiviert und hierdurch zunächst eine an sich herkömmliche IP-Datenverbindung zu einer Zentrale 20 mit mehreren Transkodierern 1 und der Datenquelle 7 aufgebaut wird. Die Parametrisierung und Authentifizierung des Benutzers 21 kann dabei durch Eingabe der Benut- zerdaten oder durch Auslesen einer entsprechenden Codekarte erfolgen. Hierzu kann das Zusatzgerät 3 mit einem Chipkartenleser versehen sein. Hierzu muß zwischen der Zentrale 20 und dem Benutzer 21 eine Datenverbindung mit einer Mindest - bandbreite 500 KBps hergestellt werden. Eine derartige Bandbreite wird im Augenblick lediglich mittels TDSL- Leitungen oder sogenannten Kabelmodems erreicht. Sobald von der Zentrale 20 die Zugangsberechtigung festgestellt, insbesondere die Inkassodaten überprüft wurden, wird von der Zentrale 20 einer der Transkodierer 1 ausgewählt. Der Benutzer 21 kann dann mittels des bereits angesprochenen virtuellen Bedienpanels ein multimediales Datenobjekt aus der Datenquelle 7 auswählen. In Abhängigkeit von dem ausgewähl- ten Datenobjekt wird dann eine bestimmte Schnittstelle 10 bis 12 des Transkodierers 1 aktiviert. In jedem Falle wird ein digitaler kontinuierlicher Datenstrom insbesondere nach dem derzeitigen MPEG4 Standard erzeugt. Die Bild- und Tondaten werden dann über ein UDP-Protokoll anstelle der her- kömmlichen paketgebundenen Datenverbindung an das Zusatzgerät 3 übertragen. Das Zusatzgerät 3 dekomprimiert den empfangenen Datenstrom und übersetzt ihn in analoge Signale die an den Fernseher 4 insbesondere an dessen Scart-Buchse übertragen werden können.Specifically, this can take place in such a way that a user 21 first activates his / her additional device 3 and thereby initially establishes a conventional IP data connection to a control center 20 with several transcoders 1 and the data source 7. The parameterization and authentication of the user 21 can be carried out by entering the user data or by reading out a corresponding code card. For this purpose, the additional device 3 can be provided with a chip card reader. For this purpose, a data connection with a minimum bandwidth of 500 KBps must be established between the control center 20 and the user 21. Such a bandwidth is currently only achieved using TDSL lines or so-called cable modems. As soon as the access authorization has been determined by the control center 20, in particular the collection data has been checked, the Central 20 one of the transcoder 1 selected. The user 21 can then select a multimedia data object from the data source 7 by means of the virtual control panel already mentioned. Depending on the selected data object, a specific interface 10 to 12 of the transcoder 1 is then activated. In any case, a digital continuous data stream is generated, in particular according to the current MPEG4 standard. The image and sound data are then transmitted to the additional device 3 via a UDP protocol instead of the conventional packet-bound data connection. The additional device 3 decompresses the received data stream and translates it into analog signals which can be transmitted to the television 4, in particular to its Scart socket.
Je nach Ausstattung kann das Zusatzgerät 3 mit Zusatzfunktionen wie Vorspulen, Zurückspulen, Standbild oder speziellen Bedienpanels für Videospiele ausgestaltet sein. Hierbei werden die entsprechenden Bedieneingaben über die Eingabe- schnittsteile 6 an den Transkodierer 1 übertragen. Dieser setzt die empfangenen Befehle in Bedienfunktionen, um die an die Datenschnittstellen 10 bis 12 zur entsprechenden Steuerung der Datenquelle 7 übertragen werden.Depending on the equipment, the additional device 3 can be designed with additional functions such as fast-forwarding, rewinding, still picture or special control panels for video games. The corresponding operating inputs are transmitted to the transcoder 1 via the input interfaces 6. This sets the received commands in operating functions by which they are transmitted to the data interfaces 10 to 12 for the corresponding control of the data source 7.
Vorstehend ist somit beispielhaft eine Vorrichtung und ein Verfahren beschrieben, daß benutzerseitig mit einem sehr einfach aufgebauten Zusatzgerät 3 eine Funktionalität bereit stellt, die den herkömmlichen Set-Top-Boxen Standart deutlich überbietet. A device and a method are thus described above by way of example that the user provides a functionality with a very simply constructed additional device 3, which clearly outperforms the conventional set-top boxes.
