This table shows the relative shortage of UPnP/DLNA Controller applications or modules which are not available for many categories as listed above. This rather diffuse condition is burdening the spreading of the UPnP/DLNA technology in a way that can be effectively used. The most common usage pattern concerns a TV as UPnP/DLNA Renderer, a NAS as UPnP/DLNA/SERVER and a third device, e.g. an iPhone, as DLNA Controller, if not integrated into the NAS Device. Furthermore, even if controller functionality is present, it follows the normal pattern of controlling the play-out of a single content at a time by connecting a single server to a single renderer at a time. Actually, this is because the UPnP/DLNA standards design does not cover some specific areas that are key points for Digital Signage solutions; for example, it does not manage contents display in an organic way, but only as atomic single content display. That means that the contents are displayed one after the other. The content does not contain any instructions of how the transition between the sequentially displayed content files should look like. In comparison to the DLNA the so called Digital Signage is method and system where information, advertising and other messages is displayed on one or more displays. Digital signs, such as LCD, LED, plasma displays, can be found in public and private environments, such as retail stores and corporate buildings. Advertising using digital signage is a method in which content and messages are displayed on digital signs with a common goal of delivering targeted messages to specific locations at specific times.

Digital signage relies on a variety of hardware to deliver the content. The components of a typical digital signage installation include one or more display screens, one or more media players, and a content management server. Sometimes two or more of these components are present in a single device but typically there is a display screen, a media player, and a content management server that is connected to the media player over a network.

Displays used for Digital Signage are most usually controlled by basic Personal Computers by way of proprietary software programs, avoiding any large capital outlays for the controller equipment.

Digital Signage has the advantage that not only static pictures are displayed. Using Digital Signage changing signs or movies can be displayed. The displayed content can be exchanged more easily, animations can be shown, and the signs can adapt to the context and audience, even inter- actively.

The content to be displayed on the displays can be pictures, movies or text or a combination of these. Due to the use of personal computers which control the displays, the content can be displayed in various ways. A basic feature of Digital Signage is to have playlists and structured contents, as well as the management of multiple devices, a time-table for controlling contents on display, whether they are TVs, audio devices, tablets, printers, etc., as targets. Because the media player is normally running on a personal computer it is possible to choose the transition between contents which are displayed after another from a broad variety of transition forms. Possible transitions are for instance an effect interposed between the playout of two media contents, like : blinds, crawl out, dissolve out, fading out, fly out, strips and many more. The scope of the transitioning effect is to give the watcher the idea of a visual continuity between diverse contents.

It is a disadvantage that Digital Signage products are mostly closed, proprietary systems. Therefore it is difficult, if not impossible with a reasonable effort, to advertise across digital signage networks running different solutions, making the emerging media inferior to nationwide advertising media such as television and the Internet. Due to the lack of a common communication protocol, products from different vendors do not mix, making digital signage systems expensive to build and hard to expand.

It is another drawback of the known Digital Signage systems, that the digital signage network involves at least displays, media player, management software, project planning, installation, field service, network connectivity, bandwidth, content creation, and advertising sales. Managing such a complex value chain is difficult and all parties involved may intro- duce risk factors to fail a project.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method or system to display various content data through a Content Directory Service (UPnP) or Digital Media Server (DLNA) where the transitions between the sequentially displayed contents are inserted in the to be displayed content data.

The idea of the invention is to compose, pack and/or convert diverse content data to a single resulting media, which can be for instance a media file or data stream which is either conform to DLNA or can be made available through a Content Directory Service (UPnP) or a Digital Media Server (DLNA). The process of combining all of the to be displayed contents data together into one single data file or data stream makes it is possible to determine the transitions between the sequentially displayed contents. The single resulting media in form of a data file or data stream than contains the transitions. Therefore the single resulting media can be transmitted via UPnP or DNLA to DLNA conform displays, printers, etc.

Because the single resulting media can be transmitted to normal DLNA compliant displays the method and system can be used as a Digital Signage method and system, which does not need computers to control the dis- plays. Therefore the invention provides a Digital Signage System which is more easily to install because on display site no computers and/or special software implemented media players are needed. The system is therefore much simpler and cost-saving than conventional Digital Signage systems or networks. The displays used to display the single resulting media only need to have a DLNA compliant Digital Media Renderer, which is nowadays commonly available on standard TVs.

The invention advantageously overcomes the main design collision between the UPnP/DLNA protocols and a Digital Signage systems which consists in the fact that the UPnP/DLNA renderer is something that does not handle any specific logic, taking care only of the media format (codec, container, etc.), while the Digital Signage target is a screen or something that can play a content (e.g., audio) connected to a logical unit, which is usually a standard PC, that downloads and handles the content to be shown on the player. As already described the single resulting media can be transcoded and/or converted in a DLNA compliant media format.

The diverse content data can be retrieved from any and/or different storage devices which can be accessed by the claimed method or system.

The information needed to combine the different content data files to a single resulting media can be received or retrieved from an instruction file, for instance in the form of a screenplay. The file might be a structured file, a custom XML or a standard SMIL file.

