Setting up installation parameters in a television receiver

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field of television receiver systems and more specifically to the field of performing channel installation in a television receiver system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Patent document US7009659B2 discloses a system and a method for automatically establishing at least one television setting based on at least one of a geographic location of a television, a location of a television with respect to a dwelling and a time. The disclosed method can establish at least one of an audio setting and a video setting such as menu, menu color, tint, brightness, contrast, audio volume, audio dynamic range, audio treble and audio bass. The viewer of the television needs to manually input the information representative of at least one of a geographic location of a television.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to automatically perform channel installation in a television receiver without any user intervention. The present invention is defined by the independent claims. The dependent claims define advantageous embodiments.

The object of the present invention is realized by providing a method for performing channel installation in a television receiver. The method comprises:

- determining the geographic location of the television receiver;

- determining if at least one of a) Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable (DVB- C) b) Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial (DVB-T) c) Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite (DVB-S) transmission media is available at the determined geographical location of the television receiver and if available, choosing one of the available transmission media and obtaining channel installation parameters associated with the chosen transmission media using Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) tables, the DVB standard tables comprising Service Description Table (SDT) and Network Information Table (NIT) and if none of a ) DVB- C b) DVB- T c) DVB-S transmission media is available, obtaining the channel installation parameters from core MPEG tables, the core MPEG tables comprising the Program

Association Table (PAT) and the Program Map Table (PMT);

- extracting a list of available services using the obtained channel installation parameters; and

- storing i) the obtained channel installation parameters and ii) the extracted list of available services as a channel map in the television receiver.

A television receiver generally uses number of parameters for performing the channel installation. These installation parameters could be

i) network frequency, network ID, symbol rate in the case of DVB-C transmission medium ii) frequency band on which transmission of digital channels take place and the associated bandwidth in the case of DVB-T transmission medium

iii) polarization, Low Noise Block (LNB), frequency band on which transmission of digital channels takes place in the case of DVB-S transmission medium.

These installation parameters generally vary from location to location. Further, there exist variations in the broadcast standards used in various countries.

Generally, television receivers depend on the user to select the installation parameters such as network frequency, network ID, symbol rate, name of the country to perform the channel installation. An incorrect selection of any of these installation

parameters (e.g. wrong country selection by the user (e.g. due to oversight or other reason)) could result in erroneous installation parameters being used. This could result in missing channels, bad audio/video and could further result in field service calls. Furthermore, in some countries (e.g. China) improper selection of provinces/cities could lead to user dissatisfaction since the channel map obtained after the channel installation may not reflect the actual broadcasting scenario.

The disclosed method could prevent such problems by automatically determining the installation parameters to be used for the channel installation based on the determined geographic location. This could enhance the user experience and the user satisfaction. This could also improve the Net Promoter Score (NPS).

In the disclosed method, the user need not give any input (e.g. name of the country) to the television receiver to perform the channel installation. Based on the geographic location of the television receiver, installation parameters are implicitly calculated within the television receiver and the channel installation takes place without any user intervention. Furthermore, the user need not give any input such as telephone area code or zip code to obtain the geographic location of the television receiver to perform the channel installation.

The disclosed method does not need additional hardware (e.g. GPS, modem) in case of network enabled television receivers. On the other hand, for non-network enabled televisions, additional hardware to obtain the geographic location could be integrated within the television. There is no protocol to be supported within the television receiver in order to obtain the channel map (e.g. protocol that defines the communication format between the television receiver and the broadcaster). There is no need to exchange geographic location information of the television receiver with any server/external database in order to obtain the channel map.

The disclosed method is not limited to available Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) transmission standards (e.g. ATSC, ISDB-T/C, DMB-T/H) but also applicable to any standard suitable for transmission of digital television signals.

In the case of DVB-C transmission, the determined channel installation parameters could be homing frequency, network ID and symbol rate. The determined homing frequency and the symbol rate could be used to tune to the cable service providers frequency and obtain the transmitted Service Description Table (SDT) and the Network Information Table (NIT). The services listed in the Service Description Table (SDT) and its

corresponding Logical Channel Number (LCN) listed in the Network Information Table (NIT) could be extracted. The extracted services along with the determined channel installation parameters could be stored as a channel map.

