Method, system and apparatus for delivering data to a mobile electronic device
According to embodiments described in the specification, a method, system and apparatus for delivering Non-Real-Time (NRT) data to a mobile electronic device are provided. The method comprises: storing the NRT data in a memory of a server, the NRT data comprising a multimedia file; storing at least one network identifier in the memory, the at least one network identifier identifying at least a portion of the multimedia file and a storage location of the multimedia file; formatting the NRT data using a processor of the server, wherein the formatting comprises generating header data including the at least one network identifier, and appending the multimedia file to the header data; and providing the formatted NRT data to broadcast equipment for broadcasting.
1. A method of delivering Non-Real-Time (NRT) data to a mobile electronic device for later playback of the NRT data at the mobile electronic device, the method comprising:
storing the NRT data in a memory of a server, the NRT data comprising a multimedia file;
storing at least one uniform resource locator (URL) in the memory, the at least one URL including a name of at least a portion of the multimedia file, the URL further including a network address of a storage location at the server containing the multimedia file, the storage location comprising a network accessible repository maintained in the memory and being accessible to the mobile electronic device via a network;
retrieving the multimedia file from the memory, and generating formatted NRT data using a processor of the server, by;
generating header data including the at least one URL and omitting any mobile electronic device identifiers,
and responsive to generating the header data, appending the multimedia file to the header data to produce the formatted NRT data;
providing the formatted NRT data to broadcast equipment for broadcasting using a first standard; responsive to the broadcasting: receiving, at the server from a specific mobile electronic device, a request for at least a portion of the multimedia file, the request based on a second standard; and retrieving and transmitting the requested portion of the multimedia file from the network accessible repository to the specific mobile electronic device, using the second standard.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first standard is one of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standard and the Advanced Television Systems Committee-Mobile/Handheld (ATSC-M/H) standard, and wherein the second standard is a wireless communications standard.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein storing the NRT data comprises generating a plurality of file segments using the processor, each segment containing a portion of the multimedia file, and storing each file segment in the memory;
wherein storing the at least one string comprises storing a plurality of strings, each string including a name of one of the file segments and the network address of the storage location at the server; and
wherein generating the formatted NRT data comprises, for each one of the plurality of file segments, generating header data including the string corresponding to the one of the plurality of file segments.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network address of the storage location is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
storing a NRT schedule in the memory, the NRT schedule comprising the at least one string;
receiving a request for a NRT schedule at the NIC; and
transmitting the schedule in response to the request via the NIC.
6. A server, comprising:
a memory for storing Non-Real Time (NRT) data comprising a multimedia file for delivery and later playback at a mobile electronic device, and for storing at least one uniform resource locator (URL), the at least one URL including a name of at least a portion of the multimedia file, the URL further including a network address of a storage location at the server containing the multimedia file, the storage location comprising a network accessible repository maintained in the memory and being accessible to the mobile electronic device via a network;
a network interface controller (NIC); and
a processor interconnected with the memory and the NIC, the processor configured to retrieve the multimedia file from the memory, and generated formatted NRT data, by:
generating header data including the at least one URL and omitting any mobile electronic device identifiers, and
responsive to generating the header data, appending the multimedia file to the header data to produce the formatted NRT data;
the processor further configured, responsive to the appending, to provide the formatted NRT data to broadcasting equipment for broadcasting using a first standard; the processor further configured, responsive to the broadcasting, to: receive a request from a specific mobile electronic device for at least a portion of the multimedia file, the request based on a second standard; and retrieve and transmit the requested portion of the multimedia file from the network accessible repository to the specific mobile electronic device, using the second standard.
7. The server of claim 6 , wherein the first standard is one of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standard and the Advanced Television Systems Committee-Mobile/Handheld (ATSC-M/H) standard, and wherein the second standard is a wireless communications standard.
8. The server of claim 6 , the processor being configured to store the NRT data in the memory by generating a plurality of file segments, each segment containing a portion of the multimedia file;
the processor being configured to store the at least one string in the memory by storing a plurality of strings, each string including a name of one of the file segments and the network address of the storage location at the server; and
the processor being configured to generated the formatted NRT data by, for each one of the plurality of file segments, generating header data including the string corresponding to the one of the plurality of file segments.
9. The server of claim 6 , wherein the network address of the storage location is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
10. A non-transitory computer readable medium for storing a plurality of computer-readable instructions executable by a processor, the instructions for implementing a method of delivering Non-Real-Time (NRT) data to a mobile electronic device for later playback of the NRT data at the mobile electronic device, the method comprising:
storing the NRT data in a memory of a server, the NRT data comprising a multimedia file;
storing at least one uniform resource locator (URL) in the memory, the at least one URL including a name of at least a portion of the multimedia file, the URL further including a network address of a storage at the server containing the multimedia file, the storage location comprising a network accessible repository maintained in the memory and being being accessible to the mobile electronic device via a network;
retrieving the multimedia file from the memory, and generating formatted NRT data using the processor of the server, by:
generating header data including the at least one URL and omitting any mobile electronic device identifiers, and
responsive to generating the header data, appending the multimedia file to the header data to produce the formatted NRT data;
responsive to the appending, providing the formatted NRT data to broadcasting equipment for broadcasting using a first standard; responsive to the broadcasting: receiving, at the server from a specific mobile electronic device, a request for at least a portion of the multimedia file, the request based on a second standard; and retrieving and transmitting the requested portion of the multimedia file from the network accessible repository to the specific mobile electronic device, using the second standard.
11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the first standard is one of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standard and the Advanced Television Systems Committee - Mobile/Handheld (ATSC-M/H) standard, and wherein the second standard is a wireless communications standard.
12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10 , wherein storing the NRT data comprises generating a plurality of file segments at the processor, each segment containing a portion of the multimedia file, and storing each file segment in the memory;
wherein storing the at least one string comprises storing a plurality of strings, each string including a name of one of the file segments and the network address of the storage location at the server; and
wherein generating the formatted NRT data comprises, for each one of the plurality of file segments, generating header data including the string corresponding to the one of the plurality of file segments.
13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the network address of the storage location is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the method further comprises:
storing a NRT schedule in the memory, the NRT schedule comprising the at least one string;
receiving a request for a NRT schedule at the NIC; and
transmitting the schedule in response to the request via the NIC.