B E Z U G S Z E I C H E N L I S T EB E Z U G S Z E I C H E N L I S T E
Transkodierer 11 Internetschnittstelle Datennetz 25 12 Zusatzschnittstelle Zusatzgerät 13 Codec-Interface Fernseher 14 Datenschnittstelle Fernbedienung 15 Tonsignal Eingabeschnittstelle 16 Bildsignal Datenquelle 30 20 Zentrale Videoschnittstelle 21 Benutzer Transcoder 11 Internet interface data network 25 12 Additional interface additional device 13 Codec interface television 14 Data interface remote control 15 Sound signal input interface 16 Image signal data source 30 20 Central video interface 21 users

Claims

P A T E N T A N S P R Ü C H E PATENT CLAIMS
1. Vorrichtung zur Übertragung von multimedialen Datenob- jekten von einer zentralen Datenquelle (7) über ein Datennetz (2) an eine Mehrzahl von Endgeräten, vorzugsweise Fernsehgeräten (4), die über ein Zusatzgerät (3) an das Datennetz (2) angeschlossen sind, wobei diese von der zentralen Datenquelle (7) über ein zentrales Einspeisegerät in ein zur Datenübertragung geeignetes1. Device for the transmission of multimedia data objects from a central data source (7) via a data network (2) to a plurality of terminals, preferably television sets (4), which are connected to the data network (2) via an additional device (3) , from the central data source (7) via a central feed device into a device suitable for data transmission
Format umgesetzt und in das Datennetz (2) eingespeist werden, wobei es sich bei dem zentralen Einspeisegerät um einen Transkodierer (1) handelt, der die von der zentralen Datenquelle (7) bezogenen Datenobjekte digi- talisiert und in einen digitalen Datenstrom umsetzt und dieser Datenstrom über ein Interface kontinuierlich in das Datennetz (2) einspeist und an die angeschlossenen Zusatzgeräte übermittelt, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Datenstrom in einem komprimierten MPEG-4 Format an die Zusatzgeräte (3) übermittelt und die Zusatzgeräte (3) den empfangenen MPEG4 Datenstrom jeweils decodieren und in Fernsehbilder umsetzen und an die jeweils angeschlossenen Endgeräte übermitteln und die Zusatzgerät (3) jeweils mit einer Eingabeschnittstelle (6) für die vom Benutzer direkt oder indirekt über die jeweils an- geschlossenen Endgeräte eingegebenen Daten versehen sind und jeweils die über diese Eingabeschnittstellen (6) empfangenen Benutzerdaten unmittelbar an den Transkodierer (1) übermittelt werden.Format converted and fed into the data network (2), the central feed device being a transcoder (1) which digitizes the data objects obtained from the central data source (7) and converts them into a digital data stream and this data stream Feeds continuously into the data network (2) via an interface and transmits it to the connected additional devices, characterized in that the data stream is transmitted to the additional devices (3) in a compressed MPEG-4 format and the additional devices (3) each decode the received MPEG4 data stream and convert them into television pictures and transmit them to the respective connected devices and the additional device (3) each with an input interface (6) for which the user can directly or indirectly via the respective closed terminal devices are provided and the user data received via these input interfaces (6) are transmitted directly to the transcoder (1).
2. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet , daß der Transkodierer (1) mit unterschiedlichen Eingangsschnittstellen (10-12) zum Bezug unterschiedliche Datenformate von der Datenquelle (7) versehen ist und diese Mehrzahl unterschiedlicher Datenformate in ein oder wenige Datenformate zur Einspeisung in das Datennetz (2) umsetzt.2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the transcoder (1) with different input interfaces (10-12) for reference different data formats from the data source (7) is provided and this plurality of different data formats in one or a few data formats for feeding into the Implemented data network (2).
3. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, dadurch gekenn- zeichnet, daß das Interface als Codec- Interface (13) ausgestaltet ist, das vorzugsweise in Echtzeit, den kontinuierlichen Datenstrom komprimiert in das Datennetz (2) einspeist.3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the interface is designed as a codec interface (13), which preferably feeds the continuous data stream compressed in real time into the data network (2).
4. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 3, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß das Zusatzgerät (3) den empfangenen Datenstrom dekomprimiert .4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the additional device (3) decompresses the received data stream.
5. Vorrichtung nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß das Zusatzgerät mit einem5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the additional device with a
Kartenlesegerät für eine Chipkarte versehen ist. Card reader for a chip card is provided.