In the case of DVB-T transmission, the determined channel installation parameters could be the frequency band and the associated bandwidth of frequencies and the modulation type. The determined frequency band could be scanned to obtain the transmission frequencies. The Network Information Table (NIT) and the Service Description Table (SDT) could be obtained for each of the obtained transmission frequencies. The services listed in the Service Description Table (SDT) and its corresponding Logical Channel Number (LCN) listed in the Network Information Table (NIT) could be extracted. The extracted services along with the channel installation parameters could be stored as a channel map.

In the case of DVB-S transmission, the determined channel installation parameters could be Low Noise Block, polarization and frequency band as mentioned in the previous paragraph. The determined frequency band could be scanned in order to obtain the transmission frequencies. The Network Information Table (NIT) and the Service Description Table (SDT) could be extracted for each of the obtained transmission frequencies. The services listed in the Service Description Table (SDT) and its corresponding Logical Channel Number (LCN) listed in the Network Information Table (NIT) could be extracted. The extracted services along with the determined channel installation parameters could be stored as a channel map.

In case the DVB-C, DVB-T or DVB-S transmission is not available, the determined channel installation parameter could be the frequency band on which core MPEG transmission takes place. The determined frequency band could be scanned to obtain the transmission frequencies. The Program Association Table (PAT) and the Program Map Tables (PMT) associated with each of the Program Association Table (PAT) could be extracted for each of the obtained transmission frequencies. The services listed in the Program Map Table (PMT) along with the determined channel installation parameter could be stored as a channel map.

Alternately, channel map for each of the available transmission medium could be formed if more than one transmission medium is available (e.g. If DVB - C and DVB - S transmission medium is available, then individual channel map for DVB-C and DVB-S could be formed). The channel maps so formed could be stored in the television.

In an embodiment, the method comprises using the Internet for determining the geographic location of the television receiver. This embodiment has the advantage that the user need not give any input (e.g. telephone area code) to the television receiver to obtain the geographic location of the television receiver. The television receiver automatically could detect the correct geographic location. This could reduce the problems caused due to incorrect choices (i.e. wrong choice of geographic location) made by the user. The user need not explicitly choose the country/region and hence this could improve the user experience.

In a further embodiment, the geographic location of the television receiver comprises at least one of

- longitude and latitude

- name of the city

- name of the country.

In cases where the geographic location of the television receiver lies on the border of two or more countries, there could be a possibility of receiving signals from multiple countries. In such cases, the geographic location determined could be used by the television receiver to choose the best channel installation parameters to receive the best of the broadcast transmission. There could be scenarios wherein two cities have the same name. Such scenarios could be resolved using the latitude and longitude information associated with the name of the city.

In a still further embodiment, the method comprises

- checking whether the chosen available transmission medium is DVB-C and if so

a) obtaining the homing frequency associated with a cable operator using the geographic location of the television receiver;

b) obtaining a plurality of Network IDs transmitted on the obtained homing frequency by tuning the tuner in the television receiver to the obtained homing frequency;

c) selecting the Network ID that is pre-dominantly used substantially at and around the geographic location of the television receiver and obtaining the Network Information Table (NIT) associated with the selected Network ID, the selection of the Network ID based on pre- installed information available in the television receiver;

d) finding a plurality of transmission frequencies over which the cable operator is

transmitting services employing the cable delivery system descriptors available in the Network Information Table (NIT);

e) obtaining Service Description Table (SDT) for each of the transmission frequencies associated with the cable operator;

f) extracting a list of available services and the associated Logical Channel Numbers (LCN) using the Network Information Table (NIT) and the Service Description Table (SDT); and g) storing the extracted list of available services and the associated Logical Channel Numbers (LCN) as the channel map in the television receiver along with the homing frequency and the Network ID.

The network ID that is pre-dominantly used could be pre-defined in the television receiver or could be made available via a software update.

In a still further embodiment, the method comprises

- checking whether the chosen available transmission medium is DVB-T and if so

a) using the name of the country and obtaining a plurality of frequency bands and the bandwidth associated with each of the frequency bands over which digital transmission takes place

b) searching each of the obtained frequency bands and finding a plurality of frequencies over which the digital transmission takes place c) extracting the Service Description Table (SDT) and the Network Information Table (NIT) associated with each frequency

d) extracting a list of available services and the associated Logical Channel Numbers (LCN) using the Network Information Table (NIT) and the Service Description Table (SDT) ande) storing the extracted list of available services and the associated Logical Channel Numbers (LCN) as the channel map in the television along with the plurality of frequencies and the bandwidth.

