Hidden replaceable media slots

1. A method of a reception apparatus for determining a hidden replaceable sub-period of a MP (Media Presentation), comprising:

receiving, by circuitry of the reception apparatus, a first MPD (Media Presentation Description) from a broadcaster, the first MPD including a public MPD and a private MPD and the first MPD identifying a predetermined period and at least one media segment of the MP to be presented during the predetermined period;

determining whether the private MPD in the first MPD includes hidden replaceable sub-period information for identifying the hidden replaceable sub-period within the predetermined period identified by the first MPD, the hidden replaceable sub-period information being identifiable only by a broadcaster-provided application;

providing, by the circuitry, the hidden replaceable sub-period information to the broadcaster-provided application when the private MPD in the first MPD is determined to include the hidden replaceable sub-period information;

receiving from the broadcaster-provided application additional period information that identifies the hidden replaceable sub-period within the predetermined period identified by the first MPD, the additional period information being determined by the broadcaster-provided application based on the hidden replaceable sub-period information included in the private MPD;

generating, by the circuitry, a second MPD based on the additional period information received from the broadcaster-provided application; and

outputting, by the circuitry, the MP for display to a user based on the second MPD, each of a subset of the at least one media segment for the hidden replaceable sub-period of the MP being replaceable with an alternate media segment.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the hidden replaceable sub-period represents one or more advertisement slots in the MP that are replaceable.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second MPD identifies the alternate media segment that replaces one of the at least one media segment identified in the received first MPD.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the additional period information includes a period start time and/or a segment start number for the hidden replaceable sub-period, and

the hidden replaceable sub-period replaces a portion of the predetermined period.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one parameter included in the additional period information is encrypted in the hidden replaceable sub-period information.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the hidden replaceable sub-period information is tagged by an XLink for the predetermined period of the first MPD.

7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a digital television signal that includes the first MPD and the at least one media segment of the first MPD, and

downloading the broadcaster-provided application from the received digital television signal or based on download information included in the received digital television signal.

8. A reception apparatus, comprising:

circuitry configured to

receive a first MPD (Media Presentation Description) from a broadcaster, the first MPD including a public MPD and a private MPD and the first MPD identifying a predetermined period and at least one media segment of a MP (Media Presentation) to be presented during the predetermined period;

determine whether the private MPD in the first MPD includes hidden replaceable sub-period information for identifying a hidden replaceable sub-period within the predetermined period identified by the first MPD, the hidden replaceable sub-period information being identifiable only by a broadcaster-provided application;

provide the hidden replaceable sub-period information to the broadcaster-provided application when the private MPD in the first MPD is determined to include the hidden replaceable sub-period information;

receive from the broadcaster-provided application additional period information that identifies the hidden replaceable sub-period within the predetermined period identified by the first MPD, the additional period information being determined by the broadcaster-provided application based on the hidden replaceable sub-period information included in the private MPD;

generate a second MPD based on the additional period information received from the broadcaster-provided application; and

output the MP for display to a user based on the second MPD, each of a subset of the at least one media segment for the hidden replaceable sub-period of the MP being replaceable with an alternate media segment.

9. The reception apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the hidden replaceable sub-period represents one or more advertisement slots in the MP that are replaceable.

10. The reception apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the second MPD identifies the alternate media segment that replaces one of the at least one media segment identified in the received first MPD.

11. The reception apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein

the additional period information includes a period start time and/or a segment start number for the hidden replaceable sub-period, and

the hidden replaceable sub-period replaces a portion of the predetermined period.

12. The reception apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein at least one parameter included in the additional period information is encrypted in the hidden replaceable sub-period information.

13. The reception apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the hidden replaceable sub-period information is tagged by an XLink for the predetermined period of the first MPD.

14. The reception apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

receive a digital television signal that includes the first MPD and the at least one media segment of the first MPD, and

download the broadcaster-provided application from the received digital television signal or based on download information included in the received digital television signal.

