Multimedia information broadcasting using digital TV channels

In this paper, the structure of a new system to broadcast multimedia information within a digital TV channel is outlined. The proposed scheme is based on the DSM-CC (digital storage media command and control) functions, and uses a newly developed protocol that allows to efficiently convey multimedia information. Such information has the same characteristics of HTML files used in WWW environments, as it may contain text, images, sounds and animation organized as hypertext. The transport structure used is the MPEG-2 transport stream, which is the most popular standardized platform for the development of new digital TV services. Prototype software was developed to encode the file system by means of DSM-CC operations and include it in a MPEG-2 compatible transport system.