In a still further embodiment, the method comprises

- checking whether the chosen available transmission medium is DVB-S and if so

a) obtaining i) Low Noise Block ii) polarization iii) forward error correction iv) symbol rate v) homing frequency using the geographic location of the television receiver;

b) tuning the tuner in the television receiver to the obtained homing frequency and obtaining a plurality of Network Information Tables (NIT);

c) finding a plurality of transmission frequencies over which the digital transmission takes place employing the satellite delivery system descriptors available in each of the Network Information Table (NIT);

d) obtaining the Service Description Table (SDT) for each of the transmission frequencies; e) extracting a list of available services using the Service Description Table (SDT); and f) storing the extracted list of available services as the channel map in the television receiver along with the transmission frequencies.

In a still further embodiment, the method of performing the channel installation on the DVB-C medium further comprises

- employing the Network ID and determining whether the geographic location of the television receiver corresponds to more than one region and if so providing an option to a user to choose a cable operator.

This embodiment could be useful to choose the parameters automatically from the subscribed cable operator in case multiple cable operators are offering services in the region.

In a still further embodiment, the method comprises

- accessing a database comprising i) a plurality of geographic locations and associated location information along with a list of cable operators providing service at each geographic location ii) commonly used transmission medium iii) a plurality of homing frequencies iv) a plurality of Network IDs v) symbol rate associated with homing frequency vi) frequency band and bandwidth associated with a country and using the parameters stored in the database and performing the channel installation. Further, based on the transmission medium, the minimum number of parameters could be determined. As an exemplary illustration for DVB-C it could be network ID, symbol rate, homing frequency; for DVB-T it could be frequency band and for DVB-S it could be network frequency, frequency band per polarization positions of the satellite.

This embodiment has the advantage that it could leverage the existing capabilities of location finders (e.g. google maps) and could help to work consistently with the latest mappings of the geographic location. In addition to the correct location finding, obtaining the up-to-date information with regard to the Network ID and the plurality of cable operators could result in a correct channel map to the user. Further, any changes in the cable transmission or satellite transmission could be reflected to the user. This could also reduce the incorrect installation of parameters that could lead to missing channels and bad audio/video. Hence this could improve the user experience.

In a still further embodiment, the database is stored in the television. This embodiment has the advantage that it could avoid the dependency of the external database and ensure that the information is self-contained within the television.

In a still further embodiment, the database is hosted by a database service provider. This embodiment could help in avoiding frequent updates to the database embedded in the television receiver, which may be required in case of frequently changing transmission parameters. A constant sync mechanism could be established between the database service provider and the database embedded in the television receiver so that the channel installation parameters used by the television receiver are the updated ones. Further, with switching over from standard definition transmission to high definition transmission, the best parameters required for installation of high definition channels could also be obtained.

In a still further embodiment, the method comprises providing an option to manually override the channel map stored in the television receiver. The user could always override the channel map and re-install the channels suitably in case of error in automatic installation of the channel map. This could enhance user satisfaction.

The invention also provides an apparatus for performing channel installation in a television receiver, the apparatus comprising:

- a location finding unit configured to determine the geographic location of the television receiver; - a processing unit configured to determine if at least one of a) Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable (DVB-C) b) Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial (DVB-T) c) Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite (DVB-S) transmission media is available at the determined geographical location of the television receiver and if available, choosing one of the available transmission media and obtaining channel installation parameters associated with the chosen transmission media using Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) tables, the DVB standard tables comprising Service Description Table (SDT) and Network Information Table (NIT) and if none of a ) DVB- C b) DVB- T c) DVB-S transmission media is available, obtaining the channel installation parameters from core MPEG tables, the core MPEG tables comprising the Program Association Table (PAT) and the Program Map Table (PMT);

- an extraction unit configured to extract a list of available services using the obtained channel installation parameters; and

- a storage unit configured to store i) the obtained channel installation parameters and ii) the extracted list of available services as a channel map in the television receiver.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned aspects, features and advantages will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals indicate identical or similar parts, and in which:

