Provision of supplemental processing information

1. A method of providing supplemental processing information relating to encoded media content, the method comprising:

providing a pseudo-identifier of a media codec employed for encoding the media content;

providing supplemental processing information defining post-decoding instructions for processing decoded media content obtainable by decoding the encoded media content;

co-organizing the pseudo-identifier and the supplemental processing information in a file to:

trigger abortion of decoding of the encoded media content by a legacy media terminal that does not recognize the pseudo-identifier; and

enable decoding of the encoded media content using the media codec and post-decoding processing of the decoded media content using the supplemental processing information by a media terminal that recognizes the pseudo-identifier.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein co-organizing the pseudo-identifier and the supplemental processing information comprises:

generating a media container file comprising at least one media track defining the media content and at least one media content box comprising the encoded media content;

providing, in the media container file, a sample entry box defining the pseudo-identifier;

providing, in the sample entry box, a supplemental processing information box comprising the supplemental processing information;

providing, in the sample entry box, a media format box comprising a codec identifier of the media codec.

3. The method of claim 2 :

wherein the media track comprises multiple sample entry boxes each being associated to a respective portion of the encoded media content contained in the at least one media content box;

wherein providing the supplemental processing information box comprises providing a supplemental processing information box defining post-decoding instructions applicable to a subsequent portion of the encoded media content in a sample entry box associated with a previous portion of the encoded media content, the sample entry box associated with the previous portion of encoded media content having a decoding time preceding a decoding time of the subsequent portion of the encoded media content.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein co-organizing the pseudo-identifier and the supplemental processing information comprises generating a session description protocol file comprising:

a first attribute line comprising the pseudo-identifier; and

a second attribute line comprising the supplemental processing information.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein providing the supplemental processing information comprises providing at least one of:

supplemental processing information representing mandatory post-decoding instructions for processing the decoded media content;

supplemental processing information representing optional post-decoding instructions for processing the decoded media content.

6. The method of claim 1 :

wherein the encoded media content comprises encoded video data;

wherein providing the supplemental processing information comprises providing supplemental processing information representing post-decoding instructions defining which video frames of the encoded video data that correspond to a left view and which video frames of the encoded video data that correspond to a right view for three dimensional rendering of the video data.

7. A device for providing supplemental processing information relating to encoded media content, the device comprising:

an identifier provider configured to provide a pseudo-identifier of a media codec employed for encoding the media content;

an information provider configured to provide supplemental processing information defining post-decoding instructions for processing decoded media content obtainable by decoding the encoded media content;

a file organizer configured to co-organize the pseudo-identifier provided by the identifier provider and the supplemental processing information provided by the information provider in a file to:

trigger abortion of decoding of the encoded media content by a legacy media terminal that does not recognize the pseudo-identifier; and

enable decoding of the encoded media content using the media codec and post-decoding processing of the decoded media content using the supplemental processing information by a media terminal that recognizes the pseudo-identifier.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein:

the file organizer is configured to generate a media container file comprising at least one media track defining the media content and at least one media content box comprising the encoded media content;

the identifier provider is configured to:

provide, in the media container file, a sample entry box defining the pseudo-identifier;

provide, in the sample entry box, a media format box comprising a codec identifier of the media codec;

the information provider is configured to provide, in the sample entry box, a supplemental processing information box comprising the supplemental processing information.

9. The device of claim 8 :

wherein the media track comprises multiple sample entry boxes each being associated to a respective portion of the encoded media content contained in the at least one media content box;

wherein the information provider is configured to provide a supplemental processing information box defining post-decoding instructions applicable to a subsequent portion of the encoded media content in a sample entry box associated with a previous portion of the encoded media content, the sample entry box associated with the previous portion of encoded media content having a decoding time preceding a decoding time of the subsequent portion of the encoded media content.

10. The device of claim 7 wherein the file organizer is configured to generate a session description protocol file comprising:

a first attribute line comprising the pseudo-identifier;

a second attribute line comprising the supplemental processing information.