The system can comprise a DLNA controller which sends the single resulting media to standard or mobile DNLA Players, Displays, Printers and/or Renderers. This controller can be capable of transmitting the single re- suiting media to one or more DNLA Displays, players, printers and/or Renderers simultaneously and/or at pre-determined times for each target device.

The DLNA controller can also be programmable in a way that it might transmit the single resulting media only once, timed or in an endless loop. In a special embodiment of the invention the claimed system and method can be capable of updating or changing the content of the single resulting media. This can be triggered by for instance constantly searching for new or amended input content or performed in timely intervals. The method than creates a new single resulting media which replaces the old single resulting media.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which :

Fig. 1 : Shows a block diagram representing an exemplary embodiment of an UPnP/DLNA compliant system for rendering content on UPnP/DLNA capable digital players or renderers for Digital Signage solutions; Fig. la : Shows a block diagram representing an exemplary embodiment of an UPnP/DLNA compliant system with a distributor and UPnP/DLNA Controller;

Fig. 2 : shows an audio/video clips or other suitable media insertion within an MPEG-2 TS for rendering content on UPnP/DLNA capable digital players or Tenderers;

Fig. 3 : shows an audio/video clips or other suitable media for real time insertion within an MPEG-2 TS for rendering content on UPnP/DLNA capable digital players or Tenderers;

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the same elements will be designated by the same reference numerals although they are shown in different drawings. Further, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may obscure the subject matter of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a block diagram representing an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The logical module 101 is the Smart Content Connector (SCC) that is in charge of retrieving or receives different contents 106 eventually located internally or externally. In this embodiment each source content 106 is represented by a specific URI 107.

The URIs 107 can be included in a SMIL file 105, as shown in this example, or even parameters, instruction set or structured file 104.

The SCC 101 will parse the input 105, gather all the resources, combine and/or transform them as described by the instructions in the input file 105 and transcode them to a format compliant with the DLNA Media Format definition.

The packager 102 will combine the media contents 106 together, eventually based on specific data/screenplay of the input file 105 about the target 109 and/or playlist of elements 110.

The built single resulting media can be stored locally on a File System 108.

The resulting media built is added to a Content Directory Service (CDS) and/or Digital Media Server (DMS) 103, so that a specific or generic Digital Media Controller 202, shown in Fig. la, can start the stream of the media build with this method to a Digital Media Player, Renderer and/or Printer.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram representing an exemplary embodiment of the present invention using the option to stream the built media eventually inserting new contents 107 in a specific already built media 111 at a specific time, even if the media streaming and playout to a DMP, DMR or DMP already started 113.

This is done by transcoding each media built by the Packager 102 to MPEG2-TS.

To receive a specific transport stream, the Program ID (PID) being used must be determined and packets must be filtered on a matching PID value, accordingly. A special set of streams, known as Signaling Tables, are transmitted with a description of each program carried within the MPEG-2 Transport Stream.

Insertion of media within a MPEG-2 TS stream is supported by the fact that signaling tables are sent separately to PES, and are not synchronized with the elementary streams. Periodically resending signaling tables and their relevant information allows the MPEG-2 de-multiplexing end to proper handle changes that may have intercourse since the stream was initially set for playing. The Program Specific Information (PSI) tables in MPEG-2 consist of a description of the elementary streams which need to be combined to reconstruct the original media. Each PSI table is carried in a sequence of PSI Sections, which may be of variable length but whose length is anyway specified (protocol headers) 112. The length of a section allows a decoder to identify the next section in a packet. A PSI section may a lso be used for downloading data to a remote site. Meaningfu l tables are also PAT - Program Association Table and PMT - Progra m Ma p Table, a mong others - see the M PEG-2 standard for further information . PES de-multiplexing needs PAT information ( PID) a nd even- tually the set of PIDs carried as a separate PSI section and corresponding to another logical chun k of information (the Program Map Table ( PMT)) . PSI information is sent just ahead of insertion points.

Since tables are sent periodica lly including periodica l or at a certain points into the stream or into pre-defined time or length slot, suitable A/V clips into the M PEG2-TS, is feasible. It can done either ahead of time or in real time for a set of audio/video files which form the play list to be served through the UPnP/DLNA Server. Static or pre-determined or dynamic insert points, real-time com puted, are ca lculated on the basis of media content length to be al located into the stream with any optional audio/video filler for ensuring the smoothest tra nsition ing result between two different cli ps within an audio/video playlist, strea med over the M PEG-2 TS.