Fig. 1 is an exemplary schematic flowchart illustrating the method for performing channel installation in a television receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an exemplary schematic flowchart illustrating the method for performing channel installation on a DVB-C transmission medium according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is an exemplary schematic flowchart illustrating the method for performing channel installation on a DVB-T transmission medium according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is an exemplary schematic flowchart illustrating the method for performing channel installation on a DVB-S transmission medium according to an

embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 5 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus for performing channel installation in a television receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to Fig. 1, the method 100 for performing channel installation in a television receiver comprises a step 102 of determining the geographic location of the television receiver. The geographic location of the television receiver could be obtained using the Internet. This has the advantage that the user need not give any input (e.g. telephone area code) to the television receiver to obtain the geographic location of the television receiver. The television receiver automatically could detect the correct location. This could also reduce the incorrect installation of the channel parameters that could lead to missing channels and bad audio/video.

The obtained geographic location of the television receiver could include at least one of i) longitude, latitude ii) name of the city iii) name of the country. In cases where the geographic location of the television receiver lies on the border of two or more countries, there is a possibility of receiving signals from multiple countries. In such cases, the geographic location determined could be used by the television receiver to choose the best installation parameters to receive the best of the broadcast transmission.

In step 104 the determined geographic location of the television receiver is used to determine whether at least one of a) DVB-C b) DVB-T c) DVB-S transmission media is available and if so one of the available transmission medium is chosen.

One possible way of choosing the available transmission media is to use the geographic location of the television receiver and determine the transmission medium that is used pre-dominantly substantially at and around the region where the television receiver is geographically located and choose that available transmission medium. This offers simplicity to the user in terms of transmission medium selection. The predominantly used transmission medium could be stored in a database (e.g. within the television receiver). This could enable the reception of maximum number of high quality channels.

In step 106, the channel installation parameters associated with the chosen available transmission medium are obtained using the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standard tables comprising Service Description Table (SDT) and Network Information Table (NIT).

In step 108, a list of available services are extracted using the obtained channel installation parameters. In step 110, i) the obtained channel installation parameters and ii) the list of extracted available services are stored as a channel map in the television receiver. In step 104, if none of i) DVB-C b) DVB-T c) DVB-S transmission media is available, then in step 112 the channel installation parameters are determined from core MPEG tables. The core MPEG tables could comprise Program Association Table (PAT) and Program Map Table (PMT). In step 108 a list of available services are extracted using the obtained channel installation parameters. In step 110 the obtained channel installation parameters and the extracted list of available services are stored as a channel map in the television receiver.

This could be useful in regions where Digital Video Broadcasting transmissions are not available (e.g. in East European countries where analog transmission is used and digital broadcast has just started). This could be useful in countries where MPEG transmissions consisting of Program Association Table (PAT) /Program Map Table (PMT) are used. The Program Association Table (PAT) could give the information of programs contained in the transport streams. The Program Map Table (PMT) could be obtained using the Program Association Table (PAT). Program Map Table (PMT) could provide the details of elementary streams required for the basic audio/video rendering.

Performing the channel installation using the Program Association Table (PAT) and the Program Map Table (PMT) comprises

a) obtaining the frequency band and the bandwidth associated with the transmission of digital channels

b) finding a plurality of frequencies over which the transmission of digital channels takes place

c) extracting Program Association Table (PAT) and the associated Program Map Table's (PMT) with each frequency over which the digital transmission takes place

d) extracting a list of available services from the Program Map Table (PMT)

e) storing the extracted list of available services as the channel map in the television receiver along with the plurality of frequencies and the bandwidth.

As an illustrative example, stream of UK, MUX1 contains the following Program Map Tables in the Program Association Table. This list could be obtained from PAT. PMTs of each of the services could be obtained from PMT PIDs. The contents of each of the PMTs could be parsed and stored.

PMT PID 4161 (0x1041) - Program 1/4161 BBC ONE

PMT PID 4225 (0x1081) - Program 2/4225 BBC TWO

PMT PID 4351 (OxlOff) - Program 7/4351 BBC THREE

PMT PID 4415 (0x113f) - Program 40/4415 BBC NEWS 24 PMT PID 4479 (0x117f) - Program 51/4479 BBCi

PMT PID 4671 (0xl23f) - Program 30/4671 CBBC Channel

As an example, PMT contents of BBC ONE are given. The Program Number, Audio PID, Video PID and PCR PID of each service could be stored.