6. Vorrichtung nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Transkodierer (1) die multimedialen Datenobjekte zur Darstellung auf ein Fernsehgerät (4) vorbereitet, insbesondere eine Anpas- sung an die optische Auflösung des Fernsehgerätes (4) vornimmt .6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transcoder (1) prepares the multimedia data objects for display on a television (4), in particular an adaptation to the optical resolution of the television (4).
7. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 6, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Transkodierer (1) die multimedialen Datenobjek- te der Farbkodierung nach für eine Darstellung auf einem Fernsehgerät (4) vorbereitet, insbesondere eine Rot-, Grün- Blau-Kodierung und/oder YUV-Kodierung vornimmt .7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that the transcoder (1) prepares the multimedia data objects of the color coding for display on a television set (4), in particular a red, green, blue coding and / or YUV- Coding.
8. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 6 oder 7, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Transkodierer (1) die multimedialen Datenobjekte zur Darstellung auf einem Fernsehgerät (4) derart vorbereitet, daß die multimediale Einzeldatenobjekte zu einem kontinuierlichen Datenstrom kombiniert werden.8. Apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the transcoder (1) prepares the multimedia data objects for display on a television set (4) in such a way that the multimedia individual data objects are combined to form a continuous data stream.
9. Vorrichtung nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß mittels des Transkodierers (1) ein virtuelles Bedienpanel über das Zusatzgerät (3) auf dem angeschlossenen Endgerät darstellbar ist. 9. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that by means of the transcoder (1) a virtual control panel can be represented on the connected terminal via the additional device (3).
0. Verfahren zur Übertragung von multimedialen Datenobjekten von einer zentralen Datenquelle (7) über ein Datennetz (2) an eine Mehrzahl von Endgeräten, vorzugsweise Fernsehgeräten (4) die über ein Zusatzgerät (3) an das Datennetz (2) angeschlossen sind, wobei diese Datenobjekte von einer zentralen Datenquelle (7) bezogen und über ein zentrales Einspeisegerät in ein zur Datenübertragung geeignetes Format umgesetzt und in das Datennetz (2) eingespeist werden, wobei als zentrales Ein- speisegerät ein Transkodierer (1) eingesetzt wird, um die von der zentralen Datenquelle (2) bezogenen Datenobjekte zu digitalisieren und in einen digitalen Datenstrom umsetzen, der über ein Interface kontinuierlich in das Datennetz eingespeist wird und hierdurch an die angeschlossenen Zusatzgeräte (3) zur Darstellung auf den angeschlossenen Endgeräten zu übermitteln, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Datenstrom in einem komprimierten MPEG-4 Format an die Zusatzgeräte (3) übermittelt wird und die Zusatzge- rate (3) den empfangenen MPEG4 Datenstrom jeweils decodieren und in Fernsehbilder umsetzen und an die jeweils angeschlossenen Endgeräte übermitteln und die Zusatzgerät (3) jeweils mittels einer Eingabeschnittstelle (6) die vom Benutzer direkt oder indirekt über die jeweils angeschlossenen Endgeräte eingegebenen Daten empfangen und unmittelbar an den Transkodierer (1) übermitteln. 0. Method for the transmission of multimedia data objects from a central data source (7) via a data network (2) to a plurality of terminals, preferably television sets (4) which are connected to the data network (2) via an additional device (3) Data objects are obtained from a central data source (7) and converted into a format suitable for data transmission via a central infeed device and fed into the data network (2), a transcoder (1) being used as the central infeed device to transmit the data from the central one Digitize data source (2) -related data objects and convert them into a digital data stream that is continuously fed into the data network via an interface and thereby to be transmitted to the connected additional devices (3) for display on the connected terminal devices, characterized in that the data stream in a compressed MPEG-4 format is transmitted to the additional devices (3) and the additional devices (3) each decode the received MPEG4 data stream and convert them into television pictures and transmit them to the respectively connected terminal devices and the additional device (3) each by means of an input interface (6) the data entered by the user directly or indirectly via the respectively connected terminal devices received and transmitted directly to the transcoder (1).
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US10275128B2 (en) 2013-03-15 2019-04-30 Activevideo Networks, Inc. Multiple-mode system and method for providing user selectable video content
US11073969B2 (en) 2013-03-15 2021-07-27 Activevideo Networks, Inc. Multiple-mode system and method for providing user selectable video content
US9326047B2 (en) 2013-06-06 2016-04-26 Activevideo Networks, Inc. Overlay rendering of user interface onto source video
US9294785B2 (en) 2013-06-06 2016-03-22 Activevideo Networks, Inc. System and method for exploiting scene graph information in construction of an encoded video sequence
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