Fig . 3 is a block diagram representing an exempla ry embodiment of the present invention using the option to have the SCC 101 to periodically check if the source contents are to be updated 115 after the generic M PEG-2 TS was created 114 or put for playout. In this case, the new media built up wi ll be replaced in the media stream 116 eventually being played on a specific DM R or DM P 117. In th is case, a filler A/V media clip can be overlapped if needed by a new media clip of the sa me type, format, length, duration . SCC and Packager modules take care of this. The above-described methods according to the present invention can be realized in ha rdware or as software or computer code that can be stored in a recording medium such as a CD ROM, DVD, BD, SD, SDHC, a RAM, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magneto-optical disk or downloaded over a network, so that the methods described herein can be rendered in such software using a general purpose computer, or a special processor or in program mable or dedicated hardware. As wou ld be understood in the a rt, the computer, the processor or the program mable hardware include memory components, e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash, etc. that may store or receive software or computer code that when accessed and executed by the computer, processor or hardware implement the processing methods described herein . Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it should be clearly understood that many variations and modifications of the basic inventive concepts herein taught that may appear to those skilled in the present art will still fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

C l a i m s

1. A method for providing different source contents (106) to an Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) and/or Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) network, comprising the steps of: receiving or retrieving at least two different content data (106) from one or more internal or external sources;

composing, packing and/or converting the different contents together to obtain a single resulting media (109);

making the single resulting media available through a Content Directory Service (UPnP) or Digital Media Server (DLNA) (103).

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the additional step of transcoding and/or converting the single resulting media in a DLNA compliant Media Format.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, further comprising the receiving or retrievement of an instruction set or parameters (104, 105) to define how to combine the different content together and/or the at least one target system that should display the single resulting media content.

4. A method as claimed in one of the claims 1 to 3, further comprising the parsing of a custom XML file, and/or standard SMIL file and/or a structured file (104) as the instruction set or screenplay (104) to define how to combine the source files.

5. A method as claimed in one of the previous claims, characterised in that the different source contents (106) are pictures, movies, texts.

6. A method as claimed in one of the previous claims, characterised in that a smart content connector (101) gathers the different contents ( 106) and the instruction file ( 105) and makes the collected data available for a packager (102) which creates the single resulting media (109).

7. A method as claimed in claim 6, characterised in that the single resulting media (109) is stored on a storage device.

8. A method as claimed in one of the previous claims, further comprising at least one UPnP- and/or DLN A- Controller (202) to send the single resulting media (109) to a standard and/or mobile DLNA Players, Printers and/or Renderers.

9. A method as claimed in Claim 8, further comprising a check done by the DLNA Controller (202) so that if the playout of the single resulting media (109) is completed, it is started again by the Controller (202).

10. A method as claimed in one of the previous claims, further comprising that the single resulting media ( 109) is refreshed automatically or in time intervals and/or if the source contents (106) and/or the instructions (104) or instruction files (105) have changed.

11. A method as claimed in one of the previous claims, further comprising a DLNA Player or Renderer specifically developed to manage transitions between the display of two subsequent contents, and/or including a standard output to be displayed in case there is no content to be displayed.

12. The method as claimed in one of the previous claims, further comprising that the UPnP- or DLNA-Server (103) starts to stream the so far created part of the single resulting media (109) before the Packager (102) has completed the whole building process of the single resulting media (109).

13. The method as claimed in one of the previous claims, where content media is provided over a MPEG2-TS by a DMS to devices in a DLNA network, comprising the following additional steps : converting the source content data to any format suitable for devices in an DLNA network;

composing - according to layout disposition and processing instructions - the obtained content data in one or multiple media files;

composing and packing the MPEG-2 TS (Transport Stream) suitable for UPnP/DLNA of finite duration including all the media files and required MPEG-2 Table Information.

14. A method as claimed in one of the previous claims where source content (106) is inserted in real time, to the single resulting media (109), which may or may not be already on playing.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising the following steps : composing and/or packing the MPEG-2 TS (Transport Stream) suitable for UPnP/DLNA of finite or practically endless duration including a pre-defined media file and required MPEG-2 Table Information;

allocating on demand media content over the MPEG-2 TS on the basis of instruction rules provided by the means of structured information or external triggers or programmable time-tables or periodically programmed generic lists;

on demand generation of MPEG-2 TS Tables for keeping the MPEG-2 TS in pace with the generated media content which may be requested or connected by a DLNA Controller to a DLNA DMP, DLNA DMR or any suitable device for rendering content; generating a common media format (audio and video) across the MPEG-2 TS avoiding glitches or any play time inconvenient at the DLNA DMP, DMR or any suitable device for rendering content.

16. System for providing media content to several devices in a DLNA network, the system comprising : a data processing unit and internal and/or external storage, source content data (106), screenplay instructions ( 104, 105) stored in the external or internal memory, a smart content Connector for retrieving the source content data (106) and a packager ( 102) for building the single resulting media (109) in compliance with the screenplay instruction ( 104, 105), and an UPnP- or DLNA-Server ( 103) which transmits the single resulting media ( 109) to at least one DLNA compliant display.

17. System as claimed in claim 16, characterised in that the smart content connector (101) and the packager (102) are programs executed by a processor of the data processing unit.

18. System as claimed in claim 16 or 17, characterised in that the data processing unit executes the steps of one of the claims 1 to 15.

19. System as claimed in one of the claims 16 to 18, characterised in that the data processing unit executes the steps of one of the claims 1 to 15.

20. System as claimed in one of the claims 16 to 19, characterised in that the system is a digital signage system with DLNA compliant displays which receive one or more single resulting media streams from at least one UPnP- or DLNA-Server.