15. A method of an information providing apparatus for signaling a hidden replaceable sub-period of a MP (Media Presentation), the method comprising:

generating, by circuitry of the information providing apparatus, a first MPD (Media Presentation Description) that includes a public MPD and a private MPD and the first MPD identifies a predetermined period and at least one media segment of the MP to be presented during the predetermined period, the private MPD in the first MPD including hidden replaceable sub-period information for a reception apparatus to identify the hidden replaceable sub-period within the predetermined period identified by the first MPD, the hidden replaceable sub-period information being identifiable only by a broadcaster-provided application, the hidden replaceable sub-period information being resolved by the broadcaster-provided application executed on the reception apparatus to determine additional period information, the additional period information identifying the hidden replaceable sub-period within the predetermined period; and

transmitting, by the circuitry, the first MPD and the at least one media segment of the MP to the reception apparatus, wherein

the reception apparatus outputs the MP for display to a user based on a second MPD generated based on the additional period information determined by the broadcaster-provided application using the hidden replaceable sub-period information included in the private MPD, each of a subset of the at least one media segment for the hidden replaceable sub-period of the MP being replaceable with an alternate media segment.

16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein at least one parameter included in the additional period information is encrypted in the hidden replaceable sub-period information.

17. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising:

transmitting a digital television signal that includes the first MPD and the at least one media segment of the first MPD.

18. An information providing apparatus, comprising:

circuitry configured to

generate a first MPD (Media Presentation Description) that includes a public MPD and a private MPD and the first MPD identifies a predetermined period and at least one media segment of a MP (Media Presentation) to be presented during the predetermined period, the private MPD in the first MPD including hidden replaceable sub-period information for a reception apparatus to identify a hidden replaceable sub-period within the predetermined period identified by the first MPD, the hidden replaceable sub-period information being identifiable only by a broadcaster-provided application, the hidden replaceable sub-period information being resolved by the broadcaster-provided application executed on the reception apparatus to determine additional period information, the additional period information identifying the hidden replaceable sub-period within the predetermined period, and

transmit the first MPD and the at least one media segment of the MP to the reception apparatus, wherein

the reception apparatus outputs the MP for display to a user based on a second MPD generated based on the additional period information determined by the broadcaster-provided application using the hidden replaceable sub-period information included in the private MPD, each of a subset of the at least one media segment for the hidden replaceable sub-period of the MP being replaceable with an alternate media segment.

19. The information providing apparatus according to claim 18 , wherein the hidden replaceable sub-period represents one or more advertisement slots in the MP that are replaceable.

20. The information providing apparatus according to claim 18 , wherein at least one parameter included in the additional period information is encrypted in the hidden replaceable sub-period information.

21. The information providing apparatus according to claim 18 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

transmit a digital television signal that includes the first MPD and the at least one media segment of the first MPD.

22. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer causes the computer to perform a method of a broadcaster-provided application for determining additional period information for a hidden replaceable sub-period of a MP (Media Presentation), the method comprising:

receiving hidden replaceable sub-period information for identifying a hidden replaceable sub-period within a predetermined period identified by a first MPD (Media Presentation Description), the first MPD including a public MPD and a private MPD, the hidden replaceable sub-period information being identifiable only by the broadcaster-provided application, the hidden replaceable sub-period information being resolved by the broadcaster-provided application and extracted from the private MPD, the first MPD identifying the predetermined period and at least one media segment of the MP to be presented during the predetermined period;

generating the additional period information based on the hidden replaceable sub-period information resolved by the broadcaster-provided application and extracted from the private MPD, the additional period information identifying the hidden replaceable sub-period within the predetermined period; and

outputting the generated additional period information for generation of a second MPD.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 22 , wherein the step of generating further comprises:

decrypting the received hidden replaceable sub-period information; and

extracting at least one parameter included in the additional period information from the decrypted hidden replaceable sub-period information.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 22 , wherein the step of generating comprises:

determining at least one parameter included in the additional period information based on an identifier included in the hidden replaceable sub-period information and a look up table defined in the broadcaster-provided application or stored in a remote server.

25. The reception apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the second MPD identifies at least one media segment that is not included in the first MPD.