Apparatus and method for providing mobile IPTV service in mobile communication system and broadcasting system

Abstract

In a mobile communication system and a broadcasting system, an Advanced Base Station (ABS) periodically broadcasts a buffering data packet of broadcast buffering content in providing a Mobile Internet Protocol TeleVision (Mobile IPTV) service. The broadcast buffering content represents content in which a buffering data packet corresponding to a predetermined buffering capacity is periodically broadcasted, and the buffering data packet represents a data packet that is transmitted to be buffered in advance before the broadcast buffering content is actually provided to Advanced Mobile Stations (AMSs).

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY[0001]This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 104,237 filed on May 10, 2011 and claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of a Korean Patent Application filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on May 11, 2010 and assigned Serial No. 10-2010-0043983, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for providing a Mobile Internet Protocol TeleVision (Mobile IPTV) service in a mobile communication system and a broadcasting system.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Wired IPTV systems provide real-time broadcast services and Video-on-Demand (VoD) services. The real-time broadcast services are provided using a plurality of real-time broadcast channels. When channel switching is made from the current real-time broadcast channel to a new real-time broadcast channel, a few s...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent describes a way to provide mobile IPTV service with two main benefits: reducing switching time and minimizing the ratio of unicast transmission. These improvements make the service delivery process faster and more efficient, which is always beneficial for both users and network providers.

Problems solved by technology

When channel switching is made from the current real-time broadcast channel to a new real-time broadcast channel, a few seconds are required to receive data packets provided over the new real-time broadcast channel and decode the received data packets, causing a delay in the channel switching.

However, in case of the VoD services, because the number of their available content channels is much greater than the number of real-time broadcast channels and it is difficult to predict which content channel a user will select, the time period required between the time the user selected a specific content channel and the time the specific content channel actually starts playing the content, is relatively long.

However, in order to manage correlations between contents in a hierarchical manner, a database for the correlations between contents should be built, and additional overhead is required, such as transmission / reception of the correlation information.

However, if the real-time broadcast channel switching method and content channel switching method used in the wired IPTV systems are used in the wireless environments where the communication capacity and transmission bandwidth are limited, like in Mobile IPTV systems, use of which has been greatly increased recently, then the number of user terminals to which a Mobile IPTV service can be provided by the Mobile IPTV systems is limited due to an increase in the unicast transmission.

Therefore, the real-time broadcast channel switching method and content channel switching method used in the wired IPTV systems can hardly be used intact in the Mobile IPTV systems, leading to the necessity for a new real-time broadcast channel switching method and content channel switching method capable of minimizing the switching time.

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