PMT of BBC ONE channel contains the following information:

Program Number: 1/4161

PCR on PID 600 (0x0258)

PMT Version: 23

Stream Type: 0x02 MPEG-2 Video

Elementary Stream PID 600 (0x0258)

Stream Type: 0x03 MPEG-1 Audio

Elementary Stream PID 601 (0x0259)

Stream Type: 0x03 MPEG-1 Audio

Elementary Stream PID 602 (0x025a)

A collection of such PIDs corresponding to the PMT could form the channel map.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the method 200 for performing the channel installation on the DVB-C transmission medium includes the following steps:

Step 202: obtaining the homing frequency associated with a cable operator using the geographic location of the television receiver. As an exemplary illustration, let us assume that the geographic location of the television receiver corresponds to Amsterdam. Then, the homing frequency associated with the cable operator Ziggo which is 369 MHz is obtained (Refer. Table 1 ; Table 1 could be part of the database stored either in the television receiver or could be provided from an external provider. The database could also have information about multiple cable operators if any. In such a scenario, the priority of homing frequencies could also be made available in the database).

Step 204: obtaining a plurality of Network ID's transmitted on the obtained homing frequency by tuning the tuner in the television receiver to the obtained homing frequency. As an illustrative example, the network ID 9003 could be obtained by tuning to the homing frequency 369 MHz. (Refer Table 1). Further, the best Network ID for the region could also be stored in the database.

Step 206: selecting the Network ID that is pre-dominantly used substantially at and around the geographic location of the television receiver and obtaining the Network Information Table (NIT) associated with the selected Network ID Step 208: finding a plurality of transmission frequencies associated with the cable operator over which the cable operator is transmitting services using the cable delivery system descriptors available in the Network Information Table (NIT)

Step 210: obtaining the Service Description Table (SDT) for each of the transmission frequencies associated with the cable operator

Step 212: extracting a list of available services and the associated Logical

Channel Numbers (LCN) using the Network Information Table (NIT) and the Service

Description Table (SDT) and

Step 214: storing the extracted list of available services and the associated

Logical Channel Numbers (LCN) as the channel map in the television receiver along with the homing frequency and the Network ID.

The method of performing the channel installation on the DVB-C medium further comprises employing the Network ID and finding whether the geographic location of the television receiver corresponds to more than one region and if so providing an option to a user to choose a cable operator. This could be useful in case multiple cable operators are offering services in the region.

Table 1: An exemplary illustration of installation parameters of DVB-C

Homing

Cable Modulation Symbol Rates Frequency Netw

Country City Provider (QAM) ( in Mbps ) (MHz) ID

Zwolle,

Amsterdam,

Netherlands DenHaag Ziggo 64/256 6.875/6.900 369 9003

Rest of

Netherlands UPC 64/256 6.875/6.900

Sweden X Comhem 64/256/128 6.875/6.900/6.950 362 4105

Finland Helsinki Welho 128/64/256 6.900/6.875 362/162/418 100

Elisa 128/64/256 6.900/6.875 362/162/418 1100

Sofia

Digital 128/64/256 6.900/6.875 362/162/418 4444

Norway X CanalDigital 64/128/256 6.950/6.900/6.875 386/306/346 101

Denmark YouSee 64/256/128 6.875/6.900/6.950 346/143 1001

TeliaStofa 64/256/128 6.875/6.900/6.950 346/143 0 Germany Hamburg, 64/256 6.900/6.875 346-466

West steps of 8

Germany KDG MHz 6144]

64/256 6.900/6.875 346-466

Manheim, steps of 8

Stuttgart KBW MHz 409&

64/256 6.900/6.875 346-466

East steps of 8

Germany UnityMedia MHz 9999

Referring now to Fig. 3, the method 300 for performing the channel

installation on the DVB-T transmission medium includes the steps listed below. As an

illustrative example, for the country The Netherlands, the list of frequency bands along with their bandwidths are given below:

Start End Bandwidth

Frequency Frequency ( In MHz )

170.50 181.00 7

171.50 182.00 8

170.50 183.00 8

177.50 184.00 7

178.50 185.00 8

179.50 186.00 7

180.50 187.00 8

181.50 188.00 7

182.50 189.00 8

183.50 190.00 8

184.50 191.00 7

185.50 192.00 8

186.50 193.00 8

187.50 194.00 8

188.50 195.00 7

189.50 196.00 8 190.50 197.00 8

191.50 198.00 8

192.50 199.00 7

193.50 200.00 8

194.50 201.00 8

195.50 202.00 7

196.50 203.00 8

197.50 204.00 7

198.50 205.00 8

199.50 862.00 8

Step 302: accessing the pre-installed software available in the television receiver and based on the name of the country obtaining a plurality of frequency bands and the bandwidth associated with each of the frequency bands over which digital transmission takes place.

