Cross table analysis display

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates to a cross table analysis display and more specifically, a technique of displaying cross table analysis of metadata tables provided in digital broadcast streams so as to view and check easily the consistencies and correctness of these tables.

#2. Discussion of Background Art

#The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.

#The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus do not limit the present invention.

#FIG. 1 is an example of a block diagram of a system for providing cross table analysis displays according to an embodiment of the present invention.

#The present invention displays the instances of the relevant PSI and PSIP tables graphically, and uses color coding and/or some other schemes to indicate relationships among the tables and any cross-table consistency errors that may be present.

#According to an embodiment of the present invention, a display can be presented that simply lists the different types of PSI and PSIP tables, and indicates with, e.g., green checkmarks and red X-marks which table types are involved in any inconsistencies. The user can select which types of tables to display, so as not to clutter up the display screen with tables that are not involved in the problem.

#According to an embodiment of the present invention, tables can be represented normally in some neutral color, e.g., white rectangles with a blue border containing black text for key field values. If a table instance is missing, than a pseudo-table (e.g., a block) can be displayed to represent the missing table, using a sharply contrasting color scheme, e.g., white with a red border. Similarly, if a block of data within a table is missing, then a pseudo-block can be included in the table to represent the missing block. If field values do not match when they are supposed to, then the incorrect values can be highlighted in some conspicuous way, e.g., by showing the field values in red.