11. The device of claim 7 wherein the information provider is configured to provide at least one of:

supplemental processing information representing mandatory post-decoding instructions for processing the decoded media content; and

supplemental processing information representing optional post-decoding instructions for processing the decoded media content.

12. The device of claim 7 wherein the device is a portion of a media server.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein the media server is a portion of a network node.

14. A method of processing a media content comprising:

receiving a file comprising a pseudo-identifier of a media codec employed for encoding the media content and supplemental processing information defining post-decoding instructions for processing the media content;

in response to the pseudo-identifier retrieved from the file being not recognizable, aborting decoding of an encoded version of the media content;

in response to the pseudo-identifier retrieved from the file being recognizable:

selecting a media codec for decoding the encoded media content based on a codec identifier of the media codec retrieved based on the pseudo-identifier;

decoding the encoded media content using the selected media codec; and

processing the decoded media content based on the supplemental processing information retrieved from the file to get the media content in a form suitable for rendering.

15. The method of claim 14 :

wherein receiving the file comprises receiving a media container file comprising at least one media track defining the media content, at least one media content box comprising the encoded version of the media content, and a sample entry box; the sample entry box defining the pseudo-identifier and comprising a supplemental processing information box and a media format box, the supplemental processing information box comprising the supplemental processing information, the media format box comprising the codec identifier;

the method further comprising:

retrieving the pseudo-identifier from the sample entry box; and

in response to the retrieved pseudo-identifier being recognizable, retrieving the codec identifier from the media format box.

16. The method of claim 14 :

wherein receiving the file comprises receiving a session description protocol file comprising a first attribute line comprising the pseudo-identifier and a second attribute line comprising the supplemental processing information;

the method further comprising:

reading the first attribute line in the session description file to retrieve the pseudo-identifier; and

in response to the retrieved pseudo-identifier being recognizable, mapping the pseudo-identifier to the codec identifier.

17. The method of claim 14 :

wherein the media content is video data;

wherein processing the decoded media content comprises identifying, based on the supplemental processing information, which video frames of the encoded video data correspond to a left view and which video frames of the encoded video data correspond to a right view for three dimensional rendering of the video data.

18. A media terminal comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a file comprising a pseudo-identifier of a media codec employed for encoding a media content and supplemental processing information defining post-decoding instructions for processing the media content;

a decoding controller configured to:

in response to the pseudo-identifier retrieved from the file being not recognizable, abort decoding of an encoded version of the media content;

in response to the pseudo-identifier retrieved from the file being recognizable, select a media codec for decoding the encoded version of the media content based on a codec identifier of the media codec retrieved based on the pseudo-identifier;

a decoder configured to decode, if the pseudo-identifier retrieved from the file is recognizable, the encoded version of the media content using the media codec selected by the decoding controller; and

a content processor configured to process, if the pseudo-identifier retrieved from the file is recognizable, the media content based on the supplemental processing information retrieved from the file to get the media content in a form suitable for rendering.

19. The media terminal of claim 18 :

wherein the receiver is configured to receive a media container file comprising at least one media track defining the media content, at least one media content box comprising the encoded version of the media content, and a sample entry box; the sample entry box defining the pseudo-identifier and comprising a supplemental processing information box and a media format box, the supplemental processing information box comprising the supplemental processing information, the media format box comprising the codec identifier;

the media terminal further comprising an identifier provider configured to:

retrieve the pseudo-identifier from the sample entry box; and

in response to the retrieved pseudo-identifier being recognizable, retrieve the codec identifier from the media format box.

20. The media terminal of claim 18 :

wherein the receiver is configured to receive a session description protocol file comprising a first attribute line comprising the pseudo-identifier and a second attribute line comprising the supplemental processing information;

the media terminal further comprising an identifier provider configured to:

read the first attribute line in the session description file to retrieve the pseudo-identifier; and

in response to the retrieved pseudo-identifier being recognizable, map the pseudo-identifier to the codec identifier.