Step 304: searching each of the obtained frequency bands and finding a plurality of frequencies over which the digital transmission takes place.

Step 306: extracting the Service Description Table (SDT) and the Network Information Table (NIT) associated with each frequency.

Step 308: extracting a list of available services and the associated Logical Channel Numbers (LCN) using the Network Information Table (NIT) and the Service Description Table (SDT) and

Step 310: storing the extracted list of available services and the associated Logical Channel Numbers (LCN) as the channel map in the television receiver along with the plurality of frequencies and the bandwidth.

Table 2: An exemplary SDT and NIT

Channel 1/4161

On Table_ID: 0x42 (current mux)

Service Name: BBC ONE

Provider Name: BBC

Transport Stream ID: 4097 (0x1001) 778.2

4161 BBC ONE MHz Channel 2/4225

On Table_ID: 0x42 (current mux)

Service Name: BBC TWO

Provider Name: BBC

Transport Stream ID: 4097 (0x1001) 778.2

4425 BBC TWO MHz

Channel 7/4351

On Table_ID: 0x42 (current mux)

Service Name: BBC THREE

Provider Name: BBC

4351 BBC Transport Stream ID: 4097 (0x1001) 778.2

THREE MHz

Similar parameters are defined for other channels.

NIT Contains following details:

Network Name: Mendip

Network ID: 12301 (0x300d)

Transport Stream ID: 4097 (0x1001)

Original Network ID: 9018 (0x233a)

DVB-T Frequency 778.167 MHz

Bandwidth: 8 MHz Constellation: 16-QAM

Hierarchy: non-hierarchical Guard Interval 1/32

Code Rate: 3/4

Current Network: True

Descriptor: Service List Descriptor

Service: 4161 (BBC ONE) digital television service

Service: 4225 (BBC TWO) digital television service

Service: 4351 (BBC THREE) digital television service Service: 4415 (BBC NEWS 24) digital television service Service: 4479 (BBCi) digital television service

Service: 4671 (CBBC Channel) digital television service Descriptor: Frequency List Descriptor

Terrestrial: 697.833 MHz Terrestrial: 482.000 MHz

Descriptor: Private Data Specifier Descriptor

Private Data Specifier: Independent Television Commission

Descriptor: User Private Descriptor: 0x83

Logical channel 1 = MPEG service 4161 (BBC ONE)

Logical channel 2 = MPEG service 4225 (BBC TWO)

Logical channel 7 = MPEG service 4351 (BBC THREE)

Logical channel 40 = MPEG service 4415 (BBC NEWS 24)

Logical channel 51 = MPEG service 4479 (BBCi)

Logical channel 30 = MPEG service 4671 (CBBC Channel)

Referring now to Fig. 4, the method 400 for performing the channel installation on the DVB-S transmission medium includes the following steps:

Step 402: Obtaining i) Low Noise Block ii) polarization iii) forward error correction iv) symbol rate v) homing frequency using the geographic location of the television receiver. The entire spectrum of Satellite is divided into 4 BANDS, low/high (L/H) frequencies and two polarization of Horizontal/V ertical. So the combination of 4 BANDS are (LL, LH, HL, HH). In each of these bands, a band scan of 950 to 2150 MHz is performed. In order to provide optimization, the order in which the 4 bands are searched could be optimized based on satellite which in turn is based on geo location.

Step 404: tuning the tuner in the television receiver to the obtained homing frequency and obtaining a plurality of Network Information Table (NIT)

Step 406: finding a plurality of transmission frequencies over which the digital transmission takes place employing the satellite delivery system descriptors available in each of the Network Information Table (NIT)

Step 408: obtaining the Service Description Table (SDT) for each of the transmission frequencies

Step 410: extracting a list of available services using the Service Description

Table (SDT)

Step 412: storing the extracted list of available services as the channel map in the television receiver along with the transmission frequencies.

A database could be made available in the television receiver. The database could comprise i) a plurality of geographic locations and associated location information along with a list of cable operators providing service at each geographic location ii) commonly used transmission medium iii) a plurality of homing frequencies iv) a plurality of Network IDs v) symbol rate associated with homing frequency vi) frequency band and bandwidth associated with a country. The parameters stored in the database could be used to perform the channel installation.

This has the advantage that it could leverage the existing capabilities of location finders (e.g. google maps) and could help to work consistently with the latest mappings of the geographic location. In addition to the correct location finding, obtaining the up-to-date information with regard to the Network ID and the plurality of cable operators could result in a correct channel map to the user. Further, any changes in the cable

transmission or satellite transmission could be reflected to the user. This could also reduce the incorrect installation of parameters that could lead to missing channels and bad audio/video. Hence this could improve the user experience.

Alternately, the database could be hosted by a database service provider.

The channel map stored in the television receiver could be manually changed in case the user is not satisfied with the automatic settings of the channel installation parameters. As an illustrative example, the disclosed method may choose 330MHz as homing frequency of a specific cable operator. In the meantime, the operator could have changed it to say 354MHz. In such circumstances, installation on 330 MHz may not yield the desired channel map. Therefore the user could be provided with an option that allows him to change it to 354 MHz which could yield the correct installation. This could enhance user satisfaction.

Referring now to Fig. 5, the apparatus 500 for performing the channel installation in a television receiver includes

- a location finding unit 502 configured to determine the geographic location of the television receiver;

- a processing unit 504 configured to determine if at least one of a) Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable (DVB-C) b) Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial (DVB-T) c) Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite (DVB-S) transmission media is available at the determined geographical location of the television receiver and if available, choosing one of the available transmission media and obtaining channel installation parameters associated with the chosen transmission media using Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) tables, the DVB standard tables comprising Service Description Table (SDT) and Network Information Table (NIT) and if none of a ) DVB- C b) DVB- T c) DVB-S transmission media is available, obtaining the channel installation parameters from core MPEG tables, the core MPEG tables comprising the Program Association Table (PAT) and the Program Map Table (PMT);

- an extraction unit 506 configured to extract a list of available services using the obtained channel installation parameters; and

- a storage unit 508 configured to store i) the obtained channel installation parameters and ii) the extracted list of available services as a channel map in the television receiver.

In summary, a method for performing channel installation in a television receiver is disclosed. The method comprises

- determining the geographic location of the television receiver;

- determining if at least one of a) Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable (DVB- C) b) Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial (DVB-T) c) Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite (DVB-S) transmission media is available at the determined geographical location of the television receiver and if available, choosing one of the available transmission media and obtaining channel installation parameters associated with the chosen transmission media using Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) tables, the DVB standard tables comprising Service Description Table (SDT) and Network Information Table (NIT) and if none of a ) DVB- C b) DVB- T c) DVB-S transmission media is available, obtaining the channel installation parameters from core MPEG tables, the core MPEG tables comprising the Program

Association Table (PAT) and the Program Map Table (PMT);

- extracting a list of available services using the obtained channel installation parameters; and

- storing i) the obtained channel installation parameters and ii) the extracted list of available services as a channel map in the television receiver.

The disclosed method could be used to perform high quality error-free installations in Internet enabled television receivers. Further, this could also reduce field call rates due to wrongly selected region. The disclosed method is applicable for any digital transmission standards for television receivers. As an illustrative example, when the user is confronted with a choice to enter the network ID of a cable operator, he may not be aware of the value and hence could result in incorrect installation (e.g. Telenet operator in Belgium generally uses Network ID 100 on a homing frequency of 330 MHz. The value 100 could be chosen automatically which reduces the burden on the user).

Although claims have been formulated in this application to particular combinations of features, it should be understood that the scope of the disclosure of the present invention also includes any novel features or any novel combination of features disclosed herein explicitly or implicitly or any generalization thereof, whether or not it relates to the same subject matter as presently claimed in any claim and whether or not it mitigates any or all of the same technical problems as does the present invention.

While the invention has been illustrated in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art of practicing the claimed subject matter, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims. Use of the verb "comprise" and its conjugates does not exclude the presence of elements other than those stated in a claim or in the description. Use of the indefinite article "a" or "an" preceding an element or step does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements or steps. A single unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependant claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. The figures and description are to be regarded as illustrative only and do not limit the invention. Any reference sign in the claims should not be considered as limiting the scope.